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Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope takes you on a wild adventure across the galaxy. Mario and his brother Luigi join forces with their fellow Heroes, ridding the planets of corrupting Darkmess Tentacles and freeing trapped Sparks along the way.
Your final stop is the seat of evil itself, Cursa's Stronghold. This biome is dedicated to brutal fights with little else to distract you (aside from the handy Sales-Bot). This guide will help you beat the two Darkmess Puddles in your way, as well as prepare you for your long-awaited final showdown with Cursa.
Darkmess Puddle: Defeat Darkmess Bowser
Your first battle at Cursa's Stronghold is King of Darkmess, where you will be going up against Darkmess Bowser.
This is a fairly short and sweet battle as long as you chain-jump your Heroes to stay as close to Bowser as possible.
You'll have Bowser locked in place as one of your four Heroes, but here are the Hero and Spark combinations we recommend for success:
- Bowser (with Reflector and Regenesis)
- Rabbid Rosalina (with Gargantu-Fan and Ethering)
- Luigi (with Oozer Master and Vampastra)
- Rabbid Peach (with Exosphere and Starburst)
Bowser comes in clutch with brute strength, and Rabbid Rosalina will disable any nearby foes and allow you to focus your attention on Darkmess Bowser. Luigi deals the most damage from afar, so feel free to leave him on the field aided by an ally Oozer to further incapacitate Darkmess Bowser's lackeys.
The enemies you'll be up against are a variety of Magikoopas and Goombas. Bear in mind that Darkmess Bowser is resistant to Burn damage and Magikoopas are resistant to all Super Effects, so you're better off bringing Sparks that bolster your existing weapons or replenish health rather than charging up with Super Effects.
Darkmess Puddle: Defeat Darkmess Edge
After using the gold canons to blast your team across to the next island, you'll face Darkmess Edge in the battle Deep Dark Secret.
Edge is your locked-in Hero for this battle, but team her up with the following Hero and Spark pairings to make the battle go in a flash:
- Edge (with Exosphere and Zephyrquake)
- Rabbid Peach (with Pyrostar and Starburst)
- Rabbid Luigi (with Toxiquake and Ethering)
- Luigi (with Oozer Master and Vampastra)
The fringe enemies you'll be facing include Scopers, Oozers, and health-replenishing Medicians. Since Darkmess Edge possesses the same skills and abilities as regular Edge, you'll want to attack from afar in order to avoid her devastating Blade Master attacks.
Rabbid Luigi can hit multiple foes at once and clear out Medicians using Toxiquake, whilst Luigi and Rabbid Peach can deal hefty damage from across the map. Use Ethering to sneak up on Darkmess Edge and avoid getting targeted by her revenge attacks!
How To Defeat Cursa
Finally, you'll broach the final frontier of Cursa's Stronghold and come face-to-face with Cursa the Destroyer.
The battle will come in two stages: firstly, you'll be defeating Cursa's Astral Arms, and then you'll help Rosalina take her on by charging her protective bubble with energy to blast at the villain.
For these battles, you'll be playing as all nine Heroes in rotations of three. Equip all your favourite Sparks, and don't forget about Pulser if you want to be able to revive a downed Hero to re-enter the fight.
How To Defeat Cursa's Astral Arms
At the start of each round, Cursa will single out one Hero by placing a finger over their head. It will be up to the other Heroes to attack the Astral Hand with all they've got, dodging attacks from Wildfangs, Scopers, Lone Wolves, Stooges, and Squashers.
Jump on button to raise a spike, which will injure an arm when it swings. Both of the Astral Arms will have to be taken out, but this can be done easily, thanks to having a playing field stacked fully in your favour with all Heroes present.
How To Help Rosalina Defeat Cursa
To help Rosalina defeat Cursa, you'll now be aiming to shoot the magic wands rather than Cursa herself.
Each time you shoot a wand, you'll charge Rosalina's attacks depending upon how strong your attack is. Try to have Luigi shoot from a great distance to maximise his power, whilst ensuring Edge and Peach are standing as close to a wand as possible before shooting it to fill Rosalina's bar quicker.
Same as in the last stage of the battle, you'll find yourself surrounded by enemies trying to distract you from your mission. Try to knock them out of bounds using Splash or Gust Super Effects, and once again be sure to enlist the help of Oozer Master to spawn a friendly Oozer, upping your Hero numbers to an even 10.
Fill Rosalina's bar twice in order to trigger the final cutscene - and then be sure to congratulate yourself, because you've just finished Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope!