In Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope, it's up to Mario and his friends to rescue the galaxy from Cursa and her Spark Hunters. The third biome you explore, Palette Prime, is a quaint autumnal town now ravaged by Darkmess - and you'll need to keep your wits about you to defeat it.
Your main two missions will take you to separate corners of the map, one involving more puzzles and mini-battles than the other. If you're struggling to beat the tanky Bedrock, here are some tips for mastering Palette Prime like a pro.
Main Missions: Off-Color
Boss Battle | Reward |
|---|---|
Darkmess Taproot | Purified Darkmess Crystal |
First, use your map to track down the entrance to the wood - simply go left outside your spaceship, and you should see the forest entrance ahead.
Now prepare for battle with a Ghostly Walker, after which you'll add Zephyrquake to your Sparks ranks. Walkers are resistant to Gust attacks and weak to Frostbite, and they will be accompanied in this mission by Flamin' Stooges, who are resistant to Burn damage, and weak to Splash attacks.
Keep these Sparks equipped for all battles in this area:
- Cryoblide (Frostbite)
- Aquanox (Splash)
- Pyrogeddon (for protection against Burn attacks from Stooges)
After defeating these foes, use Beep-O to uncover hidden ladders and bridges to navigate your path. You'll find the path ahead blocked by a Darkmess Eye. Go up the first ladder Beep-O first reveals, then dash at the egg and throw it at the eye to dissolve it. Now go back down the ladder and through the opening the eye had been blocking.
You'll run into some Goombas, defeat them and pick up some coins for your efforts.
Double back and use Beep-O on the rock at the far end with the yellow swirl on it. Follow the arrow to a shortcut tube behind a bush. Enter it and fight the Ghostly Walker and two Squashettes at the other end. For this battle, we recommend Peach, Edge, and Rabbid Rosalina. They're all weak to Frostbite, so give Peach Cryoblide and let her take out both Squashettes in a single shot. Equip Edge with Aquanox, and she can hit the Ghostly Walker and knock it out of bounds.
After this battle, turn right and take the travel tube up a level. Use Beep-O to find and move a large crate, pushing it off the side so you can jump down and drag it over the floor button to clear your path.
You'll find yourself in a clearing with a huge tree in the middle of it. Head up the hill and dash at the egg, then pick it up and carry it down to throw at the Darkmess Eye nearby. The pathway is littered with Goombas and Walkers, so either evade or battle them to get past. After that, you'll load into another short fight sequence against Squashettes, Wildclaws, Scopers, and Stooges.
Keep Cryoblide, Pyrogeddon, Pyrostar, and Aquanox equipped with any three Heroes of your choice.
Leap down a spooky abandoned well to make your way to the Darkmess Taproot.
Follow the path around and use Beep-O to find hidden stairs. Dash at the egg and throw at the Darkmess Eye to clear your path; you’ll now see a triangle-shaped key near a blocked bridge that also bears a triangle logo. Pick up and carry the triangle key upstairs and insert it into the slot, then go back down and cross the newly-unblocked wooden bridge.
Following the winding path down, you’ll see another barrier and square-shaped slot - but don’t use it yet. Instead, take the travel pipe and pick up the cube-shaped key. Next, bring it back up and insert it into the key slot to unblock the barrier.
Darkmess Taproot Boss Battle
Finally, you'll start the Roots Of Corruption battle to defeat the Darkmess Taproot. To get there, you'll have to hop on an elevator and shoot all three weak points at once - and Peach's conical-shaped Boom-Brella is the perfect shape for the job.
Use Peach, Edge, and Rabbid Rosalina to defeat five waves of enemies, mostly Squashettes and Wildclaws, before reaching the final battleground.
You'll have to defeat three more Taproots, much like you did the first one on the lift. Use Rabbid Rosalina's Ennui ability to disable as many foes as you can, keeping them busy or locked down while your other Hero helps Peach to Team Jump from root to root.
Main Missions: The Fallen King
Boss Battle | Reward |
|---|---|
Bedrock | Bowser (Hero); Purified Darkmess Crystal |
On your way across the bridge to Paletteville Town Centre, you'll run into a lot of Medicians: life-leaching enemies sensitive to Ooze attacks. After defeating them on the bridge as you make your way to Warden Woodrow’s house, you'll unlock a new Spark named Glitter.
Inside the house, check the bookcase for a hidden door and go through it before using Beep-O to cross an air bridge. When you see a floor button, grab Beep-O again to find and pull a cart out of the wall and pull it backward, covering the button on the ground and allowing you to progress.
Next, you'll see an area with two buttons on the lower-ground floor: one with a square logo and one with a triangle. Use Beep-O to uncover a crate and drag it over the square button to clear the first barricade. Go back up to the top floor and walk along using Beep-O to find another crate, and then push it over the edge to land on the triangle button below.
As you traverse the main square towards the Darkmess Tentacle, a short cutscene will play out in which you see that Bowser is facing off with Bedrock, the boss of Palette Prime.
How To Defeat Bedrock
You'll have to complete the Blast Through the Bedrock mission to rescue Bowser and add him to your Heroes roster. Defeating Bedrock can be a slow task, but the key is to use the following Heroes and Sparks:
- Peach (Regenesis)
- Rabbid Rosalina (Ethering)
- Edge (Exosphere)
- Bowser (Reflector)
Since Bedrock isn't weak to any damage types, you'll want to focus on Sparks and Heroes with protective abilities. You need to draw Bedrock toward you as your Heroes hide behind cover on the raised platform above each dynamite trap - which is where Glitter comes in handy.
This Spark will attract nearby enemies to gather around your Hero before you run away, find cover, and then shoot from a safe vantage point. Heroes can use protector Sparks like Reflector and Exosphere to deflect some damage taken for themselves and others, while Ethering allows you to hide in plain sight.
After she is attacked, Bedrock will get angry and set the dynamite off when she does her ground punch. The explosion takes off about a quarter of her health each time, so do this four times in total - once per dynamite tile - to completely deplete Bedrock's health bar.
You'll also want to avoid paying too much attention to the other enemies around you, as focusing on them will only slow down an already plodding cat-and-mouse chase by wasting your moves on the distractions; remember, Sparks Of Hope is turn-based, so make use of Rabbid Rosalina's Ennui ability and keep those enemies permanently frozen in place!