The Luna Digger might just be my favourite boss in Pragmata, mainly because you'll run into this mega mechanical worm a few times before eventually delving into its nest. By the time you step into the arena, you've more than had enough of it, but beating the Luna Digger isn't straightforward as this beast is a bit gimmicky. Notably, it's a worm that burrows under the ground and lacks the usual weak spots found in humanoid robots. Successfully defeating this mechanical threat requires specific preparation and timing to exploit its brief moments of vulnerability.
Preparing Your Loadout for the Battle
Before heading into the boss fight, I recommend taking a look at your loadout carefully. You've only got short damage windows, and there are no other enemies, so don't worry about AoE tools. The Charge Piercer, Photon Laser, Sticky Bombs, and even the Homing Missile are great choices for this encounter. Additionally, make sure you use hacking nodes like Heat or Drain.
It is crucial to ensure you've levelled up the Auto Hack power for Diana before engaging the boss. Once you're geared up with these tools, here's how the fight plays out:
- Charge Piercer & Photon Laser: Ideal for dealing damage during short windows.
- Sticky Bombs: Excellent for speeding up the hacking process on the worm.
- Homing Missile: A powerful weapon to unleash once the boss enters its second phase.
- Heat/Drain Nodes: Essential hacking tools to weaken the mechanical enemy quickly.
Mastering the Two-Phase Strategy
During the first phase, the Lunar Digger is only vulnerable in its mouth, which appears solely as it burrows out of the ground or charges towards you. This is a small window and hard to hit, so save most of your best weapons for later phases. The Luna Digger spends most of the fight underground; hack it whenever it erupts from the ground and take an opportunity to shoot its mouth to make it vulnerable.
This is where the Auto Hack power comes in handy, as you won't have much time to do it manually. When you deal enough damage, it will be staggered, meaning you can go up to it and perform a devastating Critical Shot. Once you get the boss's health below 50%, it'll enter its second phase where you'll also be able to damage its body. Continue to hack it and go all out with your best weapons like the Homing Missile or Charge Piercer.
During its second phase, the Luna Digger can now shoot missiles, so avoid the red circles on the ground immediately. It can also create mini drones that burrow towards you; hacking these drones turns them against the boss, dealing 2000 damage each. You'll want to continue your strategy of Auto Hacking, filling it full of lead, and taking advantage of any Critical Shots until it's dead.
The Reward for Victory
Defeating the Luna Digger unlocks the fourth Shelter upgrade, which grants access to more upgrades at the Unit Printer and Firmware Updater. You will also gain access to the Director board at the Cabin Club, which contains two Red Gate Keys. This makes collecting every Cabin Coin you can get your mitts on well worth the effort for completionists.
For further assistance, check out my full guide after nearly 20 hours of gameplay, including locations for all Red Zones and Gate Keys. You can also find tips on the best weapons to use and how to break through blue and red crystals in Pragmata. If you are looking for your first boss encounter details, our Sector Guard guide covers that essential fight as well.
