You will battle a lot of fearsome foes in Gears 5, but perhaps the toughest is the final Chapter 3 boss, Matriarch. A massive, hulking Swarm monsters, this creature has the capability of instantly killing Kat or her partners with a single attack. With a small weak spot and a ton of health, bringing this foe down will not easy. Thankfully, there are a few tricks you can implement for beating this brute bloody.
When the battle begins the Matriarch will fall into the ice and freeze. As soon as this happens, run around the monster and start shooting the glowing orange spot on her back. This is the only place you can cause damage, so keep firing until the Matriarch breaks free. Now move to either the left or right, making sure to put some distance between you and the boss.
Once you’re on the other side of the ice, shoot the Matriarch to cause her to charge at you. When she starts running, shoot the ice in front of her to send her plummeting into the cold water. This will freeze her again, allowing you to dash behind and damage the boss. Keep repeating this process until the boss loses around 1/4 of her health.
This will trigger Kat’s mother calling out to her, which will nearly blind you making it very difficult to see the Matriarch. Stop shooting the Matriarch and quickly move to the end of the ice. If you’re far away enough then the boss shouldn’t charge you. But to be safe, we recommend getting ready to blast the ice in front of you at the first hint of the Matriarch charging.
After Kat’s connection diminishes, resume trapping the boss in ice and shooting her in the back. Occasionally, the Matriarch will rip a spike out and hurl it at Kat. Not only does this deal a ton of damage, but it will temporarily incapacitate whoever it hits. These spikes have light tracking, so you’ll need to roll if you want to remain unscathed. If you are hit, hammer B as fast as possible to free yourself before the Matriarch charges.
Keep repeating the process of freezing and blasting the boss until she only has a quarter of her health left. Not only will the visions return, but the Matriarch will hurl a bunch of spikes like a shotgun. When this starts happening, keep a lot of distance so you don’t get hit and keep baiting the monster into the ice until it’s dead.
Remember, if you are playing with a friend than just have one use the heavy cryo guns to freeze the boss. This makes the fight far easier since you can continuously freeze the boss while letting someone else deal the damage. For those playing alone, be prepared to do most of the work yourself. The A.I. is pretty useless in this fight, so don’t expect any real support from them.