As you make your way through Black Iron, you will encounter all sorts of terrifying enemies. Some of these can be very challenging, especially if you are struggling to get to grips with their various abilities, attacks, and tactics. Thankfully, we’ve made a guide so that you can learn some tips and tricks to deal with each!
Definitions
Combos: A series of enemy attacks, the amount that you will need to dodge before you can counter-attack.
Strategic Targeting System: The mechanic where a crosshair will show up on an enemy after your combos. Aiming when this crosshair is on screen will cause your gun to auto-lock onto it to deal critical damage.
They should be dealt with in melee whenever possible.
Can be instantly dispatched with environmental objects like spike walls, cliffs, and explosive canisters.
When mutating Grunts start showing up in Chapter 4: Habitat, you need to shoot tentacles when they pop out. This kills them in one shot.
Your strategic targeting system will always target them when the crosshair shows up.
For the fat variant: They have more health, but usually have attack combos of only a single attack before they can be punished.
Shoot their head to force them into melee, where they will only have a single attack per combo before being punished.
You can avoid their spit attack by strafing left or right.
You can GRP them toward you to force them into melee.
Any damage kills them instantly.
Stomping damages them in an area of effect and can take out several at once, saving ammo.
They frequently hide in lockers and chests and will jump out at you, requiring a quick-time event to escape.
These will frequently attack you in long hallways, after vaulting obstacles, or around corners.
You can shoot them if you see their cocoon.
If you are grabbed by them, you will need to perform a quick-time event to kill them.
You can stomp their cocoons for loot.
Security Robots are some of the most lethal enemies in the game, and they can kill you in one hit both in melee and at range.
You can only defeat them at range, by shooting them 3 to 5 times in the head (depending on difficulty)
You have to shoot fast, or else you will be gunned down.
Until you are ready to fire, you should crouch and stay hidden, then unload all at once.
They can turn invisible but will become visible to charge you. As well, they will not be able to attack you while they are on the walls or ceilings.
GRP can be extremely effective, bringing them close enough for you to attack them.
They have low health, so shooting them is an option without using too much ammo.
Their AI is programmed to attack you more often when your camera isn’t facing them.
Similarly, they are programmed with “hit-and-run” tactics and will run away and hide after attacking.
You can tell if these are nearby by their clicking sound.
If they are still attached to the wall, they will not click, but you can hear them coming off of the wall.
Crouch while near them, get behind them and use your interact button to kill them.
This will not alert nearby Blind biophage, so you can clear entire rooms like this.
If you do alert them, they are not too tough, but they will swarm you. They act almost identically to the regular biophage, but with more health. Since they come in large groups, your Riot Gun is an optimal weapon to take them on.
These will explode with a single shot from any gun.
Don’t let them get close. If they do, use GRP to toss them away.
You can also use GRP to toss them at other enemies to deal huge, often lethal damage.
Graves is an avid writer, web designer, and gamer, with more ideas than he could hope to achieve in a lifetime. But, armed with a mug of coffee and an overactive imagination, he’ll try. When he isn’t working on a creative project, he is painting miniatures, reading cheesy sci-fi novels, or making music.
