For over 30 years, Mega Man games have challenged players with learning the language of the boss order. In each mainline Mega Man game, you can tackle every core stage in any order, but completing bosses in certain sequences lets you take advantage of their weaknesses and defeat them that much quicker.

This Mega Man 11 guide will help you decide which order to take on the eight robot masters and break down each individual confrontation, including the final Wily Fortress bosses that are unlocked afterward.

Boss order

Technically, you can start with any link in this chain.

Each boss is weak to the weapon granted by the preceding robot master. However, we recommend starting with Block Man first. He’s one of the easiest battles to clear (and the focus of the demo probably for that reason).

If you choose someone else, just loop back around the chain, using Blast Man’s weapon on Block Man, in this general order:

1. Block Man
2. Acid Man
3. Impact Man
4. Bounce Man
5. Fuse man
6. Tundra Man
7. Torch Man
8. Blast Man

In Mega Man 11, all bosses sport an ultimate ability that is triggered after they take critical amounts of damage. We’re going to call them desperation attacks.

Block Man

Block Man employs several easy to dodge attacks, then briefly transforms into a giant golem with more telegraphed abilities.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Chain blast

Stay low to the ground when fighting Block Man, and let him make the first move. When fighting him in the first phase of the battle he only uses two abilities: tossing blocks downward from the sky and attempting to collide with you by strolling across the arena and jumping. He’ll generally jump while at the midway point in the arena, so just wait and react accordingly by sliding under him or jumping over him if you’re in a corner. Calmly walk between the blocks as they drop or use the speed gear to position yourself correctly.

When Block Man loses roughly half of his health, he’ll transform into a gargantuan golem for his desperation attack. Use charged shots here (hold down the shot button for several seconds, then release) at the apex of your jump to hit his shiny red weak spot. If he raises his right hand in the sky, he’s going to slap the ground: Just jump over it. If he extends his right arm behind him, he’s going to punch at an angle, which you can only dodge right next to his foot. If he raises his left hand he’s going to fling blocks at you: Stay in the corner and jump. Keep calm, and keep shooting his chest.

After you deplete the new life gauge for the golem, he’ll transform back into his regular old self. From here, he’ll start hopping and throwing blocks from one end of the screen until one of you dies. Immediately change to the power gear here, as it can blow through his blocks, straight into Block Man directly. If you run out of gear meter, you can also use a charged shot while jumping over his blocks to blow through them and hit him from across the screen. Time your shots so that they go off when he’s about to land.

Acid Man

Acid Man seems tough at first, but his pattern is easy to pick up. His desperation attack is very brief and he is vulnerable during it.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Block dropper

The battle begins with Acid Man quickly shielding himself. Use your regular shots to whittle down his shield and make him vulnerable: When it pops, he’ll fall to the ground for a few seconds. Use the power gear to get in some quick, sizable attacks before he can recover.

Always stay far away from Acid Man so you can dodge his arced acid bullets. Use your speed gear if needed to avoid the arcs from above and to maneuver to the other side of the screen when he gets too close. You don’t want to get trapped in a corner, as he’ll shoot his acid pellets right in your face.

Acid Man will pop his desperation attack after just a few hits. Get ready to jump over his horizontal ground swim, then immediately jump again to avoid the downward acid fire he shoots. Charge up your buster and blast Acid Man as he’s dropping from the apex of his jump: You’ll hit him on the way down.

Impact Man

Impact Man has a very showy desperation attack, but it’s brief and he generally repeats the same patterns for most of the fight. He’s another great choice for a first boss.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Acid barrier

Impact Man is one of several bosses that generally moves from left to right. Stay on the opposite side of the screen so that you can always dodge his dash attack. The timing window is short, so make sure you wait a brief moment and then jump or you’ll get caught in his dash.

Every time Impact Man jumps you should also (as we covered in our Mega Man 11 beginner’s guide) jump right before he lands, as he can slam the ground and stun you momentarily.

After several shots Impact Man’s desperation attack will trigger. Watch for the yellow arrows: They indicate where a projectile is going to come into the arena off-screen. Wait in a safe zone. Once he forms into a drill, you’ll need to dodge from side to side to avoid his impact and the accompanying explosion.

Once you see or hear the explosion go off, slide into the direction of Impact Man, and he’ll careen over Mega Man. Do this several times to avoid getting hit, and Impact Man will transform back into his usual self, repeating the process from step one.

Bounce Man

Given how tight Bounce Man’s arena is, he can be one of the tougher robot masters to take out with a regular mega buster.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Pile driver

Bounce Man is constantly moving, so it’s best to think of him like a billiards ball. He’ll bounce diagonally around the enclosed arena, but his bounces have a mathematical pattern. Look where he initially bounces, then mentally trace a diagonal line from his bounce to anticipate where he’s going to go next. Slide across the screen if the bounce is high or jump over him if it’s low to get out of his way. The quicker you react to his second bounce the faster you can get to the other side of the screen before he corners you with a third bounce.

When he stops and leaps in the air, jump to avoid his fist and fire a pre-charged shot. (Note that he may pull himself toward his fist, so if you’re in close quarters, slide under him after he starts bouncing again.) Never stay below Bounce Man as he has a downward butt bump attack.

For this desperation attack, Bounce Man will fling across the screen just as he has previously, but more rapidly. Use the speed gear here and blast him. When he’s done bouncing it will reset the fight.

Fuse Man

Fuse Man is very quick and can take some time to learn. Consider taking him on after unlocking his weakness.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Bounce ball

Fuse Man will always telegraph where he’s teleporting with a visible yellow line, but it’s dangerous: Stay away from it, and have a charged shot ready for when he arrives at his destination. When he gets there, he will fire off a lightning bolt, which is easy to dodge with a quick jump followed by a swift charged shot on your end.

While all this is happening, two electric spheres will be rotating across the arena in a clockwise pattern. Try to relax your eyes so that you’re focusing on the spheres while watching Fuse Man out of your peripheral vision. With enough practice, you can easily dodge the spheres while keeping tabs on Fuse Man’s slower lightning bolt shots.

For his desperation attack, Fuse Man will temporarily zip across the room and slam into the ground several times. You can use the speed gear here, though the slam is easy to dodge if you jump right before he lands. (Note that you can damage him when he’s on the ground for a moment.)

Once he’s done with his fit, the battle will reset but Fuse Man will now fire two lightning bolts after teleporting.

Tundra Man

Another speedster, Tundra Man is easier to dodge than most and has a very brief, low energy desperation attack.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Scramble thunder

Tundra Man’s arena is encased in ice, which causes Mega Man to slip while running on the ground. One easy way to counter it is to jump constantly, as your aerial physics have no impact on the ice. You can also buy the spike boots from the shop for 300 bolts to keep a grip on the ice, though we wouldn’t recommend it. They’re very situational, and you can spend your bolts elsewhere on more useful upgrades.

When Tundra Man cups his hands together, he’s going to skate across the room horizontally. When he’s spinning and a flurry appears around him, he can potentially jump mid-skate, which can throw off your dodging game. Using the speed gear here is a good idea so that you can anticipate his jumps. His pattern is:

1. One straight dash (go over)
2. One short leap (slide under)
3. Three lengthy leaps (walk under)
4. Two mid-sized leaps (jump over)
5. One slow dash (jump)

Do not try to stay in the corner when he approaches you. He lingers there for a moment, and you will collide with him.

His desperation attack involves an easy to dodge series of quick dashes across the screen. Tap the jump button so that you perform a smaller leap. This will help you land sooner and jump again without having to use the speed gear. Tundra Man will repeat the fight from the beginning after his final dash.

Torch Man

Torch Man is capable of dealing a large amount of damage in a very short amount of time. If you aren’t skilled at dodging enemies, you may have a tougher time with him than most robot masters without his weakness.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Tundra storm

As his main attack, Torch Man will fire his fists at you: one at your head (which can be slid under) and one at your feet that you can jump over. You can’t shoot a charged shot through these, so you’ll need to dodge them and then fire off an attack after they’ve cleared. Alternatively, you can also hop just a bit and land a charged shot near his head. It’ll safely sail over a lower fist attack.

While this pattern is easily countered, Torch Man employs a lot of mixup tricks to fake you out, forcing you to react and get too close to him. If you touch him, he’ll kick you across the screen, inflicting huge amounts of damage.

To best him, make sure you never make contact. Stay far away, watch for his leaps and, if needed, use the speed gear to slide under him and get to the opposite end of the arena. Also, never force yourself into a corner.

Besting Torch Man’s desperation attack is tough and may seem counterintuitive at first. Stay in the center of the arena as he powers up, and dodge the flame wheels. If you stick to the corners, it will become increasingly difficult to move out of the way of his leaps and the wheels, but you have more room in the middle to move around, especially with the speed gear.

After he flies off screen, he’ll come back down with a telegraphed downward slam. This is easy to dodge, and it’ll reset the fight after it hits. Make sure to charge up a blast and hit him with it when he lands.

Blast Man

Blast Man is designed like a puzzle and follows in the footsteps of many old school Mega Man bosses who generally attack from one end of the room. Mastering the dodge is a must when battling Blast Man, but he’s more forgiving than most bosses.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Blazing Torch

For the most part, you can stick to the left side of the arena for this fight. Blast Man will throw out grenades in an arc pattern either above or below, allowing you to dodge between the gaps.

He’ll also place four grenades in a pattern in the middle and approach you occasionally. Just move over to the other side slowly, baiting the floating grenades as you walk, and making sure not to immediately run to the opposite end. After several seconds, they’ll explode and you’ll end up safely in the corner of the screen. The floating grenades don’t actually do damage on impact. It’s the blast that will hurt you, so you can move even more slowly than you realize here.

For his desperation attack, Blast Man will throw larger grenades that have a bigger blast radius. The blast is brief, so you can even jump over them and land safely as it dissipates. Keep sticking to the corners so you have the most room to dodge, and repeat the fight from the beginning.

Yellow Devil MK-III

Its back again! You’ll handle this classic boss pretty much the same way they did in 1987: by staying calm and memorizing the pattern in which its clumps fall off.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Mega buster

Whether you’ve fought it in its various incarnations over the years or this is your first time, the gist is the same: You need to dodge its clumps, which follow the same basic pattern.

The Yellow Devil has to form before it can unleash its main laser attack, which is arguably the toughest part of the fight. Clumps will fly from one end of the screen to another, which you can mostly dodge by jumping, standing still or sliding underneath. Using the speed gear here is a good idea, especially after dodging the first few clumps so that the meter lasts until he is fully formed. Once the Yellow Devil’s eye appears, shoot it with an already-prepped charged shot.

The MK-III fight has a twist: It also has a desperation attack. After a few charged shots, it’ll split off into multiple tiny Yellow Devils, which are very easy to dodge. All you need to do is figure out how to dodge the first clone, and the rest will follow suit. There’s a crucial secret that will help you during this phase: Look for the one tiny clone with an exposed eye — you can damage it.

Repeat the entire process, making sure to shoot the tiny vulnerable Devil when you can to make this fight go by quicker, before you have to deal with too many clump dodge phases.

Mawverne

As one of the final gatekeepers of Mega Man 11, Mawverne is actually more of a pushover than the Yellow Devil.

Capcom via Polygon

Weakness: Pile driver

Mawverne generally moves in a clockwise or counterclockwise pattern along the square arena, so keep that in mind as you’re dodging its attacks. Resetting yourself to the top left corner of the arena is generally safe, as you can easily jump over it when it moves from right or left or drop down when it transitions from left to right.

To progress with the fight, you’ll need to open up Mawverne’s armor. When its antenna is lit with a red glow, you can use your mega buster to damage it from the bottom ledge above the floor. (Stand on the edge opposite of where Mawverne is.) Mash the regular buster shot to open up its shell and make it vulnerable. From there you can use the pile driver dash to hit its exposed body.

At this point in the fight, Mawverne will unleash several spherical drones that will slowly move in your direction. Stop what you’re doing and use the mega buster to take them out, as they’ll eventually catch up with you and dish out tons of damage. It’s best to deal with them as soon as they arrive before they’re anywhere near you.

After Mawverne loses three quarters of its life, it’ll begin its desperation attack. When it teleports, stay away from the top ledges to avoid impact and go to either side of it. Use your mega buster or the pile driver to take it out while dodging the beams. (Height is key here, as it rarely shoots upward.)

Boss gauntlet

In lieu of a new boss, the third Wily stage actually features a boss gauntlet. As is tradition, you’ll square off against every core robot master once more.

Capcom via Polygon

The weakness order is actually laid out perfectly by default, though that’s very easy to miss. From left to right, top to bottom the order is

1. Block Man
2. Acid Man
3. Impact Man
4. Bounce Man
5. Fuse Man
6. Tundra Man
7. Torch Man
8. Blast Man.

Easy! It’s the same order listed above.

To save time, you can pre-equip the appropriate weakness before jumping into the capsule.

Wily Machine 11 (V1 & V2)

Mega Man 11 has a lot of nostalgic references with its final boss fights, which includes a multi-phase Wily Machine battle. You’ll need to use multiple boss weapons to take him down effectively.

Since this is a long fight, make sure you connect before using an ability so you don’t waste valuable weapon power.

Weakness: Tundra storm (V1) / Acid barrier (V2)

Capcom via Polygon

Tundra storm will make short work of Wily’s contraption and can hit him as you’re walking below. Dodging is easy here. Just be patient and only attack when you’re safe.

Once you run out of tundra storm, climb up on the missiles with your speed gear and use a charged shot. You may need to hit him right at the apex of your jump, which can take practice.

Capcom via Polygon

For this next phase, immediately swap to Acid Man’s weapon. This part can be tricky, but through smart use of the speed gear, you can wear him down. Wily is very fast in his V2 machine because he’ll be using his own speed gear power, but by counteracting it you can hit him as he zooms by.

Be conservative with your use of the speed gear. When he appears, wait a half second and then use it. Then immediately cancel it after Wily has passed or you’ve successfully hit him with your acid barrier or mega buster. That way, your meter can quickly recharge as he prepares his next rush attack.