After five stages of pure insanity, it all boils down to this: an epic showdown with Richter, the final boss of Wanted: Dead. Given the game's absurd approach to artificial difficulty, most players will probably never make it this far. Those who do will almost certainly fall victim to Richter's deadly attacks multiple times before succeeding; more often than not in the fight's second phase.
This is because Richter has an attack that can OHKO the player in an instant, much like Kolchak does in the game's third boss battle. With the right strategy, however, players should eventually be able to overcome Richter, even with his immense speed, deadly attacks, and incredibly aggressive approach to combat. It won't be easy, but it's certainly not impossible either.
How to Beat Richter in Wanted: Dead (Phase 1)
One thing that players will quickly realize is that Richter is incredibly good at closing down distances, and, unlike the stage 4 boss Mr. Holiday, is all but immune to gunfire. As such, players are going to have to get in close and personal if they want to take Richter down, which means putting themselves right in harm's way. To begin with, he'll mainly be using two distinct combos that players will need to approach in very different ways.
Both of these combos begin with two sword slashes which can be either blocked or parried. One then has Richter lunge toward the player and present them with a handgun counter opportunity. It's quite a long window, so even if Wanted: Dead players do get hit by the first part of the attack, they'll still be able to counter the second if they're fast enough. More often than not though, Richter will use a flurry of sword strikes after the first two slashes, in which case, it's better to dodge roll backward, and then punish him once he has finished.
Due to Richter's sword glowing red and all of the fire in the background, it can sometimes be difficult to see when there's an opportunity for a handgun counter. As such, players should be sure to listen out for the sound that handgun counter opportunities make as well as looking out for the red glint as they normally would.
How to Beat Richter in Wanted: Dead (Phase 2)
Once Richter is down to 50% HP, he'll become considerably more dangerous. He also gains the ability to heal himself, with players needing to hit him as quickly as possible when he begins to do so to stop him from healing. The running knee attack doesn't always seem to hit him for some reason, so it's better to slide just before reaching him and then hit him with an upward slash; assuming, that is, that players have already unlocked this skill for Lieutenant Stone. Richter will be vulnerable for a few seconds after being knocked out of his healing state, so players should hit him with a quick combo until he starts blocking and then quickly dodge roll out of the way.
Much like in the first phase, Richther is able to close down distances with relative ease. As such, it's best not to bother trying to create space for oneself and instead focus on dodging and parrying. Players will need to keep an eye out for handgun counter opportunities though, as Richter has an attack that sees him grab and then disembowel Hannah, which will result in an instant game over. The window for countering this is ridiculously small, so those with slow reaction times will be better off rolling backward whenever Richter goes on the offensive rather than trying to stand their ground.
Annoyingly, Richter seems to use this OHKO attack a lot more frequently when his health bar is almost empty, which will likely lead to more than a few frustrating game-overs for a lot of players. Eventually, though, players should get a feel for when he's going to use it, at which point, it becomes a case of evading his attacks and jumping on the short windows between them to chip away at his health. Once the bar is empty, there'll be a few more cutscenes, after which, this bizarre fever dream of a game will finally come to an end.
Wanted: Dead is available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One, and PC.