Wanted: Dead Spider Tank guide | How to defeat the boss
As the first major boss, the Wanted: Dead Spider Tank can be a royal pain in the behind. You’re still getting to grips with the mechanics, and deciding if you want to mainly use the melee sword attacks, but then the Spider Tank comes along and forces you to rethink, and use ranged gun attacks instead. While it’s not the hardest boss in the game (by a long way), it is the first roadblock in the otherwise fun times that is Wanted: Dead.
With our guide, however, you’ll be taking the Wanted: Dead Spider Tank down in record time, and won’t get the game trying to humiliate you into taking the hidden “easy mode” option that can come up.
Wanted: Dead Spider Tank Phase One
Phase one of the fight isn’t actually too bad, but there are some key elements that are optional and not obvious that can actually make the second phase a whole lot easier.
First thing first, avoid the tank entirely. Melee isn’t the order of the day here. Avoid and stick to the outskirts to find the grunt enemies who will be firing grenade launchers at you. You can sprint to them, or dodge roll, but if they flash red they’re about to fire their grenade launchers right in your face. This is your cue to hit the triangle (PlayStation) or Y (Xbox/PC) button to shoot them with your handgun, and interrupt that attack.
Once you’ve killed a grunt, a few seconds later his grenade launcher will be on the floor and you can pick it up. Switch to that weapon, and start firing at the Spider Tank, while avoiding fire.
However, while you can quickly put six shots into it, and essentially end the phase, don’t do that. Put a few into it while moving to another grunt, taking him out the same way, and getting extra ammo, thus negating the need to do so during the far tougher second phase. Then damage the tank some more, and reload your weapon while running up to it as it’s flashing. Hit the button combo for your “finisher” style move, and it’ll enter phase two, only you’ll be fully reloaded, and not have any time wasted. You can even reload right in front of it, as there’s plenty of time before you action the combo.
Phase Two: Mayhem and Explosions
Now you’ve made it angry. The second phase is broadly the same, with grunts around the outside you can use to replenish your grenade launcher if you need to. However, with our guide above, you shouldn’t need any more ammo. The biggest aspect of phase two of the Wanted: Dead Spider Tank boss battle is that it will now pretty much spam the hell out of you with rocket launcher attacks.
You might think that the dodge roll you’ve (almost certainly) unlocked from the skill tree is the right move, but it’s absolutely not the case. Because the game can’t be 100% certain all players have unlocked it, this battle isn’t designed with that in mind. Instead, you need to sprint while keeping the camera on the tank. Sprinting is fast enough to avoid the rocket fire, and eventually you’ll get a chance to shoot it with your grenade launcher.
Repeat this process and be patient. It will spam so much you’ll wonder if you’re ever going to find an opening. It might even launch itself at you, and if so, just get away afterwards and make space to heal up. Repeatedly run away and take one or two shots and it’ll drop. Congratulations, you’re about to see just how madcap some of Wanted: Dead can get.
If you’re still struggling, here’s a video of the fight happening so you can take visual cues:
