How to beat Defense System boss in Sand Land

The Defense System boss in Sand Land is one of the longest fights in the game. Since you cannot easily grind through levels in this Action RPG, you’re forced to fight roughly at the same level as most boss fights. This one is just lengthy, with a lot of HP, and tons of attacks and tricks to deal with. It’s not difficult, but it’s very much a trial of endurance.

Players would be wise to come in with as many repair kits as possible for their vehicles because accidental damage is very much a possibility. The Defense System boss in Sand Land also has turrets it can summon, and it’s not always clear what’s behind you. Here’s how to topple this boss.

Disclaimer: This feature contains minor spoilers for Sand Land.

Tips to defeat the Defense System boss in Sand Land

Phase 1

These lasers start easy enough to avoid (Image via Bandai Namco)

The main boss of the Aquanium Recovery main story quest in Sand Land is the Defense System. A hovering gun platform, it can also summon swarms of mostly harmless drones to help it fight. They die almost immediately from machine gun fire, but they can hurt if you let them stick around long enough, which is why you must defeat them fast.

The Defense System’s primary attack is a slow red pair of laser beams that fire in one direction. Later in the fight, they’ll start to rotate or sway, but the speed is never too fast to dodge. Like in other Sand Land boss fights, such as the Outlaw’s Jump Bot, staying mobile is the key more often than not because of these lasers.

Fighting this boss in the tank is the most efficient way, given its strength and long-range attacks. The weapon of choice will almost certainly be the Primary Weapon - an Armor-Piercing Shell. Another attack this boss is keen to use is activating a series of laser turrets on the ground that fire in specific directions, and rotate.

Staying on the ground is constant damage (Image via Bandai Namco)

These should only take two shots a piece to defeat, and it only summons a few of them at first. Later, more of these will cover the screen with lasers. You will likely have to deal with boss attacks, laser turrets, and drones simultaneously. That’s what makes this boss challenging.

Stay mobile to evade the turrets, taking them down with the Primary Weapon and swapping to the Secondary Weapon to take out drones. Take shots at the Defense System anytime you can - it has a lot of HP.

The second time turrets appear, one is centered, allowing less maneuverability. However, they can still be taken down in the same manner as during the Defense System boss in Sand Land. At this point, the boss lasers will start to sweep in front of each other. Either drive out of the way or swap for the Jump Bot to leap out of the way.

Phase 2

The final phase of the fight offers very little room to move around (Image via Bandai Namco)

At 50% HP, the boss will raise the center platform - as soon as this happens, swap to Jump Bot to climb on it. Otherwise, you’ll start taking damage from the electrified ground. You don’t want that to happen, so hop on quickly, and swap back to your tank.

This decreases your room for maneuverability, and the same attacks will come your way: drones and sweeping lasers. You still have turrets to deal with, but at least this time they will pop up one at a time. This Defense System attack in Sand Land sends a pair of rotating lasers that cover the platform - so move and shoot.

This is also a great time to use Rao’s ability to pilot a tank and have him double up on the damage with you. It’s a powerful ability that shines in these types of boss fights. Once you’ve worn the boss down, you’ll unlock the incredibly useful Hover-bot frame. It will take a bit more time to craft, but it’s worth it.

Sand Land is a vast new RPG based on the original manga by Akira Toriyama. You can learn more about the game itself in our in-depth review.