How hard is it to fight Smasher using Melee?

[ShinAkira00]

I know Smasher got an upgrade and I'm about to fight him on a new save, with a Katana build. I might have been able to pull this off before but from what I hear he moves around a lot so I'm wondering if bringing a sword to a gun fight is doable? I have quick hacks because some missions in the game requires ranged attacks so I use quickhacks to supplement any weaknesses but I don't carry any guns. Only weapon in my inventory is Byakko.
So far it's been a fun build that forces me to be creative + health regen, mitigation and armor are where my cyberarms have been focused. I'd like to finish the game with sword in hand.

 

[yabab]

Bullet Deflection and Leap should solve your ranged concerns. But Smasher will adapt to you. He can fight in Melee, Ranged or Hacking. I think Stealth is the only approach that got fucked...

 

[manoj_k30]

Bullet Deflection and Leap should solve your ranged concerns. But Smasher will adapt to you. He can fight in Melee, Ranged or Hacking. I think Stealth is the only approach that got fucked...

Should relic camo and mitigation abilities help in stealth approach

I know Smasher got an upgrade and I'm about to fight him on a new save, with a Katana build. I might have been able to pull this off before but from what I hear he moves around a lot so I'm wondering if bringing a sword to a gun fight is doable? I have quick hacks because some missions in the game requires ranged attacks so I use quickhacks to supplement any weaknesses but I don't carry any guns. Only weapon in my inventory is Byakko.
So far it's been a fun build that forces me to be creative + health regen, mitigation and armor are where my cyberarms have been focused. I'd like to finish the game with sword in hand.

View attachment 11377204

Speed and Stamina management will be key.
Using a sandy is advised with rotors, maybe also projectile launcher for additional damage.

 

[ShinAkira00]

Speed and Stamina management will be key.
Using a sandy is advised with rotors, maybe also projectile launcher for additional damage.

I think the perks I've put into dash and movement speed means I'm fast enough that Sandi wouldn't really be that big an advantage, especially since I'd have to sacrifice quickhacks to use it. I'm assuming Smasher won't be vulnerable to most quickhacks but hopefully I can disable his weapons or cyberware. I do have the relic Camo you mentioned though.

 

[Mr. Newmark]

At launch I had epic mantis blade, only took my seconds, haven't killed him since.

 

[ShinAkira00]

At launch I had epic mantis blade, only took my seconds, haven't killed him since.

I found Mantis Blades to be too slow but if it's doable with them then I guess I should be good with a sword then.

 

[Zem]

I think Stealth is the only approach that got fucked...

There was a stealth approach to Smasher before? I thought all the boss fights pretty much screwed a Stealth-focused build except maybe for the opening shot (e.g. Animal boss).

 

[LeKill3rFou]

There was a stealth approach to Smasher before? I thought all the boss fights pretty much screwed a Stealth-focused build except maybe for the opening shot (e.g. Animal boss).

Yes. It was possible to beat him only with stealth takedown, wearing the "sick clothes" outfit

 

[Zem]

I found Mantis Blades to be too slow but if it's doable with them then I guess I should be good with a sword then.

That post was about launch version of Smasher. He's very different now, as I understand it. But I would hope a melee build still works. He's resistant to everything to some degree but I think he is least resistant to electricity. So I'd go at him with Scalpel and a Sandy that boosts crit chance/damage.

But I haven't gotten to him yet either since 2.1. That's just my plan. Use Falcon or Apogee sandy in an on/off way to counter his own Sandy as much as is possible. But I'm not gonna be full melee build either. Also 20 Cool Handguns with guaranteed DeadEye crits + Kerenzikov if I need to swap between melee+Sandy and headshot+kerenzikov.