The Homo Margo boss fight in Metaphor: ReFantazio might honestly be the most annoying fight in the whole dang game. Not the hardest, but potentially the most frustrating. This is what I would class as a "gimmick fight:" Winning isn’t a test of how strong your party is or whether or not you’ve got the best equipment, it’s more like a puzzle.
Actually trying to figure out how to beat the Homo Margo properly is for nerds ready to plumb the true depths of Metaphor: ReFantazio's battle system. You want me to engage my brain and think? Surely I can just brute force it instead.
Thankfully I did find a relatively easy way to cheese this boss and use its own skills against it. I don’t know if I’d refer to this as an oversight or a bug, but it certainly doesn’t feel like the method the developers intended for you to use here. Nevertheless, this is the best way to beat Metaphor: ReFantazio's Homo Margo, the RPG's biggest pain in the butt.
How to defeat the Homo Margo boss on Virga Island in Metaphor: ReFantazio
This boss is mostly just annoying because of one move: its Reversal Prayer skill. But we can actually take advantage of this gimmick in a very silly yet effective way.
You’ll notice that on your first turn, Homo Margo isn’t resistant or weak to anything. However, on its second turn it will cast Reversal Prayer. From this point onwards it will usually block all physical attacks and almost all elemental skills. Obnoxious!
Take note of the colour of Homo Margo’s aura after it uses Reversal Prayer. This indicates which element it is currently using, allowing you to use the appropriate skills to counter it. Best of luck in advance to any colourblind players out there.
- Green is wind, so use electric
- Yellow is electric, so use wind
- Red is fire, so use ice
- Blue is ice, so use fire
- Purple seemingly blocks everything, so use Almighty attacks
- White blocks all elements other than Almighty, but isn’t resistant to physical attacks
Here's a simple strategy: Attaching the merchant archetype’s Gold Attack ability to all party members. It may crit and earn you some extra turns, but more importantly, it will bypass all of Homo Margo’s resistances regardless of which version of Reversal Prayer it has cast. Also keep in mind that Eupha’s regular attacks will also deal Almighty damage for this fight, so you can always use standard melee attacks with her.
However, there is a sillier, even more effective trick for this fight.
Using this method you will essentially stunlock the boss. Every turn, use something like the Faker’s Tarunda skill to debuff and the commander’s Marakukaja skill to apply a team buff. Any debuff will do, but the buff will have to target your entire party. Just make sure the debuff skills you use on the Homo Margo do not deal damage, because it will block them and cause you to lose turns.
Once you’ve applied the debuff and buff, simply use Gold Attack or whichever elemental skill is currently appropriate on every other turn. You can also use Eupha’s melee attack, but skipping her turn and using Gold Attack is preferable to increase your chances of gaining more turns. Make sure to recast the debuffs and buffs once they’re dispelled.
Gallica will eventually ask you if you want her to distract the Homo Margo once enough turns have passed. This is supposed to help you counter Reversal Prayer and get some damage in, but you can actually just say no if you use this method. Regardless, it won’t matter either way. Keep using Almighty attacks or whichever elemental skill is currently appropriate and Home Margo will go down, with your HP still cozily maxed out.
