How to Defeat All Enemy Types in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Solving

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In Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, you’ll encounter many enemies, both familiar and new, like the Dartwings and the disturbing Grievers. But as with earlier titles, enemies are more than just obstacles—they play a key role in shaping the game world.

They also function as puzzles. Since the Metroid Prime series isn’t solely focused on shooting, defeating enemies isn’t all about style; it’s about finding the most effective ways to take them down. With a wide variety of enemies and equipment available to Samus, there are many different strategies to succeed.

How Many Enemy Types Are There?

Every area in the game features its own unique enemies, such as Fury Green’s Bristlewort or Flare Pool’s Leaping Spitters. Some enemies are shared across multiple regions, like the Maintenance Tanks and Grievers. The Grievers, for example, have regional and elemental variations that look slightly different but behave similarly.

Some enemies act more like stage hazards than real threats, encouraging players to be cautious and observant rather than rushing through rooms to attack electrified enemies. Because of this, we’ve excluded these hazards from our count and focused only on enemies with distinct tactics. In total, there are 20 different enemy types. If you include all regional and elemental variants, the number increases significantly.

Note: Bosses are not included in this list, as they require their own detailed strategies.

How to Defeat Every Type of Enemy

Like past Metroid Prime games, enemy encounters are tense battles mixed with mini puzzles. Each major enemy has a unique way to be defeated. Here are some tips for handling the main foes:

Unless otherwise noted, all regional and elemental enemy variants are considered the same as their standard versions.

Enemy	How to Defeat Them
Griever	These are the common enemies you’ll see. They’re quick and hard to hit, so sometimes aiming freely helps land shots better than lock-on.
Mauler Griever	Found in the Great Mines. They spit acid and, in explosive variants, rush and detonate, summoning more Grievers. Freeze and destroy the explosive ones to stop explosions.
Ghaspore	Summon homing spores that can be shot down normally. Hit open spores with fire, or use missiles for destruction.
Goura Ghaspore	Found in the Great Mines. They summon unbreakable homing spores. To defeat them, shoot the spores back into the Goura Ghaspore to make both explode.
Shren	Small flying enemies that attack in swarms. Destroy their nests using missiles or Thunder Shots. Nests also spawn new Shren before burning out.
Bristlewort	Usually passive; they only attack when provoked by firing missiles at their back. Use missiles to hit their vulnerable spots.
Snow Wolf	Seen once upon entering Ice Belt. Quickly defeat with Fire Shots.
Dartwing	Hang from ceilings in groups; dart at Samus. Hit them with the Beam Cannon in just a couple of shots by locking on and firing rapidly.
Leaping Spitter	Found near Flare Pool’s lava. Freeze them or eliminate with Vi-O-La’s homing attack.
Pyremite	Also in Flare Pool, they rush in groups and try to explode. Freeze with Ice Shots and defeat to prevent detonation.
Behemoth	A one-time enemy at Flare Pool. Only damage by shooting its eyes.
Maintenance Tank	Common throughout the game. Lock onto their heads and aim slightly upward for extra damage—use Charged Shots.
Lamorn Turret	Weighs less; take out with a single Charged Shot. Stronger ones might need two. Use Thunder Shots to stun then finish with Psychic Lasso.
Psy-bot Soldier	Found mostly in Volt Forge. Use Thunder Shots for extra damage, or Ice Shots to make flying enemies fall and take big hits.
Psy-bot Shield	Dodge behind them while they charge. Once you have Psychic Lasso, pull the shield off.
Psy-bot Shocker	Slower enemies that unleash shockwaves constantly. Jump and attack with your best moves.
Psy-bot Teleporter	Teleports frequently and shoots powerful X attacks. Track with your radar, freeze with Ice Shots, and deal damage while they’re frozen.
Psy-bot Gunner	Summons orbs aiding their attacks. Take out the orbs first to slow them down, then go all out on the Gunner.
Aeronaut	Found in Sol Valley. They fly and drop damaging bombs. Use homing attacks with Vi-O-La to shoot them down, then slide to finish them off.
Marauder	Rollers that chase Samus across Sol Valley, often in groups. After being hit, you might outrun them, or use a sliding boost to defeat them quickly.

Some enemies in the game don’t have attack patterns or pose much of a threat, so no specialized tactics are needed. These are mostly passive foes that don’t require complex strategies to defeat.