Once you reach Koboh in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, you’ll be able to go on the hunt for the deadly Rancor. This beast won’t just be wandering around in the open, however, so you’ll need to go underground to find it. There is a quest tied to the Rancor called Missing Prospectors, or you can simply go off and look for him yourself later on.
You’ll need to use all of Cal’s skills you’ve learned so far, such as stances and Force skills, to defeat the Rancor, so here’s where to find him and beat him.
Where to find the Rancor
If you’re playing on Jedi Knight difficult or higher, you’re going to find this fight a bit of a challenge, so it makes sense to carry on with the story and circle back later when you have more powerful skills unlocked. If a challenge doesn’t bother you, then read on.
First things first: head to Koboh and keep progressing through the map until you arrive at the Rambler’s Reach meditation point. Save here, use any outstanding skill points, and recover some health before you begin, unless you’re feeling particularly spicy. The meditation point can be reached before Pyloon’s Saloon. To get there from the Rambler’s Reach meditation, head left up the vines and into the little mineshaft to your left—you have to jump across the gap. You’ll find a prospector nearby who’ll give you a rumour to explore in a nearby mine. Spoiler alert: the Rancor is in that mine, and he won’t be pleased to see you.
The mine in question is called Sodden Grotto and at the very bottom, you’ll find an arena in a pit. There’s a meditation spot nearby, so rest there and tweak what skills you need to, and save the game. Then, once you’re ready, jump down and choose your stance.
Preparing for the fight
As the Rancor can be found fairly early on in the game, if you choose to fight him you’ll want to maximise Cal’s Resilience so that his max health is increased at least once. It also makes sense to have at least three stimpacks to hand so you can heal as this beast can definitely one-shot you if you aren’t careful. Obviously, you can find your lost XP and health glowing nearby after you die, but you’re trying to avoid that.
How to defeat the Rancor
The Rancor is, as you’d probably expect, much larger than you, and is quite slow. Don’t be fooled, though, as it can knock you out in one go. It can swipe with its claws, can slam its fists in a one-two combo, and can stomp you. The stomp AOE is smaller and less damaging from the claws, so you’ll want to mix up parrying claw attacks and keeping your distance.
Annoyingly, it can close the distance between you in one jump, so you’ll need to keep on the move. The Rancor also has a few red unblockable attacks so get ready to dodge and watch out for shockwaves that can knock you down. If the Rancor charges at you and manages to grab you then I hope you enjoy being a delicious treat for a toothy boy.
You can chuck your lightsaber at him though that will take big chunks out of your Force meter, so you’ll need to master dodging and parrying if you want to take him down. Try to bait an unblockable charge and dodge before landing some free hits, as it takes time for him to recover from it. The more hits you get, the quicker your Force meter builds up, letting you throw it a few times more. You can also use the Force to chuck piles of bones at him, which distracts him, letting you run up and slash him a few more times.
Thankfully, a cutscene will trigger before its health is empty, and you’ll get to watch Cal finish him off in style. After the fight is over, you’ll get a skill point, complete the Missing Propsectors rumour and, best of all, retrieve the Shatter Perk, which lets you break an enemy’s block meter much faster.