How to beat Marni's Excavatron in Crimson Desert
Summary
How to defeat the Stolen Quarry boss in Crimson Desert and complete the first House Roberts faction quest.
The Crimson Desert Marni's Excavatron boss at Karin Quarry is no cute robot; this drilling mech will go medieval on you as soon as you step into its arena. Luckily, there's a secret way to stun it, plus a handy "cheese" method to avoid melee combat altogether. This stolen quarry shall be liberated in no time.
You will encounter Marni's Excavatron, aka the "Stolen Quarry" boss, during the House Roberts faction quest, as part of the "Stolen Quarry" sub quest. This quest becomes available in the early game, once you've spoken with Leon Roberts at Bluemont Manor in the town of Hernand. Here's how to prepare for this boss battle and how to defeat Marni's Excavatron in Crimson Desert.
How to prepare for Marni's Excavatron in Crimson Desert
Since you can battle Marni's Excavatron very early in Crimson Desert, even before you've defeated the Reed Devil boss, there's a high risk of diving into this challenge unprepared. This boss is very tough, so be sure to bring plenty of HP-restoring foods. About 20 grilled pieces of meat, which equals 2,800 HP, should suffice, though it can't hurt to bring more. Remember, buying ingredients for cooking is cheaper than buying full meals at a shop.
Don't forget to bring palmar pills, which may revive you at 30% HP. Three or four palmar pills are probably enough. To make more, get the palmar pill recipe from the Shadow's Whisper Cave (north of Hernand Castle) and craft them at a cauldron with 15 medicinal herbs (lavender, peony, marigold, etc.) and two water.
Graphic: Ford James/Polygon Images: Pearl Abyss via Polygon
As for weapons and armor, be sure to grab some from the Hernand Contribution Shop if you've gathered enough reputation points. Another option is to buy one or two pieces of the canta plate armor set at the equipment shop near Hernand Castle (you must have defeated Knight Matthias to unlock this). To further strengthen your gear, refine it at the smithy with a bit of iron and copper (see location below).
Graphic: Marloes Valentina Stella/Polygon | Source image: Pearl Abyss via Polygon
You don't have to bring a specific type of weapon, but a sword and shield would be a safe choice (especially the Sword of the Lord dropped by Hornsplitter). A two-handed weapon or dual weapons are also fine, since you don't need to rely heavily on blocking anyway. On top of that, you might want to bring a bow and arrows; ranged combat is an almost fail-proof way to defeat Marni's Excavatron if you're struggling with melee combat. At Marksmanship level 1, you'd need at least 200 arrows to kill the boss with ranged attacks alone, though.
Be sure to upgrade your stamina to at least level 4, as this will ensure you can outrun Marni's Excavatron's most dangerous attack. You can use any attack against Marni's Excavatron as long as it's fast, so feel free to level a skill like the Forward Slash, too. The most important skill, though you do not need to level it, is Force Palm, as it'll help you stun Marni's Excavatron (more on that below). As an alternative to Force Palm, you can use Blinding Flash.
How to beat Marni's Excavatron in Crimson Desert
Graphic: Marloes Valentina Stella/Polygon | Source images: Pearl Abyss via Polygon
Marni's Excavatron is located at Karin Quarry, northeast of Hernand Castle. There's an abyss nexus just south of this spot. A brief cutscene will play as you enter the boss' arena; be ready to dodge sideways when it ends to avoid damage.
Marni's Excavatron's standard attacks are short-range melee drilling attacks. Usually, he'll move toward you, push his drills into the ground near your foot, and deal damage if you're standing too close. If you dodge upon his approach and wait for him to finish the attack, you'll have a great opportunity to land one or two quick hits. Other variants of his standard drilling attacks are when he aims both drills forward to perform a quick dash, or when he pushes them into the ground for a straight charge.
On the left, you can see the Marni's Excavatron getting ready to dig underground. On the right, the boss is stunned by Blinding Flash.
Image: Pearl Abyss via Polygon
Watch out for Marni's Excavatron's underground attack; as soon as he aims both drills downward, trying to dig himself into the ground, you can hit him with a special attack to interrupt and stun him. Either Force Palm or Blinding Flash should work, though you'd have to be quite close. If you're too late, don't panic; although Marni's Excavatron will charge at you while he's underground (look out for the moving molehill), you can simply back away until the attack ends.
Image: Pearl Abyss via Polygon
More dangerous, however, are the triple jump attacks. You'll see a red flash, the screen will go dark, and Marni's Excavatron will dive underground again. Beware that he'll charge much faster this time and will pop up a total of three times before ending the attack. It doesn't seem possible to interrupt this special attack, so as soon as he initiates it, recharge your stamina, and be ready to sprint away as shown in the picture below. If you keep sprinting, the attack can't hurt you.
Image: Pearl Abyss via Polygon
If you're still struggling with the Crimson Desert Marni's Excavatron boss, try to defeat him with bow and arrow. As mentioned earlier, you would need a lot of arrows, but it's arguably easier than fighting within melee range, as you can avoid most damage simply by keeping your distance. This is the best way to "cheese" Marni's Excavatron boss that we've found.
Although it looks tempting, refrain from climbing the walls and throwing explosives at Marni's Excavatron, as doing so triggers a powerful attack that might kill you. Even if you do manage to hit Marni's Excavatron with an explosive, it doesn't deal amazing damage — yet somehow, arrows penetrate the plate armor just fine.
Once you've defeated the Crimson Desert "Stolen Quarry" boss, you'll be rewarded with the gold vein map and mining knuckledrill.
Just starting out in Crimson Desert? We have guides to help you learn the basics and refresh your memory on how some of its systems work. The world of Pywel is huge, so you might have a hard time deciding where to go first, but you can make your journey a little easier with the help of our interactive map. Along the way, make sure to learn a few life skills like fishing, logging, cooking, and mining, all of which can help you make money.
We also have walkthroughs for puzzles in the Abyss like the Root's End and Precipice of Truth, as well as ancient ruins like the Dragon's Stone Chamber.