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How to Defeat Kraven in Spider-Man 2

Help Spider-Man beat Kraven in his lair.

spider-man 2 a close up shot of kraven crushing peter's skull with his hands.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Insomniac Games.

You've probably been itching to beat Kraven in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 from the moment he's introduced at the beginning of the story. In this boss fight the time has come to finally help Peter bring down this merciless hunter.

As you can expect, fighting this boss is not an easy task - especially as Peter is dealing with a 'parasite' that reacts badly to high pitched noises. Kraven soon figures that out and uses against you, but don't worry, we're here to show you how to defeat Kraven in Spider-Man 2.

On this page:

Tips for fighting Kraven in Spider-Man 2

  • Use Kraven's Axe - At a few points in the fight Kraven will come at you with a huge axe that he'll occasionally drop to the ground. If you see it, use L1 and R1 to pick it up then throw it straight at Kraven. If it hits him it will definitely hurt.
  • Keep Moving - Kraven is remarkably fast and can easily dash behind you without much notice. Keep moving and keep an eye on your surroundings to give yourself the best chance of dodging his attacks.
  • Use Your Symbiote Abilities - While the suit is clearly having a negative effect on Peter's behaviour, the powers it gives him are very useful in this battle. We found that Symbiote Surge in particular really damaged this boss.
  • spider-man 2 symbiote peter using symbiote attack on kraven
    We know the Symbiote isn't good for Peter but it has its uses. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Insomniac Games.
  • Control The Fight - Keep Kraven moving towards you. He'll instinctively target you and follow you to strike, which means you can lead him towards areas that are better suited to your attacks and gadgets.
  • Use Your Gadgets - Gadgets help you to buy time, deal damage and distract your enemy. Use them to give Kraven pause while you plan what to do next.
  • Use The Trees - Use the trees dotted around the battle environment to escape, take a breather and strike back. Be careful though, Kraven sometimes chases into the trees as well.
  • Don't Forget To Heal - Kraven's attacks are powerful and can easily remove large chunks of your health very quickly. As tempting as it is to use finishers on this boss, we recommend prioritising your health first.
spider-man 2 kraven smirking smugly
Oh we're so going to wipe that smirk off your face Kraven! | Image credit: Eurogamer/Insomniac Games.

How to defeat Kraven in Spider-Man 2

The fight between Kraven and Peter in Spider-Man 2 takes place in two different phases. We've broken down the steps for beating Kraven in each phase below.

Phase One

Fighting Kraven involves a lot of dodging and parrying. You need to watch the warning signs that show Kraven is about to attack, then decide if the incoming move is worth parrying or if it's safer to dodge.

Here's a list of the attacks that Kraven uses in phase one of the fight:

  • Axe Swing - On occasion Kraven will have his axe with him and will swing it at you. We didn't parry this. Instead, we dodged it and attacked him from behind to get him to drop the weapon.
  • Punches - Kraven will pull his arm back and then swing it at you. These punches are dangerous, but you can easily parry them. Wait for your Spidey-Sense to go red then hit L1 to parry the attack.
  • Kicks - Kraven will lift his leg and bend his knee to kick it out at you. Again, you can parry these by pressing L1 when your Spidey-Sense turns red.
  • Electric Bombs - As if melee attacks weren't enough, Kraven also has a couple of his own gadgets. The first one to watch out for are his electric bombs. Kraven will throw out two scattered rows of these bombs in front of him and they will flash briefly before exploding into bolts of electricity. As soon as you see these bombs come out, make sure you're somewhere else.
  • spider-man 2 symbiote peter is dodging kraven's electric bombs that are scattered across the ground
    Jump, Swing, Dodge - do whatever you can to get away from them. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Insomniac Games.
  • Flash Grenade - The other gadget to watch out for is Kraven's Flash Grenade. Kraven will use this to briefly daze you and dull your reflexes. If this happens to you, we recommend using L2 and R2 to zip to a higher part of the battlefield to regain your senses.
  • Block and Dive - This isn't really an attack but it's something to watch out for. Kraven will bring his arms to his chest and block his body from your attacks. After doing this for a moment, he will suddenly dash and dive to another part of the battle area. Watch your back, if he gets behind you then you'll be extremely vulnerable.
  • Flying Punch - This is a deadly and powerful attack. When Kraven is preparing for this attack you will see lines appearing around him (similar to the ones that you see with your Spidey-Senses). This is the warning that he's about to unleash a Flying Punch. Get ready to dodge. If he hits you it can easily wipe out your health bar.

To complete the first phase of your fight with Kraven, you need do dodge and parry incoming attacks while using your own Symbiote or Spider-Man abilities to bring his health down to zero. We found that Symbiote Surge in particular really hurts Kraven.

spider-man 2 symbiote peter in defensive stance facing kraven
Kraven really puts up a good fight. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Insomniac Games.

Once you've reduced Kraven's health bar down to zero for the first time it's time to enter the next phase of the boss fight. At this point we recommend doing a manual save; things get a bit harder from here.

Phase Two

Now the fight has moved outside, you have room to dodge incoming attacks. However, Kraven has a few new tricks and the pace of his attacks rapidly increases. He will also reuse some of the attacks from phase one.

Here are the attacks Kraven uses in the second phase of the fight with Peter, and tips on how to avoid them:

  • The Bell - This is quite literally going to be your biggest headache through this fight. Kraven has figured out that certain sounds really hurt Peter (or more accurately his symbiote companion). Throughout the fight Kraven will throw spears at the large courtyard bell to get it to ring and impact your attacks and reflexes. Use R1 to web up the bell each time it rings until you force it to stop.
  • Invisibility - You read that right, Kraven can periodically turn himself invisible and dash around the space. Pay attention to your Spidey-Sense while he's invisible, this will give you enough warning to avoid any incoming attacks. Also, you can occasionally see Kraven's outline as he dashes around.
  • Lightning Axe - Kraven's axe is back again in this phase but this time it has an electrical spark. This attack has the same Spidey-Sense warning signs as the Flying Punch one from before. He will swing his axe around him in a circle before launching himself at you and swinging it down to try to slice you with it. Do not try to parry this attack. Instead, dodge and then attack him from behind to get him to drop the axe.
  • spider-man 2 symbiote peter facing webbed up courtyard bell in kraven's lair
    That bell is your biggest enemy in this section. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Insomniac Games.
  • Spears - This attack has the same Spidey-Sense warning signs as the one above, only this time Kraven doesn't have to be near you to unleash this one. He will somehow have a massive spear and launch it at you in a projectile attack. We recommend simply dodging out of the way of this one.
  • Hunter Bots - You've fought these before so you know what to do, but you still need to watch your back for Kraven's attacks as he will not stop. We recommend focusing on getting these bots out of the way before turning your attention to Kraven.
  • Laser Guided Crossbow - This attack actually works against Kraven. He will tuck himself away in a tree and aim at you using a Crossbow, but the laser gives away where Kraven is. We found it useful to zip to Kraven's tree and use Web Strike to knock him out of it.

Kraven throws a lot at you in this phase and it can become overwhelming. If you find that it's getting too much use your Web to swing around the space to get a moment to think.

Now that you know what his attacks are and how to avoid them, all you have to do now is to repeatedly attack Kraven with everything you have until his health bar reaches zero. Once you've done this, the fight takes an unexpected turn, get ready...

spider-man 2 symbiote peter holding kraven up by his neck with tendrils
Is this too much power? | Image credit: Eurogamer/Insomniac Games.

That's it for now. If you want more help on your web-slinging adventure, check out our walkthrough page. Also, if you're hunting for collectibles, take a look at our Marko's Memories and Photo Ops locations pages.

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