In Warframe: The New War, the Jackal presents the first real boss fight during your story-based quest. It’ll be a familiar enemy to anyone who’s made it this far. These days the Jackal is a sort of “puzzle boss” fight that new Warframe players encounter very early in their careers. Though it functions a little different. The Jackal is meant to introduce Tenno to the “Parazon” finisher — something not available to a mere mortal like Veso. As a Corpus grunt, Veso fights the Jackal with a different set of tools and has a different sort of puzzle to decipher. Having trouble with it? That’s what this guide is here for! Let’s look at how to beat the Jackal as Veso in The New War quest.
First off: Know your tools. Veso requires most of them to complete his mission. This includes the Breacher Moa, the Shield Osprey, and your Plinx (the pistol Veso uses as his one and only direct weapon). The Striker Moa is less vital, but still helpful. The robot companion can keep additional enemies off your back while you focus on that Jackal. This is important because you’re somewhat timed during this battle.
The first step in beating the bigger bot is pretty straightforward. Veso himself explains it in dialogue. You simply aim for the Jackal’s legs with your pistol, damaging one until it breaks completely. This sends the boss into a somewhat familiar attack pattern. It rises into the air, spinning in circles while it sprays the room with deadly laser grids. These are best avoided by standing behind the pillars in each corner of the room.
Notably, the best pillar to stand behind is probably next to the robot dispenser that can generate new Breacher Moas (those self-destructing companions Veso summons). Your Shield Osprey is less fragile and (hopefully) won’t require a respawn during the fight. Each dispenser sports an icon matching the type of robot it spawns. Just check the hologram!
Once you have your Moa and your Osprey, shoot away. The Jackal is vulnerable to direct fire when it’s spinning. This reduces its shields (the blue line under its health bar). When those drop to zero, the beast falls to the floor, stunned. That’s your opportunity to deal real damage. Specifically, you need to direct your Breacher Moa to stand right next to it. Shoot the Breacher Moa to detonate it — just like the debris blockades leading up to this point. If done correctly, you’ll shed one of two yellow health bars from the Jackal!
Just be quick about it; the Jackal is only stunned for so long. If you run out of time, it’ll return to normal attacks, and you’ll have to repeat the whole process over again.
In fact, you need to repeat it anyway. The Jackal has two health bars, requiring to phases of the fight. Though it mostly goes exactly the same both times. The one major difference is the floor. Once the Jackal is missing half its hit points, it will electrify the floor beneath it whenever it’s stunned. This should also be familiar from the hallways leading up to the fight: You need shields.
Tell your Shield Osprey to cover your Breacher Moa at this stage. To do so, just point at the explosive sentry and press the Shield Osprey button (that’s the “2” key if you’re using a keyboard and mouse). This instructs the Shield Osprey to stick to your Breacher Moa. When you do, the self-destructing robot will be free to walk on the electrified floor! Just tell it to stand next to the downed Jackal and trigger its explosion one more time.
That’s all there is to it! If you go the Breacher Moa close enough, the Jackal vs. Veso fight will end. You’ll be free to continue with the story of The New War in Warframe. Best of luck from there!