Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

The Nintendo Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door saw many new changes to the classic game, including the addition of some powerful new boss fights. One such boss is the bright and cheerful Whacka.

Players are able to whack this endangered creature with a hammer on Keelhaul Key to get a Whacka Bump that restores 25 HP and 25 FP, making it well worth the visit. This one-sided exchange has been around since the very first Paper Mario game. This time around, however, Whacka finally has the chance to get their revenge.

A thoughtful Mario in front of his house from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

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By Devin Friend

How to Unlock Whacka Boss Battle in TTYD

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Whacka Tattle on Keelhaul Key

The first step in unlocking Whacka's boss fight in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is to whack them enough times for them to leave Keelhaul Key. Players can hit Whacka up to 8 times throughout their playthrough before they lose access to the free restoration items.

Image of Mario before battling Bonetail in Paper Mario TTYD

The next step is for Mario to navigate the Pit of 100 Trials and defeat the powerful Bonetail. Although this step can be completed at any time, the fight itself can be brutal, and it's recommended that players wait until they've progressed significantly in the game's story.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - RDM Extra Issue, Whacka Spotted

That said, the final step in unlocking Whacka is to beat the final boss and finish the game, giving players plenty of time to complete the previous tasks. Once all three criteria have been met, players will need to wait for an email from RDM. This special Extra Issue describes a mysterious creature that has appeared at the bottom of the Pit of 100 Trials.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Pit of 100 Trials Empty Floor 100

Since they have completed the Pit once before, players can pay 300 coins at the entrance to the Pit to skip down to Floor 50 to make the subsequent journey more quickly. However, if players venture to the final floor of the Pit before receiving the RDM Extra Issue, they'll be greeted by only an empty room and pipe back up to the surface.

How to Beat Whacka in TTYD

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Whacka Boss Battle

When players finally reach the bottom of the Pit of 100 Trials, they'll find Whacka in the middle of the room and will need to hit them with the hammer to start the battle.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Whacka Tattle Log

Although they look cute, Whacka is one of the toughest fights Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has to offer. Players should come well-equipped with healing items and their strongest combat badges.

Each time Whacka takes damage, a Whacka Bump will pop off and land on the stage; that is, each time a damage number appears, so too does a Whacka Bump. Whacka is able to use these bumps to heal themself and deal massive damage to the party. There are two kinds of bumps that Whacka can produce: the standard Whacka Bump that heals 25 HP and deals 10 damage when thrown, and the powerful Red Whacka Bump that heals 75 HP and deals a whopping 27 damage.

Whacka can use as many bumps on their turn as they like, so keeping the number low is vital to players' success. Thrown bumps will come at varying intervals, so players will need to stay focused on the timing. If Whacka has a large stockpile of bumps, moves like Vivian's Shadow Veil or a Boo Sheet can be used to dodge the thrown bumps.

Multi-hit attacks will generate several bumps at once, so the goal is for players to deal as much damage as they can in a single blow. Badges such as Power Jump or Power Smash can be used in conjunction with stat boosts to deal massive chunks of damage. Furthermore, Goombella's Rally Wink will allow Mario to take a second turn to deal even more damage.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Golden Whacka Bump

When Whacka is finally defeated, they will disappear, leaving behind a Gold Whacka Bump to commemorate the player's triumph. Similar to the other powerful endgame boss, this fight can be repeated if players return to Floor 100. Each subsequent time Whacka is defeated, they'll drop a standard Whacka Bump as a reward.

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