Just when you think you’ve obtained the sixth star piece in Super Mario RPG, those pesky Axem Rangers show up and steal it. This sets in motion a chain of events where you need to make your way to the top of the volcano while chasing them. When you finally reach them, a battle will ensue. One of the more unique bosses the game has to offer, this battle will pit you against six bosses, Red, Pink, Green, Black, Yellow, and finally, The Blade. Each of these rangers has specific attacks, so you will want to take them out in an order such as Pink first. Read on for a full breakdown of all their attacks, weaknesses, and kill order.
Axem Rangers are the last boss of Barrel Volcano.
Best Party for The Axem Rangers¶
| Icon | Member |
|---|---|
 |
Mario |
 |
Mallow |
 |
Peach |
There’s a fair bit of damage in this battle, so Peach is a must, even if it’s purely to cast Group Hug every turn. Mallow is in the party as quite a few of the Axem Rangers are either weak to Ice or Lighting, which Mallow can exploit. Finally, Mario is here because he has to be. Equip the party with equipment that protects them against sleep, and mushroom.
How to Defeat The Axem Rangers¶
Although it’s not the most difficult battle ever, it can be tricky if you’re not prepared. You want to target the rangers in a specific order, due to their specific abilities. The first one you want to take down is Pink as it can use various healing spells such as Mega Recover. Next up is Green. If left alone, it will pelt you with countless area-of-effect magic attacks that won’t deal too much damage, but when you add it up with the other Rangers attacks, it begins to take its toll. Third in the list is Black. This particular ranger can attack twice every turn which adds up, so take it out before it can deal any more damage. Following Black, take out Yellow. Yellow arguably does the most single-target damage out of the group, but fortunately it only attacks once. Finally, take out the leader, Red who may be already defeated by now.
When fighting each ranger, use the weakness tables below to find out what you want to use against them. In general, Mario uses Fireball against Pink, Jump against Yellow, and regular attacks on everything else. With Peach, keep the party’s health above 110 health, and then use Psych Bomb. Finally, for Mallow, cast Snowy on Red and Green, and then cast Shocker on Black, and The Blade. Talking of The Blade, when you defeat all the Axem Rangers, Red will jump on top of The Blade. This machine is 1HP shy of 1,000 HP and will cast the devastating Breaker Beam every two turns. This attack deals approximately 100+ damage to each party member, so make sure you keep your health topped up with Peach’s Group Hug. When you fight this, use Shocker with Mallow, and regular attacks with the rest of the group.
(1 of 2) Use Mallow’s Shocker ability to attack The Blade’s weakness.
Use Mallow’s Shocker ability to attack The Blade’s weakness. (left), When fighting The Blade, make sure you keep your health topped up. As you can see, it hits like a truck! (right)
Pink¶
| HP | Weakness |
|---|---|
| 400 |    |
Black¶
| HP | Weakness |
|---|---|
| 550 |   |
Red¶
| HP | Weakness |
|---|---|
| 800 |  |
Yellow¶
| HP | Weakness |
|---|---|
| 600 |  |
Green¶
| HP | Weakness |
|---|---|
| 450 | |
The Blade¶
| HP | Weakness |
|---|---|
| 999 | |
Axem Rangers Attacks¶
| Attack | Description | Axem Ranger | Blockable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vigor Up! | Increases Physical and Magic Attack Power by 50%. | Red | N/A |
| Lightning Orb | Ranged attack at the target for minor damage. | Red | Yes. The action prompt will appear when the orb gets past halfway between the target and Red. |
| Axe Slash | Attacks the target with a regular slash for minor damage. | Red | Yes. The action prompt will appear just after Red pulls back on the axe. |
| Double Slash | Attacks the target with two slashes for minor damage. | Black | Yes. The action prompt will appear after the first slash. |
| Bomb Throw | Black will throw a bomb at range toward a single target for minor damage. | Black | Yes. The action prompt will appear just as it’s about to drop. |
| Axe Smash | Yellow will leap into the air in front of the target before performing a downward slash for moderate damage. | Yellow | Yes. The action prompt will appear when Yellow raises its axe. |
| Spit | Yellow will let loose fluids from its mouth at a single target for moderate damage. | Yellow | Yes. The action prompt will appear when it’s just about to hit you. |
| Body Slam | Yellow will twirl its axe before charging at a single target for moderate to significant damage. | Yellow | Yes. The action prompt will appear when Yellow is halfway between you and Yellow. |
| Axe Thrust | Leaps over and thrusts the tip of the axe at one target for minor damage. | Green | Yes. The action prompt will appear. |
| Elegy | Plays a melody that lulls a target to sleep. | Green | No. |
| Meteor Blast | An area-of-effect attack that does moderate damage. | Green | No. |
| Solidify | An area-of-effect attack that does moderate damage. | Green | No. |
| Static Electricity | An area-of-effect attack that does minor damage. | Green | No |
| Recover | Heals target for a moderate amount of HP. | Pink | N/A |
| Mega Recover | Heals target for a significant amount of HP. | Pink | N/A |
| Petal Blast | An area-of-effect attack that does moderate damage and inflicts mushroom. | Pink | No. |
| Sleep Bubble | Puts a target to sleep. | Pink | No |
| Breaker Beam | When all Axem Rangers are defeated, Red will jump in “The Blade”. This will perform a group-wide attack that will deal significant damage every two turns. | The Blade | No. |
(1 of 5) Throughout the battle, Red will use Vigor Up which will increase both its physical and magical attack by 50%.
Final Tips¶
You can use area-of-effect attacks such as Thunderbolt, Psych Bomb, and Ultra Jump/Fireball just to name a few against the Rangers, but it’s safer to just take one out at a time. When The Blade gets unleashed, make sure you have at least 120 HP as Break Beam can deal a lot of damage, and may just defeat the group in one attack. Every other turn, it’ll “recharge” before unleashing it again. Finally, equipping Peach with the Lazy Shell (Armor) is a must as this will nullify all status attacks against her (not mortal blow) which is great as she’s the healer, and you’ll need her available at all times.
More Mario Guides¶
Defeating the Axem Rangers will open up 
Bowser’s Keep for you. Here, you can get some of the best weapons before post-game. Check out the links below for more on Bowser’s Keep.
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