Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: How To Defeat Whacka

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch has given us two brand new post-game boss fights to sink our teeth into, and both of them are pretty tough.

The second of these new boss fights stems from an amusing character from both Paper Mario on N64 and the original Thousand-Year Door on GameCube — Whacka. In the original N64 game, Whacka was actually planned to be a boss, but was cut before the game was release. Instead this little mole dreams of flying. In TTYD, Mario can hit him with a hammer for a Whacka Bump healing item. This time, he's got fed up of the abuse and is ready to inflict karma on Mario.

In this guide, we'll be telling you how to unlock the secret Whacka boss fight, how to prepare for it, the best badges and party members for it, and how to defeat Whacka in battle.

How to unlock the Whacka boss fight

To challenge Whacka, you need to complete a few steps in order to take on one of the hardest challenges in the game.

First, you need to beat the main story. That means defeating the final boss and rolling credits.

Secondly, you also need to complete the Pit of 100 Trials and defeat Bonetail, who lurks on floor 100. We've got guides on how to do both of those things.

Then, while you're exploring during the post-game, you'll eventually receive an email called RDM Extra Issue, which talks about a "Fabled Creature". This is your cue to tell you that the secret boss is now available.

Where to find Whacka

Whacka is hiding at the very bottom of the Pit of 100 Trials. He's where you fought Bonetail, which means you have to trek all the way back down there.

However, as you should have cleared the Pit at this point, there will be a Mover standing next to the entrance warp pipe. For 300 Coins, he can take you to floor 50. That cuts your journey in half, at least! You'll still have to fight through the remaining 49 floors to reach floor 100, though. So, make sure you're stocked up, pay the money to get to floor 50, and get walking.

When you reach floor 100, walk to the centre of the room and you'll notice Whacka pop his head out of the ground. You can talk to him and tattle him if you want — Goombella says not to hit him. But you should hit him with your hammer. Then he'll challenge you to a fight.

Whacka Boss Fight recommended level, items & badges

Like with the other post-game boss fight, you need to go in prepared in the fight against Whacka. Below, we've got some tips to help with your preparation.

Ideal level

As you need to complete the Pit of 100 Trials before taking Whacka on, we expect you'll be around level 30 by the time you get the email about Whacka. We took Whacka on at level 33, but any level in the high 20s or low 30s will be ideal.

Best healing items

As with all of the hardest fights in TTYD, you'll want the best healing items. The best of these is the Life Shroom. Whacka can deal extremely high damage that will almost definitely knock Mario out if you can't superguard through his attacks — the Life Shroom will be your lifeline, so buy as many of them as you can fit in your bag. They cost 40 coins at the Twilight Town shop.

Other good healing items include Jammin' Jelly for Flower Point healing; you can buy these in Rogueport Sewers for 200 coins. Ironically, Whacka Bumps are also fantastic, as they heal for 25 HP and FP. You get these from hitting the Whacka on Keelhaul Key, by the docks.

Zess T. is also a good resource — giving her an Ultra Mushroom and Jammin' Jelly will get you the best Hp and FP-healing item in the game. For other recipes, check out our full recipe guide.

Best badges

TTYD's superbosses require you to put out big damage fast, so you want to pump as many attack-boosting badges on Mario as you can.

You can equip multiple Power Plus badges on Mario to help boost his damage. Jumpman is great because, at the cost of locking out Mario's hammer skills, it boosts his jump attacks — and because these hit multiple times, they're the ideal method of dolling out high damage.

Any badges that help reduce damage or increase evasion are a great idea, as well, given that Whacka can take out Mario in two hits. We had a mixture of Damage Dodge, Depend Plus, Last Stand, and Close Call, but there are other badges you can obtain to help. Lucky Day in particular is a great one. Have a look at our list of badges to see what they do and where to find them all.

Finally, if you want to be reckless, don't forget about the Power Rush badge. While not as important here as it is against Mush, you can utilise it to turn Mario into a high-damage, high-dodging powerhouse. Combine it with Chet Rippo, the magician in Rogueport Sewers who can redistribute stats, and you can make Mario permanently have 5 HP, which triggers Power Rush.

How to beat Whacka

Whacka is a much simpler foe than Prince Mush, but that doesn't mean he's easier. He hits just as hard and fast, and he can heal for a pretty large amount of health. Bring Goombella for both Tattle and Rally Wink.

Tattling Whacka reveals that every hit he takes, he'll produce a Whacka Bump — either yellow or red. Yellow can be eaten to heal Whacka for 25 HP or thrown at Mario or his partner for high damage. The red bumps do even more damage than the yellow. Whacka can occasionally burrow underground and cause the stage to scatter, which will cause props to fall from the ceiling.

You can superguard the Whacka Bumps to prevent yourself from taking damage. Whacka can throw multiple of these at a time, so if you get hit by two or more, you'll likely be using a Life Shroom. Try to time those superguards properly.

Otherwise, this fight is relatively straightforward — focus on buffing Mario, either with Power Lift, Power Shakes, or Charge, and then use Goombella to give Mario an extra turn. Then use Spring Jump or Power Bounce to deal a lot of damage. The Whacka will get multiple Whacka Bumps to use against you, but if you have Life Shrooms or are good at guarding, you'll be fine.

That's essentially it for the fight. Keep your FP up, keep attacking, and you'll eventually take him down.

What do you get for defeating Whacka?

Other than some decent experience and 100 coins, you'll get a Gold Whacka Bump — not edible, sadly, but it's proof of your victory over this cute little menace.

For more hints, tips, and guides, check out our full Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door guide.