Into The Hive bosses

Find the mission that leads to each boss, distinguish boss objectives from nearby bugs, and unlock Velgrund in Granite Caverns.

Boss encounters and mission objectives

Brood Mother and Velgrund, the Undermaw have different encounter types. Brood Mother is a mission boss: Brood Hunt leads to her fight, while Escort the Drill ends with a combined boss-and-nests objective. Velgrund has a separate entry under Boss Encounter in Mission Select.

In Brood Hunt, THE BROOD MOTHER WAKES marks the switch to Kill the Brood Mother, with a boss health bar. Her death triggers THE BROOD MOTHER IS DEAD and changes the objective to Get to the drill pod.

During the escort finale, destroy the required nests and defeat Brood Mother. Completing the nest counter does not complete the boss fight: her separate health bar remains until she is defeated. Look above the drill to track her movement while handling bugs nearby.

Brutes, Shieldbacks and Tunnel Diggers are regular enemies that also join these fights. Clearing them creates room to attack the boss, but their deaths do not replace the boss objective.

Boss directory

Use Encounters to find the mission or menu entry for each boss, and Environments to check its cave locations. Brood Mother's Caustic Sumps encounter is in Brood Hunt; Escort the Drill is available in every layer and on every difficulty.

Unlock Velgrund, the Undermaw

Velgrund requires Rank 10 and uses a fixed difficulty.

1. Reach Rank 10.
2. Open Mission Select from a Pod Bay.
3. Choose Layer 1: Granite Caverns.
4. Find Velgrund, the Undermaw under Boss Encounter and select the encounter.

Defeat Velgrund to satisfy the Layer 1 boss-clear requirement for Layer 2: Basalt Rifts. Layer 2 selection requires both Rank 10 and that boss clear. See cave layers and unlock requirements for later layer conditions.

Brood Mother walkthroughs and boss loadouts

• Brood Hunt walkthrough: Follow the brood's trail, break through blocked passages, fight Brood Mother and reach extraction. Move out of crowded passages and use turret support to keep pressure on her while handling the swarm.
• Escort the Drill walkthrough: Start and defend the drill, clear cavern stops, repair it when downed, and finish the final nests and Brood Mother. Keep attacking her after the nest counter is complete.
• Boss loadouts: Choose weapons, support and armor for boss damage and swarm control. AR-03, PI-01 and Heavy Cannon form an early combination for those two jobs.