Suggested order & item checklist
Mavericks are listed here so that each is weak against the weapon obtained in the previous stage. Note that there are two items to find in each stage: one Heart and either a Sub-Tank or an Upgrade.
In order to recover Zero's parts more easily, fight the X-Hunters where suggested here. The later you fight them, the stronger Mega Man X will be. If an X-Hunter moves to an earlier stage you want to enter, enter another stage you already completed and exit from it to reshuffle the X-Hunters locations. Violen is weak against B. Crab's weapon; Serges is weak against O. Ostrich's weapon; Agile is weak against M. Centipede's weapon.
Suggested order
The eight main Mavericks can be defeated in order. The traditional, Normal order used in almost every Mega Man game is to choose the next stage so that its boss is weak against the Special Weapon obtained from the previous boss. Because of the requirements to collect all the items in Mega Man X2, this method requires to re-enter all of the eight stages (except for the last one).
An alternative, faster but harder method is possible; this way, all stages have to be visited just once to collect all items (with just two mandatory exceptions). The drawback is that some boss battles will be more difficult, because the appropriate Special Weapon won't be available yet.
| Normal walkthrough | Speed walkthrough |
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| Criterion: The weapon obtained from each defeated Maverick is the weakness of the subsequent one. Notes:
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Criteria: (1) collect all items and re-enter the minimum possible number of stages (i.e. two); (2) fight all X-Hunters with appropriate weapons. Notes:
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