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.
X Hunters
After you beat two Mavericks, the three X-Hunters will occupy random stages. You can see which stages they're in on the stage select as the ones they occupy will have a Sigma symbol on the map. In an occupied stage, you can find them in a hidden boss door (these doors will be noted in the walkthroughs).
Defeating them will net you one of three Zero parts which, when all are collected, will change the ending fight. Try and find them as late as possible, as the longer you wait the stronger you'll be. But be careful, because if they run out of stages to occupy you'll lose your chance to fight them. For tips on fighting Violen, Agile, and Serges, check out the Bosses page.
During the final stage, Sigma will summon Zero to fight you. However, if you defeated all three X-hunters in the Maverick stages, the Zero will be a fake. The real Zero will bust in and destroy him, meaning you don't have to fight him. This makes the final battle a lot easier.
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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