Elemental Strategy: Major Ruin

Major Ruin is used primarily for his movement abilities, which you’ll be using at various points throughout the entire game. Although his Cyclone Spin upgrades add some good combative punch to Major Ruin’s arsenal, you’ll likely use other Elemental Warriors for offense, and only use Major Ruin when his movement abilities are needed, or when you need to dispense with Roll Trolls by knocking them around.

His Rush and Rock Hop maneuvers are really all you need— by the time you acquire Major Ruin in the game you will likely already have heavily upgraded Pummel Weed, Rubble, Ash, and Deep Blue, all of whom are generally better in combat than Major Ruin. However, Major Ruin is the only character capable of dealing with the Roll Trolls, whom you’ll encounter throughout the game (even in the final stages), so it’s still a good idea to upgrade Major Ruin and keep him combat-ready. Major Ruin is also required to defeat boss Corallis.

The important thing to remember when using Major Ruin is to keep moving. Often, using shorter Boulder Rush attacks is better than fully charging one, particularly when you’re dealing with large groups of enemies. This is even more true if you are dealing with large groups of Roll Trolls and you must knock them off ledges. Use shorter charges and line up your shots quickly before the Roll Trolls re-emerge from their shells.

Expert Tip: Major Ruin can get places other Elemental Warriors can’t. Always be on the lookout for ledges and other places that look like you should be able to get to, but don’t have an obvious path. In Mountain Falls, for example, a lone Elemental Fruit plant grows on a ledge that is only accessible to Major Ruin.

If Major Ruin has dropped out of his spinning mode (i.e. he is walking), he is very slow and takes a few steps before resuming his speedier ball form. If you are getting swarmed by enemies, this is particularly bad. Use the Rock Hop maneuver instead to instantly roll Major Ruin into his ball, and use Boulder Rush to get away or Cyclone Spin/Hyper Cyclone Spin (if you've upgraded) to start laying some smack down. Major Ruin’s abilities can get him out of harm’s way quickly as long as you don’t let him get surrounded.

Upgrade to Razor Back first for the extra damage potential (not to mention the fact that it’s fun to roll around with a Troll stuck to you), followed by Spirit Up. If you’re going to get Cyclone Spin, go all the way and upgrade to Hyper Cyclone Spin—you’ll want the added control it provides.