Nothing Is Worse Than the "Rat King" in "The Last of Us Part 2"; Here's How to Beat It

I hated fighting the Rat King, and you will too!

In the lead-up to The Last of Us Part II’s release, critics were full of warnings for the game’s existential, soul-crushing dread, and the spiritual toll of its violence. They heralded a game that was scary mostly for how it made you peer into the vengeance-blackened soul of lead character Ellie, and see your own chilling desires reflected.

And, sure, they were right, but they could have flagged that you’ll also encounter a zombie Rat King living in the flooded parking garage of an abandoned hospital, because that’s pretty f***ing terrifying too.

*Extreme mega-mega spoilers for the second half of The Last of Us Part II ahead (though not for the game’s ending).*

The Last of Us Part II, in its game-long effort to put players in the shoes of the perpetrators of violence (to find both empathy and understanding, and make retaliatory violence sting more painfully), changes perspective from Ellie to Abby halfway through. Abby, whom we play as briefly at the game’s start, is responsible for the murder of Joel, which sets his de facto daughter Ellie on a mission of revenge. But we later learn that Joel killed Abby’s dad during his raid on the Fireflies at the conclusion of the first game. (Violence is a cycle, people!)

Following a dramatic, confrontational cliffhanger between Ellie and Abby, we go back in time to play out a series of exhausting adventures from Abby’s POV leading up to their showdown. This includes escaping the cultish Seraphites in the dead of night and climbing the literal heavens to break into a hospital for much-needed supplies.

To further the point that Abby saw some stuff before finding Ellie, at the end of Chapter 7 (AKA "Seattle Day 2") she must explore the bowels of the abandoned hospital on her lonesome. After finally locating the necessary supplies in an ambulance, she’s confronted with a rumbling presence that reveals itself to be a 'Rat King', which is basically a 'bloater' zombie (able to emit poisonous, acidic gas) with a cluster of 'clickers' for a head. It looks, honestly, very deeply upsetting.

It is, up to this point of the game, the most unpleasant encounter you’ll face, and more harrowing than anything the first game offered up. It’s also a fairly difficult adversary: even getting touched by the Rat King (named after the real-life tied-together tangles of rat that live in the sewers and I pray you don’t Google) results in your instant death, usually, via bloody neck-severing. Sadly, this is one puzzle you can't skip.

So, it is very much in your best interest to get this interaction over with as quickly as possible. The good news is you really only need to do two things to defeat the Rat King.

Thing 1: Run away.

From the moment the Rat King busts into the ambo, make a run for it and don’t turn back. Just keep running, jumping over gurneys and squeezing through narrow doors until you reach an open area in which Abby says she’s willing to fight back. If you hit a dead-end, quickly make a turn and keep on running, and a way forward will present itself to you. Should you come across a locked-door during that initial sprint for your life, turn around and go to your right until you find a door with an axe blocking the handles. This is your entry into the open area.

Thing 2: Fight fire with fire.

Don’t bother looking for an exit once you’re in the open area. The only way out is through: you’ll need to kill the Rat King. Shoot him with a few incendiary shotgun shells (which you can craft), or blast him with your flamethrower (which you hopefully picked up while descending the infested building with Lev earlier that day), and keep running. Only occasionally stop to fire back, and then start running again. Eventually, a couple clickers will break off from the Rat King, so be wary of those spreading out and causing you more pain. (This is where Enhanced Listen Mode comes in handy, so you can see them behind walls.) Kill them if you can, ideally with a shiv (which you can also craft), or else they'll be an ongoing hassle.

However, the only thing that’ll end this horror is the death of the Rat King. Just keep in mind that standing your ground and shooting at him endlessly will only result in your head being removed from your person; short bursts are best. Eventually, he will fall.

This isn’t to say that killing the Rat King ends the nightmare of The Last of Us Part II. There’s still plenty of game left to go after this boss battle. But at least you won’t have to look at it anymore.

The Last of Us Part II is now available on PS4.

Header Image: Naughty Dog