This Blog will explain how to take on Time Eater. I'll explain all his moves, how to hit him, and some of the lesser known tricks to this fight.
How to Damage Time Eater
First of all, to take out Time Eater, you have to hit is Orb 3 times. To do this, you have to Boost into the core. Easier said than done. You only have to hold down Boost, you don't have to mash it like some people think. You have to be somewhat centered on Time Eater to reach him. You have to be in Modern Sonic dimension to hit Time Eater (to my knowledge).
When you get close to Time Eater, he'll do a crush move. Avoid it by going up to the height of the head, and then after the move quickly descend while still Boosting and ram into the core. For some reason, it's possible to bypass the crush move sometimes. It's rare, but I did it twice in this fight. Don't rely on it.
Time Eater Attacks
This game does not really make it clear, but there is a heavy reliance on the ability to switch Sonics. What most people don't realize is that the only way Time Eater will generally be able to hit you is if you're in the same "dimension" as him, as I'll refer to it. There is both a Modern and Classic dimension. Time Eater will constantly go back and forth between them. If he does moves in the Classic dimension, then you can't get hit by them int he Modern dimension, and vice versa. Use this to dodge all the moves, or at least most. The downside is switching often makes it harder to get close enough to the Time Eater fast when he's int he Modern dimension to hit his orb.
Your friends will try to tell you what to do constantly. While sometimes they may be wrong with "switch now" and such, you should listen to them because they tell you when the Time Eater will attack, and what attack he'll do. It's extremely helpful when dodging the Laser.
*PHASE 1*
Homing Attack
Description: The Time Eater sends out multiple yellow homing bullets at once that track you.
How to Dodge: Move around slowly in a circle to avoid it easily. Just moving at all will dodge it, but make sure on Hard Mode that you don't trap yourself with the extra bullets. Switching Sonics should also avoid this.
Notes: If you switch Sonics to avoid the move, keep in mind you only need to switch if the Time Eater does the move in your same dimension, otherwise the move will be really easy to avoid anyway.
This is the Time Eater's most used attack. On Hard Mode, you'll see this a lot.
Warping Arm Attack
Description: The Time Eater sends an arm through a warp to hit you.
How to Dodge: This ones a little tricky to dodge. You'll want to fly as far away from the arms potential path as possible. It usually does a swiping motion, so if it's all the way at the top, it'll probably reach down. If you don't think you'll avoid it, switch Sonics and the move will not ever hit you.
Notes: As noted with Homing Attack, if you switch Sonics to avoid the move, make sure you switch into the dimension that the Warping Arm is not in, or you may switch right into it!
Crush
Description: The Time Eater uses a Crush move when you get too close to him.
How to Dodge: Simply hover above him near the head level to avoid this. Then immediately go back down while in Boost to hit the Orb.
Notes: He uses this always when you approach him close enough. Rare occasions it'll glitch and you'll just go into the Orb. This may be due to him not doing the Crush move if he's in the middle of one of his other moves, so if you're too close already you may just glitch into the Orb anyway. (At least I think it's a glitch).
*PHASE 2*
Laser
Description: The Time Eater charges and releases a laser on you.
How to Dodge: A lot of people have trouble dodging this, but it's really easy if you use the same idea from the moves above. Switch Sonics to avoid it! It's that simple. I don't think it's possible to dodge if you stay in the same dimension as it.
Notes: Time Eater will only use this move in the last phase. This move comes out fast, so you'll have to listen to your friends warn you or watch him charge up. It also makes it hard to Boost at him when you have to switch to avoid the laser when he uses it in Modern Sonic's dimension.
Slow
Description: Time Eater slows time on all his surrounds except for himself.
How to Dodge: This move appears to do nothing but freak you out. The move ends after a certain amount of time. I've never been damaged by it. Even though Time Eater is unaffected by it, he just spams Homing Attacks that probably won't hit you before the move ends.
Notes: This move tends to be followed up with the Laser, so beware!
Explosion
Description: This is his desperation attack he uses on the very last part of Phase 2. He charges up a giant energy ball to send towards you.
How to Dodge: Simply hold L1 + R1 at the same time, as a friend will tell you to do.
Notes: Do not let go of L1 + R1 too soon, or you'll get hit. It's best if you just wait until the cutscene starts.
How To Survive
Since the Time Eater does not damage you when you get hit, you're probably wondering how you can die. As usual, being Super Sonic consumes your ring usage. When you hit 000 rings, you die. Many people have trouble gathering rings in this fight, but it's actually rather easy if you know the layout.
To stay alive, at the very beginning of the fight, use Boost immediately on the rings. If you don't know, Boosting past rings makes them follow you until you get them. So every time you find a row of rings, Boost past them and you'll pick up more than if you didn't.
Whenever you hit the Time Eater's Orb, he'll drop a ton of rings, so Boost right after again to pick up as many as you can. However, before warping into the next part, let go of Boost so you can align yourself with the incoming rings and THEN Boost through them as straight as possible to get as many rings as possible.
In Classic Sonic's dimension, it's really easy to pick up rings as they're really easy to pick up in a 2D view. So switch sometimes to that dimension to get more rings.
Using these tips will help you stay alive in this fight long enough, because sometimes, especially on Hard Mode, you may have trouble reaching Time Eater.
Summary & Tips
- Always be in Boost except when you want to align yourself to pick up rings.
- If you use X, you can send the Sonic you're not using to destroy nearby Debris. It's almost useless, but worth noting. Also be aware that you cannot switch Sonics while using this move.
- Remember that Boosting past rings makes them follow you.
- Try to stay centered on Time Eater in Modern Sonic dimension to get to him faster.
- The laser move can only be avoided by switching Sonics.
Catch Touch This Trophy
To get this trophy, you have to beat Time Eater without getting hit. This is very vague and it's hard to know when the Time Eater actually hits you or if it's just debris, as debris does NOT count as a hit.
Really to get this trophy just make use of Sonic switching to avoid all hits. You CAN get this trophy on Hard Mode instead of Normal Mode, but I only did it for video purposes, don't do it if you're sane.
