EDIT: A March 2012 patch has made this achievement slightly more difficult to obtain. The simplest solution appears to be clearing your cache and using my guide to get this achievement offline. Please read the end of the guide for additional post-patch tips if you'd like to attempt to get it online so you have a date/timestamp.
This is a missable storyline achievement. When you are in the level Broken Stair, you will open a chest and find an item called a Beholder Key. You will then use this key on a blue gate that has an eye in the middle of it. Right then, stop and make a manual save, because you may need to reload the save a few times to get this achievement.
After a cutscene, you will be on the back of a dragon and on a rail sequence for about 7 minutes. You will be told the most important command--that you can hold the Right Trigger, "paint" multiple targets by moving your targeting reticle over them, and then hit multiple targets when you release the Right Trigger.
There are not a lot of enemies in this section, and you may be frustrated with a few runs of only 120-140 kills. Keep in mind you can press Back and look at your kills before, during and after the run to see how close you are to 160.
The trick to this achievement, even on Apocalyptic difficulty, is that anything you paint is still auto-targeted and killed even when it is offscreen. So when the swarm of bats flies towards you in your upper left, just paint them all by holding the right trigger and hovering over them, and then release the trigger once they're offscreen and behind you. Your shots will track them and kill them all.
In my final run, all I did was paint the enemies, and the only time it didn't work was for one swarm of bats that flew from behind me, on my bottom right, across the cavern, and outside to the left; in this one case, my shots were blocked by a stalactite instead of homing in on my targets.
You may be tempted to manually target the enemies, but when I stopped trying to be precise and just painted everything I saw, I got 182 kills in the section.
EDIT 4/22/12: Nikke84 and shus26 both confirm a recent patch has made this achievement difficult to obtain. By clearing your cache and trying this offline, this may be easier. RLG JSpartan117 and Fall of Zebes both got it on their first tries after clearing their caches.
VladimirK recommends using a rapid-fire controller post-patch.
Anthony Ajax states, "I've done about 5 runs now with being able to paint a max of only 5-7 targets at a time before having to release. With this being the case, I've just started to paint as many as I can while charging, release and start again to get the most done within these limits."
74 Comments
184 kills on apocalyptic, finally it isn't that hard ;)
By MortyDice on 15 Apr 2010 18:01
what helps too is to lock and shoot those little green bug enemies. Shoot as many of them as you can, i was near the end (50 short) and i shot the hell out of those little buggers and i got the achievement
By DEMON362 on 26 Apr 2010 14:25
this is extremely very frustrating,im 40 short each time... ive tried like 10x now... roughly the same kill count each time!!! :(
By Themedes on 07 May 2010 22:00
Just to add to Frankie's solution, remember to keep locking on and firing, locking on and firing, as fast as the reticle will allow. If you're too slow releasing the trigger and getting another shot off, you will miss potential kills. Once I picked up the pace, I got the achievement with a few groups of enemies left to spare.
By AbeLogan on 07 Jan 2010 03:27
Good guide, pretty much spot on how I did it as well.
The option for the data/save is a big help, just wished you could do this part again from the Broken Stair to the Twilight chapel again, without having to start a new game if you missed it and forgot to save.
By Onsidic on 10 Jan 2010 11:58
While doiing this on hard, i managed to get myself killed somehow during one attempt, i think the kills that i got before i died still counted so doubled up for the final score, this only made a difference of like 2-3 kills for me cause of where i died, but if this works and someone purporsely kills them selves in the caves they could get alot extra kills!
By Molloy2006 on 10 Jan 2010 23:10
Think you might be on to something Molloy2006, I tried 2 times, failed... then on my third run I made a stupid mistake and died, reloaded the last checkpoint...and when I checked on my kills, they were still there... the achievement popped about 3/4 of the way.. so I still had tons of kills to spare.
By The Sightseer on 14 Jan 2010 22:52
This achievement is a pain in the ass. I play on apocalyptic difficulty and tried maybe 20 times, and I'm always around 30-40 kills short. I'm going to try Molloy's trick... I'll keep you informed.
By Gabwe on 15 Feb 2010 04:36
Well, no, dying dooesn't help, as your kills are reset... Damn achievement. I guess I'll have to restart the game to get this on normal or even easy, those beasts just don't want to die on apocalyptic... :(
By Gabwe on 15 Feb 2010 05:05
Like DriveablePoppy, when I bumped up my sensitivity things got easier, also if you're close to 160, like 10 or so off, reload the quicksave before you exit the final section of the tunnel and maybe you can get a few more your second time through that section. Worked for me.
By GrumpyTurtle on 27 Feb 2010 09:27
Helpful bit of info if like me you missed this on your 1st playthrough and it's your last achievement: It takes roughly an hour from the start of the game (on Easy, no point going higher if you're just after this) skipping all skippable cutscenes to speed-run it to the point where you have the beholder key just prior to the Angelic Beast sequence (remember to SAVE!).
With the Abyssal Armour equipped you can afford to hack and slash it through the Easy level demons without all the caution that extends the Apocalyptic playthrough.
Took me two tries using the above method.
By freedoms stain on 18 May 2010 10:38
Definitely agree with above poster. I missed this one on the first playthrough so I started a new game on Easy with Abyssal Armor and got back to the Angelic Beast sequence fast. Takes about 1 hour to hour and a half depending on how you play. You are pretty much invincible with that armor so it's easy.
In fact if you have trouble getting this on Apocalyptic don't screw around banging your head against the wall, just get everything else on that setting, then restart after you win the game. It's great on Easy since you don't have to worry about taking damage at all and you can focus on all those locust swarms.
By Relz M7 on 10 Aug 2010 04:24
Thanks for the advice on the sensitivity it has helped a little still 10/15 kills short every time..ahh tenth attempt now.
By Lil Miss Cherry on 22 Aug 2010 13:33
Sounds like a very good tip. Will give it a try in a second.
By Effigy on 19 Oct 2010 18:35
you can save a couple of times on this run, and are able to start within the flight with the same kills. One before you meet angels that shoot orbs, one by the start of the tunnel, and one before you meet the dragon.
If you save after these spots, you will be able to load a game from here. Very useful if you can't get your numbers to add up.
And as DriveablePoppy said, calibrate you X and Y sensitivity. It helps alot.
By martinmosh on 21 Oct 2010 19:56
By Tandar1 on 20 May 2011 20:06
16 months after I post this solution, it gets a negative vote. Sometimes I can't stand this site.
By Frankie DrumsNY on 23 May 2011 20:11
Takes a couple of tries to get the pattern that enemies come at you but it's easy once you figure it out.
By Shinwasha on 28 Jun 2011 03:13
It took me 3 hours, and 22 tries. I finally got it at exactly 160 Enemies. My tip is to "paint" all the smaller enemies (Angels, Bats etc) and spam the RT at big enemies (Angels with Guns, Dragons etc)
By General Joury on 17 Mar 2012 18:16
I'm pretty sure this was made harder with a patch, the red/green swarms doesn't die in one hit thus making this solution not as reliable as you can't just paint and let them go off screen. That is on APOCALYPTIC difficulty.
Cleared my cache after 10 failed attempts, then I got it easy on my first try.
Clear your cache by pressing your xbox home button > settings tab > system settings > storage > mark your hard drive and press Y > Clear system cache.
By Nikke84 on 10 Apr 2012 11:03
Very interesting. If I get confirmation from one more person that this is the case, I'll update the solution. Thank you very much!
By Frankie DrumsNY on 10 Apr 2012 13:40
Took me about 7-8 tries. I didn't really have any better kill count going on the run that I got the achievement on. I just did my best to kill every single one of the tiny green bugs, particularly near the end, and it popped.
By XI AlphaMale IX on 22 Apr 2012 13:45
Just got this achievement 4/22/12 I can confirm that the patch has a factor. I was coming up 5-7 kills short until I deleted my cache. I then started the game up and declined the update to play offline. Got it my first try then with 176 kills. All together 4 attempts.
By x 225 quaTTro x on 22 Apr 2012 20:25
Ok, I updated it with your info. Thanks!
By Frankie DrumsNY on 23 Apr 2012 03:43
I hated the idea of clearing my cache, and it took me four goes without it. All about the red and blue mini bats. I'd recommend a save before the tunnel which is where the majority of the kills happen.
By Vr English on 12 Jun 2012 10:31
I would definitely agree with the idea of the patch messing it up.
When going for it I kept seeing folk just say to paint everything yet when I was trying that it wouldn't lock on for me unless I held the cursor over the enemy for a little bit and even then it would be funny about how many I could target sometimes.
Also, a tip to get it ridiculously easily even with the patch, use a rapid fire controller for it.
I tried it with just a cheap Datel Wildfire and ended up getting 192 kills and that included a bit with missed kills when somebody walked in front of the telly. (So make it rapid fire the little red balls rather than charge up.)
As well as that even for without the rapid-fire, bumping the sensitivity right up helped me out.
By VladimirK on 14 Jun 2012 22:35
hell yeah....First Attempt after I cleared my xbox cache and...........achievement unlocked!!!!
By RLG JSpartan117 on 11 Jul 2012 19:38
Same here. Stuck around 130ish kills until I cleared my cache, 175 kills first try. Thanks man!
By Fall of Zebes on 21 Jul 2012 10:18
Rapid fire method worked for me thanks VladimirK
By Watty8883 on 30 Jul 2012 13:02
Okay thanks, yeah. I've done about 5 runs now with being able to paint a max of only 5-7 targets at a time before having to release. With this being the case, I've just started to paint as many as I can while charging, release and start again to get the most done within these limits. Thanks!
By Anthony Ajax on 15 Aug 2012 19:39
To add, I couldn't get it with the patch. So as much as I hate getting achievements with no date on them, I had to clear the cache and do it offline. -_- Why would they make a stupid patch only a few months before the second game came out? Anyway, good solution and thanks Frankie.
By Anthony Ajax on 16 Aug 2012 04:23
Worked like a charm. 186 kills on first try after clearing cache.
By Firedog553 on 22 Aug 2012 02:32
the patch is not that big of a problem, got it online, with patch, no cache cleared with my second try. I had 138 first try, 165 second try. I just painted wild without beging precise over bigger enemy groups and released shots every 2-3 seconds without really paying attention to it. painting everything you see moving is the key.
By s3bb86 on 24 Aug 2012 22:45
Even with sensitivity high and following directions AND with cache deleted I still can only get about 100 kills. NOT EVEN CLOSE. Goddamn bastards at Vigil. Times like this I want to pay for an achievement service.
By ElektroDragon on 08 Sep 2012 23:15
Tried this the another night without clearing cache - had 158 kills on mt best run through.
Went back, cleared cache - had 180+ on Apocalyptic.
Definite thumbs up.
By a Fi1thy Casual on 10 Sep 2012 12:54
3 times with the patch, and kept falling short by 20. First time without the patch and I absolutely smashed it!
By Crimson Ridley on 15 Sep 2012 12:44
Clearing cache doesn't seem to help me, tried numerous times with no success, always ending up with 130-140 kills even on easy. Any suggestions? (I've got a X360 Slim with 4 GB built-in mem and a 250 GB HDD, cleared cache on both, but still.... )
By Mr Mysterious81 on 19 Sep 2012 12:19
Got it on my first try after clearing the cache. Tried 7 times prior to that. Thanks for the tip.
By Nonfaith on 08 Nov 2012 18:08
THANKS..after 3 failed tries. I came here to see if I was missing something. Cleared the cache and got well over 160 my first try. Much obliged!
By Tgreywolf on 09 Nov 2012 15:41
I got exactly 160 kills after about 5 tries POST patch - I should have just cleared the cache and tried it that way. (Two attempts at 159 kills almost earned a controller through the TV).
By xbox4xmas07 on 21 Nov 2012 19:16
I downloaded the game and clearing the cache doesnt work for me... It must have the update built in already. (I even tried deleting the file and re-downloading the game) I did have success with the turbo controller method mention in the comments.
By I Argonaut I on 23 Jan 2013 06:06
I have done it. Yes, really after cache clearing the aim was moving more quickly.Update slows aim!
By xboxgamer20 on 04 Mar 2013 11:21
Cleared Cache and worked like a charm.
By Lotrek on 18 Mar 2013 22:59
Thanks Argonaut. I downloaded the game too and I was not certain how the clear cache work on my game. I'll have to beat this normally..
By Donkamyllo on 27 May 2013 07:35
Before clearing the cache I was always 5 to 10 kills away from the target 160. After clearing the cache I managed to get 175 easily on my first attempt. Thanks for the tip!
By ChungJai on 29 Jun 2013 21:50
I'm going for this on easy and offline with my cache cleared. I've tried probably 10 times. Noticing that even without the patch the reticle will stop targeting enemies after 7ish enemies. Am I missing something? I should just be holding RT, paint the enemies, release RT and repeat right?
By SinReturns03 on 30 Sep 2013 01:15
Honestly, it's been three-and-a-half years since I played this game, so I have no idea. Someone else will have to answer.
By Frankie DrumsNY on 30 Sep 2013 02:31
No achievement still, but some of the guys over on xbox360achievements.org recommend increasing the sensitivity of x and y axis. Seems to make it easier to target.
By SinReturns03 on 30 Sep 2013 03:34
Turbo controller FTW, great suggestion VladimirK!
By spxyu02 on 02 Nov 2013 01:16
5 runs and didn't get, so i cleared my cache, and got it in this minute.
By Tropoebus on 19 Jan 2014 14:30
I couldn't get it either, deleted patch and trounced it on first try. I have a new copy too so I don't think there is a patch on the disc, clearing cache should work always.
By Funky Monkee on 21 Jan 2014 17:04
It's doable with the patch, even on Apocalyptic.
I used all the above tips (minus the turbo-controller) and picked up something else from this video:
http://youtu.be/hcrlyU3nYqQ - namely targeting the trucks on the ground. I was coming up 10-20 kills short every run until I went for them; with them I scored 163 on the second try.
By Hirsute Dave on 29 Jan 2014 02:43
This is BS I cannot get it.Some runs there doesn't even seem to 160 kill-able enemies,my killcount ranges from 120-155.I've been trying for 4 hrs & its doing my head in-making me hate the game
By Assassin Corvo on 24 Feb 2014 21:41
Got it on my fourth try on apocalyptic difficulty without deleting the patch with 168 kills.
By Sagat on 12 Apr 2014 14:01
I can't believe no one mentioned this in 4 1/2 years, but the Angelic Beast is a griffin, not a dragon.
Anyway, this is very easy even on Apocalyptic with the patch. Just paint and fire the swarms as fast as possible. 180+ first try.
By platinumpwnzor on 06 Sep 2014 02:52
i did it the normal way, post patch, without any turbo nonsense. The best tip I have is to shoot for around 90-100 kills right after you kill the dragon mini boss and you see stalactites hanging everywhere that you shoot, I had about 94 kills right there and I just kept retrying if I didn't get it by the time you come up to the end part, I would reload that checkpoint and try again and after like 4 tries I got it and like 6 kills over. Not much room to work with, but definitely possible by retrying like I did from that waypoint and doing it again and again till you get it. Good luck!
By JTYdude99 on 02 Dec 2014 00:55
I was also on apocalyptic difficulty without any new game plus.
By JTYdude99 on 02 Dec 2014 00:56
I could not do this with the downloaded game. The patch may be integral to the download. I deleted the download, went a bought a disc (returning tomorrow) and cleared the cache. Got it on the second try.
By Ivan610 on 15 Apr 2015 23:19
I just did this on the GoD version with little difficulty. Took me 3 tries with each time getting more and more kills. The last one I had almost 200. Keep trying and learn where the enemies come from and you will get this no problem
By wildwest08 on 11 Dec 2015 03:38
Was using "long paints" as that made sense, I only ever played Panser Dragoon Saga (30 lock-ons was normal
), got about 130 kills, so started using shorter ones, can blast the regular angels in a couple of bursts, the knights I'll ignore if there's something else to shoot (they don't want to die on Apoc), seems you can only paint a target once per burst. Short bursts defo seems the way to go (8-10 per burst?), only thing is.. no better than 140 kills after about 6 tries.. then 7th or 8th, with more focus on the little ones got it..
By Mazrael on 23 Feb 2016 03:17
A bit late but thank you. Was about to give up on the darn thing and go to easy to get it but your tips helped me out. Thanks once again
By XenoHorizon on 07 Dec 2016 04:14
I didn't check the solution until after I had the cut scene, and just wanting to point out that saving after the cut scene works as well. The save point gets backed up to just before the cut scene is triggered.
By GodLike499 on 10 Apr 2017 03:53
Only tip i can give after 20+ tries is get at least 40 kills in phase 1 once you get to phase 2 make a save in the cave. For some reason if you save at the start of the cave it reverts you half way into phase 1 so make a few saves... Once in the cave go through it looking for patterns. there are a few sections they sneak in a group of insects in the back ground you dont see unless you look for them. ( this was the deciding factor) after you get the pattern down and find the hidden enemies. you will have no issues. just reload the cave save and pay attention to your score to get a feel if you did better or not.
By D34dBodyMan on 28 May 2017 17:50
D34dBodyMan are you playing the Remastered version or the original?
By Frankie DrumsNY on 28 May 2017 19:55
By D34dBodyMan on 28 May 2017 20:08
One thing that seems to help is to let go of RT twice after locking on to the swarms of small bats. The issue seems to be that if you start charging up again too fast, you'll see that some of the reticles remain on your tagged enemies. So by releasing RT, and then pressing and releasing quickly again, you can guarantee that all the shots go off. Alternately, just don't start charging up quite as fast in between lock-ons.
Aim for the tanker truck near the zombie-like enemies on the ground.
For the big guys that either charge or shoot the three orbs at you, use repeated regular attacks. The charge attacks usually don't work in time. Same goes for the dragon guy over the lava.
By Octobot Super on 11 Dec 2023 17:09
I've gotten 170+ kills during that part and yet it didn't pop sadly. I'll have to try a few times and hope it eventually pops I guess.
By James12183 on 16 Dec 2023 02:59
James12183 did you clear your cache & try it offline?
By Frankie DrumsNY on 18 Dec 2023 14:15
Here's what worked for me (post-update, apocalyptic): The swarms coming towards you, rather than painting I just fired away at them frantically. The un-targeted shots travel faster and even though they're not targeted, they're still more likely to actually kill them before they're off screen. 5-10 lucky kills are better than 0 targeted. YMMV.
By WhyattThrash on 13 May 2014 08:24
How many targets can you paint up to? And you should mention how long to hold the trigger before recharging painting again. The controls are kind of hard for me to get used to so the timing advice would be nice.
By Anthony Ajax on 15 Aug 2012 06:11
When I did it, you could paint unlimited targets and you released the trigger when the targets were offscreen, as detailed in my solution. If that has chenged since the patch, I recommend painting as many targets as you can, then releasing, then painting again.
By Frankie DrumsNY on 15 Aug 2012 13:05
GET IN THERE!! Finally after 4hr20min and countless runs,no rapid-fire controller just perseverance & determination.All I can say is 'stick at it' & good luck.
By Assassin Corvo on 24 Feb 2014 22:05
Just got the achievements after several tries (I think about 20 times) on X1 playing the digital version given with Games with Gold.
It's surely doable and the few things to keep in mind are to memorize when and where the groups of small bats appear and their pattern. I also tried to kill as many "almost outside the screen" enemies as possible in the very first part. The bigger enemies stays longer on screen so you have all the time to kill them. In the end a couple of enemies killed can make the difference. In example, in the first part, after a turn, there is a hole in the mountain where some bats go up. I memorized their position and killed them instead of taking care of the angels in front of me.
The end of my run when I got the achievement counted 167 kills.
By Moliitov on 06 Jul 2017 18:32
just one more thing to add i guess , sort of like demon362 pointed out but just wanted to add that i recommend not moving around at all unless ur fighting the angels who shoot the 3 orange orbs or the 3 headed dragon mid boss it makes it easier to aim. Even on apocolyptic i didnt die without moving .
When i fought the guys who summoned 3 orbs or the really difficult angels with armor and heavy shields i used rapid fire instead and focused on one at a time, it kills them much quicker.
Also dont forget to target the ground at times , there are demons down there sometimes and quite a few gas tankers that blow up , im not sure if there are demons around the tankers or not but it cant hurt.
But the main thing i wanted to add was to NOT focus so much on the angels around you , instead as you go through the level focus on the groups of green bugs and the bats , kill them first dont even worry about the angels until after the are dead , and if finally if you have a group coming from behind you and a group from the front always target the front one first because if they go off screen too much they will not die.
By NINja277 on 18 May 2010 00:01
Frankie DrumsNY
TrueAchievements
), got about 130 kills, so started using shorter ones, can blast the regular angels in a couple of bursts, the knights I'll ignore if there's something else to shoot (they don't want to die on Apoc), seems you can only paint a target once per burst. Short bursts defo seems the way to go (8-10 per burst?), only thing is.. no better than 140 kills after about 6 tries.. then 7th or 8th, with more focus on the little ones got it..
User has been removed
Toxic Buddha
OtakuPaul
ChiSoxSci7
o ROBSTER o
F8L, Fool
held down, while dragging your reticule around the screen. This will create charged attacks that can hit up to five targets. You will want to charge, target, and release as many shots as possible and on as many targets as possible. You do not need to hold down 
stratege.ru
