The Ascent

While the bulk of this mission "Empowerment" is pretty straightforward the MEGARACHNOID boss at the end of the mission can be pretty tough to beat.

The TA walkthrough gives some good advice regarding tactics as well as the use of energy weapons, fire resistant armour and recommend augs (deployable bot), however I still found the boss hard to beat as I barely seemed to do much damage before I died. Thankfully I had another weapon in my arsenal that proved very useful - the RPG23 launcher.

According to the wiki this weapon becomes available as a drop from FullChromes and Nug Gadgeteers (the little guys that set up mortars and healing pods) once you complete the previous mission Trading Places. If you're following the walkthrough for Empowerment it suggests picking up a side quest from the High Street level before proceeding with the main mission. Do this, and make sure you walk there via Pod Lot and Archology: Warrens and you should encounter several groups of manageable enemies on the way and with luck you'll run into a few of the enemies mentioned above (most likely the Nugs) and with some luck one of them will drop the RPG23.

Personally I did a bit more exploring of Pod Lot as I noticed there were some chests on the map that I hadn't picked up earlier in the game, and the weapon dropped for me after a fight on my way to get them. The RPG23 fires homing missiles and seems like a stronger alternative to the launcher that the mech boss from the last mission drops.

UPDATE 03/2024 - It seems the RPG23 Launcher can now also be purchased from Weapon Vendors. Vendor inventories update after each main mission and the RPG23 will become available for purchase for 18000 credits after completing Trading Places. That means you should be able to buy one when you start Empowerment instead of needing to rely on it appearing as random enemy loot, unless you wish to save your credits or don't have enough.

Once you've picked it up progress with the main mission through the Deep Stink to the boss, equip your flame resistant armour and deploy the bot aug to create a distraction as per the walkthrough, then unload on the boss from a distance with the RPG23, and as long as you're aiming in the general direction of it the missiles will home in and hit the boss, taking him down in good time. Just watch out for the little spiders it sends after you and keep as much distance between you as can and you should be good. I generally positioned myself so the boss was barely visible at the edge of the screen then quickly dodged away when it got closer and hit it when I was safely out of range. Hope this helps.

Accept that you're going to be cursing a lot. Remove anything from the room that you might be able to throw at your television screen in frustration. Progress through the level to the Megarachnoid boss. Consider making a deal with a crossroads demon which exchanges your eternal soul for victory in this battle. Fail repeatedly. Curl up in the fetal position and cry for several hours. Fail repeatedly again. Curse the devs (I'm partial to a pox on their houses). Fail repeatedly again. Read Stevo6483's guide for this achievement. Rediscover what hope feels like. Follow his instructions. Potentially fail a few more times but with a renewed determination and belief success is possible. Win.