Culex Secret Boss Location and How to Beat

Culex returns as a secret boss in Super Mario RPG Remake. Learn where to find Culex and a boss strategy guide, including its stats, weaknesses, recommended level to beat, and the best party setup for Culex!

How to Unlock Culex and Location

Unlock Door in Monstro Town with Shiny Stone

Sealed Door Unlock Step-by-Step Guide
Buy Fireworks in Moleville Exchange Fireworks with a Shiny Stone Unlock Door in Monstro Town

Buy Fireworks in Moleville

First purchase Fireworks in Moleville. These can be bought from a mole at the northwest house for 500 coins.

How to Farm Coins

Exchange Fireworks with a Shiny Stone

The purchased Fireworks then must be exchanged with a girl mole next to the house where you bought the Fireworks.

Once you have acquired the Shiny Stone, proceed to Monstro Town.

How to Get and Use Shiny Stone

Unlock Door in Monstro Town

In Monstro Town, proceed to the sealed door next to the weapon shop. Going near it with the Shiny Stone will unlock the door.

Once inside, you will have a conversation with Culex. He will ask if you want to take up his challenge. Accept by selecting Yes.

Should you need more preparation, you can choose to decline and return with better equipment and better party at any time.

How to Open the Door in Monstro Town

Culex Weaknesses and Recommended Level

Overview

Culex

Culex
Recommended Level		HP
22		4096
Attacks
Shredder, Meteor Blast, Flame Stone, Dark Star
Weaknesses and Resistances = Weak / = OK / = Resist
Jump	Fire	Lightning	Ice
Fear	Poison	Sleep	Mute

Crystal Enemies

Rewards

Culex Rewards
Coins	EXP	Item Drops
0	732	Quartz Charm
Thought Peek Quote
I feel...a bit out of place.

Best Party for Culex

Recommended Party Setup

Character	Role
Mario	・Primary damage dealer ・Deal damage with normal attacks ・Use Super Jump against the Wind Crystal
Peach	・Serves a recovery role ・Recovers everyone with Group Hug ・If you have time during the second half of the fight, have her use normal attacks
Geno	・Serves a support role. ・Increases Mario's attack power with Geno Boost ・Uses items for HP recovery and boosting attack

Recommended Equipment and Level

Character/Level	Equipment
Mario Level: 20	Weapon: Lazy Shell (Weapon) Armor: Hero Shirt Accessory: Jinx Belt
Geno Level: 20	Weapon: Star Gun Armor: Lazy Shell (Armor) Accessory: Zoom Shoes
Peach Level: 20	Weapon: Frying Pan Armor: Royal Dress Accessory: Royal Dress

Best Equipment for Each Character

Culex Boss Fight Strategy and Attack Patterns

Equip Accessories for Elemental Attacks Prepare at Least 4 Rock Candy Target Culex's Crystals Geno Boost Mario's Normal Attacks Wait for the Enemy's FP to Run Out Watch Out for Culex's Dangerous Moves

Equip Accessories for Elemental Attacks

Accessories	Effect
Safety Ring	・Protects from elemental attacks ・Protects from status abnormalities. ・Protects from instant death
Booster's Charm	・Halves damage taken from elemental attacks ・+7 to all stats except Speed
Jinx Belt	・+27 to both Attack and Defense, and +12 to Speed ・Protects from instant death
Attack Scarf (Mario Exclusive)	・+30 to all stats ・Protects from instant death.

Culex and his crystals have a large arsenal of elemental attacks, so be sure to have equipment that can protect you from them. Also look out for the status ailments they can inflict.

Both the Earth Crystal and Wind Crystal have attacks that cause status ailments. But they should not give you too much trouble if you prioritize defeating them first.

Culex Disables Buffs with Shredder

Culex uses Shredder to regularly remove your whole party's positive status boosts, so keep a look out.

Be warned that this move will also remove the buffs given by the Troopa Medal and the Ghost Medal, so be sure to equip other accessories.

List of All Accessories

Prepare at Least 4 Rock Candy

When fighting Culex, having at least 4 Rock Candy is recommended for dealing lots of damage to all enemies early on. The Rock Candy deals 200 damage, and using this item 4 times guarantees the quick defeat of the Wind Crystal.

Rock Candy can be obtained randomly by feeding mushrooms to the Mushroom Boy in Seaside Town. Although the chances of obtaining it are low, you can keep trying by buying mushrooms next door when you run out.

Rock Candy Effects and How to Get

Target Culex's Crystals

Priority & Name	Weakness	Features
① Wind Crystal (HP: 800)	Jump	・Causes status ailments ・Lowest HP
② Earth Crystal (HP: 3200)	Lightning	・Inflicts fear ・Strong magic attacks ・Various non-elemental attacks
③ Water Crystal (HP: 1800)	Fire	・Strong magic attacks ・Various non-elemental attacks
④ Fire Crystal (HP: 2500)	Ice	・All elemental attacks deal fire

Culex is supported by four crystals, all which use magical attacks matching their element and are generally stronger together than Culex himself. Dealing with the Wind Crystal first is recommended since it has the least HP!

Both the Fire Crystal and Water Crystal deal elemental attacks, so it is advisable to use equipment that gives a party member protection from elemental damage.

Each crystal is an independent enemy, and can be defeated before Culex is dealt with. Target the crystals first, since they deal very strong attacks. If Culex is defeated before the crystals fall, each remaining crystal will shatter one by one on every turn.

Geno Boost Mario's Normal Attacks

Having Mario as your primary attacker in this fight, strengthen his normal attacks regularly by using Geno Boost with Geno.

Culex's Shredder move will remove all positive buffs from your team each time it is used, so keep reapplying Geno Boost to sustain high damage.

Wait for the Enemy's FP to Run Out

If the fight proves to be too difficult, one option is to equip Peach with the Lazy Shell (Armor) and repeatedly use healing moves while waiting for the enemy to run out of FP.

This will take time, but it will allow you to win the fight safely!

Watch Out for Culex's Dangerous Moves

The player will have to watch out for Culex's dangerous single-target attacks such as Flame Stone and Dark Star. For party-wide attacks, look out for Meteor Blast.

Make sure to prepare in case Culex uses Shredder, since that move eliminates all party buffs, as well as reducing the benefits of accessories such as the Troopa Medal.

Culex does not have any other tricks other than having exceptionally strong crystal companions, so having the best equipment, weapons, and high-level party members is the way to go!

Culex and Crystal Attacks

Culex Attacks

Attack	Attack Type/Effect
Dark Star	Blockable?: Yes Additional Effect: N/A
Flame Stone	Blockable?: Yes Additional Effect: N/A
Meteor Blast	Blockable?: No Additional Effect: N/A
Shredder	Blockable?: No Additional Effect: Nullifies Attack Up and Defense Up

Crystal Attacks

Super Mario RPG Remake Related Guides

All Bosses and Secret Bosses

All Bosses

1st Star Piece Bosses
Bowser	Hammer Bros.	Croco (1st Fight)
Claymorton	-	-
2nd Star Piece Bosses
Belome (1st Fight)	Bowyer	-
3rd Star Piece Bosses
Croco (2nd Fight)	Punchinello	-
4th Star Piece Bosses
Booster	Knife Guy and Grate Guy	Bundt and Raspberry
5th Star Piece Bosses
King Calamari	Johnny	-
6th Star Piece Bosses
Speardovich	Belome (2nd Fight)	Megasmilax
Birdo	Dodo	Valentina
Czar Dragon	Zombone	Axem Rangers
7th Star Piece Bosses
Wizakoopa	Boomer	Exor
Count Down and Ding-a-Ling	Cloaker and Domino	Clerk
Manager	Director	Gunyolk and Factory Chief
Smithy (Final Boss)	-	-

Non-Story Bosses

Non-Story Bosses
Jinx	Jagger	Culex

Post-Game Rematch Bosses

Post-Game Rematch Bosses
Mario-Style Jinx	Scratchy-Throat Belome	Leveled-Up Punchinello
Engine 023 Booster	Extra Fancy Bundt & Raspberry	Duel-Ready Johnny
Culex 3D	-	-