How To Beat Glohm Pipegunk

Saving the world is hard work! Naturally, Mario and Luigi deserve a sidequest break from linking up islands and lighthouses during their adventure to re-connect Concordia in Mario & Luigi: Brothership.

10 Best 2D Mario Games, Ranked

Mario is a gaming icon, traversing from 2D to 3D with surprising success. But, which are the best of the 2D Mario games? This list breaks it down.

But taking a break from fighting bosses … just to fight more bosses? That sounds like more work, not a reward!

Yet that’s the challenge presented to you in Brothership’s third and final boss rematch: take down the powered-up Glohm Pipegunk. Oh well, guess the brothers can hit up the resort on Jellyfish Island afterward for a bit of proper R&R.

DualShockers Definitives: 10 Best Switch Free-To-Play Games

Some of the best games available today are completely free. Here are the Nintendo Switch’s best free-to-play games.

Starting The Sidequest

Speaking with Dewey Fightem on Shipshape Island after defeating Glohm Pipegunk in Mario & Luigi Brothership.

Dewey is very impressed if you manage to win.

Like your previous battle against Glohm Sharpcask, you’ll need to visit Dewey Fightem on Shipshape Island to start this sidequest and spawn the boss. He’ll inform you of the new threat Glohm Pipegunk is present in the Brrrning Sea’s Great Lighthouse, and send you off to stop it.

Naturally, unlocking this sidequest requires beating both Glohm Gobblick and Glohm Sharpcask beforehand. You’ll also need to complete the main story quest Two Geniuses, One Engine.

This quest follows immediately after you link up Jellyfish Island. Upon completion, Shipshape Island will become able to teleport to different currents around Concordia.

You’ll also unlock a stack of new sidequests—including the battle against Glohm Pipegunk. As added incentive, Dewey offers you the second-best boots in the game if you win this rematch.

Item	Description	Stats
Pipegunk Boots DX	Deals 30% more damage to enemies suffering from a status effect.	Jump +146, Def +4

Reaching Glohm Pipegunk

Map of where the Brrrning Sea's Great Lighthouse is in Mario & Luigi Brothership.

Glohm Pipegunk lurks down at the bottom of the Brrrning Sea’s Great Lighthouse, in exactly the location of your first fight. After landing, run on up to the dungeon’s entrance, and grab the Green Pipe to warp down to the boss room.

While a Recovery Block is right next to the Green Pipe, the nearest Save Block is a bit to the south. Make sure you jog down and save before triggering the boss fight!

Once you’re ready to battle, head through the door to the north and down the stairs to confront Glohm Pipegunk.

Finding a secret Question Block in the Brrrning Sea's Great Lighthouse basement in Mario & Luigi Brothership.

There’s a Question Block just past Glohm Pipegunk which has a 1-Up DX. The door further east leads to another Question Block which has the Celebrity Wear equipment. I missed these items on my first time through the dungeon since they’re past the boss—now is a great time to snag them!

Shin Megami Tensei 3 Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Super Mario RPG Remake

10 Most Frustrating Mini-Games in JRPGs

JRPG mini-games like Star Ocean’s Bunny Races or Puzzle Boy in Shin Megami Tensei 3 can occasionally be more trouble than they’re worth

Preparing For The Fight

Glohm Pipegunk isn’t just the hardest of Dewey’s boss rematches—he’s arguably one of the most difficult bosses in the game. While he’s not a particularly secretive boss, Glohm Pipegunk can definitely give you a run for your money with a recommended level of 43.

In contrast, Brothership recommends you hit level 44 before fighting the final boss. So yeah, Glohm Pipegunk isn’t a pushover.

As always, make sure you’re stocked up on the goods: 1-Up Mushrooms, Syrups, and Nuts. Don’t be afraid to bust out your best items in this fight—this is what you’ve saved them for, after all!

While I felt the game provided plenty as loot, if you’re running low on Refreshing Herbs you’d better pick some up. Glohm Pipegunk inflicts a variety of status ailments.

In particular, be willing to even use the rare Candies while battling Glohm Pipegunk. Recovering both HP and BP, this item category is the most efficient in the game (but you can’t buy Candies, either).

Battle Plugs

Glohm Pipegunk’s attacks can inflict three different status effects: Burn, Ice, and Glohm. I find Glohm to be the worst—preventing you from using Bros. Attacks or Luigi Logic—but obviously none of them are “good.”

Going into the battle, you’ll definitely want Glohm Guard equipped to prevent this status effect. You’ll get this Battle Plug automatically after your confrontation with Zokket.

Haven’t fought Zokket yet? The Auto Ampberry plug is a good alternative, especially when combined with Boomerang Items to save your limited stockpile of Ampberries.

To prevent the Burn and Ice status effects, equip the Temperature Guard plug. You don’t necessarily need to equip this before the fight. Glohm Pipegunk only inflicts elemental damage once he’s rotated into the fiery or frozen sections of the arena.

Preparing your Battle Plugs for fighting Glohm Pipegunk in Mario & Luigi Brothership.

I used this all-purpose build going into the fight. Swapping Auto Herb for Auto Ampberry, Auto Syrup, or Auto 1-Up is quick and easy.

If you’re trying to conserve how many Battle Plug outlets you’ve allocated to defense, the Auto Herb plug is a decent all-purpose option. It won’t prevent status effects, but using a Refreshing Herb for free on each of the brothers’ turns mitigates their impact. Remember that a Refreshing Herb only has a 50% chance to cure Glohm!

With all the items in use during this fight, the Spirited Items and Deluxe Items plugs are a strong combo. Your Auto plugs will use more impactful items, and in addition you’ll get free buffs!

Your offensive Battle Plugs are pretty straight-forward:

Anti-Glohm Specialist turns your Jump and Hammer attacks into critical hits
Use Fiery Attack and Icy Attack for bonus damage, depending on the boss’s element
And of course, Bros. Boost is great for clobbering Glohm Pipegunk

There’s no shame in swapping your Battle Plugs frequently! It doesn’t cost you a turn, so go ahead and fiddle. I found consistent Battle Plug management very helpful in beating Brothership’s more challenging bosses.

Three games like Paper Mario: South Park's Stick of Truth, Bug Fables, and Beyond Galaxyland.

10 Best Games Like Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Wrapped up with 2024’s remake of The Thousand-Year Door, but hungering for more? Try out one of these Paper Mario-inspired gems!

Battling Glohm Pipegunk

Mario and Luigi confront Glohm Pipegunk for a rematch in Mario & Luigi Brothership.

Glohm Pipegunk follows in his predecessors’ footsteps by just being a faster, nastier version of the original boss. Unlike most of Brothership’s boss fights, this one is difficult to grind out via cautious strategies.

Defensive play is important—keeping both brothers alive enables your best abilities—but Glohm Pipegunk is able to heal, too. When in one of the elemental arenas, the boss can heal about 500 HP during his turn.

Even late in the game, this isn’t a trivial amount of health! Since Luigi Logic appears to trigger based on a boss’s HP threshold, Glohm Pipegunk’s constant healing makes “whittle him down” strategies more difficult than during other boss fights.

Make sure to use efficient high-damage Bros. Attacks like Mario’s Red Shell or Luigi’s Jump Helmet to put down consistent damage. Save as much BP as you can for Glohm Pipegunk’s stun phase.

While stunned, use the Bros. Boost plug with major attacks like Mario’s Clockout Blow or Luigi’s Yoohoo Cannon to chunk away Glohm Pipegunk’s HP.

Luigi Logic

Mario uses Clockout Blow on Glohm Pipegunk in Mario & Luigi Brothership.

I love Clockout Blow—anime as hell, and does a ton of damage too.

During the fight, a shadowy facsimile of Shun (from Zokket’s Extension Squad goons) shows up and uses his remote to change the arena’s element. As in the first fight, Luigi Logic lets you steal the remote and change the arena.

Always change the arena to the opposite of Glohm Pipegunk’s element. Doing so will damage and stun the boss, allowing you to deal critical damage with your Bros. Attacks.

The minigame itself, thankfully, plays out pretty similar to the first fight. You’ll need to mash B more quickly to steal Shun’s remote, but the difficulty increase is pretty mild compared to the fight itself.

Once you’ve melted Glohm Pipegunk down into a puddle of goo, you’ll be rewarded with a Rainbow Medallion (worth a hefty 10,000 Coins!). Don’t forget to swing by Shipshape Island to finish the sidequest and score yourself a new pair of stompin’ shoes!

Mario & Luigi Brothership Featured Large

Mario & Luigi: Brothership Review

Sail the seas of Concordia with Mario, Luigi, and friends old and new in Mario & Luigi: Brothership! A charming if somewhat familiar adventure.

Systems

Franchise: Mario & Luigi
Released: November 7, 2024
Developer(s): Acquire
Publisher(s): Nintendo
ESRB: E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
How Long To Beat: 37 hours
Prequel(s): Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey , Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions , Mario & Luigi: Dream Team , Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
Number of Players: 1
How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs): 60 hours
OpenCritic Rating: Strong
Nintendo Switch Release Date: November 7, 2024