Sledge

Sledge is a massive brute and the leader of the bandits in the Arid Badlands. He is the primary antagonist for a series of mission which will allow you to gain access to the Dahl Headlands. His death is one of the last tasks you undertake in the Arid Badlands. Leader of a Barove Tribe, Sledge is blunt and uncreative, when he named his iconic weapon he simply called it "Hammer". What he lacks in brainpower he makes up for with brute strength and a high tolerance for pain. His namesake sledgehammer sends painful shock waves that keep the player at a distance and make melee assaults on Sledge futile.

Background
Sledge was a worker in the mines prior to Dahl leaving.

Involvement
Sledge is the leader of the bandits in the Arid Badlands. Sledge has taken over the Headstone Mine and its mining operations, in addition to all the mining operations in the Arid Badlands. He is responsible for the death of Shep Sanders' father. Dr. Zed will send you to talk to Shep who will help you gain access to the locked mine. This will begin a series of missions which ultimately lead to a confrontation with Sledge.

According to the Guardian Angel; "Sledge is a bad man, who has done terrible things to the people of Fyrestone." The Guardian Angel also tells you that Sledge has something you need, which is an Eridian Artifact.

Killing Sledge will net you Sledge's Shotgun. Sledge's Shotgun is of purple rarity, very powerful but probably the most inaccurate gun in the game with an accuracy rating of 0.00.

Related Missions

 * Sledge: Meet Shep
 * Sledge: The Mine Key
 * Sledge: To The Safe House
 * Sledge: Battle For The Badlands

Strategy

 * Sledge has two main attacks; Sledge's Shotgun and Sledge's Hammer. His shotgun has a very poor accuracy but a high damage and wide spread. His Hammer has high direct damage plus it will send out a shock wave when hitting the ground. The shock wave is an area of effect attack that will damage and knock back.


 * Sledge will try to get as close as possible to you through the entire fight.


 * After the fight begins, bandits will spawn from both sides of the room (most of these bandits consist of midget shotgunners and psychos). Try to save one of these bandits in case you start the bleed out process and need to get a second wind.


 * As with all boss fights, have a health kit or two ready.


 * A simple "Run and gun" tactic. It's recommended with all classes that you constantly move and jump to avoid major damage from his hammer's area of effect. The first thing to do is to get his shield down, once this is done you can start nailing into his health.


 * The key to his defeat lies in keeping your distance and blocking his line of sight. After dispatching his bandit minions, he can be easily kited around one of the pillar-like structures in the room. Continuous blasting with a high-powered weapon and then taking cover behind the pillar to recover, makes this boss fight a piece of cake. A healing shield pays off here and a shotgun or rapid-firing automatic weapon is preferable because of the lack of distance between you and Sledge. When the bandits come out, on the left side of the room, there is a sunken area where you can lure Sledge into and shoot him.


 * Berserkers should avoid confronting Sledge with their Berserk melee attacks, although the skill is still quite useful for its' healing properties. If you have a lot of health and shield power however, this can work as an effective finishing move.


 * Another fairly safe, fairly easy, and fairly quick method is to have a shotgun handy. There is a small, caged 'tunnel' on the right side of the starting area (where you open the gate and meet Sledge). Simply lure him either inside of the tunnel or to one of the sides. When he's near, pop out and hit him in the head a couple of times with the shotgun. He will bring out his hammer, as you are now close enough for the melee. Before he strikes down, go back behind cover and reload. Pop out again, shoot, take cover, reload, repeat. He will be dead in less than 30 seconds, if you're careful.
 * MOST IMPORTANT TACTIC: Be a higher level.  Seriously.

Use the Doors

 * A slightly time-consuming but much easier method of killing Sledge is to use the doors at the entrance of his room to your advantage. If you have a sniper rifle or ranged weapons, fire at Sledge from a distance and when he comes closer, quickly open the door and hide back on the walkway. Sledge will walk back to the other side of his room at which point, pop back out and shoot at him from a distance again. Repeat until victory.


 * You can use the doors as an even safer way to defeat him. Just lure him to one of those doors and exit. Open the other door and shoot him, just keep switching from door to door to kill him. He can't hit you most of time.


 * It's possible to lure Sledge out of his arena through the doors but it is tricky. Once out, you can sit at the other end of the hall (near the vending machines) and kill him from there. He won't come after you and won't shoot you, so you can take your time.


 * It is also possible easy to get Sledge's left arm to stick out the right hand door by opening the door and luring him towards it so he hammer-strikes as it closes. Once this is achieved, a high powered incendiary weapon can be used to plug away at his forearm, catching him on fire.
 * An even better strategy, whilst playing with two or more people, is to have one stand outside the door and lure Sledge there. Have the other player stand on the other side of the door when it closes, and have that player constantly revive the player fighting Sledge through the door.

Quotes

 * "You must be bounty hunter! I will punish you!"
 * "Stupid bounty hunter... killed Sledge-"
 * "You stupid! Sledge too smart!"
 * "Sledge have idea! Idea say kill them all!"
 * "The Burning let's you know it's Working!
 * "Kill sledge's men make sledge angry! ARRRG!"