Search the factory is a mission in Size Matters taking place in the Mechanoid Factory on Kalidon. After obtaining the Shrink Ray and Grindboots from the Skyboarder, Ratchet and Clank traveled to the Mechanoid Factory in search of Luna, attempting to rescue her.
Defeating Mungo in the PlayStation 4 and 5 versions unlocks the silver trophy Space Monkey Fever.
Walkthrough[]
Leading towards the factory entrance is a short road with some Robotic Control Units across it, as as a few guard torsos in front of it. Approach the Grind Lock and enter it using the Shrink Ray and Grindboots acquired from the skyboard race. This leads to a short grind rail challenge in which obstacles must be avoided, and some switches must be hit to open paths forward. After the Grind Lock is opened, enter the factory and proceed forward. Both the red robots and inactive guard torsos on display can be broken for bolts. A few security drones will also attack; these floating robots rely on their searchlight, and fire a high-speed laser when triggered. The Lacerator is effective against these. Further inside, destroy the two guard torsos that appear and proceed forward.
After reaching a Gadgetron vendor, stepping forward will lead onto an elevator going down a shaft, presenting a top-down view. Waves of guard torsos and security drones appear, which can be difficult to handle due to the camera angle, the lack of space, and the lack of strafing (which is disabled). All weapons except the Acid Bomb Glove are viable here. Some bombs are also thrown down, which must be avoided before more enemies will appear. The elevator will eventually fall, requiring Ratchet to jump to safety. Activate the console, and a floating platform will appear leading to a series of platforms back up. Jump around them until eventually reaching the top, where the Wildfire boots are obtained. Equipping the full set now allows Ratchet's OmniWrench to light enemies on fire upon hitting them, making the attacks deal damage over time. Full armor sets like these also grant an additional damage reduction bonus.
Past this, head forward and defeat the guard torsos in the next room. Due to the compact space, the [Acid Bomb Glove is very useful here. Once they are defeated, head down to the next room with a bolt crank to create more Hypershot targets and floating platforms. These will need to be crossed very quickly, as the platforms fall after a few moments. A path then leads into another chamber with more robots in a compact space. A great number of enemies appear here, meaning a mix of weapons should be used, though once again the Acid Bomb Glove and Concussion Gun are great at taking advantage of the small space.
Use the Grind Lock at the end of the room to proceed to a chamber with a few guard torsos. Defeat them, and the next room requires the Gravity Boots to navigate around a large chamber. Follow the path forward, left, and right up to a crossroads, then the path to proceed forward is right, right, and then left into the exit. This will lead to a conveyor belt room where several worker bots will hit the blocks, though the Concussion Gun can be used to destroy them beforehand. Finally, this will lead to another Gadgetron vendor to restock on ammo, and you can likely also purchase the Agents of Doom if you have not yet. Proceeding forward will lead to the boss, Mungo.
Mungo[]
Mungo boss fight.
Mungo begins the battle with attacks that consist of leaps forward followed by melee swings. In this stage, strafing to stay a distance from Mungo and firing the Lacerator is effective, though using the Scorcher at closer range can very rapidly drain his health. Throwing down Agents of Doom is a simple strategy requiring no effort, and easy to abuse due to the free ammo crates.
After losing approximately a third of his health, Mungo will then leap over to the clusters of security drones on either side, grab them, and toss them at Ratchet. Side jumping while strafing is important here; continue to aim at Mungo while firing the Lacerator, and jump left or right to avoid the tossed robots just before they hit. You can also toss several bombs with the Acid Bomb Glove while he is standing still to make use of the damage over time effect. Mungo will periodically swing over to the other side of the arena to grab more drones, during which he is vulnerable if Ratchet keeps a distance.
Upon losing another third of his health, Mungo enters the final stage where he will grab a pipe, leap to Ratchet, and swing it. The pipe gives Mungo's attacks slightly longer range, but otherwise the battle is unaffected; simply strafe and backflip to avoid it, and use the Scorcher or Lacerator to finish the battle quickly.
After defeating Mungo, a bridge opens up to complete the mission. Along the bridge is the Sludge Mk. 9 body armor. At this stage, there is no benefit to equipping this until at least three pieces of the Sludge Mk. 9 body armor are owned, as before this, it will provide less damage reduction than simply equipping a full Wildfire armor set. Reach the end of the bridge to begin a cutscene, completing the mission. The next one, "Survive Robot War III", takes place on Metalis.