The Area of Annihilation achievement in Tears of Metal sounds a lot more intimidating than it actually is. If you’re struggling to get 75 or more enemies with a single attack, the trick isn’t really about finding a particular map or fighting a difficult boss.
Instead, you want to set up a situation where a huge group of weaker enemies is following you, then use the right attack at the right moment.
The easiest method uses Ruadh and his Iron Maiden weapon, so you’ll need to unlock both before attempting this.
Once you’ve got them, this achievement becomes much more manageable.
Tears of Metal Area of Annihilation Achievement Guide – 75+ Kill
Before starting, make sure you have:
- Ruadh unlocked
- Iron Maiden weapon unlocked
To unlock Iron Maiden, play through the campaign as Ruadh.
At some point during the campaign, you’ll encounter the Iron Maiden quest. Complete it to unlock the weapon.
Once Ruadh and Iron Maiden are available, you’re ready to set up the achievement attempt.
Start a Campaign Without an Ally
For the easiest setup, start a campaign with:
Ruadh + Iron Maiden
Don’t bring an ally or companion with you.
This is important because you want the weaker enemies to stay grouped together and follow you instead of getting wiped out by another character before you can perform the attack.
You don’t need a special map either.
Any Act 1-1 map works for this method.
So don’t waste time searching for a particular layout.
Let the Enemy Waves Build Up
Once the run begins, your goal isn’t to kill everything immediately.
In fact, you want to do the opposite.
Kill only the captains from the first and second waves.
Leave the weaker enemies—the fodder—alive.
The reason is simple: you want those smaller enemies to keep stacking up behind you.
If you start clearing them out too early, you won’t have enough enemies available for the achievement.
Get the Enemies Behind You
When the third wave begins, start positioning yourself so the fodder enemies gather behind you.
Let them follow you rather than turning around and attacking immediately.
You’re essentially creating one big group of enemies.
The larger and tighter the group becomes, the easier it is to get the required number with the attack.
You don’t need to count them individually. Just keep letting the group build until you have a substantial crowd following you.
The Four-Swing Trick
This is the important part.
With the enemies grouped behind you, use Ruadh’s hammer attack by right-clicking.
Swing the hammer three times while facing away from the enemy group.
Then, on the fourth swing, turn around toward the enemies and smash into the group.
The sequence is:
Swing → Swing → Swing → Turn Around → Fourth Swing
That fourth attack is the one you’re setting up to hit the massive group of fodder enemies.
How to Get 75+ Enemies With One Attack
The achievement requires you to kill 75 or more enemies in a single attack.
The trick is therefore to avoid wasting the fodder enemies before the final swing.
Your setup should look roughly like this:
First wave: Kill the captain, leave fodder alive.
Second wave: Kill the captain, continue leaving fodder alive.
Third wave: Let the fodder follow and gather behind you.
First 3 hammer swings: Keep facing away from the group.
Fourth swing: Turn around and hit the entire group.
If you’ve gathered enough enemies, the attack should wipe out 75 or more at once and unlock Area of Annihilation.
Why This Method Works
The achievement isn’t asking you to kill 75 enemies quickly.
It wants 75 enemies from one attack.
That’s why simply fighting normally usually doesn’t work.
You need to deliberately preserve the weaker enemies from the first two waves and use the third wave to build an even larger group.
Ruadh’s Iron Maiden gives you the attack you need to turn that giant crowd into one very satisfying hit.
This is one of those Tears of Metal achievements where trying to force it during normal gameplay can make it seem much harder than it really is.
Once you stop thinking about killing enemies and start thinking about saving enemies for one massive hit, the whole thing becomes much easier.
The most important part is patience. Don’t accidentally clear the fodder before you’ve built up the group you need.
Get Ruadh, bring Iron Maiden, leave the little enemies alive, let them pile up behind you, and then make that fourth swing count.