Attempted No Shield run in Biome 1, lost the second chance during Boss fight but not sure why the No Shield trophy didn't pop up... Continued the run from Biome 1 and Second Biome Boss down in Second attempt.. Full OP and melted him under 3 mins..

Pretty much, I was playing first 5 hours like Returnal without understanding this

Finally beat him. The shield is the biggest OP. Once the shield absorbs the bullets, it instantly charges the power weapon.

Finished chapter 8. Story is really picking up now though I don't care about it. Combat is solid and bosses are fantastic. This really is a complete game. I have played 79 hours already and there is so much stuff remaining. More than 50% of map is still unexplored. Landed in some new area from Abyss and there was a huge serpent on a mountain with purple shards stuck in it. Few soldiers were attacking him with shard spears which were sending energy blasts from another mountain. I noped out of there. Dragon unlocks at end of chapter 11. So that is my next target now.

He really gave me nightmares and reminded me of Phrike days where I almost gave up on Returnal... 3rd phase is very very tricky, if you can go with the 2 power lines you can melt him faster...