Expedition · 1–5 players · boss mechanics
Ferocious Horn Den guide
Ferocious Horn Den has 4 bosses (Watchdog Kwapo, Shining Mau Totem, Necromancer Duanka and Ferocious Horn Nuakum). The game's own guide warns about 6 of their attacks during the Exploration run; the boss cards below quote each warning with the skill, its cast time and what it does. Ferocious Horn Nuakum goes into Frenzy after 5:00 of combat. The walkthrough lists the guide's 21 route steps in order.
Item Level: Exploration 2,100 · Conquest 2,100 · Conquest [Hard] 2,800. Entry, rewards and drops →
Cheat sheet
Each boss with the actions its warnings ask for. The sketches are ours: gold diamond = boss, light dots = players, red = danger, cyan = safe or where to move.
Watchdog Kwapo2 warnings
Shining Mau Totem0 warnings
Necromancer Duanka3 warningsFerocious Horn NuakumFrenzy 5:00 · 4 warnings · 7 notesWhole run
Rules that apply outside the boss fights, as players describe them.
Kill it first attack
1 s cast · 78 s cooldown · 30 m · magicGuide · ExplorationBefore Kwapo starts howling, burst as many lightning orbs as possible, kru!
Boss · Conquest, Conquest [Hard]“Krau T'shz!”
Cast
1.47 s cast · 55 s cooldown · magicBoss · Conquest“Krau T'shz!”
3 more skills with effects but no warning line
- Thunder Cry 1.5 s cast · 1 s cooldown · magic
- Knockdown 0.57 s cast · 21 s cooldown · 20 m · physicalKnockdown: Knockdown Status
- Bleed instant · 1 s cooldown · 13 m · physicalBleed: Deals Bleed Damage for a fixed duration
The game shows no warning line for Shining Mau Totem's attacks.
Cast
1.47 s cast · 55 s cooldown · magicGuide · ExplorationDuanka is absorbing all the summoned Mau, kru!
Guide · ExplorationBefore they are absorbed, collect the soul orbs on the altar and defeat the Mau souls, kru!
Boss · Conquest, Conquest [Hard]“Souls trapped within the alter—awaken!”
Soul Caller
1 s cast · 55 s cooldown · magicGuide · ExplorationHurry up and get away! Don't get hit by a lightning soul!
Boss · Conquest, Conquest [Hard]“Flee the oncoming storm, if you can!”
Stun · debuffIncapacitated
Cast
1.26 s cast · 1 s cooldown · 35 m · physicalBoss · Conquest“Souls trapped within the alter—awaken!”
1 more skill with effects but no warning line
- Mau Necromancy instant · 1 s cooldown · magic
Ferocious Horn Nuakum
“Commence the hunt!”
Hunt Mark
3 s cast · 45 s cooldown · 30 m · physicalGuide · ExplorationVakron does two powerful attacks in a row! Take turns blocking them!The game's line names Vakron, a boss of another dungeon: the client reuses it here.
Boss · Conquest, Conquest [Hard]“Show your willingness to be sacrificed!”
Hunt Mark · debuffTakes more damage from specific attacks by Nuakum.
Block it attack
instant · 20 s cooldown · physicalGuide · ExplorationNuakum has selected his prey! His doppelganger is about to charge, so somebody be sure to block it!
Guide · ExplorationWatch under the feet of the chosen prey, kru! Take the large circles alone, but gather to share the pain of the small ones!
Boss · Conquest, Conquest [Hard]“My dear prey! Will you fight together, or go it alone?”
Cast
3 s cast · 8 s cooldown · 90 m · physicalGuide · ExplorationNuakum is creating Fafnite energy, kru!
Guide · ExplorationDraw Nuakum's attacks towards the Fafnite Energy before it explodes and then detonate it, kru!
Boss · Conquest, Conquest [Hard]“Despair! For you will never halt the Abyss!”
Boss · Conquest [Hard]“Only I have the power to quell the abyss!”
Frenzy (enrage)
Boss · Conquest, Conquest [Hard]“Ever fiercer, ever sharper!”
Frenzy · buff100% Move Speed; 100% Spell Action Speed; 100% Combat Speed; 200% Damage Boost
Players' notes
Blue claws soak, red claws spread
Before he picks a target he stands on a rock and his hands show the answer. Blue means stack, red means spread. The wolf on the statue also shows it. This gives you about 5 s of warning before the circle appears. [1]
Small circle in, big circle out
After the clone attack a circle appears on the marked player. A small circle: go in and stack. A big circle: get out. The arrows inside the circle also point the way. [1]
One player blocks the charge
tankA marked player is chased; another player stands in the charge to take the hit. Anyone can do it, a templar or tank is easiest. It deals a share of max HP, so low-HP dps lose most of their health. [1]
Do not block twice
If you already blocked a phantom wolf, wait until your mark drops before blocking again. Re-blocking pops the mark for heavy damage. Stay away from another blocker so you do not both get a mark. [1]
Blocking has a limit
tankHe repeats it up to three times; some players survive two but die on the third. [1]
Players disagree: Some say a cleric can eat all of them and heal through; others die to a second hit.
Stay near the border and together
Keep close to the arena edge and stay together. Running into corners after you get a blood pool under you leaves nobody able to reach the marked player. [1]
4 more skills with effects but no warning line
- Fear 0.95 s cast · 50 s cooldown · physicalFear: Incapacitated
- Pulled instant · 12 s cooldown · 4 m · physicalPulled: Pulled (1m in front of caster)
- Prey + Ruptured Prey + Knockdown 0.85 s cast · 10 s cooldown · 4 m · physicalPrey: 3 stacks of Bleed becomes Ruptured Prey. · Ruptured Prey: Takes Damage over Time when in Bleed Zone. · Knockdown: Knockdown Status
- Prey + Ruptured Prey 1 s cast · 8 s cooldown · 4 m · physicalPrey: 3 stacks of Bleed becomes Ruptured Prey. · Ruptured Prey: Takes Damage over Time when in Bleed Zone.
Its last words: “I lost... But how?”
Ferocious Horn Den walkthrough
The guide's lines in the Exploration run, in the game's own order (NpcTalk rows PD_FierceHornCave_…_NPC_<n>).
How it's counted
Bosses are listed above in the order this route first names them.
- 1
Avoiding the Mau is another strategy, kru.
- 2
Bind with the Kibelisk before going farther, kru.
- 3
The Wooden Barricade needs to be destroyed. Try using the bomb, kru!
- 4
It's Kwapo, Watchdog of the Ferocious Horn Village. Defeat it, kru!
- 5
Well done. Now go farther inside.
- 6
Break down this stone wall and a path will appear.
- 7
Time to jump into the abyss! Glide and land safely on the ground, kru!
- 8
Bind with the Kibelisk and then go inside, kru.
- 9
You'll find the Ferocious Horn's Den at the end of this path.
- 10
Totem Shamans will be waiting ahead. Go carefully.
- 11
Totem Shamans and Duduka, kru! Eliminate them quickly using the bombs!
- 12
Destroy the Sealed Mau Totem, kru!
- 13
It's a memorial to the Mau who perished in the Abyss.
- 14
We will soon run into Duanka, a necromancer who guides the souls of the Mau, kru.
- 15
That's Duanka, kru!
- 16
Well done, kru! Ride the Updraft and escape to the surface!
- 17
There are steep drops in some places. Move carefully not to fall.
- 18
Good job, kru! Before we go to Nuakum, bind with the Kibelisk!
- 19
This is an Odyle Energy Cube!
- 20
Now's the time! Glide, kru!
- 21
Strike at Nuakum's doppelganger, not his prey! Watch under the prey's feet, and gather or scatter accordingly!
The guide's briefing (7 lines)
Daeva, you're here! Now you even venture into the Abyss. You're becoming an experienced expedition member, kru!
This is the Abyss, and also a Mau den.
It's impressive they managed to survive in such a harsh environment. Is it skill or sheer stubbornness?
This Mau tribe call themselves the Ferocious Horn, kru. They seem different from ordinary Mau though.
The ominous scent of Fafnite is overwhelming. It's probably by its power that they can survive even in the Abyss, kru.
I didn't frighten you, did I? All right. Time to get going, kru.
Trust in me this time as well. I'm relying on you, kru!
How this page is made
Game files (client 2026.10.21 (Steam build 26077854, 2026-10-21)): the lines the game shows when a boss casts or uses a skill, gets a buff, starts or dies (NpcBehaviorCase → NpcTalk: “Guide” = the Shugo guide's hint in the Exploration run, “Boss” = the boss's own shout), the skill's name, cast time, cooldown and range (Skill), the buffs and debuffs it applies with the game's text (SkillEffect → SkillAbnormal), the Frenzy timer (NpcData.BossBerserkInvokeTime) and the stagger. Many boss skills are only called “Attack” in the files; those cards are named by their effect or by the action they ask for. HP thresholds are not in the client.
The action label on each card is our reading of the guide's line, by its words: the first that matches of “Big alone, small together”, “Stagger it”, “Stop attacking”, “Break free”, “Climb up”, “Jump”, “Take cover”, “Block it”, “Lure the boss”, “Colours”, “Kill it first”, “Stack up”, “Spread out”, “Find the gap”, “Get in”, “Move out”, “Burn it down”. The line itself is the game's.
Players' notes are written by us from these posts (dashed cards, numbers as players report them):
- PSA: For those of you trying Ferocious Horn Den — r/Aion2 · u/Intrepid_Swimming202 · 2026-10-17 · 124 upvotes · 67 comments
- The dungeons and transcendence dungeons are easy if you do the mechanics — r/Aion2 · u/Bwite · 2026-10-20 · 61 comments
- I made a practice Transcendence T2 lobby — r/Aion2 · u/WinRaRtrailInfinity · 2026-10-22 · 53 upvotes · 26 comments
- Read on 2026-10-22.
Ferocious Horn Den guide FAQ
How do you beat Watchdog Kwapo in Ferocious Horn Den?
The game's guide says: “Before Kwapo starts howling, burst as many lightning orbs as possible”
How do you beat Necromancer Duanka in Ferocious Horn Den?
The game's guide says: “Duanka is absorbing all the summoned Mau” “Hurry up and get away! Don't get hit by a lightning soul!” Named skills: Soul Caller (1 s cast).
How do you beat Ferocious Horn Nuakum in Ferocious Horn Den?
The game's guide says: “Vakron does two powerful attacks in a row! Take turns blocking them!” “Nuakum has selected his prey! His doppelganger is about to charge, so somebody be sure to block it!” “Nuakum is creating Fafnite energy” Frenzy after 5:00 (Conquest, Conquest [Hard]). Players add: Blue claws soak, red claws spread — Before he picks a target he stands on a rock and his hands show the answer. Blue means stack, red means spread. The wolf on the statue also shows it. This gives you about 5 s of warning before the circle appears. Small circle in, big circle out — After the clone attack a circle appears on the marked player. A small circle: go in and stack. A big circle: get out. The arrows inside the circle also point the way.
Is there an enrage timer in Ferocious Horn Den?
Yes: Ferocious Horn Nuakum goes into Frenzy after 5:00 (Conquest, Conquest [Hard]). Frenzy raises its speed and damage (the buff's text in the game files).
What is the route through Ferocious Horn Den?
The guide gives 21 steps; it sends you to Watchdog Kwapo, Shining Mau Totem, Necromancer Duanka and Ferocious Horn Nuakum in that order. On the way it keeps reminding you to bind with each Kibelisk you pass.
All dungeon guides · Ferocious Horn Den: entry, rewards and drops