Lost Ark features extensive endgame content, including legion raids. These are PVE battles where teams of four players will join together to face off with the Demon Legion Commanders. One of these is the Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid, which requires one team of four, while the other legion raids need two teams of four.
There are three gates the team will have to make their way through in this raid, each with its own rewards. While this raid can be a challenge, it is not impossible. This guide will explain the best way to tackle the three gates in the Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid in Lost Ark​​​​​.
Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid: Gate One
To enter Gate One, the players must be at a minimum item level of 1475 for the Normal setting and 1385 for Practice. While any party composition will work, a great combination is two ranged DPS, one melee DPS, and one support. Players will also want to bring HP Potion, Whirlwind Bomb, and Panacea.
When players first enter, they will be marked by a suit of cards, hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs, which will be an essential part of Kakul-Saydon's mechanics. Additionally, each player will be marked with a madness gauge central to the battle.
Overview Of The Main Player Mechanics
When the madness meter is filled on any player, they turn into clowns. Each of these transformations allots Kakul-Saydon one stack of 3% defense buffs. It triggers a cross-laser at the 50% mark that will fill up their teammates' madness meters if they are struck by it. Additionally, at 100%, the player's skills are swapped out for three different abilities that will assist their teammates:
- Q: Puts debuffs on the boss
- W: Reduces nearby teammates' madness gauges
- E: Drops a gift box containing an orb that will reduce the madness gauge for one teammate
Sidereals are available for the team but must be activated by the leader, and timing is essential. These skills are the following:
- Ninevah: The most useful of the three sidereals, as it deals the most damage to the boss.
- Wei: This sidereal is exceptionally useful for dealing stagger while also dealing a good bit of damage.
- Innana: The team can use this sidereal to create a magic shield that provides immunity to stagger and knockbacks. It will also partially absorb damage while reducing the madness gauge. Upon disappearing, it will restore the HP of all players inside.
Kakul-Saydon's Main Mechanics
Kakul-Saydon has some very frustrating mechanics to deal with. These are the main mechanics related to his HP, plus one significant one that is random but can result in an immediate wipe if mishandled.
Players will need to pay attention to these mechanics to ensure they come out victorious:
- Reverse Stagger (x130HP and x65HP): A pentagram will be summoned, spawning a shield that will block all incoming attacks. Players must use high stagger to avoid hitting the purple shield in any particular direction. Failure of this mechanic results in a complete wipe.
- Find the Real Kakul-Saydon (x110HP and x25HP): Clowns will pop up in four directions (1, 4, 7, and 11 o'clock). Players need to identify the real one to prevent death. He'll do hearts or gun animations, and the players should all ping hearts. If they see one ping, that's the direction to look. If there are three pings, they need to look where there was no ping.
- Simon Says (x85HP): Each player will be turned into a clown and need to move to the spot matching their card. With four skills now applied to them, they will need to imitate Kakul-Saydon. If he turns his back, they need to do anything other than the action he is doing. One mistake will cost a large chunk of HP.
- Roulette (x45HP): Players must match their cards with the correct roulette spot three times. Each roll will change their card sign. Following the third roll, the wheel explodes, so they must run quickly to escape.
- Dice: One or three players will become imprisoned in this mechanic. Kakul-Saydon will then throw cards at one of the players. Choosing the wrong card will inflict damage and fill the madness gauge. Three failures result in a team wipe. The first card matches the targeted player, and the second is the same color but opposite symbol. The third card will be a random symbol of the other color, and the fourth card will be the remaining symbol.
Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid: Gate Two
Similar to Gate One, Gate Two applies the madness gauge mechanic again with the same risks at 50% and 100%. Additionally, players will have access to sidereals but will want to focus on using Ninevah and Innana. Ninevah is beneficial when the boss is performing a long animation. Innana can help players get through the pizza mechanic that occurs at x55HP.
Ideal combat items to bring on this raid include the following:
- HP Potion
- Dark Bomb
- Sacred Charm
- Panacea
Kakul-Saydon's Main Mechanics
Kakul-Saydon changes all his HP-related mechanics for this raid phase, so players must be on their toes. Despite this, players may find this Gate the easiest of the three.
The mechanics they will need to watch out for include the following:
- Giant Kakul-Saydon Appears (x125HP): Kakul-Saydon will jump up, summoning bombs that will significantly damage party members if hit. They will need to dodge these attacks. A giant Kakul-Saydon will appear with several mechanics that must be navigated to prevent significant damage, including getting knocked off the map.
- Curtain of Madness (x110HP): Players must turn away from Kakul-Saydon as he emits red flashes of light to avoid getting Fear. Then they will need to split off with two going to each side of the arena. Those on the side with two blue bubbles must take one bubble a piece. Those on the side with two red bubbles must choose one red bubble, and both get inside it.
- Card Flip (x95HP and x30HP): Kakul-Saydon will disappear and spawn seven cards on the floor. Players must find the Joker. During this time, one of the party members will be marked and targeted with Kakul-Saydon's hammer. They must remain on top of one of the cards, dodging at the final second to avoid dying. Start with the second card from the right, then the second from the left, as this will allow players to view the cards surrounding them. They'll need to ping the Joker when they find it.
- Maze (x75HP): The team will be transported to a maze with a puppet in the middle. The player who destroys the puppet becomes the eye for the remaining players, who will receive a symbol over their heads. They must kill at least three card soldiers of the same symbol and reach the designated position.
- Pizza (x55HP): Kakul-Saydon will enter the center of the arena, spawning two stars. These stars will rotate in a specific direction, indicating which direction the players must move for the following pizza mechanic.
Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid: Gate Three
As one of the most challenging raids yet in Lost Ark, Gate Three requires some work to get through. There is still the mechanic of the madness gauge; however, the players must manage it, so they strategically fill it up as needed for different phases of Kakul-Saydon's mechanics.
The best combat items to bring along include the following:
- HP Potions
- Whirlwind Bombs
- Marching Flag
- Panacea
Kakul-Saydon's Main Mechanics
As with Gate Two, the HP mechanics change again, so they'll need to be prepared to deal with a new battle strategy. The main mechanic of this Gate is the Mario mini-game. With this, players must turn into a clown by filling their madness gauge to complete the mini-game; however, it is an instant wipe if any player tries to complete two mini-games.
The mechanics players must work around are the following:
- Mario Mini-Game 1 (x155HP): The first player on deck will transform into a clown and jump into the portal to enter a 2D world. On the outside, one of the remaining players will be cursed with a clown of a specific color. They will need to notify the player in the game of the color, as they will need to destroy three balls of the same color to end the curse. Additionally, one player will be trapped in an iron maiden, with the other two responsible for freeing them. They must stagger Kakul-Saydon to accomplish this.
- Mario Mini-Game 2 (x125HP): Similar to the first but more challenging.
- Showtime (x90HP): Kakul-Saydon receives a significant buff to his defense during this mechanic. Players should all group up at the bottom of the map to rotate clockwise. Two will be targeted, and bombs will fall. The team will need to rotate clockwise continuously until the second attack. They should move toward the boss, summoning Innana. They'll need to turn his direction toward the large bombs he dropped so that he can destroy them. The team will then need to group back up at the bottom, use a marching flag to run together, and outmaneuver the large yellow targets he summons to follow them.
- Mario Mini-Game 3 (x80HP): Similar to the previous two but more challenging.
- Mario Mini-Game 4 (x55HP): Similar to the previous three but harder.
- Bingo (x0HP): When it appears the raid is over, Kakul-Saydon will transport the team to another platform to play bingo. Players will receive three bombs to place on tiles to get a Bingo before Kakul-Saydon begins his elimination mechanics. Each bomb drop flips five tiles, which makes this a challenging round.
Lost Ark is available now on PC.
