Heroes of Arkesia,
The highly anticipated July Update is just around the corner, set to be released on July 12th. Get ready for an exciting patch featuring Inferno Kakul-Saydon, the Elgacia Epilogue quests, the Music Box of Memories, the Maharaka Festival, and various quality-of-life improvements. While the full release notes will be unveiled next week, let’s dive into what you can expect from this update.
Prepare Yourself for Inferno Kakul-Saydon
If you thought the Legion Raids were challenging, get ready for Inferno mode. This mode takes the difficulty to new heights, demanding the best of the best in Arkesia. To participate in Inferno Kakul-Saydon, you’ll need an Item Level of 1475 or higher and a build created in the Book of Coordination.
To help you prepare for this intense raid, we’ve enlisted the expertise of Lost Ark legend, Saintone. He shares invaluable tips and tricks for conquering Inferno Kakul-Saydon and adapting to the new challenges that await you. Saintone also invites all raiders interested in Inferno mode to join the Hell Academy Discord, a community where you can learn more about the fights, class builds, and find fellow raiders.
Inferno Kakul-Saydon Tips and Tricks from Saintone
Hey there! With the Inferno Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid on the horizon, I wanted to share my thoughts on this personal favorite mode in Lost Ark. Inferno Kakul is my recommended starting point for everyone—not just because of its difficulty level. The beauty of this 4-player raid lies in the incredibly fun experience it offers. Not only is it easier to organize a group in a 4-player setting, but the level of personal responsibility and player involvement is significantly higher when you make up a quarter of the entire party. Just look at how much more enjoyable Kayangel is compared to Brelshaza!
Intro & Gate 1
Overall, the battle’s difficulty isn’t significantly higher than Inferno Vykas, so if you’ve cleared that, you can definitely conquer this one too. The DPS checks are more forgiving than Vykas, but each player has a larger role to play. In terms of challenge, the first gate is a breeze, the second gate can be a bit challenging, and the last gate falls into the moderately difficult category.
Every gate introduces some additional mechanics compared to their non-Inferno counterparts. Take the time to plan how you want to assign positions to deal with these mechanics in advance. This is especially important for the new two-pair pattern in Gate 1. While different parties may have slight variations in their approach, it essentially comes down to quickly communicating which two suits you’re looking for.
Gate 2
In Gate 2, some lethal patterns that knock you off the board no longer come with telegraphs. Therefore, you must cautiously attack the boss while staying alert to these patterns. In some cases, you may encounter “unfair” overlaps where the solution to survival isn’t obvious. As this gate has a more lenient DPS check, I highly recommend bringing a Time Stop Potion until you become adept at attacking and observing simultaneously (similar to playing the game cross-eyed). For Entropy users, this fight arguably stands as one of the toughest battles in the entire game. However, even if your uptime ends up being lower than usual, you should still be able to clear with confidence.
If you want more time to tackle this gate, I suggest learning techniques that allow you to identify which card Kakul is hiding under when Saydon slams the hammer onto the table. All classes can universally accomplish this by applying Bleed before he disappears and listening for the proximity of the sound effect. Certain classes, like Sharpshooters with their Atomic Arrow, can easily locate him using their skills.
The little clown introduces additional patterns in Inferno mode that don’t knock you off in Normal mode but can push you off the table in Inferno. Make sure to respect these patterns. The tracking laser can be mitigated with paralysis immunity, and the horn is relatively easy to dodge.
Lastly, the pizza mech (oftentimes skipped in non-Hell mode) can be quite tricky due to the flipped controls affecting random players. Sometimes the game won’t immediately register that your controls are reversed, so check your debuff bar. If you have the debuff, try moving around a bit before the mech begins to ensure it registers accurately.
Gate 3
The final gate is undoubtedly the trickiest of them all. While most aspects are common sense, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, the difficulty order of the platform mini-games is reversed in Hell mode. So, instead of 3, 4, 2, 1 in Normal mode, it becomes 1, 2, 4, 3 in Hell mode. If you’re confident in your abilities, be sure to assign roles accordingly. Just note that the player doing the first platform game will get the most practice due to potential wipes.
Dependent on your ability, you will encounter the conversion stack mechanic at least twice, significantly boosting the bosses’ final damage. This mechanic is timed, so you can expect it around the same time each run (depending on speed, for example, you may see it right before or after showtime).
My final tip for this gate is to be conservative with your potions. It can be tempting to chug a potion when you’re within lethal range of the boss’s attacks. However, the worst-case scenario is drinking a potion only to be immediately hit with a reverse HP curse. This curse mechanic is predictable, so wait and see if you’re targeted before using a potion.
Oh, and when it comes to bingo, don’t play too passively. The boss deals high damage during bingo, and certain attacks can be almost lethal even at high HP. While they aren’t difficult to avoid, taking too long can significantly restrict the dodge space. Having a reliable support character with strong shielding is crucial here. Clearly communicate where to place the bombs and have backup plans in case there is a higher frequency of hammers. Avoid sabotaging yourself. If you manage to execute the bingo phase smoothly while maintaining your damage, the boss will be defeated by the third detonation, with plenty of space remaining on the board. Even if you make mistakes and die, your party members can finish the gate through additional detonations, as long as you don’t flip the golden tile, which triggers a mega bomb that wipes the raid shortly afterward.
Stay tuned for the full release notes next week. In the meantime, we’ll see you in Arkesia!
