When can you enter Krao Cave?
| Exploration | Conquest | |
|---|---|---|
| Character level | 20 | 45 |
| Item level | 200 | 700 |
| Players | 1–5 (solo works) | 1–5, realistically 5 |
| Boss level | ~22 | 45 |
| Odyle per reward chest | 20 | 40 |
| Reward limit | 7 per week (Wednesday reset) | 1 per 8 h, up to 21 stored |
Sources: Game8, MetaBot, ExpCarry, aion2.vi.ki — all agree, except that MetaBot's Krao page and wikily list Exploration as "no limit". Item level is the combined power of your equipped gear. Exploration and Conquest are two modes of the same dungeon: the easy one (labelled "Easy" in the client) and the real one at 45.
The main story sends you to Krao around level 20–22. In the dungeon window, open a room with the roles you want or use Quick Join. On Global, groups mix factions and servers.
There's no Hard mode on Global at launch. Videos of "Krao Hard" (four pillars, crocodile snipers) are Korean. The Oct 5 launch patch buffed some bosses in 5-player dungeons — NCSOFT didn't say which.
Should you open the chest?
Odyle energy only starts charging at level 22 (15 every 3 hours). You might have none on your first run — you can still clear the dungeon, energy is only for the chest at the end.
Most sources (couga54 Week 1, Anders, Aragon) say: while leveling, clear Krao but skip the chest unless you really need a weapon. You'll replace the Red Agate set within a few levels, and the energy is worth more after 45. MetaBot disagrees: 20 energy for a pile of Enhance Stones is a cheap buy. If your energy is sitting at the cap (560), open it — the overflow would be wasted anyway.
Route, step by step
- The path: hug the right wall and avoid the red mines on the ground. Stay away from the red orbs — if they catch you, they chase you all the way into the boss room (Game8, Madsin, StingKnight).
- Enhanced Harcon — optional boss.
- Neglected Gadioton — optional boss.
- Krao Seal Guardian — required; killing it unseals Berk's cave.
- Ultimate Berk — final boss, then the chest.
Harcon and Gadioton are optional, but skipping them shrinks the final chest (Game8). Kill all four.
Boss mechanics
Enhanced Harcon (lasers)
- At 75% and 35% HP he jumps to the middle and fires two laser waves. The second wave goes through him and the safe spots shift — reposition between waves.
- Three small circles land on the tank, then one leaves a damaging puddle. From 50%, puddles drop at random.
- Nothing here one-shots you (couga54) — dodge and keep hitting.
Neglected Gadioton (fire)
- Fireballs leave burning ground, so the arena keeps shrinking. Fight away from it.
- From 50%, save stamina (your dodge bar) — you'll need it.
- Below 35% he leaps to the center, pulls the whole party in and stuns. Save Defiance for this — every class gets it at level 16; it clears the stun and makes you immune for 5 s (game data).
Krao Seal Guardian
Focus it, ignore other mobs, then run into the cave. Wait until everyone is inside before engaging Berk — the fight starts when someone walks too close and can lock the rest of the party out (Game8; also confirmed on r/Aion2, Oct 6).
Ultimate Berk (final boss)
- Wave of Fury: Berk leaps to the center and charges an arena-wide hit. Anyone in the open dies. Hide behind a rock — the area behind it is safe. The rocks rise at the edge of the arena — Grobs and BoredAF count 3, couga54 says 4 (Madsin saw 4 on Korean Hard mode, 3 of them decoys — global has no Hard yet). Get behind one a moment before the hit; on high ping the wave can still kill you right behind it (BoredAF). Threshold: Game8 says below 60% HP, Madsin 75% and 35%. Watch the boss's cast bar, not the percentages.
- After the wave he jumps on the tank with a big landing hit.
- Stagger bar at 50%: he raises his claws, a stagger bar appears, and he channels for about 9 seconds. Everyone hits and throws their stagger skills into the bar. Break it and he's stunned for a few seconds of free damage. Fail and the whole party wipes.
- Spin: when extra red sparks flash around him, he spins after one player and applies bleed. Get out of his path. (Game8: "a random player"; Madsin: the tank.)
- Swings and charge: the only safe spot is behind him.
- A plus-shaped attack, followed right away by a second one where it was just safe.
- The yellow bar under his HP is the enrage timer. When it runs out, everyone dies — so damage matters more than playing it safe.
What the tank, DPS and healer do
| Moment | Tank | DPS | Healer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole fight | boss faces only you, back to the group | hit from the side or behind (more damage) | stay in range, attack between heals |
| Harcon puddles | drag the boss so puddles don't land on the group | don't stand in puddles | heal after the laser waves |
| Gadioton below 35% | — | break the stun, get out of the fire | heal the group after the pull |
| Berk: Wave of Fury | get behind a rock | get behind a rock | get behind a rock, then heal |
| Berk: stagger at 50% | hit the bar | biggest stagger skills into the bar | hit the bar too |
| Berk: spin | kite or block it | move away | move away, heal the bleed |
At level 20 nobody has stigmas yet (they unlock at 22). So Templars have no Taunt and Clerics have no resurrection. On Exploration that doesn't matter — Templar StingKnight (Oct 1): "doesn't matter if you're the tank, just kill everything". A party with no tank and no healer will clear it as long as people dodge.
Class-specific details (which skills hold aggro, what to heal) are in the Dungeons tab of each class guide: Templar, Gladiator, Cleric, Chanter, Sorcerer, Ranger, Assassin, Elementalist.
Loot
- Exploration: Epic Red Agate set, item level 25 (weapons for every class plus armor), Incomplete Test Subject Ring, Earth/Frontline gear, Enhance Stones, Kinah (Game8, MetaBot).
- Conquest: Unique Rupture weapons and Berk accessories (necklace, earrings, ring) at item level 54, plus materials (Wrathful Mind, Refining Stones), Amplify Stone Fragments and Sealed Black Fragment Wings — a wing crafting ingredient (Game8, MetaBot).
- Krao Conquest drops weapons and accessories; armor comes from Draupnir next door. After 45, alternate the two until you're around 1400 item level (couga54 After 45).
Krao on Conquest (after 45)
The gate is 700 item level. NC's presenters suggested starting around 800, and Korean videos say ~1000 — but Korean items carry higher item levels. The mechanics are the same as Exploration; the bosses just hit harder, so Wave of Fury and the stagger check actually kill. Save your stagger skills for Berk (couga54).
Next up: Fire Temple. Full table: dungeon list.