Bossing for beginners: what to bring, how much HP you need and the mechanics that wipe parties

A first-boss-run checklist for Kuro: Wheels of Destiny, pet auto-potion and cures, the approximate HP you need to survive each boss's magic attacks, and the mechanics to watch at Papulatus, Zakum, Scarlion & Targa, Castellan Toad, Horntail and Pink Bean.

About this guide

A lot of players feel a bit lost when they start joining bossing parties. This page is based on the community guide Bossing for Beginners by Kura on the Kuro forums, restructured for the handbook. If you have something to add or spot something wrong, comment on that thread.

Boss numbers: For each boss's level requirement, runs per week, HP, time limit and rewards, see the bossing guide. To find a party, use the Boss Expedition widget.

General preparation

Before stepping into any boss room, have your inventory and pets ready.

Wheels of Destiny (most important): This is the very first thing you need before joining any run. If you die, a Wheel lets you revive in the same map and keep fighting, saving your run and not letting your party down. You can buy them in the Cash Shop or from the NPC Kim in the Free Market.

• Pet auto-potion and auto all-cure: absolutely essential. Pets keep you alive through heavy damage and status effect combos.
• All-Cure Potions: instantly remove any debuff.

Cheap alternatives. If you do not have All-Cures, bring these potions, sold by general store NPCs in towns across Victoria Island, Ludibrium, El Nath and more:

• Potion | Cures
• Holy Water | Seal (cannot use skills) and Weakness (cannot jump)
• Eye Drop | Darkness (lowers accuracy)
• Antidote | Severe poison

Minimum HP to survive each boss

You need enough HP to survive at least one magic attack from the boss. These are the original guide's approximate safe thresholds against a one-hit KO. Physical touch damage from bosses is usually much higher, so do not count on surviving contact.

• Boss | Approximate HP needed | Watch out for
• Papulatus | ~4,000 | Enough to tank the magic attacks. Floor bombs deal around 8,000, so dodge them.
• Zakum | ~3,500 | Safe against the fire pillars and lightning. Touching the main body deals around 8,000 physical damage, so avoid contact.
• Scarlion & Targa | ~4,500 to 5,000 | -
• Castellan Toad | ~15,000 | His physical touch hits up to 18,000, so keep your distance; 15k HP lets you tank his magic attacks.
• Horntail | ~7,500 to 8,500 | This is only for the heads' magic hits. Touching the Tail or Legs deals 20,000 to 30,000, which is instant death for almost every class.
• Pink Bean | ~22,000 to 24,000 | The bare minimum to survive AoE magic and accidental bumps. Warriors should aim for the HP cap (30,000), since they take physical touch damage on the front line constantly.

Main boss mechanics

Every player in the party needs to know the attacks and mechanics of each boss. Here is what to watch out for.

Papulatus

• Dispel: constantly removes all your buffs. Re-buff immediately, especially Magic Guard for Mages and Hyper Body for Dark Knights.
• 1/1 attack: drains your MP to 0 and drops your HP to 1. If your pet is too slow to heal, the next hit can kill you.
• Bombs: explosive clocks spawn on the floor and deal high damage. Keep moving and do not stand on them.

Zakum

• Weapon and magic cancel (a Warrior is mandatory): the most annoying mechanic. Zakum raises shields that completely nullify physical damage (blue sword) or magic damage (blue shield). Have a Warrior in the party to use Crash and break this defense.
• 1/1 plus fire pillars: watch the ground. Zakum combines the 1/1 attack with fire pillars dropping from the ceiling.

Scarlion & Targa

• Weapon and magic cancel: like Zakum, they cancel physical and magic attacks. A Warrior with Crash is required so the run does not become impossible.
• Positioning with Rush: they jump around a lot and the map is small. The main strategy is a class with Rush pinning both of them into a corner, locking their movement and making it easier to focus damage.

Castellan Toad

• DPS check: the Toad is a massive HP sponge with a short time window to kill him. This needs a strong, focused party.
• Extreme physical damage: he has no complex debuffs; the only real threat besides the timer is his physical touch damage, which hits up to 18,000.
• Cancels: he cancels physical and magic attacks, so be careful if you have mages in your party.

Horntail

• Tail and Legs (one-hit KO): these parts deal the highest damage (20k to 30k). The first priority of the expedition is to kill the Tail and Legs to open up a safe spot on the map.
• Seduce: the deadliest mechanic. Horntail forces your character to walk (usually towards the tail) and locks your potion use. The only way out is Hero's Will or being healed by a Bishop.
• Mass dispel and constant cancels: watch your buffs closely, and the defensive shields the heads raise.

Pink Bean

• Extreme damage and Seduce: Pink Bean and its statues hit extremely hard, and the fight also has Seduce.
• Statue order: because of Seduce and the other lethal mechanics, you must kill the statues in the right order. Take down the Seduce statue first, then the Mage statue (which casts Reflect), and only then focus the others.
• Damage Reflect (a Warrior is mandatory): if you hit the Mage statue or Pink Bean while Damage Reflect is active, you are killed instantly. Bring a Warrior, since Crash breaks Damage Reflect. Even with a Warrior doing their job, the expedition leader should always call out when the party needs to stop attacking.

Read more

• Bossing guide: Every boss: level, runs per week, HP, rewards and drops
• Boss Expedition system: Find a party with the F9 widget
• Leveling guide: Get to the level each boss needs