Zakum Boss Guide

Zakum lives deep inside the volcano of El Nath and is the classic mid-to-late game boss of the GMS Big Bang era. On Zipangu it's the gateway boss that bridges the gap between grinding maps and real endgame content like Horntail and beyond.

Beating Zakum matters for two reasons: the bragging rights, and the Zakum Helmet — one of the best-in-slot hats for a huge stretch of your progression. Because Zipangu runs strictly no pay-to-win with a player-driven meso economy, that helmet you earn here is something you genuinely worked for, not something anyone bought.

You can't just walk up to Zakum. First you assemble an Eye of Fire, which is the entry ticket, by completing a short prequest chain that sends you around the world collecting items. This is standard v117 behavior and it's the same on Zipangu.

The chain is straightforward but does require some travel and a bit of mob-killing. Once you turn in the components, you receive the Eye of Fire that lets you drop into the Zakum altar.

• ▸Start by speaking to the NPC in El Nath who points you toward the Zakum entry questline.
• ▸Gather the required collection items from the maps and monsters the quest directs you to — expect to do a little zone-hopping.
• ▸Turn everything in to receive your Eye of Fire (entry item).
• ▸Head to the Dead Mine area in El Nath and use the altar entrance to drop into the boss map.
• ▸Bring a party — Zakum is doable with a strong group and far smoother than soloing for most classes at entry level.

Zakum has three phases. Phases 1 and 2 are the eight arms; phase 3 is the body with its multiple heads. You must destroy the arms before the body becomes vulnerable, so don't waste your damage hammering the center early.

Each arm has its own attack and its own dangerous gimmick. Some arms cast magic, some seal your skills, some drop your HP/MP to 1, and others can stun, weaken, or zombify you (reversing potion healing). Spreading party members out and focusing arms down in a sensible order keeps the chaos manageable.

Once all the arms are gone, the body and its heads are exposed. This is where you commit your burst. Keep moving, keep your status cures ready, and watch your positioning so you aren't caught by a body slam or a magic blast at low HP.

Zakum's danger isn't its raw damage — it's the status effects. Going in blind, players usually die to debuffs rather than big hits. Knowing what's coming lets you pre-stock the right cures.

• ▸1/1 attacks: certain arms drop your HP and MP to 1. Top off immediately and keep healing items hotkeyed.
• ▸Seduce / stun / weakness: control effects that lock you out of acting — All Cure potions and status-resist gear help enormously.
• ▸Skill seal: blocks your skill use; carry the appropriate cure or wait it out behind cover.
• ▸Zombify: reverses healing so potions hurt you — pause potion use until it wears off.
• ▸Magic and physical hits scale up, so ranged classes should kite and melee should respect the body's slam range.

A prepared party clears Zakum; an under-prepared one feeds it. None of this is pay-to-win — it's all earnable in-game on Zipangu through grinding, party quests, and the player market.

• ▸Pots: stack a big supply of HP/MP potions plus All Cure potions for the status effects.
• ▸Status resist: any gear or buffs that reduce abnormal status duration are gold here.
• ▸Buffs: bring or arrange Sharp Eyes, Hyper Body, Holy Symbol, and Speed/Jump or attack buffs — a balanced party (Bishop, attacker, Bucc/HB class) makes a massive difference.
• ▸Level and gear: come in at a comfortable level with decent weapon attack rather than the bare minimum; the 1x Meso and 1x Drop rates reward steady gearing first.
• ▸Mount/teleport for repositioning, and confirm everyone has an Eye of Fire before entering.

The headline drop is the Zakum Helmet, a stat-loaded hat that's a long-term upgrade across nearly every class — that alone is worth the runs. Zakum also drops a variety of equips, scrolls, and useful materials true to v117.

Because Zipangu sits at 1x Drop and 1x Meso, loot feels earned and the economy stays player-driven — there's no shortcut around running the boss. Repeat clears (subject to the usual entry cadence) are the steady way to chase the helmet roll and gear you actually want.

Every class on Zipangu can contribute to a Zakum run — Explorers and their 4th jobs, Cygnus Knights, plus Phantom, Mercedes, Demon Slayer, Aran, Luminous, and Cannoneer. What matters is party composition more than any single hero.

A clean, generalized priority for building a Zakum-ready character: in 1st and 2nd job, max your core attack skill and a survival/mobility tool so you can grind efficiently. In 3rd job, push your main bossing attack and any party-utility buff your class offers. In 4th job, prioritize your big single-target hyper/finisher and crit/accuracy passives — single-target damage and survivability are what carry boss fights, not wave-clear.

• ▸Bishop / support: bring Heal, Holy Symbol, Resurrection, Dispel — a dedicated support trivializes the debuff phases.
• ▸Bucc / HB class: Hyper Body massively widens everyone's HP buffer against 1/1 and big hits.
• ▸Bowman / Sharpshooter: Sharp Eyes is a party-wide damage multiplier — invaluable.
• ▸High single-target DPS (Night Lord, Hero, Bishop nukes, Luminous, etc.): assign these to the priority arms.

Zipangu is a free, fair v117.2 server — 2x EXP, 1x Meso, 1x Drop, custom RustHS anti-cheat keeping things clean, and a strict no pay-to-win promise so your Zakum Helmet means something. Whether you main an Explorer or a Luminous, the road from first job to the El Nath altar is yours to earn.

Download, roll a character, hit the prequests, and assemble a party. Got questions or looking for a Zakum group right now? Jump into our community on Discord and someone will help you get your first clear.