“The First Berserker: Khazan is the first of three games designed to introduce our Dungeon & Fighter to a global audience. The game got off to a solid launch with good critical scores in Western markets on both PC and console,” said the company in a statement.

Further in its statement, it reiterated the fact that personnel were being allocated off the project to make more effective use of resources across current and future projects at the company.

“As the development roadmap for The First Berserker: Khazan enters its final stage, Neople has reorganized its teams to more effectively allocate resources across current and future projects, including the pipeline of games designed to attract players in every major market globally.

“This adjustment is not related to workforce reduction or team dissolution. It reflects a planned reallocation of talent to support live service operations and new initiatives across Neople and Nexon affiliates.”

The report of Neople’s staff being reallocated came about thanks to Yonhap News Agency. The latter noted that, out of the 100 developers who worked on The First Berserker: Khazan, an undisclosed number have been put into a “transition unit” known as “R Team”. Nexon has also stated that it will “actively support the reassignment of personnel who gained expertise in completing a global AAA title through the Khazan project, so they can apply their experience and capabilities to other projects.”

The fact that The First Berserker: Khazan missed sales targets set by Nexon hasn’t really been a secret. The company revealed during an earnings call last month that its Q1 revenue for the game was lower than expected. Despite this, however, it “achieved our objective as a strategic first step in a multi-year plan to introduce Dungeon & Fighter IP to a global audience.”

The First Berserker: Khazan is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. For more, check out our review. A year ago, after its release, creative director Junho Lee thanked players for supporting the game since its release.

“I poured my heart into making Khazan, telling myself that this would be the game I stake my entire career on, leaving absolutely nothing in the tank. By the time we launched in 2025, I truly believed I had given every last ounce of energy I had. But then, so many of you showed up. You played the game, you shared your honest thoughts, and you cheered us on.”

“Because of all that, not just me but the entire dev team found ourselves filled with even more energy than we spent building the game in the first place.”

Along with this, Lee also revealed interesting player stats, like the number of player deaths different bosses caused, and how many players were able to complete the game across its difficulty modes.

About 100 developers worked on Khazan, with an unknown number reportedly moved over to “R Team,” a “transition unit.” Nexon, its parent company, doesn’t officially consider the team dissolved, however (at least, not yet). The “large-scale Khazan project” is instead in its “final stages,” with some personnel left to complete any “remaining tasks.”

“As the roadmap of the large-scale Khazan project has entered its final stages, we decided to separate personnel into those who will focus on completing the remaining tasks and those who will be reassigned to other projects that require concentrated organizational and human resources,” said a spokesperson.

They also said that the company plans to “actively support the reassignment of personnel who gained expertise in completing a global AAA title through the Khazan project, so they can apply their experience and capabilities to other projects.”

You could also view this as Nexon squeezing everything it can out of the title, roughly one year later, and not seeing any further viability in support. And if that’s the case, then a smaller team is better suited to delivering any planned bug fixes or improvements while the majority move on.

Of course, you can’t sugarcoat the fact that this is happening because The First Berserker: Khazan didn’t meet the company’s financial expectations. It’s a shame because it most likely means no DLC, free updates or even a port to platforms like Nintendo Switch 2.

Either way, it’s been a good run. Current owners can claim the Immortal Fury set for free to celebrate its first anniversary and remember the fun times.

“I poured my heart into making Khazan, telling myself that this would be the game I stake my entire career on, leaving absolutely nothing in the tank,” wrote Lee. “By the time we launched in 2025, I truly believed I had given every last ounce of energy I had. But then, so many of you showed up. You played the game, you shared your honest thoughts, and you cheered us on.”

“Because of all that, not just me but the entire dev team found ourselves filled with even more energy than we spent building the game in the first place.”

Lee has revealed that 35 percent of players completed the game on Normal difficulty. 40 percent went on to “discover the truth,” while 25 percent went “deeper into darkness.” When it comes to boss fights, Viper was seemingly the toughest one on Expert difficulty, resulting in 17,734,694 deaths. Second place was Volbano, accounting for over 16 million deaths, and third place was Maluca, with over 12 million deaths.

On Hardcore difficulty, Maluca was the toughest one, with 206,169 deaths. Ozma took second place with 154,202 deaths, and Elamein was third, with 151,835 deaths. Taking all boss fights across all difficulties into account, there have been 273,804,045 player deaths in total.

Other causes of death are also quite interesting, with falling having resulted in over 20 million player deaths. Status effects had a hand in over 5.5 million deaths, and traps accounted for 2.2 million deaths. The deadliest non-boss enemies were Prince Spider, Lunatic Destroyer, and Wild Bear.

Players seemed to have preferred the spear as their weapon of choice by a small margin, accounting for 38 percent of all players. Second place was dual-wielding, which was used by 37 percent of players, with third place taken by greatsword, used by 25 percent of players. Getting more specific, the Bloodthirsty Fiend’s Dual Wield was the most-used weapon, followed by the Sentinel’s Greatsword and the Survivor’s Spear. Interestingly, 43 bosses were defeated by players using no weapons at all, with only their fists.

When it comes to defenses, players preferred the Bloodthirsty Fiend the most, followed by Crimson Fiend and Golden. For Phantoms, Kenta the Unyielding was the most popular, being called in 23,355,981 times, followed by Wulfric the Resilient, called in almost 7 million times. When leveling up, players overwhelmingly preferred to pump up their Endurance stat, which was raised 37,442,742 times.

Hardcore players have also devised their own unique challenges, with the fastest clear time for the entire game being two hours and ten minutes. This meant that, in such a short time, the player was able to beat 16 bosses throughout the world of The First Berserker: Khazan. The fastest bosses to clear were Reese, who took 17 seconds, Aratra, who took 13 seconds, and Shactuka, who took 16 seconds.

As for the future, the studio is currently working on a commemorative armor and weapon set for The First Berserker: Khazan. Dubbed the Immortal Fury Set, it will be available to all players who have purchased the game.

The First Berserker: Khazan is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details.

https://x.com/PlayKhazan/status/2037633410647359621

https://x.com/PlayKhazan/status/2037633562162421892

The post is a the latest iteration of the Xbox Excellence Awards, which was created last year to celebrate how players engaged with various releases on Xbox. The Store Rating category lists 2025 games with the best ratings on the Microsoft Store, with an added requirement of the title having at least 500 ratings. Player Engagements is about the average number of hours spent on a game by each player within the first six weeks of a game’s release. Daily Active Users celebrates titles, expansions or updates with the highest single-day active users throughout the year. And finally Units Sold is fairly self-explanatory.

Going down the lists, you’ll find many of the biggest releases of the year, from ARC Raiders and Battlefield 6, as well as award-winning RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Indie titles have also been well-represented, with games like Crime Scene Cleaner and Satisfactory making it into the lists. There also doesn’t seem to have been a singular genre to dominate the lists, since everything from sports games like EA Sports Madden NFL 26, to fantasy adventure life sims like Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, and even fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics are well represented.

Curiously, none of the games was present in all four of the categories. At most, we got to see titles like Borderlands 4 being able to make it on to three of them: Player Engagement, Daily Active Users and Units Sold. Even ARC Raiders, which has seen quite a bit of success, is only on the Units Sold and Daily Active Users lists.

Microsoft has also emphasized that the lists represent a diverse collection of games developed by studios of varying sizes. All in all, it represents 48 unique developers based out of 13 countries, with 24 publishers having had a hand in their release. 19 of the games were self-published. “Taken as a whole, it’s an encapsulation of development on Xbox – we want gaming to reach you wherever you are, and for the teams making those games to find you from wherever they are,” wrote the company.

Full list of games:

Store Rating:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Crime Scene Cleaner
• Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2
• Digimon Story: Time Stranger
• Dreamcore
• Dynasty Warriors: Origins
• Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Lies of P: Overture
• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
• Little Nightmares III
• Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
• Minami Lane
• Mullet MadJack
• Poppy Playtime Chapter 4
• Satisfactory
• Silent Hill 2
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
• The First Berserker: Khazan

Player Engagement:

• Borderlands 4
• Digimon Story: Time Stranger
• Dynasty Warriors: Origins
• EA Sports College Football 26
• EA Sports FC 26
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
• Farm Together 2
• Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles
• Helldivers 2
• Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
• MLB The Show 25
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• NBA 2K26
• NHL 26
• Rust
• Satisfactory
• The First Berserker: Khazan

Daily Active Users:

• Arc Raiders
• Avowed
• Battlefield 6
• Borderlands 4
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
• DOOM: The Dark Ages
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Fortnite
• Forza Horizon 5
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Grounded 2
• Helldivers 2
• Marvel Rivals
• Minecraft
• NBA 2K26
• Rematch
• Roblox
• Rocket League
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

Units Sold:

• Arc Raiders
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows
• Battlefield 6
• Borderlands 4
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
• EA Sports Madden NFL 26
• EA Sports College Football 26
• EA Sports FC 26
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Helldivers 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• MLB The Show 25
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• NBA 2K26
• PGA Tour 2K25
• Ready or Not
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
• WWE 2K25

“The game made its global debut on March 28 with strong ratings from both players and critics,” said the company in its earnings call. “While Q1 revenue was below our outlook, the game achieved our objective as a strategic first step in a multi-year plan to introduce Dungeon & Fighter IP to a global audience.”

The Dungeon & Fighter franchise is around a decade old at this point. However, it has only really been known in east-Asian markets, thanks to MMO beat ‘em up game Dungeon Fighter Online. Nexon has previously tried to bring more global attention to the franchise with the release of games like DNF Duel, but had failed to spark interest in the IP until the release of The First Berserker: Khazan.

Dungeon Fighter Online revolves around players taking on the role of characters dubbed Dungeon Fighters as they take part in various adventures across the world of Arad. The core gameplay revolves around fast-paced actions and dungeon crawling, where players can take on dangerous enemies and progress their character through level ups as well as by finding new equipment.

The First Berserker: Khazan takes place in the same setting, and expands on one of the key time periods of the backstory. The action RPG revolves around the eponymous Khazan, who is saved from the brink of death by the Blade Phantom. A deal is struck between them, and they set off to investigate a mysterious force that is causing disruptions in the flow of souls from the northern parts of Arad.

Developer Neople has continued to support The First Berserker: Khazan through post-launch update since its release. The most recent one, out earlier this week, brought with it two Boss Rush modes. Described as modes that offer the “Ultimate Challenge”, players can take part in what is essentially meant to be post-game content once they have finished the main story. The two Boss Rush modes are dubbed the Great General’s Crucible and Berserker’s Bloodshed.

The First Berserker: Khazan is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more details about the action RPG, check out our review. And in case you’re stuck on some parts, check out our guides for all bosses and their locations, some of the most powerful gear sets, and how you can level mastery and earn skill points quickly.

While The First Berserker: Khazan has been a critical and commercial success, Nexon also has another game in the Dungeon & Fighter world in the works. Dubbed Dungeon and Fighter: ARAD, the game is currently in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It doesn’t yet have a release date, however.

The former offers “thematically organized” bosses that must be defeated with preset loadouts. Completing one will unlock the next theme. Finish them all, and you get a “special” reward. Berserker’s Bloodshed is a somewhat rogue-like mode where players battle through consecutive fights and strengthen themselves with the rewards gained.

Upon defeating the boss, they’ll receive new weapons and set gear. Of course, Neople is taking feedback regarding the difficulty, so it could be tuned further post-launch.

Another new feature is the ability to change appearance (aka transmog) within the first playthrough. Instead of having to complete the game, you can now finish the Blacksmith’s Heirloom mission to unlock the feature.

It’s worth noting that despite providing a release date, the update is still in the “quality assurance and platform certification” stage. Though the developer will “do everything we can to stick to the schedule,” it could take longer if any issues arise.

Stay tuned for full patch notes when the Ultimate Challenge update is live. The First Berserker: Khazan is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out our review of the launch version.

One of the biggest changes players will notice with the update is the fact that gear that cannot be sold can now no longer be used as material for the game’s augmentation system. Various types of jars, weapons part of the Hero Set, and the Fallen Star set can also no longer be dismantled into materials.

With the update, when players can unlock or upgrade a Phantom, they will now start getting notifications about it. The position for Phantom level EXP has also been changed to become more intuitive. You can check out the complete list of changes brought about by the update in the patch notes below.

This will be the second update released for The First Berserker: Khazan since its release. A previous one, released last month, brought with it a host of balance changes to the game. Check out our coverage of the update for more details.

The First Berserker: Khazan is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details.

The First Berserker: Khazan Patch Notes:

Balance Adjustments

Phantom Growth Improvements

• Phantom growth speed now increases proportionally to the number of unlocked Phantoms.
• Phantoms now grow faster than before. More strategic and diverse choices in Phantom selection are available.

Elemental Damage Adjustment

• Elemental damage and status effects from map elements are now affected by the character’s attribute resistance.
• For example, map elements like poison swamplands (Poison), fire AOE (Fire), or stones of chaos (Chaos) are affected by the character’s attribute resistance stats.

Skill Point Gain Improvements

• Skill points can now be acquired more smoothly, regardless of play proficiency or style.
  • Weapon Mastery Level Adjustment: Weapon mastery levels are adjusted to align more closely with progression.
  • Weapon Mastery EXP Adjustment (Brink Dodge): Slight increase in EXP gained upon performing a brink dodge.
• Players familiar with weapons or relying on brink dodges can now also obtain more skill points.

System Changes

Gear System

• Gear that cannot be sold can no longer be selected as material in the gear augmentation system.

The following gear can no longer be dismantled as materials:

• Jars
  • Blank Jar, Happy Jar, Glinting Jar, Smitten Jar, Stunned Jar, Tormented Jar, Dizzy Jar, Calavera Jar, Cutie Jar, Bewildered Jar, Panicked Jar, Sleepy Jar, Burning Jar, Vibin Jar, The Most Special Jar
• Hero Set
  • Hero’s Dual Wield, Hero’s Spear, Hero’s Greatsword, Hero’s Helm, Hero’s Wristguards, Hero’s Pauldrons, Hero’s Leggings, Hero’s Combat Boots

  Fallen Star Set

  • Fallen Star’s Resolve, Fallen Star’s Mark, Fallen Star’s Scar, Fallen Star’s Tattered Clothing, Fallen Star’s Shackles

Phantom System

• A notification display has been added when there is a Phantom that can be unlocked or upgraded.
• Phantom System guide has been improved.
• The location of Phantom level EXP has been adjusted to a more intuitive position.
• Description of Phantom level is added to the loading screen.
• A system message will appear the first time you enter the Phantom system.
• Visuals have been improved when unlocking, accompanying, or awakening a Phantom.
• Emphasis is added to the first sentence in the settings text on the left of the Phantom system.

Khazan’s Memories

1 . The guidance for Khazan’s Memories has been improved.

• A notification will appear if Khazan’s Memories are complete or if you can upgrade with Vengeance Points.
• When Khazan’s Memories are completed, a checkmark appears at the bottom right of its icon.
• After completing Khazan’s Memories, entering the UI will update the status and grant all Vengeance Points.

2 . A tutorial has been added for the first entry of Khazan’s Memories.
3 . Reset function is added for Khazan’s Memories upgrade.

Achievements

• The conditions for the “Standing Alone” achievement are now based on the current playthrough.
  • For example, you can earn the achievement as long as you don’t summon the Spirit of Advocacy during your second playthrough—even if you summoned it in your first.

The summon history of the Spirit of Advocacy will be reset with this patch.

• After the patch, clearing the final boss without summoning the Spirit of Advocacy will grant the “Standing Alone” achievement.
• If you’ve already completed the third playthrough, defeating the final boss again will grant the achievement.

Camera

• System Lock-On Target is set more consistently.
• A new Lock-On option has been added to ‘Settings – Accessibility.’ You can now select the sight option according to your preference.

Craft

• A Main tab has been added to the Set List in Set Crafting.
  • Sets are sorted into tabs according to the weapon included in the set.
  • Sets without weapons are sorted into the “Other” tab.
• A notification will now appear when a new recipe is added.
• The source of special ingredients will now appear in a description format.
• The number of consumable items storable in the storage will now appear.
  • Storage count is added separately.

UI/UX Improvements

1. Localized subtitles have been added to the bottom of each region’s cutscenes.

• When starting a main mission in a region for the first time, the localized region name will appear below the English name according to your language settings.
• However, region names in the cutscenes will remain in English.

2. Region names will now appear on the save data in the Load menu.

• In the “Main Menu – Load” screen, mission names and region names will now be displayed together in the save data.

Mission Progress and Goal Display

• Detailed mission progress has been added to the main menu.
• Even during combat, you can check detailed mission progress in the main menu through the following displays.
  • Soulstone: Shows the number collected and the number required to complete the mission.
  • Danjin’s Jars: Shows the number collected and the number required to complete the mission. Please note that the number of Danjin’s Jars will show after clearing the side mission “Jar Enthusiasts.”
  • Lost Lacrima: Shows the total number of Lost Lacrima.

Spirit of Advocacy Upgrade Notifications

• Upgrade notifications for the Spirit of Advocacy are now more visible.
  • When interacting with Daphrona, a notification will appear in the “Spirit of Advocacy Upgrade” menu.
  • If there is a Spirit of Advocacy that can be upgraded, a notification will appear in the upgrade UI.
  • The number of owned Lacrima of Circulation will appear in yellow on the screen.
• An upgrade reset function has been added for the Spirit of Advocacy.
  • This function will not display if the Spirit of Advocacy has not been upgraded.
  • If it has been upgraded, you can select Reset Upgrade to open the “Reset Spirit of Advocacy Upgrade” window and reset any upgrades. 

Blade Nexus Notifications

• Updates in “Phantom Abilities” and “Khazan’s Memories” are now more visible in the Blade Nexus menu.
• Phantom Abilities
  • If there is a Phantom that can be unlocked or awakened, a notification will appear in both the Phantom Ability and Blade Nexus menus.
• Khazan’s Memories
  • If there is a region where you have completed Khazan’s Memories, a notification will appear in both the Khazan’s Memories and Blade Nexus menus.

Danjin’s Jars

• Vibration and sound effects when approaching a Danjin’s Jar have been enhanced.
• Visual effects have been added to make Danjin’s Jars more noticeable.

World Map

• The world map now shows detailed mission progress.
• Cleared missions will now show with a checkmark on the bottom right of the mission icon.

Consumables UI & Shortcut Improvements

1. Consumables categories have been refined.

• The consumable info window now shows the item’s category instead of just “Consumable” in the bottom-left corner.
• Consumables are classified into 8 categories.
  • Lantern, Special, Recovery, Lacrima, Cleanse, Upgrade Effects, Throwable, Sell

2 . When replacing a consumable already assigned to a hotkey with a consumable assigned to another hotkey slot, the two items will swap positions.
3. The names of items already assigned to hotkey are displayed on the Register Hotkey screen.
4. Cannot store lanterns in storage

• Lanterns currently assigned to a hotkey slot can no longer be stored in the storage.
• However, other functions such as auto-store or retrieve remain available.

5. Major consumable acquisition notifications have been improved.

• When acquiring Tear Summon Stone and Primeval Regression Orb for the first time, both the name and description will appear on screen.
• After the first acquisition, only the item name will appear on screen when you acquire the item.

6. The shortcut key to adjust item quantity has been changed.

• Increase/decrease keys have changed from arrow keys to A/D keys.
• This applies to all quantity selection screens, including purchase menu, storing and retrieving from storage, selling and purchasing consumables, and discarding.

Gear Window

1. “By Performance” has been added to the gear sorting menu.

• When sorting gear by performance, each gear type is sorted based on the following criteria.
  • Weapon: Total Attack DMG
  • Armor: Total Defense
  • Necklace: Max Stamina
  • Ring: Max Health

2. Equip Skills feature has been added to the gear window.

• If a skill is activated through a fixed or set attributes, it can now be equipped directly from the gear window.
  • Only Spirit skills with selectable commands can be equipped.
  • All sub-skills must be learned first.

3. Skill descriptions and videos are now available in the gear window’s tooltip.

• Skill descriptions and videos will now appear in the attribute info window when it has the “Learn Skill” attribute.

4 . The visibility of owned set gear icons has been improved.

• If you own the same set as the currently displayed gears, their icons will be highlighted in white.
• This applies to gears in both your inventory and storage.

5. Some of the text in the gear window has been changed.

• “Compare Gear” and “Gear Info” have been changed to “Info Window”.
• “Help” has been changed to “Attribute Info” .

Skill Tree

• An icon indicating when a learned skill is currently unusable has been added.
• In the skill detail window, “Unlock Requirements” has been changed to “Activation Conditions.”

HUD

• An option has been added to display Khazan’s Health and Stamina as numbers in the combat HUD.
• When this option is enabled, Health and Stamina are displayed above the gauge in the format “Current / Max.”

QoL Enhancements

Daphrona’s Codex

Attribute weakness information has been added to Daphrona’s Codex.

• Each monster’s attribute defense is now displayed as an icon in Daphrona’s Codex.
• Effectiveness is displayed in four levels: Effective, Slightly Effective, Normal, and Immune.
• Attribute weakness include Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, and Poison.

Controls

• Khazan’s Memories can now be controlled with the mouse and D-PAD.

Other Improvements

• Ozma’s Diary is now available in the Crevice from your second playthrough.
• It is now possible to change the game difficulty from Easy to Normal. (However, the difficulty level cannot be changed during the final mission or in the ending area while playing.)

Error Fixes

These are major bug fixes from this update that directly affect gameplay.

Common

• Fixed an issue where the achievements “The Hidden Laboratory” and “Undying Loyalty” could not be obtained
  • Fixed an issue where achievements with multiple conditions could not be completed if you relaunch the game after completing some of the conditions.
• Fixed an issue where the ground would sink after interacting with Danjin’s Jar in certain areas.
• Fixed an issue where you could not exit outside if you fell off a certain terrain during the main mission “Palemion”
• Fixed an issue where if you activate all the tombstones during the main mission “Rephalan” and then proceed with another mission, the tombstones would be reset and you would be unable to use the Spirit of Advocacy
• Fixed an issue where elite enemies in certain locations could not destroy obstacles during the main mission “Nadin”
• Fixed an issue where the boss would get stuck in the terrain when using a specific skill during the side mission “Unrequited Love”
• Fixed an issue where the boss would not come down from the wall during the side mission “Escaping the Linon Mine”
• Fixed an issue where you could not return to the original area after moving through the boss area’s Blade Nexus during the side mission “Transcendental Sword”
• Fixed an issue where Khazan’s javelin would be blocked by a transparent wall when thrown in Embars
• Fixed an issue where the elevator in Embars would not operate in certain situations
• Fixed an issue where the “Ghost Hammer” item hanging from the ceiling of the Skoffa Cave would not drop
• Fixed the appearance of a door in a specific location in Vitalon to display normally
• Fixed an issue where the chandelier in the Great Temple would float in the air after being knocked down if you entered and returned from the Crevice
• Fixed an issue where you would be allowed to move to an unopened staircase upon moving to the Crevice after killing the Blade Phantom
• Fixed an issue where the boss’ health gauge was displayed in a space where a boss fight was not in progress
• Fixed an issue where Trokka would get stuck outside the map in certain situations during the boss fight
• Fixed an issue where Elamein could not attack through barriers during the boss fight
• Fixed an issue where, even if Maluca’s stamina gauge was depleted, Brutal Attack was not used and Maluca attacked immediately during the boss fight
• Fixed an issue where throwing the “Concentrated Poison Aura” item at Hismar while it is in the air during the boss battle would cause it to fall and take damage
• Fixed an issue where running would be canceled immediately in certain situations while Khazan was running
• Fixed an issue where skills unlocked through equipment set effects would not activate in certain situations
• Fixed an issue where, if maximum health was reduced when comparing equipment, the “Health” option would appear to not be applied
• Fixed an issue where you could obtain infinite gold and Lacrima by dismantling high-grade equipment and then crafting low-grade equipment
• Fixed an issue where the amount of stamina consumed per tick was affected by the “Dodge Stamina Cost Decrease” option effect in certain situations
• Fixed an issue where the charging speed increase effect of the “Overwhelm” and “Heavy Pressure” skills was not applied if the Greatsword skill “Indomitable” was not acquired
• Fixed an issue where, after acquiring the “Brutal Attack: Phantom” skill, the Phantom Form transformation effect is maintained and damage increases abnormally when the skill is activated in a specific situation
• Fixed an issue where you could not attack in Phantom Form until you recovered your stamina when you entered Phantom Form with all your stamina exhausted
• Fixed an issue where the item sorting function would not work when the focus (cursor) was on an item stored in the storage while using the storage
• Fixed an issue where if you purchase the “Coward’s Lantern” item multiple times, you cannot take the lantern out of the storage and a new item notification keeps appearing
• Fixed an issue where you could not move to the Blade Nexus when moving to the Crevice after interacting with the Blade Nexus in front of the Blade Phantom in the online demo or after defeating the Blade Phantom in the main game
• Fixed an issue where the game could not be played if you chose to continue with the latest data without updating in the Physical Edition
• Fixed an issue where if the game is terminated or crashes during loading, it returns to the previous mission and the number of clears accumulates, making it impossible to proceed with subsequent missions
• Fixed an issue where combat-related HUDs were not displayed properly on the screen
• Fixed an issue where lag occurred when slowly manipulating the camera with a controller

PC

• Fixed an issue where settings could not be changed after the client was abnormally terminated on the PC
• Fixed an issue where the Xbox layout was displayed when using a PS DualSense controller on PC

PS

• Fixed an issue where controller key inputs would occasionally not be recognized on PS5

Improvements

• Improved frame drop issue that occurs during certain patterns of Rangkus during the boss fight
• Improved the issue of characters being pushed back when hit by certain attacks near Viper during the boss fight
• Improved so that you cannot climb rope bridge railings while running in certain missions
• Increased the health of support characters in some missions
• Optimized some objects that cause frame drops during the main mission “Imperial Palace”
• Improved floating stones to move more naturally during the main mission “Imperial Palace”
• Improved to give a greater attack opportunity upon successfully attacking a specific pattern in Phase 2 of the final boss fight
• Improved the issue where cinematic cutscenes appear unnaturally when changing phases during the final boss fight
• Improved so that Phantom Form can still be activated while exhausted
• Improved the issue where the spear skill “Shadow Reversal” would restrain the target for an excessively long time
• Improved the duration of the staggered state upon destroying parts of the elite dragonkin Double-Edged Butcher enemy
• Lowered the difficulty of completing the Codex for the Pell Los Guardian Knight and Pell Los Trooper enemies
• Improved so that the damage taken by the Red-Eyed Boulder Bat enemy is not reduced, even when its outer shell is enhanced
• Improved the issue of some areas displaying in dark colors in the later stages of the game
• Improved the issue where the Ashen Wolf gear displayed abnormally in some cinematics
• Improved visual and sound effects for portals moving to the Crevice
• Improved visual effects when executing elite enemies in some missions
• Improved visual effects that appear during the buff of the spear skill “Moonlight Stance”
• Improved sound effects when hitting an enemy in the Frenzy state with a combo attack
• Improved so that Soulstones can be designated as lock-on targets

This guide is a complete listing of every boss in The First Berserker: Khazan, split between story and optional groups.

Story Bosses

Side Bosses

Access to optional side bosses require certain specific missions to be completed first, whether story or bonus side missions.

Those are all 38 known bosses in The First Berserker: Khazan with their locations and unlock requirements.

This guide has everything there is to know about earning those skill points by raising Mastery Levels quickly and efficiently in The First Berserker: Khazan.

How To Earn Skill Points

Earning skill points is fairly straightforward, and is not to be confused with regular levelling from XP aka Lacrima. By simply engaging in combat with various weapons, while using a variety of moves–light, heavy, and special–you will begin to fill the Mastery Level meter. Each time the meter is fully filled, you will gain a Mastery Level and earn a single skill point.

Whether battling regular enemies or major bosses, and regardless of winning or losing the encounters, you will fill the Mastery Level meter. Unlike Lacrima, these gains are not lost on death, nor do they need to be retrieved from your corpse.

For best results, choose a lone enemy that you feel confident battling and simply parry or block their attacks. Parrying adds 1% to the Mastery Level meter, and blocking half of a percent. Actively attacking the enemy only adds a third of a percent to the meter, and will eventually kill the enemy, so is not worthwhile for grinding Mastery Levels.

Mastery Level

Mastery levels are tied to story progression, as this is a balancing mechanic. Once the Mastery Level cap is hit, no amount of combat will increase the meter’s progress, though you can continue to earn Lacrima to raise your main level and associated stats. In order to progress past the Mastery Level caps and proceed further up the skill trees, certain story conditions will have to be met:

Mastery Level 12

• Complete Trials of the Frozen Mountain
• Defeat Blade Phantom

Mastery Level 16

• Complete Forgotten Place
• Defeat Viper

Mastery Level 20

• Complete First Act of Revenge
• Defeat Volbaino

Mastery Level 24

• Complete Strange Stench
• Defeat Aratra

Mastery Level 28

• Complete Traitor Revealed
• Defeat Rangkus

Mastery Level 32

• Complete Veiled Knives
• Defeat Maluca

That is how to raise your Mastery Level and earn Skill Points fast in The First Berserker: Khazan.

This guide has a small selection of some of the best gear sets grouped by each of the three weight classes, and based on their various attributes, as well as their lootable locations in The First Berserker: Khazan.

Crimson Fiend Set

Lightweight Armor Type

Various pieces of the Crimson Fiend will drop from random enemies.

Finding the Crimson Fiend’s Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

• Sentinel’s Greatsword
• Crimson Fiend Mask
• Crimson Fiend Top
• Crimson Fiend Wristguards
• Crimson Fiend Pants
• Crimson Fiend Shackles

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. 15% Enraged Damage Increase
2. 10% Charged Attack Damage Increase
3. 100 Mortal Blow Skill & Charged Attack Stamina Recovery
4. 30% Enraged Received Damage Decrease
5. 20% Mortal Blow Damage Increase

Fugitive Mage Set

Lightweight Armor Type

Various random pieces of the Fugitive Mage Set will drop from Bellerian in the Rephalan Mountains, a location in the Heart of Pell Los Region.

Finding the Fugitive Mage’s Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

• Fugitive Mage’s Greatsword
• Fugitive Mage’s Headpiece
• Fugitive Mage’s Robe
• Fugitive Mage’s Wristguards
• Fugitive Mage’s Pants
• Fugitive Mage’s Shoes
• Fugitive Mage’s Ring
• Necklace of Untold Truths

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. 10% Charged Attack Damage Increase
2. 15% Guard Stamina Damage Decrease
3. 15% Armor Breaker Skill Stamina Damage Increase
4. 10% Brink Guard Stamina Damage Increase for 5s
5. 15% Heart Piercer Skill Damage Increase

15% Brink Guard Damage Increase for 5s

Heart Piercer: Fury Skill

Master of Chaos Set

Lightweight Armor Type

Various random pieces of the Master of Chaos Set will drop from Ozma in the Imperial Palace, a location in the Vitalon Capital of the Empire Region.

Finding the Master of Chaos Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

• Ozma’s Dual Wield
• Ozma’s Horns
• Ozma’s Wings
• Ozma’s Claws
• Ozma’s Shroud
• Ozma’s Gaiters

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. 500 Chaos Resistance
2. 20% Phantom: Sword Dance Skill Stamina Damage Increase for 15s
3. 15% Phantom: Sword Dance Skill Damage Increase
4. 20% Enemy Exhausted Damage Increase
5. Phantom: Bloody Sword Dance Skill

Chaos-Ridden Set

Heavyweight Armor Type

Various random pieces of the Chaos-Ridden Set will drop from Maluca in Nadin Quarry, a location in the Pell Los Plateau Region.

Finding the Chaos-Ridden Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

• Chaos-Ridden Greatsword
• Chaos-Ridden Helm
• Chaos-Ridden Pauldrons
• Chaos-Ridden Gauntlet
• Chaos-Ridden Leggings
• Chaos-Ridden Shoes

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. Brink Guard: Gain Regeneration, stacks 5 times
2. 4% Brink Guard Damage Increase for 10s, stacks 5 times
3. 0.15 Brink Guard: Spirit Accumulation
4. Spirit Skill: Gain Consumed
5. Volcanic Wrath Spirit Skill

Golden Set

Heavyweight Armor Type

Various pieces of the Golden Set will drop from random enemies.

Finding the Golden Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

A full Golden Set can also be retrieved from a chest secreted behind a destructible wall beyond the New Town Blade Nexus in Capital City Vitalon, a location in the Vitalon Capital of the Empire Region. This can be done during the course of the endgame mission “Fall of the Empire”.

• Survivor’s Spear
• Golden Helm
• Golden Pauldrons
• Golden Gauntlet
• Golden Leggings
• Golden Combat Boots

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. 15% Dodge Stamina Cost Decrease
2. 10% Rear Assault Stamina Damage Increase
3. 20% Trance Skill Damage Increase
4. 10% Rear Assault Damage Increase
5. Moonlight: Awakening Skill

Fallen Lord Set

Heavyweight Armor Type

Various random pieces of the Fallen Lord Set will drop from Viper in Embars Ruins, a location in the Charnak Mountain Range Region.

Finding the Fallen Lord’s Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

• Fallen Lord’s Spear
• Fallen Lord’s Helm
• Fallen Lord’s Pauldrons
• Fallen Lord’s Gauntlet
• Fallen Lord’s Leggings
• Fallen Lord’s Shoes

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. 10% Charged Attack Damage Increase
2. 25% Brink Dodge Stamina Recovery Rate Increase for 10s
3. 10% Enemy Exhausted Damage Increase
4. 15% Full Moon Skill Damage Increase
5. 15% Spiral Thrust Spirit Skill Damage Increase

Deep Shadow Set

Plate Armor Type

Various pieces of the Deep Shadow Set will drop from random enemies.

Finding the Deep Shadow Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

• Formless Warrior’s Spear
• Deep Shadow Helm
• Deep Shadow Pauldrons
• Deep Shadow Gauntlet
• Deep Shadow Leggings
• Deep Shadow Shoes

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. 15% Frontal Assault Stamina Damage Increase
2. 10% Frontal Assault Damage Increase
3. 90% Guard Penetration
4. 15% Assault Skill Damage Increase
5. 20% Afterimage Thrust Skill Damage Increase

Devourer of Darkness Set

Plate Armor Type

Various random pieces of the Devourer of Darkness Set will drop from Aratra in Skoffa Cave, a location in the Charnak Mountain Range Region.

Finding the Man-Eating Spider’s Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

• Devourer of Darkness Greatsword
• Devourer of Darkness Helm
• Devourer of Darkness Top
• Devourer of Darkness Wristguards
• Devourer of Darkness Pants
• Devourer of Darkness Shoes

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. 15% Charged Attack Stamina Damage Increase for 10s
2. 15% Enemy Poison Damage Increase
3. 100% Ghost Arm Block Skill Stamina Damage Increase
4. Brutal Attack: Enemy Poison
5. Ghost Arm Block: Overpower Skill

Unending Tragedy Set

Plate Armor Type

Various random pieces of the Unending Tragedy Set will drop from Princess Ilyna in Rovelion Imperial Theater, a location in the Heart of Pell Los Region.

Finding the Unending Tragedy Scroll will make it craftable at the Blacksmith.

• Dual Wield of Unending Tragedy
• Helm of Unending Tragedy
• Pauldrons of Unending Tragedy
• Gauntlet of Unending Tragedy
• Leggings of Unending Tragedy
• Shoes of Unending Tragedy
• Scarlet Robin’s Ring
• Necklace of the Singing Hawk

Beginning with a single piece equipped, each additional piece will progressively unlock:

1. 15% Composed Damage Increase
2. 1.5% Attack Stamina Recovery Rate Increase for 7s, stacks 20 times
3. 15% Dodge Stamina Cost Decrease
4. 100 Brink Dodge Stamina Recovery
5. Crimson Tempest Skill

1% Attack Damage Increase for 7s, stacks 20 times

Crimson Tempest: Gust Skill

Those are just 9 of the most powerful gear sets out of the nearly 70 to be looted or crafted in The First Berserker: Khazan.