How to Defeat Mugen in Octopath Traveler 2

After felling Ritsu, there is only one challenge left before us: defeating the false king of Ku. But, as the final boss of Hikari’s arc, he proves to be quite a challenge. It will take fortitude and strategy, but here’s how to defeat Mugen in Octopath Traveler 2.

How to Defeat Mugen in Octopath Traveler 2

You’ve defeated Ritsu, but the fight isn’t over. You’ll finally come face-to-face with Mugen, the bloodthirsty fiend who killed Hikari’s father, ousted Hikari from his home, and had him slandered as a traitor. He might be Hikari’s half-brother, but they couldn’t be more different.

Fortunately, Mugen is a straightforward fight. He hits exceedingly hard and likes to limit your BP usage, but all of his attacks are physical. He also only shuffles his weaknesses twice. What makes him so difficult is that he has several moves that will leave a party unit with only 1 HP and will frequently use party-hitting attacks.

Because of these party-hitting attacks, a Cleric is an essential component of your party build, as you’ll need to spam Heal More every other round. A party member that can equip axes and has the Double-Tomahawk is also a great asset. The Double Tomahawk can be found in an ocean chest at the bottom left of the map. A Warrior is excellent for the second stage of the battle, because of Aggressive Slash.

I note both the Tomahawk and Aggressive Slash for one reason: you’ll spend a lot of time with your BP locked. This weapon and move will ignore the BP restraint and whittle Mugen down, making the fight ahead much easier.

Mugen’s Stats and Weaknesses in Octopath Traveler 2

• Shields: 7 – 9
• HP: 80,000
• Weaknesses: Polearm, Axe, Lightning, Holy
• Weaknesses 2: Sword, Ice, Wind

• Attacks
  • The Conqueror’s Rule – Hits all party members and inflicts a debuff that prevents them from using BP for one round.
  • The Conquerer’s Tyranny – A single-hit physical attack on one party member that does around 1,000 damage.
  • Mugen stands ready… – This is a charge attack that leads to decapitation, a move that will leave one party member with one HP.
  • The Conqueror’s Might – A physical party-hit attack that does 800+ damage.
  • Mugen’s Soul Rages – Charge attack, signaling Mugen’s transformation.
  • Gates of Hell – Physical attack that hits two party members, leaving them with 1 HP.
  • Conqueror’s Blade – Physical attack that hits one party member for over 1,000 HP.

Related: How to Get the Secret Secondary Job Arcanist in Octopath Traveler 2

Mugen will begin the fight with two attacks: The Conqueror’s Tyranny, an attack that hits one party member, and The Conqueror’s Rule. This is foreshadowing of how Mugen plays. He’s a heavy hitter that usually attacks twice in a row, once with a debuff and the next with a party-hit attack that does physical damage.

Once you break Mugen for the first time, he’ll use his charge move, Mugen Stands Ready. And while you would usually have the chance to break a boss before he uses it, because Mugen always attacks twice, he’ll immediately lower one-party unit to 1 HP.

The first half of the fight doesn’t have any other real gambits. Mugen is a heavy-hitter that does physical damage and, if not treated with respect, will kill one to two party members. Keep your team healed and lower his health until you trigger an exchange of dialogue between Mugen and Hikari.

Mugen will then attack twice with the same combo he used at the start of the fight: Conquerer’s Tyranny and Conqueror’s Rule. But he’ll add one more move to the combo: Mugen’s Soul Rages. This is his charge attack, and it signals the start of the real fight.

Mugen will change his weaknesses and shields and start using far more brutal attacks. Gates of Hell will hit two party members, lowering their HP to 1. Mugen will now be able to use Decapitation without charging it, allowing him to lower another party member to 1 HP. Yes, a Cleric is essential in the second half of this fight.

At this point, at least one party member needs to be dedicated to keeping the party members alive as you chip away at his shield. A warrior with Aggressive Slash becomes essential, as it’s the fastest way to hack through Mugen’s shields and find a reprieve from the onslaught. But if you haven’t broken and killed him in five more turns, Mugen will use Know your place again, signaling the start of a new shuffle of weaknesses and another hit of the Gates of Hell. Defending won’t save you, so you might as well try to break his shields.

Once you finally defeat Mugen, you’ll gain not only the joy of victory but 9,900 leaves, 1890 EXP, and 675 JP.

If you’re going to take down Partitio’s final boss next, check out our guide here.