The First Berserker: Khazan Getting Started

Leave enough stamina to defend

Attacks, guards and dodges compete for stamina. Watch the bar before adding another attack: a short punish with room to escape is a useful starting plan while learning a boss.

Holding Guard reduces movement speed and stamina recovery. A well-timed Brink Guard uses a small amount of your stamina while damaging the enemy’s stamina or fortitude. It does not make your own stamina cost disappear.

Practise against a readable ordinary enemy. Watch the attack approach, guard just before contact, and learn whether another hit follows before counterattacking. Brink Guard & Dodge explains the difference between timing the defence and finding a safe punish.

Try a weapon without locking in a build

The weapon families are Dual Wield, Greatsword and Spear. Try their basic attacks and recovery before choosing which skills to practise first.

Skill allocations can be reset at any time and from anywhere. You can focus on a few useful moves now and redistribute points when another weapon or boss calls for a different approach. A point spent on an experiment is not a permanent loss.

Choose changes you can evaluate: a combo you can finish safely, a defensive skill you use often, or an attack that reaches an opening you previously missed. Change one part of the plan and test it before replacing everything.

Know which kind of help you are using

Phantom Form transforms Khazan for a limited time using its own gauge. Spirit of Advocacy is a separate NPC helper that becomes available through progression and costs Lacrima of Circulation to summon.

These are different systems, with different resources. Skills & Phantoms separates them so you can choose the tool you actually have available.