Get the Fang of Ferocity here!
Like the name says, the Curious Nest is a rather curious dungeon in Octopath Traveler 2. It’s located in the bay by Canalbrine that’s guarded by the Battle-Worn Shark. Naturally, you’ll need a boat to get here. If you somehow don’t own one by now, here’s our guide for getting your own seafaring vessel.
With a danger level of 52, the Curious Nest is a notable jump in challenge from the eight protagonists’ final chapters. It’s also an incredibly short dungeon that leads up to a fierce boss battle. Once inside, grab the treasure and use the save point after you prepare your party for the powerful foe ahead. Players using broken strategies will probably break this monster too, but for everyone else, here’s what you should expect.
The Tyrannodrake’s mechanics
Tyrannodrake has 145,000 HP, so even the most overpowered players won’t beat this thing in one hit. At the start of the battle, the Tyrannodrake will be weak to every weapon type. This initially makes the boss seem like a breeze, but this is setting you up for its central gimmick; every time you hit a weakness, it will use Adaptive Evolution to remove that weakness completely. An Armsmaster who begins this encounter with Sixfold Strike will immediately find Tyrannodrake’s vulnerabilities reduced to bows.
After Tyrannodrake’s weaknesses diminish, it will eventually use Mutation to reset its weaknesses. However, instead of being exclusively weak to weapons, Tyrannodrake will be vulnerable to Polearms, Daggers, Axes, Wind, Light, and Dark. Castti is uniquely valuable here, as she can hit every magic element with Concoct if you need to clear those. The Arcanist job also does a great job at exploiting Light and Dark weaknesses if you’re prefer a magic-based strategy. Otherwise, make sure to have a way to attack with every applicable weapon and element. Letting Tyrannodrake linger with unhittable weaknesses will prolong the encounter longer than it needs to be.
How to defeat the Tyrannodrake
There are two main methods to deal with Tyrannodrake’s gimmick. The first route is to plan around these diminishing weaknesses and use less valuable attacks first. For example, if Hikari is your best shield breaker with his sword attacks, hit it with every other weapon first so you can exploit the Tyrannodrake’s remaining weakness hard. This is absolutely the route you’ll want to go for a quick victory. One well-coordinated shield break phase is all it takes to gets a clear in the bag.
Alternatively, you can lean into unconditional shield-breaking moves to ignore this mechanic completely. Ochette is a strong choice here, as she can capture certain bosses that deal huge damage to shields. Osvald also succeeds on this front by using One True Magic. Not only does this spell always break shields, but it can also hit up to three times in one cast if Advanced Magic or Alephan’s Wisdom is used. Temenos’ Latent Power is also worth mentioning, as Elemental Barrage won’t trigger Adaptive Evolution if you use him as a Scholar. Rounding out your options are the Dancer’s Ruinous Kick and the Warrior’s Vengeful Blade, though the latter will still clear the sword resistance from Tyrannodrake.
Even if you plan around the first method, it helps to have an unconditional shield break on hand in case you mess up your attack order. Otherwise, this is a straightforward boss encounter. Watch out for status ailments like Terror and Blind, and make sure Tyrannodrake doesn’t debuff your physical attackers before they go all out. Use your best attacks and plunder all the loot waiting for you upon your victory. Among these are the Fang of Ferocity, the Lost Tribe’s Bow, and the Tornado Glaive.
Capture the Tyrannodrake with Ochette
Like all minibosses in Octopath Traveler 2, Tyrannodrake has a chance to respawn as a random encounter upon defeat. This can be an unpleasant surprise if you’re trying to level grind, but this does give Ochette the ability to capture this beast if you so wish.
The Tyrannodrake gives Ochette access to Mighty Rotten Breath. When used, this will damage all enemies on the field and inflict up to four stat debuffs. Since this requires a full boost gauge with a once-per-fight limit, you’ll have to determine if this skill is worth farming yourself. Preparing it gives nine Rotten Meat, so if you need those, knock yourself out. Best of luck!
