The Gagana is the firebird of Norgan, a huge feathered bird-wyrm with green and blue plumage, scaled legs that end in long talons, a spined tail, and a throat sac that glows red. You face it at Gagana’s Grotto during the Forsaken Dominion quest “The Castle in the Ice,” and killing it hands over the Firebird Tallow you need to melt the ice wall barring the way to Lorade Castle.
Quick answer: Hit the glowing throat flame sac the moment it swells before a fire breath. Bursting it tips the Gagana onto its side; then strike the head and neck, where ice deals the most damage.
Gagana damage types and debilitations
Bring ice and leave fire at home. The body takes full ice damage and the head takes 1.35 times. Fire is nearly useless against this creature, so strip any fire enchantment off your weapon before the fight. The Gagana has 250,000 health, shown as one bar with seven dots beneath it at the start; each dot is a full bar that refills as the previous one empties.
| Element | Body | Head |
|---|---|---|
| Ice | 1.0 | 1.35 |
| Fire | 0.2 | 0.25 |
| Holy | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Slash | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Strike | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Lightning | 0.8 | 1.0 |
Attacks of slash, strike, lightning, and holy type deal only 0.8 damage to its body, but hit for full damage against its head; this makes knockdown opportunities crucial. Blighted, Caught Fire, and Tarred cannot affect the Gagana, so fire and tar traps are ineffective. Other debilitations may still build up if you reach their thresholds.
| Debilitation | Build-up needed |
|---|---|
| Sleep | 40,000 |
| Unconscious | 5,000 |
| Petrification | 12,000 |
| Frostbite | 6,000 |
| Drenched | 3,000 |
| Silence | 1,000 |
The flame sac weak point
Just before breathing fire, the Gagana’s neck-base sac swells into a vivid orange-red sphere. That change signals your chance: land a precise blow as it expands and the bird is left vulnerable.
When the Gagana is upright, the sac dangles at the chest’s front, higher than its head. A Fighter wielding sword and shield can strike it with jumping attacks from straight ahead, while pawns with bows or spells can attack from a distance. On bursting, the sac sends red sparks from the throat, and the Gagana rolls onto its side, head resting in the snow, remaining motionless for about twenty seconds.
When it falls, concentrate your damage on the head and neck; this opening can take away about two full health bars. Later in the battle, the sac lights up once more and gives you another chance to knock it down. A second knockdown late in the fight is the moment to finish the Gagana.
The sac does not have to burst for the fight to end. Leg and belly hits still chip the bar away, just far more slowly.
Attacks to watch for
- Flame breath that sweeps the ground and leaves burning patches behind. Standing in the stream sets you alight.
- Talon strikes and stomps that carry a deadly poison, marked by a splash of bright green where they land. Carry something that cures poison.
- A long tail sweep when you stand behind it, since the spined tail whips round.
- Beak lunges at whoever is in front of it.
- Wing beats and short hops that lift it off the ground and drop it down a short distance away.
The bird grows more aggressive as the fight drags on, turning and charging more often. Between breaths, a Fighter can stand under the belly or behind the legs to cut safely from the breath, though not from the stomps or the tail. Pawns can climb onto its back and wings. Eir fights beside you here. The burning ground can down a pawn, so revive them with the hold prompt when it happens.
Melting the ice lumps for treasure
The Gagana’s breath burns hotter than your party’s magick, melting the stubborn ice mounds scattered around the grotto that your own fire cannot thaw. During the fight, one mound melts and exposes treasure beneath it. Before you depart, circle the arena’s edge along the path swept by its breath. Glacial Ore lies near the body, marked by a “Pick Up” prompt.
Rewards and drops
After a brief scene with Eir, go to the body and choose “Examine” to claim the spoils. The quest then reads “You obtained some firebird tallow.” The body provides the items below.
- Firebird Tallow
- Glacial Ore (twice)
- Spoils: Lv 3, Ancient Light Weaponry
- Spoils: Lv 3, Ancient Bowstaff
- Spoils: Lv 3, Bowstaff
- Smoldering Hide
A Gagana can also drop Norgan Ducat, Aged Scrag of Beast, Saurian Tail, Rotten Scrag of Beast and Abandoned Supplies (Rare).
Firebird Tallow
A valuable weighing 0.10 kg that cannot be sold. It is tallow from the gagana’s flame sac, and it burns at such an extreme temperature that it melts even very thick ice. You load it into the ballista on the Mountain Stronghold battlements and fire it at the wall of ice to clear the route to Lorade Castle.
Smoldering Hide
A material weighing 0.25 kg that sells for 3,000 G. Taken from the hide that protects a gagana, it serves as a forging material for equipment. You need it to make two cloaks: the Featherdown Blanket and the Arcane Cloak.
Use the Firebird Tallow in the ballista on the Mountain Stronghold battlements to destroy the wall of ice.
