Fortress Guardian Notun is a headless, sword-wielding Varian guardian that fills the arena with flying blades. It is one of two Rare bosses in AION 2’s Layer 1 Nightmare ladder, and it is a solo fight. There is no tank to hold aggro and no healer to cover a bad dodge. Most of its attacks punish you for standing in front of it, so the fight comes down to staying behind or beside it.
Quick answer: Progress Gatekeeper Pinopi and Furious Feruk to unlock Notun. Then enter Stage 1 with at least 1700 combat power and fight from behind the boss. Dodge through its thrusts instead of backing away.
Fortress Guardian Notun unlock requirements
Notun is not available when Nightmare first opens. It sits one step up the Layer 1 progression chain. You unlock it by working through two of the Common bosses first.
- Prerequisite bosses: Gatekeeper Pinopi and Furious Feruk
- Mode: Nightmare boss challenge, solo, Layer 1
- Challenge tier: 1
- Arena: Destruction Archon Underground Fortress
- Rank: hero (boss), creature type Varian
Notun shares its stage structure and combat power curve with Mutated Gerod, the other Rare boss on the ladder. If you can clear one of them at a given stage, you are in the right range to try the other.
Recommended combat power for all 10 Notun stages
Notun has 10 challenge stages. The recommended combat power rises by 50 per stage through Stage 7, then by 100 per stage up to the cap.
| Stage | Recommended combat power |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1700 |
| 2 | 1750 |
| 3 | 1800 |
| 4 | 1850 |
| 5 | 1900 |
| 6 | 1950 |
| 7 | 2000 |
| 8 | 2100 |
| 9 | 2200 |
| 10 | 2300 |
Stage 1 starts above Stage 10 of the Common bosses, which top out at 1600. Expect a gear check between finishing Pinopi or Feruk and your first Notun attempt.
A Nightmare attempt is deducted only when you clear the fight. A wipe on a stage that is slightly above your combat power costs you time, not an entry, so you can use failed runs to learn Notun’s timings.
Fortress Guardian Notun attacks and how to dodge them
Almost everything Notun does is a sword attack. It either swings the blade it holds or launches the blades floating around it. Most of the safe spots are behind or under the boss. The farther away you stand, the more projectiles it sends your way.
| Attack | What you see | Safe response |
|---|---|---|
| Double AoE | Small circle, then a larger ring | Stand behind, then in the middle |
| Impale | Sword drawn back, then thrust at you | Dodge through the boss |
| Blade Burst | Wide circle plus outward blades | Leave the radius, avoid blade lanes |
| Fanning Blades | Blades thrown in a fan | Stand in a gap or use mobility |
| Slam Attack | Leap toward you, burning ground | Move aside, stay off the fire |
| Crossblades | Two blades crossing at you | Step out of both paths |
Close-range swings: Double AoE and Impale
Double AoE is your best damage window of the fight. The first indicator is a small circle that leaves the space behind Notun safe. The second is a much larger ring whose center is safe. If you are already behind the boss when the first marker appears, you can keep attacking through both hits without moving far.
Impale combines a forward sword thrust with smaller circles from the floating blades, all aimed in your direction. Backing away keeps you inside the danger zone. Dodge through Notun instead, which clears both the thrust and the follow-up circles and leaves you at its back.
Arena-wide threats: Blade Burst and Slam Attack
Blade Burst charges a large circle around Notun and sends blades flying outward from it. Get outside the circle, then watch the blade lanes so you do not run straight into one.
Slam Attack starts with a jump. Notun lands where you were standing and leaves a burning patch that deals damage over time. Start moving as soon as it leaves the ground and stay clear of the fire until it fades. Notun can also cover the floor with a dark purple pool during the fight, so check where you are standing before you commit to a long cast.
Ranged punishes: Fanning Blades and Crossblades
Fanning Blades only comes out when you are far from Notun. The boss throws a spread of blades toward you, and the gaps between them are safe. A movement skill also gets you out cleanly. Ranged classes can fight from a distance, but they will see this attack more often than melee players who stay close.
Crossblades unlocks once Notun has taken a chunk of damage. Two blades spawn together and cross through your position. Notun weaves them into its other attacks, so a safe dodge from Impale can still leave you inside a crossing lane. Expect more blades and lines on screen as the fight goes on.
Notun clear rewards and Phantasmal Fragments
Each Notun clear pays out in Phantasmal Fragments, the Nightmare currency you spend in the Nightmare Shop. Every stage has two payouts. The first-time clear reward is larger and can be claimed only once per stage. After that, clearing the same stage again gives only the smaller repeatable reward. Both payouts grow as the stage number goes up.
Because first clears are worth more, it usually makes sense to push the next unclaimed stage before you farm one you have already beaten. The Nightmare Shop also sells a Fortress Guardian Notun statue for your Pantheon, bought with Phantasmal Fragments. It is an Epic statue that adds Death (Triniel) and Space (Israphel) stats permanently.
You know a run counted when the Nightmare Dungeon Complete banner appears. The completion window that follows shows the Challenge Stage you cleared, your clear time, and the rank points the run earned. If that window lists the stage you selected, the clear is recorded and the next stage opens up for your following attempt.
