TAVAKAI Boss Guide — Every Ability IN-DEPTH — Act 4 & Jade Isles Anomaly Boss Manoki [PoE2]
Summary
- Tavakai is a three-phase encounter found at the end of Act 4 and as the endgame Anomaly boss “Manoki, the Chosen” in the Jade Isles/Eye of the Storm maps.
- Phase 1 focuses on human-form melee attacks and jade-based area-of-effect (AoE) abilities.
- The Ancestors: Starting in Phase 2, eight totems surrounding the arena trigger unique environmental hazards based on Karui ancestors.
- Phase 2 introduces “The Fallen” form, featuring blood-based magic, long melee combos, and ground-spike patterns.
- Phase 3 features “The Consumed” form, requiring careful management of proximity-based spikes and hyper-aggressive “Rampage” combos.
- Key drops include valuable Lineage support gems in endgame versions.
Phase 1: Tavakai the Chieftain
In this phase, the boss appears in human form wielding a jade axe.
- Default Attacks:
- A three-hit combo: kick, ground slam, and a backhand fist.
- A two-hit combo: a short cleave followed by a ground slam.
- A wide, long sweep: extremely fast with significant reach. Outrange these or use dodge-rolls to strafe around him.
- Rolling Slam: A chain of three ground slams. Avoid this by outranging the strikes or strafing quickly to exploit his slow turning speed.
- Hook Throw: When his axe flashes red, he throws a hook to pull you in for a two-hit combo. If hooked, the first hit is difficult to avoid, but you can move away before the second. Dodge-roll the moment the axe lights up.
- Ancestral Slam: His head flashes red, and a large spirit appears behind him to perform a heavy ground slam. The slam is offset toward his front, so dodging behind him is the most effective strategy.
- Jade Leap: He leaps into the air, leaving a jade statue at his original position. Upon landing, he slams the ground twice; the second slam detonates the statue. Stay clear of both the landing zone and the original jump point.
- Splintering Jade: He stomps to create a line of jade, then slashes it to send a wave of projectiles in a wide cone. Dodge-roll through the projectiles to avoid damage.
- Jade Bomb: A long six-hit combo ending in a boulder that fires projectiles in all directions. Avoid the boulder; standing on it during detonation is often fatal.
- Summon Warrior Spirits: He drags his axe across the floor to create a frontal cone that spawns warrior spirits. Sidestep the wind-up and clear the spirits quickly.
The 8 Ancestors
Once Tavakai reaches 50% health, the fight moves to a new arena. Eight totems at the edge of the arena trigger hazards throughout Phase 2 and Phase 3.
- Ramako’s Sun: A glowing orb expands ignited ground. After 10 seconds, the orb detonates for high fire damage.
- Tawhoa’s Forest: Overgrowth expands from the edges toward the center. Standing on it reduces your damage output and obscures other ground hazards.
- Tasalio’s Rain: Cold projectiles rain down on your location for five seconds. Keep moving to avoid them.
- Arohongui’s Moonlight: A giant moon beam deals heavy cold damage over time and applies chill.
- Valako’s Storm: Darkened ground indicates areas where continuous lightning strikes will land.
- Ngamahu’s Eruption: A volcano spawns and spews random fire projectiles.
- Rongokurai’s Voice: Three celestial serpents track your position before submerging to create void zones. These zones deal cold damage over time and chill. Try to place them at the arena edges.
- Kitava’s Mark: A 15-second debuff causes any damage you take to heal Tavakai. Play defensively while this is active.
Phase 2: Tavakai the Fallen
Tavakai heals to full and transforms. He gains a precursor weapon alongside his axe.
- Default Attacks: A medium-length stab with the precursor weapon and a quick two-hit axe combo.
- Summon Warrior Spirits: This uses the same telegraph as Phase 1 (dragging the axe), but the cone consists of emerald fragments.
- Leap-Slam & Corruption: He leaps to your location and slams the ground. While crouching, he releases a swarm of corruption around him. Steer clear of the landing site.
- Blood Pustule: He sticks his weapon into the ground to create a pustule, then stomps it to leave a physical damage-over-time puddle.
- Blood Volley: Streaks of blood are fired outward. Dodge sideways or strafe.
- Skyfall Combo: A seven-part aggressive melee sequence.
- Telegraph: He points at you with the precursor weapon.
- The Skyfall: The fourth attack fires projectiles that rain down for seven seconds. The safe zone is the exact spot Tavakai was standing in when he launched the attack.
- Finisher: The seventh attack is a leap slam.
- Corrupted Bloom: He slams his axe, then sticks his precursor weapon into the ground to grow a bloom. The bloom expands and detonates for heavy damage.
- Blood Spikes: A multi-part sequence triggered by sticking his weapon into the ground:
- Wave 1: A spiral pattern. Stand between the spikes.
- Wave 2: Features safe zones at close or medium range.
- Wave 3: A spiral expanding from the center. Stand at mid-range and dodge inward once the spikes emerge.
- Note: Getting hit by a spike deals heavy damage and applies Corrupted Blood.
Phase 3: Tavakai the Consumed
Tavakai transforms into his final, largest form at approximately 10% health and heals to full. Ancestor hazards remain active.
- Default Attacks: A medium-range arm sweep and a spike jab that may lead into a ground slam.
- Leap Slam: A standard leap to your position; keep moving and dodge-roll the landing.
- Vertical Spikes: These act as proximity mines. They detonate one second after you step on them. You can safely clear space by walking through them without backtracking.
- Diagonal Spike Detonation: A four-part combo:
- He raises one arm, transfers corruption to the second, and performs three alternating cone slams.
- Each slam creates diagonal blood spikes.
- He channels (hunches over and pulses) then roars to detonate all diagonal spikes for massive damage.
- Survival: Identify diagonal spikes by their bright glow and avoid them when he begins pulsing. This does not detonate vertical spikes.
- Rampage: A hyper-aggressive seven-part melee combo:
- Telegraph: He places a hand on his chest and red corruption spreads across his back.
- Attack Sequence: He tracks your position with high accuracy.
- Key Threats: The fifth attack is a long-range frontal cone; the seventh is a leap slam. Use timed dodge-rolls and outrange him if possible.