How to Complete The Archon Main Quest Easter Egg & Kortifex Boss Guide

Here’s everything you need to know to complete the main quest & final boss fight with Kortifex in Vanguard Zombies’ The Archon.

The final Vanguard Zombies map is here at last and The Archon pits players against Kortifex in the ultimate boss battle. But to get to the Lord of the Dark Aether, Zombies fans will first need to complete the map’s main quest.

Here’s everything you need to know:

How to Complete The Archon Main Quest Easter Egg

• To get started, you must first build the Pack-a-Punch machine by finding all the machine parts.
• Once the machine is built, a podium will appear in front of the Pack-a-Punch.

• Place the Relic Mirror on the podium. If you missed out on the object’s origin, here’s where to find the Relic Mirror in Shi No Numa, Vanguard Zombies’ last map.
• Kortifex will spawn and taunt the player before disappearing.
• Head through the portal that appears near the Pack-a-Punch to warp into the Dark Aether.
• Once in the Dark Aether, defend yourself against the undead hordes.

• All players will go down as the Construct is disturbed – but don’t worry, the game is not over! You’ll be teleported back to the real world and revived.
• You must now complete 3 trials to become worthy of challenging Kortifex.

How to Complete the 3 Trials in The Archon

How to Complete the Trial of Mindfulness

• Next you’ll need to find a shovel from around the map. You can locate one in Tents or by the train in Derailment, and interact with it to pick it up.

• Then dig up Dig Sites (Square, X, E) near the Merchant Road obelisk until you discover a red orb hiding underground.
• The orb will stick to a wall near the red Merchant Road obelisk.
• Interact with it to start a challenge.
• Remember all the symbols displayed on the wall and the order they’re displayed in.

• Then, as runes appear on the floor nearby, step on them in that order until each rune is secured. The player that stands on the final rune will get a temporary debuff.
• Next up, survive until the timer ticks down to zero, while dealing with your debuffed state.
• Also, be sure to stay near the obelisk at all times, as leaving the area will fail the challenge.

• If you fail, simply survive until the next wave and attempt it once again.
• You will need to complete the trial twice to progress.
• Once the symbol task above is complete, interact with the red obelisk nearby to begin the Trial of Mindfulness

• To complete the Trial of Mindfulness, you’ll need to stand on all the runes until each one is secured, as they spawn around Merchant Road.
• However, if you shoot or damage zombies, the Trial of Mindfulness will fail.

• Make use of Decoy grenades and Aether Shroud to help you avoid going toe-to-toe with the undead.
• Once the timer expires, your trial is complete!

How to Complete the Trial of Resilience

• First, check out our guide on finding the Decimator Shield Wonder Weapon.
• Then, go to Debris Field and interact with the obelisk there.

• Destroy meat pillars with the Decimator’s alt-fire. Bear in mind that it takes a significant time to recharge after each blast.
• Then interact with the pillars’ destroyed syphoncores to fill your chalice
• Fill the nearby parched fountain (shown below) by emptying your chalices.

• Completely fill the parched fountain to complete the Trial of Resilience

How to Complete the Trial of Sacrifice

• Craft or find three Molotov Cocktails. You can buy them cheaply on a wallbuy in Merchant Road West.
• Go back to Derailment and throw your Molotovs at three torches scattered around the train. You can see all locations below:

First Torch Location

In crystal pile directly in front of the entrance to Derailment area.

Second Torch Location

On a crate directly behind the first torch, near another crystal pile.

Third Torch Location

In the train carriage leading to Derailment area, near the side entrance.

• Then, make sure you have a Pack-a-Punched weapon and offer it to the red orb that spawns near one of the three torches.

• Defeat the Sturmkreiger that will spawn.
• Make sure to claim the Ring of Fire artifact from the nearby pedestal next to the glowing orb.

• Then, you can begin the Trial of Sacrifice from the obelisk on top of the train car.
• Charge the surrounding obelisks by activating Ring of Fire and killing red zombies when you’re near the nearby obelisks. Once fully charged, an obelisk will spawn a red line between itself and the central obelisk.
• To recharge your Ring of Fire fast, kill zombies near the center obelisk and the Full Power power-up will spawn to refresh your cooldown.
• If you fail the challenge, simply begin it again next round.

Make sure you’re fully prepared, as it’s time for the boss fight! Head back to the Dark Aether portal near the Pack-a-Punch and activate it.

The Archon: How to Beat Kortifex Boss Fight

• After a short introduction, Kortifex will become gigantic and the boss fight is on.
• Avoid red energy blasts and lightning strikes which deal tremendous damage.
• Don’t forget that there’s an ammo crate in the center of the Dark Aether arena if you need a top-up.

NOTE: Getting your hands on the Ray Gun is a must for dealing with zombies in this boss fight. But it’s not good against The Archon itself. Instead, buy the Widowmaker (a custom BAR) which you can find in the boss fight arena as a wallbuy.

• Shoot the red crystal on Kortifex’s head to inflict damage on the boss.
• Melee the red crystals around the stage and they’ll drop crystal shards.
• Pick up the crystals as they spawn in the boss arena and throw them at the purple plants which swallow them up for a short time.

• Once charged, the plants will release the crystals which you then need to throw at Kortifex.

Phase 2

• Prepare yourself as Phase 2 is even harder than the first. You’ll soon be teleported to the next stage of the fight.
• Survive the undead for now, as The Archon is invincible.
• Once again, destroy red crystals and throw their shards into the purple plants once more.
• However, this time you’ll need to collect the corrupted crystals from the plants and throw them at the giant floating spires that are floating around the area.

• After you take down several of the floating rocks, The Archon will be stunned and his shield will be down. Shoot him in his red eyes to deal damage while you have the chance.
• If you still have Ring of Fire, use it when The Archon is vulnerable to make sure you’re hitting the boss hard.

Phase 3

• Now that one of Kortifex’s eyes is damaged, it’s time for the final phase. Get ready and a teleport will soon take you to the next area.
• Repeat the process once more, breaking off crystals and cooking them in the plants before throwing them to destroy the floating rocks.
• When Kortifex is stunned, blast his one remaining eye.
• If you see Kortifex using a green aura, he’s about to heal himself. Shoot the green glow to prevent him from regaining HP!

Once Kortifex is defeated, a huge amount of loot will spawn, including the Wunderwaffe wonder weapon! You’ll also get an exclusive Calling Card for finishing the map.

And despite a disappointing lack of cutscene, you’ve now completed The Archon main quest!

Many thanks to MrDalekJD for showing us how to complete The Archon main quest easter egg! Check out his full stream of the final Vanguard Zombies map below: