Pekora Boss Fight An Automaton's Journey: Complete Strategy Guide

Surviving the Pekora boss fight An Automaton's Journey requires mastering knockback management and precise timing against her falling rocks mechanic. Tucked deep inside the Pekora Cave, this mid-game encounter tests your positioning and punishes greedy damage windows. If you brought the Elizabeth Sword and Fuwamoco's claws into the arena, you already have the baseline tools needed to clear the room and secure the hidden RABBIT_RUSH achievement. Here is exactly how to dismantle her two phases, avoid the environmental hazards, and optimize your damage output.

01

Preparing for the Pekora Cavetag

Before stepping into the boss arena, Cecilia Immergreen needs a specific inventory loadout to mitigate the heavy area-of-effect damage. The Pekora Cave is a tight, enclosed space, meaning mobility is far more valuable than raw defense.

The Gauntlet Approachtag

The path leading to the boss door is a gauntlet. You will navigate a series of narrow corridors lined with aggressive Takodachi mobs and explosive Pebbles. Takodachis have a tendency to swarm if you move too quickly, so use your hookshot to pull them individually and dispatch them before proceeding. Preserve your health potions during this approach; you will need every drop of healing for the main event.

Recommended Gear Loadouttag

Do not enter the boss door until you have configured your equipment for maximum mobility and reach.

• Primary Weapon: Equip the Elizabeth Sword. Its extended hitbox allows you to poke the boss from just outside her melee range, keeping you safe from sudden counter-attacks.
• Mobility Item: Fuwamoco's claws are mandatory. The sprinting boots effect is the only reliable way to clear the blast radius of the falling rocks during Phase 1.
• Utility: Gigi's tail acts as your hookshot. Use it to close the gap immediately after an enemy attack barrage finishes, or to pull yourself out of danger if you get cornered against the wall.
• Consumables: Stock up on bombs and maximum potions. Bombs are essential for clearing out the minion waves that spawn during the fight.

02

Phase 1: Managing the Falling Rocks and Pebblestag

The signature attack in the first half of the fight is the falling rocks phase. When the boss leaps to the center of the cave, shadows will rapidly appear on the ground, indicating where the debris will land.

1. Read the Shadows: The rocks drop in a grid pattern. Identify the expanding black circles on the floor and immediately chart a path to the outer edge.
2. Sprint to the Perimeter: Activate Fuwamoco's claws and hug the outer wall of the cave. The center of the room becomes a guaranteed death zone within seconds.
3. Wait for the Impact: Do not attempt to attack the rocks mid-air. The June 13 patch by Xyros Games explicitly removed the exploit that allowed players to shatter the rocks before they hit the ground. You must now respect the mechanic and dodge them completely.
4. Clear the Pebbles: As the rocks fall, waves of Pebble minions will spawn to cut off your escape routes. Pebbles are small, fast-moving enemies that detonate on contact. Drop a bomb in your wake as you sprint. A previous bug caused Pebbles to become immortal if hit by multiple bombs with specific timing, but this has been patched. A single well-placed bomb will clear the wave, giving you a safe path to the perimeter.
5. Punish the Recovery: Once the final rock shatters, the boss suffers a two-second recovery animation. Grapple in with Gigi's tail and land a strict three-hit combo with the Elizabeth Sword. Do not go for a fourth hit, or you will be caught in the transition to Phase 2.

03

Phase 2: Countering the Knockback Attackstag

When she drops below 50% HP, the boss stops summoning falling rocks and switches to heavy knockback strikes designed to push you into environmental hazards. The perimeter of the cave is lined with spike traps that drain your HP rapidly, so hugging the wall is no longer a viable strategy.

To counter the knockback, you must play aggressively in the center of the arena. When she winds up her glowing orange melee swing, watch her ears. A quick twitch indicates a fast, short-range swipe, while a full crouch signals the devastating cross-map shockwave. You have two options to survive the shockwave:

The Dash Counter: Dash diagonally toward her rather than away. Because her attack pushes outward in a cone, dodging backward guarantees you get caught in the blast and thrown into the spikes. By dashing through her character model, you negate the knockback entirely and position yourself at her back for a critical strike.

The Moai Transformation: If your dash is on cooldown, activate the Moai transformation. While typically used for puzzle-solving, turning into the heavy stone Moai anchors Cecilia to the floor. You will still take a small amount of base damage from the hit, but you will completely ignore the knockback physics, keeping you safely out of the spike pits.

04

The CC Shout Optimizationtag

Advanced players can optimize their damage output by utilizing the CC Shout mechanic. While the CC Shout is primarily used to interact with NPCs and trigger environmental switches in the overworld, it has a hidden combat utility in this specific fight.

If you activate the CC Shout right as the boss begins her recovery animation after a knockback swing, it briefly stuns her, extending your damage window from two seconds to four seconds. This allows you to land a full five-hit combo with the Elizabeth Sword before she can raise her guard. Ensure your CC Shout frequency settings are properly configured in the options menu, as a known bug (recently patched) occasionally caused these settings to reset upon entering the dungeon.

05

How to Unlock the RABBIT_RUSH Achievementtag

Completionists will want to attempt this encounter early to secure the hidden RABBIT_RUSH achievement. The requirement is strict: you must win this fight before defeating The Scarlet Queen.

Most players naturally path toward The Scarlet Queen first because her dungeon grants a passive defense buff and upgrades your base health. To get RABBIT_RUSH, you must bypass the Queen's domain entirely.

• Skip the Crystal Cave: After acquiring Gigi's tail, do not head north to the Crystal Cave. Instead, route directly east toward the Pekora Cave.
• Fight Under-Leveled: You will enter the arena without the upgraded armor plating. This means the knockback attacks are potentially lethal in two hits.
• Prioritize Evasion: Rely heavily on Fuwamoco's claws to avoid damage, and prioritize survival over DPS. Do not get greedy with your sword combos.

Unlocking this achievement proves your mastery of the game's movement mechanics and rewards you with a unique cosmetic badge for Cecilia.

06

FAQtag

Can you break the falling rocks in the Pekora cave? No. While an early version of the game allowed players to destroy the rocks mid-air with upward strikes, the June 13 patch fixed this exploit. You must now dodge them using the sprinting boots.

What is the best weapon for this encounter? The Elizabeth Sword is the optimal choice. Its extended reach allows Cecilia to deal damage without stepping into the immediate knockback radius, reducing the risk of being thrown into the spike traps.

How do I get the RABBIT_RUSH achievement? You must clear this boss before engaging The Scarlet Queen. This requires skipping the Crystal Cave dungeon entirely and entering the fight with lower base defense and health.

Does the Moai transformation block damage? It does not block the raw damage of an attack, but it completely negates knockback physics. This makes it incredibly useful during Phase 2 to avoid being pushed into the environmental spikes.