Illfang the Kobold Lord

Illfang the Kobold Lord (イルファング・ザ・コボルド・ロード) was the boss of the 1st Floor of Aincrad in Sword Art Online. The boss had four Hit Point (HP) bars and had Ruin Kobold Sentinel minions that supported it in battle. Illfang was defeated by a raid party consisting of forty-four players. The Last Attack on the boss was dealt by Kirito, who received the «Coat of Midnight» as a bonus reward for the feat.

Appearance
Illfang was over two meters tall, muscular, covered in blue-grey fur (red in the illustrations and anime) and had bloodthirsty, copper-red eyes. Illfang used a large bone axe and a leather shield to attack. Behind its waist, it carried a meter and half long nodachi weapon.

Minions
Throughout the boss battle, Illfang was supported by its minion Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Twelve such minions were spawned throughout the battle: three at the start of the battle and an additional three each time one of Illfang's hit point bars were depleted.

Attack Patterns
Once Illfang's last hit point bar was depleted to a third of its capacity, the boss would dispose of its axe and shield in favour of using its nodachi, which allowed the use of Katana skills. In the Closed Beta Test, Illfang used a talwar instead of a nodachi.

Pre-Battle Preparation
The Boss Room was found by Diavel and his six-person party on the 20th level of the 1st Floor Labyrinth. Several meetings were held in Tolbana, at which forty-four players organized a strategy to face the first boss. They divided themselves into seven six-member parties, with Asuna and Kirito forming their own two-member party.

No scouting raids were made, as the information from Argo's handbook was deemed sufficient for the battle.

Strategy
The two Tank parties were assigned to drawing the boss's attention and enduring its attacks. The Assault Parties C-D would concentrate on the dealing damage to the boss, while the Assault Party E would focus their attention on the sentinels. The Support parties would primarily use the Delay skill to interrupt either the boss's or guards' attacks, relieving pressure from the other parties whenever possible. In general, the parties planned to rely on the "Switch and Pot" strategy.

Battle Summary
The battle took place on December 4th, 2022.
 * 10:00 AM: the raid party met in Tolbana.
 * 11:00 AM: the raid party reached the 1st Floor Labyrinth.
 * 12:30 PM: the raid party reached the 20th level of the 1st Floor Labyrinth.
 * 12:40 PM: the Boss Battle commenced.
 * Groups A to C engaged Illfang at the front. Groups E and G engaged the sentinels.
 * Illfang's first HP gauge depleted.
 * Group D rotated with Group C and engaged Illfang for the second HP gauge.
 * Illfang's second HP gauge depleted.
 * Group G changed targets to engage Illfang.
 * Support Groups F and G depleted Illfang's third HP gauge out of four.
 * Group C charged at Illfang in an encircling formation, despite not being fully recovered.
 * Illfang unexpectedly used an omnidirectional katana skill, hitting all of its assailants and inflicting a «Stun» debuff on Group C.
 * Illfang exclusively targeted Diavel, killing him with a 4-hit combo.
 * Asuna and Kirito engaged Illfang, ordering the others to retreat ten steps away from the boss. Kirito focused on countering and delaying Illfang's attacks, while Asuna dealt damage.
 * Kirito was overwhelmed by the boss, prompting Groups A, B and D to come to his aid.
 * Kirito retreated and began directing the other parties. Groups E and G engaged the Sentinels, Groups A, B, and D provided cover, while Asuna continued to deal damage to Illfang.
 * Illfang's final HP gauge dropped below the 30% mark, causing it to become red.
 * Kirito rejoined the battle at the critical point, stunning Illfang with his attack.
 * All groups surrounded Illfang for an all-out attack.
 * Kirito dealt the final blow with the «Vertical Arc» Sword Skill, killing the boss.

Casualties

 * Diavel

Gallery

 * See Illfang the Kobold Lord/Image Gallery

Trivia

 * Illfang's First Floor Boss Room was twenty meters wide by one hundred meters deep.