How to help Kukajin's statue in Lords of the Fallen

Lords of the Fallen Kukajin statue cave
(Image credit: CI Games)
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(Image credit: Hexworks / CI Games)

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Helping the Kukajin statue is one of the main NPC quests you'll find in the early Forsaken Fen area of Lords of the Fallen. While exploring the poisonous swamp, this mercenary fell afoul of a magical accessory that turned her to stone, and while her companion sorcerer, Wilmarc, was killed by some angry locals, Kukajin's statue remains hidden in a cave.

The easiest way to find Kukajin is after you've unlocked the shortcut by the Vestige of Valade in the Fen. You'll find a big burning pyre with some Shuja warriors, and a pool just off to the side of it. Next to that pool is a root-covered cave you can smash open—once you get close, you should hear Kukajin humming. With that said, here's what you need to do to unfreeze the statue and help the mercenary.

How to help Kukajin's statue

You have two options in terms of what you can do with the statue of Kukajin:

  • Free her: You'll need to cure the status ailment affecting her, and that means using the Sanctify spell. You can find this one right after you beat the Pieta, She of Blessed Renewal boss—simply run up the stairs after the arena to grab it from a chest. This spell requires 18 Radiance and a Radiant Catalyst. There is also the Cleansing Spring spell which only has an 8 Radiance requirement. You can buy this from Exacter Dunmire after you've beaten the Gentle Gaverus boss. If you unseal Kukajin, she'll give you the Pendant of Induration, which increases Physical Defence, plus you can grab Wilmarc's Catalyst from behind her after she's gone.
  • Smash her: If you're not going to level Radiance and aren't particularly interested in her quest, you can just smack the statue of Kukajin to shatter it. This will kill her, but get you the extremely good Kukajin's Sword that deals both bleed and poison, and you'll be able to grab that catalyst behind her, too.

If you free Kukajin, you can next meet her at Skyrest Bridge in one of the cells near the vestige, where she'll offer her services as a potential summon for boss fights.

Sean Martin
Guides Writer

Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.