DRG Rogue Core Gatekeeper Bosses: All 3 Explained 2026

This DRG Rogue Core Gatekeeper bosses guide covers ground that changed under this site's own feet. Only one Gatekeeper existed at Early Access launch, but the roster has grown to three since, and the fight itself has picked up new counterattack mechanics along the way. What follows is current as of this writing, not as of launch day.

TL;DR: There are 3 Gatekeeper bosses: Gotoorak (the one available at EA launch), Ramok, and Molaktula (generally the hardest). They are not cleanly gated one-per-Depth-tier; each scales across a range of Depth levels. Each fight centers on throwing Gatestones into a central pit to advance phases, and each boss has a distinct 3x-damage weak point. A recent patch added defensive counterattacks to all three, so older guides describing the fights without those counters are now out of date.

DRG Rogue Core Gatekeeper bosses guide: what actually matters (quick answer)

There are 3 Gatekeeper bosses in DRG Rogue Core, one gating the end of each of the game's first three Depth tiers: Gotoorak, Ramok, and Molaktula, in ascending difficulty. Each fight is built around destroying Gatestones in a central pit and hitting a specific weak point for bonus damage.

Key takeaways

• 3 total Gatekeepers: Gotoorak, Ramok, Molaktula. Each scales across a range of Depth levels rather than being gated to one specific tier.
• The Gatekeeper room is always the final room of a Depth run, marked by at least 2 munition crates near the entrance.
• Fights are structured around Gatestones, orbs thrown into a central pit that advance the encounter through phases.
• Each boss has a distinct weak point dealing roughly 3x damage, worth learning to spot on sight.
• A recent patch added defensive counterattacks to all three bosses, changing how aggressively you can punish each fight.
• Molaktula's Phase 2 is the hardest single moment in any Gatekeeper fight: invulnerable, zero-gravity, and a 3-way orb split happening at once.

Overview

This guide covers DRG Rogue Core (Steam appid 2605790, Ghost Ship Games, Ghost Ship/Coffee Stain Publishing) as it stands after the patch that added counterattacks to all 3 Gatekeepers, not as it stood at the May 20, 2026 Early Access launch, when only Gotoorak existed. What follows covers each boss's location, mechanics, and weak point. It doesn't cover other named encounters like Sentinel Specter or Research Experiment, which are separate boss-type entities outside the Gatekeeper category and deserve their own coverage rather than being lumped in here.

Finding a Gatekeeper fight

Every Gatekeeper occupies the final room of a Depth run. You'll know one is coming because that room's entrance is marked by at least 2 munition crates, a consistent enough tell that it's worth training yourself to recognize before you're caught unprepared.

The fight structure across all three shares a core mechanic: Gatestones, orbs that get thrown into a central pit during the encounter. Destroying or otherwise resolving these Gatestones is what actually advances the fight through its phases, so learning to prioritize them over just shooting the boss directly matters more than it looks like it should.

Gatekeeper arenas share this industrial gate-and-pit layout across all three Depths, even as the boss itself and its attack set change.

Gotoorak Gatekeeper

Gotoorak is the easiest of the three and the only one that existed at launch. Its fight runs across 3 stages with 5 total attacks, including an AOE sludge attack, a spiral pattern, and a charged laser. Its weak point is its eye, taking the standard 3x damage bonus.

A recent patch added two defensive counterattacks: Five-Shot and a force-push-based counter (community naming for the exact counter varies), while also reducing the damage from its base force-push attack. If you learned this fight before that patch, expect the counters to catch you off guard the first time.

As the first Gatekeeper most players face, Gotoorak is also the best place to learn the general rhythm of a gate fight before the difficulty ramps up. Its 3-stage structure gives you room to make mistakes early and still recover, which isn't true once you're facing Ramok or Molaktula at deeper runs. Treat a clean Gotoorak clear as the baseline for whether your current loadout is actually ready to push further, not just a formality on the way to the next Depth.

Ramok Gatekeeper

Ramok steps up the difficulty with 5 attacks, including a charge move that gets Ramok stuck if you dodge it cleanly, opening a solid punish window. It also has a straightforward melee attack, but the attack to actually respect is its Phase 2-plus tornado, which can one-shot a player at deeper Depth levels.

Ramok's added counterattacks are Ram and Tornado, layered on top of its existing kit rather than replacing anything.

GODEEPER: Before you're geared enough to reliably punish Ramok's charge window, it helps to know which Reclaimer classes actually cover for each other in a fight like this. DRG Rogue Core Classes: All 5 Reclaimers Explained 2026 →

Molaktula Gatekeeper

Molaktula is generally considered the hardest Gatekeeper and plays more like a "walking fortress" than the other two. It has 4 attacks, but its Phase 2 is the real test: Molaktula becomes invulnerable, the arena shifts to reduced gravity, and it smashes the Corestone into pieces you have to manage simultaneously, drawing power from what's described as the Rift Gate.

Phase 3 doesn't ease up. It adds Rising Spike and Yellow Orb attacks on top of everything Phase 2 already threw at you. The added counterattacks here are Spike Shield and Teleport, which punish players who assume Molaktula's movement options are as limited as Gotoorak's or Ramok's.

Molaktula in particular rewards a coordinated team more than a solo push, since managing a 3-way orb split alone during Phase 2 is a lot to track.

Tips

Prioritize Gatestones over direct boss damage

Since Gatestones are what actually advance each fight's phases, chasing raw DPS on the boss itself without managing the Gatestones just prolongs the fight for no benefit.

Relearn each fight if you last played before the counterattack patch

Five-Shot, the Gotoorak force-push counter, Ram Frenzy, Tornado, Spike Shield, and Teleport are all recent additions. A strategy that worked cleanly before this patch may now eat an unexpected counter.

Save cooldowns for Molaktula's Phase 2, not before it

Since Phase 2 is genuinely the hardest single stretch across all three Gatekeepers, don't burn your best defensive or offensive cooldowns getting there if you can help it.

Learn each weak point by sight, not by trial and error mid-fight

All three bosses have a roughly 3x-damage weak point. Knowing where to look before the fight starts saves you from wasting early-fight damage on armored sections that barely register.

Common mistakes

• Treating all 3 Gatekeepers as equally difficult. Gotoorak, Ramok, and Molaktula scale up meaningfully, and gearing choices should reflect that.
• Ignoring Gatestones to focus fire the boss directly. The Gatestones are the actual phase-advance mechanism, not an optional side objective.
• Assuming pre-patch strategies still apply. The counterattack additions changed the risk profile of aggressive play against all three bosses.
• Confusing Gatekeepers with Sentinel Specter or Research Experiment. Those are separate boss-type encounters, not part of the Gatekeeper category this guide covers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Gatekeeper bosses are in DRG Rogue Core? Three: Gotoorak, Ramok, and Molaktula. Gotoorak was the only one available at Early Access launch; Ramok and Molaktula were added afterward. They are not strictly gated one-per-Depth-tier; each scales across a range of Depth levels.

What is a Gatestone in DRG Rogue Core? An orb that Gatekeeper bosses use to structure their fights. You destroy or interact with Gatestones thrown into a central pit to advance the encounter through its phases.

Where do you find Gatekeeper boss fights? At the end of a Depth run, in a large room marked by at least 2 munition crates near its entrance. That layout is the consistent tell that a Gatekeeper fight is coming.

What is Molaktula's hardest phase? Phase 2, where it becomes invulnerable, shifts to reduced gravity, and smashes the Corestone into pieces you have to deal with simultaneously. Phase 3 adds Rising Spike and Yellow Orb attacks on top of that.

Do Gatekeeper bosses have weak points? Yes, each has a visually distinct weak point that takes roughly 3 times normal damage. Learning to recognize it on sight matters more than raw DPS for a clean kill.

Did a recent patch change the Gatekeeper fights? Yes. A patch added defensive counterattacks to all three: Five-Shot and a force-push counter for Gotoorak, Ram Frenzy and Tornado for Ramok, and Spike Shield and Teleport for Molaktula, alongside other balance adjustments.

Related Reading

• DRG Rogue Core Roadmap 2026: 3 Priority Fixes Confirmed: DRG Rogue Core roadmap: no dates, just priorities. Ghost Ship confirmed 3 balance fixes plus
• DRG Rogue Core Team Compositions: Best Co-op Squads 2026: squad setups worth running before attempting Molaktula specifically.
• DRG Rogue Core Upgrade Guide: Expenite, Tiers, Best Picks: gearing up before you're deep enough to face all three Gatekeepers back to back.

References

• Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core on Steam
• Rogue Core: Molaktula - Official Deep Rock Galactic Wiki