I got stuck on floor 77 with nowhere to go and it really fucking sucked. I Googled like crazy trying to find a solution, to see if anyone else had run into the same problem. A couple of other gamers had, but there were no tips on how to continue.

I completed all of the quests, discovered the boss door and explored – what I thought to be – the entire floor. Yet every time I tried talking to the guy in Arc Sophia to start the boss battle meeting, he would say I still had more information to collect.

SAO HF Fighting Goblin Leader

It turns out I completely missed an NM monster that I was supposed to beat. On every level you have to finish enough quests to gather info, find the boss door and beat all the NM enemies – which are basically like mini bosses. I had no idea about the latter step since the game doesn’t explain this stuff to new players very well.

Anyway, to help out any other fellow SAO noobs out there who run into the same problem, here’s where I found the NM for floor 77 who’s a goblin. There’s also a tree NM outside the cave where you find the goblin, but seeing as I had already fought him, you will probably be able to find that monster easy too.

SAO HF Tree NM Monster

If you’ve already explored the whole floor, teleport to Silent Fresh Greenwood Avenue from Arc Sophia. Run through the forest to the next area, which is the Battle Monger’s Outpost. This is where you’ll find the tree NM I was talking about. The first time I visited this area – and several times after – I breezed through slaying all the enemies and completely missed the cave tucked away. Take a look at the map screenshot of the area and you’ll see the cave entance.

SAO HF Battle Monger's Outpost Map

The screenshot below shows you which way to go to get to the cave.

SAO HF floor 77 cave entrance

Once you’re inside, you’ll obviously have to navigate through the cave to find the NM goblin. As soon as you walk in, Kirito will say something like “I sense a powerful monster in here,” or some shit like that.

SAO HF Cave of Demons Map

You’ll find him in the very back of the cave near two chests. The screenshot above shows the cave map.

For good measure, here’s what the NM Goblin looks like standing with his cronies.

SAO HF Goblin NM Monster