Death

"'Tis only fitting that this island would host its own Reaper. It haunts Arisen as though enraged at the half-immortality granted by the wyrm, relentless and intractable as its namesake. Even now, I swear I can hear the whispers..." Barroch's Notes

Death is an Enemy in Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen.

Overview

Death in the Garden of Ignominy

Death is a shadowy figure shrouded in black found on Bitterblack Isle. Larger than many creatures in the realm, it hovers ominously above the ground. Death's hood hides no facial features—instead, only a gaping black hole looks back at the Arisen. Its deadly scythe, larger than its own body, will instantly kill even the mightiest adventurers. The Bone Lantern held in its left hand allows it to cast Sleep.

Type	Necrophage
Experience gained	Base Experience of 420,000 Can be more or less depending on a few factors such as: Having fewer pawns Being under the effect of Weal Use of the Bezel Crown bow Being in Hard Mode Having higher or lower level pawns
Location	Death appears on Bitterblack Isle only. It will be encountered appears on the first visit to the : Garden of Ignominy Fortress of Remembrance It appears with regularity in : Gutter of Misery Additionally as a Necrophage : Garden of Ignominy Forsaken Cathedral The Forgotten Hall The Bloodless Stockade Sparyard of Scant Mercy The Fallen City As a necrophage (Post-Daimon only) : Ward of Regret Midnight Helix Vault of Defiled Truth Fortress of Remembrance The Pilgrim's Gauntlet Forsaken Cathedral
Items	Scythe Shard (common) Bone Lantern Jewel of Summoning Rift Polycrystal Perfect Rift Crystal (very rare) Additionally : Rift Bicrystal or Scythe Shard Bitterblack Armor Lv.2, Bitterblack Novelty Lv.3, Bitterblack Gear Lv.3, Bitterblack Armor Lv.3 (rare), Bitterblack Weapon Lv.3 (rare) With Master Thief : Scythe Shard (common), Bone Lantern, or Bitterblack Gear Lv.3 (very rare), or Bitterblack Armor Lv.3 (extremely rare)
Quests	The Wages of Death IV - slay Death

Stats Health Attack Defense Magick Attack Magick Defense Weight 660000 ∞ 666 ∞ 666 2,000

Relative Damage Taken Slash Bash Fire Ice Thunder Holy Dark 100% 100% 60% 60% 60% 60% 0%

Sources: Dragon's Dogma - ドラゴンズドグマ ＆ Dark Arisen (www10.atwiki.jp) and in-game testing.

• Death takes half the expected damage when hit 'below the waist'. Head and upper body shots do full damage.
• Death takes 1.5x damage when knocked down.
• Death appears to take 1.25 (possibly 2.5x^(verify)) damage when attacked before it has spotted the party.
• The damage multipliers are multiplicative.

Attacks

Skill	Type	Description
Teleport	Spec	Teleports from one point to another, generally to get closer to Arisen/Pawns.
Deep Sleep	Magick	Death waves its lantern as it glows purple which casts Sleep on nearby targets.
Shining Light	Spec	Death seeks out targets with a yellow light from its enchanted lantern.
Death's Scythe	Finisher	Death readies its scythe and after a fairly long buildup, makes a giant swipe with it. Anything hit, Arisen, pawn or monster will be slain. Pawns struck cannot be saved and will be sent back to the Rift.

Behaviour

Death will flee when enough damage has been inflicted, or after a certain length of time fighting it.

Any damage inflicted on Death will carry over to every subsequent encounter until it is slain. As the physical manifestation of the cessation of life, Death cannot be permanently slain and will eventually reappear to resume its hunt for living prey.

In some areas, Death will disappear if the party simply exits and re-enters the dungeon. Death will also sometimes leave after slaying pawns or after a Wakestone is used.

Death's 'health' and 'death'

• The Brine cannot slay Death.
  • However, knocking down Death over an abyss will slay him outright - Death can be slain in this fashion during its initial (scripted) appearance at the Fortress of Remembrance, and at the Gutter of Misery if lured near the water's fall.
• Firing a Maker's Finger will not slay Death, but it will wipe out one full health bar.
• Siren's song can heal Death.

Death's kills

• Death's scythe will instantly kill most Bitterblack Isle enemies - Cursed Dragons, Prisoner Gorecyclops, etc. However any such enemy slain by Death will not drop loot nor award Experience Points.
• Death's scythe cannot kill Golems, Metal Golems^(verify), and Dragons, excluding Cursed Dragons.
• As expected, Death's scythe doesn't affect undead in the slightest.
• Mages wielding Legion's Might are not immune to Death's scythe.
• Very rarely, Death may make two consecutive scythe swings.
• Oddly Death's scythe cannot destroy otherwise breakable objects. Should a character be behind a breakable object, such as a Barrel, they end up being unaffected by the scythe swing.

Tactics

Defensive

Plan A. Run !

• Lower level or unprepared parties will have little chance of harming Death on their first encounters - a valid option here is to run.
• Prepare for Death's sleep spell, either with resistant armor, clothing and rings, or spells and curatives.
  • Around 80% sleep resistance is required to resist death's lantern once.
  • The augment Resistance also prevent being put to bed by this spell.
  • The invigoration of Impervious will completely protect against sleep - particularly useful is Sobering Wine which protects the entire party.
  • Certain skills which give a brief window of invincibility, such as a correctly timed Full Moon Slash, will protect the Arisen from Death's Sleep attack.
• Death's scythe attack cannot be blocked with any shield or countered by any parry, including Masterful Kill or Clairvoyance. The scythe can only be avoided by evading it completely.
  • Autonomy augment can be useful as pawns are often slain by Death's scythe.
  • Wakestones can resurrect the Arisen, but Death's scythe will kill pawns instantly with no option for revival. Pawns will be immediately sent to the Rift and must be rehired.
• Death floats above the ground and its incorporeal form cannot be grappled.
• Beware of Death's ability to teleport - if Death disappears, it may well now be behind you.
  • There is a small blindspot just behind Death when it swings its scythe.
• For lower level players looking to avoid Death, whilst it's at large: a low, ominous bell tolling will be heard as well as whispers the closer one gets to Death. Prepare to make a break for it when these sounds are heard.

Offensive

To maximize the Arisen's or party's damage output, use four instance of the Invigorations of Strength Boosted and or Magick Boosted - this should more than double the power of attacks, and in many cases be the difference between doing high or no damage. (More than four of each give no further benefits.)

Death's high Elemental resistances and high Magick Defense generally make the use of multiple instances of the Invigoration of Magick Boosted necessary to do significant damage. Magick Boosting Augments will also help.

• Pawns often comment: "Death cannot be slain in one go." - Death has a great deal of health, and is intended to be fought over a number of separate encounters.
• Immune to all debilitations.
• Can be knocked down or staggered.
• Usually Death retreats after a certain amount of time or damage - however, if the creature can be kept staggered or knocked down, it can be defeated in one go. Potentially effective techniques for 'stun-locking' Death include either: multiple Blast Arrows; a Magick Archer's Magickal Radiance; or Ricochet Hunter in an enclosed space like The Bloodless Stockade.
• Coin Purse of Charity, with 2x Vandal's Ring is quite effective but expensive (around 20 throws with the 'stealth attack' bonus).

Avoiding detection

When Death appears it does not instantly detect the party; instead, it will seek out victims. Before it finds its prey, it may wander an area aimlessly - for example in the Garden of Ignominy it may leave the garden itself and wander up the stairs.

• Death will be strongly attracted to any lanterns (even unlit ones!!).
• During the Scythe attack, Death will home in on the target caught in the spotlight of its lantern. Rather than outright escaping from the scythe attacks, it is more effective to evade the spotlight instead.
• Afore it detects the party eerie music will be heard, but no battle theme plays.
• Whilst attacked unawares Death takes extra damage.
• Pawns are very likely to be detected if they discover Death and enter battle.

Without having found a victim, Death will not disappear and may wander indefinitely. If the Arisen can remain undetected, they may attack it for a much greater period than usual and employ spells with a long cast time that might usually be hard or impossible to complete (see also 'Farming Death').

Death's teleport can be prepared for and set a trap against:

• Mystic Knights can pre-prepare either Stone Jungle or a combination of multiple Great Cannon and Ruinous Sigils as a trap.
• Assassins can ready Powder Blast at their location.

Vocation specific

Death has high defense and high health, and it appears only for a limited period of time. To dispatch Death, each vocation should preferably use their strongest attacks coupled with enchantments and potions.

Fighter

• With no sword and 2x Bloody Knuckles ring (for an Unarmed Combat boost), spam Cymbal Onslaught to deal massive damage. Make sure to use Sobering Wine to avoid sleep.
  • The enhancement "Boosts the power of normal and magick shields" from some Bitterblack Armor Lv.3s will further magnify damage (see Dark Arisen Bonus Enhancements).
• Sheltered Assault using the Force Hatchet sword can deal decent dps.

Striders

Skull Splitter or Brain Splitter coupled with a prior jump and the Eminence augment is probably the best dagger based attack. Ranged attacks could include Downpour Volley, Hailstorm Volley, or Fracture Dart (also effectively used by pawns).

Rangers

Tenfold Flurry shots cause good damage - with Blast Arrows and high enough knockdown/stagger stats, Death can be stun-locked.

Warriors

For most weapons, use jumping Light Attacks with as many strength boosting augments and potions as possible.

• (Exploit) Death can be one-shot in the presence of creatures that cast Exequy using Act of Vengeance in combination with the augment Tenacity ("Act of Execution").

Magick Archers

Try Ricochet Hunter in close quarters; otherwise the detonation of Explosive Bolt or Explosive Volley have higher stagger and knockdown. (Note that when Death teleports, it will free itself of any attached explosive rivets.)

• Magickal Gleam can also stun an unaware Death, allowing time to strike or run past it.
• Great Sacrifice is partially resisted on a direct hit, but an indirect shockwave can do substantial damage.

Mystic Knights

• Great Cannon can be very effective. With Death a number of specific techniques work best:
  • Only if other enemies are present, using Blessed Riposte to Perfect Block their attacks with a Great Cannon sigil present can devastate a nearby Death.
  • When alone multiple sigils, with a Ruinous Sigil trap if time allows.
  • Perhaps most important is the role pawns can play - with the sigils placed under Death attacks on Death by pawns can trigger the sigil. Downpour Volley is particularly effective in this situation.
  • Knowing how and where Death will teleport can be essential in preparing a Sigil trap for other pawns to strike - aim to place sigils where Death will materialize.
• The Zombiebane shield doubles attack power when facing Death. Options include:
  • Combination with 2x Bloody Knuckle and Unarmed Combat attack. ^(verify)
  • Holy Furor spell is able deal decent damage, especially when using the stealth attack trick.
  • For a High Strength build, Abyssal Anguish while equipping a boost shield gauntlet is able to deal massive damage, even though Death completely resists the dark part of the attack. (See Dark Arisen Bonus Enhancements). Casting Abyssal Anguish after Force Hatchet is fully charged will boost damage.

Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen - Mystic Knight Death The Sickener Approach.

Creation of Great Cannon sigil trap together with Downpour Volley equipped pawns to destroy Death extremely rapidly

Forced Zombi chainsawing Death

Using Abyssal Anguish and Force Hatchet and Zombiebane together with Blitz Strike to produce large numbers of anguishal hits. Note : it's important to charge the hatchet first since anguish 'snapshots' (Damage number sidebar from dinput8.dll modfile)

Assassins

Yah

Force Hatchet and Pentad Shot of Blast Arrows, using stealth attacks for an added bonus

Assassins can use the power boost of Force Hatchet in combination with a Shortbow.

• With Blast Arrows, either Pentad Shot or Fivefold Flurry can be used for multiple hits. Although much of the power will come from the blast arrows, Pentad Shot is still generally a better choice since it scales much more strongly than Fivefold with weapon strength. Closest range is optimal for both.

Mages

Though Focused Bolts can be effective, the low scaling with magick power may make these skills ineffective for all but the strongest magick users. Ingle or Frigor based spells have more power and can be a reliable method of damage.

Sorcerers

Generally spells with longer cast times such as Bolide or Seism are a good way of falling victim to Death's Scythe. If the Arisen wishes to cast these more powerful spells, it is generally advisable to stick to casting just the first tier. Consider using quick casting spells at higher magick power - High Miasma is a good choice to consider. At lower levels of magick power, Sorcerers may wish to simply run.

Farming Death and other exploits

See also: Farming Exploits

It is possible to "farm" Death at certain locations, either for experience or loot. Pre-Daimon the preferred location is almost always The Bloodless Stockade though there are opportunities at other locations.

By damage

Not all vocations can easily or rapidly kill Death, and those that can require special techniques. There are a few methods that can defeat Death in one or two encounters - these include:

(For fuller tactic details of each see Tactics § Vocation specific)

• Magick Archers: Ricochet Hunter can be used to slay Death fairly rapidly - though the damage will generally not be enough to kill it in a single encounter out of stealth.
• Ranger: Tenfold Flurry and Blast Arrows.
• Assassin: Pentad Shot (or Fivefold Flurry) with the power boost from Force Hatchet together with Blast Arrows
• Mystic Knight, either:
  • In the presence of other enemies: using Great Cannon triggered by Blessed Riposte to generate a storm of holy orbs.
  • Combinations of multiple Great Cannon sigils plus Full Moon Slash or Antler Toss; and Great Cannon sigils triggered by Strider pawns with Downpour Volley or by Ruinous Sigil.
  • High Strength characters only: Abyssal Anguish coupled with Zombiebane and equipment with "Boosts the Power of Normal and Magick Shields" using Blitz Strike.
• (Exploit) Fighter: shield attacks using 'Unarmed Combat' builds with Bloody Knuckle
• (Exploit) Warrior: using the "Act of Execution" exploit in the presence of a Maneater or other Exequy caster.

Dragon's Dogma- Shield vs Death

Fighter with using shield only and Unarmed Combat boosts (2x Bloody Knuckle and Gauntlets with "Boosts the power of [..] shields") defeats Death in under 20 seconds.

Death slain in a single encounter

High level Ranger wielding a Goldforged Revenant Wail using 13 volleys of Blast Arrows with Tenfold Flurry in the Garden of Ignominy

Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen - Mystic Knight Vs. Death.

Three Great Cannon sigils plus Abyssal Anguish

Dragons Dogma Death Farming - Magic Archer

Death farming in the Forsaken Cathedral.

Warrior One Shot Death FULL HP Single Encounter ALL PAWN SAFE, NO Gravity exploit - Dark Arisen DDDA

Massive damage return using Tenacity, Act of Vengeance and Maneater Exequy as the damage source.

In all cases, the use of stacked Strength Boosted and or Magick Boosted together with power boosts from multiple Augments can be considered always essential.

Using stealth

If Death does not detect the party it will not flee. Areas in which Death may be attacked yet remain undetected include:

• The Garden of Ignominy from the far end of the upper Balcony with Death appearing just near the exit leading to Duskmoon Tower.
• The sewers of The Bloodless Stockade.
• (Exploit) In the Fortress of Remembrance (post-Daimon) it is possible for a Death lured by Rancid Bait Meat to appear and to become stuck in the alcove across from the Bridge, allowing multiple types of attack whilst taking advantage of the stealth mode bonus. When Death appears, repeatedly suicide until it appears in an 'out of battle stance' state (no 'battle music' - multiple reloads may be necessary).

With the party undetected Death may be attacked for far longer than usual. This allows it to be banished in a single encounter where that would not usually be possible:

• Staff users may use Holy enchanted Focused Bolt in the Bloodless Stockade from the sewer pipe that overlooks an a watery abyss. If an Arisen enters from the Sparyard of Scant Mercy and heads directly to the pipe, Death will not detect them and can be killed in one encounter in the 'out of battle' state. The focused bolts will pass through the rock walls to strike Death in the sewer tunnels.
• Using Ricochet Hunter especially in The Bloodless Stockade.
• Ranged attacks in The Fallen City pre-Daimon.

How to find Death (post BBI)

(Exploit) How to Stealth attack Death (post BBI)

Lvl 100 Mage vs Death

(Stealth attack exploit) - during continuous attacks for 2min30sec Death neither teleports nor uses the Scythe - impossible when detected

Farming Death with pawns under level 50 2

Using Ricochet Hunter when undetected in the Bloodless Stockade

Farming Death 4X

Farming death using Ricochet Hunter whilst undetected

ソーサラー覚者vsデスマラソン大会 Act.6 DDDA 祝ドグマ2trailer記念 サブ妹でまったりshareプレー

Sorcerer using Holy focused bolt in the Bloodless Stockade

How to Stun-lock Death in the Garden of Ignominy (Post-Daimon)

Undetected using Blast Arrows to stun lock.

By abyssal fall

Falls into abysses reward only Experience Points, not loot. These are possible during its initial (scripted) appearance at the Fortress of Remembrance and also at the Gutter of Misery if lured near the water's fall.

In The Bloodless Stockade lure Death to the fall of the water opposite the entrance to the Sparyard of Scant Mercy - the aim is to get it to teleport so that it is over the abyss (stand at the edge and face away from fall may help). Additional methods are also detailed.

• It is advised to not bring pawns as they may interfere with Death's "aggro".
• With vocations able to use Blast Arrows it should be possible to knock Death into the abyss every encounter.
• Alternatively, it is possible to knock him into the abyss through the use of Magickal Radiance.

Dragon Dogma Dark Arisen best XP farming spot 20,000,000 xp in 10 minutes

Detailing Death farming by Optinoob

Magickal Radiance

Using Magickal Radiance at the Fortress of Remembrance

Death slain with one shot (Ranger technique)

Wielding a Revenant Wail and two Barbed Nails, the Arisen fires a single Tenfold Flurry with 10 Blast Arrows to stagger Death into falling into the abyss below.

History

Nothing is really known of Death's origin.

Death may once have been an Arisen. The final of a set of notice board quests, The Wages of Death IV, states: "I have cast away the shackles of the Arisen. In form and function, I have embraced my calling... as death." - if taken literally one could surmise an origin for the creature. However there is no reason to not read the same text figuratively.

Speculation suggests that Death is the twisted form of Arthacos, an Arisen driven insane by loneliness and the unending labyrinth of Bitterblack Isle. In his insanity, Arthacos came to believe that it was his duty to offer one thousand human sacrifices to appease the Dragon's destructive nature and to save his country from calamity, and continues his vigil to this day.

Arthacos' accounts can be found in the form of ten epitaphs scattered through the isle, which when collected are displayed at the Monument of Remembrance. The tone and style of these epithets is similar to The Wages of Death I, II, III, and IV, which suggests that Arthacos and the person who authored the quests are one and the same. If all speculations are true then Death is Arthacos, and authored a request for 'suicide by assassin' in The Wages of Death IV.

Pawn Bestiary Knowledge

For the foe knowledge flags for Death see the other section in the Bestiary.

Pawn Chatter

"Death is come!"

"A reaper of souls?!"

"The reaper comes, Arisen!"

"There, a light... Someone's lamp, perhaps?"

"Hold fast, and drive this evil back!"

"The fiend's scythe brings certain death!"

"'Tis the end if its scythe finds you asleep!"

"When the lantern shines, fall back at once!"

"Its lantern's magick lulls men to sleep!"

"Seems it's gone..."

"Death will not be slain in one go, ser."

Quotes

Whilst casting the lantern sleep spell:

"Sleep..."

Before a scythe swing:

"Come my child."

"Waver no more."

Notes

If Death falls into water, it simply levitates back upwards without triggering the Brine.

• It has been claimed that Death's 'weak spot' is its lantern, particularly for stagger; however, others think the lantern is actually unhittable. Regardless, the upper part of the body does take more damage than the lower.
• Death can be stolen from with Master Thief if it has not detected the party.
• In Hard Mode, Death has considerably more stagger and knockdown resistance.

  

  "But soft, what light in yonder window breaks?"
  (Death stuck in the Garden of Ignominy)

• ERROR!!! Death will still seek out those with Lanterns equipped - even empty lanterns and ones that have been extinguished due to being Drenched.
• (Glitch) , When Death appears in the Garden of Ignominy, if the Arisen jumps onto the balcony on the upper level, Death can get stuck there after teleporting to it. As long as the party has no light sources and does not stray within close proximity, Death will stay there and do nothing.
• (Glitch) / (BUG) Death's health can be reset to full. This occurs upon entering an area where Death is already present and the game creates a save upon entry. Should the Arisen drive Death away and then be killed, Death's health will reset to full.
• (BUG) The very specific actions of Death being on uneven ground, while casting the lantern's sleep spell, opens him up to a bug. If the Arisen sprints away to a distance that encourages Death to teleport and then stands still, it will result in Death being frozen in place, mid-cast indefinitely.
• Death in the Dragon's Dogma universe shares many of the same features as the Grim Reaper in common cultural depictions.

Videos

Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen - MK vs. 2 Frostwyrms & Death in Sparyard of Scant Mercy, on Hard Mode.

Lighting up Death

Using Magickal Radiance at the Fortress of Remembrance

External links

• Official website (archived)