Dark Bishop



"No doubt the Maker's turned His back on this one long ago, so what infernal deity might grant his boons? Mayhap the bishop's god is the master of this wretched place. Mayhap it's aught worse." - Barroch's Notes

Description
Once an arch-priest of a holy order, the Dark Bishop was twisted by the horrors of Bitterblack Isle into a corrupted aberration of his former self. The Dark Bishop is a powerful spell caster, wrapped in a protective sacred aura, capable of a magnitude of spells and various forms of incantations to obliterate unwary adventurers. It summons a Cursed Dragon as an ally and can manipulate the dragon to do its will.

Location

 * Forsaken Cathedral (always paired with a Cursed Dragon, re-spawns every 7 days Post-Daimon)

Rewards

 * Salomet's Secret
 * Decoction of Bandlily
 * Ruinous Relic
 * Corrupt Remains
 * Rift Crystals
 * Bane Archistaff (very rare)
 * Bitterblack Novelty Lv.2 / Lv.3
 * Bitterblack Gear Lv.3 (very rare)
 * Random Dragonforging of multiple pieces of equipment worn by the Arisen (zero star enhancement = 40% chance, three star enhancement = 75% chance)

Tactics (Offensive)

 * Weak against physical attacks and Dark based magic.
 * Strong against Holy enchanted weapons & spells.
 * Vulnerable to Silence & Torpor.
 * Immune to Poison. Rusted Weapons will only cause Torpor and not Poison. Poison arrows will do normal damage and High Miasma will inflict damage but neither will poison the Dark Bishop.
 * Silence the Dark Bishop with Silencer Arrows, Silentium, or Goldforged Golden Weapons (like the Golden Rapier or Golden Stilettos) to quell his powerful spells (like High Maelstrom) immediately. The higher the enhancement of the Golden weapon, the higher the chance of inflicting Silence. This will render the Dark Bishop harmless since he cannot mount an offense without the ability to cast his high powered spells.
 * Rusted Bows/Longbows can inflict Torpor on both the Cursed Dragon & Dark Bishop to slow them down (this actually works well against EVERY enemy in the game except phantasm types, Eye creatures, Living Armor and Daimon's second form). The higher the enhancement of the Rusted weapon, the higher the chance of inflicting Torpor with each strike.
 * Striders can easily kill the Dark Bishop using 2 to 3 high powered Brain Splitters with the Eminence augment.
 * Rangers can easily kill the Dark Bishop with Great Gamble or Tenfold Flurry.
 * Ranged vocations should focus on keeping the Cursed Dragon out of play in order to minimize chaos.
 * Sorcerer vocations should utilize Holy-enchanted Focus Bolts to attack the possessed Cursed Dragon. Once the dragon is knocked down, start casting High Maelstrom which should finish by the time the Dark Bishop exits the body. With high enough Magick this will probably kill the Dark Bishop outright.
 * Magick Archer vocations should utilize Explosive Rivet due to its high damage and stagger effects.
 * Mystic Knights can utilize two Dark -element Great Cannons simultaneously to repeatedly stagger the Dark Bishop while he is floating. While close to the ground or knocked down, Abyssal Anguish can be used to inflict massive damage.  Setting a Ruinous Sigil /Great Cannon trap for the Cursed Dragon and/or the Dark Bishop to enter is very deadly, especially if buffed with Abyssal Anguish and Dark damage for the Dark Bishop or Holy/Fire for the Cursed Dragon.
 * Note: A Dark-buffed Ruinous Sigil is extremely effective against the Possessed Cursed Dragon. This can be useful if a Mystic Knight does not have time to setup a Grand Cannon trap while dodging magic.
 * Fighters can grab onto the Cursed Dragon's chest and strike it until it falls, repeating this process 3 times will make the Dark Bishop plummet to the ground. He will remain on the ground for about 30 seconds to a minute, leaving enough time to hit him with Dragon's Maw or other attacks. Use Dragon's Maw/Sheltered Fusillade due to their high damage-per-second output.
 * The Dark Bishop will fly around the battleground unless casting certain spells or possessing, will also come to the ground periodically. Players without ranged attacks (Fighters/Warriors) should take advantage of this moment.
 * The Dark Bishop's pet is of a weaker variety than the standard Cursed Dragon as it does not possess a crystal heart. Instead it has a very small health bar above its back that represents how long it will take to either temporarily take the dragon out of commission or to cancel the Dark Bishop's possession.
 * For more information regarding Cursed Dragons, please refer to its respective page.
 * Without a crystal heart, the best places to attack it are the head or the wings.
 * The Cursed Dragon may die permanently if enough time has passed.
 * Periodically, the Dark Bishop will take possession of the Cursed Dragon. This is evident when the Cursed Dragon begins to glow yellow.
 * When enough damage is inflicted the Dark Bishop can be forced out of the Cursed Dragon, leaving him vulnerable for thirty seconds to a minute.
 * During Possession, the Dark Bishop will cast higher ranked spells, and will complete them faster. These spells will target all party members. It is highly recommended to end its possession as soon as possible by damaging the glowing Cursed Dragon.

Tactics (Defensive)

 * The single most important defensive tactic for low level players to adopt involves a three part strategy : Silence the Dark Bishop's powerful spells as soon as possible, slay the Cursed Dragon, then go after the Dark Bishop himself. Because High Maelstrom and High Bolide can annihilate the entire party, quickly inflict Silence upon the Dark Bishop with Silencer Arrows or a Rarified Golden Weapon. The Dark Bishop presents a very limited offense when Silenced, only able to inflict stat lowering debilitations and an Arcane Missile attack.
 * A second (optional) defensive tactic is to debilitate both the Cursed Dragon and the Dark Bishop with Torpor, bringing their combined offense to a crawl. Use a Rusted Weapon (like a Rarified Rusted Bow) or cast Lassitude to inflict the debilitation. Torpor will dramatically slow down their movements and make their attacks much easier to avoid.
 * Slay the Cursed Dragon first ! When the Dark Bishop assumes possession of the Cursed Dragon, he commands an enormous tactical advantage. When inhabiting the Cursed Dragon, the Dark Bishop can instantaneously and simultaneously cast four High Bolide spells, four Petrification fields, four Lassitude fields or two High Maelstrom spells. He will continue to spam these batches of spells until he is forced out the Cursed Dragon's body. Deprive him of this advantage by slaying the Cursed Dragon before going after the Dark Bishop himself.
 * If necessary, double the entire party's physical and magic defenses by consuming up to four Steel Nut Salve and/or four Decoction of Bandlilys at a time, respectively. When the buff effect dissipates after 60 seconds, consume four more of each respective potion to double the party's physical and magic defenses again.
 * If necessary, double the entire party's offensive damage output by consuming up to four Tagilus's Miracles and/or four Salomet's Secrets at a time, respectively. When the buff effect dissipates after 60 seconds, consume four more of each respective potion to double the party's attack strength again.
 * When the Cursed Dragon rears up and inhales to unleash its Poisonous breath assault, there is nowhere in the arena to hide. At close range, even the pillars offer no protection. Instead, run towards the Cursed Dragon and grab onto its back, the safest place to be during its massive breath attack.
 * When within striking range of the Cursed Dragon, the safest place to stand is directly underneath its chest and groin area. Unless the Dark Bishop is casting a spell underneath the Cursed Dragon, this spot is relatively safe from its physical attacks.
 * Striders, Rangers, Assassins : When firing arrows at the airborne Dark Bishop, strafe clockwise or counterclockwise around him to avoid his Ingle fireballs. Don't be a stationary target ! Rotate away from the Cursed Dragon, staying clear of its tail, backhand swipes, and forward biting lunge.
 * Fighters, Warriors : Be careful to avoid standing directly underneath the hovering Dark Bishop, as he often summons Blood Ectoplasm in the area beneath his feet. Physical contact with this Blood Ectoplasm will inflict various stat lowering debilitations, such as Lowered Strength and Lowered Defense.

Tactics (Pawn-specific)

 * It is helpful to equip pawns with Torpor, Sleep, and Petrification defensive armor and rings. These are the three most common debilitations with which the Dark Bishop will assail the party.
 * Distributing Sobering Wines, Oak Leaf Oil, Peppermint Seeds, and Cockatrice Liquor will allow pawns to automatically heal the entire party when anyone is debilitated.
 * Without a heart weak spot, ALL strikes upon the Cursed Dragon's body will incur damage, making pawns more helpful than usual against this weaker version of the Cursed Dragon.
 * Because the Dark Bishop tends to target the greatest threat to him within the party, allowing Strider and Ranger pawns to pelt him with arrows will give the Arisen some breathing room to heal or to engage the Cursed Dragon without having to dodge spells.
 * Fighters, Warriors : Their primary function will be to eliminate the Cursed Dragon with their powerful ground attacks (such as Dragon's Maw and Corona Slash). When the Dark Bishop comes within range, the Eminence, Clout, Vehemence and Ferocity augments will increase the power of their jumping attacks.
 * Striders : Because the Dark Bishop often hovers stationary within jumping range, Brain Splitter with the Eminence augment and a pair of physical damage daggers are very effective.
 * Rangers : An excellent choice to bring into this battle, as the Dark Bishop can hover out of reach of melee vocations. Equipping a Ranger pawn with just Tenfold Flurry and two strength rings can make short work of the Dark Bishop, no matter where he flies.
 * Mages : High Halidom is useful to cure the various debilitations incurred during this battle.
 * Sorcerers : Voidspell will heal the various stat lowering debilitations incurred during this battle.

Trivia

 * The Archistaff the Dark Bishop is holding appears to be a Solar Providence. Regardless, it will sometimes drop the Bane Archistaff when killed.
 * The Dark Bishop bears a marked resemblance to a Lich.