Living Armor

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

Living Armors are huge animated suits of armor, haunted by an ominous blue light emanating through the cracks in their armor. It is said that they are a collection of souls who have died holding grudges or regrets, manifested into a single physical entity of sorrow and rage. They will not stop, even if the armor binding them is destroyed.

Living Armors utilize advanced sword techniques from both the Fighter and Mystic Knight vocations, wielding a sword modeled after Saving Grace in one hand and a shield similar to Dragon's Faith in the other.

Related quests

 * An Unseen Rival III (slay the two Living Armor in the Catacombs). This is a Dark Arisen: Request Board Quest quest received in Bitterblack Isle following the Dark Bishop's defeat. Nevertheless, it is executed outside of Bitterblack Isle in the Catacombs. The quest can be obtained from the Arisen's Refuge Request Board. Note that to receive quests, the current backlog must be fewer than three. If more than three Request Board quests are current, the backlog must be reduced below three for the quest to appear.

Rewards

 * Fae-Silver Plate
 * Phantom Orb
 * Bitterblack Armor Lv.1
 * Bitterblack Novelty Lv.2
 * Bitterblack Weapon Lv.2
 * Rift Crystals

Tactics (Offensive)

 * Immune to all debilitations.
 * Weak against Holy enchanted weapons (such as Ascalon, Heaven's Key, Totem Mace, Dwells-In-Light, Cursed Light, etc.). Holy Affinity enchantments from Mages and Sorcerors can wear off and will need to be recast mid-battle. The Perpetuation augment can extend the duration of applied enchantments, but a permanently enchanted weapon is recommended; an additional Holy buff from a Mystic Knight, Sorcerer or Mage will increase its Holy damage.
 * The external armor is more effectively damaged with physical strikes and will break off once the Living Armor's health reaches halfway. Since the external armor is more vulnerable to physical damage than Holy weapons, switch from physical swords/daggers to Holy swords/daggers once the armor is destroyed is recommended. Magick users should use a spell that incorporates physical damage, such as the High or Grand versions of Bolide, Gicel or Seism, then switch to magick-only spells once the outer shell has broken.
 * The inner spectral aura can ONLY be damaged by magic and enchanted weapons, similar to ghost-type enemies. Physical weapons MUST be enchanted in order to damage it.
 * Lure the Living Armor to the edge of a cliff, get behind it and use a Knockback skill like Terrible Bend, Deathly Arrow or Dragon's Maw to inflict heavy fall damage or death. This will forfeit any reward drops if it kills the Living Armor outright.
 * Fighters: Dragon's Maw with a Holy enchanted sword (like Ascalon or Cursed Light) is effective against multiple Living Armor. Equip the Proficiency augment and bring stamina curatives to extend the number of times the Arisen can spam this skill. Dragon's Maw will "override" any attacks the Living Armor may dispense and can prevent the Arisen from getting knocked down. Sheltered Fusillade from the rear flank can score multiple strikes very quickly.
 * Warriors: Dwells-In-Light (Holy enchanted) or Boltbringer (Thunder enchanted) are excellent longsword choices for Warriors against Living Armor. Charge Arc of Deliverance/Arc of Obliteration (10 seconds) prior to entering the combat zone once a Living Armor is spotted. Then walk toward the Living Armor and unleash the skill for devastating results.
 * Striders: Brain Splitter skill with Heaven's Key daggers is very effective. Use Hundred Kisses on its back and then dodge roll to the other side when it turns around to counterattack. Spamming Cutting Wind will quickly attack the Living Armor from two opposite flanks.
 * Rangers: A clean shot to the shield or head with Deathly Arrow can send it flying backwards over a cliff. Use Hundred Kisses on its back and then dodge roll to the other side when it turns around to counterattack. Spamming Cutting Wind will quickly attack the Living Armor from two opposite flanks.
 * Assassins: Use Masterful Kill near a cliff and immediately hit it with Mighty/Terrible Bend to the shield or head to send it over the edge. Use Hundred Kisses on its back and then dodge roll to the other side when it turns around to counterattack. Spamming Cutting Wind will quickly attack the Living Armor from two opposite flanks.
 * Magick Archers: Sixfold/Ninefold Bolt is the fastest and easiest way for a Magick Archer to dispatch Living Armor, as it damages both the external armor and the inner spectral aura. Shadowshackle/Shadowsnare can only slow them down, but not lock it in place due to its size. Ricochet Hunter can quickly whittle down its Health in narrow corridors. Explosive Bolts/Rivets are effective as they usually bypass the shield and land on its stomach and upper thighs.  With enough Explosive Bolts the Living Armor can be tossed up in the air and stunned.
 * Mystic Knights: An elementally-enchanted trap of a Ruinous Sigil set in conjunction with a Great Cannon will quickly destroy both forms. Set the Ruinous Sigil first then the Great Cannon, since the Great Cannon's animation concludes with a blow, alerting the Living Armor instantly. Step back a few paces in a direct line to ensure the Living Armor goes right into the sigils; while it takes damage, quickly set another trap-- if necessary. If these sigil traps are set near the Holy Furor Beacons in the Bloodless Stockade, setting one off to fire the trap when the Living Armor is close can instantly kill a full-health Living Armor.  Regular light attacks and Focused Bolt from Volant White will also damage Living Armor, but any Mage's staff is significantly more effective against Living Armor when buffed with Holy Affinity, Blessed Trance, Hallowed Invocation or Holy Pact.
 * Sorcerer s: Focused Bolt is the preferred tactic here once the outer shell breaks.  High Fulmination can quickly kill them or force them to constantly block, allowing other party members to attack them from behind. Try to keep as much distance as possible while still dealing damage to avoid being interrupted. High Gicel can work, but it is slow to cast and must be aimed carefully. High Bolide does good damage to Living Armor but targeting can be random and unpredictable. Regular light attacks from the Hallowed Dragon or Talarian White archistaves will also damage Living Armor, but buffing any archistave with Holy Affinity or Holy Pact makes the Focused Bolt significantly more deadly.
 * Mage s: Like the Sorcerer, the preferred tactic is the holy-buffed Focused Bolt once the outer shell breaks. High Comestion or High Frigor will knock the Living Armor off its feet and leave it momentarily vulnerable. From sufficient height, the fall damage can kill a Living Armor outright. The healing aura of High Anodyne will damage the Living Armor. Regular light attacks and Focused Bolt from the Volant White staff will also damage Living Armor, but any Mage's staff is significantly more effective against Living Armor when buffed with Holy Affinity, Blessed Trance, Hallowed Invocation or Holy Pact.

Tactics (Defensive)

 * Living Armor are very skilled Mystic Knights who will block most attacks, so attack from the rear to bypass its large shield. Players who employ frontal attacks will be knocked down by its Shield Strike counterattack. Living Armors can and will Perfect Block frontal attacks.
 * Watch out for Stone Forest! Living Armor will stand still to charge this Mystic Knight skill with a red aura glowing around their head. This skill has a wide field of damage around the Living Armor and it will send the Arisen soaring into the air, set them on fire, and the Arisen will take fall damage. Rather than trying to interrupt this attack, simply run clear of the blast area.
 * Be wary near cliff edges, as the Living Armor's attacks can easily knock the Arisen and pawns off the edge to their deaths.
 * Their shields are so big that they can cause hit box detection problems, often nullifying parts of multi-hit attacks that would ordinarily damage an enemy. Thus the best window of opportunity to inflict damage is when they have just finished an attack or when distracted by pawns.
 * Living Armor are also vulnerable from the rear as their shields do not protect their backs, which is a significant vulnerability of both Fighter, Mystic Knight and a shield-equipped Assassin.
 * Living Armor have very high knockdown capability. Instant Reset will quickly return the Arisen back to the feet. Use the dodge roll (a dagger skill) to avoid its attacks.
 * Due to their invincibiilty frames, Dragon's Maw and Full Moon Slash can be used as a defensive move to avoid incoming attacks. Even if the Arisen swings and misses, the Arisen will not be injured or knocked down.
 * The Sanctuary augment can be a valuable defensive augment. It will reduce damage taken by 50% when the Arisen is in mortal danger.
 * Occasionally the Living Armor will disengage from the fight and walk away. This allows the Arisen to heal and save the game with the accumulated damage inflicted on the Living Armor intact.
 * If facing multiple Living Armor, try luring them out one or two at a time to limit the size of the skirmish. Living Armor tend to hold their positions until an enemy approaches their personal space, so lure one away then fall back to engage them one at a time.

Tactics (Pawn-specific)

 * Recruit pawns with Holy enchanted weapons (like Ascalon, Cursed Light or Heaven's Key) since magick damage is the only way a melee vocation can significantly hurt Living Armor's inner spectral aura.
 * Pawns may need to be revived several times when fighting Living Armor. Consider hiring a Mage pawn with the Legion's Might staff for a support party member. The Legion's Might staff will allow the Mage to self-revive whenever it runs out of HP, so they can continue to heal, buff, and distract enemies while the Arisen focuses on attacking rather than reviving pawns.
 * High Frigor and a holy-buffed Focused Bolt are the Mage's most effective spells against Living Armor.
 * A Sorcerer's High Fulmination or Grand Fulmination is very effective against the Living Armor when cast on dagger- or sword-wielding characters. If you see your Sorcerer pawn casting a different spell, press the Go! or left D-pad HELP command once to interrupt its spell, until you see the pawn start to cast High/Grand Fulmination. When the lightning field is coursing through the party, dagger or sword strikes will deliver that damage to the Living Armor, destroying its second form very quickly.
 * Sorcerer pawns will generally spend most of the fight jumping around to avoid Living Armor, unless the Arisen and other pawns specifically run interference so they can cast without interruption. Their holy-buffed Focused Bolt, High Fulmination, High Bolide and High Gicel are all very effective against the Living Armor.

Pawn Bestiary Knowledge
The Living Armor is a member of the skeleton family similar, in some respects, to the Skeleton Lord. Family flags apply--attacking with Holy and blunt weapons. Attacking with Holy weapons can be learned from the Skeleton Strategies scroll. In addition to family knowledge, pawns must also witness the following: In addition to witnessing these techniques, it is necessary for Pawns to participate in killing 50 Living Armors either with their own Arisen or while travelling with others.
 * Attack them from behind. This is the same flag that applies to the Skeleton Lord. The Living Armors' massive shields block all frontal assaults. Even if they are executing an attack, they may cancel it into a block. After gaining knowledge Pawns will shout "Damn their shields, attack from the rear!" To gain knowledge, it may be required to have one attacker engage from the front while another attacker attacks from the rear. The attacks may be ranged or melee. The pawn chatter will indicate they have gained knowledge that the enemy should be surrounded.
 * At exactly Half HP, their armor will break off revealing their spectral form. This form can only be damaged by magick, in addition to having to strike them from the rear. The inner spectral aura is similar to ghosts in that it can only be damaged by spells and weapons that are either permanently or have been temporarily enchanted. The pawn chatter will indicate they have gained knowledge that the armor has been destroyed.