Ur-Dragon

"Then you have come...Very well, Arisen."

'''Legend tells of an immensely powerful undead dragon that appears in the Everfall beneath Gran Soren. The Ur-Dragon encounter in Dragon's Dogma takes two forms, a static offline battle, and an asynchronous online encounter, where players and their parties from around the world compete online to take down the Ur-Dragon. Defeating the Ur-Dragon online requires multiple encounters, but all players who inflict damage on the Ur-Dragon are eligible to receive rewards. Over time, as players contribute their effort towards the common goal, the Ur-Dragon's global health will decline. Eventually, when the Ur-Dragon is killed by anyone, everyone will go into a "grace period". The Ur-Dragon will have very little to no health and all hearts will be brightly lit. If anyone enters the Chamber of Lament during grace period, they will have a chance to land a killing blow to gain great rewards, along with other loot, and have every item currently equipped be Dragonforged. All active hearts must be destroyed in one round to get the kill. This "grace period" is short and when over, a new generation is spawned. All slayers of the Ur-Dragon have their names and play times recorded in the Hall of Fame. Offline players will still be able to take on the Ur-Dragon alone, but receive different rewards. The Ur-Dragon is essentially an optional end-game boss, located Beyond the Rift.'''

'''The Ur-Dragon's appearance is the same as The Dragon, but with a grayish palette. However, unlike The Dragon, the Ur-Dragon has a number of "hearts" located all over his body, which will glow as the Arisen or their Pawns approach the area. Each time a heart is destroyed, the area around it will start to rot and fall, revealing the Ur-Dragon flesh underneath, his true form. Destroying hearts is the most effective way to inflict damage to the Ur-Dragon, and doing so will also drop plenty of valuable materials.'''

If the player has participated in killing the Ur-Dragon, the next time they enter the Chamber of Lament while online (or immediately if the player has dealt the final blow) a cut scene pointing to the loot will play; loot not collected after exiting the Chamber of Lament will vanish.

'''Both online and offline modes, the Ur-Dragon must be defeated within 10 minutes and will fly away once the allotted time runs out. Fortunately, the Ur-Dragon's health will not reset. Simply return to an inn and rest. Upon returning to the Chamber of Lament, the Ur-Dragon will enter once more with same health bar as the previous encounter. This way it is always possible to kill the Ur-Dragon.'''

Stats
(*) The above stat values are only applicable for the OFFLINE Ur-Dragon. The online Ur-Dragon has even more health, which increases with each new generation.

(*) The Ur-Dragon is immune to all debilitations as well as spells that do not inflict direct damage, such as Exequy.

Rewards (Upon Defeat)
(One of three weapons will be rewarded upon the Ur-Dragon's defeat. 20 Wakestones will always be rewarded.)



Online Rewards (Contributing to Defeat)
(These have a small chance of being rewarded as part of a significant contribution to the Ur-Dragon's death. If the killing blow is struck, it is a 100% chance.)

Online Rewards (Dealing Final Blow)
(Rewarded only to those who struck a killing blow. Slayers of the Ur-Dragon receive one of the four masks).

Achievement/Trophy
Earned by defeating the Ur-Dragon either offline or online. Dealing the final blow unlocks The Messiah achievement/trophy.

Video: Unlocking "The Messiah" Achievement/Trophy

Entrance Locations
The Ur-Dragon has two distinct entrances in which he can be reached:
 * In New Game Plus and Post-Game enter via a special Rift Stone on the beach of Starfall Bay in Cassardis.

Speculation and Rumors

 * The health bar of the online Ur-Dragon is not fully accurate:
 * There is a generally accepted theory that there are at least 4 versions of the Ur Dragon on different servers, each with their own health points, thus the varying amounts of HP when you enter the Chamber of Lament. When one of these versions dies, all servers will sync and a Grace Period will start. There are instances when there is a big difference between the health points of different versions, so as to prevent the players from concentrating on the Ur-Dragon with the lowest HP, the server will redistribute Ur-Dragon's health.
 * Example: Depleting 1/8 of the Ur-Dragon's total online health, may not represent 1/8 of his total health according to the server which tracks his status.
 * A theory has been proposed that his total health is divided among the number of players fighting him at one time.
 * Example: If the Ur-Dragon has 100 health and 10 players are fighting him then 10 health will be displayed on each player's game. Whereas if only five players are fighting him 20 health will be displayed on each game.
 * A separate theory has been proposed that when a heart is destroyed the damage is somewhat divided among the other hearts. This would give the illusion that he is being healed when in reality all damage is being accounted for, just not all on one heart.
 * It is hypothesized that the "recovery" of Ur-Dragon's health is due to some players losing their online connection mid-fight hence the damage done by said players are recalculated to the values pre-fight.
 * Maker's Finger can do more damage depending on the status of the heart that is targeted.
 * Example: A heart that looks exposed and is hit with a Makers Finger, the Ur-Dragon's health bar (this only counts for one bar) may only go down about 20% (estimate); however if an area glowing purple is hit then the Ur-Dragon's health may lower about 78% (estimate) of one health bar.

Confirmed
 * With each new generation the Ur-Dragon grows stronger.
 * The Ur-Dragon has an ability to petrify enemies. It is shown as a black spell being cast from the dragon's left hand. On rare occasions, if hit with its Fire Breath attack, there is a slim chance to be petrified. Despite how rare the occurrence is, it can be devastating; keep curatives such as Panaceas, Cockatrice Liquors, or Secret Softeners on hand.

Tactics

 * (Click here Ur-Dragon Class Strategies for vocation specific tactics).
 * Vulnerable to Holy enchanted weapons (such as the Ascalon sword, Heaven's Key daggers, Cursed Light sword, Totem Mace, Dwells in Light longsword, etc.).
 * Immune to all debilitations (Torpor, Silence, Blind, etc.).
 * Each encounter with the Ur-Dragon will last around 8 minutes before it flies away, whether online or offline.
 * Focus all attacks on the brightly coloured, glowing hearts spread throughout its body (see chart above). Hearts are slightly hidden purple spots at first, red when exposed, and upon being destroyed will glow white temporarily and then vanish, depositing some item drops on the ground. Some spots may require Fights & Warriors to climb the Ur-Dragon, but note that the wing tips are UNREACHABLE for Fighters & Warriors.
 * Observe the color of the blood that comes out when attacking the weak spots. If it is purple, then damage is being done. If it is white/gray then NO damage is being done.
 * The Stability augment is very useful against all Draconic enemies (including the Ur-Dragon). All wind attacks are nullified, meaning that one cannot be blown over backwards or interrupted while casting spells or charging skills.
 * Stamina augments like Potential, Endurance, Athleticism (for running), Arm Strength (for climbing) and Proficiency (non arrow physical attacks) are helpful since this battle is a marathon (not a sprint). Gloves of Might add speed and grip when climbing.  Stamina Curatives like Sour Ambrosial meat, Staminal Drench, and Giant Rank Fish are also recommended.
 * Try to engage the Dragon exclusively from the West side of the arena as it lessens the chance the Ur-Dragon will fly up to its roosting perch and launch fireballs at the Arisen.
 * Mage pawns' attack spells are of little use against the Ur-Dragon, so Holy weapon enchantments and healing should be their primary function in this fight. A Legion's Might staff will make a Mage pawn virtually immortal with its unique ability to auto-resurrect pawns from conventional death.  This allows the Arisen to focus on attacking and not running around reviving pawns.
 * The Holy Furor spell can be blocked with a shield provided the Arisen has sufficient stamina.
 * The left arm can be easily staggered while it attempts to cast a spell.

Health Status Tracking (Online)
There are online communities which provide helpful health tracking of the UR-Dragon, as well as noting when a grace period occurs. The offical Dragon's Dogma japanese webpage also tracks the Ur-Dragon generation number and provides some slightly cryptic status information: see http://www.capcom.co.jp/DD/urdragon-info/index.html (japanese language only)

As of May 2014 the following sites provide active updates:

Xbox 360 PlayStation 3
 * Gamefaqs Forum: Ur-Dragon Generation Update
 * Gamefaqs Forum: Ur-Dragon Generation Update

Bugs

 * There are some reports of the Wakestones not appearing next to the Rankings tablet if the loot cutscene that is shown after the Ur-Dragon's defeat is skipped. The cause of this still unknown, and isn't guaranteed.
 * It is advised to just let the cutscene playout in its entirety before continuing. Saving in the Chamber of Lament and then reloading will usually cause the Wakestones reappear.
 * When soloing the Ur-Dragon, an occasional "glitch" may occur where Ur-Dragon's Holy Furor will appear in the air while climbing on its back but will still deal damage. It seems to only happen when the player or their pawns are on the Ur-Dragon's back where the spell normally wouldn't reach.
 * It is possible that, when the Ur-Dragon does his special attack "Firey Drive By" and is shot from the air by a ranged attack, he will fall to the ground and clip through it completely making it impossible for the player to attack the Ur-Dragon. Exiting the chamber and re-entering will restart the fight as normal. This can also happen while airborne from and towards the faraway tower from where he will use his "Long Range Fireball" attack.

Quotes

 * The Ur-Dragon has multiple pieces of dialogue it can speak when arriving in the Chamber of Lament.
 * "Arisen... I know you well..."
 * "You would rise against me once more?"
 * "Then you have come...Very well, Arisen."
 * "Accept your fate."
 * "Cede your life to me..."
 * "Madness calls, my puppet." (When trying to possess a Pawn)
 * "You...Truly, you are worthy...." (Death)
 * "Even I cannot stay you..." (Death)