Cursed Dragon

"Not even these stray wyrms are free from the pestilence of this accursed place. I've seen that putrid breath drive Pawns mad and reduce Arisen to foul puddles, armor and all...never thought I'd miss the flame." -Barroch's Notes

Description
Cursed Dragons come from origins unknown and bear a striking visual similarity to the Ur-Dragon, however there are a few notable differences. Cursed Dragons are smaller and less brutal than the Ur-Dragon. Cursed Dragons do not have multiple hearts; instead, they have a single purple crystal in their chest.

Cursed Dragons are undead dragonkin, brought back to life by foul magick. Instead of breathing fire, they breath a vile and foul gas, which rots any time-sensitive items in the Arisen's inventory. The Cursed Dragon uses a combination of Ur-Dragon-like abilities and has 11 bars of health like most other boss monsters found on Bitterblack Isle.

Also, like the Ur-Dragon, the Cursed Dragon can indeed be slain by a Pawn if one strikes the final blow to its heart.

Rewards

 * Bitterblack Armor Lv.1 / Lv.2 / Lv.3
 * Bitterblack Weapon Lv.1 / Lv.2 / Lv.3
 * Bitterblack Gear Lv.1 / Lv.2 / Lv.3
 * Bitterblack Novelty Lv.1 / Lv.2 / Lv.3
 * Cursed Dragon Scale
 * Cursed Dragon Horn
 * Netherstone (looks like a Wyrm's Tear but is only used for upgrading equipment and has no passive loot rewards)
 * Greatwyrm Stone
 * Rift Crystals
 * High chance of dragon forging equipment regardless of enhancement level.

Tactics (Offensive)

 * Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen Screenshot 31.jpgDragon's Dogma Dark Arisen Screenshot CD.jpg heart crystal on the chest is its weak spot, though blows and arrows to the head can stagger it.
 * Vulnerable to Fire (High Comestion, Dragon's Ire, Sapfire Daggers, etc). Highly susceptible to Burning.
 * Vulnerable to Torpor (slow). Use a Gold Rarefied Rusted weapon if possible. The higher the enhancement of the Rusted weapon, the greater chance it will inflict Torpor with each strike. A Torpor-inflicted Dragon is MUCH easier to climb, attack and shoot at when it is moving in slow motion. Obviously, one should switch back to a more powerful weapon after Torpor is inflicted.
 * To increase the chance of successful debilitation, use multi-strike skills like Fivefold/Tenfold Flurry, Thousand Kisses, Brainsplitter, Corkscrew Arrow, Sheltered Assault, Cymbal Onslaught, or Great Windmill.
 * All melee vocations: Simply climb it and attack the heart! Since it is bigger than other Dragons, it is also easier to grab on by standing in front of the chest and jumping up to grab it. It may be necessary to carry stamina restoratives (like Sour Ambrosial Meat, Large Mushrooms, Giant Rank Fish, etc) since climbing quickly depletes stamina.
 * CLIMBING TIPS: When climbing enemies like a Cursed Dragon, equip the augments Adhesion (for grip), Arm Strength (for stamina), Opportunism (+20% attack), and Dexterity (for climbing speed), as well as Gloves of Might (for even more grip and climbing speed) for best results.
 * Fighters: Attacking the heart at close quarters makes it difficult for the Dragon to retaliate. The Cursed Dragon's only effective attack at this point is trying to grab its attacker or performing a spin attack or biting which can all be easily blocked or dodged. Sheltered Assault will protect the Arisen while using a Rusted sword to inflict Torpor. Then switch to a more powerful sword and continue using Sheltered Assault (or Dragon's Maw) to the heart.  Dragon's Maw makes the Arisen temporarily invincible during the animation, preventing knockdown from tail whips or claw attacks from the Cursed Dragon.
 * Striders : Follow the above climbing tips and use Thousand Kisses to the heart. Fivefold Flurry using Blast Arrows can inflict significant damage from relative safety. Brain Splitter (with the Eminence augment) to the heart can fell a Cursed Dragon in as few as four jumping attacks. Downpour volley is an excellent way to bring down a hovering Cursed Dragon.  If attacking with Thousand Kisses from a standing position, use Instant Reset to interrupt and re-position when the Cursed Dragon moves away.
 * Rangers: Follow the above climbing tips and use Thousand Kisses to the heart.  Tenfold Flurry with Blast Arrows to the heart is effective as well.  If attacking with Thousand Kisses from a standing position, use Instant Reset to interrupt and re-position when the Cursed Dragon moves away.
 * Assassins : Dire Gouge is very effective against all Dragon hearts. And since the Cursed Dragon almost exclusively uses brute force and bites over poison breath and magic, it is vulnerable to the Masterful Kill and Clairvoyance counterattacks. This skill can knock down the beast when used against its head during its bite attacks. If attacking with Thousand Kisses from a standing position, use Instant Reset to interrupt and re-position when the Cursed Dragon moves away.
 * Mystic Knights : Stone Forest/Stone Jungle skill is also very effective because it is Fire-based and does a great deal of damage even with weaker tier weapons. Great Cannon with fire enchantment works very well from long range, too. Setting traps with a Ruinous Sigil/Great Cannon pair of sigils for the Cursed Dragon to move into is extremely effective.  Perfect Blocking a blow with a Great Cannon already on the field will not only throw the Cursed Dragon's damage back at it, but fire the Great Cannon for an extra attack. Damage is additionally increased from a Perfect Block when the Mystic Knight's Magick Shield is charged with an elemental Riposte.
 * Magick Archers : Explosive Volley followed by Cutting Wind to detonate the rivets will shred a Cursed Dragon. Hunter Bolt can deal considerable damage to the Cursed Dragon itself without even hitting the heart as well as staggering him. If attacking with Thousand Kisses from a standing position, use Instant Reset to interrupt and re-position when the Cursed Dragon moves away.
 * Mages & Sorcerers : Both Fire and Holy spells are highly effective. Spells like High Comestion and High Bolide can inflict large amounts of damage. Use High Lassitude to inflict Torpor on the Dragon to slow it down dramatically. Holy enchanted Focused Bolts are extremely effective at knocking down & damaging a Cursed Dragon. Sorcerers can use the jumping heavy palm strike to the heart.
 * When the Dragon stands on its hind legs for a roar or breath attack, there is a large window of opportunity to climb its chest and hit the heart crystal directly with melee attacks.
 * Explosive barrels can be thrown at the Cursed Dragon to set it alight.

Tactics (Defensive)

 * The most important defensive strategy in Dragon's Dogma is to first eliminate all lesser, distracting enemies before engaging the biggest threat. From the start of the battle, shoot down the flying creatures, snipe the magic users from afar, chase down the wolf packs, and defeat the small, weak enemies that can weaken or debilitate the Arisen and pawns while they engage the large, strong enemies. Even if the Arisen has to run all the way up and down the map to accomplish this objective, KILL THE SUPPORT ENEMIES FIRST, TACKLE THE BIGGEST THREAT LAST.
 * The Cursed Dragon will cast High Lassitude to slow the party down. Come prepared with Torpor-resistant armor or Silence it with Silentium or "Golden" weapons (like Golden Bastard sword or Golden Snags daggers).
 * The Stability augment is very useful against all Draconic enemies (including the Ur-Dragon and Griffins). All wind attacks are nullified against the Arisen or pawn with this equipped, meaning that one cannot be blown over backwards or interrupted while casting spells or charging skills.
 * The Cursed Dragon's assault of three bites reaches out to anyone who tries to run from it. Rushing towards the creature after the first bite makes it easier to avoid the remaining attacks and manage some hits to the chest as well.
 * This particular dragon can be "cheesed" by forcing him into the air, and felling him with a high-damage arrow shot, ending the combo with a few shots to the heart. This process is tedious but will wear down the dragon for those who have difficulty with his standard attack patterns.

Tactics (Pawn specific)

 * High level pawns can potentially annihilate the entire party if they become Possessed, so look for pawns with a 100% resistance to Possession (such as the Hellfire Cloak). Alternately, distribute Nostalgia Dust or Placative brews among the party to cure Possession.  One Sobering Wine will clear all debilitations from the party, including Possession, and provide party immunity for the next 90 seconds.
 * Consider hiring a Mage pawn with the Legion's Might staff equipped. It auto-resurrects pawns after Dragon roars and conventional deaths. This will allow the Arisen to focus on attack and not running around reviving pawns (with the staff). The Legion's Might staff is best for support Mages to heal allies, enchant weapons, inflict debilitations, and distract powerful enemies since the staff has a very low magick stat.
 * If the main pawn seems to have trouble hitting the Cursed Dragon's heart, consider equpping them with Rusted weapons instead. ANY part of the Dragon's body can be struck to inflict Torpor (slow), but only strikes to the heart will inflict damage.  The Cursed Dragon shrugs off Torpor quickly, so let pawns continually inflict Torpor while the Arisen focuses on attacking the heart.
 * Pawns can land the killing blow due to the undead nature of the Cursed Dragon, just like the Ur-Dragon.

Pawn Bestiary Knowledge
Refer to the Pawn Bestiary Knowledge section on the Drakes page.

Enemy Specific In addition to witnessing these techniques, it may be necessary for Pawns to participate in killing 50 Cursed Dragons [Needs Verification] either with their own Arisen or while travelling with others.
 * Weak to Holy.
 * Weak to Fire.
 * Let the poison breath attack hit you making any time sensitive items rot instantly.
 * Let the Dark Bishop in the Forsaken Cathedral revive his pet Cursed Dragon after it dies. (May need to be witnessed a few times)
 * Let the Dark Bishop possess its pet Cursed Dragon. (May also need to be witnessed a few times)
 * Witness the Cursed Dragon in The Fallen City cast spells like Lassitude (Torpor).

50 is not the kill count - 2 stars can be obtained well before this number, but even after 100 kills by a single player alone 3 stars will not be obtained. All the above tactics can be witnessed but the 3rd star will not be obtained it seems until the kill count is met; Some have obtained the 3rd star at roughly 400 kills, which would mean that the Cursed Dragon has the highest kill count for its 3rd star in the game!

If someone has got the 3rd star, and has way less than 300 kills, then that players pawn has probably been used a lot (and has killed a lot of Cursed Dragons while with other Arisen).

Dragonforging equipment with The Cursed Dragon

 * Cursed Dragons are capable of Dragonforging equipped armors and weapons with no enhancement, although the higher the level of enhancement the chance of successfully Dragonforging equipment will be higher.
 * Farm the Cursed Dragon at the Duskmoon Tower or Midnight Helix by using Rancid Bait Meat.Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen Screenshot 23.jpg
 * A Cursed Dragon will spawn immediately in the Duskmoon Tower Pre-Daimon, in Post-Daimon killing the Dire Dragon which spawns in the area is required.
 * If one does not place a Rancid Bait Meat then the Cursed Dragon will spawn only after the corpse of the Dire Dragon has decomposed.
 * If one places the Meat before killing the Dire Dragon then as soon as it is killed the Cursed Dragon will spawn before the corpse decomposes.Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen Screenshot Share.jpg
 * In Midnight Helix a Cursed Dragon can spawn together with the large monster of that area if other smaller enemies are killed or if Rancid Bait Meat is used.
 * Meaning, a Cursed Dragon can spawn alongside the chained up Gorecyclops (Condemned) in Pre-Daimon and alongside the Frostwyrm in Post-Daimon. However, if the already freed Gorecyclops (Condemned) appears in Post-Daimon then Death will spawn instead of the Cursed Dragon.
 * If the player is fast enough, the Rancid Bait Meat can last long enough for multiple Dragons, possibly 4 or even more Dragons.
 * Post-Daimon, a Cursed Dragon is likely to appear in the Tower of Treasons Repaid when Banshees are present and can be farmed conveniently using the method described above.
 * Equipment that has been purified from Lv.3 Bitterblack items have a very high chance of being dragonforged.