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.

Death in the Dragon's Dogma universe shares the same features as the Grim Reaper in popular mythological depictions. Larger than many creatures in the realm, Death has a black body that resembles that of a shadowy, tattered robe with no visible limbs; thus, it travels through the means of flight. Death's head also resembles a hood; it has no visible face as opposed to the common skeletal depictions featured in mythology and popular culture. Using its tattered-like robed body as limbs, Death grips a scythe upon its right side. Larger than Death's own body, the scythe can impart fatal destruction even to highly skilled Arisens. A Bone Lantern rests on its left side that allows it to cast Sleep.

Speculation suggests that Death is the twisted form of Arthacos, an Arisen driven insane by loneliness and the unending labyrinth of Bitterblack Isle. Arthacos, in his insanity, came to believe that his duty as an Arisen was to offer one-thousand human sacrifices to appease the Dragon's destructive nature in order to save his country from calamity. He continues his vigil still. Arthacos' accounts can be found in the form of ten epitaphs scattered through the isle. Many of the noticeboard quests, specifically The Wages of Death I through IV, seem to also be written by Arthacos (this would imply that even after becoming Death, he still retains his original mind). When Death searches for the Arisen in the darkness, the whispering voice that drove him to madness can be heard.

Information and Stats
Death is classed as a corpse-feeder enemy, and can be attracted to the presence of corpses or Rancid Bait Meat.

Further Explanation of Abilities
In terms of abilities, Death has only three. The first is a mid-range teleport that allows him to get the drop on the player. The second is Death's lantern, which Death will use to both Sleep the Arisen (purple glow) and seek the player out like a searchlight if Death loses track of the player. The third and most grave is Death's iconic scythe. A single touch will kill both Arisen and Pawns completely; pawns will be instantly forfeited with no chance of revival, and will have to be rehired later. Arisens however can use the "Reaper's Scorn", Wakestones, to revive from Death's attacks. The scythe sweep has a wide striking area, but should not be difficult to avoid if the player keeps on the move as the player battles. The Scythe can one hit kill any enemy as well, including Condemned Gorecyclops. Any enemy killed in this fashion however, will not drop loot or give experience to player.


 * Pawns often comment, "Death cannot be slain in one go"; Death has a great deal of health, and is designed to be battled over a number of separate encounters.
 * Death doesn't seem to be able to kill Metal Golems or any dragonkin (the former due to its "life source" being the discs which are scattered about and the latter can only be killed by the Arisen)

Locations
Death will appear numerous times throughout the various stratum and levels of the Bitterblack Isle, either searching for you as you enter a new area, or suddenly appearing in an area with a large amount of corpses. When he appears, it is usually advised to flee the area as quickly as possible. He can however be fought, and will leave if he sustains enough damage; he will also sometimes leave after killing your pawns or after a Wakestone is used. Any damage Death takes will carry over to any later encounters approached with him.

Bloodless Stockade Encounter Death's abode however seems to be the massive, pitch-black sewer tunnel-way in the far end of The Bloodless Stockade, in which the player can do battle with him in earnest. Death will depart the field after taking sufficient damage, but if the Arisen travels into another section and then returns, Death will have re-appeared. This location cannot be utilized until Daimon is defeated for the first time.

After Defeating Daimon Once Daimon is defeated, Death will leave the Bloodless Stockade and stalk the rest of Bitterblack Island indiscriminately. There is still an easy way to spawn Death. Much like the first encounter, Death can appear in the courtyard of the first area, The Garden of Ignominy, provided the stench of death there is high. This can be achieved either by killing of enemies, or more easily just using Rancid Bait Meat. If saurians are present in the courtyard, then Death is likely to appear there; if goblins are there, Garms are more likely to appear. The enemy variation can be changed by simply accessing and leaving a riftstone. After Death flees from too much damage, rezoning after dropping another bait can sometimes cause him to respawn immediately.

Spawning Death Infinitely

Intuitively the following steps can be taken:
 * (1) When in the Garden of Ignominy defeat all enemies that spawn within the courtyard.
 * (2) Save the game.
 * (3) Stab the Arisen by using the Godsbane.
 * (4) Reload the save.
 * (5) Upon reloading drop a piece of Rancid Bait Meat. Death will Spawn.
 * (6) Damage Death as much as possible until he retreats.
 * (7) Zone the area by leaving and then re-enter.
 * (8) Repeat the steps 2-7 above to re-spawn Death again.



Tactics (Defensive)

 * Initially, the most effective strategy against Death is to run like hell. Listen for Death's ominous ambiance music (whispers, creepy gongs) whenever entering a new area - any of these signs mean Death is probably stalking the area. Death has a unique battle theme - if you hear a sudden shift in background music, it has likely found you. At low levels, discretion is the better part of valor.
 * Death has only 2 attacks : Sleep (indicated by his lantern turning purple) and the Scythe attack (yellow lantern). It is highly recommended to have as high sleep resistance as possible when facing death, ideally at 100%. Pawns especially will benefit from this. Spells or items that protect against debilitations can also help. This can be easily achieved by wearing two Restless Earrings (sold by  Madeleine and Delec), or with Mercenary Slogs, a Harpy cloak, Patterned Gambeson, etc.


 * Death's scythe attack CANNOT be blocked with any shield or countered with Masterful Kill or Clairvoyance. One can only avoid the Scythe by backing away from the Scythe's large swing radius.
 * Wakestones can resurrect the Arisen, but NOTHING can revive pawns from this attack (not even the Mage's Legion's Might staff). You must re-hire your pawns from a Rift stone if they fall to the scythe attack.  Since pawn AI is poor at obeying your commands against Death or avoiding Death's scythe on their own, the best way to save them is to inflict a lot of damage to Death quickly to chase it away or kill it outright.


 * Death tends to float off the ground, and cannot be grappled. This, combined with the range of the scythe, makes melee a risky strategy. Spellcasters and Bow users can safely attack from long range, but should be wary of Death's ability to teleport behind them suddenly.
 * In areas such as the The Bloodless Stockade, the abundance of water can leave you drenched, and extinguish your lantern. This can work for or against you, depending on your strategy. If you wish to fight with a reliable light source, the Ring of Desiccation is extremely useful here.

Tactics (Offensive)

 * Immune to all debilitations (Torpor, Silence, Blind, Tarred in Oil, etc).
 * Strong against Holy enchanted weapons and spells.
 * Striders: The fastest way to inflict a lot of damage to Death to chase it away or kill it is with the Strider's Brain Splitter skill and the Eminence augment.  Three to six Brain Splitters interrupted by Instant reset (for faster recovery time) can scare away Death fairly quickly.


 * Strider/Rangers : Shots to the head cause massive damage from bows and longbows. If equipped with blast arrows, assuming you have high enough strength between weapon attack and base attack, you can chain-lock Death infinitely, allowing you to kill him with ease as long as you have enough blast arrows. Using four Conqueror's Periapts will increase your damage significantly. (Periapts can be purchased from Fournival, and Blast Arrows purchased from Camellia's Apothecary in Gran Soren)


 * Magic Archers : Sixfold Bolt in wide open areas, and Ricochet Bolt in close quarters. Explosive Bolts are also very damaging, but hard to activate when Death is above ground. Magical Gleam can stun an unaware Death, allowing you to strike, or giving you time to run past it. Explosive barrels also do the trick.
 * Mystic Knights : An Arisen can easily use the Reaper's teleport skill against him, providing they have the ability: Stone Jungle; With this ability, an Arisen may cast from afar, awaiting Death as he tries to teleport to them. Once he does, using this magick will have a high chance to knock the Reaper down, allowing a party to deal massive amounts of damage.


 * There is a blindspot just behind Death when he swings his scythe, albeit very small.
 * Death can be knocked down with a well-timed focused strike.
 * In places like the The Bloodless Stockade, you can use the light of a beaconfire to cause moderate damage to Death. Get him close to one, wait until he begins to cast and light it up.


 * Death can be defeated by having it fall into deep enough water or off a cliff, achieved by surprising it with Blast Arrows or Magickal Gleam. When Death appears above the bridge at the entrance Fortress of Remembrance, this is quite possible. You will gain the Experience, and but none of the item drops.


 * Autonomy augment can be very useful here as pawns are very likely to die.


 * If Death does not 'see' you with his lantern and you attack him while he is stuck, he will never go into the cutscene where he disappears. This can be exploited either to kill him, or if you want to save and reload to affect item drops.

Rewards

 * Base exp - 420,000 on normal/easy mode, 840,000 on hard (can change depending on various factors).
 * Bone Lantern - Forging Material
 * Scythe Shard - Forging Material
 * Jewel of Summoning
 * Bitterblack Armor Lv.2
 * Bitterblack Armor Lv.3 - (Rare)
 * Bitterblack Novelty Lv.3
 * Bitterblack Gear Lv.3
 * Bitterblack Weapon Lv.3 - (Rare)

Note: Death does not drop Elite Lanterns, they are instead obtained from Bitterblack Novelty Lv.3.

Bugs

 * When Death spawns in the Garden of Ignominy (from the Entrance of Bitterblack Isle), if the player walks onto the balcony, Death will try attack the player but will get stuck on the way (where Snakes (Pre-Daimon) or Leapworms (Post-Daimon) spawn). Unless the player stays away from the Lantern Light and has no Light Source of their own (like a Lantern), Death will stay there and do nothing.