Firedrake

Description
Firedrakes are an upgraded form of Drakes found on Bitterblack Isle. They possess higher strength, higher health and resistances than normal Drakes. Their attacks are similar to that of lesser Drakes, but differ in magnitude; Firedrakes can deal massive amounts of damage.

Firedrakes emit a red smoky glow. Clinging onto a Firedrake causes Fire damage. In addition, if equipped armor does not have high Fire resistance, a Firedrake's aura can cause the Arisen/Pawns to be set on fire.

The Firedrake has higher Defense than all of its draconian cousins except the online Ur Dragon,  making it harder to damage. This tends to prolong encounters even when its heart is constantly attacked.

Defeating a Firedrake provides a chance of Dragon Forging any Weapons and Armors equipped on the Arisen regardless of Enhancement Level.

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
 * Firedrake Fang may drop when horn is destroyed.
 * Bright Amber Scale
 * Amber Dragon Scale
 * Supple Dragon Pelt
 * Greatwyrm Stone
 * Dragon Horn may drop when horn is destroyed
 * Drakes Tear may drop when horn is broken(ultra rare)

Tactics (Offensive)

 * The heart on its chest is its weak point. The Arisen must land the final blow to the heart when its health is fully depleted.
 * Weak against Ice, so Ice enchanted attacks and spells such as Frigor and Gicel are highly effective. Note: Due to its high DEFENSE, physical attacks from Ice enchanted physical arrows are not that effective.
 * Bow-class pawns will equip special arrows and will use stat boosters if the Arisen has made them available (see Threat Level for further discussion). Blast Arrows are particularly useful; they will knock a Firedrake out of the sky instantly.
 * Vulnerable to Torpor, although it overcomes the debilitation faster than any other creature in the game. Use Rusted weapons to inflict this debilitation. The higher the enhancement of the weapon, the higher the chance it will inflict Torpor with each strike. A slow-moving Firedrake is MUCH easier to climb, dodge, and attack. Obviously, one should switch back to a more powerful weapon after inflicting Torpor with a Rusted weapon.
 * 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 vocations: Climb up to the heart and slash away.
 * CLIMBING TIPS: Employ the climbing augments Adhesion (for grip), Opportunism (+30% attack), Arm Strength (climbing stamina) and Dexterity (for climbing speed). Wearing Gloves of Might add even MORE grip and climbing speed.
 * Warriors: The best attack for the Warrior against all Dragons is the simple jumping downward heavy slash (aimed for the heart) with the Ferocity, Clout, Vehemence and Eminence augments.  The downward heavy slash is also perfect for inflicting debilitations (like Torpor) since it is a multi-strike attack, hitting a Firedrake up to 5 times per slash. Indomitable Lash can inflict considerable damage to a downed Firedrake.
 * Assassins: Dire Gouge is fastest way to kill the Firedrake. Climb up to the heart and gouge away. Invisibility will render the Assassin temporarily invulnerable. If attacking with Thousand Kisses from a standing position, use Instant Reset to interrupt and re-position when the Firedrake moves away.
 * Striders: Climb and use Thousand Kisses to its heart. Brain Splitter will also put the Firedrake down after several jumps. Fracture Dart seems to work extremely well on Firedrakes (although a precise shot is difficult if the Firedrake is not inflicted with Torpor). If attacking with Thousand Kisses from a standing position, use Instant Reset to interrupt and re-position when the Firedrake moves away.
 * Rangers: Climb and use Thousand Kisses to its heart. One can also deal tremendous damage with Deathly Arrow if timed properly and aimed for the heart.  Depending on one's offensive stat, this can take nearly a full HP bar out with each shot.  This can turn the fight into a joke if one perches themselves on a high ledge to force the drake to take flight. If attacking with Thousand Kisses from a standing position, use Instant Reset to interrupt and re-position when the Firedrake moves away.
 * Mystic Knights: Use Frost Trance in conjunction with the Great Cannon ability. A couple of hits on the flying dragon's tail will force it to come crashing down. Charging Frost Riposte and perfect blocking its attacks are also effective, more so if the perfect block fires an existing Great Cannon sigil on the field.
 * Magick Archers: Climb and use Thousand Kisses to its heart. Sixfold Bolt can also deal a fair bit of damage since is an Ice based skill. If attacking with Thousand Kisses from a standing position, use Instant Reset to interrupt and re-position when the Firedrake moves away.
 * Mages & Sorcerers: High Brontide's whip-like bolt provides enough range to bring the Firedrake down when it hovers overhead.
 * Sorcerers: It's possible to "cheese" the Firedrake in Duskmoon Tower by climbing up the rocks to the right of the entrance that required a Void Key, camping on the ledge, and using High Gicel on it. Make sure to target the heart but hitting it will cause it to fall down regardless. Then, it will writhe in pain, get up, and roar in fury that will flinch the player even from that distance, then cast Gicel on it, rinse and repeat. By trying to cast High Gicel from the room with the chest, the Drake will hover on top of the structure. It can't hit the player, but neither can the player hit the Firedrake from the backside either. The player will have to go back down to the courtyard and repeat the tactic.
 * Sorcerers: High Fulmination/Grand Fulmination can be very effective. Cast the spell first, then approach the combat area with the spell active. Pressing the Heavy attack button while this spell is in effect adds an additional charge of Levin to the spell and will automatically link to the party to stack your damage through climbing pawns.

Tactics (Defensive)

 * The Stability augment is very useful against all Draconic enemies (including the Ur-Dragon). All wind attacks are nullified against the Arisen, meaning that one cannot be blown over backwards or interrupted while casting spells or charging skills.
 * The Sanctuary augment can be the most valuable defensive augment in the game. It will reduce all damage taken by 50% when the Arisen is in mortal danger, and can be a lifesaver against a tough foe like the Firedrake.
 * If facing a Frostwyrm and a Firedrake simultaneously (such as in the Sparyard of Scant Mercy), Silence the Frostwyrm FIRST with Silentium, Silencer Arrows or a "Golden" weapon (such as Golden Rapier or Golden Bardiches) before engaging the Firedrake. The Firedrake is easier to deal with without a Frostwyrm spamming spells at the party.
 * The Dragon Roar is an ability which cannot be suppressed by inflicting Silence. The Dragon Roar can only be interrupted by quickly inflicting enough damage to the heart, before the dragon can fully rear up on its hind legs and initiate the roar. Dragonkin will immediately Roar in retaliation when one of its horns are destroyed, its heart is exposed, or when its wings are disabled.
 * Whenever a Dragon Horn drops from a strike to the head, Pawns will declare "The horn is destroyed!". A Dragon Roar will predictably follow afterwards.
 * Disabling its wings (at the back, not the wingtips) will also always make it roar afterwards. A piece of the Firedrake will drop (usually Great Dragon Alula) and pawns will declare "'Tis grounded, Master!" or "On solid ground, the advantage is ours!".
 * The longer a Firedrake takes damage without inflicting any to the party, the higher the chance that it will unleash a Dragon Roar to instantly kill all pawns within range.

Tactics (Pawn specific)

 * Mage pawns equipped with a Legion's Might staff will auto-revive after a Dragon roar or conventional deaths. While this staff is weaker in attack strength than most Mage staffs, the auto-resurrect function can be especially helpful when facing two Dragons simultaneously as it allows the Arisen to focus on attacking instead of running around reviving a pawn with this staff.


 * Consider equipping the main pawn with a (preferably Goldforged) Rusted Bow and/or Rusted Daggers so they can continuously debilitate the Firedrake with Torpor (slow).
 * Ranger pawns with the Great Gamble skill can remove several health bars from a Firedrake in a single shot to the heart. A pawn with incomplete Bestiary knowledge of this enemy will randomly target one of four critical targets on the Firedrake (the two horns, the wings, and the heart). To ensure that the pawn targets the heart, the Arisen should personally destroy the horns and wings before the pawn takes the Great Gamble shot.
 * Pawns having 100% resistance to Possession (by wearing the Hellfire Cloak, for example) will not be affected by the grab attack. They simply free themselves at the end of the grab animation. This provides a tactical opening for the rest of the party to heal, charge spells, or press their attacks.

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