Daimon

"Slave to a broken order... dare you look upon the truth?"

- -Daimon's Awakened Form



Daimon is the final boss in Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. He is located in the deepest level of the Bitterblack Isle dungeon.

Daimon is an Arisen from an age long past, who refused the choice given to him by the Dragon. In return, the Dragon transformed him into this foul creature gone mad with despair at the loss of his pawn lover.

It is believed this evil entity was born out of the past Arisen's hatred towards the destiny imposed upon him. This monster nurtured from these ill thoughts for centuries, feeding itself from its host as well as the unfortunate Arisen who met their doom in this dungeon. The only thing he needed to be free was someone powerful enough to separate him from Daimon, allowing it to become an independent being. It is the reason why Bitterblack island is still covered in an ominous shroud and the stench of death continues to loom over the place.

Daimon's true strength is unknown.

Given the amount of corrupted thoughts it has consumed, it could be depicted as the embodiment of mankind's chaos; humanity's desire to end the infinite cycle.

Description
Despite his size and bulk, Daimon is a powerful and agile fighter with potent spell casting and brute force. He will use tactics to lure the party into disarray, which makes him a tough opponent. He is generally highly resilient to both physical and magickal attacks; if one intends to deal noteworthy damage, they should target his head. Halfway through battle, Daimon will begin to alter his rhythm, casting deadly combinations of magic that may deal serious damage to both the Arisen and their Pawns. He performs his special move more than once during battle, and it can drastically change the course of the fight.

Daimon's First Form


When first approached, The Fallen City carries an eerie quietness within its inner limits. As the Arisen travels through it, there is no threat; no possibility of an enemy attack. At the end of the City is a large door, behind it is a short corridor leading to the final battle with Daimon. Once the battle has commenced the Arisen can not leave or use a Liftcrystal to exit the battle arena, Daimon must be defeated in order to leave or the Arisen must be defeated in order to choose to return to the player's last Checkpoint Save which will allow them to exit the area. Once Daimon is defeated, many significant changes are made throughout Bitterblack Isle, including enemy spawns, spawn locations and loot from chests.

''Note: if one enters Daimon's chamber, the Fallen City will be populated with enemies, including Corrupted Pawns and Strigoi. The Bloodred Crystal and Strigoi Barb crafting components can be found here.''

Daimon's Awakened second form
Upon entering the Sanctum after unlocking the whole of Bitterblack Isle, the voice of Daimon appears to be more ominous. As the battle continues for a second time, it appears as though the fight is identical to that of the first encounter, but once Daimon's hit points are depleted, a second form takes over and the fight renews. Daimon's second form appears after resonating with the Arisen's scar. A head sprouts and takes form out of Daimon's torso. Its new head resembles that of The Dragon but its deformation has given it an eerily human shape. Barroch defines it as something grievous and dark which bears a stink worse than the dragon itself. In this Awakened Form, the battle becomes more profound. He is very resilient to magick and uses various magickal attacks of greater potency.

Related quests

 * The Heart of Darkness (slay Daimon's second or 'Awakened' form). Note that if the player has a backlog of three active quests from the noticeboard located by Olra near the door to Bitterblack Isle, this new quest will not appear until the backlog is reduced to fewer than three quests.

Immunities and weaknesses

 * Vulnerable to Lowered Defense, Poison and Tarred in oil.
 * Immune to Silence and Blindness
 * First form can be torpored but the awakened form is immune.
 * The Awakened Form is weak to Holy.

Offensive

 * Single and group stat boosters (such as Demon's Periapt or Salomet's Secrets), are not only helpful, but may be essential in inflicitng enough damage to defeat Daimon. These boosts stack up to a maximum of four times per status boon. These boosts are effective with all weapons and attacks, provided a physical boost is used with a physical weapon, and a magickal boost with a magick attack .. both boosts can be used simutaneuously for increased damage from enchanted weapons and some spells with a physical damage component.
 * The use of boosts with all the below tactics is recommended.
 * All melee vocations: Climb Daimon's back and slash at his head. (for climbing tips see climbing)
 * Daggerists should use Thousand Kisses, whilst Dire Gouge is recommended for Assasin's.
 * Ranged vocations :
 * Blast Arrows + Conqueror's Periapts with multi-arrow skills are effected - target the face over other locations.
 * Repeated high stagger attacks such as Terrible Bend may constantly stagger him and not let him fight back allowing pawns to freely climb and hit him until victorious end.


 * Magick Archers :
 * Sixfold Bolt or Ninefold Bolt in combination with magick boosts is an effective method to stagger him, as are repeated Hunter Bolts exploits Daimon's weakness to Holy.
 * If you can manage to pull the daimon into the area you entered his room from, close to the door, you can use Ricochet Hunter against the wall for high damage.
 * Mystic Knights :
 * Ripostes, trances, and Abyssal Anguish must be cast once battle commences as enchantments do not carry over from cutscenes.
 * Use the Great Cannon skill to deal considerable damage against his second form.
 * Cast Abyssal Anguish, climb and attack the head (first form) and chest (second form) with light attacks.
 * All of Daimon's attacks/spells can be Perfect Blocked except for his grab attack, bite attack and his fire breath attack. The grab and fire breath attacks can be evaded with Full Moon Slash.
 * High damage and power tactics for Mystic Knights including combinations of perfect blocks, ripostes, great cannon sigils and ruinious sigils are much the same as those used against the Ur-Dragon.
 * Mages and Sorcerers can find a bit of safety for spellcasting on Daimon's "throne" or the broken pillar. Some physical attacks and attacks requiring a "clear line of fire" will be rendered ineffective at times allowing for slightly safer casting. The Miasma spell is handy for this situation.
 * Use a holy enchanted Focused Bolt
 * A magic attack above 3000 is required use the holy focused bolt effectively.

Defensive

 * The safest place to be in this fight is actually on Daimon's back (both forms)!
 * Stamina is a crucial stat to watch in this fight - depleted stamina leaves the Arisen vulnerable to Daimon's onslaught, particularly the Rift Vortex.
 * Bring Stamina curatives like Staminal Drench, Kept Sour Ambrosial Meat, Kept Giant Rank Fish, Kept Golden Eggs, Liquid Vims, Mushroom Potage, or Large Mushrooms to avoid falling off Daimon's back from exhaustion.
 * The augments : Athleticism (for evasive running), Arm-Strength (for climbing), Proficiency (for melee skill spamming) are all useful.
 * Daimon's signature ability, the Rift Vortex, will continuously draw the Arisen and the party towards it. Getting caught in the vortex will eventually result in death, but this attack can easily be interrupted by staggering him with focused attacks to the head. This will cause him to curl up into fetal position and hover mid-air close to the ground, momentarily vulnerable. Continuous attacks while he is in this state will stun him for about 20 seconds, during which the party receives a damage bonus.
 * The Vortex attack generally triggers twice - first around when he has lost 3 bars of Health, and the second when he has 2 bars of Health left. If Daimon is cut down to 3 dots of Health while staggered during the first Vortex, then the next one triggers randomly.
 * The Awakened Form's Abyssal Vortex, is incredibly deadly and usually spells defeat for pawns unless it is interrupted. It has a very large area of effect and will quickly deplete stamina as the party tries to run from its epicenter.
 * The Vortex will only sap a players stamina if there is a direct unobstructed path between the player and the center of the vortex. A player can get as close to Daimon as they want during the rift as long as they stand behind any of the pillars/debris the scatter the battlefield. Range vocations can take advantage of this to attack Daimon's head while behind cover. Melee vocations can use this tactic to get in close for when Daimon recharges.
 * The Rift Vortex can be interrupted by striking Daimon's head as he initiates it.
 * Ranged Vocations should use high power and high stagger ranged attacks such as Fracture Dart or Terrible Bend, Tenfold Flurry or Deathly Arrow - a load of Blast Arrows may also help.
 * Melee Vocations can climb and cling on to the head when the Rift Vortex starts. Attacking will interrupt the attack, if enough damage is done.
 * Daggerists can use Forward Roll to smartly move away from the Rift Vortex attack without depleting any stamina - pawns will also use this core skill.


 * Daimon's hand will glow blue before he charges. His Death Grab is always made with his right hand and can be dodged by running towards his left arm. While not very damaging, avoiding it can help to conserve curatives.
 * The shots generated by Hate Cannon can sometimes be avoided by hiding behind the various pillars, the rubble of the pillars if they've been destroyed, by standing behind the rubble Daimon uses as a throne, or by standing directly beneath Daimon. Be forewarned that he can damage players upon landing.
 * Daimon is capable of casting Bolide and then perform the Dive Bomb attack at a target. This can cause targets to be launched into the air and then be continuously struck by the meteors.
 * Daimon is also capable of using an explosive version of Immolation for a brief moment in order to to blast away any players climbing it. Fighters and Mystic Knights can avoid this by jumping straight into the air just before his arms are completely folded and holding the "Block" button. Once the Arisen "bounces" from blocking the impact, simply tap the "Grab" button to reattach to him.
 * Daimon's Awakened Form is capable of rapidly casting a series of three Comestion spells which can easily juggle, stagger players and or apply the Burning debilitation.
 * A number of curatives can be found throughout the battlefield. A Wakestone and a Godly Analeptic can be found near the throne in case the situation demands it.  A Salubrious Brew is usually in the corner nearest the door to the Treasure Room; there are three to four Harspud Sauces randomly scattered between the walls and pillars.

Pawn-specific



 * Pawns can lend tremendous offensive contributions against Daimon's first form, but lower level pawns can be frustratingly ineffective against his second Awakened form, regardless of their inclination.
 * It is likely the Arisen can save pawns from the Vortex Rift attacks using group stamina curatives such as Mushroom Potage to top up their stamina.
 * Against the second form, lower level pawns may be more useful for support roles: healing, buffing, carrying supplies, and distracting the Daimon.
 * A Mage pawn equipped with a Legion's Might staff can do all of the above without the Arisen needing to resurrect them when they die - however the staff does not prevent loss to the Rift Vortex.
 * High Grapnel should hold Daimon's first form firmly in place while the Arisen attacks or climbs him. Consider equipping the Main Pawn as a Mage with only High Grapnel and a Legion's Might staff to ensure that the pawn repeatedly uses this spell for the duration of the fight.

On defeat of Daimon

 * Daimon's Claw (common, always drops 2 after his first defeat)
 * Daimon's Horn (common, always drops 1 after his first defeat)
 * Vile Wakestone (uncommon, 2nd form only)
 * Bitterblack Gear Lv.3 (uncommon)
 * Bitterblack Novelty Lv.3 (uncommon)
 * Bitterblack Weapon Lv.3 (rare)
 * Bitterblack Armor Lv.3 (rare, always drops 1 after his first defeat)

Treasure chest room
The first time the Arisen defeats Daimon's first form, the reward drop is always the same: One Cursed Bitterblack Armor Level 3, two Daimon's Claws, and one Daimon's Horn.


 * Chest #1
 * Bitterblack Weapon Lv.2 (Pre-Daimon, common)
 * Bitterblack Armor Lv.2 (Pre-Daimon, rare)
 * Bitterblack Weapon Lv.3 (Post-Daimon, common)
 * Perfect Rift Crystal (Post-Daimon, uncommon)


 * Chest #2
 * Moonbeam Gem


 * Chest #3
 * Bitterblack Novelty Lv.3 (Pre-Daimon, common)
 * Bitterblack Armor Lv.3 (Post-Daimon, common)
 * Rift Polycrystal
 * Perfect Rift Crystal


 * Chest #4
 * Bitterblack Gear Lv.3 (Pre-Daimon, common)
 * Bitterblack Armor Lv.3 (Pre-Daimon, rare)
 * Bitterblack Novelty Lv.3 (Post-Daimon, common)
 * Rift Polycrystal
 * Perfect Rift Crystal


 * Note: Aside from Chest #2, all of the chests can also contain Rift Crystals of various increments instead of what's listed above. Chest #4 can yield a Perfect Rift Crystal (10,000 RC).

Quotes

 * First Form
 * "I have raged, and wrought destruction."
 * "Naught shall remain."
 * "No paths lead hence."
 * "Repent the folly of ascribing meaning to the void."
 * "Fall, molder, and begone."
 * "Be cast into nothingness."
 * "With my every breath I cursed the eternal chain and all who would perpetuate it."
 * "But more than this, I have waited..."
 * "Waited for one with a will to outmatch my own, that they may break the bonds that hold me here."
 * "In hate's demise... freedom..."


 * Awakened Form
 * "Slave to a broken order... dare you look upon the truth?"
 * "I have seen the scattering of countless myriad souls... they gather and flow to become as the river of time, expanding to fill the firmament."
 * "What a base and trifling creature is man... yet at once he is the master of this empyreal flow, grand as all the heavens."
 * "I bid you, hone your spirit. Refine it. I shall await you in the crucible of souls."
 * Unique pawn quotes during Awakened Form


 * "A nightmare... 'tis a nightmare made real."
 * "'Tis overwhelming... 'tis overwhelming!"
 * "'Tis not the same creature...I sense the dragon!"

Pawn Bestiary Knowledge
thumb|270px|Daimon casting his Vortex


 * Attack his head in his first form
 * Attack his chest head in his second form
 * Second form chest head screams which try to posses pawns
 * Witness the Rift Vortex attack
 * Stagger him during the Rift Vortex attack to stop it
 * Witness his different attacks (not well known. May need to witness all Daimon's different attacks for it to be triggered)

In addition to witnessing these techniques, it is necessary for Pawns to participate in killing Daimon 10 times either with their own Arisen or while travelling with others.

More information can be found on the Pawn Bestiary Knowledge page.

Trivia

 * Daimon, with his second awakened form, and the whole process of having to go through Bitterblack isle twice, is most likely a reference to the Ghosts 'n Goblins series. Just like Daimon, the final boss of this series generally also has an additional face located somewhere on the abdominal area, and just like with Bitterblack Isle, the player has to go through the entire game twice in order to get the real ending.