Ur-Dragon

Legend tells of an immensely powerful undead dragon that appears in the Everfall beneath Gran Soren.

In New Game+ the Ur-Dragon can easily be accessed via a purple riftstone on the beach within Cassardis.

Overview
The Ur-Dragon encounter in Dragon's Dogma takes the form of an asynchronous, ongoing online encounter, where players and their parties from around the world compete online to take down the Ur-Dragon. The effect and damage done by of each of these parties is combined until the creature is defeated. This will take multiple encounters, but all players who inflict damage on the Ur-Dragon can receive great spoils. The Arisen that inflicts the final blow will receive the greatest reward of all, and 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.

If you participated in killing the Ur-Dragon, the next time you enter the area online (or if immediately if you killed him yourself,) you'll get a cut scene pointing to the loot. If you leave without picking it up, it goes poof.

Multiple Arisen can inflict the "final blow" to the same online dragon.

Defeating the Ur-Dragon unlocks "The Messiah" trophy.

Stats
(*)This value is only applicable for the OFFLINE Ur-Dragon. The online one has even more health, which increases with each generation.

Immune to Petrification

Immune to Exequy

Item Drops

 * Ascalon
 * Heaven's Key
 * Volant White
 * Dragon Claw
 * Wakestone
 * Dragon Horn
 * Dragon Scale
 * Great Dragon Alula
 * Great Dragon Claw
 * Putrid Dragon Scale
 * Wakestone (x20)

Drops from Broken Heart

 * Dragon Scale
 * Dragon Horn (head only)
 * Dragon Claw
 * Great Dragon Claw
 * Great Dragon Alula
 * Putrid Dragon Scale
 * Rotten Ambrosial Meat
 * Sour Ambrosial Meat (stomach only)
 * Wakestone Shard (head only)

Online Only Drops
(These have a small chance of being rewarded as part of a significant contribution to its death. If the killing blow is struck, it is a 100% chance)
 * Lambent Shield
 * Dwells-In-Light
 * Angel's Fist
 * Talarian White
 * Lustrous Greatshield
 * Totem Mace

Online Killing Blow Drops
(Rewarded only to those who struck a killing blow. Slayers of the Ur-Dragon receive one of the four masks.)
 * Abyssinal Coat
 * Abyssinal Bracers
 * Abyssinal Greaves
 * Siegfried's Mask
 * St. George's Mask
 * Beowulf Mask
 * Apollo Mask

Rumors

 * The health bar of the online Ur-Dragon isn't fully accurate
 * e.g. if you deplete 1/8 of his total health online it might 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 amoung the number of players fighting him at one time. e.g. If he has 100 health and 10 players are fighting him then 10 health will be displayed on each player's game. Whereas if only 5 players are fighting him 20 health will be displayed on each game.
 * A seperate theory has been proposed that when you destroy a heart the damage is somewhat divided amoung his other hearts. This would give the illusion that he is being healed when in reality all damage is being accounted just not all on one heart.

Confirmed

 * With each new generation the Ur-Dragon grows stronger.
 * Being killed or fleeing from the Ur-Dragon will restore a heart. (Which in essence is your heart, remember how pawns comment on how the Dragon is wraught with hearts of Arisen.)
 * A Maker's Finger will instantly kill a heart. (Need to test to see if damage inflicts remaining health of the heart hit or set amount. I.e. test Maker's finger on a weak heart and on a strong heart to see if health removed is different.)
 * Ur-Dragon has an ability to petrify enemies It is shown as a black spell being cast from the dragons left hand. Used rarely but it can be devastating so keep two panaceas or two cockatrice liquors handy.

Tactics

 * It is recommened to practice on the offline Ur-Dragon before attempting the Online version. You'll learn where its weak spots are, and get used to the Ur-Dragon's moves.
 * Each encounter with the Ur-Dragon will last around 8 minutes. This applies to both online and offline encounters. For the offline Ur-Dragon, this simply means your battle with it may span several different encounters. For online encounters, this means you should aim to inflict as much damage as possible in that short period.
 * Pawns will make it very clear that blows to darkened areas are useless. Focus your attacks on the brightly coloured hearts spread throughout its body. They will be 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. Many of these spots will require climbing on to the Ur-Dragon to reach them, so be prepared to do this.
 * Make sure to check the colour of the blood that comes out when you attack. If it is purple, you are doing damage, if it white/greyish then you are NOT doing any damage. Manoeuvre yourself to a different spot if you are not drawing purple blood.
 * Attacking the jointed structures (knees, elbows, etc.) will attack multiple spots of the Ur-Dragon at the same time, exploit this to do much more damage per second.
 * Destroy the tail and wing hearts earlier on for an easier time later when it becomes frenzied. Avoid the frontal right arm while frenzied as you can still be hit while grappling it.
 * The Ur-Dragon's attacks are fast despite its size, and deadly even at high levels. Be sure to have your health at a constantly high level so you are not killed by a surprise attack. Staying alive is as important as maintaining a steady damage output, or you will undo most of your work.
 * Items are very important. Buffs granted by items such as the Conquerors Periapt or Salomet's Secret will allow a greater damage output within a small period. Incidentally, items such as Angel's Periapt and Steel Nut Salve will provide some defense against its physical hits. Mage's Periapt and Decoction of Bandlily are recommended to provide magickal defense, as its spells will probably be one of the most dangerous things it uses - particularly Holy Furor is not a spell you want to find yourself fully exposed to or it will probably kill you.
 * If you have a Shield and can't run from Holy Furor, you can actually block all it's attacks provided you have enough stamina. (Tested with Magick Knight, not sure about Fighter/Sin).
 * The Left Arm can stagger easily. If you see the Ur-Dragon incanting a spell, blows to the left arm are an easy way to stop his casting.
 * Sometimes mid battle the Ur-Dragon will take off and perch on a ledge, at which point it is fairly difficult to damage it. At this point it may be best to simply avoid its attacks until it either returns to the ground or leaves.
 * Wakestones can be used, but it is highly unrecommended, as their use will only heal the Ur-Dragon. Do not rely on them when regular healing items will serve.
 * If you wish to get a final blow on the online Ur-Dragon, refrain than running in and out to check, as this will simply heal it. Pay attention instead to online forums who can confirm it is on low health or dead.
 * After the online Ur-Dragon is killed, it will be set to a dead status. He will have no health and attacking his weak points once or twice should be enough to destroy them. Once all his remaining weak points are broken, you have technically delivered a killing blow. This "grace period" is short, and when it is over, a new generation is spawned.
 * When attacking its front claws refrain from standing on the inside of it. As when it stomps the ground it will crush you, however if done on the other side it should only knock you off balance.

Online Ur-Dragon Strategies
The online Ur-Dragon, especially after many generations, has an extremely large amount of health to the point that its health bar won't even visibly move to most attacks, even when it is clear damage is being inflicted. Making a significant amount of damage on the Ur-Dragon will grant you decent rewards even if you don't land the killing blow, so it's worth putting together a build that will inflict a good amount of damage to it.

Assassin (Invisibility)
A lone Assassin is probably the most effective vocation to choose when wanting to make a significant effect on the online Ur-Dragon. Pawns should not be used.
 * Primary Weapon: Daggers
 * Secondary Weapon: Bow and Shield
 * Dagger Skills: Invisibility, Hundred Kisses, Gale Harness
 * Bow Skills: Any
 * Shield Skills: Showdown
 * Items: 10+ Liquid Vims, 10 Conqueror's Periapts, 10 Demon's Periapts, 1 Maker's Finger, some Staminal Drenches.
 * Recommend Weapons: Heaven's Key, Fey Whisper, a light shield.
 * Recomended Equipment: Dragonroar, Chainmail Bracers, Golden Belt, Assailant's Bracers, Gleaming Bangles, Holy Cuisses, Baleful Nails.
 * Recommended Augments: Bloodlust, Autonomy, Exhiliration, Equanimity, Clout, Acuity

Get rid of your main pawn, then sleep til nightall. Before entering the chamber of Lament, throw yourself off buildings until your health is in the red - if you can retain as much health as possible whilst still remaining on the brink of death, that is best. If you are using Heaven's Key, you will need to put your health permanently in the red so it can't heal you out of the brink of death, which may mean doing this in the day and then waiting til nightfall (Reduce your gray life bar by having a mage heal you to full and then giving yourself fall damage repeatedly, it should shorten each time). Enter the Chamber of Lament with Daggers and Bow equipped and kill the pawns, taking care not to take any more unnecessary damage along the way - use Invisibility if you have to. When the pawns are dead, wait for the Ur-Dragon to descend. Just before he lands, activate Gale Harness. Once he has landed, equip the Maker's Finger and shoot it at the Ur-Dragon. When it hits, the Ur-Dragon should be momentarily stunned. Immediately change the bow to your shield, and activate Showdown. Activate Invisibility, then climb on to the Ur-Dragon and locate a heart before it starts moving again. Go to your menu and use Liquid Vim, Conqueror's Periapt and Demon's Periapt.

Once these are active, begin using Hundred Kisses, whilst making sure you're drawing purple blood. Avoid climbing near the mouth area if possible, or the Ur-Dragon will grab you. Continue using Hundred Kisses nonstop, pausing only to go into your item menu to renew your Liquid Vims and Periapts. You need to use a Liquid Vim every 45 seconds, and you need to use the two Periapts every minute. Continue this approach, checking back and forth between your health bar and your screen to make sure you're drawing purple blood and your items are still in effect. If the Ur-Dragon takes off to perch in the distance, there's little you can do except try and use your bow to do some more damage, but if fortunate, you should be able to remain on the Ur-Dragon for the whole 8 minutes. This strategy is a good way of making a great deal of damage against the Ur-Dragon, but more importantly it keeps you safely out of harm as long as you have stamina.

The Dagger skill "Invisibility" will make you invincible to practically everything the Ur-Dragon throws at you, including magick attacks, hence why it's the main point of this strategy. If nothing else, make sure you can be Invisible at all times - if you don't want to stockpile Liquid Vims, Stamina restoration items can also work. Health Restoration and Status Cures can be used in case you make a mistake and need to be healed. The Maker's Finger is not absolutely necessary, but it will add a decent amount of damage on top off your dagger attacks, and it opens a nice window of opportunity at the beginning of the battle that will save time and effort in locating a vulnerable heart. Armor is not important, you could go naked and it would make little difference, but equipment that boosts Attack and Magick or your stamina limit is a good choice. The armor recommended above have such bonuses. All armor and weapons you use against the Ur-Dragon should be Dragonforged for maximum efficiency.

Heaven's Key is the best choice of dagger since it is powerful, and Ur is weak to holy magic - it is obtainable from the offline Ur-Dragon. An alternative choice is Dragon's Pain found in the Everfall, in which case the Magick-related augments and items should be replaced with ones based solely on Strength.

Most of the augments you choose are based around increasing damage output:
 * Bloodlust, Autonomy - the foundation of this build. They increase damage output immensely. Be sure to rest til nightfall before challenging the Ur-Dragon, and obviously don't bring pawns.
 * Exhiliration - when low on health, this will boost your strength even more. You really shouldn't take any damage with Invisibility, so you can reduce your health to critical before entering the Chamber of Lament and remain relatively safe. Just be sure your Invisibility never runs out.
 * Equanimity - the same as Exhiliration, but with Magick. Only use with Heaven's Key
 * Clout, Ferocity, Vehemence - For extra strength.
 * Acuity, Attunement - For extra magick. Only use with Heaven's Key.
 * Entrancement, Sinew, Efficacy, Potential - if you plan on using Stamina restoration items instead of Vim, these will increase the amount you can carry, or extend the limits of your stamina. Keep in mind you can use Sinew to fill up on items, remove it afterwards and you'll still keep them, you'll just be overencumbered.

With the right combination, your damage output will change significantly, often multiplying your basic attack stats by an average of 11x, not counting the attack boosts. This combined with Invisibility allows you to make a decent attack on the online Ur-Dragon and do visible damage, all the while unable to be killed. NDenizen 10:59, June 16, 2012 (UTC)

Assassin (Dire Gouge)
A similar build to above, though it forgoes the Dagger's Invincibility for the Sword's Dire Gouge skill, which is designed to do large amounts of damage to foes you climb on. Obviously the best choice for this approach would be Ascalon, which can be won from the offline Ur-Dragon. The next best option would be Carnation. You will need to be very cautious as you are not invincible and can take massive damage with no Pawns to help you.

Warrior
Warriors possess the weapons with the highest base damage output, so they make a good choice against the Ur-Dragon. Specifically Dwells-in-Light and Angel's Fist at their highest enhancement are excellent choices against the Ur-Dragon, due to their holy enchantment. Obviously the main issue is that these two weapons need to be won from the online Ur-Dragon, in which case Wounded Heart or Bloody Thistle are the next best option. The DLC weapon Dragon's Flight can also do a decent amount of damage, though at this point it is somewhat outclassed by the weapons mentioned previously. The issue with this class is its difficulty in hitting the wing tips, and climbing damage doesn't compare to more direct attacks. Additionally, since the Ur-Dragon likes to move around alot, it can be very difficult to land a hit on certain parts, namely the tail and wings having such slow swings.

Magick Archer
This is less of a strategy regarding the actual Ur-Dragon fight, but simply a note regarding the Grace Period. The Magick Archers homing arrows make it the best choice for ensuring a kill in the Grace Period - particularly Hunter Bolt will make short work of any remaining hearts. If you want to ensure you don't miss your opportunity, this is the best vocation for it.

Mage/Sorcerer
The standard light attack of the (Archi)Staff enhanced with Holy Affinity has good homing properties and can easily hit all parts of the Ur-Dragon with no stamina usage and from a decent range away. While it's strength depends heavily on Magick Attack, it is probably the safest way for these classes to do damage without having to charge up lengthy spells. This tactic is also good for the Grace Period, where it only takes a few hits to every heart to kill it, and the homing ability will help alot with that. Also during Grace Period 1 or 2 sorcerer maelstroms usually kills the dragon.

Quotes

 * "I know you well....Arisen."
 * "You would stand 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...Truely, you are worthy...." (Death)