Ur-Dragon

"Then you have come...Very well, Arisen."

'''Legend tells of an immensely powerful undead dragon that appears in the Everfall beneath Gran Soren. The Ur-Dragon encounter in Dragon's Dogma takes two forms, a static offline battle, and an asynchronous online encounter, where players and their parties from around the world compete online to take down the Ur-Dragon. Defeating the Ur-Dragon online requires multiple encounters, but all players who inflict damage on the Ur-Dragon are eligible to receive rewards. Over time, as players contribute their effort towards the common goal, the Ur-Dragon's global health will decline. Eventually, when the Ur-Dragon is killed by the first Arisen, the Ur Dragon will go into a "grace period". The Ur-Dragon will appear with very little to no health and one to fifteen hearts will be brightly lit. If anyone enters the Chamber of Lament during grace period, they will have a chance to kill the Ur Dragon and gain great rewards, along with other loot, and have every item currently equipped on the Arisen Dragonforged. All active hearts must be destroyed in one round to get the kill. This "grace period" is short and when over, a new generation is spawned. 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.'''

'''The Ur-Dragon's appearance is the same as The Dragon, but with a gray/lavender palette. However, unlike The Dragon, the Ur-Dragon has thirty "hearts" located all over his body, which will glow as the Arisen or their Pawns approach the area. Each time a heart is destroyed, the area around it will rot and fall, revealing the Ur-Dragon's true form. Destroying hearts is the most effective way to inflict damage to the Ur-Dragon, and doing so will make the Ur Dragon drop plenty of valuable materials.'''

If the player has participated in killing the Ur-Dragon, the next time they enter the Chamber of Lament while online (or immediately if the player has achieved a kill) a cut scene pointing to the loot will play; loot not collected after exiting the Chamber of Lament will vanish.

'''Both online and offline modes, the Ur-Dragon must be defeated within 10 minutes and will fly away once the allotted time runs out. Fortunately, the offline Ur-Dragon's health will not reset, though the online Ur Dragon's health resets back to 0.1 during Grace if you engage it in multiple rounds. '''

Stats
(*) The above stat values are only applicable for the OFFLINE Ur-Dragon.

(*) The Ur-Dragon is immune to all debilitations as well as spells that do not inflict direct damage, such as Exequy.

Online Ur-Dragon's Damage Cap
The round ends when the Ur-Dragon flies away after 10 minutes of battle.

If "...Accessing server" does not appear at the top right of the screen at the end of the round, the maximum damage cap has been exceeded.

An "exceeded" round will have no effect on the online Ur-Dragon's health, thereby nullifying the damage inflicted by the party during the last 10 minutes. Either leave the arena before the 10 minutes have elapsed or restrain the party's attack to inflict less damage during the round.

The Online Ur-Dragon's damage cap was determined to be approximately 27-29 million in damage per round in December 2012. This translates to typically 0.10 to 0.20 of a health bar, which can vary from generation to generation, though it will almost always be within that range.

Pawn Bestiary Knowledge
Please refer to the Pawn Bestiary Knowledge section on the Drakes page.

The Draconian Strategy scrolls grant knowledge for all Dragonkin enemies including the Ur-Dragon.

Strike the head as the Ur-Dragon's mouth starts to blaze with the fire for its breath weapon.

Enemy Specific - Weak to Holy.

In addition to witnessing these techniques, it is necessary for Pawns to participate in killing (not driving it away) the Ur-Dragon 15 times, be it Online or Offline, and regardless of who in the party delivers the death blow, either with their own Arisen or while travelling with others.

Rewards (Upon Defeat of the offline Ur-Dragon)
(One of three weapons will be rewarded upon the Ur-Dragon's defeat. 20 Wakestones will always be rewarded.)



Online Rewards
Four weapons are chosen at random from the Weapon table together with one Mask and the three pieces of the Abyssinal Armor set. For an offline Ur-Dragon kill, only one out of three weapons are awarded: Ascalon, Volant White or Heaven's Keys, which are the weapons used by the three basic vocations. An offline kill does not earn a Mask or armor.

Online Rewards Upon Achieving a Kill
(Rewarded only to those who achieved an online Ur-Dragon kill. Slayers of the Ur-Dragon receive one of the four masks).

Achievement/Trophy
The Messiah - earned by defeating the Ur-Dragon either offline or online.

Video: Unlocking "The Messiah" Achievement/Trophy

Entrance Locations
The Ur-Dragon has two distinct entrances from which he can be reached:
 * In New Game Plus enter via a special Rift Stone on the beach of Starfall Bay in Cassardis.

Speculation and Rumors

 * The health bar of the online Ur-Dragon is not fully accurate:
 * There is a generally accepted theory that there are at least 4 versions of the Ur Dragon on different servers, each with their own health points, thus the varying amounts of HP when you enter the Chamber of Lament. When one of these versions dies, all servers will sync and a Grace Period will start. There are instances when there is a big difference between the health points of different versions. To prevent players from concentrating on the Ur-Dragon with the lowest HP, the server will redistribute Ur-Dragon's health by syncing all versions approximately every half-hour.  This syncing has been witnessed and verified.
 * Example: Depleting 1/8 of the Ur-Dragon's total online health, may not represent 1/8 of his total health according to the server which tracks his status.
 * There is no guarantee the player will summon the same version/instance when commencing the next round.
 * A theory has been proposed that his total health is divided among the number of players fighting him at one time.
 * Example: If the Ur-Dragon has 100 health and 10 players are fighting him then 10 health will be displayed on each player's game. Whereas if only five players are fighting him 20 health will be displayed on each game.
 * A separate theory has been proposed that when a heart is destroyed the damage is redistributed among the other hearts. This would give the illusion that he is being healed when in reality all damage is being accounted for, just rearranged.
 * The Maker's Finger can do lesser or more damage to the Ur Dragon depending on the concentration of HP in the targeted heart.
 * Example: The most HP is concentrated in the Center Back, Chin, Rear Lower Leg and Ribcage (under the wing joints) hearts.  Hitting lesser hearts with a Maker's Finger may only affect the health bar by 10%; however if a greater heart is hit then the Ur-Dragon's health can lower as much as half a health bar. Maker's Finger damage is accounted and applied as soon as it has been discharged, separately from the rest of the round's damage.
 * Do not use a Maker's Finger prior to the online Ur Dragon's introductory rear and roar. It can and will ignore its effect, and additionally cancel stat boosts applied at the beginning of the round. During Grace, it is easier to destroy a heart and THEN use a Maker's Finger on a heart in a difficult location such as the tail or chin, since while it is writhing on the ground, the more difficult hearts are significantly easier to hit.

Confirmed
 * With each new generation the Ur-Dragon grew stronger. However, this was capped on both consoles' online Ur Dragon between Generations 100-120.
 * The Ur-Dragon has an ability to petrify enemies. It is shown as a black spell being cast from the dragon's left hand. On rare occasions if hit with its Fire Breath attack, there is a slim chance for Petrification. Despite how rare the occurrence is, it can be devastating; keep curatives such as Panaceas, Cockatrice Liquors, or Secret Softeners on hand.

Tactics (General)

 * Click here Ur-Dragon Class Strategies for vocation-specific tactics.
 * Vulnerable to Holy enchanted weapons (such as the Ascalon sword, Heaven's Key daggers, Cursed Light sword, Totem Mace, Dwells-In-Light longsword, etc.).
 * Immune to all debilitations (Torpor, Silence, Blind, etc.).
 * Each encounter with the Ur-Dragon will last around 8 minutes before it flies away, whether online or offline.
 * Focus all attacks on the brightly colored, glowing hearts spread throughout its body (see chart above). Hearts are slightly hidden purple spots at first, red when exposed, and upon being destroyed will glow white temporarily and then vanish while depositing two to three item drops on the ground.
 * Some hearts will require Fighters & Warriors to climb the Ur-Dragon.
 * The wing tips are unreachable by climbing - however the tips can be hit from the ground at certain points, allowing Fighters & Warriors to target them.
 * Observe the color of the blood that comes out when attacking the weak spots. If it is purple, then damage is being done. If it is white/gray then NO damage is being done. Brown blood is spilled when attacking a dead area.
 * The Stability augment is very useful against all Draconic enemies. All wind attacks are nullified, meaning that one cannot be blown over backwards or interrupted while casting spells or charging skills. Bitterblack Isle L3 Armor, specifically Boots and Greaves, can have the enhancement "Prevents wind from affecting mobility" which can take the place of Stability.
 * Stamina augments like Potential, Endurance, Athleticism (for running), Arm-Strength (for climbing) and Proficiency (non-arrow physical attacks) can be helpful since this battle is a grueling marathon, not a sprint. Gloves of Might add speed and grip when climbing. Stamina curatives like Mushroom Potage, Sour Ambrosial Meat, Staminal Drench, and Giant Rank Fish are also recommended.
 * Try to engage the Dragon exclusively from the West side of the arena as it lessens the chance the Ur-Dragon will fly up to its roosting perch and launch fireballs at the Arisen. This also wastes precious time in an Online encounter, especially during Grace Period.
 * The Holy Furor spell can be blocked with a shield provided the Arisen has sufficient stamina; executing a Perfect Block will Deflect or Reflect damage back at the Ur-Dragon. A Perfect Block consumes no stamina.
 * The wing buffet attack can also be Perfect Blocked or blocked by a Shield or Magick Shield, preventing knock down from the high winds generated by its wings.
 * The Ur-Dragon's left arm can be easily staggered while it attempts to cast a spell; the Ur-Dragon's right arm can be easily staggered when attempting to Possess a pawn. This interrupts the Ur Dragon's attempts at Possession or spell-casting.

Tactics (Pawn-specific)

 * Pawns can land the final killing blow to slay the Ur-Dragon (online and offline) as with a Cursed Dragon, but unlike other Dragonkin.
 * Fighter and Warrior pawns are not recommended due to their lack of effective ranged attacks against the Ur-Dragon.
 * Strider pawns are the fastest climbers and should (ideally) wield Heaven's Key daggers, Thousand Kisses and the climbing augments Adhesion and Opportunism.
 * Ranger pawns are excellent at long range attacks and should (ideally) wield the most powerful physical damage bow available (the Revenant Wail longbow is more effective here than the Dragon's Glaze longbow). If possible equip the pawn with only Tenfold Flurry as their bow skill, as it is the most practical Ranger skill against the Ur-Dragon.  Equipping two strength rings to enhance the power of Tenfold Flurry are recommended.
 * Sorcerer pawns equipped with High Fulmination can add considerable damage when other party members climb the Ur-Dragon. High Bolide is also an effective Sorcerer spell for pawns against the Ur-Dragon.
 * Mage pawn attack spells are of little use against the Ur-Dragon, so Holy Affinity and High Anodyne should be their primary function in this fight. A Legion's Might staff will make a Mage pawn virtually immortal with its unique ability to auto-resurrect a Mage wielding it. This allows the Arisen to focus on attacking and not running around to revive this particular pawn. In terms of offense, a Mage is not a good choice as a party member for this fight.
 * The Stability augment will prevent the Ur-Dragon from disrupting pawns while they spellcast or charge skills. Bitterblack Isle L3 Armor, specifically Boots and Greaves, can have the enhancement "Prevents wind from affecting mobility" serves the same function as the Stability augment.
 * Be sure to give pawns health and stamina curatives so the party may press the attack unabated. Giving pawns group curatives (like Mushroom Potage and Balmy Incense) will automatically refresh the party's health and stamina during the battle.  This will allow the Arisen to focus on periodically quadruple buffing the party's strength and magic (with Tagilus's Miracles and Salomet's Secrets) and attacking.

Health Status Tracking (Online)
There are online communities that provide helpful health tracking, generation level, and/or grace period for the Ur-Dragon:
 * The official Dragon's Dogma Japanese webpage tracks the Ur-Dragon generation number and provides some slightly cryptic status information.
 * Capcom's Pawn Community Website
 * The wiki's front page

The following Gamefaq sites currently maintain/communicate active updates through individual forum posts:


 * PlayStation 3 Updates
 * Xbox 360 Updates

Grace Period
Once the online Ur-Dragon has been slain by the first player, it will be set to a dead status (Grace Period). When the Ur-Dragon is summoned during Grace, it will have about 0.1 health showing on its healthbar and randomly have anywhere from one to fifteen hearts. If all hearts are destroyed in one round, that player has killed the online Ur-Dragon. There is no limit as to how many players can kill the online Ur-Dragon when it is in Grace. The Grace Period is variable in length; currently the PS3's Grace period is 40 minutes, but the Xbox Grace period is two hours. Grace is over once the next generation of Ur-Dragon is spawned.

Bugs

 * There are some reports of the Wakestones not appearing next to the Rankings tablet if the loot cutscene that is shown after the Ur-Dragon's defeat is skipped. The cause of this still unknown, and isn't guaranteed.
 * It is advised to just let the cutscene play out in its entirety before continuing. Saving in the Chamber of Lament and then reloading will usually cause the Wakestones to reappear.
 * Note: With a little luck you can tap even 40 Wakestones with this method, though there are reports that there will be no Wakestones awarded with the next kill.
 * It is possible that, when the Ur-Dragon does his special attack "Fiery Drive By" and is shot from the air by a ranged attack, he will fall to the ground and clip through it completely making it impossible for the player to attack the Ur-Dragon. Exiting the chamber and re-entering will restart the fight as normal. This can also happen while airborne from and towards the faraway tower from where he will use his "Long Range Fireball" attack.
 * If too many loot pieces are on the arena floor when the online Ur-Dragon is killed, one can receive less than eight loot bags. Capcom has said there is a finite number of objects that can appear in the Chamber of Lament. This was a particular problem during the two festivals since the Ur-Dragon's hearts were so easily destroyed.
 * The online Ur-Dragon can be interrupted right in the middle of its leap backwards, only to hang in the air flapping its wings and flinching/screaming. This puts the Ur-Dragon out of effective range of shortbows and all Warrior/Fighter attacks. If the Arisen is on the Ur Dragon, simply stop attacking for a moment and it will land.

Quotes

 * The Ur-Dragon has multiple pieces of dialogue it can speak when arriving in the Chamber of Lament.
 * "Arisen... I know you well..."
 * "You would rise 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...Truly, you are worthy...." (Death)
 * "Even I cannot stay you..." (Death)