The Chimera is an enemy in Dragon's Dogma.
It is a large, three-headed creature composed of three animals: on the front is a lion's head, which is mostly a physical melee attacker, on its back is a goat's head, which casts long-range magick spells, and on its tail is a snake's head, which attacks enemies that engage in close combat or climb onto it.
It is similar to the Gorechimera, but has less health and cannot heal itself, making it easier to defeat.
Description
A fearsome beast bearing the heads of both a lion and a goat while its tail takes the form of a giant snake. The chimera’s features so distinguish it from the natural world that it is believed by most to be born not of God’s power but of the sorcerer’s arts.
The three beasts that reside within the creature each possess an independent will and this ability to act autonomously is frighteningly apparent if you come to blows with the chimera.
While the mobilization of its massive torso and legs is largely under the command of the lion head, the goat specializes in magickal attacks and the snake head on the chimera’s tail eliminates all blind spots and allows it to defend itself when downed. You would be foolish to approach a fallen chimera without caution if this snake is still able to fight.
On rare occasion, the chimera can be sent into a panic that will cause its respective personalities to fight for control of the body in a confused frenzy. Such behavior is not seen in other multi-headed beasts, such as the hydra, and so it appears yet another piece of evidence supporting the theory that the chimera is a man-made monster.
Chimeras are highly adaptive and can survive in any habitat, but they are most often observed in mountain shadows and deep in dungeons. They do not make a den or any other home for themselves as they are constantly on the prowl in search of new prey.
The three beasts that reside within the creature each possess an independent will and this ability to act autonomously is frighteningly apparent if you come to blows with the chimera.
While the mobilization of its massive torso and legs is largely under the command of the lion head, the goat specializes in magickal attacks and the snake head on the chimera’s tail eliminates all blind spots and allows it to defend itself when downed. You would be foolish to approach a fallen chimera without caution if this snake is still able to fight.
On rare occasion, the chimera can be sent into a panic that will cause its respective personalities to fight for control of the body in a confused frenzy. Such behavior is not seen in other multi-headed beasts, such as the hydra, and so it appears yet another piece of evidence supporting the theory that the chimera is a man-made monster.
Chimeras are highly adaptive and can survive in any habitat, but they are most often observed in mountain shadows and deep in dungeons. They do not make a den or any other home for themselves as they are constantly on the prowl in search of new prey.
Capcom official description [1]
Overview
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Experience gained |
Base Experience of 7,700
Can be more or less depending on a few factors such as:
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| Location | Gransys
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Stats
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| Information from Dragon's Dogma - ドラゴンズドグマ ＆ Dark Arisen (www10.atwiki.jp), the 'Dragon's Dogma Signature Series Guide' and from in-game testing. |
- Lion and Goat's health contribute to the main health bar, the Snake's health is separate
- Physical and Magickal power is thought to increase when the Goat or Lion are killed respectively.(verify)
Attacks
| Head | Attack | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lion | Leap Attack | Phys | Pounces its target. May cause Stagger or Knockdown. Leaps forwards and backwards. |
| Paw Swipe | Phys | Swipes its target with its paw, may cause Knockdown. | |
| Bite | Phys | The lion will bite anyone standing in front of it. | |
| Back Kick | Phys | Uses its hind legs to kick anyone standing behind it, may cause Knockdown. | |
| Roar | Spec | The lion roars and knocks back anyone in the vicinity or climbing on it. Any attacking pawn or Arisen is thrown back further. This can be blocked with a shield or magick shield. | |
| Roll | Phys | Rolls on the ground if caught on fire or to dislodge enemies. | |
| Lion's Meal | Phys | The lion pounces on a sleeping or downed target and proceeds to feast on them. | |
| Blind Rampage | Phys | If the lion is the last head alive it will go berserk, charging at random targets until it has sustained enough damage or is knocked down. | |
| Goat | Ingle | Mag | Unleashes a single ball of fire. Has the chance to inflict Burning. |
| Levin | Mag | Smites the enemy from above with a tongue of lightning. | |
| Slumber | Status | Puts nearby enemies to sleep, usually followed up with a Lion's Meal attack. | |
| Frigor | Mag | Generates a giant spire of ice. | |
| Bite | Phys | Goat will bite anyone clinging near it. It may even cancel its incantation to do so. | |
| Snake | Venomous Jet | Status | Hisses and spits a jet of deadly poison on the ground, directly hit targets may get knocked down. Jet and subsequent miasmic cloud will inflict continuous damage and can Poison anyone lingering in it. |
| Lunge | Phys | Lunges at anyone in range or climbing the Chimera. | |
| Grab | Phys | Grabs a target and hoists them into the air. Holds them in position for the goat, which will lick, inflicting Drenched. May be followed by the snake throwing the target on the ground in front of the lion, which will use its Lion's Meal attack. |
Tactics
Offensive
- Vulnerable to Torpor, Silence, and Tarred, Sleep.
- The Lion's head may be more vulnerable to Sleeper Arrows than other parts.(verify)
- The three heads take significantly more damage than the body.
- The Lion's head is weak to magick
- The Goat's head is weak to physical attacks
- The Snake's head can be effectively hit by both and has a separate health bar of its own
- If the Arisen climbs the area of the Chimera between the Snake and the Goat, swings with a one-handed sword can hit both sections.
- Multi-strike spells (such as Bolide) can individually target each of the heads, resulting in multiple meteor strikes. This makes Bolide spells much more effective against Chimeras than they are against many other large monsters such as Cyclopes, which will typically be hit by only one meteor.
- Stagger Goat's head while it's casting Sopor to make it "panick" then its paws to knock it down.
Defensive
- Vulnerable to Silence - the Goat's head will still attempt to cast spells, but with no effect.
- Targeting the Snake's head first can make close quarters combat less troublesome, especially climbing attacks since the Snake tends to strike and harass climbing combatants.
- The pink sigil around it indicates Goat's head casting Sopor. Run away to avoid it or stagger Goat's head to interrupt casting.
- Killing the Lion's head reduces the overall aggression and tendency to rage of the beast. The Goat head takes charge and becomes more defensive, casting spells and mostly tries to evade the party.
- If the Lion's head is the last to be destroyed, the Chimera will rage, making it a difficult and dangerous target.
- Beware the Chimera's pounces and back kicks - both can be Perfect Blocked.
- "Lion Tamer" - As pawns mention - the Lion literally fears magick - standing in from of the Lion and casting spells such as Ingle causes it to flinch in fear, and take one or two steps back - even with weak spells a spell caster doing this can prevent the Lion pouncing (and practically "stun lock" the creature.. this is unrelated to any stagger effects)
Class specific
- Fighters : Dragon's Maw between the Lion's head and the Goat's head will do massive damage because the attack will hit both at the same time.
- Striders : Skull Splitter and related skills with the Eminence augment can quickly kill one or more heads simultaneously.
- Mages : High Comestion will often kill off the Snake and Goat while doing significant damage to the Lion as well as setting it on fire. Silentium will silence the Goat from spellcasting and render it harmless. As the Lion is weak to magickal attacks, it may also be easier to kill the Lion head first, thus preventing the Chimera rampaging when only the Lion remains.
- Magick Archers : Shadowshackle is strong enough to pin down and trap the Chimera for the duration of the fight.
- Mystic Knights : A Ruinous Sigil will not only knock a Chimera down, but will then do continued damage to all parts of the beast. General Mystic Knight tactics including perfect blocked ripostes work well.
Other
- Chimeras are immune to poison, curse, petrification and blindness. Gorechimeras lack the immunity to poison.
- The Chimera can be sent into a panic at times, causing its heads to fight for control of the body and rendering it unable to attack for a few seconds.
- If both the Goat's and Lion's head are killed, the creature dies even if the Snake is still alive.
Chimera vulnerability demonstration
When inflicted with Torpor and Silence, a Chimera's attacks are slowed down considerably and is rendered unable to cast spells. (6 Masterful Kill counters, Hard mode)
Chimera slaying tips (slain with only a White Hawk's Talon)
When outnumbered, eliminate the smaller enemies first and engage the biggest threat last. Use the terrain's natural obstacles to attack the Chimera from the rear and decapitate the Snake tail first. A Chimera is most dangerous from the front, so attack the Goat and Lion heads from the side or while mounting it. While ranged attacks are safer, melee attacks can more easily knock it down. (Hard mode)
Pawn Bestiary Knowledge
- Chimera Tactics - Specific tactics to beat Chimeras.
- Chimera Strategy Vol. 1 - Kill the snake tail first to make climbing and attacking easier.
- Chimera Strategy Vol. 2 - Silence the Goat to make it unable to cast any spells.
- Use magickal attacks on the Lion head as it is weak to Magick.
- Killing the Goat head first will increase aggression as the Lion takes control of the body and will start to violently pounce around. May not be a needed knowledge flag.
- Killing the Lion head first will decrease aggression as the Goat takes control of the body. It will only be able to cast spells and will mostly try to run away from the attacking party. May not be a needed knowledge flag.
In addition to witnessing these techniques, it may be necessary for Pawns to participate in killing 30 Chimeras either with their own Arisen or while travelling with others.
More information can be found at the Bestiary.
Pawn chatter
During battle, Pawns will repeatedly advise tactics known to be effective on that particular enemy and call instructions to their allies. They'll recite from their Bestiary which contains knowledge gained during their travels with the Arisen.
- "A chimera, Arisen!"
- "A goat's head, from the shoulders of a lion...? With a serpent tail?"
- " 'Tis a chimera... The first I've seen!"
Battle advice
- "We need but sever the tail!"
- "The goat's bleating can lull a man to slumber!"
- "The lion fears magick!"
- "Slay the lion to cripple its physical attacks!"
- "Watch for the goat's magick!"
- "Hit the lion with magick while it's stopped!"
- "Attack the goat's head!"
- ""Do not let it put you to sleep!"
- "Destroy the lion's head and the beast becomes timid."
- "Defeating the goat's head makes a chimera wild."
- "Don't let fear keep you back!"
Action callouts
- "I'll attack the lion's head!"
- "I'll hold the serpent still!"
- "Be gone, abomination!"
State callouts
- "The beast is panicked!" (when the creature rampages)
- "The snake is done!"
- "The goat is silenced!"
- "The lion has fallen!"
Notes
- If the Chimera is approached unaware, it can be found lounging and/or sleeping.
- The pawns say a different quote each time one of the heads is killed: either "The snake is done!", "The goat is silenced!" or "The lion has fallen!".
- Killing any of the heads (Snake being the easiest) knocks it down immediately.
- If the Lion head is killed before the Goat, the Chimera falls over before getting back to its feet again. It then jumps around and bleats, as if the Goat is trying to wake the Lion.
- Every Chimera in the game respawns after four days (except for the one in the Wilted Forest, which respawns after three).
- In Post-Game some Chimeras will be replaced with Gorechimeras.
- The Chimera's forepaws each sport two extra claws on its knuckles and its goat-like hind hooves have four toes each instead of two.
- To ensure Snake head drop, kill it before Chimera is killed. The snake tail cannot be severed after the Chimera is dead.
- Similar to the Gorechimera, it is possible to have a regular Chimera become a 'zombie' with all its head dead, but the body still alive. However this is comparatively rare due to the fact that normal Chimeras cannot heal itself, instead requiring other enemies to cast healing on the Chimera.
Trivia
Chimera wall relief in Resident Evil 4
- A similar-looking Chimera is depicted in Resident Evil 4 (another Capcom game) on a wall relief in Ramon Salazar's castle.
- Chimeras in Greek mythology are described as they appear in the world of Dragon's Dogma: that is with a lion's head, a goat's head arising from its back, and a snake's (or dragon's) head on the tip of its tail. However, in Greek myth the Chimera could breathe fire - a fact that may be referenced by the goat's use of Ingle in the game. The original texts commonly considered them female, despite some art depicting a mane on the lion's head. The seeing of a Chimera was an omen for disaster. See also Chimera, www.wikipedia.org.
Gallery
