Dark Bishop

No doubt the Makers turned His back on this one long ago, so what infernal deity might grant his boons? Mayhap the bishop's god is the master of this wretched place. Mayhap it's aught worse. - Barroch's Notes

Overview[]

Once an arch-priest of a holy order, the Dark Bishop was twisted by the horrors of Bitterblack Isle into a corrupted aberration of his former self. The Dark Bishop carries the archistaff Solar Providence. He is a powerful spell-caster, wrapped in a protective sacred aura, capable of casting a magnitude of spells and various forms of incantations to obliterate unwary adventurers. He summons a Cursed Dragon as his ally and can manipulate the Dragon to do his will.

Type	Undead , Skeleton
Experience gained	Base Experience of 151,000 (85,000 Dark Bishop & 66,000 Cursed Dragon) Can be more or less depending on a few factors such as: Having fewer pawns Being under the effect of Weal Use of the Bezel Crown bow Being in Hard Mode Having higher or lower level pawns
Location	Forsaken Cathedral (respawns every 5 - 7 days Post-Daimon)
Items	Corrupt Remains Ruinous Relic Salomet's Secret (rare) Decoction of Bandlily (rare) Additionally : Bitterblack Novelty Lv.2, Bitterblack Novelty Lv.3, Bitterblack Gear Lv.3 (rare), or Bane Archistaff (very rare) Defeat of the summoned Cursed Dragon is inevitable if the Bishop is destroyed - thus equipment worn by the Arisen may become dragon forged.

Stats[]

Stats	Health	Attack	Defense	Magick Attack	Magick Defense	Weight
Stats	85000	500	380	2600	750	??

Relative Damage Taken	Slash	Bash	Fire	Ice	Thunder	Holy	Dark
Relative Damage Taken	80%	120%	50%	50%	50%	10%	150%

Sources: Dragon's Dogma - ドラゴンズドグマ＆ Dark Arisen (www10.atwiki.jp) and in-game testing.

Attacks[]

Attack	Type	Description
Sacred Aura	Spec	The Dark Bishop is engulfed in a Sacred Aura, greatly increasing its resistance to Holy-based attacks but also decreasing its resistance to Dark-based attacks. Persists through Possession of the Cursed Dragon.
Ectoplasm Bubble	Core Spell	The Dark Bishop summons a reddish glob of ectoplasm beneath its feet which will do a moderate amount of damage if touched and can inflict Curse or lowered attributes. The Dark Bishop may still employ this attack when inflicted with Silence.
Arcane Missile	Core Spell	Fires 5 homing bolts toward one or more targets that deals significant magick damage (Dark). The Dark Bishop may still employ this attack when inflicted with Silence.
Holy Furor	Mag	Conjures brilliant beams of light that smites enemies within its area of effect.
Petrifaction	Mag/Status	Invokes a magick fog that turns foes who enter it to stone.
Exequy	Mag	Invokes a magickal sigil capable of destroying outright any foe held within its span when it completes.
Ingle	Mag	Looses a ball of fire that explodes upon contact, engulfing both the target and surrounding foes.
Frigor	Mag	Conjures a giant spire of ice.
Lassitude	Mag/Status	Invokes a magickal fog that inflicts Torpor upon foes who enter.
Sopor	Mag/Status	Summons a magick sigil inflicting Sleep on those lingering within it.
Maelstrom	Mag	Summons a whirlwind to wreak havoc upon any foes caught in its path.
Pet Revival	Mag	After a long casting, indicated by the cross shaped sigil and ground shaking, brings slain Cursed Dragon to life. Invulnerable to stagger and knockdown while doing so.
Possession	Spec	The Dark Bishop possesses the Cursed Dragon, during which he is able to cast stronger spells over the entire field. If the Dark Bishop is knocked out of possession (when the possessed Dragon is killed), it will stun/fatigue the Dark Bishop; he will then have to recuperate on the floor for 30 seconds.
During Cursed Dragon possession
High Maelstrom	Mag	An advanced form of Maelstrom that summons a larger, longer-lasting whirlwind to wreak havoc upon foes.
High Bolide	Mag	An advanced form of Bolide that calls down a greater number of meteors.
Grand Exequy	Mag	An advanced form of Exequy that creates multiple sigils capable of destroying any foe caught within it when the spell completes.
Stifling Gasp	Spec/Status	On ground, after a brief incantation stretches out wings and lets loose a gasp that inflicts Skill Stifling on a wide area around.
Wing Flap	Phys	Powerful wing flaps that create strong winds preventing the party from approaching.
Holy Furor	Mag	On ground, after a brief incantation stretches out wings and lets loose a gasp. Warning! The casting animation is identical to that of Stifling gasp.

Tactics[]

A general tactic involves a three part strategy:

Silence the Dark Bishop's powerful spells as soon as possible;
Slay the Cursed Dragon;
Go after the Dark Bishop himself.

The Bishop[]

Weak against physical attacks and Dark based magick.
Strongly resists Holy enchanted weapons and spells.
The Dark Bishop will fly around the battleground unless casting certain spells or possessing the dragon, and will also come to the ground periodically. Melee attackers without ranged attacks should take advantage of this moment.
As both a skeleton and undead, the Bishop takes increased damage from both the Zombiebane magick shield and Sickening Skull mace.
Despite being both a skeleton and undead, the Bishop cannot be debilitated with Lowered Magick Defense from Magick Rebalancer.

Cursed Dragon tactics[]

See also: Cursed Dragon

The Dark Bishop's pet is weak to both fire and holy magick. This dragon is of a weaker variety than a usual Cursed Dragon as it does not possess a crystal heart. Instead it has a very small health bar above its back that represents how long it will take to either temporarily take the dragon out of commission or to cancel the Dark Bishop's possession.
- Though visually deprived of heart-crystal the Cursed Dragon pet still may be knocked down like its counterpart by attacking the chest area between shoulders where its heart would normally be.
Periodically, the Dark Bishop will take possession of the Cursed Dragon. This is evident when the Cursed Dragon glows yellow.
- When enough damage is inflicted the Dark Bishop can be forced out of the Cursed Dragon, leaving it vulnerable for thirty seconds to a minute.
- During Possession, the Dark Bishop will cast higher ranked spells, and will complete them faster. These spells will target all party members. It is highly recommended to end its possession as soon as possible by damaging the glowing Cursed Dragon.
The Cursed Dragon may die permanently if enough time has passed.

Defensive[]

Dark_Bishop_dead_in_42_seconds,_Hard_mode,_party_undamaged — Dark Bishop dead in 42 seconds, Hard mode, party undamaged

Demonstration of the effectiveness of Silence using a Golden Archistaff. A silenced Bishop is virtually harmless.

Vulnerable to Silence.
- Silence the Dark Bishop with Silencer Arrows, Silentium, or upgraded Golden Weapons.
- Once silenced, the Dark Bishop presents a very limited offense but is still able to inflict lowered attributes and magic debilitations and can use an Arcane Missile attack.
Vulnerable to Torpor.
- Rusted Weapons such as rusted bow or Longbows can inflict Torpor on both the Cursed Dragon & Dark Bishop to slow them down.
Immune to Poison. Rusted Weapons will only cause Torpor and not Poison. Poison arrows will do normal damage and High Miasma will inflict damage but neither will poison the Dark Bishop.
Best to slay the Cursed Dragon first, since the Dark Bishop commands an enormous tactical advantage when he assumes possession of the Cursed Dragon. He then can instantaneously and simultaneously cast four High Bolide spells, four Petrification fields, four Lassitude fields or two High Maelstrom spells, and can rapidly re-cast these spells.
When the Cursed Dragon rears up and inhales to unleash its Poisonous breath assault, there is nowhere in the arena to hide. At close range, even the pillars offer no protection. Instead, run towards the Cursed Dragon and grab onto its back, which is the safest place to be during its massive breath attack.
When within striking range of the Cursed Dragon, the safest place to stand is directly underneath its chest and groin area. Unless the Dark Bishop is casting a spell underneath the Cursed Dragon, this spot is relatively safe from its physical attacks.

Class specific[]

Mystic Knights can utilize two Dark-element Great Cannons simultaneously to repeatedly stagger the Dark Bishop while it is floating. While close to the ground or knocked down, Abyssal Anguish can be used to inflict massive damage. Setting a Ruinous Sigil /Great Cannon trap for the Cursed Dragon and or the Dark Bishop to enter is very deadly, more so if the elemental enchantment targets the foe's weakness.
Fighters and Warriors should focus on the Cursed Dragon's chest and strike it until it falls, repeating this process 3 times will make the Dark Bishop plummet to the ground, making him vulnerable.
All ranged classes are useful in this battle as they can target the floating Bishop.
Striders: Because the Dark Bishop often hovers stationary within jumping range, Brain Splitter can be very effective.

Pawn Bestiary Knowledge[]

For the foe knowledge flags for Dark Bishop see the undead section in the Bestiary.

Pawn Chatter[]

"'Tis that fiend controlling the cursed dragon!"

"'Tis more impulse than reason. It attacks without thinking!"

"I shall draw the dragon's ire! Strike the mage!"

"The dragon will not die till we slay its master!"

"The dragon stands again!" (Cursed Dragon resurrected)

"The necromancer has vanished!"

"Now! While it's driven from the dragon's body!"

"'Tis fallen! Quickly, upon it!"

"It summons more monsters!"

Notes[]

During the Arisen's first encounter with the Dark Bishop (Pre-Daimon), escape is impossible by Liftstone.
The party may not progress further into Bitterblack Isle until they have emerged victorious from the encounter with the Dark Bishop and Cursed Dragon.
The Dark Bishop and his Cursed Dragon do not respawn until after Daimon is beaten for the first time. Post-Daimon, they will respawn after resting (sleeping at an inn in Gransys) for at least five days. Sleeping on the resting benches in Bitterblack Isle advances time on the island only for an hour and thus will not work.
If one looks closely just after killing the Dark Bishop one can see 85,000 XP before 66,000 XP. The 66,000 XP come from killing the Cursed Dragon, which is the reason why the Arisen's equipment can become Dragonforged. This puts the total amount of XP gained from these two Boss enemies at 151,000.
(BUG) Occasionally the slain "pet" may get revived for no apparent reason.
(BUG) The possessed pet may sometimes attempt to lift off and then immediately lands.
(BUG) High Bolide projectiles casted by the possessed pet are known for travelling at erratic trajectories, including near horizontally.
(BUG) In certain circumstances the Dark Bishop may fly to the upper floor shelf and stuck there.
- Also during Post-Daimon battles may enter the now open entrance and get stuck in the ceiling there. Including when knocked down after possessed pet's death.
(Exploit) By using the "Barrel Glitch", the barrels on the left side of the room can be used escape back through the closed entrance - the Bishop remains but will reheal if the area is left.
- You can safely snipe the boss if you run back upstairs before the Bishop takes control of the dragon. Running upstairs into the previous room will cause the boss music to stop as the boss resets but keeps their current health.
- Pawns will not attack the boss, so keep asking for "help" for Weapon Enchantments.

Trivia[]

The Archistaff the Dark Bishop is holding appears to be a Solar Providence. Regardless, it will sometimes drop the Bane Archistaff when killed.

Gallery[]

External Links[]

Official website (archived)