Dragon’s Dogma 2 Dullahan: How to beat the Headless Horseman

Dragon’s Dogma 2 features a lot of aggressive mobs and unique enemies that can take you by surprise at any moment. Some of these present a considerable challenge to players, especially those we consider elite or boss monsters. Dullahan serves as one of the most challenging encounters that players will face. If you try facing him alone, you will have difficulty defeating him. Fortunately, there are several ways for you to beat him with ease as long as you know what to do. 

Dullahan Location

The Headless Horseman is part of the quest Till Death Do Us Part, which starts from an NPC in Vernworth City. It is unknown if you can fight Dullahan without this quest, but it’s better to have this mission active to receive more rewards upon defeating the boss. 

To start the quest, you must talk to Oswald, who you can find near the fountain. He will tell you the tale of Ser Ludolph and send you to speak to Margit. She will then request you to save her husband, Sir Gregor. 

This questline will lead you to the Misty Marshes, where you can find Illdoer’s Resting Place. This region can be located northwest of Vernworth and west of Harve Village. This misty area houses a lot of Bandits, Skeletons, Zombies, and a lot of undead spawns, regardless of the time. 

To find Dullahan, you must look for an abandoned village with a riftstone and campsite. There should be a small island East of this location, which is in the middle of a lake. Upon arriving here, you will encounter Sir Gregor and his men fighting Dullahan. 

Preparing for the Fight

Before you head out to fight the Headless Horseman, consider taking some time to prepare your equipment. Dullahan’s main weakness is Holy Magic, so if you have any weapons or abilities to deal with this type of magic, you should bring it to battle. He only has one weak point: the head he carries in his arms. 

Dullahan is tanky and has very few weaknesses. Even with the help of pawns and NPCs, this fight will take a considerable time. To defeat Dullahan quickly, you must exploit his two vulnerabilities.

Dullahan Mechanics

The Headless Horseman only has two notable mechanics that you should note. The first occurs during the initial encounter. Once the fight starts, Dullahan will phase before you to unleash a roar that will stagger you for a short period. During this time, he can unleash a barrage of melee attacks that can eat a chunk of your HP if not kill you. Ensure you are ready to dash out of the way during the opening sequences so he won’t land the roar. 

His other notable mechanic occurs when he transforms into a pink aura. He will continuously chase you around in this form while draining your HP. If you aren’t too careful and reactive, then Dullahan can eat a significant portion of your health before you can move out of its effective range. Bringing energy curatives can also help you recover stamina if you start running out of energy while evading its aura phase.

His primary attacks involve sporadic slashes with his scythes. The best way to fight him would be engaging him in ranged battles while you maneuver out of his effective range. You have several pawns and friendly NPCs to assist you during the fight, which can help you maintain your distance.

The main issue during this fight is that Dullahan can kill Gregor, which automatically fails the quest. Death is permanent, so you won’t have any way of repeating the quest other than reloading the saved file. Dullahan can kill the knight in two ways. He can either unleash a barrage of attacks that can deal lethal damage to Ser Gregor, or he can release a strong knockback that can send the knight into the lake. 

Most of Ser Gregor’s deaths occur from being pushed into the lake. You can minimize the chances of this happening by ensuring that the fight occurs mainly near the island’s center. Fighting in this vicinity lessens the chances of Dullahan knocking back Gregor into the water. Alternatively, you can pick up and carry the knight whenever he gets near the lake and place him closer to the center.

How to Defeat Dullahan

You can defeat Dullahan by forcing him to retreat or killing him. Once Dullahan receives enough damage, he’ll start releasing shrieks that can cause you to stagger. Once it enters this stage, you have essentially finished the fight because Dullahan will teleport away if you cannot kill it. However, you can receive more rewards if you defeat the Headless Horseman, including the “Before Dawn Breaks” achievement. 

Best Vocations to Fight Dullahan

Any vocation with ranged attacks will be the best to use during the fight. These fields include Archer, Sorcerer, Mage, and Magic Archer. Sorcerers and mages would have more advantages since they would have access to more Holy Magic attacks.