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Defeat the Cockatrice and Nightmare Cockatrice in Dark and Darker by learning its moveset, timing attacks, and cheesing.
The Cockatrice and its Nightmare variant are deceptively tricky enemies to beat in Dark and Darker. Although it may look like a roided-up chicken, the Cockatrice is tanky with high movement speed, fast melee attacks, and a paralyzing special attack. For most new players, fighting the Cockatrice or the Nightmare Cockatrice will end in disaster or a quick rout if they are lucky. However, there are some relatively simple methods to beat or cheese the Cockatrice and its fire-breathing variant.
How to Beat the Cockatrice in Dark and Darker
The Cockatrice is exclusive to the Ruins map and can be found slumbering in its eastern and northeastern areas. The normal Cockatrice has 1160 health, which is far more than even a Skeleton Champion’s 750 hp. The beast has an 8% magical and 15% projectile resistance but is vulnerable to physical damage. Therefore, your best bet to defeat a Cockatrice is to deal physical damage with a melee class or equip a melee weapon with another class.
Cockatrice Moveset
| Attack | Description | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Peck | Opens its beak before slamming its head forward | Sidestep or block. |
| Talons | Flaps its wings quickly before lunging forward with its talons | Sidestep or block. |
| Petrification | Raises its wings and draws breath before screeching with its eyes ablaze. Freezes players looking at it for 5 seconds. | Look away as soon as it raises its wings, and attack it after its screeching has begun. |
| Fire Breath (Nightmare) | Spreads its wings and breathes fire in front of it for a few seconds | Circle around it and attack from behind as it continues to breathe flames ahead. |
The normal and elite Cockatrice have the same moveset, but the elite variant has more health, faster attacks, and more damage. Once the Cockatrice closes the distance, start dodging and weaving from/ left to right. Attack once or twice in a row only after dodging an attack from the Cockatrice. As soon as you see it spread its wings for the petrification attack, look away briefly and continue attacking as soon as it starts screeching. The petrification effect only happens the instant its scream begins. After that, it is safe to look at it.
Surprisingly, the Nightmare Cockatrice is easier to beat than the normal one, despite its health of 1860 surpassing that of a normal cave troll. This is because all you need to do is circle the Nightmare Cockatrice until it begins its flame attack, and it will continue breathing fire in the same direction, giving you plenty of time to attack it repeatedly.
Cheesing the Cockatrice
The normal and elite Cockatrice cannot hit you if you stand on slightly higher ground or place an obstacle between you. One effective method is to lure the Cockatrice to a nearby chest, stand on top of the chest, and attack it unmolested. The only threat at that point is its petrifying scream, which you can look away from. Alternatively, you can lure it to the ruins at the center of the map and stand behind the rubble while hitting it with a sword, mace, spear, or a ranged weapon. Keep in mind that the Cockatrice’s screams can attract nearby mobs.
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