Year 7 Champion Guide: The Dark Urge, the Dragonborn Sorcerer
Last Updated: Initial Post
This is a stand-alone information guide for this Champion that will be updated as necessary for use during Events or when doing a Time Gate.
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#Year 7 Champion - The Dark Urge, the Dragonborn Sorcerer
- Source: The Baldur's Gate 3 videogame
You can read their Champion Spotlight here.
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Slot 11
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Good with: Absolute Adversaries; Evil or Good Champions
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Affiliation: Absolute Adversaries - Astarion, Gale, Karlach, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, The Dark Urge, Wyll
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Eligible for Mirt, Vajra, Strahd, Zariel
-
Time Gate Priority: TBD
| Race | Class | Alignment | Gender | Age | Role(s) | Overwhelm Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragonborn | Sorcerer | Chaotic Evil | Male (He / Him) | Unknown | DPS | 5 |
| Strength | Dexterity | Constitution | Intelligence | Wisdom | Charisma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 17 |
Bio: The Dark Urge remembers nothing but a path paved with blood. Unimaginable cruelty whispers from within. Can he escape it? Would he even want to?
Basic Attack: The Dark Urge has two normal attacks: a melee attack in his regular form, and a melee attack while in his Ultimate Slayer form.
- Here are the two types of attacks:
- Murderous Slash - The Dark Urge moves up to the closest enemy and attacks all nearby enemies with a slash of his dagger.
- Slay - The Dark Urge (in Slayer form) moves up to the closest enemy and attacks all nearby enemies with vicious swipes of his claws, dealing ultimate damage.
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Base Attack Type: Melee
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Base Attack Speed: 5 seconds
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Base Critical Hit Chance: 2.5%
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Base Critical Hit Damage: 100%
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Self-DPS Buff: 1.09e014%
Ultimate: The Dark Urge has two ultimate attacks, depending on if you Embrace or Resist the Urge.
- Here are the two options:
- Form of the Slayer - The Dark Urge moves to the enemy's side of the screen and transforms into the form of the Slayer for 15 seconds. While in this form, Sceleritas Fel joins the formation in the Dark Urge's spot while the Dark Urge is in the Ultimate form and is immune to damage. The Dark Urge gains a new melee attack that deals Ultimate damage.
- Withers' Resurrection - Withers appears in the back of the formation and raises his right hand. All enemies take 1 Ultimate hit and are pushed back to their side of the board with a shockwave, all knocked out heroes briefly glow white and are resurrected to full health, and all heroes are immune to damage for 15 seconds. This Ultimate automatically triggers if The Dark Urge is knocked out. After the duration ends, Withers disappears.
- Base Ultimate Cooldown Time: 320 seconds
##Passive Abilities
Dark Inheritance: The Dark Urge is eligible to start in all adventures, even if the Patron, Variant, or other restrictions would say otherwise. He also does not interact with any Champion abilities or variant effects that are based on age.
##Interesting Abilities
The Urge: Each time the Dark Urge defeats an enemy, he gains a Murder stack. The Dark Urge increases his damage by 0.1% for each Murder stack he has. Stacks persist between adventures.
- 6,400% after upgrades; Supported by an Item & Feats
Gaar's Notes: This is a permanently stacking ability that has a max cap of 4e09 stacks. That doesn't mean you need to get there. Somewhere in the e05 range is probably solid, e06 is even better. Then they'll just slowly accrue them over time from that point on unless you plan to go all-in on The Dark Urge.
Ceremorphosis: Your formation gains one Ceremorphosis stack due to the mind flayer tadpole in the Dark Urge's brain. The Dark Urge increases his damage by 100% for each Ceremorphosis stack, stacking multiplicatively.
- No upgrades; Supported by an Item & Feats
Gaar's Notes: This is just a straight-up damage bonus to themself based on tadpoles in the party. Buffs to this ability via Item and Feats apply pre-stack which means this is a Mathematically OverPowered (MOP) ability. Investing lots of item levels into this Champion will make them stronger the more you invest without the same kind of dimishing returns other Champions get.
Living on the Edge: The Dark Urge has 6 Outcast stacks, minus 1 stack for each adjacent champion that does not have the DPS role. The Dark Urge increases his damage by 100% for each Outcast stack, stacking multiplicatively.
- No upgrades; Supported by an Item & Feats
Gaar's Notes: This means you have to be careful where you place The Dark Urge in a formation, and who you place next to them, so that you can maximize the potential stacks here. Buffs to this ability via Item and Feats apply pre-stack which means this is a Mathematically OverPowered (MOP) ability. Investing lots of item levels into this Champion will make them stronger the more you invest without the same kind of dimishing returns other Champions get.
Global DPS Buff: 7.87e06%
##First Specialization
Storm Sorcery: The Dark Urge's Murderous Slash attack is empowered by lightning. This increases the range by 200% and deals up to 800% more damage to enemies based on how close they are to him.
Gaar's Notes: This is a pure damage upgrade Spec with the added benefit of increasing the AoE radius.
Draconic Bloodline: The Dark Urge's damage is increased by 200% for each Dragonborn Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.
Gaar's Notes: This is going to give you a bigger buff than the Storm Sorcery Spec as long as there are at least two other Dragonborn in the party.
Divine Soul: The Dark Urge increases the number of The Urge's Murder stacks he gains each time he defeats an enemy by 200%.
Gaar's Notes: This is your Murder-stack farm Spec choice.
##Second Specialization
Embrace the Urge: The Dark Urge unlocks the Form of the Slayer ultimate, and deals 100% more damage for each Evil Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.
- No upgrades; Supported by an Item
Gaar's Notes: If you have more Evil Champions in your party than Good, you want to go with this Spec.
Resist the Urge: The Dark Urge's alignment becomes Lawful Good, he unlocks the Wither's Resurrection ultimate, and deals 100% more damage for each Good Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.
- No upgrades; Supported by an Item
Gaar's Notes: If you have more Good Champions than Evil, you want to go with this Spec. You may also want this if you want to use a buffer that only buffs Lawful or Good Champions.
##Equipment
| White | Green | Blue | Purple | Gild Priority | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slot 1: Increases the damage of The Dark Urge | 50% | 125% | 200% | 350% | 2 |
| Slot 2: Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's The Urge ability | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 2 |
| Slot 3: Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's Ceremorphosis ability | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 1 |
| Slot 4: Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's Living on the Edge ability | 10% | 30% | 50% | 100% | 1 |
| Slot 5: Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's Embrace/Resist Specializations | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 2 |
| Slot 6: Reduces the cooldown on The Dark Urge's Ultimate Attack | 8s | 16s | 32s | 80s | 3 |
##Legendary Effects
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
Gaar's Note: Find more information on the Legendary system here.
##Feats
Here is the info for when you can unlock each Feat Slot:
| Feat Slot | Unlocked at Level | Rough Cost |
|---|---|---|
| First | 120 | e22 |
| Second | 670 | e42 |
| Third | 1305 | e68 |
| Fourth | 2090 | e95 |
Gaar's Note: Currently, you will need to level this Champion past their current upgrade softcap which will require you changing the blue update indicator from UPG to one of the numbered options.
Here is the info on what Feats are available for this Champion:
| Obtained | Recommended | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Selflessness | Increases the damage of all Champions by 10% | |
| Regular Gold Chest | Inspiring Leader | Increases the damage of all Champions by 25% | |
| Default | Tavern Brawler | Increases the damage of The Dark Urge by 30% | |
| 12,500 Gems | Grappler | Increases the damage of The Dark Urge by 60% | |
| Default | I Am The Dark Urge | Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's The Urge ability by 20% | |
| Regular Gold Chest | Murderous Intent | Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's The Urge ability by 40% | |
| Default | Growing Infection | Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's Ceremorphosis ability by 20% | |
| 12,500 Gems | Situational Pushing | True Souls | Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's Ceremorphosis ability by 40% |
| Default | Murder Gang | Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's Living on the Edge ability by 20% | |
| Regular Gold Chest | Pushing | Vicious Syndicate | Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's Living on the Edge ability by 40% |
| 50,000 Gems | Pushing | Cult of Blood | Increases the effect of The Dark Urge's Living on the Edge ability by 80% |
| Event Tier | Pushing | Resisting the Urge | Increases the Base DPS of The Dark Urge by 400% and prevents roaming familiars from automatically activating The Dark urge's ultimate attack |
##Level Upgrades
Gaar's Note: Level Cost is the cost to go from the prior level to the stated level. It is not a cumulative total. However, since we're dealing with very large numbers, it's in the ballpark.
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | NA | |
| 1 | Add to Formation | |
Current max upgrade level is 1800
#Formation & Mission Information
Once you complete the first mission, three Variants and a Free Play show up. It uses a formation that holds 10 Champions. It has a Champ-specific format that I've done my best to re-create below.
| Back Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | |||
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | |||
| 0 | 0 |
New Player Formation & Specializations:
While I recommend learning to build your own formations, here's a set of starter formations for brand new players to use while they get the hang of things. Anyone with other options should check that link for how to figure out how to make the best of them. You can also ask for help in the #formations channel in the official Discord.
| Back Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minsc - Beasts | Bruenor - Battle Master | ||
| NA | |||
| Hitch - More Daggers | Asharra - Potpourri/NA | ||
| Celeste - Life Domain | Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | ||
| Jarlaxle - Leader of Bregan D'aerthe | |||
| Calliope - College of Valor | NA |
This formation is for the first couple of runs where you're just not going to get enough Gold to get everyone on the field, let alone level people up into their power curves. At this point, Jarlaxle is focusing on being your Primary DPS while everyone else is set up to support him.
The following formation is for once your Asharra starts doing more damage than your Jarlaxle. You can find this out by changing Asharra's first Specialization Choice to Potpourri (via a Potion of Specialization) and swapping her position with Jarlaxle at the end of a run. If Asharra is higher, next run start Asharra in the DPS position from then on.
| Back Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makos - Dark Blessing | Bruenor - Shield Master | ||
| Tyril - Wild Shape | |||
| Minsc - Beasts | Asharra - Potpourri/NA | ||
| Celeste - Life Domain | Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | ||
| Hitch - More Daggers | |||
| Calliope - College of Valor | Jarlaxle - Leader of Bregan D'aerthe |
This formation should get you through the Event as a new player. If you have other options or think a different DPS is geared better, try it out and see what happens! Swapping DPS around like this can help you figure out what works best for you with your specific items.
These are the rough Favor values you need to reach to make a Tier 1 Variant say Difficulty: Easy. Keep in mind that this is just a generic rating system and some Variants may be harder than others, even with Favor in this range. Earning lots of Favor (above what is shown below) before trying variants can make them much easier than they would otherwise be.
| Variant | Favor Level (Normal) | Favor Level (Scientific Notation) |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | 20,000 | ~2e04 |
| 125 | 15,000,000 | ~1.5e07 |
| 175 | 150,000,000 | ~1.5e08 |
Beyond Tier 1, Favor isn't going to be all you need to get through them. That doesn't mean you can't try though, just remember that if it isn't green it could be problematic.
| Tier 1 Area | Tier 2 Area | Tier 3 Area | Tier 4 Area | Reward | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Fool's Errand | 50 | The Dark Urge + Favor | |||
| Free Play | 50 | Favor | |||
| How Many Die Today? | 75 | 250 | 600 | 1200 | The Dark Urge Gold Chest + Favor |
| Time for Bloody Murder | 125 | 350 | 800 | 1400 | The Dark Urge Gold Chest + Favor |
| Ramgage or Redemption | 175 | 450 | 1000 | 1600 | The Dark Urge Gold Chest + Favor |
| Tier Reward | The Dark Urge Damage 200% | The Urge 400% | Embrace/Resist 400%, Tier Feat | Ceremorphosis 100%, DPS Pigment |
##Initial Adventure: A Fool's Errand (The Dark Urge)
Info: No restrictions.
Gaar's Notes: This event's area 50 boss is the Frost Giant and he's beastly. He's armored and does a ton of damage when he hits you. You'll need to have a good understanding of crowd control to try to keep him away from you while you remove segments. New players can use the Asharra knockback into Nayeli stun Ultimate combo to push him away before unloading all other Ultimates to try to finish him off after you've cleared the trash mobs that spawn before him. Worse case scenario: farm the area right before to get damage upgrades and then try again. He's going to limit your progress in this event more so than other event bosses. Make sure you're using a multi-hit DPS to remove as many segments as possible with each round of attacks.
##First Variant: How Many Die Today?
Info: The Dark Urge starts in the formation. He can be moved, but not removed. Only Champions with the DPS role can deal damage. Each wave spawns an Intellect Devourer. They don't drop gold or count towards quest progress.
Gaar's Notes: There isn't really a restriction here as you're going to be killing with The Dark Urge anyway. You're progress might be a little slower as no one else in the formation is helping you kill early on.
##Second Variant: Time for Bloody Murder
Info: The Dark Urge starts in the formation. He can be moved, but not removed. You may only use Champions with the DPS role and/or members of the Absolute Adversaries or Heroes of Baldur's Gate affiliations.
Gaar's Notes: They're really trying to get you to lean into the Baldur's Gate theme here. If you can't field a full formation you can still try it as long as you have decent Favor as shown in the chart above. If you fail, just go farm more Favor in a Free Play and come back and try again later. Ultimately, Favor can help you beat all the Tier 1 variants.
##Third Variant: Rampage or Redemption
Info: The Dark Urge starts in the formation. He can be moved, but not removed. You may not use Neutral Champions unless they are members of the Absolute Adversaries affiliation. Each wave spawns an armored Mind Flayer. They don't drop gold or count towards quest progress.
Gaar's Notes: Again with leaning into a themed formation. Same tips as above for trying things out without a full formation if you're heavily restricted and getting Favor to help.
#Achievements
Gaar's Note: All of these achievements can be earned at any time, not just during their Event, except where noted.
Recruit The Dark Urge - 1%
Recruit The Dark Urge, the Dragonborn Sorcerer
The Urge - 1%
Complete all three variants of the "A Fool's Errand (The Dark Urge)" adventure. (This achievement can be earned via Time Gates.)
Father's Favorite - 1%
Obtain a piece of gear for each of The Dark Urge's six equipment slots. (Event Champ gear does not come from regular Silver/Gold Chests. You can earn Event Champ gear from their specific Event Chests, Time Gates, qualifying Patron Chests, and other Chests as noted.)
An Urgent Errand - 1%
Complete area 250 in any The Dark Urge adventure, variant, free play, or Time Gate.
A Wonderful Day for Murder - 1%
Have The Dark Urge gain 1,000 Murder stacks while having all 6 of Living on the Edge's Outcast stacks and a full formation.
Gaar's Note: Coming soon!
#Champion Adventure Information
| Indoor # | Outdoor # |
|---|---|
| 8 | 42 |
##Type Summary
Bosses
| Boss Type | # in this Event |
|---|---|
| Humanoid | 3 |
| Beasts | 2 |
| Giant | 2 |
| Monstrosity | 2 |
| Elemental | 1 |
Normal Mobs
| Enemy Type | # in this Event |
|---|---|
| Beasts | 18 |
| Humanoid | 13 |
| Elemental | 10 |
| Giant | 10 |
| Monstrosity | 9 |
##Type by Level - repeats after 50
| Level | Indoor/Outdoor | Enemy Type | Boss Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outdoor | Humanoid | |
| 2 | Outdoor | Humanoid | |
| 3 | Outdoor | Humanoid | |
| 4 | Indoor | Humanoid | |
| 5 | Indoor | Humanoid | Humanoid |
| 6 | Outdoor | Humanoid | |
| 7 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 8 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 9 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 10 | Outdoor | Beasts | Beasts |
| 11 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 12 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 13 | Outdoor | Beasts & Humanoid | |
| 14 | Outdoor | Humanoid | |
| 15 | Outdoor | Humanoid | Humanoid |
| 16 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 17 | Outdoor | Beasts & Humanoid | |
| 18 | Outdoor | Humanoid | |
| 19 | Outdoor | Humanoid | |
| 20 | Outdoor | Humanoid | Humanoid |
| 21 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 22 | Indoor | Elemental | |
| 23 | Indoor | Elemental | |
| 24 | Indoor | Elemental | |
| 25 | Indoor | Elemental | Elemental |
| 26 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 27 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 28 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 29 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 30 | Outdoor | Beasts | Beasts |
| 31 | Outdoor | Beasts | |
| 32 | Outdoor | Giant | |
| 33 | Outdoor | Giant | |
| 34 | Outdoor | Giant | |
| 35 | Outdoor | Giant | Giant |
| 36 | Outdoor | Giant | |
| 37 | Outdoor | Giant | |
| 38 | Outdoor | Beasts & Monstrosity | |
| 39 | Outdoor | Beasts & Monstrosity | |
| 40 | Outdoor | Monstrosity | Monstrosity |
| 41 | Outdoor | Giant | |
| 42 | Outdoor | Giant & Monstrosity | |
| 43 | Outdoor | Elemental & Monstrosity | |
| 44 | Indoor | Elemental | |
| 45 | Indoor | Elemental | Monstrosity |
| 46 | Outdoor | Elemental & Monstrosity | |
| 47 | Outdoor | Elemental & Monstrosity & Giant | |
| 48 | Outdoor | Giant | |
| 49 | Outdoor | Elemental & Monstrosity | |
| 50 | Outdoor | Monstrosity | Armored Giant |
Posted Mar 6, 2024, 10:16 PM UTC