Dim Dragon

The Dim Dragon (パネルドラゴン Panel Dragon) is the second boss encounter in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. It is fought at the end of the fourth course of the Psynergy Training Grounds. It is a direct throwback to the Doom Dragon, appearing as a clockwork mechanism on wheels with wooden planks painted with a caricature image of the three-headed dragon grafted onto its front and back. Like with everything before in the Psynergy Training Grounds, this man-made contraption constitutes a trial that thematically represents the original challenges Isaac and the Warriors of Vale had to meet thirty years before.

The Dim Dragon is resistant to Mercury, neutral to Venus and Jupiter, and weak against Mars. It can physically attack, use Scary Jinx to set a Death Curse, exhale Pebble Breath and Sizzle Breath to deal surprisingly heavy damage to one Adept, and exhale Gasping Breath for some damage against all Adepts and a chance of Haunting them. Sometimes it will go "out of order" for two turns, at the end of which it will perform repairs on itself and heal 35+ HP and then be able to fight normally again.

Despite appearing like nothing menacing at all, it is the first "actual" boss encounter in the game. Even so, it is possible to win simply by having all three Adepts attack every turn. When defeated, it rewards 179 experience points, 60 coins, and a Nut. Also, after the Dim Dragon is defeated, the player can open one of two chests. Regardless of which chest is opened, the player always receives the Gate Card.

Dim Dragon Plus
The Dim Dragon Plus (パネルドラゴンDX Panel Dragon DX) is an upgraded version of the Dim Dragon that can be fought after the original Dim Dragon is defeated. In addition to being recolored red, the Dim Dragon Plus has spikes on its wheels. To fight the Dim Dragon Plus, the player must beat the harder version of the Psynergy Training Grounds, which simply means beating the course with a stricter time limit.

The Dim Dragon Plus has all the same techniques as the normal Dim Dragon, including going out of order, but also gains Djinn Burp which will put all of one Adept's Djinn into recovery. In addition, it shares the Dim Dragon's resistance to Mercury-based techniques and weakness to Mars-based techniques. Upon defeat, the player can open the other chest, which contains a Water of Life.

It should be noted that while Dim Dragon needs to be defeated in order to proceed in the game, Dim Dragon Plus could be skipped, as you can go on and clear the game without going through the Psynergy Training Grounds again.

Strategies
As early boss battles, neither the Dim Dragon nor the Dim Dragon Plus are truly difficult, and similar strategies can be used for both. Generally, the party should be leveled to at least level 6. At this point, Karis will learn the mass healing move Fresh Breeze, which is excellent at healing the damage either Dragon inflicts.

For both Dragons, just about any offensive move will do, whether it be physical attacks, Psynergy, or Djinn and Summons. If fought at the earliest possible time, the player will only have two Djinn however, which necessitates a varied strategy, as due to the Djinns' recovery turn. When fighting the Dim Dragon Plus, the player should beware the Dragon's Djinn Burp ability. While the player will not have enough Djinn to make this the battle-ending attack that other Djinn draining attacks are, it is still annoying and can interrupt any summoning strategies.

It is worth noting that both battles can be temporarily postponed, as fighting the battles are not necessary to advance to Carver's Camp, though the Dim Dragon must be fought to pass through Konpa Gate. If the player postpones it, then stronger weapons, such as Themis' Axe and the Battle Axe, additional Djinn, including Gust, Chill and Fever, and the Zagan summon can be obtained, making the player stronger and thus shortening the boss battle. On the other hand, some players may not want to backtrack. Thus, it is up to each player to choose when they wish to fight both Dragons.

If trying to take advantage of both Dragons' weakness to Mars-based attacks, a few things should be noted. If the player fights the Dim Dragon as soon as possible, they will not have any offensive Mars Djinn to attack with, as the only Djinn found is Forge, which raises attack. Thus, the player will need to rely on the Mars summon, as well as Tyrell's Mars Psynergy, which can be limited due to his low PP rating. However, if the player waits and gains Fever before fighting the dragons, the fight becomes much easier. Not only will the player gain an offensive Mars Djinn, but they will also gain access to the much stronger Kirin summon.

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