Colossus X

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Colossus X
Thy next foe is...An isolated sand dune...Its tracks are well hidden...Shaking the earth, its gaze is upon thee...
Profile
Developer Nickname	Naga
Length	260 feet (79.2 meters)
Gameplay
Time Attack goals (Normal/ Hard)	6:00/5:00 (Original, PS3) 5:30/4:30 (PS4)
Agro	Yes
Sigils	Normal: 2 major Hard: 2 major

Dirge is the nickname given to the tenth colossus. This serpentine colossus moves through the loose sand in a gigantic cave in quadrant B4 of the Forbidden Lands.

Path to the colossus

See also: Map for this path

Video - Dirge (path to and battle with)

Shadow of the Colossus - 10th Colossus

Dirge is directly west of the Shrine of Worship. Travel across the west land bridge in quadrant F4 and across the Western Plain, staying near the cliffs. Use the sword when the terrain gets rougher; the player should end up on the north end of Dirge's cave. There is a place to save here if needed (for newcomers, it is advised, as this fight can prove challenging). Proceed into the cave, following the tunnels west. There is a large sand-filled room, and upon approaching the light in the middle of the room, Dirge's cutscene will play.

Walkthrough

Agro is with Wander again, and she's even more crucial to this battle than the last. Dirge moves very quickly through the sand and can deliver a massive attack with its mouth if it catches up to Wander. If he is ever knocked off Agro, get back on as quickly as possible.

The method of defeating this colossus is tricky to execute. Dirge will chase Wander when he's riding around the arena on Agro; when it gets close enough, it will raise its gigantic eyes out of the sands right before it delivers the attack mentioned previously (if it does, quickly swerve to the left or right). The player must shoot one of its eyes before it has a chance to do so. Should one fail and be hit with Dirge's jump attack, they will take an extreme amount of damage, coming close to death. In this case, go to one of the big pillars, stand off of the sand, and recuperate health by crouching.

Keep Agro running at top speed while keeping the camera on the colossus (hold down ). While these buttons are both held down, the player should be able to shoot one of Dirge's eyes with a little practice. Let Agro do the steering, and focus on aiming at one of the eyes. A direct hit will send the colossus into the nearest wall or pillar, exposing a climbable section of its back containing its two weakpoints. The player should be able to take one out completely before the colossus is able to dislodge itself. Repeat the process once more for the second weakspot.

Time Attack times in Original and PS3 versions (Normal, Hard): 6:00, 5:00

Time Attack times in PS4 Remaster (Normal, Hard): 5:30, 4:30

Weakspots

Location	Percentage of health
	Normal	Hard
On its back, near its head	50%
On its back, near its tail	50%
Eyes (2)	Used to disorientate

Music

• After a short cutscene revealing Dirge, "A Messenger From Behind" plays. This music plays while Dirge tunnels around in the sand.
• Once Dirge crashes into the wall and is stunned, "Counterattack" plays.

Trivia

• Dirge is the second of three limbless, serpentine colossi the player faces over the course of the game, the other two being Hydrus and Phalanx. It is also the third longest of these three and in fact all 16 colossi.
• Dirge is the first colossus the player encounters that is seen jumping.
• Dirge is the second of only two colossi that are fought underground, the other being Barba. Dirge is one of only two truly subterranean colossi however; both it and Phalanx are able to burrow underground.
• Dirge is the most westerly of all the colossi. On the map, Dirge's lair is in line with Avion (Dirge is in B4 while Avion is in H4; there are no other colossi in-between them), although the two are at completely opposite sides of the map. Putting Avion and Dirge in such positions may have been intentional, as the two are quite different to each other in a number of ways. Avion flies, lives above a lake close to the Shrine of Worship, and is relatively peaceful until it is provoked. Dirge on the other hand lives underground in a cave within the sand far away from the Shrine of Worship and is probably one the most aggressive colossi in the game.
• Dirge is one of the fastest of all the colossi; it is able to keep up with Agro at full gallop without much effort.
• Dirge seems to be the only colossus that genuinely hunts Wander. All other colossi simply try to batter and smash Wander, but Dirge pursues, leaps, and attempts to consume Wander. Outside of Hard Mode, Dirge also does the most damage in a single attack than any other colossus, almost enough to kill Wander.
• Dirge is one of the furthest colossi from the central Shrine of Worship as the hawk flies.
• Dirge is one of three colossi that require the use of Agro to defeat it.
• Dirge is the first of three colossi that have their own exclusive track heard whilst fighting them; the song "A Messenger From Behind" is unique to Dirge.
• Dirge is one of only two colossi who has a mobile mouth; Avion is the other.
• Dirge doesn't make a lot of vocal sounds; the most distinct noise it makes is when Wander stabs its weakpoint sigil, at which point it will let out a high-pitched, yelping whine, sounding a bit like a screeching tire. It also roars when it jumps.
• Dirge's eyes are generally orange throughout the entire time in which they are visible. This is because, like all other colossi, the eyes are coded to change from blue to orange when the colossus is either attacked or is attacking, and since Dirge is constantly chasing Wander in an attempt to kill him, Dirge is considered by its in-game script to be attacking. However, on an extremely rare occasion, its eyes may turn blue for a brief moment. This will only happen when Dirge is brought to a wall or obstacle without jumping, in which case it will turn and burrow instead. If Wander happens to be in the direction Dirge is turning, the player may see Dirge's eyes turn blue, which in itself might not even happen. This means that Dirge's eyes are just like every other colossus' eyes; it's just that by the time the player sees them, they're orange.
• From the location in which it is fought, Dirge is one of three colossi whose pillar of light when defeated cannot be seen in the game, with the other two being Barba and Kuromori.
• There is a strange glitch with Dirge. When Dirge slams into a wall, if the player jumps onto it within a few seconds afterwards, Wander will take damage as if Dirge hit him. There is a way to avoid it, however, as Dirge's model shakes slightly after hitting a wall, but the shaking will eventually stop, which seems to be the indication that the glitch is "off".
• Dirge's eyes on the map screen appear to be the brightest of all the colossi. This may be done on purpose, as its eyes are important in the battle.
• Judging by their size versus Wander's, Dirge's eyes are the largest out of all of the other colossi's eyes, even larger than Malus'.
• It is possible to glitch Dirge into flying up in the air for a few seconds. The player must use both the Cloak of Deception and the Whistling Arrows, stand just outside Dirge's arena (just outside of the battle area), and shoot Whistling Arrows at a wall in the cave, constantly. If the player keeps striking the same spot, Dirge will follow the arrows. When Dirge goes back into the ground, the player must follow Dirge as it is burrowing and then Dirge may (or may not) suddenly fly up into the air and might sometimes go up through the "roof" of the arena. Regardless of what Dirge does after flying, it will always come back into the ground after a moment.
• It can be found odd that Dirge doesn't open its eyes until after it is already chasing Wander. When Wander loses Dirge around a corner, it only takes a few seconds for Dirge to find and chase him again, and it does this with its eyes closed. If Dirge is able to find Wander so easily with its eyes closed, it raises the question as to why Dirge opens its eyes at all.

Gallery

Dirge 1.jpg

Image of Dirge taken from the official artbook.

Dirge in pursuit of Wander.

Dirge's glowing mouth.

Dirge stunned after hitting a wall.

The entrance to Dirge's lair.

Development sketch of Dirge from the official artbook.

An early sketch of a snake-like colossi that was utilized as a prototype in making Dirge.

Concept sketch of Dirge's lair.

Size chart of Dirge.