Dark Thorn

The Dark Thorn is a Kingdom Hearts II Heartless boss. It was created when the Shadow Stalker became unbound by its chains. It is the final boss of the first visit to Beast's Castle.

The Dark Thorn has the ability to turn invisible. Its invisibility is not very effective though, as a dim outline of the creature can still be seen and Sora can still target it, much like he could with the Stealth Sneak. Also, when invisible, the Dark Thorn is much faster. The only way to restore its visibility is to crush a large object on it, the chandelier being the object Sora uses when fighting it.

Dark Thorn's attacks are primarily physical. It also bears a strong resemblance to Ifrit from the Final Fantasy series.

Journal Entry
A liberated version of Shadow Stalker that appeared in Beast's Castle.

It appeared and disappeared while running wild, creating a chaotic battle for Sora and his friends.

Attacks

 * Claw Attack - Damage x1
 * Dark Servant (Dark attack) - Damage x1
 * Swing Around - Swing Damage x0 / Throw Damage x1.5
 * Chandelier Attack - Fall Damage x1.5 / Spin Damage x2
 * Throws you at pillar- unknown
 * Becomes Invisible

Strategy
This boss battle would be relatively easy if it weren't directly after the Shadow Stalker (giving no time to save and recover in between). This battle requires noticeably less strategy than the Shadow Stalker and more in the way of a straightforward assault.

Despite the fact that it turns invisible, it is still able to be targeted - this being a boon to players during the battle. However, it is more agile when invisible and the fight becomes much easier when the invisibility is lost following the use of the Stepvault reaction command, during which Sora will jump onto the chandelier, and, following another command, lower the chandelier and swing it about in circles, hitting the Dark Thorn and rendering it visible.

Following this somewhat-dramatic assault, the battle becomes considerably easier, as the boss moves more slowly. Stacked on top of each other, the Shadow Stalker and Dark Thorn are generally a tough package, though easy manageable should one take it slowly and strategically, surprisingly easily beatable.

Video
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Dark Thorn boss battle

Trivia

 * The Dark Thorn is based of the design of the Summon Ifrit of Final Fantasy X. This was noticed by many fans of Final Fantasy and was quoted by Nomura.
 * There is a heart-shaped hole in its abdomen, similar to the Darkside heartless.
 * Just as the Shadow Stalker bears a resemblance to the Darkball, the Dark Thorn also resembles the figure of Beast, which can be speculated that this would have been the heartless Beast would have turned into.