Abaddon

Abaddon is a boss in the Castlevania series. He is a master of pestilent locusts from the deep abyss of the underworld.
==Origins==
Abaddon (from Hebrew אבדון avadon, "perish", transitive "destroy") is spoken of in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. He is referred to as "The Destroyer", the angel of the abyss, and as the king of a plague of locusts resembling horses with crowned human faces, women's hair, lion's teeth, wings, iron breastplates and a tail with a scorpion's stinger that torments for five months anyone who does not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
In Revelation 9:11, Abaddon, the fifth of the trumpet-bearing angels, sounds his horn which causes a star to fall unto the Earth. He was given the key to the Abyss and once it is opened, smoke will arise from the pit like a giant furnace and the sun and sky will darken. From that smoke will arise a swarm of locusts that will descend upon the Earth. Their commands will be not to harm any plant but to plague mankind for five months.
The Bible makes it clear that men will long for death, but none will find it as the locusts cannot kill men, only bring them suffering.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
Abaddon is the penultimate boss in Dawn of Sorrow and appears midway through The Abyss. His appearance is that of a man-locust dressed like the director of an orchestra. He uses his baton-like cane to summon and control locusts with great sweeps and dramatic flourishes. Abaddon's only other method of attack consists of unpredictable short and long hops. Any contact with him will hurt the player, inflicting considerable damage.
The locusts are generally hard to avoid, and while each one individually inflicts minimal damage, a full swarm will stun-lock the player and most likely result in a massive amount of cumulative damage from all the stings. Soma can dodge the locusts if he uses the Bat Company's soul and transforms into a bat, although this method consumes large amounts of MP at a fast rate.
There are multiple ways of getting rid of the locusts. It's possible to use Persephone's soul, Magic Vacuum, to eliminate them while restoring HP at the same time. The player can also use Gergoth's soul, Gergoth Laser, to destroy locusts in specific formations (namely the lowest swarm of the "triple line" attack or all of them in the "U" attacks) while inflicting considerable damage to Abaddon at the same time. Buer's soul at a high level will provide a protective barrier that will consume most locusts.
The player should pay attention to Abaddon's directing pattern, as the locusts will always move in the same way he moves his baton. It's generally better to face directly at Abaddon since most possible formations will come from behind him, thus making them easier to avoid or block.
The locusts' possible formations and recommended countermeasures are the following:
;Triple line
:Abaddon draws a horizontal line, causing the locusts to come from behind him at three different heights –high, middle and low– in straight horizontal lines. The Flame Demon's soul, Flame Ball, or Gergoth's soul, Gergoth Laser, can easily destroy the lower row; otherwise, crouching and sliding may work, although some damage will be taken. This leaves ample time to attack Abaddon.
;Descending curve
:Abaddon draws a horizontal line that descends at the end, causing the locusts to initially come from behind him at a high altitude and then descend in a curve, covering most of the room. Quickly crouching in the opposite corner (from where they come) or attacking upward are some methods to avoid this formation.
;Horizontal "U"
:Abaddon draws a horizontal "U" causing the locusts to come from behind him and then ascend in a curve, retreating in a straight horizontal line. Crouching on the target corner (opposite to Abaddon) will create a safe spot; otherwise, the Flame Demon's soul or attacks that go straight will help just as much.
;Descending "U"
:Abaddon draws a descending (normal) "U" causing the locusts to descend from behind him before ascending once more. Crouching in either corner is fine; otherwise, using highjumps combined with double jumps or transforming into a bat and staying at the top center of the room will help to avoid the locusts.
Abaddon's soul, 5th Plague, enables Soma to summon a swarm of locusts to attack everything onscreen. It can also be used to create the ultimate rapier, the Valmanway.
When playing as Julius, the best method of destroying certain formations of locusts is by using the whip and throwing the Cross to eliminate streams of them. Another method is to use Alucard's bat transformation or Julius's uppercut.
===Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin===
Abaddon also appears in Portrait of Ruin as an optional boss in the Nest of Evil. His appearance and attack methods are exactly the same as in Dawn of Sorrow, but he is considered non-canonical in this game. He's weak to both Slash and Holy damage types, so weapons like the Holy Claymore or the Golden Axe will inflict high damage. Since axes in this game have the ability to deal two powerful successive hits to ground enemies, and since Abaddon stays most of the time standing on one spot, the Golden Axe can deal very high amounts of damage to him in a short time. However, perhaps the best weapon to use in this battle is the Vampire Killer itself, as it provides long reach, performs double hits and deals Holy damage, all at once. In addition, brandishing the whip and letting it go limp in front of Jonathan will provide a shield that will consume all the locusts that come in contact with it, thus the player only has to worry from those formations that come from above or at an angle.
Charlotte can use multiple spells to consume most or even all of the locusts, such as Dark Gate or Stone Circle. A fully cast Stone Circle in particular will provide a protective barrier (much like Buer's soul from Dawn of Sorrow) which will consume most locusts during the fight.
Alternatively, and if the player is playing more defensively, they may choose to dodge certain formations by crouching in corners or by taking advantage of those relics that allow double or high jumps.
An easy way to defeat Abaddon involves casting the 1,000 Blades Dual Crush, which can not only block many of the locusts' formations, but can deal massive damage to him since he's fundamentally a static-grounded enemy. However, this method is a bit risky as it's not guaranteed that all the locusts will be stopped. It only takes one locust to stop the entire crush, leaving the heroes open to the rest of the swarm's attack. Additionally, the player will have to wait five seconds of cooldown between casts, leaving them vulnerable in the meantime.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
Dawn of Sorrow - Abaddon - 01.png|Abaddon concept art from Dawn of Sorrow.
==Trivia==
*Abaddon's power and influence over locusts is very similar to the demon Pazuzu, a Mesopotamian evil deity who brought about plagues of locusts to cause famine to the lands (and who is also the primary antagonist of The Exorcist franchise).
**This is further supported as the background of his boss room is a withered sowing field.
*His official colors do not match his in-game sprite colors. While portrayed as predominantly green colored in the artwork, his in-game sprite depicts him as predominantly blue colored. In addition, his sprite has him missing the scorpion-like tail shown in the artwork.
*Abaddon is Koji Igarashi's favorite boss gameplay-wise, because of the need to dodge the locusts, as well as having one special way to eliminate them. However, his most memorable boss is the Forgotten One.Igarashi On His Most Memorable Boss Fights From Castlevania at Siliconera (June 1, 2015).
**In a Reddit AMA, series game designer CurryTheKid (Shūtarō Īda) stated that Abaddon was his favorite boss on a design standpoint, having worked on him in a few days.I Am Shutaro, aka Curry The Kid, Director / Game Designer of Video Game Developer ArtPlay Inc. My past work includes Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Castlevania and more. Ask me anything about my video game career! at Reddit (September 2, 2021).
*The night creature Flyseyes from the Castlevania animated series, follows a close design resemblance to Abaddon.
*The boss Beelzebub from Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (the Bloodstained series being a spiritual successor to the Castlevania series and also produced by Koji Igarashi), bears a striking resemblance and similar attack patterns to Abaddon, possibly being a reference to him.
==See also==
*Beelzebub - Another boss that controls swarms of demonic flying insects.
*Flyseyes - A character from the Castlevania animated series that was possibly inspired by Abaddon.
==References==
es:Abaddon
Category:Biblical Monsters
Category:Dark Bosses
Category:Insects
Category:Dawn of Sorrow Bosses
Category:Portrait of Ruin Bosses
Category:Portrait of Ruin Optional Bosses