Minecraft Dungeons:Arch-Illager

"Corrupted by evil... Driven by vengeance... The Arch-Illager made all bow before him... And if they did not bow... they would FALL."

- Minecraft Dungeons Opening Cinematic

The Arch-Illager known by his birth name as Archie, is the main antagonist of Minecraft Dungeons. He is the leader of the Illagers in the game, and is the keeper of the Orb of Dominance.

History
"He became the Arch-Illager when he obtained the power of the Orb of Dominance. But before that, he was a misfit Illager who couldn't fit in a normal Illager society, and found this power within a mountain."

- Chris Nordgren

Before the events of the game, Archie was an exile from his Illager family, repeatedly searching for a village to call home, only for the Villagers to reject him, after getting in a scuffle with 5 heroes. He was seen being driven out of a village in Squid Coast in the opening cutscene of the cave

Eventually, Archie stumbled upon a mountain cave containing the Orb of Dominance. The orb promised to him power if he did as it said. Thus, Archie grabbed the Orb and became corrupted by it, ascending to the title of the Arch-Illager and gaining immense power over his people. He then used his army of Illagers to raid the villages that shunned him, taking their Villagers as slaves.

The player(s) would then make it their mission to stop the Arch-Illager.

During his reign, he would collaborate with the evil Witches of Soggy Swamp to obtain large potion supplies. He would also develop the Restone Mines to use his Villager slaves to mine redstone, and create the Fiery Forge to turn the redstone into Redstone Golems and Redstone Monstrosities to enforce his rule. The Arch-Illager would also start a search to find the Desert Temple and take the Nameless One's staff to gain the ability to summon an undead army. Each of these plans, however, would be foiled by the players.

Additionally, the Arch-Illager repeatedly appears in the game to summon Illagers to attack the players, which occurs less often as the game progresses.

Eventually, once the players reach crash a party in Highblock Halls and reach him on his throne, the Arch-Illager summons one last attack as the players reach him, before retreating to the Obsidian Pinnacle.

After the players finally reach him on the highest point of his castle, the Arch-Illager fights them himself. After having been heavily wounded, Archie is sucked towards the Orb of Dominance, which uses it to manifest the Heart of Ender. Once even more damage has been done to Archie, the Heart of Ender dissipates, rendering the Orb of Dominance extremely unstable.

Finally, the players find the Arch-Illager struggling to contain the Orb of Dominance, a few moments before it shatters, knocking Archie down and relieving him of its control. Without the Orb of Dominance to give him power, Archie becomes afraid of the approaching players. However, they unexpectedly offer kindness and help him up. Archie then celebrates the destruction of the Orb of Dominance, and by extension the persona of the Arch-Illager, with the players.

Behavior
The Arch-Illager has 3 attacks. Sometimes, he teleports or walks around the arena between attacks. His health pool (along with the Evoker) is the lowest of any boss in the game, although this is mitigated by the deadly Heart of Ender battle that takes place afterwards.

Summon Dark Creations (Illagers)

Since he is not much of a warrior, the Arch-Illager summons a group of Illagers to assist him, usually a ring of 10 to 20 Vindicators around the player or a line of 20 Pillagers through the center of the arena, however, he will occasionally spawn a single Redstone Golem instead. Unlike the Vindicators and Pillagers, the Redstone Golem does not despawn once the Arch-Illager is defeated. While this attack is used sparingly, it is his most powerful attack.

Energy Blasts

The Arch-Illager fires 3 purple energy blasts in a horizontal swath towards a random player. Deals a small amount of damage if it hits (16 damage per energy blast on Default). Used extremely often.

Enchant hostile mobs

The Arch-Illager can enchant hostile mobs in the same way that the Enchanter does.

Lore
The Arch-Illager was known as Archie at first, and lived orphaned in a Woodland Mansion. What type of Illager he was is unknown, since he had no experience with magic or combat. He was banished from his tribe after being blamed for causing a hero destroying a raid party he was forced to join. He very quickly fled to the nearest village, and while most of the villagers distrusted him, a villager named Yumi was kind enough to take him in as her own, before he was forced to flee again. When he found the Orb of Dominance, it repeatedly told him it was Archie's destiny to rule the world, although he denied this. Archie would unite all the Illager tribes under his rule, taking the title of The Arch-Illager in the process. Eventually, the Orb fully took control of his mind and led him to take revenge on the villagers and the heroes of the world.

Trivia

 * The Arch-Illager's robe is similar to that of the Wandering Trader, albeit with a two-pixel high white bottom.
 * The Arch-Illager's head is different from that of any other illager: it is wider than it is tall, and has different eyebrows.He is also the only Illager known with black eyes.
 * The Arch-Illager's teleport sound is identical to that of the illusioner miniboss that is found in the Creeping Winter DLC.
 * The Arch-Illager has the least health of any boss mob in Minecraft Dungeons, along with the Evoker.
 * When he transforms into the 2nd phase, his voice becomes much higher for unknown reasons, possibly because of the Orb's corruption.

DLC
de:MCD:Erz-Illager fr:MCD:Arch-Illageois ja:MCD:邪悪な村人の王 pl:MCD:Arcyzłosadnik pt:MCD:Arce-Illager zh:MCD:奇厄教主 ru:MCD:Архизлодеянин