Griffoths are major enemies in Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. They appear as fire-breathing white-feathered griffins with blue eyes, gold fur and armor. They can be found in Pridemoor Keep and the Grand Hall.
Behavior and Tactics[]
Treasure Trove[]
In Treasure Trove, Griffoths' armor protect them from ground attacks, leaving only their face as a vulnerable spot. They attack by firing flames in a sinusoidal trajectory, leaving only a few moment to strike them. They also swing their claws whenever their target is close enough. With their 8 hit points, it is best to strike twice or three times between each of their fire attacks to avoid damages. They always drop a Chicken and treasures when defeated, unless in New Game Plus where the Chicken is replaced by a bomb.
In Specter of Torment and King of Cards, Griffoths will also use their wings to make wind and push Specter Knight and King Knight away or off an edge between two fire attacks.
In King of Cards, King Pridemoor calls them during his battle. The white Griffoths fly across the stage, dousing the ground with fireballs. After the battle, King Knight and King Pridemoor are seen riding on these two Griffoths.
The two white Griffoths of Pridemoor Keep are affectionately named Plume and Beaky by King Pridemoor, and are more or less his pets, but he temporarily lost the ownership of them after King Knight's takeover. One of them is seen wearing a hard hat in the ending of Specter of Torment, during King Knight's renovations of the castle.
Pocket Dungeon[]
In Pocket Dungeon, Griffoths are large enemies occupying 4 squares on the board, but only once can be on the board at all time. They have 8 hit points and deal 1 damage point. Every 12 turns, they slam the ground with their wings, creating a one square-large shockwave around them that deals 2 damage points. The Shockwave also damages the nearby enemies and can trigger Bombs.
Griffoths are both a hazard and an opportunity, as they can clear the board around them, especially the armored Goldarmors. They always precede their attack by a charge phase of 2 turns, during which they raise their wings.
Variants[]
Black Griffoth[]
Black Griffoths only appear in Tower of Fate: Entrance and Warp Wrap Keep. They are red feathered with black armor and fur, and bright green eyes.
In Treasure Trove, the only difference with their regular counterpart is that they always drop a bomb instead of a Chicken upon death. Hazards are also placed in front of them, making navigating and dodging their fire trickier.
In Pocket Dungeon, Black Griffoths appear in the Tower of Fate stage. They present no difference from their white counterparts besides their color scheme.
Baby Griffoth[]
In King of Cards, a baby Griffoth can be summoned using the Decree of Destruction. It attacks enemies by spitting spike balls. They can also hatch from Eggs in both Shovel Knight Showdown and Shovel Knight Dig, where they have 3 hit points.
Joustus Card[]
One of the Joustus cards in King of Cards is a Griffoth card which can push other cards up, down, and to the right.
Trivia[]
- Griffoths' sprite model is soberly named "Gryphon".
- While they do not appear as enemies themselves, Griffoths make an appearance in Shovel Knight Dig, both as one of the possible types of follow pets hatched from an Egg, and carved as the main giant statues found inside the the three Sacrifice Shrines, necessary to find the Skeleton Key.
Gallery[]
Treasure Trove[]
Pocket Dungeon[]
