Gilgamesh

	True nameGilgamesh
	Also known asKing of Heroes
	MasterKirei Kotomine
	GenderMale
	AlignmentChaotic Good
	Height182 cm
	Weight68 kg
	Place of originAncient Mesopotamia
	Noble PhantasmGate of Babylon, Enkidu, Ea

Overview

Archer's True Name is Gilgamesh, the great half-god, half-human king born from the union between the King of Uruk, Lugalbanda, and goddess Rimat-Ninsun. He ruled the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, the capital city of ancient Mesopotamia in B.C. era. He was an ultimate, transcendent being so divine as to be two-thirds god and one-third human, and no others in the world could match him. He was a despot possessing high divinity who believed he was invincible. He is not merely a legend, and is said to have actually existed and ruled during the Sumer Dynasty five thousand years ago. He was the King of Heroes who possessed all things in the world, whose tale is recorded in mankind's oldest epic poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh which portrays Gilgamesh as a hero, destined to be king and achieve great feats, who is driven to meet his destiny, facing challenges together with his best friend Enkidu.

Combat skills

Gilgamesh is the most powerful existence among the Servants in both the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail War and the strongest Heroic Spirit. He is placed into the Archer class because of his main Noble Phantasm, Gate of Babylon. It grants him access to all of the world's treasures that he collected during his life, which include prototypes of other heroes' Noble Phantasms, and he can launch them as the strongest arrows towards his opponents. While he may sometimes choose to wield them as regular weapons, he mainly fights by raining down an infinite amount of weapons on his opponents. The most trusted Noble Phantasms contained within include Enkidu and Ea. While he has numerous Noble Phantasms, none are indicative of his true identity, and the only person through both Holy Grail Wars to figure out his identity without being told is Rider, though Shirou is able to guess after he gives a number of details about himself. The energy of his soul is worth that of hundreds of thousands of souls, and taking him in is enough to fill a partially-full Lesser Grail even while it lacks several other Servants.

Gilgamesh's compatibility against Heroic Spirits is great due to the versatility of his weapons, allowing him to assault the weakness of any Servant. He is about as physically strong as Saber or Berserker, if not slightly weaker, and he would not receive a boost in power from fame due to not being well known in Japan. The main reason for his overwhelming power comes from the sheer number of Noble Phantasms in his possession. All Heroic Spirits have things they were weak against in life, their greatest weak points, and he possess all of the Noble Phantasms, including those that killed each hero. He can be called the "Servant Killer" because he has an advantage over most of them in combat and because they are no match for him. While there would be no competition between him and Saber in terms of direct swordsmanship with the same Noble Phantasm, he does not display power as an "individual" soldier, but rather as a "war" that even the strongest soldier could not overcome by himself. Only those who are a "war" themselves will be able to compete against him. In terms of the "firepower" available to him due to the versatility of his weaponry, he can be said to have the strength of "5 Servants + a", a force able to match all the Servants and Masters defending the town in Fate/hollow ataraxia, putting him at an advantage against those like Arcueid Brunestud whose strength is based on the "single entity ability" of the opponent rather than their weaponry.

He normally does not care about his attire in battle while playing, but claims there are some restrictions for a serious, dignified battle. As he does not favor hand-to-hand combat, exercising his true power only requires his body and the key to his treasury. He has the absolute self-confidence to calmly show himself before his opponents, but he is also apt to simply kill by raining Noble Phantasms behind his enemies' backs depending on his mood. The will of the king cannot be simply gauged by the concept of tactic. Saber believes the only way to stand a chance against him is to take him down before he gets serious. If he has a natural weak point besides his tendency not to fight seriously, it is that he is not a master of his weapons. He is not a "wielder" who has mastered his weapon to the limit, leaving some room for counters like Unlimited Blade Works. Knight of Honor is said to be a natural counter to him, though Berserker is only able to put up a fight through Mad Enhancement boosting his abilities.

Magecraft

He did not have any abilities to resist magecraft during life, so he only gains Magic Resistance as the class ability of the Archer class. He obtains C rank under Tokiomi, allowing him to completely nullify magecraft under two verses, but he is still susceptible to High Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals. It is lowered under Kirei due to his lack of magical energy, and remains at only the minimal level, rank E, that provides light damage mitigation against magecraft rather than full neutralization. The state of his Magic Resistance matters little, as he is able to neutralize most magecraft with his many items that defend against it. His armor and a shield are able to repel A rank magecraft with ease. Overall, he is much more likely to simply unleash a raging wave of Noble Phantasms against "mongrels" impeding the king by attempting to use large-scale spells, completely crushing them without even giving them the time to cast.

Personality

He is extremely arrogant and selfish, believing himself to be the sole potentate and only king of the world even many millennia after his death. He cannot acknowledge the authority of anyone, including that of other kings and especially that of the gods. He considers all those around him as inferior due to this fact, viewing all other kings and heroes as a collection of mongrels, and loathes any individual who would try to be on the same level as him. The only exception is Enkidu, who he considered to be his equal and only friend. He responds to Iskander's request to form an alliance with him by saying "It is unfortunate, but I do not require a second friend. Past and future, my companion will only be one."

He believes that all who look upon him, when he honors them with his presence, should be able to recognize him instantly, and feels that the ignorance of not knowing him is worthy of death. If anyone so much as looks upon him with a "lowly and filthy" gaze, it is an intolerable disgrace for a nobleman who claims the title of king more so than anyone else. This is enough to make that person a complete malefactor in his eyes, instantly marked for death. He doesn't view the modern world as worthy of having him rule over it because humanity has become too weak. After finding out the nature of the Holy Grail, he plans to use it to exterminate most of the world's population and rule over those who survive.

He is prone to underestimating his opponents and views combat as a game of amusement. His gigantic ego prevents him from acknowledging his opponent as a real threat and he does not battle them seriously. He will properly fight those he respects, or simply utilize more power than necessary on a whim depending on the situation. If his Master happens to grow on him, or he decides that their battle is worth fighting for, then he could become somewhat more willing to use his full power should they will it.

Role

Gilgamesh is one of the antagonists in each scenario of Fate/stay night. He first appears before the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War around Sakura's house. He identifies her as "the other Grail" and comes to tell her "Go die right now." It is just a suggestion rather than a command, as he believes that the matter will develop into some sort of entertainment regardless of the situation. When questioned about the encounter, Sakura just claims that he was asking for directions and that "It was English" in order to hide the truth.

Fate
In Fate, he kills Caster as she assaults Shirou's residence, and later ambushes Shirou and Saber during their date. Gilgamesh hints to Shirou his true identity and pulls out Ea from his treasury. As Saber and Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms clash, Gilgamesh's Enuma Elish overpowers Excalibur and Saber is left on the verge of death. Shirou, after desperately attempting to fight off Gilgamesh with Caliburn, projects Avalon and repels Merodach back at Gilgamesh, forcing him to retreat. Shirou is captured when he goes to the church to find out more about the eighth Servant Gilgamesh. Kirei reveals the truth about the Holy Grail and reveals that Gilgamesh was his Servant in the Fourth Holy Grail War. When Kirei orders Lancer and Gilgamesh to eliminate Saber and Shirou, Lancer, disgusted with Gilgamesh and Kirei, betrays them and allows Saber and Shirou to escape. After that, Gilgamesh kills Lancer. Ultimately, he is killed in a climatic battle with Saber at the Ryuudou Temple atop Mount Enzou.
Unlimited Blade Works
Gilgamesh is more active in Unlimited Blade Works, and becomes the main antagonist midway through the story. He is "lent" to Shinji Matou after Shinji's Servant, Rider, is killed by Souichirou Kuzuki and later kills Ilya and Berserker. With Ilya's heart, Gilgamesh attempts to use Shinji as the core of the Holy Grail, but he is confronted by Shirou. He is humiliated and overwhelmed by Shirou within his Unlimited Blade Works and is finally killed by Archer.
Heavens Feel
Gilgamesh has a small role in Heaven's Feel scenario, where he lacerates Dark Sakura with swords from the Gate of Babylon. However, he underestimates her regenerative abilities and is devoured by her shadows. Dark Sakura is forced to quickly convert him to mana in haste because Gilgamesh's ego allows him to be immune to the mental pollution and she was afraid he might tear her up from the inside if she did not digest him.

Abilities

Independent Action: A+

The Servant can operate without a Master. With a rank of A+ that exceeds even A, the support of a Master is unnecessary even while unleashing a large amount of magical energy. It is an ability that bends the rules and allows for the continued materialisation of Servants even after the conclusion of the Holy Grail War.

Magic Resistance: E

Cannot cancel spells, but magic damage is reduced somewhat.

Charisma: A+

At this point it is no longer popularity, but rather a kind of spell in itself.

Divinity: A+

Divinity is the measure of whether one has Divine Spirit aptitude or not. At high levels one is treated as a mixed race of a Divine Spirit, and the level declines when the Heroic Spirit's own rank as a Monster, Demonic Beast raises. It can also decrease due one's dislike for the gods. It also has an effect which reduces special defensive values called "purge defense" in proportion to the Divinity's Rank.