The Dragonkin Soldier boss of Elden Ring will be another mountain for players to dominate. The following guide will explain how to reach the boss before going into the boss fight against Dragonkin Soldier.
Elden Ring Dragonkin Soldier Locations
Take note that the Dragonkin Soldier boss is one of the optional bosses in Elden Ring. There is hence no reason to encounter him except for the loot he drops upon defeat, and obviously, the challenge itself.
The Dragonkin Soldier boss is a looming human-shaped creature with golden armor. He can prove to be tricky with his attacks but can be taken down through multiple strategies.
You can reach the Dragonkin Soldier boss via two Grace Sites. First is Worshipper’s Woods and the other is Siofra River Bank Grace Site. Go for the second option if you are not looking to fight a lot of enemies on your way.
Head north from the Siofra River Bank Site of Grace, staying on the right side of the route and battling everything you come across to avoid being pursued by an uncontrollable horde of ghost warriors.
You can use Torrent to fight these ghosts until you reach a group of stone pillars and a group of Archer ghosts. These Archer ghosts have enchanted arrows that can blast you off of Torrent real fast.
You should take care of these Archer ghosts really quick or at least get the one on the pillar to stop using the bow so that you can run past him and then you’ll find the Teleporter up on the ledge. This Teleporter will take you to Dragonkin Soldier Boss.
You can also find Dragonkin Soldier in the Lake of Rot. You get to the Lake of Rot from the Ainsel River Main site of grace. The only way to access it is by following on Ranni’s Questline in the game.
Dragonkin Soldier Recommended Level and Weaknesses
Dragonkin Soldier may be an optional boss, doesn’t mean he is a push around. Dragonkin Soldier’s attacks have wide ranges and dodging them requires perfection. We recommend you avoid going after Dragonkin Soldier before level 40.
Make sure your Endurance is high as running around the arena will tax your stamina, so you need to make sure you have enough to actually land attacks when you get close to Dragonkin Soldier.
Unfortunately, Dragonkin Soldier does not have any major weakness for players to exploit. He is straight-up immune to Madness, Sleep and Scarlet Rot and takes reduced damage from all other status ailments and attacks.
The best attacks to use are Slash weapons, as Dragonkin Soldier has neutral resistance to Slash attacks.
Dragonkin Soldier Attacks and Counters
Dragonkin Soldier has two phases, the first phase involves him using simple attacks that are telegraphed and can be easily detected and avoided.
In the first phase, you can simply get on torrent and run around Dragonkin Soldier and pulverize him. His main attacks are where he swipes at you with either of his arms or does a slam with both of them.
If you are behind him, he will perform a large sweep and turn around to face you. All these attacks can be easily dodges by simple dodging to any side. If you are on Torrent, you can even double jump above the attacks to avoid getting hit.
After you deplete around 60% of Dragonkin Soldier’s health, he gains new attacks and becomes way more aggressive and unpredictable.
Dragonkin Soldier also exposes his wings, signaling that you are in for some ariel attacks as well. For starters, in this second phase, almost all of Dragonkin Soldier’s attacks deal both Lightning and Frost damage and he gets a huge speed boost.
The first of the major attacks he gets is his Frost Explosion. Dragonkin Soldier will charge himself with lightning and then explodes, resulting in an AoE attack where Dragonkin Soldier deals high Frostbite, and even stuns you.
If you are wearing light armor, you will fall away. The only way to avoid getting hit is by running away as soon as he starts charging or using Torrent to get away if you are close to him, since the AoE has a large radius.
The second attack is his Lightning Spears. Dragonkin Soldier will summon a large Lightning Spear and slam it on the ground, dealing initial AoE damage.
If you manage to avoid it, remember that after the first slam, a trail of lightning will spread around and deal further damage while also staggering you. Run away to avoid this attack as well. But make sure that you keep an eye out for the lightning lingering around on the ground as you do, or you will get caught up in the attack.
Last attack to watch out in Dragonkin Soldier’s second phase is his flying swipes. Dragonkin Soldier will fly up then fly by you with a swipe attack.
Though you can avoid this attack with a simple dodge to any side, Dragonkin Soldier will leave around lighting lingering on the ground, so remember that you have to avoid those too after you dodge the first attack, instead of blindly running after Dragonkin Soldier to hit him.
How to Defeat Dragonkin Soldier Boss in Elden Ring
The Dragonkin Soldier boss will need to be woken up in order to start the fight, which will be a bit slow during the first phase or at least until players can chunk down his health pool by half.
The Dragonkin Soldier has many wide-sweeping attacks but killing this boss won’t be a problem because he is extremely slow, and you can easily dodge his attacks if you are fast and riding the Torrent.
You can predict most of Dragonkin Soldier’s attacks as he takes his time before the actual attack. So, you will have a lot of time to adjust and act accordingly. Although the Dragonkin Soldier boss is slow, his attacks will drain your health easily, especially if you are just starting Elden Ring.
You can either use Ranged Weapons while dodging his attacks or you can use Torrent to dodge his attacks while using Melee weapons. Dragonkin Soldier boss has a Charge attack which he only uses if you are trying to attack him from distance.
You can easily dodge this attack and attack him instead. But if you try to stay at distance from him too long, he will quickly move towards you and attack you with one of his sweeping attacks.
If you want to maintain an appropriate distance between you and the Dragonkin Soldier Boss, use Torrent to move around the area. You will move fast and will be able to read the boss’s attack easily and act accordingly if you are mounting the Torrent.
The Dragonkin Soldier’s medium and closed-range attacks are relatively easier to escape if you are riding on Torrent. So, rush towards the Dragonkin Soldier boss and stay to its right side.
Dodge its medium and long-ranged attacks and land a few strikes during the Dragonkin Soldier’s recovery animation. After that, depart the area and repeat until the combat is done.
If you are trying to kill Dragonkin Soldier boss by staying close to him and by using only Closed ranged weapons, You can do that, but it will really difficult and will take a lot of your time.
In this case, attack the boss from behind and land as many attacks as you can. The Dragonkin Soldier boss will try to hit you with a large circular swing but will miss, enabling you to maintain your offensive momentum and get in a few more blows.
If you are looking to kill Dragonkin Soldier boss from distance, you can use Incantations or other weapons to attack the boss from range.
You will have enough time to predict the attack accordingly. It will take a lot of your time as you are only focusing to attack him from distance.
Dragonkin Soldier Drops
For defeating Dragonkin Soldier, you will get 16000 Runes and Dragon Halberd. If you take on the challenge of defeating the Dragonkin Soldier in Lake of Rot, you will get 58000 Runes and Dragonscale Blade.
How to Cheese Dragonkin Soldier
If you have played any other Soulsborne game, you are familiar on the cheese strategy to take down large bosses such as Dragonkin Soldier. For Dragonkin Soldier, you have to stay behind him to avoid all his attacks and stay close enough to keep on attacking him.
What you want to do, is as soon as the fight starts, immediately run behind the boss and get right next to Dragonkin Soldier’s right knee.
Here, none of Dragonkin Soldier’s attack will reach you and when ever he moves, you will be pushed with him, ensuring you stay close to him at all times while staying as safe as you can.
