Dragonlord Placidusax is a massive two-headed dragon and deadly boss in the Elden Ring. While players aren’t required to defeat this boss for progression, they can earn a handsome reward. If you’re off to exploring the Crumbling Farum Azula, this boss is just another hidden chapter that will require some effort to be discovered.
With things being said, let’s dive deeper into the location, strategies, and cheese you can use against Dragonlord Placidusax.
Elden Ring Dragonlord Placidusax Location
To get to Dragonlord Placidusax, go to the “Besides the Great Ridge” Site of Grace in Crumbling Farum Azula.
Use the elevator from the Site of Grace to go down and use the stairs on your right to proceed in Elden Ring. Take the first right and head straight outside towards the tree gap. Jump down the cliff to a lower edge. Keep going down until you get to a floating bridge piece. Follow the instructions and lie down to spawn the boss.
This is one of the game’s toughest boss fights, so make sure you’ve upgraded your character to at least 100.
How to Defeat Dragonlord Placidusax in Elden Ring?
Dragonlord Placidusax has one of the deadliest attack combos, and some of these track you around, so you need to strike and immediately get away from him. Also, his attacks have a short window, so you need to time your moves.
We recommend using Morgott’s Cursed Sword for the weapon as it has an additional Blood Loss build-up effect. Try to get to the boss’s backside, as you can easily hit his body and leg without getting the claw attack, and you’ll be able to deal with a lot of damage.
As you will focus on Physical damage, we recommend using Flame, Grant Me Strength incantation. Pair up your attack with spells that use multiple hits, like Pest-Thread Spears or Shard Spiral.
In the first phase, the boss relies on lightning, fire (AoE), and claw attacks. Staying on the back will save you from the fire and claw attacks. The second phase is frustrating as the boss begins to fly in the air, and you need to dodge most of his attacks.
Pay attention to the lightning bolts on the ground, as that’s where the boss will strike. This phase requires you to dodge the attacks and wait for him to land so you can get some hits on him. You cannot time his movement as it’s dependent on RNG, but when you do get a chance to get near him when he lands, get on his backside like in the first phase and launch your attacks while your Summon deals with the aggro.
Reward for Defeating Dragonlord Placidusax
Upon defeat, Dragonlord Placidusax drops 28000 Runes and Remembrance of the Dragonlord, which can be traded with Enia at Roundtable Hold for Dragon King’s Cragblade or Placidusax’s Ruin.
How to Cheese Dragonlord Placidusax?
Let’s make the fight easier with Latenna the Albinauric and the Serpent Bow. The strategy is pretty straightforward: head southeast to summon the spirit to the boss’s side and return to the exact spot where you first spawned in the arena. Equip the serpent bow and arrows for heavy poison buildup. Now, aim and hit the boss when you get somewhere between west and north. This will trigger the boss to fight.
Now, with Latenna on your opposite side, you need to stand behind the pillars, as the dragon won’t be able to do anything. Avoid the lightning and hit him for extra damage while Latenna gives him damage. Your summon would be the main source of damage, so you can experiment with different arrows.
Continue attacking him from behind the pillars and dodging the lightning. It will take some time, but this strategy will keep you and your spirit summon safe from damage, and Dragonlord Placidusax does not enter the second phase.
How to Defeat Dragonlord Placidusax Without Fight?
To make this fight easier for you, there’s a way to defeat the boss without even fighting him. For this strategy, you need a powerful summon like Latenna the Albinauric.
The trick is simple: let your summon do all the work while you distract the boss. Summon the spirit on the boss’s side and run back to where you spawned into the arena. Get close enough to the boss so you can trigger the fight.
The dragon will only use lightning attack, which you can counter by rolling back, and he will not enter the second phase, so you won’t see him teleporting or flying around.
With this, the Dragonlord will only be aggroing you, giving your summon the freedom to whittle down his health. Defeating the boss will take a while, but if you want the job done more quickly, you must level her up at Roundtable Hold.
Another method is to use the Serpent Bow and Arrows and shoot the boss without triggering the fight. This poisons the dragon from a great distance while he snores away.
Once the poison wears off, use more arrows to poison him again, but don’t forget to use the mighty shot skill that comes with the bow, or else you will have to get a little closer to the boss. Keep firing arrows, and the dragon will eventually die without a fight.
Dragonlord Placidusax Attacks and Counters
This is one of the deadliest bosses in Elden Ring and has attacks that cannot be parried. Below, we have mentioned all the attacks the Dragonlord Placidusax will employ against you and how you can counter each one to defeat the boss.
| Attacks | Counters |
|---|---|
| Lightning Strikes | The boss roars and summons lightning across the arena; to counter this, you must follow the pattern on the ground and move away immediately. |
| Overbalancing Swipe | The boss summons a claw of red lightning and lunges at you; when you see him do that, roll to the sides. |
| Claw Attack | Dragon raises his hand, summons a claw of lightning, and sweeps to the sides; you need to roll in the direction where he is swinging his arm. |
| Claw Smash | When you see the Dragonlord summon claw and them to the chest, creating an AoE effect, simply dodge between the blasts. |
| Wing Attack | Dragonlord Placidusax attack in which he slams one of his wings down before propelling it forward; you need to dodge through the attack. |
| Placidusax’s Breath | The boss breathes golden fire in an arc after a claw strike. Fire damage negation can be used to counteract it. |
| Thundercloud Form | The boss vanishes before transforming into a thundercloud and rushing at the victim. You can counter this attack by rolling towards him once you notice him approaching, but you must time your roll. |
| Placidusax’s Ruin | The attack begins by exhaling a burning breath before unleashing deadly lasers from both heads, sweeping the arena and triggering explosions. This strike has a big AoE and deals a lot of damage. To counter this attack, you must swiftly separate yourself from the action and stay as far away from its AoE as possible. To get out of range, either step back or rush towards and behind him. |
| Bolt of Placidusax | The Dragonlord Placidusax’s Bolt of Placidusax attack summons a gigantic Lightning Spear and crashes it down, generating a great explosion. This can be countered by fleeing away from it. |
| Tail Swipe | Tail Swipe is a Dragonlord Placidusax attack in which he uses his tail to strike opponents behind him. This strike may be countered by rolling in the opposite direction of the swipe. |
