To help you out with defeating the Lichdragon Fortissax in Elden Ring, we’ve prepared this Elden Ring Lichdragon Fortissax Boss guide where we’ll show you how you can track down this boss and then defeat it without facing too many issues.
Elden Ring Lichdragon Fortissax Location
Lichdragon Fortissax is an optional boss which you can find in Deeproot Depths. Even though the boss does not need to be defeated as part of the main story, you still need to take it down to complete Fia’s questline and unlock the “Age of Duskborn” ending in Elden Ring.
Before taking on the Lichdragon, you need to find its dungeon. To do that, you need to first talk to Ranni after defeating Radahn. This will start a quest in which you’ll need to find the hidden treasure of Nokron, Eternal City.
Find the Fingerslayer Blade
But before you leave Ranni’s Rise in search of the treasure, make sure to talk to Iji and Seluvis. Now, make your way over to Nokron, Eternal City. After entering the city, run down the roofs of the buildings to your right.
Use the horizontal building on the left to get to the other side. From there, go inside the building to your left and drop down to the area below. Walk past the door ahead to find the Site of Grace.
Walk out of the building and go towards the building up ahead, to the right. Go down the stairs and then run down the path to your right until you get close to the statue. Turn left from there and run straight down this path.
Once you’re near the end, turn left and go into the bushes to the left. There will be a path behind the hills. Drop down from it, onto the ledge, to reach the Night’s Sacred Ground.
Go inside the main building to the left and climb the stairs up ahead, and you will find the treasure of Nokron, the Fingerslayer Blade.
Now, return to Ranni and give her the treasure. She will give you a Carian Inverted Statue. Then, go to the Carian Study Hall and place the statue on the table.
After that, go up the stairs to the left and jump onto the ledge. Then, run along the ledge of the building and drop down onto the chandelier below.
Drop down to the large circular elevator and use it to go down. Go through the gate in front of you and interact with the Lost Grace to the left.
Run straight down this path and go inside the tower. Go up the lift and then climb the stairs to get to the roof. Pick up the Cursemark of Death from the middle of the roof.
Head to the Roundtable Hold and wait until Fia leaves. Then, go into her room and interact with her bed.
Visit Fia at the Deeproot Depth
Now, go back to Nokron and head to the Deeproot Depth secret area. Once there, go down the tree bridge to the right. Turn right once on the other side and then use the tree branches to go up to the area below.
Defeat Fia’s champions and then talk to Fia. Select the “No, I want to be held” option while talking to her. Keep selecting the “Talk in Secret” option. This will allow you to give her the Cursemark of Death you obtained earlier.
Now, you need to refresh the area a couple of times. You can do so by fast traveling to a Site of Grace and then returning. Keep doing so until you find a deathbed instead of Fia.
Finally, enter the Deathbed to begin the boss fight with the Lichdragon Fortissax.
Lichdragon Fortissax Recommended Level and Weaknesses
Since Lichdragon Fortissax is an end-game boss, the recommended level for this boss fight is at least Level 70.
The main weakness of Lichdragon Fortissax is Pierce Damage. And the weakest point of its body is its head, where it takes 2x damage. So ideally, you should bring a weapon that deals Pierce Damage and focus your attacks on the head of Lichdragon Fortissax during the fight.
Lichdragon Fortissax Attacks and Counters
Before you begin the fight with Lichdragon Fortissax, it’s very important to learn its moveset and how to counter each move. To help you out with that, we’ve listed down all of Lichdragon Fortissax’s attacks and the counter to each one.
Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Spear
The Lichdragon stands on its hind legs and summons a red lightning bolt in its left arm. Shortly after, it slams the bolt into the ground, which causes a giant explosion.
After the explosion, beams of lightning are shot out from the explosion’s origin. Not only can you get knocked out by the initial explosion, but the subsequent beams of lightning can also knock you down.
First, run away from the Lichdragon to dodge the explosion and then run straight back towards it to counter this attack. Once you get near, perform a jump attack on its head. You’ll have to perform dodge rolls to avoid the beams of lightning.
You can also simply stay close to the Lichdragon and roll to dodge the initial blast, but this will be incredibly risky.
Fortissax’ Lightning Spear
During Phase 2, the Lichdragon stands on its hind legs and summons two red lightning bolts in its arms (one in each). Shortly after, it slams one bolt into the ground, which causes a giant explosion.
After the explosion, it slams the second bolt into the ground, which causes another explosion. After each of these explosions, beams of lightning are shot out from the origin of the explosion.
This attack is countered in the same way as Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Spear. First, run away from the Lichdragon to dodge the explosion and then run straight back towards it. Once you get near, perform a jump attack on its head. You’ll have to perform dodge rolls to avoid the beams of lightning.
You can also simply stay close to the Lichdragon and roll to dodge the initial blast, but this will be incredibly risky.
Fortissax’ Lightning Glaive
During Phase 2, the Lichdragon stands on its hind legs and then jumps up into the sky. It then summons a red glaive of lightning in his hand. Once it is summoned, the Lichdragon dives down towards the player and attacks with the glaive.
To counter this attack, you have to roll with perfect timing. All you need to do is roll to the left but at the very last moment. This is one of the hardest attacks to dodge in the Lichdragon’s moveset.
Lightning Barrier
The Lichdragon summons a barrier of red lightning around itself. If the player stands inside this barrier, they will become imbued with red lightning. And after a small delay, the lightning will come out of the player and explode, dealing damage and staggering (unless dodged).
To counter this attack, simply stay outside of the barrier and wait for it to dissipate. If you become imbued with red lightning, you need to prepare yourself to roll or run towards the tail of the boss as soon as it comes out of you.
Death Lightning
The Lichdragon ducks down and puts its head up into the air to roar. It roars twice, and during the second roar, black-gold spots spawn around the arena. Shortly after, the spots are struck by bolts of death lightning. And after the lightning has struck, a mist spawns at the spot, which inflicts Deathblight.
Running towards the Lichdragon when it crouches and strikes at its front legs to counter this attack. When the attack animation is about to finish, look around to see a path where there isn’t much mist.
Once you locate it, keep yourself within that path and continue fighting the Lichdragon.
Claw Combo
In this combo attack, the Lichdragon first slams its left arm down to the ground, then performs a sweep attack with the same arm. The path where its arm travels during this attack then causes lightning explosions.
To counter this attack, perform two quick backwards rolls to dodge the initial slam, and then do that again to dodge the second part of the attack as well. The rolls will need to be a bit preemptive for you to also be able to dodge the lightning trails that come after the attack.
Vertical Slam
The Lichdragon stands on its hind legs and brings its left arm over its head. Shortly after, it slams the arm onto the ground, which releases a small electrical shockwave.
To counter this attack, run backward to create some distance between yourself and the boss and then perform a single roll to the left. This will bring you out of the radius of the attack, and you’ll be able to punish the boss.
Double Bite
The Lichdragon stands on its hind legs, twists its neck towards the right, and then bites forward. It then twists its neck to the left and does the same.
To counter this attack, run away from the boss until you’re out of the range of the attack. After it takes the first bite, start charging an attack but don’t release it yet. Perform the attack right after the boss takes the second bite.
Single Bite
The Lichdragon stands on its hind legs, twists its neck towards the left, and then bites forward
Perform a backward roll and then roll to the right to counter this attack. This attack can be hard to punish as the boss can quickly chain it into another attack.
Rearing Firebreath
The Lichdragon stands on its hind legs and breathes fire out of its mouth. The fire doesn’t dissipate instantly, so the Lichdragon follows the fire breath attack with a sweep attack where it sweeps the fire from right to left under it. It then ends the attack with another breath of fire.
To counter this attack, first, run towards the boss’s tail. The boss starts breathing fire and starts pounding away at its tail to deal free damage.
And if you are using ranged attacks in this fight, you can simply run away from the boss and attack it from a distance as it performs the attack.
Forwards Firebreath
The Lichdragon breathes fire out in front of itself, with a very long reach, and slightly moves it neck from right to left.
All you need to do is run diagonally towards your right to counter this attack. You will then be able to punish the attack.
Aerial Firebreath
The Lichdragon ducks down and then quickly flies backward into the air. While doing so, it spits fire onto the ground, aiming at the player.
To counter this attack, all you need to do is run away from the boss until you’re out of the range of the attack. You can then quickly run back towards the boss to punish the attack.
Lightning Slam
The Lichdragon stands on its hind legs and brings its arms up. Shortly after, it slams both arms onto the ground under itself, which releases a big shockwave. After the shockwave, beams of lightning radiate from where it slammed.
To counter this attack, run away from the Lichdragon and wait for it to slam. After the slam happens, run back towards it and punish it for as long as you can. Do note that you will have to dodge the lightning beams as you’re running back towards it.
Right Swipe
The Lichdragon swipes from right to left using its right arm. The path where its arm travels during this attack then causes lightning explosions.
To counter this attack, perform two quick backward dodges to dodge both the swipe attack and the lightning trails that come after.
Reverse Right Swipe
After the Lichdragon performs the right swipe attack, if the player is standing to the right of the dragon, it performs a reverse sweep (from left to right). The path where its arm travels during this attack then causes lightning explosions.
To counter this attack, you need to first keep a mental note to not stand to the right of the dragon, especially after the right swipe attack. If the dragon performs this attack, you’ll have to perform two quick rolls to dodge both the swipe and the subsequent lightning explosions.
Repositioning Claw Swipe
If the player is standing to the left of the dragon, it performs a right-to-left sweep with its left claw. The path where its arm travels during this attack then causes lightning explosions.
To counter this attack, quickly run away from the dragon until you’re out of the attack’s range. Alternatively, you can also perform two quick rolls to dodge the swipe and the subsequent lightning explosions.
Wing Beating
The Lichdragon stands on its hind legs and flaps its wings three times. If the wing clips the player, it staggers them. It then flaps its wings another time, which knocks the player to the ground if it connects.
An important thing to note about this attack is that it deals no damage. To counter it, run away from the dragon and wait for the four flaps. After the fourth flap, quickly run towards it and punish the attack.
You can also stay near the dragon and dodge-roll each wing flap, but that is very risky.
Tail Swipe
If the player is behind the Lichdragon, it raises its tail to the left and then swipes from left to right around itself.
To counter this attack, simply roll to dodge it or run out of its range.
Divebomb
The Lichdragon flies backwards into the air and dives towards the player shortly after.
To counter this attack, wait for the dragon to dive towards you and then roll forwards. You can then easily punish this attack.
Repositioning Hop
The Lichdragon jumps forward and tries to land on the player. After jumping, it glides forward, so it covers a large distance.
To counter this attack, simply roll out of the path of the dragon. You can then punish the attack.
How to Defeat Lichdragon Fortissax Boss in Elden Ring
The Lichdragon is a boss that lives up to its name. It is a humungous four-winged black dragon that summons lightning to attack you.
Before you start fighting the dragon, you have to take some time to learn its movesets before engaging it.
Aside from its lightning attacks, it will also use its hind legs to stomp you and slam its wings onto you. And since it is a dragon, it also has a fire breath attack up its sleeve.
The Lichdragons worst attack is an aerial assault where it flies high up into the air then launches itself straight towards you. This attack is the worst because of the speed at which it flies towards you, making the attack very hard to dodge if you don’t know what’s coming.
Thankfully, the Lichdragon stays up in the air for a few seconds, which gives you a lot of time to prepare for what’s to come. So whenever you see it fly up into the air, prepare yourself to block or dodge its rush attack.
The Lichdragon’s worst weakness happens to be its animation speed. Due to its crazy size, the Lichdragon moves quite slowly compared to some other bosses in the game. This makes it easy to counter or dodge each one of its moves.
Keep maneuvering around the arena and carefully watch how the animations of its attacks play out.
Once you have a good idea of what animation is followed by what attack, you’ll be able to easily dodge whatever it throws at you.
Make sure to not get overzealous with your attacks. Patience is the name of the game here. The boss doesn’t have that much health, so you can afford to take things slow in this fight.
The best way to go about this boss is to keep yourself positioned in front of the Lichdragon. This may seem counter-intuitive as that makes you more vulnerable to attacks, but you have to keep in mind that the head of the boss takes 2x damage.
So if you keep yourself positioned in front of the Lichdragon, you’ll be able to consistently land attacks on its head. If you have a weapon like the Moonlight Greatsword, you’ll be able to take reasonable chunks out of its health with each hit.
Once you’ve defeated the Lichdragon Fortissax, you’ll be rewarded with the Remembrance of the Lichdragon.
Lichdragon Fortissax Drops
Once you have defeated the mighty Lichdragon Fortissax, you will be rewarded with 90000 Runes and the Remembrance of the Lichdragon, which can be given to Enia at Roundtable Hold to unlock Fortissax’s Lightning Spear or Death Lightning Incantation.
How to Cheese Lichdragon Fortissax
Despite being seemingly one of the most difficult bosses in the game, you can cheese the Lichdragon Fortissax if you have the right items and attributes.
The first thing you’ll need is the Rock Sling. And since it scales with Intelligence, you’ll need to bring that up as much as possible. You’ll also need the Mimic Tear Ashes as it will distract the boss while you cheese it.
When the fight starts, summon the Mimic Tear Ash and move away from the Lichdragon. Then, just start spamming your Rock Sling incantation straight at the Lichdragon’s face.
Each hit will do a considerable chunk of damage, especially if it lands on the face. Just keep spamming this spell and Lichdragon Fortissax will go down in a few minutes.
You’ll still need to dodge the boss’s attacks as most of its attacks are AoE, but they will be much easier to dodge as it will aim them at the Mimic Tear instead of yourself. Make sure to bring some healing items to keep yourself alive during this battle.
