Lichdragon Fortissax is an optional boss in Elden Ring associated with a unique ending. An ancient dragon that fought hard against death in its companions, Fortissax’s only reward was corruption.
Lichdragon Fortissax is not only crucial to Elden Ring’s lore, but it is also one of the most atmospheric fights in any FromSoftware game. However, finding Fortissax is not an easy task, as it is hidden behind an extensive quest in the game.
Let us help you locate Fortissax and tell you of a build that will melt the mighty dragon in seconds.
Lichdragon Fortissax Location in Elden Ring
Lichdragon Fortissax is an optional boss in Elden Ring, but you must defeat it if you want to see the Age of the Duskborn ending.
Fortissax can be found at the end of Fia’s quest. To reach this behemoth, follow the steps below.
- Talk to Fia in the Roundtable Hold and allow her to hug you.
- Go to Caria manor and defeat the Royal Knight Loretta.
- Enter the Three Sisters’ area and talk to Ranni at her rise.
- Start Ranni’s quest and defeat Starscourge Radahn at the Redmane Castle in Caelid.
- Go to Mistwood and enter Nokron to find the Fingerslayer Blade for Ranni.
- Hand over the blade to Ranni to obtain the Inverted Carian Statue.
- Use the statue at the pedestal inside the Carian Study Hall. Go to the top of the inverted tower to collect the Cursemark of Death from Ranni’s dead body.
- Return to the Roundtable Hold and talk to Fia until the option “Talk in Secret” appears.
- Collect the Weathered Dagger from Fia and give it to D, the hunter.
- Leave the Roundtable Hold and return to find Fia standing over D’s dead body.
- Follow Fia to the Deeproot Depths through Siofra Aqueduct.
- Defeat Fia’s Champions and then talk to Fia. Give her the Cursemark of Death.
- Hug Fia’s dead body to enter her dream. There, you will face the Lichdragon Fortissax in Elden Ring.
Lichdragon Fortissax Stats and Weaknesses
Lichdragon Fortissax has 12,903 HP in addition to 114 Defense and 140 Stance. You can’t parry its attacks. However, you can land a critical hit on Fortissax once its stance is broken.
Fortissax’s weak point is its head. It takes 100% more damage on the head. This boss is weak against Pierce attacks. You can also deal moderate damage with Pierce and Fire attacks.
However, Fortissax is strong against Holy and Lightning attacks. It is also immune to Sleep and Madness, making it one of the toughest dragons in Elden Ring.
Best Build for Lichdragon Fortissax
For this build, we will be using a fully upgraded Serpent-Hunter Great Spear. This weapon can be obtained once you enter the arena of Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.
Sacred Dagger and Dragon Communion Seal, on the other hand, is used to cast the following incantations.
Equip the Omensmirk Mask and use the following talismans.
Mix the following crystal tears in the Flask of the Wondrous Physick.
- Strength-Knot Crystal Tear. To enhance the strength attribute for a short duration.
- Spiked Cracked Tear. To increase the attack power of charged attacks.
When the fight starts, cast both incantations and two-handed the Serpent-Hunter Great Spear. Follow it up with charged attacks with the heavy attack button. You will be able to kill Lichdragon Fortissax in just 3-4 hits in Elden Ring.
Phase 1 – The Deathblight
Lichdragon Fortissax in Elden Ring stands on its hind legs and raises its left arm. This will summon a lightning fork in its hand, which it slams into the ground. Huge shockwaves of red lightning travel outward, which can knock down players immediately.
To avoid this attack, roll forward and go beneath Fortissax’s body. The boss also summons red lightning around its body that deals Lightning Damage to the players standing in close vicinity.
The worst attack by Fortissax is Deathblight Lightning. The boss roars twice and summons clouds of black mist around it. These clouds are hit by Deathblight Lightning, leaving a trail of Deathblight cloud for a long period.
If you come in contact with these clouds, you will get afflicted and die once the deathblight meter reaches its full limit. Don’t stand inside or near the clouds. If you are unsure, just move back and wait for the area to clear.
Fortissax also uses physical attacks where it slams its right hand to its left, and then swipes it upwards. This leaves behind a trail of Lightning that damages the player.
Both hand swipes can be dodged by rolling forward, giving you enough time to land a couple of hits.
Fortissax also does a slam attack with its right arm after standing on its hind legs. This attack is often followed by right arm swipes and bite attacks. Dodge forward and then roll to the left. Wait for the combo to be over before you land some hits.
Fortissax also spews fire in front, followed by a fire breath from left to right, and then again in front. This attack covers a large area behind Fortissax and can only be avoided by running away.
If you stand too close to Fortissax, it will do one of the two attacks. Either it will jump back and throw a fire stream at you, or slam both its paws into the ground, creating shockwaves of red lightning.
Both attacks will knock you down and deal a great amount of damage. These attacks can be avoided by either running backwards or following Fortissax by rolling into its body.
If you stand too far away from Fortissax in Elden Ring, it will use a Fire Breath attack in a straight line. Due to the arena being short, this attack will always connect unless you dodge sideways.
Standing on either side of Fortissax will prompt it to do a claw swipe attack. These attacks will also reposition its body to face you. If you are standing to its right, roll to the left and vice versa.
Standing behind Fortissax prompts it to do two attacks. Wings Swipe and Tail Swipe. During the first attack, Fortissax launches into the air and flaps its wings to knock down players. This attack only does stance damage.
The tail swipe is far scarier as it is not only difficult to dodge but also deals massive physical damage to the players.
You can avoid both attacks by rolling sideways. Once its HP is down to 50%, Lichdragon Fortissax will enter its second phase.
Phase 2 – A Crazed Dragon
Most of the attacks by Lichdragon Fortissax in phase 2 are the same, just greatly exaggerated. The boss will now start chaining attacks together.
Claw swipe will be followed by two bite attacks and one tail swipe. Fortissax now summons two bolts of Lightning, one in each hand, and slams them both one by one on the ground.
The boss now summons Deathblight more frequently and starts charging at players with Lightning Glaive in its hand.
A new attack during this phase is when Fortissax gets airborne and comes slamming at the player’s location, causing a lightning explosion.
All these attacks can be avoided by dodging. However, you need to be on your toes as the second phase is mostly Fortissax on steroids.
Once you get the timing of all attacks, you can easily dodge them and land hits in between. If you decide to go with the build we mentioned above, you won’t even see the second phase as Fortissax will be down in no time.
Lichdragon Fortissax Drops and Rewards
Upon defeat, Lichdragon Fortissax in Elden Ring drops 90,000 Runes in addition to the Remembrance of the Lichdragon.
This remembrance can be exchanged with Enia at the Roundtable Hold to get either Fortissax’s Lightning Spear (incantation) or Death Lightning (incantation).
You can also consume this remembrance to obtain 30,000 Runes, which is ill-advised.
