Elder Dragon Greyoll is one of the many optional bosses in Elden Ring but behaves unlike any of them. Popularly dubbed as the sleeping dragon, Elder Dragon Greyoll is always in a motionless state. She can neither move nor attack. However, there will be five lesser dragons present around her as well.
So, why even bother killing a dragon that cannot fight back? Consider Elder Dragon Greyoll as a loot chest because killing her rewards you with up to 100k Runes with a chance for unique weapons, spells, and various other items.
This is an excellent opportunity especially if you are a newcomer in Elden Ring as it will save you the grind for farming runes and level you up faster as well.
The following guide will tell you where to find the sleeping dragon and how to defeat her in Elden Ring. There is also a little exploit that you can use to farm a ton of runes through her.
Where to find the Sleeping Dragon in Elden Ring
The sleeping dragon can be found in Caelid, east of Limgrave. This region is home to a lot of dangerous enemies that can easily take you out in a few hits. You, hence, need to be extra careful when traversing Caelid, especially if your character is under-leveled.
There is more than one way of reaching Caelid. The easiest is to fast travel there by using the Waygate near the Third Church of Marika in Mistwood. This obviously means that you will first have to unlock Mistwood by collecting all of the Limgrave map fragments in Elden Ring.
When you reach the Third Church of Marika, look for the window behind a statue. Jump through that and go east to find the Waygate. It will send you to the Bestial Sanctum in Dragonbarrow.
Now, you must cross the bridge in the southeast, the one with Flying Dragon Geyll. This is an optional boss fight, so you can use your mount to simply go straight and not engage Flying Dragon Geyll.
Turn southwest after crossing the bridge and move past the giant Erdtree to interact with the Spirit Spring. From there, you must move toward Fort Faroth to light its lost site of grace. Look northwest and you will find the sleeping dragon.
Should I kill the Sleeping Dragon in Elden Ring?
Killing the sleeping dragon is a popular way of beginning your journey with thousands of Runes that would otherwise require a lot of time to farm.
Hence, the only reason to not kill Greyoll is to give yourself a bigger challenge. Otherwise, the sleeping dragon will always be there for you to kill for Runes and Unique. So you should definitely take this opportunity and cash in on it in Elden Ring.
You also do not have to worry about Greyoll being part of any questline. Killing her will not block or abandon any quests in the game.
Lastly, you will gain a lot by taking out this sleepy dragon not only in the form of Runes but also consumable items as well in the form of Dragon Hearts (x5) in Elden Ring.
You also unlock the incantation known as Geyroll’s Roar as well. This particular incantation can be very resourceful for you in battle as it lowers both your enemy’s defenses and attack power for a brief period allowing you to land significant damage on them in Elden Ring.
How to farm runes using the sleeping dragon exploit
To farm runes, one must ensure the registration of a nearby grace site. It is also recommended to have a Gold Scarab talisman as it increases the number of Runes obtained.
Furthermore, you can also use consumable items such as the Gold-pickled Fowl foot to restore your health while taking out Greyoll in Elden Ring.
While Elder Dragon Greyoll cannot fight back, she has a massive health pool. You will probably tire yourself hacking away at her thick scales. The sleeping dragon has around 87664 HP in a normal playthrough, increasing by a large amount in a New Game Plus.
You need to make sure to have a bleed weapon with ways to increase your hemorrhage damage because that is the only quick way to kill Greyoll. You can also use poison or Scarlet Rot for the same reason but at a marginally slower rate.
Take note that killing the sleeping dragon will reward you with 50,000 Runes in normal and 100,000 Runes in NG+ playthroughs. The sleeping dragon exploit, however, allows you to keep farming Greyoll for infinite Runes without permanently killing her.
Summon Torrent and start attacking Greyoll from the left side and on her tail first, to build a good amount of hemorrhage. Keeping attacking until all of her health is gone. As soon as her health drops to zero, rush towards the nearby Fort Faroth Site of Grace and rest.
If you timed it right, you will receive 50,000 Runes but Greyoll will still be there. So, you can go back from the Site of Grace for a second attempt. Keep cycling until you get bored.
