How to beat Dragonlord Placidusax in Elden Ring
A step-by-step guide on how to locate and fight the secret boss in Crumbling Farum Azula.
Dragonlord Placidusax is an optional and hidden boss in Elden Ring, located in Crumbling Farum Azula.
A little effort is required to find him and, of course, defeat him, but fear not. Help is at hand, as you can tackle this boss in multiplayer, as well as summon Spirit Ashes to help you out. However, with three phases up its sleeve, this boss won't go down without a very difficult fight. So read on below for our walkthrough on how to find and beat Dragonlord Placidusax in Elden Ring.
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Where to find Dragonlord Placidusax in Elden Ring
Start at the Site of Grace 'Beside the Great Bridge' and run back to the lift. Travel down, cross the small, flooded chapel with the Beastmen inside, leave it and go straight ahead to the cliffs. You can drop down at this point:
There are some ruins floating below with skeletons lying on the ground. Find the part where there are no skeletons, as you'll also need to lie down on the ground here:
Performing this action teleports you to the arena of this four-headed Dragonlord, who turns out to be an extremely tough boss. Follow our strategies below on how to defeat him.
How to beat Dragonlord Placidusax in Elden Ring
After entering the arena, Placidusax hisses loudly and produces red lightning bolts on the ground. Avoid these spots as you run towards him, which is not that difficult.
He also uses this technique in the ongoing battle. If you see red lightning flashes around your character, don't stand still in that spot, but move away.
First phase
Three lightning strikes will follow, which you must dodge. After the third, you have a clear path to strike the Dragonlord. You can run behind him and strike its tail.
Usually one of his heads will turn around and follow you, keeping you in sight before it spits fire on the ground, which spills in all directions like a wave. It will also catch you if you are standing behind it, so be careful.
After the flames have slowly died down, you can safely hit the tail and do some damage.
Eventually the Dragonlord will turn round and face you again, but he is generally very sluggish in almost all of his animations. He makes a lunging motion with one of his arms and you will see five lightning claws appear.
Roll towards his body as soon as he strikes with them. Run past his body to his tail and counter with a few strikes until he launches his next attack.
Incidentally, the tail strike is less dangerous than with other dragons in the game, as the tip has already been severed.
Sometimes the Dragonlord 'flies' away from you and spits fire in an area in front of him, but you can easily avoid this by simply keeping your distance.
Second phase
The next phase of the fight starts at around 60% health. Placidusax floats into the air and simply disappears for a short time.
Turn the camera until you see a dark storm cloud, from which he will immediately burst out. He races towards you with its lightning claw and strikes, but you are faster and can roll under his attack here.
He then disappears again, but reappears on the ground and strikes with the lightning claw. He may repeat this, so be on your guard. Then, run to his tail and follow the same tactics as before.
One of his most powerful attacks is summoning a kind of lightning blade in his hand - a similar weapon to the one used by the Ancient Dragon Lansseax and Lichdragon Fortissax.
Placidusax will ram it into the ground for a devastating area-of-effect attack. Run off in any direction, doesn't matter where - the main thing is to get away. Then, you can run back to him afterwards and deal damage.
Third phase
Shortly before the end, Placidusax will unleash laser beams, firing them from both of his mouths across the arena. Keep your distance, wait, and you should get through safely. To be on the safe side, you can hold up the shield in case one of the lasers flies in your direction - this will prevent anything worse from happening.
He also likes to disappear from the scene while the lightning bolts are dancing in the arena. Turn the camera to see where he's coming from and hold up the shield.
He will also throw stones in your direction during this final phase, which he breaks out of the ground - again, a shield helps best.
Follow these tactics, and hopefully you'll bring Dragonlord Placidusax down. As a reward, you'll get 280,000 Runes and the Remembrance of the Dragonlord. After the victory, you can activate the Site of Grace 'Dragonlord Placidusax' and complete the Crumbling Farum Azula.
That's it for how to beat Dragonlord Placidusax in Elden Ring. The other main boss in the Crumbling Farum Azula is Maliketh, The Black Blade, but if you're struggling with other bosses then be sure to check out our Elden Ring main boss guide.
After completing the Crumbling Farum Azula, your next destination will be Leyndell, Capital of Ash.