To beat the Shadow of the Erdtree Ghostflame Dragon boss you'll have to get under its feet and roll into a lot of its attacks. There's a Sombre Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, 120,000 runes, and a dragon heart in it if you beat the creature, so the rewards are worth the risk.
Along with the Erdtree Dancing Lion, this is one of the first big bosses you can encounter, and we've got a breakdown of all the Shadow of the Erdtree main bosses in order if you want to know more about what to expect.
To give you a point of reference for this challenge, I took the Ghostflame Dragon down, third time, at level 152 with a +10 Dark Moon Greatsword. That was with a good 60 points in Vigor for some decent health, following a quick respec to specifically boost that stat for the DLC. A lot of even basic enemies in Shadow of the Erdtree can one shot a low Vigor player, so bare that in mind generally.
Before you take on the Ghostflame Dragon make sure you have the Great Bridge North Site of Grace, near the Abandoned Ailing Village. It's the closest respawn point, just to the East of the lake the dragon lives in on the Gravesite Plain.
Assuming you're ready to go, here's how to beat the Ghostflame Dragon in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Shadow of the Erdtree Ghostflame Dragon quick tips
- Try and stay under it to avoid most of its attacks
- Roll towards and through any ghostflame attacks
- Prioritise the glowing eye when falls stunned
How to defeat the Ghostflame Dragon in Shadow of the Erdtree
Before you approach the dragon in the center of the lake, don't forget to pop whatever Wonderous Physik mix you're favouring and summon a Spirit Ash to run interference for you. You can use Torrent to get close quickly, but ditch them when you're near as it's easier to tackle the fight on foot. I haven't extensively tested weaknesses at this point but I've tried frost, fire and holy damage to little effect.
The key thing to defeat the Ghostflame Dragon is to either be under it, or running towards it if it gets away. From underneath it'll struggle to really get a hit on you, and most of its attacks can be avoided by a well timed dodge towards the danger. From this position you'll only have a ghostflame foot stomp to worry about. So if you see it raising its foot, get ready to roll into the attack. The fire expands out radially so you can't dodge left or right. From here you should be free to wail on its feet, belly and, occasionally, head, as it stomps around to try and reach you.
Make sure you don't stray too far from under the body, as the dragon has some fast, turning sweeps that can do damage with its head, tail or wings, and can be almost impossible to dodge. They can do a lot of damage before you have so much as a chance to flinch. Occasionally it will take to the air, again run towards it so that it's diving attack the ground will overshoot
As well as its ghost flame stomp it also breathes fire and if you see it about to do that, as with the stomp, head towards it and prepare to roll through the fire. It's a wide sweeping move that's hard to dodge laterally.
Occasionally, when you've done enough damage, it'll rear up, staggered, and fall to the floor. Attacks to the head will accelerate this. It's the only time you don't want to be under the creature, so when this happens run away to get clear. There's no damage to it falling on you but while the dragon is stunned a glowing eye weak point is revealed and it's easy to get trapped or snagged on wings or limbs, leaving you struggling to reach it in time. Assuming you reach the eye, wail on it with everything you've got to maximise the damage.
Follow these steps and you should defeat the Ghostflame Dragon in no time. In terms of rewards you'll receive 120,000 runes, a dragon heart and a Sombre Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. The latter is a real win as there were previously only 8 in the entire game, with most of them hidden away in late game areas.
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