As expected, Elden Ring’s difficulty increases sharply in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, with a first real, brutal boss. It’s a visually impressive fight, but death can also come quickly.
Preparations
- You can reach level 4 or even 5 of Shadow Realm Blessings by searching the first area well. This will help you greatly in this fight.
- Freyja the Red Lion Knight can be summoned on this fight, it is a valuable aid since it is able to tank the boss for a while. It should be remembered however that this will increase the Dancing Lion’s life points.
- A spirit summon will also help you, if he doesn’t get killed too quickly. The Mimic is still as formidable on the DLC.
- This boss’ damage is mostly physical and lightning-type. Talismans and buffs that can reduce this damage will significantly help you survive.
- Plan for Defrosting balls can help, if you have trouble dodging his freeze attacks.
Phase 1
The Dancing Lion has the same flaw as other bosses like dragons: the camera does whatever it wants when it jumps, which makes the fight more difficult and frustrating. It may be wise to don’t lock camera on bossand enable auto-aim in the game options. It’s not a perfect solution, but it will help.
What makes this boss formidable is that he chains 3 devastating attacks, it is possible to get killed by taking 2 to 3 attacks in a row if you miss your dodges. Focus on rolling towards the boss, in order to pass on its sides, or even behind its back.rather than backwards or to the sides. This way, his next attacks will automatically miss, and it will also give you the opportunity to attack him.
It also has a relatively short-range breath. You can dodge it, jump over it, or move away. But be careful, the lion turns around 3 times.
Lightning phase
At around 66% health, the Dancing Lion will get angry. He will fly away and roar, which will trigger lightning. He unlocks many additional abilities.
The most notable is the fact that lightning will regularly strike random positions around the boss. A small golden animation on the ground indicates the locations that will be hit before. Once again, unlocking the camera in order to be able to monitor the ground and better manage your movements is suggested.
The boss also has three lightning attacks, which are not easy to identify:
- A powerful long-range lightning spear. Timing the dodge is not easy. It will also trigger a second lightning strike on its position after a few moments, so you need to get out of the area quickly. If you can’t dodge it, a loop with high lightning mitigation can help.
- A sideways blast, which has a much greater range than the one in the previous phase. You have to dodge sideways in the other direction, or move away.
- He can use the same spinning breath as in the first phase, but with lightning. You can jump over it, dodge it, or move away. Remember that he spins 3 times.
Wind phase
All the About 15-30 seconds, the boss will change elements. He will normally adopt the wind after the lightning. This phase is a bit like the first phase of the game, but much more difficult. The dancing lion will move quickly and attack by charging, making him difficult to dodge. In melee, it is better to focus on dodging rather than attacking, at least until you have gone behind his back.
If you’re at a distance, the boss will prepare a huge tornado, which will grow in size with distance. Unless you’re really far away, this attack is almost impossible to dodge. The best solution is probably to rush into melee and take advantage of it to attack the dancing lion after passing under him, or even behind him.
Frost phase
The third elemental phase is the easiest to dodge, but potentially the deadliest if you get hit. The boss will perform vertical attacks, which will cause frost to appear on the ground. You must either dodge it while keeping your distance, or jump to get over the frostwhich can potentially allow you to attack. Be careful, if you are far away, or with summons, the boss can trigger a super-powerful version of the frost, with branches capable of reaching distant targets.
During this phase, the important thing is not to fill the freezing bar. Otherwise, the damage taken would be absurd, and you will be even more vulnerable to damage. Take a Defrosting Pellet if necessary. The boss’s spinning kick triggers a large area of frost that doesn’t hurt much, but will quickly fill your affliction gauge.
Finally, it also has a swirling frost breath.
After 15-30 seconds, the boss will switch back to lightning phase.
Final phase
When the Divine Beast Dancing Lion’s health is very low, it will start to alternate very quickly between all its phases. This makes it unpredictable and very aggressive. It becomes very difficult to hit it and dodge its attacks. This is the time to use everything you have: spells, throwing pots, spirit ash, vial of salvation, in order to finish off the enemy.
Awards
No Major Rune in this case, but a Memory and the Divine Beast Head. A heavy helmet giving +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, and a Focus bonus.
Divine Beast Dancing Lion Memory
This may come as a surprise, but you can return to the Round Table to trade memories from the expansion’s bosses. You can even purchase armor pieces from the Augur of Fingers in some cases. Press “RB” from the map.
You have two rewards to choose from:
- Raging Divine Beast : A talisman that increases the power of storms.
- Ashes of War Divine Icy Crush : A more powerful version of Glacial Crush. The area affected is much larger, but the CP cost is also higher.
