There are plenty of hidden bosses to find in the Lands Between, and this two-headed dragon is one of them. If you’re wondering where to find Dragonlord Placidusax in Elden Ring and how to beat him, we’ve got all the info you need in the guide below.
Where to Find Dragonlord Placidusax in Elden Ring
The Dragonlord is located in Crumbling Farum Azula, an area that can only be accessed after you’ve beaten the Fire Giant at the Mountaintop of the Giants. Once you speak to Melina or ‘listen to the flame’ at the Forge of the Giants Site of Grace, you’ll automatically be teleported to Farum Azula.
Dragonlord Placidusax can be found at the exact spot on the map shown below. To get here, take the elevator down from the Beside the great Bridge Site of Grace, then head outside the church and look for a ledge underneath a cliff with a group of trees on it.
There will be a prompt to lie down like in the image below. Do so, and you’ll be transported to the hidden boss arena to fight the giant two-headed dragon.
How to Beat Dragonlord Placidusax
Phase 1
This fight, like many others, can go very differently depending on your build. The dragon is relatively slow and usually stationary in the first phase. For melee builds, be sure to stay next to the hind legs, near the tail. Ranged fighters have far more options, so we’ll cover those further down.
Get into that hind leg spot and you’ll be able to avoid claw attacks, dragon breath, wing slams, and tail swipes. The wing slams happen if you’re on the dragon’s side and tail swipes come when you’re behind, so try to stay wedged between those two areas to avoid having to deal with them at all.
As you probably know by now, bleed weapons like the Rivers of Blood, Nagakiba, Moonveil, and Star Fist are highly effective against nearly every single boss in the game and this one is no different. Get hits in with those weapons while looking out for telegraphed red lightning strikes that deal damage in a huge AOE.
Always back up or get ready to time a dodge roll when the ground lights up red, or whenever you see the dragon grab a huge spear of red lightning — this means that a massive AOE attack is coming.
If you’re using Sorceries or Incantations, this fight should be slightly easier. The Swarm of Flies Incantation (even after the recent patch) and Comet Azur Sorcery are absolutely broken, especially during phase one when Dragonlord Placidusax moves around far less.
Couple this magic with Spirit Ash summons like Black Knife Tiche or the ever-reliable Mimic Tear, and the Dragonlord will be in phase two before you know it. A melee Spirit Ash will keep the boss distracted while you keep your distance and use magic. Though, in the case of Swarm of Flies, try to get in the hind leg position mentioned above since it’s more of a slow-moving, close-range Incantation.
Rot and poison also do a great job of whittling down the boss’s health bar if you can get multiple hits in with Incantations like Malenia’s Scarlet Aeonia and the dragon Rotten Breath, or weapons/items like Rotbone Arrows and the Serpent Bow.
Phase 2
Once he loses half of his health, Dragonlord Placidusax will fly up into the sky — much like Starscourge Radahn — and slam down from above, so look out for his re-entry point by looking up. Dodge toward him as he lands to avoid taking any damage.
In phase two, the Dragonlord will start to teleport and vanish as he moves around the arena, which initially makes things a bit harder for melee fighters. The key here is to not chase him around. Only run up to him once he starts doing his stationary attacks again.
Watch out for claw swipes and lightning spear AOEs once again while approaching. Head straight to the back leg again to deal damage from a safer position. From there, you should be able to get his health down to zero by using the same exact strategies as you did in the first phase.
That’s everything you need to know about where to find Dragonlord Placidusax and how to beat him in Elden Ring. Be sure to search Twinfinite for more tips, tricks, and other useful boss guides as you explore the Lands Between.