With Elden Ring being what feels like a culmination of everything they released in the past 13 years, there are bound to be many fascinating locations and bosses to discover in the vast world of the Lands Between. Take the Dragonkin Soldier, for example, an optional boss in one of the game's most visually stunning areas.

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Much like the games before it, Elden Ring constantly rewards the player with intriguing things if they choose to go off the beaten path and explore every nook and cranny. The Lands Between is one of the most densely packed open worlds we've seen in a while, making it an unforgettable experience for fans of the genre.

Updated on May 23, 2022, by Charlene Maria Teressa: An exemplary, yet frighteningly designed boss, the Dragonkin Soldier is definitely a hard-hitter with its wide, sweeping attacks and overhead slams. We feel it would be more than fitting to add two additional Dragonkin Soldier bosses found in Ainsel River and Lake of Rot. The latter has an extremely creative and deadly boss arena that only makes this battle ten times more challenging.

Dragonkin Soldier Overview

The Dragonkin Soldier is an optional boss found in the gorgeous Siofra River via a hidden teleporter. If you're used to FromSoftware's titles, then the Dragonkin Soldier will likely pose little to no threat but can still surprise even the most hardcore players with a few sneaky attacks here and there. For the most part, however, the Dragonkin Soldier has many wide-sweeping attacks and telegraphs its attacks well before trying to execute them.

For newcomers, the Dragonkin Soldier may be a different situation altogether. While its moves are easy to read and adjust to, they do tons of damage, especially to lower-level characters. If you cannot use ranged attacks effectively, we highly suggest using Torrent for this battle as you can use mounts during it. However, if neither of those options is your cup of tea, we will cover a melee strategy later in the guide.

Successfully defeating the Dragonkin Soldier will net you 16,000 Runes, which seems high considering this boss is on the lower end of the difficulty scale. Furthermore, you will also receive the Dragon Halberd, an excellent weapon if you meet the requirements to wield and upgrade it. Overall, this boss drops rewards we feel are well worth the effort of tracking down and besting, so we recommend tackling it whenever you get the chance!

The other Dragonkin Soldier bosses' drops are definitely worth the fight, too. Located in Ainsel River and Lake of Rot, the latter is special due to the tiny boss arena surrounded by a sea of Scarlet Rot. You can reach Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella from the Ainsel River Downstream Site of Grace, while the Lake of Rot boss from the Lake of Rot Shoreside Site of Grace.

Where To Find The First Dragonkin Soldier

Before you can take on the Dragonkin Soldier, you must first reach it, which can prove harder than the actual boss fight itself. While the closest Site of Grace is the Worshippers' Woods one, we recommend working your way up from the Siofra River Bank Site of Grace as it involves you fighting through way fewer enemies and is a tad easier.

From the Siofra River Bank Site of Grace, head north and stick to the right side of the pathway, and try fighting everything on your way to avoid getting an unmanageable group of ghost warriors chasing after you. For this, we recommend using Torrent and taking things one group of enemies at a time until you reach a grouping of stone pillars. One here, a group of ghost warriors and archers will spawn in and will be rather hard to deal with. However, if you eliminated all the other enemies leading up to this point, they should be much more manageable. After defeating them, look for a knocked-over pillar that acts as a bridge to a stone tower and follow it up. The teleporter you are looking for will be atop the stone tower. Take it to reach the Dragonkin Soldier.

Craft and equip Preserving Boluses for the Lake of Rot boss, or use the Flame, Cleanse Me spell.

Dragonkin Soldier Attacks

The Dragonkin Soldier has many broad sweeping attacks, with several "got off me" abilities if you manage to get too close. Additionally, you will occasionally have to watch out for a charge attack that typically happens if you are too far away from it. Fortunately, you will have ample time to react to the vast majority of its attacks, as it telegraphs most of them well in advance, allowing you to see what it's about to do and move accordingly.

However, this doesn't mean you can attack it and create distance without any repercussions. The Dragonkin Soldier is sporadically fast and will catch up to you in the blink of an eye if you stray too far from it. While not for everyone, this boss fight is made drastically easier if you use Torrent, as you can stay in the "sweet spot" and bait many of its attacks that are easy to react to and follow up with multiple hits.

Only the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella can fly, which it does during the second phase.

Dragonkin Solder of Nokstella Special Attacks

Frozen Lightning Spear Attack

During the second phase, this boss will unfurl its wings. It will fly up and summon an ice lightning spear and fling it to the ground. A shower of lightning attacks will hammer onto the ground.

Counter: Immediately roll to the side and keep rolling to stay out of range of the lightning shower.

Frost Explosion Attack

The boss will stay still and scream, unleashing a bright, frosty, lightning explosion.

Counter: Run to the far end of the boss arena.

Dragonkin Solder Lake of Rot Special Arena Attack

Sea Of Rot Attack

In this case, the minuscule boss arena is the real problem. The boss's sweeping attacks can push you into the Lake of Rot and you can drown and die from the Scarlet Rot buildup.

Counter: Use a Spirit Ash summon like Lhutel the Headless to keep the boss off of you. Equip Opaline Bubbletear and keep an eye on where you step. If you fall, quickly leap onto the platform.

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Battle Strategy

As touched on briefly above, this is one of the rare instances where getting to the boss is more of a challenge than the fight itself. Though there is no hard recommended level, it seems that you will be more than capable of taking it down if you're at least in the Level 30-35 range and beyond. Furthermore, this fight will go much smoother if you're comfortable with mounted combat.

Torrent Strategy

Due to the arena's location, an expansive area, you are allowed to summon your trusty companion Torrent in and use it to your advantage. Torrent is an excellent way to maintain a medium distance between you and the Dragonkin Soldier, which allows you to force it into executing easily readable attacks over and over again.

The best strategy to implement when facing Dragonkin Soldier with Torrent is to charge in and stick to its right side - your left when looking at the boss - which will bait its medium and close-range attacks, which are easy to dodge when using Torrent. When the Dragonkin Soldier attacks, you can land a few hits during its recovery animation, then flee the scene and then repeat until the battle is over. Additionally, if you are confident you can land several heavy attacks, you can break its poise, dismount, and perform a critical attack to deal tons of damage.

You cannot summon Torrent for the Lake of Rot and Nokstella bosses.

Melee Strategy

For those of you who refuse to use Torrent, there is a solid ground-melee strategy to implement into your next attempt. The trick here is to position yourself at the Dragonkin Soldier's back left leg, accessible by rolling through the opening between his legs. Once there, it will attempt a broad circular swing in an attempt to hit you but will miss, allowing you to keep your offense up and squeeze in a few more hits.

However, after the Dragonkin Soldier whiffs its sweep attack, you will have to reset and repeat the process many times to defeat it. We find this strategy works best if you mix it into your current approach rather than making it your entire goal. Get a tanky Ash for the Lake of Rot boss, such as Kaiden Mercenary or Mimic Tear scaled up to +9, to keep its eyes off of you while you inflict hits. Using Opaline Bubbletear will never do you wrong.

Ranged Strategy

For ranged users, you can approach this fight a few ways, with one method being incredibly "cheesy." First, let's cover the standard approach, which will have you casting whichever incantation you're comfortable with at the Dragonkin Soldier from about medium range, which gives you ample opportunity to see whichever attack it's about to do and get out of harm's way. This will take lots of time to get the rhythm and distance right, but once you learn where the "sweet spot" is, you should be fine aside from the stray charging attack or far-reaching strike that can catch many off-guard.

Now, for the ultimate mage cheesing session. For this battle, you can lead the Dragonkin Soldier to the edge of the cliffside, drop off, and have it remain at the edge, unable to hit you. This method allows you to cast uncontested spells at the boss until it dies. Well, at least for now, as it may get patched at some point down the road.

You can use Rock Sling, Comet, or Cannon of Haima for all the bosses.

General Tips

• Be Level 30-35 or higher
• Be Level 80 (Nokstella), and 90+ (Lake of Rot)
• Equip Preserving Boluses and Flame, Cleanse Me for the Lake of Rot boss
• Use Torrent to your advantage (you can't use Torrent for the other two)
• Watch out for the occasional charge attack
• Stick to its left side and bait its close to medium-ranged attacks
• Don't get too far or close to it. Find the "sweet spot."

Next: Elden Ring: Complete Guide And Walkthrough