This page offers a guide on how to beat Lichdragon Fortissax, found at the Prince of Death’s Throne in Deeproot Depths, in Elden Ring.

How to Find Lichdragon Fortissax in Deeproot Depths¶

Lichdragon Fortissax can only be accessed if you speak to Fia at the Prince of Death’s Throne and choose to give her the Cursemark of Death. Then, you’ll need to speak to her three separate times following this interaction to then unlock the option to ‘Enter the Deathbed dream’.

If you want The Age of Duskborn Ending, you’ll be required to defeat Lichdragon Fortissax.

Lichdragon Fortissax Attacks¶

The Lichdragon does a lot of dragon-y things but also has some special attacks in his arsenal. His special attacks relate to lightning, as he can conjure up lightning weapons and actual lightning from the sky.

Fire Breath¶

Lichdragon might have a lot of crazy lightning attacks, but he can also perform a good old fashioned fire breath. This one’s pretty self explanatory: the Lichdragon will breathe out fire for a few seconds and will also leave a trail of fire on the ground for a brief period after the fire breath attack. If you get caught in either, naturally, you’ll take some burn damage.

Lightning Spear¶

The Lichdragon will conjure up a lightning spear, and will do one of two things with it. The first is that he’ll just use it as a melee weapon and swing it at you - sometimes he’ll even perform a spin and spin the lightning spear around with him in a large motion.

Lightning Spear Plunge¶

The second way in which he can use the lightning spear is to conjure it up and plunge it into the ground, causing waves of lightning/electrical currents to burst out from the spear. Even if you’re not caught in the initial hit, you may get caught out in the lightning pulsating from his spear and this will knock you over.

During the second phase, the Lichdragon can conjure up two spears and will basically use them both in quick succession to perform two spear plunges. This might catch the player off guard initially, but once you learn to expect it you can make sure you disengage until he’s performed both attacks.

Lightning Attack¶

A lot of the time, the Lichdragon will begin the fight by conjuring up a bunch of lightning strikes all across the arena. This attack will last around 5 seconds and during this time, several lightning strikes will continue to hit the ground. You’ll be able to dodge and weave in between them - you’ll want to try to hit the Lichdragon during this period to break the attack and to just get in some uncontested damage, though if you’re a melee character you’ll have to close in the distance between you and the Lichdragon which might mean running through the lightning strikes.

Flying Charge¶

The Lichdragon will utilise his ability to fly a lot during this fight and will use it to disengage from the fight but also to prepare a flying charge attack. He will swoop down and crash into the ground near you or your summon. You’ll get knocked over if you’re caught in this attack or in immediate proximity to it.

Grab / Claw Swipe¶

This attack is reserved for close combat encounters. He will grab or swipe at you his claws. Sometimes he’ll also charge up his claws with lightning meaning you may also take lightning damage that’ll cause you to fall to the ground.

Tail Whip¶

This is mostly a counter attack against players who spend too much time smacking his abdomen or his tail. It’s a powerful defense stategy and will knock you down if you’re caught by it.

Bite¶

If you spend too much time hanging out near his face, the Lichdragon will bite at you in retaliation. This can be easily avoided by just rotating and disengaging once in a while to keep the Lichdragon guessing.

Strategy to Defeat Lichdragon Fortissax¶

The Lichdragon Fortissax is a huge four-winged dragon that does standard physical damage, fire damage from his fire breath attack and lightning damage. He is also weaker to piercing damage and his weak spot is his head. It can be a little difficult to reach his head someitmes since he is a dragon and can fly away or protect himself with his claws. But, it is definitely in your best interest to aim for his head whenever you can, given that it is a weak point. His poise cannot be broken so you won’t be able to stun him or render him incapacitated.

The Lichdragon doesn’t have any huge second phase changes, but at about half health he will introduce a couple of variants to his attacks that make them more powerful. For example, during the second phase, the Lichdragon will conjure up two lightning spears instead of one so you’ll need to adjust your timing and keep away until he has completed the attack sequence with both of his spears.

Although the Lichdragon is a formidable looking opponent, he can be pretty straightforward if you’re geared up and bring in a strong, fully upgraded spirit ash - such as the Black Knife Tiche or Mimic Tear. You’ll also want to try to summon your spirit ash as soon as you enter the arena otherwise you risk being caught in a powerful attack. As always, having a strong summon will provide a great distraction but also get in some damage too.

Lichdragon Fortissax Rewards¶

Upon defeating the Lichdragon, you’ll be rewarded with Remembrance of the Lichdragon. This particular remembrance can be exchanged at Roundtable Hold for either the Fortissax’s Lightning Spear incantation or the Death Lightning incantation.