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Lichdragon Fortissax is a Legend boss in Elden Ring. A giant black dragon with four wings on its back, it can be found by locating Fia in the Deeproot Depths after progressing her questline to its natural end. Even though it's an optional boss, facing it is necessary for the "Age of Duskborn" ending.
This boss has an arsenal of lightning attacks that can deal heavy damage if you're not careful, but overall is a relatively easy kill if you've already beaten several other dragons and have the typical strategy mastered. Here is all you need to know about Lichdragon Fortissax.
Lichdragon Fortissax: Overview
| Lichdragon Fortissax Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Deeproot Depths |
| Optional | Yes (Required for "Age of Duskborn" ending) |
| Summons | Players and Spirit Ashes |
| Drops |
|
| Weak To | Physical Thrust Attacks |
Lichdragon Fortissax is located inside Deeproot Depths, with the nearest Site of Grace being "Prince of Death's Throne." This boss fight is entirely optional, but you'll need to complete Fia's questline and defeat this boss to acquire the "Age of Duskborn" ending in the game.
After facing Fia's Champions in the same arena, talk to Fia and exhaust all of her dialogue options. Doing this will allow you to enter the Deathbed Dream, where the fight will occur. You can summon online players, as well as use Spirit Ashes, to help with this boss fight.
Fortissax is relatively weak against Physical Thrust Attacks. Using a Thrusting Weapon or Heavy Thrusting Weapon is ideal here.
Defeating the boss will net you a whopping 90,000 Runes, and as the boss is a Legend you'll also get its Remembrance. Handing in the Remembrance to Finger Reader Enia in Roundtable Hold will allow you to acquire Fortissax's Lightning Spear or the Death Lightning Incantation.
Lichdragon Fortissax: Attacks
Lichdragon Fortissax has a variety of different lightning attacks that it uses throughout the fight. Death Lightning and Fortissax's Lightning Spear are some of the attacks you need to look out for, as they can be deadly should you get hit by them.
| Lichdragon Fortissax Attacks |
|---|
Lightning Hand Strike
The boss imbues its claw with lightning and strikes the ground one to two times. These attacks cause a minor AOE lightning explosion on impact.
Counter: Roll towards where the claw is coming from to avoid the attack. Get ready to look at the boss to see whether it will follow up with another strike or not.
Back Sweep
Whenever you are to the boss's side, it will sweep its claw towards the side, knocking you down.
Counter: Be wary of this attack whenever you are at its side, and roll towards the boss when you see the animation begin.
Flying Fire Breath
Lichdragon Fortissax flies up in the air and breathes fire onto the ground below it.
Counter: You can either roll behind the boss, or run away to keep enough distance from the flames.
Air Dive
The boss flies up in the air and dives down, slamming the ground.
Counter: Keep track of the boss while in the air, and roll to the side as soon as it slams down.
Fortissax's Lightning Spear
Lichdragon Fortissax summons two lightning spears, one in each claw. The boss then stabs the lightning spears one at a time into the area where the player is standing. The spears cause a large AoE lightning explosion as well.
Counter: Lock on to the boss when it is summoning the spears, then roll towards the dragon when it stabs the spear into the ground. Roll a few more times to avoid the AoE lightning.
Lightning Strike
The boss raises its head and causes lightning strikes to spread out as a wave around it.
Counter: You can either create some distance from the boss when you see the animation, or you can roll into the waves to avoid it.
Death Lightning
Lichdragon Fortissax raises its head and summons several Death lightning bolts around the whole arena. These deal little damage, but increase Death Buildup — leading to instant death. The death field remains for a short while after the attack.
Counter: You can see the lightning strikes about to happen, so avoid these areas.
Lichdragon Fortissax: Strategies
There are two main strategies for taking on this fight:
Melee Strategy
For the melee strategy, all you have to do is get underneath the boss and attack as much as you can. Dodging most attacks as a melee character can be hard, as you only deal good damage while underneath it.
However, this also hinders your vision of the front of the boss, obscuring the animation the boss is performing. In this strategy, the boss will not use its sweep or strike attacks, but it will fly away and dive at you or summon a wave of lightning to knock you down.
Bringing thrusting weapons is recommended for this fight. They deal serious damage to the boss and have good range, allowing you to attack its legs being farther away from danger.
Ranged Strategy
For the Ranged Strategy, we would recommend opting for long-range Sorceries or Incantations. The boss is strong against Holy and Lightning attacks or spells, so Faith builds might find this fight much more challenging than Intelligence builds.
Sorceries such as Rock Sling, Comet Azur, and Stars of Rain are good options.
Summoning an online player or a tank Spirit Ash can help you split the boss's aggression. This way you can spam Sorceries while the boss focuses on the enemy in front of it. Shabriri's Woe is a good talisman for on the online player you summon to help, as it will increase their threat generation.
Keeping distance from the boss will also help you avoid most of its lightning attacks.
If you are having trouble defeating the boss, fear not. You can also make use of the Cerulean Hidden Tear. Using this in your Wondrous Flask will give you infinite FP for a limited time. As the fight begins, you need to distance yourself from the boss. Make sure you have a summon up, so the boss focuses on them.
After reaching Comet Azur's maximum distance, use the Wondrous Flask and aim the Comet Azur at the boss. This spell can go on for more than ten seconds before it starts to consume 40 FP every second. This outputs some incredibly high damage, melting down the boss in a matter of seconds.
General Tips
- Be Level 95-100 or higher.
- Try to bring two thrusting weapons and dual-wield them, so that you can take advantage of the boss's main weakness.
- It is advisable to equip Talismans or Incantations that can negate the amount of lightning damage taken.
- Do not lock on the boss during the fight, as the camera can become hard to follow — especially when the dragon flies around.
