How to beat the Ghostflame Dragon in Elden Ring

Don’t get burnt!

Elden Ring Ghostflame Dragon

The Ghostflame Dragon is an optional field boss you may encounter early on in Elden Ring. If you’re heading toward the Belurat Gaol, chances are, you may have seen or encountered this legendary beast.

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Since it is a dragon and it’s probably something you should slay, we’ll help you out.

How to beat the Ghostflame Dragon in Elden Ring

First off, you should tackle this boss while riding Torrent the entire time. It’s possible to beat the Ghostflame Dragon on foot, but on horseback, it’s a much smoother time.

The Ghostflame Dragon acts similarly to previously encountered dragons back in The Lands Between, so its moves should be somewhat easy to remember. It only has a few moves, but they all can kill you in one to two hits, so be quick. You should also not resort to locking on so often as you may miss attacks or get disoriented by all the drastic camera movements.

If you ever see it starting to breathe fire mid-air, it’s best to run away from it. Gain some distance. This is why using Torrent is so important. The dragon can cast a blanket of fire that you cannot evade on foot. In doing so, you can also move in closer for a few hits as the flames subside. 

If you’re close enough as it breathes fire, you can run at it from a diagonal angle so that you’re evading the flames and possibly going in for more strikes. Just make sure that if there is a blanket of fire, you act accordingly.

Next, if you are close to the Ghostflame Dragon, pay attention to its feet and arm movements. If you see it starting to twist its body, move away from it. That means it’s about to do a twisting move and can easily knock you off your steed. 

How to beat ghostflame dragon in Elden Ring
Screenshot by Destructoid

Lastly, if it starts to fly, pay attention to what it does. If it breathes fire, just keep your distance. Patience is the name of the game here. However, if it starts to lock onto you, be ready to time a dash on your horse. It’ll pounce at you and if you’re hit, you’re probably dead. 

Also, pay attention to the environment. Since you’re going to be very mobile in this fight, the last thing you want to do is bump into something while running away and getting one-shot. It has happened more times than I’d like to admit.

Ghostflame Dragon weaknesses

To further up your chances of defeating the Ghostflame Dragon, try bringing weapons that deal Blood Loss, Poison, or Frost. 

It’s susceptible to taking chunks of bleed damage when enough stacks have been accumulated. As for Toxic damage, the passive damage buildup is nice and will really help maintain the pressure even if you’re waiting to get in for a hit or two. Lastly, the frost will be like a weaker bleed proc, but with damage debuff to it.

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Elliott Gatica
Contributing Writer - Elliott has been writing about video games since he was in high school. Carrying that momentum forward, he has now appeared in outlets such as App Trigger, Attack of the Fanboy, and now Destructoid. He focuses heavily on Warframe, but he is also an avid fan of fighting games and shooters. When he isn't here, he's probably getting salty in Mortal Kombat 1 or climbing the competitive ranks with his friends on Overwatch 2.
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