You’ll first encounter this boss shortly upon entering Jagged Peak, and you’ll find a second version fighting another dragon further up the mountain. At this point, you’ve probably done enough dragon fights that the Jagged Peak Drakes won’t be too difficult, but they do have a few unique moves — this guide will offer some general tips, and some specific strategies, for dealing with the Jagged Peak Drakes.
Rewards: 90,000 or 120,000, Dragon Heart, Dragonscale Flesh
The Dragon-Hunter’s Katana you got from the Dragon Pit dungeon boss does 30% bonus damage to dragons — it is worth upgrading if you’re having a hard time killing dragon enemies with your current weapon. Alternatively, Dragonwound Grease can make your weapon do the same amount of bonus damage, albeit only for 60 seconds.
The Ash of War on the Bolt of Gransax does good damage to dragons and can be used from a safe distance.
Staying on Torrent allows you to more easily reposition and avoid the boss’ attacks.
Fire resistance makes a big difference vs the boss’ breath attacks.
These dragons are resistant to Lightning and Fire, but otherwise any damage and status effect options will work just fine.
Cheese
You can cheese both of the Jagged Peak Drake encounters with a bow or crossbow. All you need is a decently upgraded ranged weapon, a big stack of arrows, and the Arrow’s Reach talisman. The Sharpshot talisman is a nice addition, as it’ll lower the time it takes to do this cheese.
For the first Jagged Peak drake, you’ll need to get up on the cliff southwest of the boss (Image 1). Here, there are two vantage points you can use (Image 2). The reason you need two spots is because the boss will walk up to right beneath you as you attack it, making it impossible to hit it (thanks to the too-steep angle) — when this happens, you can move to the other vantage point and keep shooting! The other option is to run away from the edge of the cliff until the boss’ health bar disappears — this will cause it to reset, and walk back to the center of the boss arena, making it easier to target.
Image 1Image 2
For the second Jagged Peak drake, all you have to do is stand on the large rock you jump up to find the boss (when coming from the Foot of the Jagged Peak site of grace), as per Image 3. You can actually see this rock from the site of grace (Image 4). The boss shouldn’t come all the way over to you, but if it does, just run away and it will reset.
Image 3Image 4
Strategy
If you’re lactose intolerant, or simply don’t want to spend ten minutes firing arrows, there are a few other options for dealing with the drakes. While it’s possible to fight the dragon on foot, Torrent makes this fight much easier — not only will Torrent sometimes tank damage for you, the dragon has a number of attacks that are much easier to avoid by sprinting or jumping on Torrent.
Generally speaking, you want to be moving behind the boss as it does its attacks. This will give you lots of time to attack during the boss’ attack animation, and during the time between attacks. Riding through the dragon’s legs is often the safest path, but around or under the wings can work too. However, there are some attacks where you’ll want to move away from the boss instead — see the Moveset section below for details.
Keep in mind that every part of the dragon can be hit, not just the legs! This includes the wings and the head — the head is particularly nice to hit if you get the chance because it takes extra damage. If you’re using ranged attacks, targeting the head can be a good choice when the dragon isn’t moving — the Ash of War on the Dragon-Hunter’s Katana will do a ton of damage if you can land it on the boss’ head, though you’ll have to hop off Torrent to use it. The easiest time to attack the head is after you’ve avoided an attack by riding away from the boss — when the attack finishes, dash back in and hit the head before you go through the boss’ legs.
The safest attacks to punish are the Flame Breath, the Triple Slam, and the Lightning Strikes, as they all last a long time, so if you manage to get behind the boss quickly, you can punish during the boss combo and during its cooldown; the Lightning Strikes allow you to punish from anywhere until the attack ends (so long as you aren’t standing in the lightning, of course).
After attacking the boss a few times after the attack, it’s best to move slightly away from the boss — but not too far! Be close enough that you can sprint behind it if it begins an attack that requires that, but far enough away that you can also avoid stuff like the Bite and Tail Swipe by sprinting away from the boss instead of towards/behind it.
If you’re having a really hard time avoiding the flame breath attacks, try fighting near one of the large rock pillars — the flames can’t go through them, so you can put the rocks between you and the boss and wait for the flames to stop. The boss can get distracted if you get far away, so another option if you’re struggling is to try and break aggro and let it reset, then come in for an attack while it re-acquires you.
The Double-Drake Fight
The second time you encounter the Jagged Peak Drake, there’s another, much weaker dragon fighting it. While the simplest thing is to wait for the boss to win, you can also try going in and attacking the boss dragon while it fights the other drake. The advantage of this strategy is that you’ll have another dragon taking aggro — the disadvantage is there are twice as many flames to dodge, and the other drake might target you sometimes.
If you choose to jump in right away, make sure you’re targeting the boss from the start! It should be obvious as you arrive, since one dragon will be losing .001% of its health when it gets it, while the other one will take noticeable chunks — the one taking almost no damage is the one you want to target.
Moveset
Tail Swipe – This move has two different windups, depending on where you are. If you’re behidn the boss, it will lift its right leg, then whip its tail from its left to right. If you’re in front of the boss, it will run towards you, then whip its tail. Ride away from the boss and jump when the tail begins to move to avoid — you can jump earlier than you need to and double jump to be safe.
Flame Breath – Fire appears in front of the dragon’s mouth, and after a delay, the dragon opens its mouth and breaths a sweep of flame. This seems to almost always start on the dragon’s left (your right) and then sweep right (your left). To avoid this, dash left, past the dragon’s right wing. If you’re really far away, the breath will be in a straight line from the dragon, and include some fire balls that go a bit higher than the main stream — just go sideways to avoid.
Backwards Leaping Flame Breath – Fire appears in front of the dragon’s mouth, and the dragon flaps its way into the air. It then flies a short distance backwards, spraying flame in front of itself as it does so. The flames will spread sideways — to avoid them, ride sideways away from the flames and towards the direction the dragon goes.
Flying Flame Breath – The dragon flaps into the air and flies backwards, then fire appears in its mouth and it flies forward while breathing flames — the flames can start from the left, right, or middle, and slightly sweep in either direction. The best way to avoid this is by getting behind the dragon before the flames start, but if you aren’t close enough to do so, ride sidways out of its flight path.
Bite – The boss will lower its head and roar, then charge forward and bite towards its right wing (your left). If you tap the sprint button on Torrent while moving away from the boss, you’ll be out of range by the time the bite comes. If you’re behind the boss, it will also do this bite attack, but with less windup — it’ll turn its head and open its mouth, then bite. Again, tap the dash button and ride away to avoid.
Stomp – The dragon opens its mouth and raises its right wing, then raises its left leg and stomps it down, doing AoE in a small area around the foot that lands. Dash away from the foot to avoid, jumping if you’re close enough to be in the AoE.
Bite + Head Swing – The boss screams, then walks forward 3 steps and bites left to right (your right to left), then swings its head from its right to left. Getting behind the boss is the best way to avoid this one.
Flying Stomp – The boss flaps up into the air, then slams back down after a brief delay. Dash away from it when it flies, and jump when it lands, just in case you didn’t get far enough away.
Triple Slam – The boss will roar, with visible sound waves coming from its mouth, and then pulls its right wing back, then sweeps it into the ground. This is followed by a similar sweep with the other wing, and after a delay, a final strike with the right wing — this attack will move the boss forward if his target is in front of him.
Lightning Strikes – The dragon stands up, and random areas will have electric crackles on the ground — after a delay, these areas are struck by lightning. This one’s easy — don’t stand where the electricity is.
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DanielD
Unabashed FromSoftware fanboy still learning to take his time with games (and everything else, really). The time he doesn't spend on games is spent on music, books, or occasionally going outside.
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