Phase 1 Strategy — Teleport Claw Combos
Placidusax's phase 1 is built around punishing aggressive positioning. His favorite attack is a teleport claws combo: he vanishes in a puff of smoke, reappears above you, and slams down with both claws. Roll forward when you see the smoke, not backward — this puts you behind him for 2-3 charged attacks. His lightning breath sweeps across the arena in a wide arc; run toward his flank rather than rolling perpendicular. Stay near his hind legs to bait tail swipes, which have long recovery. Fextralife's Placidusax guide covers all attack hitboxes and dodge windows.
Phase 2 — Lightning Nuke and Laser Breath
At approximately 60% HP, Placidusax ascends and the arena darkens. He gains two devastating new attacks. The lightning nuke involves him disappearing while storm clouds gather, followed by a barrage of lightning strikes that track your position — sprint in a single direction without stopping. His laser breath sweeps the entire arena in a horizontal beam; the safe zone is close to his body, behind the beam's origin point. Wikipedia's Elden Ring lore article describes Placidusax's role as the former Elden Lord and the dragon civilization that existed before the Erdtree.
Best Equipment and Stats
Recommended level 120-150 with a +22 to +25 weapon. Placidusax is weak to lightning and physical damage — the Bolt of Gransax or lightning-infused weapons deal bonus damage. His attacks are mostly physical and lightning-based, so stack the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman and the Boltdrake Talisman +2. Equip the Opaline Hardtear in your Flask for all-around damage reduction. Melee builds should use weapons with good reach — the Godslayer's Greatsword or the Zweihander can hit his body while staying near his hind legs.
Spirit Ashes and Summons
The Mimic Tear +10 remains effective but struggles with Placidusax's wide AOEs. Black Knife Tiche is arguably better due to her mobility — she dodges his lightning attacks naturally. Beware that Placidusax's massive hitbox means summons often die to his AOE breath attacks. Summoning right at the start gives you the best window; place the summon near his flank where it can attack uninterrupted for several seconds. There are no NPC summons available for this fight. If playing solo, focus on learning the dodge timings for his teleport claw combo.
Positioning — The Tail Strategy
The safest position throughout the Placidusax fight is behind his tail. From this angle, his claw attacks cannot reach you, and his laser breath starts from the head and sweeps away from the tail. The only attack that threatens you here is the tail swipe, which has a clear visual tell. When he teleports, immediately reorient to get behind him. Use lock-on sparingly — unlocked camera gives better spatial awareness of his full body, particularly during the lightning nuke phase where you need to see the cloud formation to predict dodge direction.
Rewards and Remembrance
Defeating Dragonlord Placidusax rewards 280,000 runes and the Remembrance of the Dragonlord. Exchange it for either the Dragon King's Cragblade (a curved greatsword with lightning weapon art) or the Placidusax's Ruin incantation (dual golden laser breath from both heads). Placidusax is one of the optional super-bosses — he is not required for any ending but offers one of the most challenging and cinematic encounters in the game. His arena is a timeless plane outside of normal space, visible as the storm cloud in Farum Azula.
Recommended Level and Stat Distribution
For Dragonlord Placidusax, aim for level 120-150 with a fully upgraded weapon (+25 standard or +10 Somber). He deals primarily physical and lightning damage, so invest heavily in Vigor — 50-60 Vigor is strongly recommended to survive his lightning nuke combo. Endurance should be at least 30 to allow multiple rolls during his extended combos. Strength or Dexterity should match your weapon's soft cap (80 for single-stat builds). The Opaline Hardtear in the Flask of Wondrous Physick provides excellent general damage reduction for this fight. Consider the Pearldrake Talisman +2 to further reduce the elemental damage from his lightning and fire breath attacks.
For faith builds, the Lightning Fortification incantation reduces lightning damage taken by a massive 60% at 60 Faith — this makes the phase 2 lightning nuke survivable even at lower Vigor levels. Intelligence builds can use the Eternal Darkness sorcery to absorb his laser breath. For melee-focused characters, the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman is essential for physical damage mitigation. Always equip the Boltdrake Talisman +2 as Placidusax's lightning attacks are his most dangerous. The Godslayer's Greatsword with its black flame weapon art deals percentage-based bonus damage that works well against his massive HP pool.
Phase 2 Lightning Nuke Survival Guide
The lightning nuke in phase 2 is the most feared attack in Placidusax's arsenal. When he disappears and dark storm clouds form overhead, begin sprinting in one direction without stopping — do not change direction or attempt to roll. The lightning strikes target your previous position, so constant forward movement is essential. After approximately 8-10 smaller bolts, a massive final bolt strikes where you were last standing. Roll at the exact moment the bright flash appears. The Crimsonwhorl Bubbletear in your Physick Flask converts all incoming damage to HP recovery for 15 seconds, allowing you to survive even a direct hit from the final bolt.
If you struggle with the nuke timing, equip the Vow of the Indomitable ash of war on a small shield — it grants complete invulnerability for a brief moment and can be used to tank the final large bolt. Alternatively, the Raptor of the Mists ash of war allows you to evade the entire sequence. Practice the nuke dodge by deliberately triggering phase 2 and focusing only on survival rather than damage. Once you can consistently dodge all bolts, the fight becomes significantly more manageable. Remember that the nuke always triggers at roughly 60% HP, so prepare your positioning before crossing this threshold.
Lore — The Dragonlord Before the Erdtree
Dragonlord Placidusax was once the Elden Lord, reigning in an age long before the Erdtree — an era when the great dragon civilization dominated the Lands Between. His temple in Crumbling Farum Azula is frozen in time, existing outside the normal flow of causality. The four massive spear-like structures embedded in his arena are the remnants of an even older civilization that predates the dragons. Placidusax is described in the Remembrance of the Dragonlord as a "dragonlord whose reign was said to have ended long before the Erdtree." He awaits his missing god, who is theorized to be the Greater Will or an outer god who abandoned the world.
His two missing heads, implied by the plural in "Dragonlord" and the two golden lasers in his Placidusax's Ruin incantation, suggest he was once even more powerful. The storm clouds that swirl around his arena are time-warped remnants of Farum Azula's destruction. Ancient dragon smithing stones found in Farum Azula confirm that Placidusax was the patron of the ancient dragon cult. The Gravel Stone Seal and Fortissax's Lightning Spear incantation both reference this lost dragon civilization. Placidusax's connection to Godwyn the Golden, who befriended the ancient dragon Fortissax, creates a fascinating lore link between the dragon age and the modern era of the Erdtree.
Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones and Upgrade Materials
Crumbling Farum Azula, where you face Placidusax, is the primary source of Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones — the rarest upgrade material in Elden Ring, required to max out standard weapons to +25. The area contains one Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone on a corpse guarded by several Beastmen near the Great Bridge. Additionally, defeating the Draconic Tree Sentinel on Farum Azula's bridge drops a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone for special weapon upgrades. The area also contains numerous Smithing Stone (7) and (8) deposits that provide the mid-tier upgrade materials essential for reaching +22. Before facing Placidusax, collect all available upgrade materials from the surrounding area to ensure your weapon is at maximum potential. The Ghost Glovewort (9) and (10) found in Farum Azula are used to max out spirit ashes, providing a significant advantage against the dragonlord.
Multiple Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones are available per playthrough through various sources. One is sold by the Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold after giving them the Smithing Stone Miner's Bell Bearing (4), found in Farum Azula. Another can be obtained by completing Millicent's questline in the Haligtree. The Stonebarb Cracked Tear, while not an upgrade material, significantly boosts stance damage when used in the Physick Flask, allowing you to break Placidusax's poise in fewer charged attacks. If you have not yet explored Farum Azula thoroughly before engaging Placidusax, consider backtracking to collect these items first. The area also contains the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, which provides the highest physical damage negation in the game and is invaluable for surviving Placidusax's claw attacks and lightning breath combos.
Farum Azula's layout rewards thorough exploration. The optional path to Placidusax's arena begins by dropping down floating platforms near the Great Bridge. Multiple Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones are missable if you rush through this area without checking every branch and platform. The Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone found after the Draconic Tree Sentinel is especially important for special weapons like the Blasphemous Blade or Dark Moon Greatsword. The Ghostflame Dragon in Farum Azula drops a Ghost Glovewort (10) needed for maxing legendary spirit ashes like Mimic Tear or Black Knife Tiche. Collecting all upgrade materials before engaging Placidusax ensures your equipment is optimized for this demanding optional encounter.
