Summary
The ancient dragon enemies found infrequently throughoutElden Ringoffer an impressive update to the combat from the lesser variants found more often throughout The Lands Between. However, the strongest of these ancient dragons, Lichdragon Fortissax, is a perfect example of howElden Ring’s repeated bossescan elevate previous designs with each iteration.
Several aspects of the Lichdragon Fortissax fight help set it apart from similar encounters inElden Ring, from the threat of death blight to the strange path to the boss arena. This all compounds with the drastic difficulty that makes Fortissax one of the toughest dragon bosses in the game, which makes it a worthy obstruction to one ending.
An Ancient Dragon, Infected by the God of Death
Finding Lichdragon Fortissax
It is entirely possible for players to have made it to the end ofElden Ringwithout ever knowing that Lichdragon Fortissax even exists, let alone the fact that it guards one of the endings. This is because the boss is located at the end of the Deeproot Depths, a secret area found deep in the underground section of The Lands Between that can either be found bydefeating the Valiant Gargoylesor through an illusory wall near the Three Fingers.
However, finding the already hidden Deeproot Depths is only the first step to actually challenge Fortissax, with the exact questline taking place in other locations across The Lands Between.
To fight Lichdragon Fortissax, players will not only have to find the arena but will also have tocomplete enough of Ranni’s questlinein order to gain access to the top of the Divine Tower of Liurnia. Here, on Ranni’s true, dead body, players will find the Cursemark of Death, which then has to be given to Fia, after already defeating her Champions in Deeproot Depths. After finally completing all of these steps, players will finally be rewarded with the opportunity to fight a giant dragon imbued with death blight and ancient red lightning.
Elden Ring’s Fortissax is Ancient Lightning with a Deadly Twist
Once the boss is finally ready to be challenged, Lichdragon Fortissax earns the long process to find it with an incredibly difficult fight. While many of the standard metrics for increasing difficulty like increased health and damage push the Fortissax fight past other ancient dragons, this isn’t the major change that really elevates the fight. The most notable change comes from the addition ofElden Ring’s instant killing death blight status, which accompanies most of the boss' attacks and lingers throughout the arena to pressure players into staying mobile under the risk of being instantly killed by the effect.
In addition to the death blight is a constant lightning effect that surrounds the player and threatens to strike for a considerable amount of damage every few seconds. It is the way that both of these aspects synergize that really showcases how Lichdragon Fortissax forces the fight to work at its pace. Between the lingering death clouds and the tracking lightning, players are forced to stay on the move throughout the entire fight, never able to step back or recenter themselves since nowhere in the arena is safe enough to stand and wait.
The Ancient Dragon Archetype
Ancient dragons as an enemy archetype can be differentiated from otherdragons throughoutElden Ringby their connection to red lightning and four wings that are disconnected from their arms/forelegs. Lichdragon Fortissax is one of only two named bosses with this design, although lesser versions can be found in Crumbling Farum Azula. However, no matter how difficult the other ancient dragon, Lansseax, can be when found in Altus Plateau, the fight is drastically different from that of Fortissax. It is a case where the elevation of the iterated enemy type manages to separate the repeated fight, even if they appear similar at first glance.
Elden Ring
WHERE TO PLAY
ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to date. Hidetaka Miyazaki - President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls.George R.R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
