Given Elden Ring’s dark fantasy, medieval aesthetic, it’s only right that the game is littered with dragons. One of these dragons, the Flying Dragon Greyll, is an optional boss you’ll face if you want to access the Bestial Sanctum without using D’s Sending Gate. If you can ground the flying dragon, you’ll walk away with 80,000 Runes and a Dragon Heart. Here’s how to defeat this Great Foe.
Before taking on Greyll, we recommend leveling up quite a bit, as well as fortifying your weapon of choice. We took on Greyll at level 60, with most of our skill points allocated towards strength. The weapon we used was a +8 Greatsword. Keep in mind that this boss has a ridiculous amount of health. In our experience, it took roughly 10 minutes to take it down.
Flying Dragon Greyll’s Attacks
Greyll’s attacks are varied, and all of them can kill you in a single hit. You’ll have an easier time outrunning its powerful moves if you’re mounted. Below are each of its attacks and how you should respond to them:
- Stomp: Greyll will raise one of its feet and stomp on the ground, causing AOE damage. This move is easy to read, and easily punishable. When Greyll raises its foot, get behind the boss, and wait for its foot to slam down. Then, rush in, hit its foot with a heavy mounted attack, and get away. If you’re lucky, the boss might gear up for another stomp as you’re retreating, in which case you can repeat the above process for another hit.
- Forward charge: Greyll will occasionally charge forward while trying to bite you. If you’re near Greyll as it’s gearing up for this attack, you can dash under it to avoid the hitbox. Otherwise, run away if you’re far from the dragon.
- Tail Sweep: This is one of Greyll’s deadliest moves, and it’s rather hard to avoid. The dragon will usually dish this attack out when you’re behind it. If you see the dragon’s tail start to curl a little, it’s probably going to use this move. When you see this, get as far away as possible. It can be dodged if you position yourself close to the dragon’s chest, but in our experience, this method didn’t always work, and proved to be a run-killer at times.
- Jumping slam: Like other dragons, Greyll will fly high in the air before trying to slam down on top of you. Run away if you see Greyll fly up. If you’re not able to get far enough away, you can normally avoid the hitbox for this attack by jumping/double jumping as Greyll lands.
- Fire attacks: Greyll has a lot of these, and they can be a real pain to avoid.
- Grounded fire breathe: While grounded, Greyll will simply breath fire in front of it. This is an easy attack to punish if you can dash under the dragon before it starts spewing its flames. We were often able to do this by speeding towards it from the left (the dragon’s right side) and running through the opening between its head and wing. However, if you’re too far from the dragon when it’s about to use this attack, simply run away from it.
- Hovering flame attack: If Greyoll leaps up and starts hovering only a little bit off the ground, make a mad dash away from the dragon. This means it’s going to cover the area around it with flames, which will likely kill you in a single hit.
- Flying fire breathe: Greyll will jump backwards and hover high in the air, before coating a long stretch of the bridge with fire. There are two ways to avoid this attack. The safer option is to simply run away from the dragon until the attack is finished. However, if Greyll is not that far from you once it leaps backwards, you can run under it, where the attack’s hitbox won’t be able to get you.
The Fight
Staying on your mount is key in this fight. If you’re running a melee build, your best bet is to chip away at the dragon’s health by using heavy mounted attacks on its feet. After the dragon makes any of its melee attacks, you should be able to get one good hit in before running away.
As for the ranged fire attacks, the only one you should look to punish is the grounded fire-breathing attack. If you can get under Greyll while it’s winding up, you can get one or two good hits in before running off. We highly recommend booking it if you see any sign that it’s about to perform a different fire-breathing attack.
Thankfully, Greyll can be staggered following repeated attacks on its feet. In our battle, we were able to stagger the dragon two times. When it’s staggered, you’ll be able to attack the red glowing part of its head for critical damage.
Through chip damage and an occasional critical hit, the Flying Dragon Greyll should be grounded, and you’ll be able to claim a massive amount of Runes.
