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Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Dragon's Pit walkthrough

Everything waiting for you in the Dragon's Pit mini-dungeon

An Elden Ring Tarnished standing outside the Dragon Pit dungeon
Josh Broadwell avatar
Guide by Josh Broadwell Contributor
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Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree's Dragon's Pit is one of the first miniature Shadow of the Erdtree dungeons you’ll likely run into, and while it’s short, there’s a humdinger of a surprise inside. It’s not a pleasant place, but if you want to see everything the Elden Ring DLC has to offer, including the Bayle fight and a whole storyline involving dragons, you’ll have to make the trek eventually.

Our Elden Ring Dragon's Pit walkthrough takes you through each step of the mini-dungeon, including some of the traps and surprises waiting for you inside. Note that there is one minor spoiler for a surprise at the end of the dungeon, but we’ll mark where it is so you can avoid it if you want to.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Dragon's Pit

Elden Ring Dragon's Pit location

Dragon's Pit is in eastern Gravesite Plain, but you’ll have to cross the Ellac Bridge to get there. Take the northern branch of the road – if you’re facing the tunnel for the Castle Ensis skip, it’s the road on your left – and follow it until you reach the dungeon. Grave Birds line the path, masquerading as statues, so make frequent use of enemy targeting to pick out which statues are likely to try and kill you.

Igon the shouting Captain Ahab-like man is sitting along the roadside, yelling and generally being delirious. Exhaust his dialogue, and move on. You can’t do anything with him yet. Roughly halfway between Igon and the Dragon's Pit dungeon, the Ancient Dragon-Man will invade you. This version of the dragon-head man is a pretty straightforward human enemy with a few melee attacks and that’s about it. Dodge, strike when he’s open – the usual thing.

Elden Ring Dragon's Pit walkthrough – Part one

Now comes the dungeon itself. The initial tunnel after the Site of Grace spits you out on a ledge above an open room. At the far end is a large beast-looking thing worshipping a rock, like you do. Tempting as it may be to rush ahead and land a critical hit, don’t. Directly under the ledge is a smaller beast-like thing waiting for you to do just that. Drop down, turn around, and defeat it, and then take out the big one.

The enemies here look semi-alive from a distance, but they’re actually just dressed-up skeletons. Like in catacomb dungeons, you’ll need to attack their bone piles or skulls when they start rattling and glowing to keep them from coming back to life. The large ones wield heavy weapons and breathe fire, and the small ones behave in a manner similar to skeletons.

There’s another one hiding in a nook to your right as you leave the room.

Elden Ring Dragon's Pit walkthrough – Part two

Next up is a long chamber with a narrow walkway. Stick to the wall on your left, and hold your shield if you have one equipped. An enemy at the far end of the room will fire crossbow bolts at you until you defeat them, and there’s another large enemy in the main chamber guarding the crossbow user. Two more enemies manifest once you set foot in the main chamber as well.

Loot any drops you find, and exit stage left.

Elden Ring Dragon's Pit walkthrough – Part three

You’ll find yourself in another large chamber, this one aligned horizontally with a path running left to right. To your right, a little ways up a scree pile, is another archer foe. Deal with that one before doing anything else. To your left is a large enemy. Defeat it the same as you did the others.

The path to your right leads to a slightly larger cavern, and once you step inside, a Magma Wyrm drops in. Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t even consider it a mini-boss and classes it as just a normal foe, but its attacks are the same as in the base game.

Defeat the Magma Wyrm to get a Dragon’s Heart, and head back to take the other path.

The next part is where the slight spoiler we mentioned earlier comes in, so skip it if you’re sensitive to that.

Elden Ring Dragon's Pit walkthrough – Part four

Ahead of you is a room lit by candles, a large pot, and a giant gap between you and the pot. There’s also another enemy, but you can ignore them. You can’t reach the pot, so there’s only one thing to do: Leap into the abyss.

The magic of video games breaking their own physics rules means you won’t die in this specific instance. You land in another tunnel, and in front of you is a fog gate. Heal and use whatever buffs you normally use before boss fights, and head inside.

Elden Ring Dragon's Pit walkthrough – Ancient Dragon-Man

This version of the Dragon-Man is faster and more dangerous than his invading counterpart, but he mostly behaves like a generic human. He wields a Great Katana, which has the reach of a regular katana and the power of a heavy weapon, so bear that in mind as you evade. The Ancient Dragon-Man is prone to interruption from heavy weapons of your own, and heavy-hitting spells, such as Rock Sling, or incantations that cover wide areas, such as Frozen Lightning Spear, are good options for magic users.

Defeating him earns you the Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana, which you’ll need soon. Don’t leave yet, though. Enter the next chamber, and activate the Site of Grace there. This is your gateway to the Land of Shadow’s Jagged Peak and a whole separate storyline involving dragons and, eventually, the Bayle boss fight.

If you're after more help, check out our guides for the Hornsent quest, Redmane Freyja's quest, and Ansbach's quest to make sure you don't miss a thing.

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