Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree adds many cool new bosses, but none of them compare to Bayle the Dread, which is arguably the best Dragon boss in the entire Soulsborne series; better than Midir for me. However, he is also one of the hardest bosses in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, having a very aggressive attack pattern and high damage output with most attacks. So, if you’re struggling, here is a guide on how to find and beat Bayle the Dread in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.
Bayle the Dread Location in Elden Ring
Leaving aside the Bayle the Dread boss fight, the path leading up to the fight is a spectacle in itself. Bayle the Dread is located in Jagged Peaks. That means you’ll first need to make your way to the Jagged Peaks by defeating the Ancient Dragon Man in Dragon’s Pit and then reach the Summit of Jagged Peaks. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to reach Bayle the Dread:
- First, go through the Dragon’s Pit to reach Jagged Peaks.
- After reaching Jagged Peaks, keep heading forward until you reach the Jagged Peak Drake.
- You can either defeat him or go past him towards the north-east and continue moving forward.
- Igon’s quest requires you to defeat all the dragons on the way to the Summit.
- After some time, you will see a spiritspring. Use it jump to the next area, run past the bridge, and rest at the Foothills and Jagged Peaks Site of Grace.
- Continue moving forward and you will soon see two Jagged Peak Drakes fighting each other.
- Again, you can either defeat both of them, or continue moving past them through the passage in the East. If you have defeated all the dragons up to this point, then you will find Igon here waiting for you and will request you to summon him while fighting Bayle the Dread.
- From this point onwards, you have only one way forward, that is up until you reach the Jagged Peak Summit.
- On the way, you will face the Ancient Dragon Sennesax, who you can choose to defeat or run past.
- Continue moving forward and using the various spiritsprings to reach the Jagged Peak Summit.
- Once you reach the Jagged Peak Summit Site of Grace, you can enter the boss room and start the fight.
Bayle the Dread Weaknesses in Elden Ring
Bayle the Dread takes very little damage on his body, making his health bar look massive if you don’t know his weaknesses. So, here is how you can get an advantage in the fight by exploiting Bayle the Dread’s weaknesses:
- Head: His head takes 2x the damage compared to the rest of his body.
- Bleed: Bleed builds work well on him, but take a long time to build up.
- Physical Damage: Bayle takes the most damage from raw physical attacks.
- Throwing weapons: Bayle’s attacks can be dodged by staying at a distance, making throwing weapons very strong against him.
- Vulnerable While Breathing Flames: His head is left vulnerable when he starts breathing flames.
- Dragon-hunter’s Great Katana: Bayle takes increased damage from this weapon.
Tips and Tricks to Beat Bayle the Dread in Elden Ring
Bayle the Dread is the best and hardest dragon fight in the Soulsborne franchise (in my opinion). A lot of his moves are similar to Darkeater Midir from Dark Souls 3, but well, heightened to another level.
His attack patterns can be dodged rather easily by side-rolling, however, his aggression is very intimidating and his size sometimes doesn’t make it possible to see his next attack, thus, forcing players to make mistakes.
How to Fight Bayle the Dread in Phase 1
Bayle the Dread is a tricky opponent to defeat. He is both quicker and more aggressive than Dark Eater Midir while also sharing the same weaknesses. Bayle takes the most damage when you hit his head, however, his head keeps moving making it harder to hit with a short weapon. I will recommend you use long weapons, like colossal weapons or great spears to consistently hit his head.
Now, the first thing you need to do in this fight is not get cornered to a wall. The boss arena is massive; still you will find yourself cornered to a wall if you allow Bayle’s aggression. Next, always stay in front of Bayle’s head so that you can see his entire body and react to his attacks. I preferred not locking on to him unless I went in for a hit.
Next, you need to keep in mind that even if you cannot hit his head, you still must consistently hit him elsewhere on his body, especially if you are running a bleed build. Bleed takes a long time to build up on him, so you need those consistent hits. I will suggest the using Bloodhound step if you are having trouble dodging some of his attacks.
Finally, make sure to DPS down on his head whenever you can. If you break his poise, then instead of going for a critical hit, simply DPS down on his head.
- Lunging Pierce: Bayle will put weight on his good leg and lunge from a great distance to do a piercing attack with its right claw. Get ready the moment Bayle shifts his weight to his right leg, and dodge-roll the moment he jumps at you.
- Straight Flame Breath: Bayle will breathe fire straight at you and will follow slightly depending on how you move. To dodge it, either side roll three times or sprint first and then side roll to avoid it.
- Wide Flame Breath: Bayle will breathe fire from his right to left. These flames are multi-layered and reach you a bit delayed. Wait until the flame reaches you to dodge-roll forward over it.
- Downward Flame Breath: When close to Bayle, he will flame downward below and around his body. Do not let his attack
- Jumping Lightning Smash: Bayle will leap into the air and drop on you, with lightning falls all around you. Time the dodge-roll when has reached the top height and moving towards you. Continue dodge-rolling after the smash to avoid the lightning.
- Biting Grab attack: Bayle will prepare himself to lunge at you and his mouth will be filled with lightning as he lunges and grabs you in his mouth, doing a continous smashing attack. Sprint back and Bayle’s leap will land short. You can also time the dodge to avoid it.
- Right-Left-Smash combo: Bayle with scream and he will do a right claw slash and a reverse attack with the same hand, followed by smashing his right claw on you. All the attacks can be easily timed, or sprint back when he screams if you have enough space.
- Spinning Tail Attack: When you are behind Bayle, he will occasionally do a tail swipe while spinning. This attack can be side-rolled, but you need to always be ready for it when you are behind him.
- Calls Lightning: Bayle will scream and lightning will start falling at you for some time. To dodge it, keep sprinting to one side.
How to Fight Bayle the Dread in Phase 2
Once Bayle reaches 50% or lower HP, he transitions into Phase 2 by spawning Lightning and doing the AoE blast into the Flying Smash attack, as mentioned below. Bayle carries forward all his Phase 1 attacks to Phase 2, while also calling Lighting alongside most attacks.
To defeat Bayle the Dread, the plan for Phase 2 is the same as the first phase. Stay in front of his head and hit it whenever he gives you a chance. However, you must be extra careful during this phase to avoid the lightning around you.
- AoE blast: The area around Bayle will start to tremble and fire will sprout from the ground as he does an AoE attack around him, followed by lightning strikes. Simply sprint out of the AoE to dodge it.
- Plasma Breath: Bayle will fly into the air and do a left-to-right plasma breath attack, followed by a straight plasma breath attack. This attack does a lot of damage so be careful. When Bayle is attacking, sprint back to get out of the range of his first plasma breath, then sprint left or right to avoid his second plasma breath. You may need to dodge roll when he gets near you if you are not far enough.
- Flying Smash: Bayle will jump into the air and create a fire trail in the sky, shooting Fireballs at you as he flies towards you and does AoE damage while landing. To dodge the fireballs, you need to sprint backwards and the will go past you. Other than that, you need to time the dodge for the landing attack. Make sure to do it just when he is about to land on you.
Bayle the Dread Rewards In Elden Ring
After dropping Bayle the Dread’s HP to Zero, he will be felled and reward you with Bayle’s Heart. You can use Bayle’s heart to get either one of the two incantations in the Grand Alter of Dragon Communion. Here are both the incantations:
- Bayle’s Flame Lightning
- Bayle’s Tyranny
Around the Grand Alter, you will also find the Flowerstone Gravel weapon and the Priestess’s Heart, left behind by the Dragon Priest. If you finish Igon’s quest, then you can also receive his ball bearing, armor set, and bow by visiting the place where you last met him in Jagged Peaks. Also, you can use the Priestess’s Heart to transform into a Dragon in Elden Ring.
We hope this guide helped you defeat the Bayle the Dread in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. If you are still having trouble, ask your queries in the comments section.
