Alright, let’s talk about Elden Ring and dragons. I spent a good chunk of time wrestling with these big fellas, and one question kept popping into my head: are they actually weak to lightning? You see ’em breathing fire, makes sense they wouldn’t like getting zapped, right? So, I decided to put it to the test myself.
My Little Experiment Setup
First thing I did was head back to Rennala. Gotta respect the build, you know? I pushed more points into Faith because, well, that’s where all the cool lightning spells hang out. Dug out my Gravel Stone Seal – supposed to boost dragon cult incantations, felt appropriate.
For spells, I went with the basics:
- Lightning Spear: The classic. Good range, decent damage.
- Honed Bolt: Faster cast, good for when they’re close or recovering.
I also thought about weapons. I grabbed a decent sword, nothing too fancy, and slapped a Lightning Slash Ash of War on it. Figured I should test both spells and lightning-infused attacks.
Hitting the Field
My first guinea pig? Good ol’ Flying Dragon Agheel in Limgrave. Easy target, knows the routine. I ran in there, dodged his fire breath like usual. Instead of just whacking him, I started throwing Lightning Spears. Watched the damage numbers closely. You know, comparing it in my head to what my sword usually does.
Observations with Agheel: It felt pretty good! The damage numbers seemed solid. Definitely better than when I tried chucking fire pots at him for laughs once. The Lightning Slash weapon art also hit hard when I got an opening. It wasn’t melting him instantly, but it was noticeable.
Okay, one dragon down isn’t enough proof. So, next stop, Liurnia. Went looking for Glintstone Dragon Smarag. He’s got that magic breath, a bit different. Ran the same tests. Lightning Spears from afar, Honed Bolt when he landed and was busy doing his stomp thing.
Observations with Smarag: Same story, really. Lightning felt effective. The damage was consistent, and it seemed to chunk his health down at a decent rate. Again, not a magic bullet, but definitely felt like a vulnerability.
I even took my lightning show on the road to Caelid, tested it on Decaying Ekzykes, and later up north on Borealis the Freezing Fog. Ekzykes went down nicely to lightning. Borealis was a tougher nut to crack overall because, well, he’s Borealis, and that ice fog is nasty. But even with him, the lightning damage felt like one of the better options compared to, say, magic or fire damage. It didn’t seem resisted, put it that way.
So, What’s the Verdict?
Based on my runs, I’d say yes, dragons generally are weak to lightning in Elden Ring. It feels like a consistent vulnerability across most of the dragon bosses I fought.
Don’t expect them to just fall over dead the second you hit them with a Lightning Spear. They’re still massive beasts with tons of health. But is lightning a reliable, effective tool against them? Absolutely. If you’re building a character and plan on hunting dragons, investing in some Faith for lightning incantations or using lightning-infused weapons seems like a very smart move based on what I saw.
It just makes sense, right? Big scaly things, often associated with fire or magic… getting hit with raw electrical power feels like their natural enemy. Anyway, that was my experience. Give it a try yourself!
