How to beat Bayle the Dread in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree‘s Bayle the Dread is a powerful dragon heavily inspired by some of fiction’s scariest monsters. Here’s how you slay this fiery dragon.

Bayle the Dread resembles the Balrog from The Lord of the Rings, notably the iteration from the Peter Jackson movies. It even has similar fire powers and a huge blazing sword. The only difference is that this enormous jerk remembers how to use his wings – and puts them to good use.

For the timid among you, this is an optional boss in Shadow of the Erdtree. You don’t need to beat it to complete the story. However, can you truly claim to be the Elden Lord while such a powerful endgame boss continues to live?

Bayle the Dread location

Bayle is found in the Jagged Peaks in the eastern part of the Shadow Realm. It’s faced further along the path after you’ve defeated Ancient Dragon Senessax.

Check out our Senessax guide for the path to these draconic foes.

How to beat Bayle the Dread

Bayle is susceptible to Frost damage! If you have Sorceries that deal that damage, or if you have a maxed-out Icerind Hatchet, then those will be your weapons of choice. Bring any items or equipment you have that block Fire or Lightning damage. Bayle uses both of these extensively.

Some of Bayle’s attacks can be blocked with a shield. Its tail attack and headbutt can safely be absorbed with a shield, so long as you have stamina, it won’t drain your health

Phase 1: Stay behind Bayle

The safest place to hit Bayle is from the back. This is especially true if you can get a summon on the field to distract it. Do your best to get behind Bayle and start whacking it for Frost build-up. Striking from this position will also give you plenty of room to dodge the downward fire breath attack.

For all of its other attacks, you simply need to dodge at the last second. Once it fires red lightning, just roll repeatedly in any direction to avoid harm.

Summons don’t work straight away. If you try and use a summon as soon as you enter Bayle’s boss chamber, your character will pull a confused expression. You have to wait a few seconds before the game catches up, before you can summon. Naturally, this gives Bayle a chance to roast you with its breath.

The bottom of Bayle’s tail isn’t modeled properly. You can just walk through Bayle’s tail. This can actually work to your advantage, as being able to run through Bayle’s tail lets you get behind it quicker, which is the optimal stabbing position.

Bayle’s fire attacks have inconsistent visuals for their AoE. This is especially noticeable in its breath attack that goes in a straight line. You just have to dodge at the last possible second and hope for the best.

For Bayle’s downward fire breath, as soon as you see the fire coming down, immediately start running or dodge rolling in a direction away from the center of the blast. If you’re lucky, you’ll avoid the damage.

If you’ve started an attack, you’re going to get hit. If you’re low on stamina, you’re going to get hit. If part of its body is in the way, you’re going to get hit. And even if you do everything perfectly, sometimes it will just hit you.

Phase 2: Magma and flame attacks

Once you’ve worn Bayle down, it will enter its second phase by stopping in its tracks, as lava and lightning build up around it. If you want to avoid damage, run directly away from Bayle the second it enters this phase. However, if you have the health and potions to spare, you can use this opportunity to strike Bayle when it’s frozen to pile on some extra damage.

Bayle will then jump into the air, creating a chain of fireballs that will shoot at you. You safely panic roll through these. But be ready to dodge when Bayle descends, and to dodge again if you’re close, as magma will spew from the ground. (For the fireballs, the game sometimes glitches out and they won’t drop.)

In the second phase, most of its attack chains will last long, as it will spew magma and flame after most of its attacks. This means you have to be ready to double-dodge after attacks.

As with the first phase, prioritize getting behind Bayle and dodging as much as possible. This is one of the hardest bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree and it’s pretty glitchy, so just be persistent, and you’ll eventually pull a Gandalf and smote its ruin on the mountainside.

NPC allies

You can get an NPC summon to offer you some basic help in the Bayle battle. On the way to the Jagged Peaks, after slaying the two battling dragons, you’ll pass a wounded NPC named Igon, who’ll call out to you after both dragons are dead

Talk to him and he’ll give you his finger and advise you to summon him in battle against Bayle. You can also learn more about his and Bayle’s stories by speaking to the Dragon Priestess at the NPC Grand Alter of Dragon Communion.

After you defeat Ancient Dragon Sesserax, you will ascend the Jagged Peaks to meet Bayle. On the way, you’ll find two Jagged Peak Drakes fighting each other. You can wait for them to whittle each other down before running in to finish them off.

You only need to kill one Jagged Peak Drake to unlock Igon’s help. Once you’ve beaten them, he will appear on the path leading further up. Speak to him, and he’ll give you his finger, allowing you to summon him near the entrance of Bayle’s arena. Unfortunately, Peter, Ray, and Winston aren’t around as well.

Bayle the Dread rewards

When you defeat Bayle the Dread, you’ll earn:

• 490,000 Runes
• Heart of Bayle

The Heart of Bayle can be traded at the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion for Bayle’s Flame Lightning or Bayle’s Tyranny.

Bayle the Dread weaknesses

Despite being very strong, Bayle the Dread does have a couple of notable ailment and status weaknesses:

• Frost
• Scarlet Rot

Unfortunately, Bayle is resistant to Bleed builds. With Bleeds arguably the most effective damage type in the game overall, you may need to look for an alternative here.

Jumping into Shadow of the Erdtree? Check out what we thought of the expansion after spending many hours exploring the Shadow Lands. If you’re looking to track down a specific boss, we’ve also got you covered with our full list of all of their locations.