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

Jun. 25, 2024

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtreeadds 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 alsoone of the hardest bossesin 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:

Bayle theDread 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:

Bayle the Dread isthe 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, hisaggression is very intimidatingand his size sometimes doesn’t make it possible to see his next attack, thus, forcing players to make mistakes.

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. Bayletakes 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 youuse long weapons, like colossal weapons or great spears to consistently hit his head.

Now, the first thing you need to do in this fight isnot 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 elsewhereon 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 usingBloodhound stepif 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.

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, theplan for Phase 2 isthesame 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.

After dropping Bayle the Dread’s HP to Zero, he will be felled and reward you withBayle’s Heart.You can use Bayle’s heart to get either one of the two incantations in theGrand Alter of Dragon Communion.Here are both the incantations:

Around the Grand Alter, you will also find theFlowerstone Gravel weaponand thePriestess’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 totransform into a Dragonin 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.

An old soul who loves CRPGs and Souls-Like to death. Takes pleasure in simplifying “Complex and Hard” games for casual players with tailored guides and videos. He loves to explore new places, read fantasy fiction, watch anime, and create wacky character builds in his off time.