An Elden Ring player ended a battle against the dragon Placidusax in a way that is both incredibly epic and heartbreaking. Placidusax is one of the more unique late-game bosses in Elden Ring, as he doesn’t quite function the same way as any of the other dragon enemies. It’s a tough fight but an enormously rewarding one if players can protect themselves from the dragon’s bevy of powerful attacks.
Placidusax can be thought of as the final boss fight as far as dragons are concerned in Elden Ring. There are 12 named dragons scattered throughout the Lands Between. All are of varying difficulty, depending on the level the player should be to safely take on enemies in that sector of the game. But Placidusax stands in a league of his own. He’s the Dragonlord, a gigantic two-headed beast who once held the Elden Lord mantle the player character is trying to attain. He’s an optional boss, and for good reason: his attacks are much more varied and powerful than those of any other dragon in the game. But on the other hand, he offers hundreds of thousands of runes that make the fight worth it.
The epic yet demoralizing fight climax comes from Redditor and Elden Ring player Juwvn. They went into the fight with a fully-loaded intelligence build, decked out with Lusat’s armor set and a high-level staff, with health and magic bars extended into the middle of the screen. Juwvn begins the clip as any good sorcerer does, by unloading a Comet Azur blast, an attack that can make quick work of Placidusax. Comet Azur is not only the most powerful spell in the game, but it’s the most powerful attack in Elden Ring, period, even after it was nerfed by From Software. With the Dragonlord already missing most of his health, this should’ve been an easy win under normal circumstances. But the Dragonlord had an ace up his sleeve.
The Dragonlord gets the rest of his life bar whittled down to nothing, but not before getting off one last red lightning attack. Both Juwvn and Placidusax collapse and disintegrate at the same time. The last thing Juwvn saw before the screen went black was the notification informing them that they have received Placidusax’s remembrance. Placidusax doesn’t respawn after he’s defeated, so it still counted as a victory. Juwvn was able to reap the rewards.
Elden Ring holds the distinction of being one of the most unintentionally funny games ever made for reasons this clip demonstrates very well. Where most games that are trying to be funny end up being hysterical because they’re broken, Elden Ring’s inherent high stakes make every combat counter feel like it’s primed for an ironic finale.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
