Flying Dragon Agheel is the first Dragon boss in Elden Ring, found mere moments from the First Steps Site of Lost Grace at the start of Limgrave. Lake Agheel is located in central Limgrave and serves as Elden Ring's first poison-laden swamp as well as a Dragon's territorial grounds.
Upon walking (or riding) into the middle of Lake Agheel a roar screeches over the wind, and Agheel rapidly flies down from the sky to crash into the lake, usually killing some small NPCs. From then on, if you return to Lake Agheel, Flying Dragon Agheel sits on a small island awaiting the player's challenge. While certainly dangerous, it's not too bad of a fight on horseback.
Updated December 22nd, 2023: Flying Dragon Agheel can be a bit of a nuisance for players who aren't prepared to face the dragon or understand how it attacks. Fighting Flying Dragon Agheel in Elden Ring can be pretty difficult, so players will want to know exactly what the dragon does before going after it. To better help players understand what the fight against Flying Dragon Agheel looks like, the following guide has been updated to include a companion video.
Agheel's Moveset And Weaknesses
Agheel is, as his name suggests, able to fly, and as such hardly ever remains in the same place for too long. He will routinely move to different areas of Lake Agheel to avoid damage and set up for AoE attacks, either by simply launching across the battlefield or by flying up and breathing fire in a straight line. However, these moves are easy to predict and counter.
The best summon for Flying Dragon Agheel is either the Skeletal Spearmen, who resurrect themselves, or the Lone Wolves, who move fast enough to keep up with Agheel for longer than expected. Spirit Summons are by no means required to defeat Agheel, but they can distract him and give you more breathing room. Spirit Summons tend to die in his fire breath AoE attack, though, so be sure to only summon them after he finishes this move to keep them alive for long as possible.
Agheel's Moveset
- Two-Hit Bite Combo: Agheel lowers his head for a moment before bashing right and left in rapid succession in melee range. Medium damage.
- Close-Range Stomp: A delayed stomp that leans to one side, depending on the player's location. Only occurs when underneath or in melee range. High damage.
- Rear Tail Swipe: Agheel rapidly turns around to face the player when they deal damage to his rear. Medium damage.
- Fire Breath - Overhead: Agheel launches up into the sky, rears back, and soars forward in a line breathing fire below. Always lands to his right of his flight path (your left when running away) after about five seconds airborne. High damage, and likely to knock you off of Torrent.
- Fire Breath - Long-Range AoE: Agheel rears back, gathers flame in its throat, and hurls waves of fire across the battlefield. High damage, and likely to knock you off Torrent.
- Fire Breath - Close-Range AoE: Agheel quickly flies upwards and blasts the immediate area with flame. High damage, but avoidable.
- Lunging Air Smash: Agheel flies up, holds his attack in the air for about two seconds while aiming, and crashes down on the player's location. Very high damage and good range, but sprinting backwards on Torrent avoids the attack completely.
Agheel's Weaknesses
Agheel does not have any particular weaknesses to damage types, though just like in most FromSoftware games, hitting this Dragon in one spot deals much more damage - the head. Agheel only lowers his head after a few moves (and at the start when he roars at the player) so it can be hard to hit, especially for melee players.
Ranged players need only lock onto Agheel's head and cast from a distance or shoot arrows. Melee players need to look for a long-range weapon to reliably hit his head, though chipping away at his legs will take a little bit longer to get the job done without as much risk of being bitten or roasted.
Strategies For Beating Flying Dragon Agheel
Agheel's moves are predictable and relatively slow, except for the Air Lunge dive attack which still takes him a few seconds to start anyway. There are three opportunities in the fight that let players get a few good hits in: after the Bite Combo, during the ground Fire Breath, and after the Airborne Fire Breath.
The Two-Hit Bite attack is done in rapid succession, but right after the second bite Agheel rests his head low, giving you time for a few decent hits. When Agheel begins charging his long-ranged Fire Breath on the ground, you can quickly sprint get behind him (if you stay close) and get free hits during the lengthy fire breathing attack. Because he always lands to the right of his fire wall (your left if you are running away), stay to the right of the fire breath area and run with Agheel to get really close to him when he lands, giving another few seconds for hits.
Spellcasting/Ranged
Sorcery players will have the easiest time with Agheel as these attacks will hit from a long distance, meaning you only have to worry about avoiding his airborne attacks and Fire Breath. Incantation-oriented players will have the hardest time with this fight as he is resistant to Fire damage, the primary source of damage from Incantations at this point in Elden Ring. Similar to Sorcery players, Bow players can simply lock onto Agheel's head and launch arrow after arrow while avoiding the majority of his close-quarters attacks on Torrent.
Melee Strategies
It's not recommended to fight Agheel on foot as it's nearly impossible to dodge his Fire Breath attacks and the groups of Poison Pods in Lake Agheel can be a huge nuisance to deal with. In short, don't take on Agheel if you haven't unlocked Torrent yet.
Get yourself a long-ranged melee weapon, like a Greatsword or a Lance, and watch for his Stomp and Tail Swipe as you deal blows in close range to his head. You can attack his legs, too, but this deals less damage. Watch for his sudden close-range AoE Fire Breath attack, and don't get greedy, no matter how little he seems to be responding.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.
