The Ancient Dragon-Man is a relatively minor boss in the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree but he can prove hard to beat, unless the player brings the right cheese strategy to the fight.
Though the major bosses are what people remember, Shadow of the Erdtree relies heavily on player character-style bosses, both as invaders and in proper arenas. One of the most important examples of this is the Ancient Dragon-Man. The character starts players on the path toward becoming a Dragon-Man themselves, serving a role similar to characters like Hawkwood the Deserter in Dark Souls 3.
Unlike Hawkwood, the player gets to see the Ancient Dragon-Man in action. This shows all the different perks of becoming a dragon, most notably the improved dragon incantations. Those perks translate to a very hard fight for Elden Ring players, but thankfully the Ancient Dragon-Man is one of the many bosses that players can cheese in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
Where is the Ancient Dragon-Man in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree?
The Ancient Dragon-Man is first found as an invader by the Pillar Path Waypoint site of grace, then as a boss in the Dragon’s Pit dungeon.
The invasion occurs near the Pillar Path Waypoint site of grace. Players will discover Igon on the ground, shouting curses at Bayle the Dread. Nothing can be done for him yet, but players can simply walk past him up the road to come across the Ancient Dragon-Man invader. The invasion is a teaser for the actual boss fight, wielding the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana and rushing the player down.
The invasion is fairly manageable, however. The Ancient Dragon-Man has no armor, and therefore low defense and poise to speak of. Players ought to be wary of the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana’s weapon art that fires a wave of energy, but his low health makes him a comparatively trivial encounter.
Continue south down the road to find the Dragon’s Pit dungeon. The dungeon is straightforward; save the player needing to take a leap of faith into a pit at the very end. The long fall will not kill the player, and will drop them right at the entrance to the Ancient Dragon-Man’s boss arena.
How to beat and cheese the Ancient Dragon-Man
Elden Ring players can beat the DLC-exclusive Ancient Dragon-Man boss almost effortlessly with quick attacks, particularly spells.
For better or worse, the boss version of the character is nearly the same as the invader version right down to the ability to heal with a Flash of Crimson Tears. The big difference is that his health pool is much larger.
While that might sound intimidating given his high damage potential, his low poise and extremely aggressive AI makes him manageable. Players can effectively cheese the Ancient Dragon-Man by using rapid-fire attacks or spells. Intelligence-build players can simply spam Swift Glintstone Shard.
The Ancient Dragon-Man will constantly be on the attack but isn’t fast enough to do so against Swift Glintstone Shard. The result is him standing in front of the player getting bashed out of attacks or dodge-rolling endlessly. Eventually, he backs off when he’s out of stamina, allowing the player to replenish their FP.
This approach can be taken with numerous other weapons or spells, depending on the player’s build. Ultimately, extremely fast attacks of any kind, whether they come from a bleed rapier or Bestial Sling, can be used to beat the Ancient Dragon-Man easily.
After beating him, players receive the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana and access to a new area.
