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Chinese dragons symbolize many things, including wisdom, power, luck, and wealth. In Shadow of the Erdtree, wise players know they’ll need both power and luck to slay this boss and seize its wealth of Runes. FromSoftware pulled no punches with the Divine Beast Dancing Lion. It’s one of the coolest bosses in the Land of Shadow and hits as hard as anything in Elden Ring (not counting Malenia). You’ll need real skill to cut the strings of this twisted puppet. Here’s how to beat the Divine Beast Dancing Lion in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Divine Beast Dancing Lion Guide
Located within Belurat, Tower Settlement, the Divine Beast Dancing Lion offers an imposing challenge. You can summon Spirit Ashes as well as the Redmane Freyja NPC for this fight, and if you want an easy battle, you should do both. The boss boasts a variety of elemental attacks as well as quick physical strikes, making it a dangerous opponent at range as well as in melee. Its agility also prevents you from hiding behind it as you would a Furnace Golem. Here are some tips to take the Divine Beast down:
- Summon Redmane Freyja and other NPCs to draw aggro away from yourself
- Keep your distance and pelt the boss with spells or other ranged attacks
- Watch the Divine Beast’s head, as it often rises to telegraph the boss’s attacks
- Quickly counterattack after the boss finishes an attack animation
- Break the Divine Beast’s poise with repeated heavy blows
If you’re a melee user (or just get caught in melee range), prioritize avoiding its lethal bite attack. Remaining patient is key to staying out of the Divine Beast’s festive jaws. It’s the only one that’ll be smiling if you get caught.
Phases and Elements
The battle against the Divine Beast Dancing Lion in Shadow of the Erdtree has three phases, featuring different elemental attacks from the boss. The Dancing Lion’s attacks also get quicker with each phase, so be wary. The closer the boss is to death, the more of a fight you’re in for. Here are the phases, their triggers, and the boss’s attack types during them:
| Phase | Trigger | Attack Types |
| 1 | Battle start | Physical and Wind |
| 2 | 75% health | Physical and Lightning |
| 3 | 40% health | Physical and Ice, mixing in Wind and Lightning attacks at random |
Divine Beast Dancing Lion Moves and Counters
The boss has a large moveset that varies with every phase of the battle, making it a challenge to learn at first. We’ve assembled a list of the Divine Beast Dancing Lion’s moveset and counters to make things easier:
| Attack | Description | Counter |
| Leaping Bite | The Divine Beast sprints forward before leaping and biting at you | Roll to the side or block with a shield |
| Spinning Whirlwind | The Divine Beast spins and creates a tornado-like wind gust that can break your Poise and knock you back | When the Divine Beast straightens up to begin this attack, retreat out of range |
| Side Bite | The boss thrusts forward to bite at your left side. There are also Lightning and Ice variations of this attack | Back up and dodge or block with a shield |
| Ground Smash | The boss cocks its head up before smashing it into the great, scattering damaging debris when it yanks it free | Dodge when the boss cocks its head back |
| Moving Whirlwind | The Divine Beast spins its body as it moves through the area, creating a traveling whirlwind | Back up and pay attention to the boss’s heading, then retreat in the appropriate direction |
| Double Bite | After an initial bite in one direction, the boss immediately bites again on the opposite side | Dodge to one side and then the other or block with a shield |
| Tail Whip | The Divine Beast whips you with its tail | Back out out of range or block with a shield |
| Lightning Bolt | The boss summons a lightning bolt and throws it like a javelin | Dodge to the left or right just before the boss throws the bolt |
| Moving Whirlwind with Lightning | The boss performs a variation of Moving Whirlwind, but with the addition of unpredictable lightning strikes | Create space and then dodge |
| Spinning Lightning Barrage | The boss performs a Spinning Whirlwind variation that creates a lightning storm instead | Back up until you’re out of range |
| Ice Stomp | The Divine Beast stomps the ground, creating an eruption of damaging ice shards | Roll to the side right before the boss’s foot strikes the ground |
| Double Ice Ground Smash | The Divine Beast strikes the ground twice, creating damaging ice shards | Roll to the side |
Victory awards you with 90,000 Runes, the Remembrance of the Dancing Lion, and the Divine Beast Head. It’s a fitting prize for the Land of Shadow’s newest lion-slayer.
