Elden Ring‘s bosses are the main attraction, and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is backed up by another heap of frenetic and frustrating bosses—and the Divine Beast Dancing Lion is the first proper test.
Margit, the Fell Omen is the first main, mandatory boss in Elden Ring. If you’ve been coasting through the game or simply enjoying the scenery, this encounter is where the alarm bells rang for many.
Shadow of the Erdtree‘s Divine Beast Dancing Lion mirrors this, but whereas Margit is a learning curve, Dancing Lion is basically the first of many difficult post-game bosses. If you’re struggling, I’ve rounded up some tips on how you can approach the boss.
Best build to beat Divine Beast Dancing Lion in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
I took the Divine Beast Dancing Lion head-on with a Dexterity/Arcane-focused Bleed build with a Mimic Tear Ash by my side in Elden Ring.
I do not claim to be the best souls player in the world—nor will I ever. If you’re shaking your head at me I can take it, but the beauty of Elden Ring is its diversity, and I take enjoyment in building up Bleed damage, landing crucial hits, and having two of me for maximum damage and to briefly divert the boss’ attention.
Shadow of the Erdtree is pretty unforgiving too—if I’m being honest—as even lesser enemies can take you to the “You Died” screen in only two or three hits.
Here’s each aspect of my build when I faced the Diving Beast Dancing Lion in Elden Ring.
| Build characteristic | Value/Item |
|---|---|
| Player Level | 146 |
| Left Weapon | Blood Uchigatana |
| Right Weapon | Rivers of Blood |
| Talisman One | Erdtree’s Favor Plus Two |
| Talisman Two | Crimson Amber Medallion Plus Two |
| Talisman Three | Arsenal Charm |
| Talisman Four | Lord of Blood’s Exultation |
| Ashes | Mimic Tear |
Divine Beast Dancing Lion boss guide in Shadow of the Erdtree
It took me several attempts to bring down the Divine Beast Dancing Lion—meaning an OP build and Mimic tear by my side wasn’t necessarily enough. I am treating this walkthrough as though you are playing solo to give you the best tips to avoid damage and be victorious.
1) First half of health bar
To begin, the Dancing Lion strolls over to you slowly, giving you a few seconds. This is where I suggest popping your Flask of Wondrous Physick concoction, popping your Spirit of choice (mine is the Mimic for my build), and any other enhancement you feels could benefit you.
The first part of the fight isn’t too bad as the boss has a few telegraphed attacks. Dancing Lion gets on its hind legs to deliver one of two attacks: A jump attack—which you have plenty of time to move out of the way of—and also a straight lunge straight at you to chomp your body and treat you like a chew toy.
In both instances, wait for it to set, and after a second or so on its legs, roll out of the way and immediately rebuttal with strikes.
Another tell-tale sign of a big attack is when it rears hits head and you can see smoke emanating from its mouth. Once it’s fully rotated its head, dodge out of the way again, but keep your distance this time—it advances quite quickly after this, so prioritize survival and wait for its next move.
The most devastating attack you need to watch out for though is comfortably its big AOE attack from above—which combines its hind legs and the smoke. If it stands up with smoke pouring out, you can either run away it from to avoid the attack, or be a little more aggressive, time your roll, and land a quick hit. My advice is the former.
2) Second half of health bar
Once Dancing Lion gets close to 50 percent cooked, it heavily incorporates lighting and ice attacks into its arsenal. Again, it has several key moves to watch out for with some fairly easy-to-read attack patterns.
For starters, Dancing Lion launches lightning bolts at you (which you can dodge), but you need to stay on your toes and keep moving as they create a large area of lightning strikes after a couple of seconds—but you can use this time to attack the boss while it waits to see the results.
Keep an eye out for other lightning fields and be sure to stay out of the way of the hit zones which are clearly designated. Notably, the cyclone smoke attack returns in lightning form, and I think it’s doubly important to avoid it and not take any chances as even with lightning resistant Talismans and defense, getting hit can immobilize you.
The ice attacks are also quite similar, and one of the best ways to deliver damage to Dancing Lion I found was to roll toward it after many of its attacks and be aggressive. Obviously, be as thorough and as observant as you can be in the heat of the moment, but an offensive front depletes Dancing Lion’s health bar quicker.
Reward for beating Divine Beast Dancing Lion boss in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
You get a couple of nice rewards for defeating the Diving Beast Dancing Lion in Shadow of the Erdtree including the Remembrance of the Dancing Lion, Divine Beast Head, and 120,000 Runes to help you level up.
