How to defeat the Jagged Peak Drake in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

The Jagged Peak Drake is one of the many optional overworld bosses that you will find in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree while exploring the Realm of Shadow. Although these entities aren't necessary to the main story's progression, they do some of the best weapons and resources that you'll want to access as early as possible.

There are essentially three Jagged Peak Drakes in the game that you will come across as you make your way to the top of the Jagged Peak Mountain, the den of Bayle the Dread in Shadow of the Erdtree. However, one of them is optional, and you don't technically have to fight it since it doesn't drop anything, not even Runes.

To combat any of the Jagged Peak Drakes, you will need to come prepared with a really powerful build — possibly with the Dragon Hunter's Great Katana — to stand a chance at victory.

Here's a comprehensive guide on how to easily defeat a Jagged Peak Drake in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

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Tips to easily defeat the Jagged Peak Drake in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Location of Jagged Peak Drakes in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Image via FromSoftware)

Although the Jagged Peak Drakes in Shadow of the Erdtree are aesthetically and mechanically identical to the Drakes you fought in the base game, they do have a few new attacks that might catch you off-guard. The most damaging attack that you need to look out for is the lightning summon, which is quite similar to that of the Ancient Dragons.

However, the lightning summons that the Jagged Peak Drakes perform covers a much wider area. As such, using Torrent to avoid this attack is paramount. Another attack that you need to keep an eye out for is the lunge attack, which combos into a charge and then a follow-up bite attack.

Thankfully, the strategies that worked against the base game's Drakes are equally viable against the Jagged Peak Drakes in Shadow of the Erdtree. Here are some tips that should help you easily defeat the latter:

• The best way to approach the Jagged Peak Drakes is on Torrent. That way, you can easily avoid their AOE attacks, which are the lightning summons and fire breath. Additionally, being on Torrent makes it much easier to stay under the Drakes and attack their legs.
• In terms of weapons, I highly recommend using Colossal or Bleed weapons, since they are highly effective against Jagged Peak Drakes. Additionally, right before you arrive at the Jagged Peak, you get access to the Dragon Hunter's Great Katana, which is an excellent choice for fighting Dragons in Elden Ring.
• Your primary objective when fighting one of the Jagged Peak bosses is to stay under the Drake and target one of its legs. Stay locked onto the foe's leg and hit it with no more than two light attacks at a time. Make sure to retain enough stamina to help you dodge any of the incoming attacks.
• You can also try and hit the Dragon's head for additional damage, but doing so can be quite challenging, especially on Torrent. As such, I recommend sticking with attacking the legs and the tail.
• Jagged Peak Drakes, much like the Ghostflame Dragons, don't have much HP or poise. As such, they can be stance-broken pretty easily.

Recommended build to fight the Jagged Peak Drakes (Image via FromSoftware)

Once defeated, a Jagged Peak Drake drops 90,000 Runes as well as a Dragon Heart, which you can exchange at the Dragon Communion to obtain the incredibly powerful Dragon-based Incantations. Do note that the Dragon Incantations often require a very high amount of Arcane, alongside Faith.