As you cross the Dragon-Burnt Ruins in Limgrave by day, you'll spot a group of undead soldiers around a pyre.
Approaching these soldiers, Flying Dragon Agheel will descend from the skies and torch them all -- including you, if you get too close.
After collecting any Runes, you can take on the beast -- but be mindful, it was arguably the toughest fight in the Elden Ring beta.
Preparation
Farming tons of Runes wasn't really an option in the time-limited demo, so we had to compensate through gameplay and being adequately prepared.
The Enchanted Knight is probably the best choice of class, as it has some of the best armor in the game -- including a shield which offers 100% physical damage reduction.
The Winged Spear also helps, since it allows attacking while you have the shield up. The good thing about the shield is that it guarantees you won't take damage other than Agheel's breath attack, if you use it well.
We don't recommend killing this boss with spells, since it has way too much health -- even with four Flasks of Cerulean Tears it will not die until your FP is depleted.
Rather than changing your approach halfway through the fight, it's best to stick with one well-controlled approach.
You could choose another class, such as the Warrior or the Bloody Wolf, but these will depend on your ability to dodge all attacks. As such they're risky, but not ineffective.
Stat Distribution: We advise investing all your points in Stamina to increase your health pool, then Strength to increase your damage and weight allowance. You could even put some into Endurance to improve attack and blocking.
Armor: Attack the convoy travelling the road to Gatefront Ruins, across the lake. The chest contains the Crucible Set with with better fire resistance, as well as Ordovis' Greatsword.
Summon Spirit: Follow the waterway that passes under the bridge north of the lake, to reach the Murkwater Catacombs. You'll find the Northern Mercenary Ashes inside. It requires 100 FP to be summoned, meaning you may need to increase your Spirit a bit, but it may be worth it for the Agheel fight.
Ashes of War: There are two that interest us. The first is the Barricade Shield, obtained from Bloodhound Knight Darriwil, and which reduces stamina consumption and damage taken if blocked. Darriwil can be found at the Forlon Hound Evergaol in Stormhill.
The second is Thunderbolt, found on a corpse near the Stormveil Castle gate, where the eagles are located. Enchanting your weapon with the lightning element will dramatically increase the spear's damage against Agheel.
Fire Resistance: We advise you to create some Fireproof Dried Livers beforehand, in order to increase your fire resistance. The ingredients can be bought from the Nomadic Merchant and by at the merchant on the beach and dropped when killing animals. Only use them once the fight is under control, to avoid dying from a blast when the Agheel is low health.
Summon Yura: After facing Agheel for the first time, you can talk to Bloody Finger Hunter Yura, who is found under an overpass near Seaside Ruins. She'll move to a location near Agheel, and can be called upon to assist.
However, we don't necessarily recommend enlisting her for the Agheel fight, as it appears to increase the dragon's health. You'll also no longer be able to summon your horse while.
Yura also has the annoying tendency to die in seconds to Agheel's breath attack.
Flasks: Convert everything you have into Flasks of Crimson Tears so you can heal yourself.
Others: If you find the recipe and the components, you can also craft Poisonbone Arrows. However, you'll need a significant number for them to be useful. This was impractical during the demo, given the time limits.
Combat
There are several possible strategies when it comes to taking down Agheel, especially if you are playing multiplayer. We tested several single-player methods, and the one seen in the video above is the one we found most reliable and easy to execute.
Dash between the dragon's legs and throw spears, blocking when necessary. Pay attention to rotating tail blows, and be ready to dodge a swipe as it turns. The important thing is to always maintain enough Stamina to dodge and block these attacks, so take breaks and don't attack relentlessly.
The dragon will often raise a paw to crush you, so rotate away and attack another leg or move back and regenerate Stamina.
When the dragon flies up into the air, immediately call your mount and rush towards it. If it's planning a dive attack, it'll land behind you. If it intends to breathe fire, this will give you a good chance of being in melee range in time to take advantage.
The real danger in this fight obviously lies in the breath attacks, especially the one released immediately after Agheel flies up into the air and leaps backwards. It's almost impossible to avoid, even with the mount. It may be wiser to block it using increased fire resistance and Barricade Shield active, because then the damage taken is just moderate.
The other breath attacks are much less dangerous, especially if you can anticipate them. They can be in one direction, or sweep across the field of battle -- the sweep from up high is devastating, so try to get under Agheel as soon as you can.
Dealing enough damage quickly enough, perhaps with the help of the Northern Mercenary Ashes or other summons, will cause Agheel to collapse to the ground. Its left eye will glow golden, so approach its head on foot and attack with R1 for a critical hit.
A viable strategy in multiplayer if you are spellcasting or using a bow is to position yourself in front of the dragon on horseback, to encourage it to flap its wings. This way your teammates and summons can attack relatively untroubled. It does take a bit of practice to keep the right distance while attacking.
Theoretically this tactic is viable in solo play if you have enough FP and can deal enough damage to kill Agheel entirely with spells, but was hard to accomplish in the closed network test.
If you are using spells or projectiles, it's better to aim at Agheel's chest -- it's a bigger target and moves around less than the head.
Other Strategies
While still on horseback, use a weapon ability with the Thunderbolt Ashes of War -- the damage will be increased thanks to the water around. Be prepared to heal up Torrent.
Rewards
Should you defeat Agheel, you'll earn around 3,000 Runes -- which is really not a lot given the scale of the boss.
You'll also get the Dragon Heart. Take this to the Dragon Altar found in the Church of Dragon Communion and you'll be rewarded with the Greyoll's Roar incantation.
