And that’s how you made it to the top of the tower in Belurat. Pat yourself on the back, that in itself is no uncomplicated task. These idiots with giant clubs won’t have any fun. Unfortunately, you must complete one last challenge before leaving this place, and if you’re having trouble surviving the Divine Beast’s deadly dance, we’ve got your back.
Abilities of the Dancing Lion Divine Beast
If there is a working pattern with all the bosses Shadow of Erdtree, the point is that they have no frigid at all. This is a metaphor for most of them, as they start by trying to surprise you with a move that can one-shot you if you’re not careful. In the case of the Dancing Lion, this is ironic because the first thing he does when he sees you is let out an icy breath that can suck the life out of you, and if you just stand there when you first walk into his room, then it will be over in about two or three hits. He will usually try this move if you later move too far away from him as well.
If you survive this initial burst, the lion will come close to jump, turn, spin and bite, and it will do so quickly. And because the design of this device is so crazy, it can be challenging to tell what’s going to be an upcoming combo and what’s just Leo taking a step back. The easiest attack to predict comes when he stands backwards on his hind legs and then performs a spinning combo that ends with him hitting his head in the air. That said, this can be confused with his bite attack, where he backs away and clucks a few times before making you his chew toy, draining most of your health in the process. This is just the first phase.
In phase two, he will exploit the rest of his elemental attacks. First he will go lightning and try some area attacks which will create a lot of very nice and very threatening patterns on the ground. He will also throw a spear at you, which will then turn into a powerful lightning rod. His ice attacks work the same way, except instead of having very nice patterns, they are mostly pools of ice that eventually explode and cause the Frostbite effect. Finally, there are his wind attacks, which simply involve him spitting a tornado at you or becoming one himself. If you’ve ever wondered what Geostorm would look like on four legs, here you go.
Strategy: Defeat the dancing lion of the Divine Beast
Fortunately, while this fight can turn into a confused and sloppy disaster with all the elemental attacks, it’s also a fight where you’ll have some extra aid. Not only can you summon Spirit Ashes, but just outside the door is a Redmane Freyja summon sign. However, there’s still the matter of summoning said Ash Spirit, which can be risky as the icy breath comes the moment you cross the threshold. It’s doable; just be prepared to immediately rotate left or right once the summoning animation ends. If you have a Mimic Tear on you, maybe take a sip from the bottle when you’re done to replenish your HP.
Once the Lion leaps at you, the fight basically turns into one of those cartoonish dust clouds full of fists and curses, but with Freyja and your Spirit Ashes in play, you have the benefit of creating some distance as they go to work. Magic users will have an easier time of this as they can stay in the middle of the range and cast spells on it throughout the day; just be careful when the Lion is aiming at you, and don’t be in the middle of the animation when he flies at you looking for a snack.
For melee fighters, choose your moment to jump into the fight, especially if the Lion tries a spin combo, but run out to rest after two or three hits, especially if you’re close to a wall. The tracking camera tends to go crazy during this fight. If you’re tanking, your Great Shield should be able to eat a hit or two from this combo and leave some left over for a few hits. As for weapons, run with more speed than power here. Lion is way too brisk to play with anything with a ponderous wind-up, but if you jump in at the right moment when Freyja and your Spirit Ash are on that thing, you can break him out of position with some regularity.
However, you need to be a bit more strategic about when to enter phase two. In the case of lightning, you’ll be able to see patterns on the floor, indicating where it’s about to strike, and weave between them to get closer to the Leo, but if you’re too eager to hit, chances are you’ll succeed. you get struck by lightning when you least expect it. Again, the distance is good, but here the Lion will also throw spears at you, which you want to be very far away from before they explode. The same goes for ice. Explosions don’t do as much damage as lightning, but if you step into a cluster of ice at the moment of the explosion, the frostbite effect can be compounded, leaving your defense stats at their lowest, which usually means the Lion’s next hit will be your last. Either wait a minute or prepare a frozen bolus that will be ready when you are out of danger for a second. Leo’s tornado attacks can do decent damage, but fortunately they are also the easiest attacks to avoid.
Leo will switch between all three at regular intervals, but when his health starts to deplete, he will basically switch between them whenever he wants, which can be unpredictable, but the same principles apply. Pick a moment to jump into action, pounce on him when your summoned buddies do, and don’t get so caught up in the fight that you don’t see the next large attacks.
When the lion finally falls asleep at night, you will receive a lot of runes and a Memory item, which you can exchange for a talisman that enhances storm abilities or an ice element stomping attack. That’s all well and good, but the S-tier reward is the Head of the Divine Beast, which is a damn near-universal piece of equipment, raising balance, attack and defense for melee users, as well as magic attack and defense. The only real drawback is that it gives you zero focus (meaning you’re vulnerable to Insanity-inducing attacks) and the head is so obnoxiously huge that it’s sometimes challenging to see.
Oh, also if you’re a magic user, I hope you were able to get to the Warehouse near the Small Altar’s Place of Favor. Take a brief trip there, equip the Beast’s Head, and talk to the elderly lady inside to gain some knowledge and the Vigilant Spirit spell.
