Hellkite Dragon

hellkitedragon-ds1.jpgHellkite Dragon (飛竜ヘルカイト) is a Boss in Dark Souls, encountered several times throughout Undead Burg.

Description

A huge red drake that is guarding the bridge to Altar of Sunlight in the Undead Burg. He is more powerful than most bosses in the game, and his attacks are relentless and ruthless. Though the player has to pass that bridge at least partially to advance, it is not necessary to kill this enemy to complete the game.

Though it is named the "Hellkite Dragon", its relationship to the dragons is clarified in the Drake Sword's item description:

Drakes are
seen as undeveloped imitators of the dragons,
but they are likely their distant kin.

Location

Undead Burg
Hellkite Dragon will make a brief appearance early on, where it won't engage in combat. It'll then appear at the large bridge after Taurus Demon, next to where Solaire of Astora is. Here, the dragon will fly across, engulfing it in fire, and then perch itself on top of the gate at the end of the bridge, blocking access to the Altar of Sunlight. It can be triggered to fly away and reappear here as long as the player hasn't killed it.

Playthrough HP Souls
New Game 2,208 10,000
NG+ 5,520 50,000
NG+6 6,900 62,500

Drops


Drake Sword - tail cut, automatic pick up.

Notes


Strategy for Skipping the Dragon


First section of the bridge


The dragon will appear from above and behind once you start stepping onto the bridge, with a few seconds delay, covering the bridge with its fire breath. If you run onto the bridge and then back, you can safely take cover from the fire, as well as actually see the dragon swooping in. Partway across the bridge, on the right side, is a staircase that leads to an unlockable shortcut back to the previous bonfire, and one of the two paths ahead that proceed into Undead Parish. Once the drake has appeared and landed, it's safe to run over to the staircase. The hollows will likely die to the fire, otherwise you can just run past them.

If the drake hasn't spawned, you can also sprint across the bridge as fast as you can (you can remove all of your equipment to run faster here) and dive to cover behind the corners shielded from the fire. This is easier to do with a bit of Endurance. However, you risk getting hit by the flames for Counter Damage seeing as you're sprinting, so you could risk dying.

Second section of the bridge


Once you've reached the halfway point, to cross the remaining section of the bridge, run to the corners closest to the drake, where you're shielded from the flames.. If you're below the staircase, run up, leading the dragon to breathe fire, and then back down the stairs to dodge it. The moment the fire disappears, run up again, sprint, and then immediately take cover behind one of the corners facing the dragon. After standing in the corner for half a minute or so, or if you attack it with a bow or throwing knife, the dragon will jump down onto the bridge. The moment it starts doing this, sprint across the bridge; the drake won't be attacking you for a few seconds. Sprint into the doorway, and you'll have enough time to light and rest at the bonfire there before the drake will attack you again, which will prompt it to fly away.

Lower Undead Burg jump


You can skip the dragon's first appearance in the Undead Burg, which will permanently stop the dragon from spawning at the larger bridge, until you trigger its first apperance.

There are two methods of doing this. The fastest method is to enter the Undead Burg, and when you reach the fog gate, don't walk through it. Instead, there's a high-precision jump you can make which will take you all the way down to the Lower Undead Burg (video). Facing the fog gate, turn right. Using the stairs for extra height, jump over the fence, aiming alongside the wall. If the jump is made correctly, you'll land all the way down in Lower Undead Burg. There, you'll be attacked by two dogs and three Undead Assassins. You can fight them or run from them; next you'll head left and run upwards, away from the foggate. There are three more dogs and three more Undead Assassins here; again you can fight them or run straight up the stairs here to unlock the shortcut back to Upper Undead Burg. Head through the left exit here to reach the Undead Burg bonfire; be careful not to step near the bridge further below to avoid spawning Hellkite.

Undead Burg skip


You can also skip Hellkite's first appearance, stopping it from appearing at the bridge, by only entering the Undead Burg through the Undead Parish. This is most viable to do if you have the Master Key, as a starting gift or by being the Thief class.

With the Master Key, go down the stairs in Firelink Shrine to get to New Londo Ruins. Then, immediately go up another set of stairs, where there is a doorway that can be unlocked with the Master Key. This'll take you to Valley of Drakes. Ignore the tunnel entrance nearby; instead run alongside the mountain wall, past the Undead Dragon and two drakes, then turn right once you're at the bridge, by the collapsed tunnel, to reach an elevator that goes to Darkroot Basin and a bonfire. If you don't have a Master Key, you can do the same thing by killing Ingward in New Londo Ruins and unlocking the Seal, though it will be far more difficult and most likely not worth it.

After reaching the Darkroot Basin bonfire by either method, continue past a Halberd Black Knight, and keep running upwards until you reach Darkroot Garden. Take a left turn and run into the stone entrance to reach Undead Parish. From here, run past the blacksmith, all the way up the stairs past the bonfire, through the church and all the way down the steps, then down a ladder through three rats and you'll reach the staircase below the bridge. Walk up the stairs and the Hellkite Dragon will not appear.

Strategy for Killing the Dragon


For first time players, it is highly recommended to avoid attacking this dragon until you've leveled up a bit.

Ranged


Note: The easiest way to defeat the dragon is to use a bow, however this is not your only option, you can use the Binoculars to make aiming easier for projectiles other than arrows.

Melee


NG+


In NG+ the Hellkite Dragon's health regeneration will become a very significant obstacle for most players, but it is still possible to kill him. Players have found that it is possible to time hits just right, not triggering this animation.

Tail Cut


To cut off a tail it's necessary to deal a certain amount of damage against it. The HP of the tail increases with higher NG cycles and is based on the HP of the respective enemy.

Playthrough Tail HP
New Game 240
NG+ 600
NG+6 750

In case of the Hellkite Dragon, the tail has about 10.87% of his HP.

Several methods can be used to obtain the tail.

Extra Hits


If you quickly run through the shrine after you have baited the dragon into landing on the bridge, you can score a few extra whacks at the tail. Its tail should be to the right of the sunlight altar when it perches. When the tail is hit, the dragon may fly to the bridge as normal or may fly away instead, make the strike count!

Information

Strategies

Drops

Lore

Notes

Trivia


Revision #6
Created 20 November 2024 04:27:56 by jade
Updated 17 December 2024 07:48:38 by jade