Gaping Dragon

The Gaping Dragon is found in a large open chamber in the Depths, near the gate to Blighttown.

Description [ ]

The Gaping Dragon has developed an additional pair of legs to support its large stomach, and even though it cannot fly, its four mangled wings are used to assist in high jumps. Its ravenous gluttony has transformed its rib cage into a gigantic vertical maw that can inflict crushing bites and oozes acid, while its head regressed to a stubby proboscis to detect potential prey.

Lore [ ]

The Gaping Dragon is a distant descendant of the primordial archdragons [1] .

As one of the few dragons to survive the war against the bearers of the Lord Souls [2] it found itself alone and was forced to survive in any way it could [3] [4] . It eventually found itself in the furthest depths of the Undead Burg, a place called Blighttown, feared even by the outcasts of the Depths for its great pestilence [5] . The dragon over time was corrupted by the darkness [6] [4] [7] and transformed into a deformed abomination, its rib cage turned into a gigantic maw oozing with acid. The dragon devoured the key to the mighty door that the inhabitants of the Depths had built to remain safely separated from the plague of Blighttown and which it tried to break down to reemerge [5] .

Summoning [ ]

It is possible to summon Solaire of Astora and Knight Lautrec of Carim (if the player had previously freed him and talked to him at Firelink Shrine). Solaire's summon sign can be found next to the stairs leading to the Fog Door, while Lautrec's can be found just behind the pillar, opposite to Solaire's.

Strategies [ ]

• Being a Dragon, it is very susceptible to Lightning.
• Staying at the Gaping Dragon's side and attacking its legs, moving only when it begins to walk or fly, can result in an easy victory.
• Ranged attacks can prove useful, especially while the boss is performing a forward charge.
• Be sure to kill the Channeler located on the highest floor above the arena to prevent it from casting ranged attacks during the boss fight. It does not respawn.
• As long as care is taken with positioning, there is no need to block or dodge during the fight, making two-handed weapons an excellent choice for melee attacks.
• Locking on can make evading the Gaping Dragon's attacks harder, as it reduces the speed at which the player can move away from the boss.
• The Gaping Dragon will become momentarily still after its charge attack; this time can be used to attack it safely. The charge always comes after a stomach slam, so use the slam as a signal to get close to its side/tail.
• Hitting its head deals extra damage, but the head is only accessible right after a slam (and before a charge). More experienced players can shorten the fight considerably by hitting the head a couple of times right after the slam, and quickly getting out of the way before the charge starts. A hit to its head does approximately 3x as much damage as a hit to the body.
• Below 50% health, the dragon gains a new attack (corroding acid), that can reduce item and weapon durability, and even cause the player's equipment to break if stayed in too long. It's important not to confuse this attack with the stomach slam (their animations start in a similar way).
• The Gaping Dragon's tail can be cut off, rewarding the Dragon King Greataxe, and the tail swipe's range becomes extremely short, making the rest of the fight easier. If you are trying to get the axe, hit the middle (or end) of the tail; if you aim at the base of the tail (i.e., the "buttock" area) it's possible to kill the dragon before the tail itself has taken enough damage.
• A player phantom can offer ranged support and distract the Gaping Dragon from the balcony, if they don't enter the fog gate.

Dragon King Greataxe [ ]

To cut off the dragon's tail, a certain amount of damage must be dealt to it (by striking the tail directly). The HP of the tail increases with higher NG cycles and is based on the HP of the dragon itself. The Gaping Dragon's tail has 539 health on NG and 1,036 on NG+.

• After the crawl attack it will spend a lot of time returning to its upright position. Use this time to get hits on its tail, preferably with a vertical attack.
• Note if using the Drake Sword that its heavy two-handed attack consumes 40 durability, so only use light attacks.

Notes [ ]

• Although the tail is not connected to the body, once severed, the "stub" of the tail can still inflict the same amount of damage. The attack hitbox of its swings extends a few meters beyond the end of the tail itself.
• The Dragon inflict minor damage (and stagger the player) just by stepping on, or near them while moving about.
• Killing the Channeler above the arena of the Gaping Dragon will prevent the Gaping Dragon from getting a damage buff. The Channeler may also fire sorceries at the player and any phantom summons they might have.

Boss information [ ]

Attacks [ ]

Right Punch [ ]

The Gaping Dragon performs a punch with its right arm. The attack has a short range and can be dodged by running to the left side of it.

Triple Stomp [ ]

The Gaping Dragon brings its leg up and quickly stomps three times in succession. The Gaping Dragon focuses this attack on the area in front of it.

Left Leg Swipe [ ]

The Gaping Dragon slowly brings its left leg up and then swing across its front. This attack covers a great range so it's best to run away or stick close the Dragon's right hand side.

Stomach Slam [ ]

The Gaping Dragon points its stomach in the air and then slams it into the ground with great force. The best option to avoid this attack is running directly away. The Gaping Dragon's teeth get stuck in the ground briefly after this attack, making it vulnerable to counter-attack.

Charge [ ]

The Gaping Dragon begins to charge in a straight line. Running to the side is the best way to avoid this attack. This attack is always executed after a Stomach Slam.

Tail Whip [ ]

The Gaping Dragon swings its tail to one side of its body. This attack can be difficult to avoid but is best evaded by running to the enemy's front. Cutting off the tail will cause the reach of the attack to lower significantly, but it can still hit.

Jump [ ]

The Gaping Dragon will fly upwards for a brief moment and attempt to land on the player. When it is stuck or is being flanked it will trigger this move, which will result in the dragon turning itself around. Another form of this attack triggers when the player attacks from afar, after which the monster will try to land onto the player in a single bound. Both can be avoided by running away, however, the latter requires the player to focus more on timing.

Corroding Acid [ ]

The Gaping Dragon points its stomach to the ground and after a brief delay, expels acid that covers a big portion of the area. This will degrade equipment. Staying in it too long may cause all of the player's equipment to break.

Gorge [ ]

The Gaping Dragon grabs the player when close and then crunch with its vertical maw, inflicting tremendous physical damage.

Defenses [ ]

These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.

Drops [ ]

Trivia [ ]

• The Gaping Dragon was designed by Hiroshi Nakamura. The initial theme was "greed". [8]