Franco Abrina
With the full release of V Rising comes even more challenging content that both new players and veterans will undoubtedly struggle to beat until better strategies are figured out. Dracula is the new big endgame boss, and he can be found in the Ruins of Mortium region. Here are a few tips to help you beat him!
How to Beat Dracula Solo Guide (Update 1.0)
Let’s be honest, if you are brave enough to take on Dracula on your own, you probably already have a build in mind. I’m not gonna make you veer off whatever you’ve been rolling by this point because you already know what you’re doing and everybody has their own comfort picks.
For some general advice, though, you should definitely choose whichever blood type fits your playstyle best, and make sure it’s 100% for the best possible buffs. You need every advantage you can get, especially in a solo attempt.
My personal pick is Rogue as I prefer maximizing my damage and movespeed. Warrior is okay too if you would like to prioritize survivability more, since it gives a damage reduction buff. Scholar is the obvious pick if you rely on spellcasting.
Dracula is a whopping level 90 boss, so you need to raise your gear score by at least around the same number to even the playing field. This pretty much means that you should max out first.
Also, you need to craft a Blood Key first, and the recipe for this comes from Lord Styx the Night Champion. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he was formerly the Nightmarshal who roamed the Cursed Forest in early access. Now, he can be found at Dracula’s Demise.
What to Bring For the Fight?
Aside from setting up your preferred blood type, you should bring a bunch of blood potions with you as a way to refill it. This is because Dracula can drain your blood.
Take a lot of blood rose potions with you as well, and bring even more if you don’t use leeching or healing spells. Since you are going in solo, it is highly recommended to have at least one cleansing ability too.
Bring ways to deal ranged damage to him if you aren’t confident in your ability to dodge a constant onslaught of attacks. Dracula is particularly keen on dashing and leaping right up to whoever has aggro on him, which, in this case, is only going to be you.
Pistols can be particularly useful in this regard, especially since one of its abilities can act as a pseudo dodge that you can use as an emergency dash.
Abilities to Watch Out For
Dracula’s attacks are pretty telegraphed, but the main issue comes with how he essentially spams moves with seemingly little rhyme or reason for the most part.
One thing to watch out for is the vampiric curse debuff. If you see it above your health bar, you will either have to cleanse it or execute a perfectly timed dodge to avoid damage.
Most of his attacks in the first phase mainly involve various melee attacks and heavily telegraphed projectile moves that can be blocked using the pillars around the arena.
He also has a spinning boomerang attack that is very reminiscent of that one ability you can cast with a pair of axes. This can be blocked by the pillars as well. Other significant moves include the following:
- Ring of Blood – When he conjures a ring of blood, you have to stay inside the circle and dash out at the right time. If you get hit, you’ll be pulled towards Dracula and take massive damage from the following explosion.
- Wolf Form – Occasionally, he will transform into a wolf and pounce at you from afar. This typically includes lesser wolves, though I don’t think they are present in solo fights (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).
- Explosive Bats – He will occasionally summon red bats that will lock in on you and launch after a brief moment. You can kill or avoid them to prevent getting hit.
Entering Phase 2
After taking enough damage, Dracula will teleport to the middle of the arena and charge up a large explosion before transitioning to his next form. This does not deal damage, but it will destroy the pillars in the room.
During this phase, red crystals will start moving around the arena. Staying within range of these will trigger a barrage of projectiles, and you will need to destroy them to create some breathing room.
The rest of his moves are mostly just improved versions of the same attacks that he uses in his previous form. He’ll also be firing more projectiles, forcing you to stay on the move.
One new thing to watch out for is the rain of swords. These will follow you around until they stop falling, and getting hit will slow you down.
Finally, he can also split the room into four quadrants with a rotating cross. During this period, blood orbs will also randomly fly all around the arena. Again, stay mobile and avoid all of these.
Those are all of the things you need to keep in mind while fighting Dracula, at least in standard difficulty. Brutal is a different story entirely, as it adds a third phase to the fight, which will also include a mandatory healing phase for him, among other more deadly attacks.
As mentioned at the start of this guide, your ability setup and weapons will largely just be whatever you are comfortable with. Anyways, if you are an old player like me, check out our guide on all of the significant changes in V Rising update 1.0 to get up to speed with all the new stuff.
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