Maintaining Your Draconic Gaze: How to Keep Dragon Eyes in Elden Ring
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The allure of dragon eyes in Elden Ring is undeniable. They are a visual testament to your growing communion with dragons, a sign that you’re wielding powerful draconic incantations. But keeping those captivating eyes can be trickier than facing Malenia herself. In short, to keep your dragon eyes, you must prioritize the following: obtain them early by purchasing Dragon Communion Incantations, strictly avoid Varre’s questline, and never disable eye alterations at the mirror in Fia’s room. Let’s delve into the specifics and address common concerns.
The Path to Dragon Eyes and the Perils of Losing Them
Acquiring Your Draconic Gaze
The journey to obtaining dragon eyes begins at either the Cathedral of Dragon Communion in Caelid or the Church of Dragon Communion in Limgrave. You’ll need Dragon Hearts, obtained from defeating dragons in the Lands Between. Purchase four Dragon Communion Incantations using these hearts. After purchasing five Dragon Spells, your character’s eyes will permanently reflect the transformation you undergo as you embrace your inner dragon. Your eyes will transform from their original appearance into Dragon Eyes.
The Varre Predicament
Herein lies the biggest threat to your draconic aesthetic. Engaging with Varre’s questline introduces blood eyes. Once obtained, these override all other eye alterations, including your hard-earned dragon eyes. Crucially, and this is where many players stumble, removing the blood eyes via the character customization mirror in Fia’s room permanently prevents you from regaining your dragon eyes in the current playthrough.
The Mirror’s Deceptive Promise
The character customization mirror, accessible in Fia’s room at the Roundtable Hold, allows you to toggle eye alterations on or off. While seemingly harmless, deactivating eye alterations here removes both the blood eyes and the dragon eyes. Once dragon eyes are removed in this manner, you cannot get them back on your current play through.
The New Game Plus Solution (and Prevention)
If you’ve accidentally lost your dragon eyes by disabling eye alterations after acquiring blood eyes, the only recourse is to venture into New Game Plus (NG+). However, you must avoid Varre’s questline entirely in your NG+ playthrough to preserve your draconic gaze.
Solidifying the strategy
- Prioritize Dragon Communion Incantations: Acquire and learn these early in your game.
- Resist Varre’s Temptation: Do not complete any of Varre’s quests.
- Mirror Caution: Never disable eye alterations at the mirror if you value your dragon eyes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Dragon Eyes
1. How many Dragon Hearts do I need for Dragon Eyes?
You need to obtain enough Dragon Hearts to purchase four Dragon Communion Incantations. After learning five Dragon Spells your eyes will transform into Dragon Eyes.
2. Can I have both Dragon Eyes and Golden Eyes?
No, the golden eyes acquired through specific late-game steps involving Miquella’s Needle will override your dragon eyes. Like blood eyes, choosing golden eyes means sacrificing your draconic aesthetic.
3. Does respeccing affect Dragon Eyes?
No, respeccing your character’s stats will not affect your dragon eyes. The eye alteration is tied to learning the Dragon Communion Incantations and is permanent unless overridden or disabled as described above.
4. What happens if I cure the Frenzied Flame?
Curing the Frenzied Flame ending with Miquella’s Needle does not directly impact your dragon eyes. However, obtaining the Frenzied Flame ending itself may influence other aesthetic choices you make, potentially leading you to a conflicting eye alteration later.
5. Can I change the color of my Dragon Eyes?
No, the base dragon eyes have a fixed appearance. There are no options to customize their color.
6. Will wearing a helmet hide my Dragon Eyes?
Yes, most helmets will obscure your character’s face, including the dragon eyes. However, some helmets leave the eyes visible, allowing you to showcase your draconic transformation.
7. Are Dragon Eyes purely cosmetic?
Yes, dragon eyes are purely a cosmetic effect. They do not grant any gameplay advantages or disadvantages. They’re simply a visual indicator of your dedication to the Dragon Communion incantations.
8. Is there a lore reason for the eyes changing?
Yes, the changing of the eyes represents a slow transformation into a dragon as you commune with them more and more.
9. Where can I find Dragon Hearts easily?
Early in the game, defeating the Flying Dragon Agheel in Limgrave is a reliable source of Dragon Hearts. Later, exploring Caelid and seeking out other dragons will provide additional opportunities.
10. Is there a limit to how many Dragon Communion Incantations I can learn?
You can technically learn all Dragon Communion Incantations if you acquire enough Dragon Hearts. However, only purchasing four is needed to get dragon eyes.
11. Can I reverse the eye change if I haven’t removed alterations with the mirror?
No. Once your eyes have changed to dragon eyes after learning five dragon spells, the change is permanent unless it is overriden by other eyes alterations.
12. Are there any mods to customize Dragon Eyes further?
Yes, the modding community is incredibly active. You can explore resources like Nexus Mods to find mods that might allow for further customization of your dragon eyes, including color variations and visual effects. Always exercise caution when installing mods and ensure they are compatible with your game version. The study of games like Elden Ring and their modding communities offers insights into learning, engagement, and creativity, topics actively explored by the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org.
13. What are the best Dragon Communion Incantations to use?
While personal preference plays a role, some highly regarded Dragon Communion Incantations include:
- Placidusax’s Ruin: A powerful area-of-effect attack.
- Ekzykes’s Decay: Inflicts scarlet rot on enemies.
- Borealis’s Mist: Deals frost damage over a wide area.
14. Does difficulty setting affect Dragon Heart drops?
No, the difficulty setting does not impact the drop rate of Dragon Hearts.
15. How do you get Hunter eyes?
While the game doesn’t directly offer “hunter eyes,” you can achieve a similar look during character creation. Experiment with the eye shape and brow settings to create a hooded or slightly downturned appearance.