This Elden Ring boss guide will explain Magma Wyrm attacks, including Makar’s, and provide tips on how to avoid them and come out victorious.
How to Beat Magma Wyrms & Makar in Elden Ring
These lesser dragons spew magma at nearly every turn and are found in a handful of areas through Elden Ring’s gigantic map. Safe zones constantly shift, making it hard to get under any of the bosses for melee damage. Each of their fire attacks scorch the ground, and it’s a good idea to just keep your distance and use Magic where possible.
Ranged Sorcery and Incantation builds will do well in these Magma Wyrm boss fights. Of course, the exception is Pyromancy. These bosses are weak to Magic damage, so offensive spells or Glintstone Pebbles will deal extra damage. Magic Grease on your weapon can also be a boon when in need.
The Magma Wyrm that drops the Moonveil Katana in the Gael Tunnel is a good place to start with this enemy type, as its the most basic. This dungeon is located in Caelid, and the boss can be found at the end, near the Gael Tunnel Rear Entrance.
Magma Wyrm Attacks
The Magma Wyrm has a handful of attacks, and it’s important to know the right ways to avoid them else you will be caught in a pool of lava, taking damage repeatedly. The trick with this boss type is that they set the arena ablaze by spewing lava everywhere. You need to keep track of where the boss is at all times and whether the floor you’re standing on is safe.
Magma Wyrm Attack 1: Fire Breath
When the Wyrm’s mouth starts bubbling, that’s when you know it’s about to breathe fire. This attack has a far-reaching but narrow range. Make sure you face the boss head-on so you can dodge to the side and run behind the Magma Wyrm to get some free hits in after this attack.
Magma Wyrm Attack 2: Fireball
This attack begins in a similar fashion to the first, only the Magma Wyrm will lift its head higher to telegraph it is about to spew a large projectile of fire. Thankfully, the same tactic of dodging to the side works here, so it doesn’t matter if you misread the attack.
Magma Wyrm Attack 3: Fire Charge
The most deadly attack in the Magma Wyrm’s arsenal is the Fire Charge. The beast will trash around sporadically while spewing lava onto the ground. This makes the entire area near the boss dangerous ground. The best advice we can give is to run out of this attack’s radius to avoid getting stuck in a deadly trap. The further away from you this attack begins, the better you can avoid it.
Magma Wyrm Attack 4: Sword Slam
Did we mention the Magma Wyrm also has a sword? The boss doesn’t tend to use it as much as its fire breath abilities, but it can bring it down over its head for a devastating AoE slam. If you are close to the Magma Wyrm and see it grabbing its sword with two hands, that’s your chance to GTFO by rolling backward.
Magma Wyrm Attack 5: Sword Swipe
Like many Dragons and beasts in Elden Ring, the Magma Wyrm has an attack that prevents you from cheesing its backside. If you are attacking from behind or the side, the Wyrm will do a 180-degree sweep with its sword. This move is pretty hard to predict, and learning the timing is a bit tricky. Use ranged combat or land one or two melee attacks before dodge-rolling.
Magma Wyrm Attack 6: Sword Drag
The other sword attack you’ll see Magma Wyrmn do is a slam and drag combo. Quicker than the two-handed slam, the Magma Wyrm will drop its sword down with one hand and drag it. It looks like a foolproof strategy, but be sure not to dodge forward to avoid the first attack because the Magma Wyrm will drag its sword across the ground back toward itself. Dodge to the right of the attack to avoid both parts of this deadly combo.
The other Magma Wyrms you will encounter in Elden Ring have the same move set as the one in Gael Tunnel, but slightly different properties and environmental obstacles.
Magma Wyrm Makar, despite being a named boss, is probably the easiest of the three. There is another South of Fort Laiedd in Mt. Gelmir, guarding the path forward in an arena filled with lava, giving you little space to maneuver.
Both of these other Wyrms will power up their swords in the second half of the fight and stand up on their two hind legs. They are more prone to doing sword attacks in this phase, and a fire sword means they do more damage. The Magma Wyrm is a bit easier to get under in this phase, just all the more deadly.
And those are our tips for taking down Magma Wyrms and Makar. Our Elden Ring guides page is the perfect place to find more boss strategies like these. Get a Great Rune in no time by taking down Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. Or, if it’s madness making you frenzied, check out our guide on how to cure the frustrating status effect.
