Should you devour Draconic Essence in Elden Ring?

Wondering if you should devour the Draconic Essence in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? As you advance through the Dragon's Pit in Shadow Of The Erdtree, you'll come across a region known as The Jagged Peak.

This treacherous area is full of Dragons and Drakes and is also home to the Dragon Communion Priestess. During her questline, you'll have the option to 'devour the Draconic Essence'. If you're worried about picking the right option for you, we have listed all quest outcomes below and further details on the choice.

Should you devour Draconic Essence?

The Dragon Communion Priestess is located at the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion, on the southern road within the Jagged Peak. Once speaking to her, she will reveal that Bayle The Dread is now in charge of these lands and is something of a terror as the 'oldest, vilest dragon of them all' (he also happens to be one of the toughest bosses in Elden Ring).

Upon speaking to her, she will offer the following choices.

• Devour Draconic Essence: She will instruct you to kill Bayle The Dread and you will receive the Ancient Dragon's Blessing to help. This blessing essentially gives you a bonus to all damage negation for 70 seconds when consumed. You can also return to the Dragon Communion Priestess for another if you consume it before reaching Bayle The Dread (at the top of the Jagged Peak).
• Do not partake: Nothing will happen, you can return and choose to devour the essence at a later time.

There is no downside to devouring the Draconic Essence. So, you may as well take it and receive the Ancient Dragon's Blessing.

After devouring the essence, you can also get additional dialogue from the Priestess about Bayle. She will say that Bayle turned traitor against Dragonlord Placidusax and now his bloodline - the drakes - are at odds with the Dragons.

If you are also following Igon's questline (first met outside of the Dragon's Pit entrance in the Gravesite Plain), he too will urge the Tarnished to end Bayle's rule in the land.

Where to go after devouring the Essence

From here, you'll need to return to the main road and take it northwards. There will be many Spiritspring jumps you'll need to take to reach the top of the Jagged Peak where Bayle awaits and a few optional side bosses along the way. For more information on these, see our NPC quests hub page.

After defeating Bayle, you can return to the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion and receive a reward from the altar itself, as well as a reward from the Priestess. She will give the following items:

• Priestess Heart: Boosts Dragon Cult incantations and allows the Tarnished to take on the Dragon Priestess form.
• Flowerstone Gavel: A Strength/Arcane-based weapon with a red lightning strike attack.

Alternatively, before defeating Bayle the Dread you can wait until nightfall and approach the Priestess. If you have progressed Moore and Thiollier's questlines enough to retrieve 'Thiollier's Concoction' you can choose to give this to the Priestess.

This has to take place at night and will change your quest rewards from the Priestess upon Bayle's death. Instead of the above rewards, you'll receive the following:

• Dragonbolt of Florissax Incantation: Calls down red lightning and increases all forms of damage negation to the caster and nearby allies.
• Ancient Dragon Florissax Spirit Ash: Available after speaking to the Priestess again and choosing the 'take her with you' option.

That rounds up our guide on whether you should devour the Draconic Essence or not in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree. For more Elden Ring tips and tricks, check out our guide to the best early weapons in Shadow Of The Erdtree to get you started. Or, if you're further along in the DLC, see our best weapons guide that goes through the best of the bunch. Be sure to also check out our Map Fragment locations guide to help you access and uncover every region in the DLC and see our boss locations guide so you won't miss a single one.