Requirements
Base attributes, before temporary bonuses. Two-handing changes Strength requirements only.
- Catalyst
- Sacred seal
- Memory slots
- 1
- Damage
- Physical + scarlet-rot buildup
Acquisition
Spend one Dragon Heart at the Cathedral of Dragon Communion in southern Caelid. You need 15 Faith, 12 Arcane and a seal. A Dragon Heart comes from an eligible dragon encounter, not an ordinary rune purchase.
A cast needs room
The windup and channel leave you exposed. Use a long confirmed opening or an ally’s distraction; abandon the idea if the boss can reach you before the breath connects. A status plan is not a reason to stand still inside a combo.
The Dragon Communion Seal boosts the spell’s direct damage, not a guaranteed stronger rot damage-over-time effect. Rot-resistant or immune enemies need a different plan. Patch 1.17’s listed Rotten Breath adjustment is PvP-specific; do not misapply it as a PvE damage change.
Continue through the archive
Sources & verification
Reference-based guidance. Public source excerpts and official patch notes informed this edition; full wiki access was limited. No in-game test, damage benchmark or complete patch audit is claimed.
- Eldenpedia: Rotten Breath
- Eldenpedia: Dragon Communion Incantations
- Bandai Namco: patch 1.17 (27 August 2026)
Image sources
Rotten Breath, in-game equipment icon — Elden Ring Fan API archive ↗
Game visuals © FromSoftware / Bandai Namco. Publicly accessible reference images; no free asset license is claimed. Image credits and use notes.