So, you’ve been munching on Dragon Hearts. It seemed like a good idea at the time. You killed Agheel or maybe Greyoll, took that pulsating organ to the Church of Dragon Communion, and traded it for a sweet incantation like Agheel’s Flame or Dragonclaw. Then, you looked at your character’s face in the status menu. Something is wrong. Your eyes aren't normal anymore. They’ve turned into slitted, reptilian yellow orbs that look like they belong on a lizard rather than a Tarnished. This is the dragon eyes Elden ring mechanic, and honestly, it’s one of those subtle "show, don't tell" pieces of world-building that FromSoftware is famous for. It’s not a glitch. You’re just slowly losing your humanity to the hunger of the Dragon Communion.
You didn't ask for this, but the game doesn't care.
In the Lands Between, power always has a price tag attached to it that isn't just Runes. While most players are busy worrying about their Vigor or trying to figure out how to dodge Malenia’s Waterfowl Dance, the visual state of your character is telling a story about the choices you've made. Dragon Communion is a specific path of magic that involves literally consuming the essence of dragons to gain their strength. It's distinct from Dragon Cult incantations—the lightning-based stuff used by the Leyndell knights. The lightning stuff is "holy" and "honorable." Eating hearts? That's messy. It’s primal. And it leaves a mark.
How You Actually Get the Dragon Eyes in Elden Ring
It isn't an instant transformation. You don't just eat one heart and wake up looking like a monster. To trigger the change, you need to consume a specific amount of Dragon Hearts at the Altar of Dragon Communion (either the one in Limgrave or the Cathedral in Caelid). Specifically, purchasing four or five Dragon Communion incantations is usually the threshold. Once you hit that number, the game overwrites your character’s original eye settings with the yellow, vertical-slit "Dragon Eye" texture.
It's a priority system. Elden Ring has three distinct "eye overrides" that happen based on your actions in the game:
- Dragon Eyes: Obtained via Dragon Communion.
- Blood Eyes: Obtained by completing White Mask Varré’s questline and becoming a "Knight of Mohg." These are bright red.
- Frenzied Flame Eyes: Obtained by meeting the Three Fingers below Leyndell. These are glowing yellow/orange and charred.
Here is the kicker: there is a hierarchy. The Frenzied Flame eyes are the "strongest" visual and will overwrite everything else. If you have the dragon eyes and then go get hugged by the Three Fingers, your dragon eyes are gone, replaced by the glow of chaos. If you have the Blood Eyes from Varré and then eat a bunch of dragon hearts, the dragon eyes will actually take precedence and cover up the red. It's a bit of a weird layering system that the community spent weeks testing after launch.
The Lore Behind the Scales
Why does this happen? If you read the item descriptions for things like the Magma Breath or the Dragonfire, there’s a recurring theme of "the ruin of those who partake." The game tells us that those who hunt dragons and consume their hearts eventually lose themselves. They become "Magma Wyrms." If you’ve fought Makar or any of the other Wyrms tucked away in caves, you aren't looking at a natural-born dragon. You’re looking at a former human—a Tarnished or a warrior who ate so many hearts that they grew scales, lost their mind, and started crawling on all fours.
Your character getting the dragon eyes Elden ring visual is essentially the first stage of that transformation. You're becoming a Wyrm. You just happen to finish the game before the tail grows in.
Can You Fix It? (Yes, and It's Easy)
Maybe you spent three hours in the character creator making the perfect face. Maybe you gave your character beautiful sapphire eyes, and now they look like a jaundiced snake. If you hate the look, don't panic. You don't have to restart your save or stop using dragon spells.
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Go to the Roundtable Hold. Head into the room with Fia (the Deathbed Companion) and stand in front of the Clouded Mirror Stand. You can also do this at Rennala after you’ve beaten her and have the option for "Rebirth," but the mirror is free and available much earlier.
- Select Apply Cosmetics.
- Go to Appearance.
- Navigate to Eyes.
- Find the toggle that says Eye Alteration.
- Switch it to OFF.
That’s it. Your character will revert to their original eye design. You keep all your cool dragon powers, but you get your soul back—visually, at least. Interestingly, if you turn it back "ON" later, the eyes will still be there as long as you haven't triggered a "higher tier" eye change like the Frenzied Flame.
Why Dragon Communion Builds Are Actually Meta
Ignoring the fashion for a second, the reason people end up with these eyes is that Dragon Communion builds are incredibly powerful. Unlike standard Sorceries or Incantations that scale primarily with Intelligence or Faith, Dragon Communion spells scale heavily with Arcane. This is huge because Arcane also governs item discovery and, more importantly, Blood loss (Hemorrhage) buildup.
A "Dragon Communion" build usually involves using the Dragon Communion Seal, which is found in the Fringefolk Hero's Grave (the dungeon right at the start of the game behind the Stonesword Key door). This seal has an S-scaling in Arcane. This means you can run a build that uses "Ekzykes's Decay" to inflict Scarlet Rot on a boss, and then switch to a bleed weapon to finish them off, all while using the same stat. It’s a "one-stop-shop" for some of the most broken mechanics in the game.
- Rot Breath/Ekzykes’s Decay: The ultimate "cheese" for bosses like Radahn or even the Fire Giant.
- Dragonice: Great for proccing Frostbite instantly.
- The Maw: Does massive poise damage, often flattening human-sized enemies.
The Subtle Nuance of the Eye Slit
If you zoom in really close with the telescope tool, you’ll notice the detail on the dragon eyes Elden ring provides is actually quite disgusting. There’s a slight gold fleck in the iris, and the skin around the eyelids often looks slightly irritated or inflamed. FromSoftware’s art team, led by Hidetaka Miyazaki, is obsessed with the concept of "beautiful decay." It’s meant to look alluring but "off."
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There is a common misconception that getting the eyes improves your spell damage. It doesn't. It is purely aesthetic. I've seen forum posts claiming that your "Dragon Communion" spells do 5% more damage once the eyes appear—honestly, that's just placebo. People feel more powerful because by the time they've eaten five hearts, they’ve likely leveled up their seal and their Arcane stat significantly. The eyes are a badge of office, not a stat buff.
Common Misunderstandings About Eye Tiers
Some players think that if you eat more hearts, the eyes change again. They don't. Once you hit the threshold and get the slit pupils, that’s the final form of the Dragon Eye alteration. There are no scales on the face, no hidden tail, and no secret ending associated specifically with having these eyes. It’s purely a "you were here" marker for your character's journey.
Also, be careful with the Frenzied Flame. As mentioned, that's the "nuclear option" for your face. If you go down into the sewers of Leyndell and get the Frenzied Flame, your skin gets burn marks and your eyes turn into glowing embers. Unlike the dragon eyes, the burns from the Frenzied Flame stay on your body even if you use Miquella's Needle to "cure" the ending. You can turn the eye effect off at the mirror, but the scorched skin is a permanent reminder of your trip to the basement unless you manually toggle it off in the cosmetics menu.
Actionable Steps for Your Dragon Build
If you’re looking to embrace the dragon life and want those eyes as fast as possible, here is the most efficient path.
First, head to Agheel Lake in Limgrave. Bait the dragon, stay under its legs, and take it down. That’s your first heart. Next, go to the Third Church of Marika and use the portal behind it to get to Dragonbarrow. Go to Fort Faroth. Right outside is Greyoll, the massive elder dragon who doesn't move. Use a weapon with Bleed (like the Uchigatana or a Morning Star) and whack her tail for about five minutes. She’ll die, giving you five Dragon Hearts instantly.
Take those six hearts to the Cathedral of Dragon Communion in Caelid. Buy the following:
- Rotten Breath (This is the most important spell for a casual playthrough).
- Dragonice.
- Dragonclaw.
- Dragonfire.
After buying these four or five, your eyes should transform. Check your status screen. If they haven't changed, buy one more low-level breath spell. Once the eyes are active, you’ve officially started your descent into Wyrm-hood.
From here, focus your stats on Arcane (up to 45) and Faith (up to 30). This is the "soft cap" for the Dragon Communion Seal. Any more points into Arcane will give you diminishing returns on the spell scaling, though it will still help with your Bleed weapons.
The dragon eyes are a cool, creepy reminder that in Elden Ring, you are what you eat. You start as a nobody and end as something that isn't quite human anymore. Whether you keep the eyes or hide them behind the mirror, the power they represent is enough to carry you all the way to the Elden Throne. Just try not to think too much about the fact that you’re technically eating the souls of ancient beings every time you visit that altar. It's fine. Probably.