Let me tell you, folks, nothing says 'welcome to Caelid' quite like a landscape that looks like it caught a bad case of cosmic food poisoning. As a Tarnished just trying to make my way in 2026's Lands Between, I'd had my fair share of run-ins with the dreaded Scarlet Rot. It's the gift that keeps on giving... you a one-way ticket back to the last Site of Grace. So, when I heard there was an incantation that let me weaponize this biological nightmare, I was all in. I mean, turnabout is fair play, right? My quest for Ekzykes's Decay, the dragon breath that lets you spew pure, unadulterated plague, was about to begin. Spoiler alert: it involved a lot of running away from very large, very angry lizards.

Where To Find This Grossly Incandescent Power

First things first, you gotta go dragon hunting. And not just any dragon. You need to find the big, stinky boy himself, Decaying Ekzykes in Caelid. Honestly, finding him is the easy part—it's not surviving the encounter that's tricky. I started my journey from the Caelid Highway South site of grace, which already felt like a bad omen. I hopped on Torrent, my trusty spectral steed (who probably regrets our partnership daily), and headed south. Before you could say 'Oh, crap,' there he was: a large white and decaying dragon looking like he'd lost a fight with a mold factory, just chilling off to the right of the road. Don't let the 'decaying' part fool you; this guy is very much alive and very much annoyed by visitors.

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Now, fighting Ekzykes is like dancing with a toxic cloud. He's got the standard dragon moveset—stomps, bites, tail swipes—but his party trick is the real showstopper. When he rears his head back and looks right at the ground, brace yourself. He's about to unleash a cloud of scarlet rot breath attack that covers an area roughly the size of a small country. My strategy? Staying on Torrent and watching for this attack like a hawk. The moment I saw him wind up, I'd hit the gas and get the heck out of Dodge. One mistimed dodge, and you're watching your health bar melt faster than ice cream in a volcano.

After what felt like an eternity of poking his ankles and running for my life, I finally felled the beast. Victory! Sort of. Here's the kicker: to actually get the incantation, you need to take his heart to the Church of Dragon Communion. But Ekzykes, that cheapskate, only drops one dragon heart. The incantation requires two dragon hearts. So, yeah, you have to go kill another dragon. Just another Tuesday in the Lands Between, am I right? Time to go pick on some other poor, over-sized lizard.

Unleashing Biological Warfare: How To Use Ekzykes's Decay

Alright, so you've got your two dragon hearts, traded them in, and now this gloriously gross power is yours. Let's talk stats, because you can't just wing it with this one. Memorizing Ekzykes's Decay requires 23 faith and 15 arcane. If your stats aren't there, it's time for some rune farming, my friend. Casting it will cost you 48 FP, so manage that blue bar wisely.

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Here's the deal with using it:

  • The Cast Time is No Joke: Like all dragon incantations, the wind-up is longer than a Shakespearean soliloquy. You are a sitting duck, completely immobile. Timing and placement aren't just important; they're everything. If you whiff this, you will get punished. Hard.

  • The Payoff is Chef's Kiss: When it connects? Oh, baby. Enemies take immediate physical damage along with scarlet rot buildup for every second they stand in your miasmic mouth-cannon. Watching their health tick down with the rot is deeply, deeply satisfying.

  • PVP Potential is Real: Used correctly, this incantation is excellent if used correctly in PVP. It's a high-risk, high-reward play. Bait someone into a corridor or catch them off-guard, and you can win a fight before it even really starts. Just be prepared for some serious hatemail if you pull it off.

  • Aim Assist!: A small but crucial tip—you are able to swivel when casting this incantation. So, if your target tries to sidestep, you can slowly track them like a toxic turret. It's not fast, but it gives you a fighting chance.

My Pro-Tips (Learned the Hard Way)

  1. Don't Be a Hero: This is not a dueling tool. It's an ambush weapon, an area-denial tool, or a way to cheese big, slow enemies from a distance.

  2. Terra Magica is Your Friend: If you're an INT/FTH hybrid, standing in Terra Magica before you let loose boosts the damage significantly. More oomph for your ooze!

  3. Combo Potential: Hit a foe with this, then switch to a fast weapon and pressure them. They'll be too busy panicking about the rot to fight back effectively.

In the end, hunting down Ekzykes's Decay was a total pain in the ash, but man, was it worth it. There's something uniquely hilarious about solving my problems in the Lands Between by breathing toxic waste on them. It's messy, it's disrespectful, and it's incredibly effective. Just remember, with great, gross power comes great responsibility... to annoy the absolute hell out of every enemy and invader you meet. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some rot to spread. Catch you on the rotten side! \ud83d\ude09