Elden Ring: Why You Shouldn't Kill Caelid's Big White Dragon
For many Elden Ring players, starting a new game by killing the dormant white dragon Greyoll of Caelid for easy runes seems essential. Because the giant being does not defend itself, there aren't too many better methods for a newbie Tarnished to quickly gain tons of runes. However, simply running up and slaughtering this godly dragon without considering its lore or the consequences of its death can take away from the experience of the game.
Part of understanding who this dragon is involves facing it in battle. Found in the northeastern section of Caelid, the enormous white beast lays around while five, smaller dragons defend it. Defeating these five dragons will result in the death of the larger one, but players have found that they can sneak behind them all and simply kill the large dragon instead for an easy rune farm in Elden Ring's early game. Doing so unlocks its legendary incantation at the Cathedral of Dragon Communion, which in turn unlocks the secret of its identity.
The large white dragon of Caelid is Greyoll, the mother of all dragons in the Elden Ring universe, according to the description of "Greyoll's Roar." Greyoll is thus a important figure in the history of the Lands Between, which was once ruled by dragons before the reign of Queen Marika and Lord Godfrey. Killing Greyoll is thus akin to destroying a beloved monument: Sure, the beast may lay dormant and seems to hold no true power anymore, but destroying a sacred entity for the sake of greed and bloodlust seems needlessly evil. For the most part, dragons are in no way the Tarnished's enemy in Elden Ring; besides a select few dragons, the monsters mostly roam about until they feel their territory is being threatened. While fighting in self-defense seems reasonable enough, striking one who not only lacks the ability to defend herself but also holds cultural significance in the Lands Between feels more blasphemous than Melina's desire to burn the Erdtree.
Perhaps the more important reason players should not kill Greyoll is that doing so can detract from the experience of the game. Elden Ring emphasizes free will, so players may approach their journey to the Elden Throne however they choose. But starting the game with 50,000 runes - especially on the first time through - seems antithetical to what Elden Ring is meant to be: a game in which players overcome challenges. FromSoftware pushes players to explore Limgrave by making Elden Ring's bosses too difficult for the average low-leveled Tarnished to realistically beat. Bypassing this by leveling up very quickly with tons of runes can thus result in a Lands Between that feels neither vast nor dangerous, but instead is a mostly straightforward path toward whichever boss is next.
Besides, killing Greyoll through the exploit nets fewer runes than returning back to the beast when one is at a high enough level to face her offspring. Indeed, there are many other more lucrative and repeatable rune farming methods to be found in the Lands Between. Relying on the quick 50,000-rune drop from Elden Ring's benevolent dragon is thus not only immoral but inefficient.