This DLC is the worst in terms of gameplay balance. I really like the concept behind Tiny Tina role playing a game with the vault hunters, however I am annoyed that the DLC is so frustratingly hard at times. I'm level 52 Zer0 playing solo in TVHM and am trying to enter the Dragon Keep where you have to battle the Handsome Dragon (also level 52) on a bridge with Roland. Whenever we get its health down to about 25% remaining, it flies away out of sight and regenerates its health.
How are you supposed to kill this thing?
Best Answer
I successfully killed the level 52 Handsome Dragon! It took a while, and I did die once, and I'm glad that's over!
I'm answering my own question because comments are too restrictive in length and formatting for my response.
Thanks Keith for your suggestions, the key takeaway I got from you was to keep constant pressure on the dragon, and because of that, I realized that the dragon wasn't actually flying out of the area, just very high so I was losing visibility of it from where I was taking cover at the end of the bridge near the entry gate. Once I began tracking it to keep some sort of damage going, I saw what it was doing and was able to use the SMG and assault rifle to keep firing while it was soaring to the top of the building - where I assume it would regenerate health if I hadn't kept the damage going.
Some other things I learned:
On my playthrough, which is the first time through the DLC, I couldn't simply run across the bridge to enter Dragon's Keep, I had to defeat the dragon to continue the quest.
There are two ammo shrines and several ammo crates near the center of the bridge, which I hadn't initially noticed while maintaining cover at the entry gate end of the bridge. When the dragon loops under the bridge or soars to the top of the building, take the opportunity to rush out and restock. A good shield and health-regeneration class mod help in case it bombards you with fire while you're out of cover.
After you confront the dragon, you'll initially be on your own. Eventually Tiny Tina will summon Roland to help out in the fight. In my case, Roland never threw down a turret, but you can watch him to help determine the dragon's position.
The dragon has a pattern of attack where it sometimes hovers over the bridge. A launcher comes in handy then, as well as near the end of the fight to help knock down those last health points, slag it and switch weapons when you see an opportunity to use the launcher.