The 15 Hardest Bosses in Elden Ring, and how to fell them! *NO SPOILERS*

Arise Now, Ye Tarnished, Ye Dead, Who Yet Live -

My fellow tarnished, welcome to my meticulously crafted guide on how to conquer the most formidable foes lurking within the expansive lands of Elden Ring! Just as Celeste's Crystal Hearts demand resilience and determination, so too do the Crystal Hearts of Elden Ring's most challenging bosses.

Venturing into the depths of Elden Ring, you'll encounter adversaries like Malenia, Blade of Miquella, Maliketh, The Black Blade, and Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, each testing your combat prowess and strategic acumen. Fear not, for I stand before you with over 280 hours of experience in the Lands Between, having completed four playthroughs, two of them 100%. And yes, I've vanquished countless Albanurics in pursuit of their precious ruins, I wasn't the one WHO MADE THEM drop SO MUCH runes, but they at least get to eat a wave of gold to the face before they die!

Much like Dark souls, and their franchise in general from FromSoftware, conquering these bosses requires a blend of skill, patience, and a touch of confidence to weather the storm of frustration that may come your way. Elden Ring is a game that can test even the most seasoned adventurers, but together, I believe we can prevail.

Prepare yourselves, tarnished, as we delve into strategies and tactics to fell these fearsome foes. Whether it's exploiting weaknesses, mastering dodges, or coordinating with the Bosses AI, we will leave no stone unturned in our quest for victory.

And remember, amidst the chaos and adversity, it's crucial to stay calm and focused. Elden Ring may push you to the brink of despair, and thats the whole point of the game, its challenging, and its supposed to be, but it's in those moments of challenge that true growth and triumph emerge and make that victory that much more satisfying.

So, let us embark on this perilous journey together, my fellow tarnished. Through detailed explanations, expert insights, and unwavering determination, we shall conquer the hardest bosses Elden Ring has to offer. Brace yourselves, for the true test of your mettle awaits. Together, we shall emerge victorious, ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead in the vast and unforgiving lands of Elden Ring.

First magnanimous steps - The Wonders of Elden Ring!!!

15: Margit, The Fell Omen - Stormveil Castle

Margit, The Fell Omen -

The Elden Ring Margit boss fight is the first mandatory boss fight, and players will have to learn summoning, rolling and stamina control for the best chance at victory. Margit the Fell Omen is tough, but that's sort of the point - he's meant to be a wall that you bounce off a couple of times, to encourage you to explore all of Limgrave and find whatever you can to succeed. In fact, there's a lot you can do early on for the best success rate, including finding Margit's Shackles, a special item that'll actually keep Margit held down for a little while, found in Murkwater Cave, sold by Patches. While it's technically possible to bypass Margit, defeating him is required to face Godrick the Grafted, one of the game's easier demigods, two of which are required to enter Leyndell, Royal Capital.

Margit, the Fell Omen, may not technically be the most difficult boss in Elden Ring, but given how early on he is encountered, he can certainly be pretty tough. The most challenging aspect of his boss fight is a number of delayed attack patterns, maneuvers wtih tricky timing that many later bosses in the game utilize as well.

However, as long as you spend in the surrounding region, eventually you'll have to fight Margit, as he act as a bottleneck to the next phase of Elden Ring. Here is how we will fell the Fell Omen and earn your way into Stormveil.

The recommended level for Margit the Fell Omen is at least 20, ideally 25+. You should also use weapons of +3 or more, if possible, one of the good options is the Lordsworns Straight Sword, from the chest in the middle of the ruins, at Gatefront.

If you’ve successfully made the journey to Stormveil Castle, you’re going to face the Elden Ring Margit boss fight – a brutal introduction to the more powerful bosses in Elden Ring. He has a mix of slow attacks with good counterattack opportunities and relentless combos that leave no breathing room, and only get worse in his second phase.

When facing off against Elden Ring Margit, dodging is crucial to surviving and succeeding in the boss fight. Attacks from his cane weapon deal extremely high physical damage that, when blocked with a shield, almost always results in instantly draining your stamina leaving you open to a lethal blow. Margit also summons a variety of glowing weapons that deal non-physical damage that goes through your shield but can be dodged. Especially watch out for his gleaming throwing knives, which he’ll often to interrupt your Sacred Flask healing breaks.

Try to learn his attack patterns and moves so that you can instinctively react and dodge in the right way. Be aware that moving to attack Margit’s back can cause him to swipe with his tail, which is very tricky to dodge. He can also delay his attacks by holding the wind-up animation if you keep moving, which could result in you getting hit if he catches you out.

One of the best strategies for dealing high damage to Elden Ring Margit is to deal enough damage in a short enough time that he becomes staggered and is open to a Critical Hit. If you’re using a melee weapon, a few well-timed Weapon Art attacks from one of the many Elden Ring Ashes of War can deal the right amount of damage for a stagger. Margit can also be staggered multiple times, allowing you to perform more than one Critical Hit during this boss fight, but it will become much harder in the second phase when his attacks are more relentless.

Another great tactic for defeating Elden Ring Margit is to use Spirit Ashes and Summons as a distraction. Any player will benefit from these, but players using ranged or magic builds will benefit a lot. Any Spirit Ash that summons multiple NPCs to fight with you – such as the wolves – will draw Margit’s attention while you pepper him from afar with arrows, bolts, or spells or get in close with melee weapons. You can even use a gold summoning sign just to the right of the doorway to call on Sorcerer Rogier for some assistance against Margit, and once you get him to half health, then the real fun begins! ;D

In his second phase, which begins once you knock off about one third of his health, Elden Ring Margit will bring out more glowing weapons – specifically a massive sword and a hefty hammer – and will use those to perform a greater variety of attacks. Much like his cane attacks, getting a couple of hits in when he’s recovering from a slow hammer strike can work well. As for the sword attacks, dodging is key – they are too fast to counter and too damaging to block with a shield.

For defeating Margit in Elden Ring, you’ll be rewarded with a heap of Runes and the Talisman Pouch item. This key item gives you one extra Talisman slot for your character at no cost. Talismans are small trinkets that can be equipped to your character and offer a variety of special bonuses. For example, the Crimson Amber Ring Elden Ring Keepsake that players can choose when creating their character is a Talisman, and players can find other Talismans from certain bosses and out in the world.

The number of Runes that Margit drops seems to vary based on your character’s current level, with the number of Runes increasing with higher levels. From my experience, I was already a bit over leveled for Margit, at level 40, but I was able to get 12,000 runes from this bossfight, since it does range from your level, and you should get somewhere between 9k - 12k ruins, or maybe none if Margit doesnt like you lol. Either way, you should be able to level up a couple of times at the very least. A Site of Grace conveniently appears in the area so that you can do so, but to give a little hint hint, MARGITS NOT DONE WITH YOU JUST YET lmao! ;)

14: Rennala, Queen Of The Full Moon - Academy Of Raya Lucaria

Rennala, Queen Of The Full Moon -

The Elden Ring boss presiding over Liurnia of the Lakes, Rennala, is the leader of a long line of Mages, and remains exiled in her home at Raya Lucaria Academy. Her first phase – which is reminiscent of the Deacons of the Deep, one of Dark Souls 3's easiest bosses – isn't particularly strenuous, but beating Rennala requires navigating her tricky second phase.

Set upon an illusory lake, Rennala is now capable of firing damaging beams of magic and summoning imposing ethereal monsters to fight alongside her. Though this Elden Ring boss is certainly not scaled for end-game builds, when encountered at the appropriate level, she can make for a major headache. Rennala's summoned companions make up most of the difficulty, requiring players to fight multiple enemies at once, while simultaneously dodging magical barrages.

The Rennala boss fight in Elden Ring should be the second Shardbearer battle on your godly hit list after taking down Godrick the Grafted. Rennala is the head of the Raya Lucaria Academy of sorcery, and you will face her after spending some time exploring the academy, overcoming smaller challenges, and beating one other boss, the Red Wolf of Radagon.

If you haven’t already, make sure to acquire the Glintstone Key, found east of Raya Lucaria Academy next to a slumbering dragon, necessary for entering the academy, and eventually squaring off with Rennala. Without further ado, here's some guidance on how to beat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon in Elden Ring.

For the Rennala fight, I'd recommend upgrading your weapon to +7/+8 or +3/+4 if somber, and level up your character to 40-45. That said, weapon power doesn’t ultimately have a major effect in this particular fight, as I'm about to explain.

Rennala is a mage, so don’t waste your time enchanting your weapon with any particular status effect - she'll be immune to it. That said, like Godrick, she also does take Bleed damage, but it won’t be the deciding factor.

Being a mage, however, means her Poise and super armour are very low, thanks to the armour she’s wearing. Solid physical damage will win the day here. As for your own armour, wear something with magic resistance – but be aware that your overall Poise and physical defence will drop.

For the second phase of the fight, we recommend bringing in a Spirit Summon. Once again, anything works here, so long as they can last long enough and keep the boss engaged for you to land damage. That said, a summon with multiple smaller units will work better here because of the nature of the fight.

Rennala is what you might think of as a puzzle boss fight. The goal, in the first phase at least, is to figure out the gimmick and execute it enough times to consistently get into the second phase – which is effectively the real fight.

With that in mind, the first phase is easy enough that it might get you to drop your guard, only for you to be overwhelmed in the second phase. Don’t do this, and focus on spending as few healing items as you can in this phase in preparation for the next one.

The first phase of the Rennala fight is straightforward. Your objective is to simply destroy her protective barrier, which sends her tumbling down, allowing you to deal significant damage.

Depending on how powerful your weapon is, you may need to do this two or three times. Rennala stays on the ground for several seconds after each crack, but she eventually levitates again and creates a new barrier.

To break her barrier, you need to kill the children trying to sustain it. The arena is full of her children, but most of them are decoys. The children you’re looking for have a golden aura around them – similar to the colour of Rennala’s barrier. As you get closer, they will sling books at you with decent tracking. These golden aura children won’t always be in view, so you’ll need to scour the arena looking for them. You’ll hear their song get louder the closer you get, which can be a useful way of locating them if you don’t have line of sight.

You need to kill three children for the barrier to break each time. The place is dark and full nooks and crannies, so it might take you a while to find the last child you need for the barrier to break. This process gets harder the deeper into the phase you get, as children will better hide themselves from you.

You don’t actually need to kill the other children in the arena, though you will need to watch out for their attacks – particularly the few of them hiding around corners ready to jab you.

The only big attack you have to be ready for in this phase is Rennala’s projectile barrage. You’ll see her suck up her children, turn them into projectiles and hurl them at you. If you take the entire barrage, you’ll most likely die.

The trick is to anticipate this attack and put as much cover between you and her as possible until it’s over. This becomes harder the longer you stay in phase one, because the bookcases and other objects you might rely on for cover are all destructible. Once she starts muttering about her children being born anew, she’s getting started on formulating this attack – so prepare yourself!

One final thing you need to be mindful of is her big energy blast attack, which she does on the floor just as her barrier is being reformed, allowing her to ascend again. Stay as far away as possible when you see that thing recharging and don’t get greedy, and repeating this enough times, will make her let out the most beautiful scream I think I ever heard XD, before she moves onto phase two.

Phase two is, unsurprisingly, a lot harder, because it’s more of a traditional boss fight, and because it’s essentially made up of two smaller phases itself. Phase two takes place in a new arena, with no cover.

It starts with Rennala firing off a beam at you. You can simply sprint to either side to avoid it. Other, slower spells can be dodged through instead, preferably towards her. Rennala can be interrupted out of these casting animations, and some of them even have very long, obvious tells that afford you enough time to either get closer, or be ready to dodge them.

Dealing damage in this part of the fight is simple, in large part because Rennala is very easily staggered. The trick is, of course, to get closer and not spend the entire fight trying to avoid her spells – which she will use to keep you at a distance.

Occasionally, Rennala will spawn a moon that will track you and explode after a time. It’s slow, however, and easy to dodge. Just keep track of it as it hurtles towards you.

When her health drops down to 50%, that’s when the hardest stretch of the fight will begin. Not only will her ranged attacks continue, Rennala will now also summon Spirit Ashes to aid her against you.

She’ll start off with weaker ones, like the Lone Wolves summon, and gradually upgrade to larger and tougher summons the lower her health gets. When she’s summoning, she will be protected by a white aura on the ground that will deal damage to you (and knock you back) if you stand in it or get touched by it.

The good news is that the spirits she summons won’t stay on the field for long. Every summon will simply perform two or three attacks and vanish, so don’t bother going after them. Your goal is to dodge their attacks, and get to Rennala herself to land a hit or two before backing out. And Voila! Egg lady defeated!

13: Morgott, The Omen King - Leyndell, Royal Capital

Morgott, The Omen King - Leyndell, Royal Capital -

Morgott, the Omen King, is technically a sequel to the fight against the Margit, the Fell Omen (Morgott's alter ego). However, Morgott is even more powerful now than before, holding nothing back in a last-ditch effort to defend the mighty Erdtree from the Tarnished. Morgott fights with a frenetic and hostile nature and can fire magic arrows that will rain down for a pretty long time. He's much more aggressive in his second phase when he starts utilizing a unique weapon art. His attacks in the second phase may be very hard to memorize and dodge, but as is the case with most Elden Ring bosses, staying aggressive is the key to victory.

Morgott’s, like the majority of boss fights in the game, really does benefit from summoning Spirit Ashes to either distract him and create opportunities for you, or simply up your damage potential.

The good news is that Morgott remains sensitive to poison damage, so the Spirit Jellyfish will be excellent here, particularly if you’ve been upgrading it. If you summon it near the start of the fight, it’ll likely stick around and continue dealing poison damage until the end.

Given this fight’s place in Elden Ring’s lore, you can also summon the help of your maiden, Melina, who’s actually pretty capable of dealing damage, not to mention taking Morgott’s gaze off you. You’ll find Melina’s gold summon sign at the mist door on your right.

Her only problem is that she’s very squishy, so if she gets cornered, she’s pretty much done. If you summon her, don’t back off completely so Morgott can alternate between the two of you.

Considering this the next evolution of Margit, you shouldn’t be surprised to see Morgott bring back most of his attacks from that first fight. They’re more condensed now, seeing as he also has to fit in a number of new moves.

The hammer slam from phase two returns, as does all his phase one swipes and dagger throws. Morgott is noticeably faster in this form, so he won’t be delaying attack animations as often as he did in that fight. That said, it’s generally never a good idea to dodge on instinct in Elden Ring, so wait for the animation.

The good news is that the arena is much bigger this time, so there’s no fear of rolling the wrong way and falling off. This does mean, however, that there is no cover whatsoever.

Morgott’s super armour can be broken, but it will take you longer to get to the big boom than in the first fight. That said, it doesn’t hurt to keep poking him from a distance with darts or arrows whenever you can.

This phase is easier to read, as you’ll be familiar with many of its attacks. He opens up with the dagger throws, which can combo into curved sword swipes. New for this fight is a very long Holy spear, which Morgott will use as a longsword in swipes, and as a traditional spear to poke you.

If you decide to create some distance, he’ll typically bounce high into the air and land with both the spear and sword thrusting downwards. Occasionally, he’ll delay one of the two, making this move take longer as you’ll have to watch out for two overhead slams instead of one.

His on-ground attacks have shorter delays, but significantly longer chains. Continue timing your roll until you’re certain he’s done before you try to attack him. Morgott will occasionally bring in the hammer, both using it to swipe low and to slam the ground.

Perhaps the hardest move in this phase is the spear throw, because the startup animation is extremely delayed. The trick is to roll once it leaves his hand, not before. This will take you a few tries to get used to, because the animation is deceiving.

About as hard to dodge (and hard-hitting) is the spear push, where Morgott will drive his spear towards you at speed. You not only have to watch out for the spear’s own hitbox as he gets closer, but also time your dodge to avoid the thrust attack ending the move. Once again, only roll just as he’s about to thrust – you can simply back off to avoid the drive itself.

Morgott is more agile in this form and will constantly flip between long combos and fast dodges to try and get behind you. Don’t overcommit to rolling as you may be caught out of stamina, causing some of those wide swipes to catch you. If you get behind him yourself, be prepared to dodge the tail swipe.

Finally, the boss has one more area-clearing attack that calls in a rain of Holy swords. The animation for this one is well-telegraphed, and you’ll know exactly where the swords will land before they do, making it easy to avoid. Swords will keep falling for a while in the same pattern before the attack ends.

The trick is to watch out for them as you also keep an eye on the boss. Morgott will resume normal attacks at that point, and it can be harder to track him because of all the shining lights (and the hit to your framerate) during the barrage. Try not to get close, as you’ll most definitely roll into falling swords.

Morgott starts phase two by kneeling down and sending off a massive energy blast. When he does, don’t be tempted to stick around and whack him; you’ll more likely get hit.

The blast itself deals damage, and knocks you back. It also spawns various pools of lava that will quickly deplete your health if you stand in (or get knocked into) them. Wait for him to finish this attack before you resume the fight.

If you saved your Spirit Ash summon, now would be a good time to call upon it. His phase two-starting routine will buy you enough time to ring the bell.

It’s also worth keeping an eye out for these bursts of lava throughout this phase, as they can be hard to anticipate given their colour against the water covering the arena floor.

All phase one attacks make a comeback in this one, but Morgott’s longsword now alternates between two affinities: bleed and fire. The latter is the more constant, but he will occasionally imbue his longsword with blood.

When this happens, there are two main moves you need to watch out for. The first is a grab attack that will impale you on the sword and deal massive damage (if not outright kill you). Simply sprint away from him when you see the wind-up.

The second is a double swipe where he twirls before each. You can dodge twice to avoid both of them, so long as you wait for the animation and not simply spam dodge twice in a row. Both attacks leave behind a brief trail of fire in the air that follows the arc of the swing. If your dodges put you too close, you will take damage as you get back up, so be mindful of where you are in relation to the swipes.

As long as you keep this up, you should eventually be able to fell the omen king once more, and be rewarded with his Great Rune, as well as the Rememberance of the Omen King!

12: Astel, Stars Of Darkness - Yelough Anix Tunnel

Astel, Stars of Darkness -

There are two fights against Astel in Elden Ring, the first against Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, and the second against Astel, Stars of Darkness. Naturalborn of the Void is the final hurdle in Ranni the Witch's questline, but Stars of Darkness appears later in the game, has more HP, and an additional attack. Astel has plenty of magical spells under its belt, and it's capable of launching meteorites, casting gravity magic, and even teleporting. Anyone who gets close to this beast will be ravaged by a shockwave, but keep some distance, and the Elden Ring boss will fire a damaging laser beam. With these moves, players will have to battle this creature both at close range and from a distance.

Even as an optional boss, we suspect Astel will go down in history as one of FromSoftware's best boss encounters due to the atmosphere and aesthetic alone. It also helps that the fight's mechanics and challenge are tight and rewarding, which is really all you can ask for in these titles.

You may remember this boss as Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, is a Legend Boss part of Ranni, the Witch's questline. While this is an optional boss in the grand scheme of things, it is a mandatory battle if you wish to continue Ranni's story. To get to Astel, you will need to reach Grand Cloister, nestled deep within the Lake of Rot and a high-level area. For this particular fight, we suggest being at least Level 55-60.

If you emerge victoriously over Astel, you will be paid handsomely with 80,000 Runes and the Remembrance of the Naturalborn, which can be exchanged for items via Enia at the Roundtable Hold.

Astel, Stars of Darkness is located in the southwest region of the Consecrated Snowfield, deep within the Yelough Anix Tunnel. This encounter is completely optional and isn't required to advance any character arc or side quest. Though, if you decide to take this boss on, be sure to be around Level 80-90, as the Consecrated Snowfield, in general, has harder-hitting enemies.

Unlike Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, the Stars of Darkness version of Astel is not a Legend or Demigod Boss and doesn't drop a Rememberance as a result. However, you will get 120,000 Runes out of it, which isn't too bad at this stage of the game. Other than that, they share broadly the same stats and attacks. So, if you can beat one of them, the other shouldn't give you much trouble.

Astel possesses many brutal attacks that will trip you up the first few attempts but has well telegraphed and easy to counter moves. For the most part, that is. There are a small number of attacks in Astel's arsenal that will completely blindside you, leaving you to feel defeated, cheated, and shamed. But, hopefully, we can explain the best way to prepare and react to its more "unfair" moves, and for that, we're gonna need to come up with a battle strategy! Get your wits together, for meteorite bullet hell! ;D

While Astel doesn't possess many unfair or poorly telegraphed moves, they all still hit incredibly hard and will end you faster than you know it if you aren't careful. Overall, once you learn Astel's patterns, how to exploit them, and what it is weak to, you should be good to go!

For melee users, i'd strongly recommend using either the Halo Scythe or any of the Holy Damage Ashes of War to amplify your damage output tenfold, for instance, prayerful strike which deals immense holy damage and regains 30% of your hp, or if you have an armament that can be applied to with greases, some holy grease will make quick work of Astel. Regardless of your weapon of choice, however, the best strategy for besting Astel is to dodge through its many ranged and AoE-based attacks until you get up close and personal. Here, you will have ample opportunity to land several attacks on its head until it teleports away. When it does that, wait to see if it teleported across the arena or above you, and react accordingly. Once Astel moves across the battlefield, rinse and repeat until the battle is over.

Furthermore, if you want to see what the Mimic Tear Ashes is all about, then pair it with your Halo Scythe and watch the magic unfold as you and your mimic spam Miquella's Ring of Light into Astel's face, forcing it into submission. Seriously, if you have the means to upgrade the Mimic Tear Ashes and your Halo Scythe, we strongly recommend doing so if you're struggling with this encounter. This combination will end the battle before it even begins. The only reason I wouldn't use this is if you are trying to put certian restrictions on not using mimic tear, since I understand people think of it as a cheat code, and that's why myself-included didn't use mimic tear, wanting a challenge, but I still used a good summon, so if you don't want mimic tear, Black Knife Tiche from lower western liurnia, is a top tier summon that can inflict destined death, so that's always an option! And now for the ranged strategy, COMET AZU.... ;)

Okay, so if you are a mage, due to Astel having pretty nasty mid to long-range attacks, i'd recommend staying a bit closer to it this battle unless you are extremely confident in your rolling game. However, one benefit you magic-wielders have is the ability to maintain a "sweet spot" and continuously pelt Astel with Magic or Incantation until it teleports. This will only work when somewhere in the close to mid-range distances and baiting Astel's tail attack. However, once the meteor phase comes into play, you will have to change things up slightly.

We also recommend using Spirit Ashes, but only for mere distraction. Having a Spirit Ash pull Astel's focus will allow you to cast many uncontested spells and attacks, which is always a plus. However, if you're entirely against Spirit Ashes, we also urge you to use Holy or Rot-focused Magic or Incantations, as they seem to deal the most damage on Astel, if you have the pulley crossbow, and add barrage with it along with rot arrows, or use Scarlet Aeonia from Malenia if you have it, that shreds him into pieces like a paper grinder XD, and with enough tries, confidence, and imploring from the Elden Ring gods, I believe you can fell this monster of a beast, and live to tell the tale!

11: Commander Niall - Castle Sol

Commander Niall -

The final barrier between the player and Miquella's Haligtree, Commander Niall, is a tough Elden Ring boss made all the more difficult by the fact that he summons two soldiers to aid in the fight. Once they are dispatched – a feat that requires the player to balance three enemies at a time – Commander Niall unleashes some devastating lightning and frost attacks that cover large areas, and dodging them requires some serious precision. Ultimately, Elden Ring's Commander Niall isn't anywhere near as tough as what's waiting for the player beneath the Haligtree, but he serves as a suitable blockade for those foolish enough to pursue Elden Ring's actual hardest boss.

Curled up in the Mountiantops of the Giants, in a towering fortress known as Castle Sol, he resides in an agonising state, upholding the last bastion of hope towards protecting the secrecy of the haligtree, as the medallion required to enter the consecrated snowfields and enter passage into the haligtree, half resides in his very hands.

Now there are multiple ways to go about this, and for the people who want to partially cheese him, you can buy 5 bewitching branches from Liurnia merchant, at the beginning of the swampy marsh, who sells them for 1600 ruins, and if you time it right, you can run to the right or left of Commander Niall, and while he is spawning his two knights, you can tap one, or if you get lucky even both of them with bewitching branches, and turn them against him, and with 1 knight, get him down to around 60% health, and with 2, 25%, so if you are struggling, thats always an option, but as for the real souls players like me, who want to feel agony, here is the battle strategy!

First of all we need to cover his strengths, and along with some extremely quick, successive AoE attacks, he mainly deals physical and lightning damage. Commander Niall has some powerful lightning-based attacks, usually with his prosthetic leg, or halberd. in the second phase. If you want to survive this fight, you'll need to increase your lightning damage negation to deal with these moves.

Fortunately, there are a few items you can get to help with this. The Boltdrake Talisman, found in Stormveil Castle, is one of the best talismans in Elden Ring for this situation, as it slightly increase your protection against lightning damage. To boost your lightning damage negation even further, use a Lightningproof Dried Liver.

This is a consumable that you can find throughout Elden Ring, but you can also craft them if you have the Ancient Dragon Apostle's Cookbook (4), which you'll find in Crumbling Farum Azula. You might not have reached this area yet, so proceed through the main story and come back to Commander Niall when you can craft Lightningproof Dried Liver.

Whether you're sparring with one of the spirits or with Commander Niall himself, you'll face some particularly powerful attacks. Outside of the special lightning moves in phase 2 that we mentioned above, you'll get smacked and walloped by mostly physical attacks. Many of these will deal huge damage, so come prepared with heavy armor.

Many of the options in our list of the best armor sets in Elden Ring offer massive bonuses to physical resistance, such as Lionel's set and General Radahn's armor. Consider using one of these so that you can tank through any enemy combos that land during this fight.

Some might not like summoning spirits, but if Commander Niall plays dirty then so should you. Summoning spirits will make this fight a lot more manageable, as your summon should distract Niall's allies.

There are plenty of viable options here, but we recommend using either the Mimic Tear or the Wolves. Despite getting nerfed in path 1.03, the Mimic Tear still tanks very well, making it the perfect choice for holding enemy aggression in this fight. On the other hand, summoning the three wolf spirits will overwhelm Niall and his allies, allowing you to land some easy hits on any opponent while they're distracted.

After summoning your own spirits, head straight over to the dual-sword spirit that Niall spawns. As it appears, you can land some easy hits before its animations kick in. If you use heavy attacks, you might even manage to stagger this spirit.

Once it is staggered, move to its front and perform a visceral by using a light attack. This will deal massive damage and hopefully kill the dual-sword spirit before it can get involved in the fight.

The hardest part about this fight is trying to survive attacks from all three enemies at once, so we strongly recommend taking this chance right at the start to quickly defeat one of Niall's spirits. Since the dual-sword spirit deals more damage, that's the one you should kill here.

With the first spirit down, we recommend that you focus on Commander Niall while your spirits keep the shield summon occupied. Commander Niall is rather weak during his first phase, which usually lasts until he reaches half health. However, if you kill both summons, it will trigger the second phase early, making the rest of this fight much more difficult.

While your summons keep the shield spirit busy, you can wail on Commander Niall and easily blaze through the first half of this fight. When he reaches half health, the shield spirit will disappear and Niall will gain some new moves.

If Commander Niall raises his leg, this indicates that he is about to use a lightning attack. When he slams his leg down, it will deal damage to anything nearby, so run away when you notice this wind-up animation. Niall also has another move during which he leaps into the air and slams down to the ground. You can avoid this by running to the side and rolling when he hits the ground.

Aside from the lightning-based attacks, Niall also uses some frostbite moves. If you see Niall spinning his halberd around in the air, back away as fast as you can. This will unleash a cloud that deals frostbite damage to anything in the nearby vicinity.

Likewise, Niall will occasionally turn away and start drawing in this frosty cloud. While this might seem like a good chance to punish, we recommend backing away quickly, as Niall will send a frost cloud throughout the arena shortly after.

Since Niall should only have half health when he gains these attacks, you can use the above tips to avoid these moves. Strike patiently between Niall's attacks and you should slowly whittle his health down until he dies.

10: Draconic Tree Sentinel - Capital Outskirts

Draconic Tree Sentinel -

Players will encounter the Tree Sentinels multiple times throughout their adventures in Elden Ring's Lands Between, but while the most infamous fight stands just outside the game's tutorial area, another particularly fearsome Elden Ring boss guards the back entrance to Leyndell, Royal Capital. Found before a fog gate, the Draconic Tree Sentinel is typically a massive challenge relative to almost anything that's come before. Agile, tough to hit, and capable of launching lighting strikes that require almost frame-perfect precision, the Draconic Tree Sentinel boss fight represents a serious barrier to progression, playing a similar role to Margit.

This has been another pounding barrier that has stopped quite a few rambunctious souls, dead in their tracks after encountering this fearsome foe. However, as per usual, there are ways and strategies that you can take into account to defeat this Draconian beast.

In all regards, the Draconic Tree Sentinel is a more intimidating challenge than the regular Tree Sentinel. They are a big fan of using fireballs to cause damage to the player at close-mid range, as well as using their shield and hammer in extremely quick strikes to overwhelm the Tarnished.

The Draconic Tree Sentinel will use a number of different attacks with his hammer at close range that cause a huge amount of damage combined into a combo. He will use the Lunging Strike to close the distance and begin a combo. Rolling towards the side of his massive shield should help the Tarnished in avoiding the combo.

The Hammer Attack is a massive overhead strike that will cause massive damage to anything stood on the left side of him. The Hammer Strike is a more deadly version of the Hammer Attack because there is virtually no windup to it; it will basically come out of nowhere. Therefore, sticking to his right side (his shield side) is a good method to make sure he uses these attacks as little as possible.

Another is his Sentinels Slam. This AoE attack will be telegraphed by the Sentinel's horse rearing back as he holds his hammer up high. After a long delay, he will swing the hammer down and will cause damage to standing in the nearby area. This can be dodged by using invincibility frames to roll through the attack, but it's much easier to simply run away so that the player is out of range.

The Tarnished will also have to worry about the horse that the Draconic Tree Sentinel rides on. The horse will rear back and lunge forwards to leap onto the player. The tracking is extremely accurate with this attack, which will make dodging extremely difficult. Therefore, it is recommended that the player tries to get behind the horse by sprinting or retreating out of range.

One of the most annoying attacks that the Draconic Tree Sentinel can use is a fireball, which is mostly used when the player tries to heal. To heal, the player can wait for the horse to shoot a fireball and then heal before he can shoot another. To dodge them, simply roll to the side and at close range roll towards the Sentinel's shield side.

In this phase, the Draconic Tree Sentinel will swipe forward with his weapon, sending out a massive wave of lightning that will track the player for a long range. The only way to dodge this is to roll through the wave at just the right moment. The Tarnished should also be aware that this attack will usually be followed up with the Thunderous Smite attack.

Another attack commenly used is, the honed bolt. The Draconic Tree Sentinel will start an attack similar to the Shield Smash, but as the shield is brought down, a bolt of lightning will strike right where the player is standing. Players can dodge by standing right under his shield or dodging right as he brings his shield down (the timing will be very precise).

The Tarnished should focus on staying on the shield side of The Draconic Tree Sentinel to avoid a number of his hammer attacks. In terms of how to deal damage best, the sentinel is very weak to blood loss and rot effects.

He can also be killed without ever entering combat, if the player wants to cheese the fight by sneaking up behind him and using Poison Mist multiple times over the course of about 15 minutes. This will gradually reduce his health until he eventually drops dead without him even noticing the player, but if you are doing this regularly, keep at it, stay determined, and eventually, success is inevitable!

9: Radagon Of The Golden Order - Inside The Erdtree

Radagon of the Golden Order -

Radagon happens to be the first half of Elden Ring's two-stage final boss fight alongside the Elden Beast. Radagon's short-ranged melee attacks may seem simple for the most part, but they're also very strong and can give players a headache. In addition to those melee moves, Radagon can also fire beam projectiles and pull off slam moves, and his attacks are often as difficult to withstand as they are to dodge.

The final boss of Elden Ring is split into two phases represented by distinct characters. The first phase of the final fight belongs to Radagon of the Golden Order, an incredibly powerful figure who stands at the center of Elden Ring's history and story. The second phase belongs to the Elden Beast, a creature sent to the Lands Between by the Greater Will.

Radagon of the Golden Order wields the same hammer seen in the game's intro cinematic, and his attacks are as beautiful to witness as they are dangerous to be struck by. Radagon is one of Elden Ring's final bosses, but he's far from the game's hardest fight. Don't take the current Elden Lord lightly, though, as one wrong move can mean meeting the blunt end of Marika's Hammer.

Radagon of the Golden Order has a varied moveset that includes AoE attacks, grab attacks, thrown weapon attacks, close-range Hammer combos, and gap-closing jump and thrust attacks. He uses a mix of hard-hitting melee moves and Holy-based Incantations, and some of his attacks have strange timings that can be difficult to anticipate and dodge correctly.

There are a few Talismans that can be incredibly helpful in this endgame fight. The +2 versions of the Pearldrake and Dragoncrest Greatshield Talismans are fantastic boosts to defense across the board. Pair these two with the +2 version of the Haligdrake Talisman to get Holy absorption above 50%. Most of Radagon's attacks are slow or delayed, so be sure to pay attention to his movements and you'll have no problem dodging his regular attacks.

Radagon might not be the game's most difficult boss, but that's mostly because most players arrive at this final fight in the Erdtree having spent ages refining their build. Compared to someone like, say, Malenia, Radagon's attacks are slow but heavy-hitting. Spend some time getting used to the delayed timings of his slam attacks and practice dodging through attacks rather than away to create more attack opportunities.

The best Spirit Ashes to use in this fight are single-summons that can move quickly enough to avoid most of his attacks. Black Knife Tiche is a great choice for this fight as she is exceptionally fast and has a good mix of strong melee moves and reliable ranged attacks. Because of Radagon's weakness to Black Flame attacks, Black Flame Monk Amon is a good choice too, though he is exceptionally squishier than Tiche or the ever-popular Mimic Tear. How great thou cheese Mimic tear, how great thou cheese! XD

Elden Ring players who specced into Strength and Incantations will find the fight against Radagon easiest. This might seem counter-intuitive, as he's incredibly resistant to Holy Damage, but Incantation-users hardly ever use Faith for its Holy damage anyway. Radagon has almost no resistance to Fire attacks, the Black Flame, and the Frenzied Flame.

If you're a caster and having a hard time with Radagon, consider respeccing and hunting down the Black Flame or Flame of Frenzy Incantations to take down Radagon with ridiculous ease. Because Radagon can be staggered and reliably Critically Hit, it's a good idea to use melee weapons that deal huge Poise damage like Colossal Greatswords or dual-wielded Katanas, and if you are duel wielding Katanas, I suggest hand of Malenia, for its amazing ash of war which is great on enemies with large hitboxes, aka Elden Beast, and its power stance is superb since the hand of Malenia is the highest standard attacking Katana in the game.

Melee players have a few routes they can use when taking on Radagon. Staggering Radagon with Colossal weapons is a great way to interrupt his moveset, though his airborne attacks can't be disrupted. Thanks to his lack of Flame resistance using Fire Grease or the Flame scaling option on your weapon can raise damage output considerably. The main thing you should consider as a melee player, though, is positioning. Radagon is easier in close-quarters battle than ranged as he leaves lots of Light Attack opportunities between his slow swings. However, this also requires players to dodge most of his Hammer swings, which is a task easier said than done. Don't get greedy with your opportunity attacks – it's rare you'll be to get more than two hits at once.

As for Ranged players, open the fight with your strongest spell or hardest-hitting arrows as Radagon will take his time closing the distance until you cast or shoot the first arrow. He has a lot of attacks that affect a wide area or can be thrust at the player with little time to respond, especially if you're in the middle of a casting animation. Consider summoning a Spirit Ash to distract Radagon and have space to cast spells. With or without summons, pay careful attention to Radagon when he launches into the air or when he prepares a Lightning Spear. It's better to dodge out of the way of these attacks than to get caught in them, no matter how close your spell is to being cast.

Apart from those tips, stay strong, you're so close to the end of the game, and by now you have conquered much harder foes than Radagon, so even though he may prove a challenge, tell yourself your previous victories, and hopefully, you will be able to take down Radagon, and stand face to face with the Elden Beast.

8: Mohg, Lord Of Blood - Mohgwyn Palace

Mohg, Lord of Blood -

Elden Ring's Mohg boss is fairly out of the way, and those who don't seek out Varre or venture across the Consecrated Snowfields likely won't find him. He utilizes magical spells that can be easily dodged, but they deal an incredible amount of damage when they connect. It's not until his health is half depleted that he kicks things into high gear and casts an unblockable blood spell across the screen. Mohg takes on a winged form in the second phase of the fight, giving him more speed. Moreover, his attacks can cover more ground. He's certainly not the most difficult optional boss in Elden Ring, and there are ways to cheese the Mohg fight, but those who seek him out legitimately ought to be prepared for a fight.

Mohg, Lord of Blood is an entirely optional boss in Elden Ring. You don’t need to beat him to progress any of the game’s endings. Mohg is also a demigod Shardbearer, meaning your reward for beating him will be a Great Rune. That said, this particular Great Rune is really only geared towards PvP players, though, so its powers won't benefit most PvE players.

Still, if you seek a challenge, you’ll find an unusual gimmick to be experienced in this fight. I would recommend leaving Mohg until the end of the game, either after defeating Godfrey or a little before.

Mohg’s boss fight is tough, particularly if it takes you a little while to figure out the gimmick and how to best deal with it. As usual, I do recommend summoning a Spirit Ash to make the fight a little more manageable, and whatever one that may be, note that Mohg is very susceptible to Frost, Poison, Bleed and Rot, so any spirit ash that inflicts that, such as Jellyfish for Poison, or Stray for Rot, will be immensely helpful in the expanse of the fight.

Make sure to mix your Flask of Wondrous Physik with the Purifying Crystal Tear, obtained from defeating Violet Finger Eleanora at the Second Church of Marika in Altus Plateau. This is vital for surviving Mohg's blood curse during the battle.

Your Ace in the hole, however, is Mohg’s Shackle – an item that binds Mohg for a time and could make the first phase of the fight a cakewalk. Mohg’s Shackle works similarly to Margit’s Shackle, which you may have used when you fought his brother.

It is absolutely possible to beat Mohg, Lord of Blood without Mohg’s Shackle. If you do bring it, you can only use it a maximum of two times in the first phase of the fight. You can use it from any distance, and it will trap Mohg for a couple of seconds, letting you deal damage uninterrupted, and you can find this in the subterranean shunning grounds below the Royal capital, in a well near the stone dragon, towering over the city.

Mohg, Lord of Blood delays some of his attacks like many of the major bosses in Elden Ring, though not quite to the same extent. His trident attacks deal significant damage if they connect, though you can either block or dodge them.

The real threat will be his Blood Claw attacks, which cause two types of damage, one of which is delayed, and can be comboed into a major trident charge. Generally speaking, try to stay close to the boss in both phases, as creating distance will cause him to spray blood around the arena – which gets dangerous in the second phase thanks to the added flames, causing DoT, similar to that of Putrid Tree Avatars, where their jump slam causes corrosive rot, in this case, its corrosive flames, and a lot more of it!

Phase one of Mohg’s fight is the easiest by far. You start off on opposite ends of the arena. Begin by summoning your Spirit Ash, and keep in mind that you have two uses of Mohg’s Shackle in the phase.

In this phase, Mohg has a small set of attacks. You can dodge or block his trident attacks, which can be delayed. His Blood Claw attack is more deceiving, because it essentially has two forms.

Regardless, every Blood Claw attack will deal damage if it connects, and cause an explosion in the space. If you dodge one, you might not be able to dodge the other.

Keep an eye on his left hand. The front-handed Blood Claw attack is the easiest to avoid, as the animation is slower and better-telegraphed. It’s typically followed up by a trident swipe.

The back-handed version is followed up by a trident rushdown. This charge will deal damage along the way, and on the final hit of the animation. The back-handed Blood Claw typically comes out faster than the front-handed version. If you dodge away to avoid the claw attack, you can dodge into him to escape the trident charge.

Occasionally, Mogh will reach into the air with his left hand, creating a shower of blood. Simply move away to avoid it.

Outside of that, Mohg has two other trident attacks in this phase. The first sees him plant it into the ground. When you spot him doing that, dodge away from where the trident was planted, as you will take damage when he pulls it out. The boss also raises the trident to create a brief blood shower and buff it for a single move. Both are easily avoidable by rolling away.

During this phase, Mohg will cast a curse mark (red ring) around you on several occasions. There’s no way to dodge this or get rid of the effect, but you’ll hear him shout Tres, Duo, or Unus with each one – and each signifies reaching a certain health threshold.

Drink your Flask of Wondrous Physik with the Purifying Crystal Tear at any point during the first phase to remove the curse effect. If you don't, you'll suffer heavy bloodloss during the second phase. Mohg will still recover health in the second phase, but at least you'll survive.

The real fight begins in the second phase, so your goal in this one is to use as few of your flasks as possible, seeing as you’re about to need them in the second phase.

Once Mohg’s health drops to 50% or below, he’ll begin the transition to phase two. This is a key moment of the fight, as you may not survive it and reach the second phase if you don’t know what to do.

Mohg will hold the trident aloft with both hands, and the arena will turn red. He’ll shout Nihil three times, latin for nothing, healing himself with each by sapping your own HP. Each shout will interrupt your own healing, so you want to time your flask chugs between shouts to refill your HP before you’re out completely. Depending on how large your own HP pool is, the ideal time is to do it between the second and third Nihil.

Mohg does take damage in this transition, so don’t be afraid to land a few hits while he's casting. The more blows you land, the lower his health is going to be once he’s done casting.

This phase is tough, as Mohg is going to grow some wings, and all of his attacks will be buffed with blood and fire damage – meaning avoiding the initial hit won’t be enough like in the first phase. He also has a tendency to carpet the area in blood and fire pools, making the arena tricky to navigate as you try to keep your eye on him.

Your summon should keep him busy for some of that, but you otherwise want to wait for your opening before attacking. All of the phase one attacks remain, and they’re all buffed.

New to this phase is a five-hit combo that starts with Mohg levitating to cast a brief blood shower, quickly descend towards you to perform a wide swing, an upwards swing, and ending it by jumping up and landing to plant the trident into the ground. This final attack also causes a big flame explosion when he removes the trident. This is the most dangerous combo in the entire fight, as any one of those attacks will hit you for considerable damage.

When he’s not doing that, he’ll use his wings to boost up his jump attacks, but those are easy to avoid by rolling into him.

7: Elden Beast - Inside The Erdtree

Elden Beast -

Elden Beast is the final boss of the Leyndell, Ashen Capital area, and the true final boss of Elden Ring. Elden Beast is encountered after defeating Radagon of the Golden Order, and could be considered the second phase of his fight.

Finally the true final boss is revealed, the mysterious Elden Beast. He bears a resemblance to some of the large enemies we have encountered through the game, particularly Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, but with a giant sword and full arsenal of powerful holy spells. Thankfully the Elden Beast is pretty easy as far as final bosses go, so take a deep breath and get ready to wrap this game up. but fortunately i've still got 6 bosses to rant about before I wrap this guide up! ;D

Just a quick tip, because of the constant Holy damage output in this fight you should consider equipping the Haligdrake Talisman and keeping some Holyproof Dried Livers on hand. Additionally, consider a shield with higher Holy resist, such as the Brass Shield, Crucible Hornshield, Golden Greatshield, or the Erdtree Greatshield. As far as weapons go, I personally love Hand of Malenia, or Elanora's Poleblade for their consecutive attacks, and their large hitboxes that destroys

Much like the dragon enemies we have battled in the past the best place to stand when attacking the Elden Beast is in its side, near the back legs. Our basic strategy should be to try and bait the Elden Beast to do one of its slow, easily avoided melee attacks, then rush in and get as many attacks to its belly as you can before it swims away. Thankfully the Beast's sword swings are incredibly obvious and slow, so you can either put up your shield and simply block them, or just roll through to get to a closer position.

Another melee attack it likes to do is an arm thrust. The Beast will summon a ball of light into its offhand, then thrust it forward towards you. Like the sword swings, this attack is highly telegraphed and easily avoided by just rolling through the orb as it comes toward you. This is another great opportunity to take a few swings at the boss's belly.

If the Beast's mouth starts leaking flames you want to strafe and run away as fast as possible to avoid getting caught in the large area of effect fire breath. If you can move quickly enough to get behind the beast you can avoid it entirely. This is one of the beasts most damaging attacks, I wouldn't recommend trying to shield up and go toe to toe with it, but if you are feeling risky, if you place yourself, perfectly behind the beast's back, you can manage to avoid the hitbox of the flames and get some easy hits on the behind, albeit rather hard.

The Beast also has a few different perfume attacks, reminiscent of the ones Astel used in his fight. He can spread the perfume in a forward line, or use it to create a wall in front of him. With both of these options simply step away from the perfume before it explodes to avoid the damage. The third perfume attack is a slam. The beast will summon a cloud of perfume in its offhand, then smack the ground to trigger an explosion. The best option here is just to roll away, then run back in for more attacks once the perfume fades.

For the Beast's final perfume attack, it will turn away from you and summon a giant cloud of perfume as it swims away. The perfume will hang in the air for a moment, then a golden flash will cause it to explode, dealing massive holy damage to you if you stand to close. The best strategy here is just to get away as soon as you see the cloud of perfume appear. The Beast takes a moment to regain its composure after the explosion, so use that time to get back into attack range.

Shown above, is perhaps the most dangerous melee attack is the Beast's sword thrust, which it telegraphs by rearing back and grabbing the handle of the sword with both hands. It will point the blade toward the ground, then stick it into the ground, causing a massive explosion after 2-3 seconds. This is another instance where you will want to simply back away as quick as you can.

When it gets far enough away the Beast will choose between a few different attacks. One is a long range sword projectile, similar to the one Maliketh used. Just like Maliketh's, these are easily dodged by just dodging toward the beast before the blades hit you. This will also let you quickly close the gap between you and the boss.

The most annoying attacks of all are the Beast's two holy spells, which it will not hesitate to use whether you are close or far away. For one, it will run its hand along its sword, gathering holy energy in its hand before letting it loose. This ball of energy will chase you around the battlefield, letting off bits of holy shrapnel that deal small amount of damage. It will follow you for about 15-20 seconds before exploding. Thankfully the shrapnel damage doesn't stun, so you can heal through it if needed. The best strategy here is just to keep moving away from the ball of energy, and keep dodging whatever other attacks the Beast throws at you in the meantime.

The other spell is similar, but far more dangerous. The Beast's entire body will glow and it will spread out its wings, letting a bunch of holy missiles out of its back. These missiles will fly high into the sky, then come raining down on you all at once. If you stand in one spot the barrage will tear you apart in seconds, so just start running left or right to avoid the arrow rain, which thankfully only lasts about 5 seconds.

The Beast has a large healthpool, but if you stay on top of it and keep the attacks coming you will eventually take it down. Your prize for defeating the final boss is the Elden Remembrance and a whole lotta Runes. Afterwards you will be deposited back to the Stone Platform where you battled Radagon. Approach his corpse to trigger the game's final cutscene and see your ending, unfortunately however, it doesnt have a death count screen so you can see how many times you died out of two ways. Dying to a boss, or RIDING TORRENT OF THE SIDE OF A CLIFF lmao ;)

6: Godskin Duo - Crumbling Farum Azula

Godskin Duo -

The Godskin Duo is the midboss of the Crumbling Farum Azula. This boss is a combination of two previous bosses, the Godskin Noble and the Godskin Apostle. Similar to the Four Kings from Dark Souls, you need to deplete the boss health bar by defeating multiple iterations of each foe. This boss is located at the bottom of the Dragon Temple area.

Godskin Noble. Godskin Apostle. As if these guys weren't annoying enough on their own, now you get to battle them at the same time! Lucky for you right! ;) Just because these are familiar foes does not make things much easier, but the silver lining is that these are weakened versions of the bosses.

If you have yet to upgrade any Ashes now is a great opportunity to even the odds against these tough foes. As always the Mimic Tear Ashes or Black Knife Tiche is a highly recommended partner for this battle, but you might also consider some other summons like the Nightmaiden & Swordstress Puppets or the Marionette Soldier Ashes to give yourself the number advantage. Since you are nearing the end of the game, you should have ample materials to spare!

You should already be at least somewhat familiar with these enemies from your past encounters, so my main advice for this new encounter is simple: cheese them (a little). There are a number of large pillars scattered around the boss arena which you can use to put distance between you and the bosses. They will crumble when attacked, and certain moves and projectiles will reach over them, but the bosses can not simply walk over them like you can giving you a massive advantage when you use them correctly.

The most annoying aspect of this fight is that the two bosses will often stick close together and constantly throw projectiles at you when at a distance, but by positioning yourself around the pillar you can force them to split up and even block some of their black fireballs. This strategy allows you to create more openings to punish one boss or the other. Additionally, if you have a projectile, spell, or a weapon with a medium to long range weapon art (like Moonveil or Sword of Night and Flame) you can hit them through the pillar like they will try to do to you.

Like I said before, these are weakened versions of the Godskin bosses, mostly when it comes to their health pools. You will notice they die very quickly, but the boss health bar is quite massive. Similar to the Four Kings from Dark Souls more Godskin bosses will keep spawning until you have depleted the entire bar. The good news is once one boss dies it takes some time for another to spawn. This is your chance to really lay into the other Godskin boss, and this is where you need to dictate the pace of the fight most of all.

Your goal should be to use whatever resources necessary to burst down one of the Godskin bosses, whichever once you feel less confident against in the one on one. For example, I split the two enemies up and then unleashed a Rivers of Blood full weapon art combo (as always, Bleed is HIGHLY effective) to kill one of the bosses near the start. Turn your focus to the other boss, doing as much damage as you can while you wait for them to summon. When you see them calmly and slowly raise their hand into the air they are preparing to summon their ally back, and this is your opening to unleash whatever big combo you have to burn down the second foe.

In this way you should almost always be able to keep yourself in a one on one, or at least have one of the bosses incredibly weakened at all times. In my fight I had to kill four Godskin bosses in total to fully deplete the health bar. The reward for defeating this army of Godskin warriors is the Smithing Stone Miner's Bell Bearing [4] and the Ash of War: Black Flame Tornado. Rest at the newly spawned Dragon Temple Altar Site of Grace and prepare to explore the rest of the dungeon, because trust me. There are 2 more bosses from Crumbling Farum Azula on this list, and both are more than eager to drain your sanity into smithereens, so good luck! ;)

5: Godfrey, First Elden Lord/ Hoarah Loux - Leyndell, Ashen Capital

Godfrey, First Elden Lord/ Hoarah Loux -

Hoarah Loux, Warrior (Also known as the true form of Godfrey, First Elden Lord, is the second to last fight in Leyndell, Ashen Capital at the end of the game, and guards the entrance to the Erdtree itself. He has two major phases which ramp up the difficulty! This is more or less the same Godfrey, First Elden Lord boss battle we experienced our first time through Leyndell, and just like that version of Godfrey this one is highly susceptible to Guard Counter abuse.

Godfrey became the first Tarnished after being exiled from the Lands Between, but he returns to the Ashen Capital when the player is on the brink of toppling the Golden Order. He is very aggressive in his boss fight, wielding a battleaxe that can deal tons of damage. In his first phase, the Elden Ring boss moves slowly, but his cadence can make him tough to track, and he frequently produces debilitating shock waves by stomping the ground.

Godfrey's second phase sees him reverting to his alter ego, Hoarah Loux, Warrior, a title previously held when he conquered the giants, prior to becoming First Elden Lord. To do this, Godfrey removes Serosh, the Lord of Beasts, from his back, who was suppressing Godfrey's bloodlust so he could act according to his lordship. Now shirtless and coated in blood, Hoarah Loux shirks his axe, fighting bare-fisted and even more aggressive. Outclassing Radagon, Godfrey is the toughest boss in Elden Ring's final stretch.

As you enter the battle, he almost always opens with just jumping axe throw. Simply roll backwards to avoid the axe impact, then you can sneak in 2-3 attack on Godfrey when he lands and picks it back up.

From here you just want to stay near Godfrey with your shield up at pretty much all times. We want to wait out one of his many slow swinging attacks so we can Guard Counter him into a topple. In general there rule is that is he slams his axe INTO the ground rather than sweeping it across the ground, the combo is over. He also like to telegraph when his big combo enders are coming by delaying his swing extra long or spinning the axe over his head. These are the moments where you can toss in a Guard Counter, but if your defense and poise are high enough you can sometimes hit multiple Guard Counters across one of his combos and just power through the damage. After a topple you have just enough time to drink a flask before executing the critical attack, so make sure to heal up!

There are exceptions to the aforementioned rule though. If he opens his combo with the downward axe slam, he is about to follow it with an uppercut. After his stomp he frequently combos into a grounded axe slam which leads into a massive area of effect slam when he steps on the axe and digs it into the ground. The wind up and cooldown of this attack are fairly slow, so try and sneak in an attack or two between your guards.

Speaking of the stomp, this is one of his most favored attacks, and it is also highly punishable. Anytime you see him go for the stomp you can simply roll through the attack and hit him 2-3 times in the back while he recovers.

At 75% health Godfrey will real back on one foot and charge up for his second phase where his attacks become stronger, particularly his stomp which now spreads across the entire boss arena. However none of that will matter if you punish Godfrey when he is powering up. Pay close attention to his health, and as soon as you see him rear back to change phases unleash everything you have on him. It is actually surprisingly easy to get 4-5 hits on him while he is reared back, giving plenty of time to burn the next 25% of his health (especially if you have Bleed or Freeze).

"Wait, why only 25%?" you may be wondering. Well turns out our friend Godfrey has one more secret hiding up his sleeve, his final form...

Godfrey tosses his weapons and armor aside to tear you apart with his bare hands in his final form as Hoarah Loux, Warrior. Hoarah Loux is a much simpler fight in that he has far fewer moves than Godfrey, but he uses them more relentlessly which makes it hard to find an opening. Complicating things even further are Hoarah Loux's multiple grabs, which deal massive damage and need to be dodged rather than blocked. This fight is entirely about pattern recognition, learning the dodge timings for the grabs, and capitalizing on the few punish opportunities you get.

The Grabs you need to look out for are:

Hoarah Loux swings his right arm around, then pauses for a moment before doing an uppercut motion to grab you then slam you into the ground. This one can be avoided by simply strafing around and rolling in at the moment of the grab. If you successfully roll through you can get 2-3 attacks on his back afterwards.

Hoarah Loux crosses his arms in a sort of X, before dashing forward and clawing you with both hands. He launches you into the air, then slams you to the ground for big damage. Again, you need to perfect the dodge timing and roll into the attack just before he claws you. This one is hard to punish because he usually slides far past you after, but it is a good chance to heal.

Hoarah Loux raises both hands high into the air, before leaning down and scooping you into the air with both hands. This one has pretty deceptive timing, but as usual strafe around while you wait for the grab motion then roll through it and strike him in the back. This is the one he almost always opens the fight with.

He rounds out his moveset with a number of different punch and kick combos, all of which deal moderate damage. I would recommend just rolling away or blocking all of these, as it is much easier to just wait out one of his slower attacks instead of trying to punish these. The one of these that is highly punishable is his two handed hammer fist. When you seem his raise his hands over his head and slam both down into the ground, simply strafe and roll around to get a few attacks on his back. He has one particularly long combo which he telegraphs by slowing raising one of his open hands behind his head as if he is about to uppercut, but instead lets loose a series of fast swipes. I recommend just backing away immediately and not even trying to block or dodge this one.

At 25% health Hoarah Loux will do the same charging up animation as Godfrey, leaving himself wide open for a major punish before he enters his final phase. Just like Godfrey this phase features most of the same attacks, just with new versions and wider ranges.

Rinse and repeat the same strategies we used in the first phase to finish this battle out and earn your reward, the Remembrance of Hoarah Loux, the Elden Throne Site of Grace, and access to Elden Ring's final boss.

4: Starscourge Radahn - Wailing Wastes

Starscourge Radahn

Starscourge Radahn is a powerful Elden Lord who stalks the Wailing Wastes. The battle against him is an interesting mix of fun and challenge, but can be a little tedious and random.

Starscourge Radahn, his mind deteriorated by the Scarlet Rot inflicted upon him by Malenia prior Elden Ring, is one of the game's more daunting boss battles, but fighting him doesn't have to be a solo effort. The fight with him functions as more of a raid, as up to seven Elden Ring NPCs can be summoned by the player to take this massive foe down – and each can be resummoned if they fall in battle. While being joined by a team of seven warriors seems like it can make the fight easier, it sadly doesn't. Radahn's huge size gives his attacks massive hitboxes that are very difficult to dodge, and although allies can take the heat off of the player, they don't inflict a tremendous amount of damage.

In spite of his madness from Malenia, Radahn continues to ride his scrawny steed, as well as hold the motions of the stars. The Radahn Festival has been organized by his men in Castle Redmane to celebrate his last battle and his death. It is a gathering of mighty warriors who might finally put the General out of his misery, and claim his Great Rune for themselves. The festival serves as Jerren's way of fulfilling his oath of honorable death to Radahn.

The battle will begin the instant you spawn into the Wailing Wastes, and Radahn will begin firing powerful arrows at you right away. Wait until the moment just before the arrow reaches you, then dodge roll side to side. You need to do this a few times at the start of the fight, so keep your eye on him at all times.

The gimmick of this battle is that you get to summon a handful of NPCs to assist you in the festival. You will see their summon signs scattered all over the sand in front of you. Dash over to the signs and summon the NPCs in-between arrow shots until all of the possible allies have been summoned so that the real battle can begin. The allies you can summon include:

Great Horned Tragoth, who wields a giant hammer

Lionel the Lionhearted, who summons large groups of homing souls

Okina, a samurai who uses fiery blood slice attacks

Alexander the Iron Fist, the warrior jar you may have met earlier in the game

Blaidd the Half-Wolf, another warrior you may have met earlier as part of Ranni's questline

Patches (if you met and didn't kill him, though he'll take a few steps before deciding to quickly leave instead of fighting)

Finger Maiden Therolina, who can be summoned near the top of the dunes and will invoke healing spells to try and bolster the group

Radahn will change up his strategy and start firing shotgun blasts of arrows as well as a homing rain of arrows. During this period just strafe around at a safe distance until your NPC army reach him and he switches to melee attacks. At this point you want to hop on Torrent and run in with the rest of your allies.

Mounting up for this battle isn't 100% required, but due to the incredible onslaught of his moves, it's highly recommended to stay mobile on horseback unless you are an expert at dodging rapid attacks.

This is where the battle becomes a little unpredictable. Radahn has many powerful wide reaching attacks, and he moves around incredibly fast. He will start lashing out at the various summoned NPCs, killing most of them with ease. It is during these periods of distraction that you want to dash past on Torrent and execute a hit and run.

Try and pick a weapon with good range and damage because you will only be hitting him once or twice per pass (Bleed doesn't hurt either). Try to mostly hit him in the back, as he will likely be attacking forward when trying to hit your summoned allies. Your goal is to never be the center of attention, and run away any time he turns to you. Stick around too long, and it's more than likely you'll be caught in a sweeping strike, stunning Torrent long enough that you won't be able to dash away in time to evade a killing blow.

Keep in mind that most of his attacks are multi-hit combos. His most punishable attacks are his double weapon overhead slams. He has 2-3 different ones so just keep an eye on him. Anytime you see him slam both his weapons into the ground is an opening to attack.

Just be careful of the purple charged blades, which result in a massive explosion when he pulls them back out of the ground. If you are lucky your allies may even hit him enough times to trigger a stagger, at which point you can hop off Torrent and get a powerful attack in.

You should also consider crafting tons of Rowa Raisins to feed Torrent during parts of the battle where you're not under attack. Losing Torrent in a battle like this can often spell instant death, and your mount doesn't always regen to full health when you die and respawn - so top him off before going back for another attempt!

Radahn also has a few ranged blade attacks to keep in mind, the first a volley of purple orbs that can be easily dodged by strafing. The second is a wave of electricity that runs across the ground, which you need to double-jump over with Torrent - and leaping over this dive attack can often give you a free hit or two.

When Radahn reaches 50% health he will leap into the sky, disappearing from the battle for about 10 seconds. Use this time to heal and look for any nearby summon signs, which will reappear for anyone who was killed during phase one. Keep an eye on the sky, because you will be able to see Radahn coming as he shoots back down to earth. At this point, you'll also get one more ally to summon who has been added to the mix: Castellan Jerren, the master of ceremonies for the festival who wields a fiery flamberge.

In phase two Radahn gains some new tricks, but with your refreshed gang of summoned allies backing you the strategy remains mostly the same. His attacks become more powerful and gain wider ranges or more serious effects. You need to focus up and redouble your efforts here and not let the fight go long enough for Radahn to kill all your allies again, or use his powerful meteor summons which are both difficult to dodge and deadly.

All in all, this is a boss battle that can be considered at least partially luck based. If your summoned allies stay alive and do their job Radahn may never even look at you, letting you get free hits and staggers. But if he kills them all off with one or two combos you may be left running for your life. Once you've mastered the above mentioned patterns it will just come down to the number of attempts, so keep at it and eventually the festival will end with you the victor.

Killing Radahn will get you the Remembrance of the Starscourge, and Radahn's Great Rune. It will also trigger a cutscene that shows a meteor landing somewhere on the map, which will trigger a continuation of Ranni's questline... And also leave you relieved of the agonising PTSD you've gone through this early in the game, unless you just absolutely forgot about him, and left my poor boi awaiting a fight that was never going to happen! XD

3: Maliketh, The Black Blade - Crumbling Farum Azula

Maliketh, The Black Blade

And we've come to number 3! Another familiar face, the Beast Clergyman is the final boss of Farum Azula. But is this the same Clergyman we met at the Bestial Sanctum? Only one way to find out...

Maliketh is a two-part Elden Ring boss battle that takes place at the end of the Crumbling Farum Azula. The first part involves Maliketh's alter ego, the Beast Clergymen Gurranq, a giant creature with a penchant for firing projectiles and using a lot of area-of-effect attacks. Once the player gets the beast's health down to around fifty percent, Gurranq is revealed to actually be Elden Ring's Maliketh, the Black Blade, and Shadowbound Beast of Queen Marika. Maliketh's prowess extends to Elden Ring lore; he defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen, the mysterious leader of the Godskin Apostles.

Maliketh is much more violent and agile than in the Beast Clergyman phase; he moves around the stage belligerently, unleashing combos that, even if dodged perfectly, can sap a player's entire stamina bar. Additionally, he's able to launch devastating arched projectiles and close the gap between himself and the player almost instantly. Crumbling Farum Azula is arguably the most difficult region in Elden Ring, with Maliketh capping off a grueling set of bosses that includes the Godskin Duo and Dragonlord Placidusax.

Most of his moveset consists of dashing around and throwing rocks at you, especially when you are out of his melee range. These attacks are incredibly easy to see coming (he drags his hand along the ground before throwing) and you can just dodge roll toward him to avoid the damage. This creates a good opportunity to heal as well, so just back off and bait out one of his rock throws anytime you need a sip from your Flask (just like the Godskin Duo, you can use the pillars here as a shield as well).

When you are in melee range he will do a lot of different swings and jabs with his dagger. For the most part though our strategy will be to stand in front of him with our shield up, waiting for his long dagger combo that ends with a downward dagger thrust. He usually opens with two quick dagger slashes, then adds a third before standing up and raising his dagger into the air. This is the attack we want. If you have Barricade Shield activate it here, wait for the attack, then Guard Counter it. If you do not, you can simply dodge roll in before the dagger impact and get a few attacks in.

Keep a close eye on his hands though. If he thrusts his offhand into the ground instead of his dagger he is actually about to unleash an area of effect spell, so do not attempt to punish or Guard Counter him. Instead just keep your guard up or roll through it. Similarly, if he thrusts his hands into the ground and the area around him starts glowing he is about to summon a blast of rocks from the ground, which will deal damage as they burst forth, and deal damage again when they fall back to the ground. You can get one or two attacks in before the rocks emerge, but the safest bet is just to back away with your guard up.

Dodge the rock blasts and Guard Counter his slow dagger slam and you will burn down half his health bar in no time, which means it's time for...

You didn't think it would be that easy did you? Now the Beast Clergyman reveals his final form as Maliketh, the Black Blade. He becomes much more powerful, with a whole new set of moves and two annoying debuffs, one that reduces your max health and another that damages you slowly over time, which are triggered whenever you are struck by his burning blade.

Quick Tip: If you got the Blasphemous Claw from killing Bernahl earlier in Crumbling Farum Azula dungeon you can use its item effect to parry some of Maliketh's attacks. Any of his melee attacks (not the projectiles) that cause his blade to Glow Golden can be deflected with correct timing, similar to a Parry. If you hit the parry successfully Maliketh will become momentarily staggered, letting you unleash a number of attacks on him. However parrying can be difficult for players so if you are one of those people who struggle with parry eye frames, then just dont bother!

Just like the Clergyman, Maliketh loves to dash all around the battlefield, attacking from every angle possible, plus he has added a number of jumping attacks to his arsenal as well. Much like the Clergyman, we are just going to keep our shield up and avoid as much of this as possible, waiting out a few specific attacks that are most punishable.

The main attacks we are looking for are his horizontal grounded slash and slow overhead slash, both of which offer a great opportunity to attack. You can usually bait these out by just standing around in front of Maliketh, but there are a few combo paths he can follow. After the horizonal slash along the ground, he may grab his sword with both hands and swing it over his head, slamming the ground. This is the best case scenario. You can strafe to the side of him and attack 3-4 times before he regains posture. He may also chain that slash into a jumping triple slash, which you can strafe to the side of then punish when he lands.

If he instead OPENS the combo with the overhead slash, do not attempt to punish immediately as he can chain that into a quick horizontal slash, or a spinning triple slash. These are punishable as well if you keep your guard up, but it may be easier just to back off and wait for a better opening.

Next, some attacks we want to avoid. Anytime Maliketh jumps into the air and thrusts his sword into the ground, simply get away or attack with a projectile. This looks like a great opportunity to attack, but the thrust triggers a powerful explosion about a second later you do not want to be caught in (after the explosion Maliketh does a backflip before landing back on the ground. If you are in position behind him you can get one or two attacks in as he lands). Additionally, he will occasionally chain one thrust into a vertical jump slash that ends with a giant flurry of slashes which will kill most players instantly if not blocked. My advice is to just get away.

Same goes for just about all of his jump attacks really. Most of them have large areas of effect and erratic movements, so its better just to strafe away and not even try to get involved or else you may just get caught in his blender of attacks. This goes double for his sword projectiles, which he will launch out from his sword while spinning in the air. He will usually telegraph these attacks by jump up onto one of the pillars first, before launching himself into the air.

His most powerful variant of this attack sees him fire off three sword projectiles with a small delay in between each one before dashing back into the ground with a massive circular swing. If you see this one coming you want to dodge roll toward him, through each of the projectiles, then dodge roll inward one last time as he comes flying back to earth to avoid the final slash. This attack is very deadly, but the dodge timing is fairly forgiving.

Just like before, you can use the pillars around the battlefield to create a barrier between you and Maliketh and block his attacks and projectiles, BUT know that some of his attacks, including the aforementioned circular slash, will hit through the pillar, and if all goes well, another victory will be under your belt!

2: Dragonlord Placidusax - Crumbling Farum Azula

Dragonlord Placidusax

And Number 2! This one honeslty nearly gave me as much difficulty as number 1, but the margin of difficulty is still much greater with number 1, I dont know why i'm acting so secretive, everyone probably knows what it is! XD

A secret boss encountered only by diligent players in Crumbling Farum Azula, Dragonlord Placidusax has to be the hardest of Elden Ring's many boss dragon enemies. An ancient, towering beast that boasts massive, punishing AoE attacks, this is a tough fight that's overshadowed only by the final boss of Crumbling Farum Azula. Able to fly, teleport, and perform intimidating diving attacks that can be difficult to avoid, Dragonlord Placidusax is a worthy end-game Elden Ring boss and can be truly dangerous for characters either slightly under-leveled for late-game areas, or with unoptimized builds.

Oh Miyazaki, you just couldn't stop yourself from adding just one last giant dragon boss, huh? Dragonlord Placidusax is a fairly typical dragon boss, and bears a few similarities to the large dragons we were battling all around Farum Azula. He always starts the fight with one of his roars, which summons a series of lightning strikes on top of you. Simply run out of the area of effect to dodge it, or learn the roll timing and dodge just before the strike hits, I recommend baiting out his attack, and then rolling to his tail and get some sneaky hits off!

Like many dragons, the ideal place to stand for this fight is to the side or behind the dragons legs. He has a fairly long tail that you can hit to deal good damage while staying out of range of all his forward face fire and claw attacks. While standing behind there are three attacks you need to watch out for:

The lightning roar: same as the one he opened the fight with. Each roar triggers three lightning strikes, with a short delay between each. You can attack during this sequence, but you need to move out of the strike or dodge roll between attacks to avoid it.

Firebreath: Even when you are attacknig the tail, make sure you are watching the heads! the Dragonlord will occasionally turn one of his heads around and breathe a stream of fire at you. Move out of the way or just put your shield up and tank the damage.

Tail swipe: The dragonlord will lift his tail up into the air, then swing it along the ground. This is incredibly easy to dodge or block as long as you see it coming, but it also causes the Dragonlord to spin around so you have to reposition yourself afterwards.

Dashing firebreath: the Dragonlord dashes away, turns around, then lets loose a stream of flames directly at you. You can simply step back to avoid this, or do a wide strafe to get out of range.

When facing you the Dragonlord will do a few different attacks: a horizontal claw swipe that can be easily dodged by rolling into it, a vertical claw smash that causes an explosion on the ground (back away or block), or a long duration firebreath that covers the area in front of him. I would not recommend trying to punish any of these attacks because they are a bit erratic and he sometimes chains them into each other. Just do your best to get behind him again and hack away at his tail or hind legs.

He also has a rare but powerful lightning spear attack. He will jab the spear into the ground, wait a moment, then slam it with his claw, creating a massive expolsion that covers the battlefield. I only saw this attack once, but I recommend just getting as far away as you can and putting your shield up.

At 50% health the Dragonlord will float into the air and disappear, triggering phase two of the fight. Start scanning the sky, looking out for an accumulation of clouds and electricity. After a short duration the Dragonlord will burst out of this cloud and do a swooping attack across the ground, which you can dodge by rolling into it right as he passes over you.

From here he will continue to disappear, reappear, do one attack (usually a slow claw swipe), then disappear again. You can usually land one or two hits after his attack and before he disappears again. If you stay locked on your cursor will generally instantly snap to wherever the dragon teleported to, so use this to keep track of him.

The sequence will end after about three attacks, and the Dragonlord will return to his normal moveset for a bit before eventually disappearing again and doing the whole thing over again.

When the Dragonlord reaches about 25% health he will start an ongoing lightning storm all around the arena, so you need to be even more vigilant in dodging the lightning strikes. He will also mix in an extra powerful variant of his firebreath, where the flames turn into solid beams that sweep across the battlefield. You can roll through these beams as they pass through you, or you can simply put your shield up and get far back where most of them won't reach. This is a common faliure point of the battle, as the lasers sentence you to death if you even get knocked over once by them, because of its sheer poise breaking ability, no matter the poise, you will get blown by these, so try to avoid them as best you can.

Once the beams reside rush back in and keep up the assault. Keep playing it safe and striking his tail until he falls. Once the dragon dies you will be rewarded with the Remembrance of the Dragonlord. And a restoring of your santity, before we move onto easily the hardest boss in Elden Ring post DLC, for now, oh boy, I wonder who it is! XD

1: Malenia, Blade Of Miquella - Elphael, Brace Of The Haligtree

Malenia, Blade Of Miquella

At last we have arrived, the boss of the Haligtree and Number one on the list: Malenia, Blade of Miquella, quite possibly FromSoft's most devious invention yet. Malenia has all the typical trappings of a difficult boss (high damage, oppressive attack pattern, tricky combos), but what truly sets her apart is her unique lifesteal mechanic that gives her health back on every hit, even when you block. This means you can't just hide behind your shield and wait for an opening, or else she will steal back every bit of damage you deal. This can turn the battle into a long, drawn out war of attrition, but the better approach is to simply damage race her with the most powerful weapon you can find.

Found at the bottom of the Haligtree, another long and incredibly taxing area, is Elden Ring's hardest boss. Her reputation puts her in the highest echelon of difficult FromSoftware bosses alongside Bloodborne's Orphan of Kos and Dark Souls 3's Sister Friede. Malenia not only crushes players who challenge her, but devastated the entire region of Caelid, turning it into the wasteland seen in Elden Ring, by unleashing the Scarlet Rot in a duel against Radahn during The Shattering.

Malenia's first phase is tough, yet manageable; it's her second phase, in which she's transformed into Malenia, Goddess of Rot, that is harrowing. Lightning-fast combos, massive AoE attacks, an onslaught of phantom clones, and the near-inescapable Scarlet Rot combine for a whirlwind of punishing attacks. Malenia may be an optional boss (just as the entire Haligtree is an optional area), but that doesn't stop her from being the hardest boss fight in Elden Ring.

Weapons that have long range abilities like Rivers of Blood, Moonveil, and Sword of Night and Flame are all great picks for this fight. I also recommend having a decent portion of vigor, and endurance, minimum 40 on vig, 30 on endurance, to deal with her quick attacks, and some defensive gear like the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, found in crumbling Farum Azula, along with any other talismans, best suited to your fit, eg. Radagons Scarseal, or Rotten winged sword insignia, whichever your build best fits.

Using an Ash Summon in this fight is very tempting, but keep in mind she can lifesteal off of your summon the same way she can from you. If your summon gets caught up in one of her long combos it may do more harm than good. Ash Mimic is probably your best option. The 2v1 attacks will keep her stun locked, maybe even leading to topple. Another option is Latenna the Albinauric, who you can place on the edge of the boss arena and let her shoot from far out of attack range. Just be sure you do NOT let Malenia turn her attention to Latenna or she will absolutely shred her.

Ready? Okay. Time to fight. First thing to note is that Malenia does not really zip across the battlefield very often. She doesn't have any projectile attacks so if you never get close to her she will likely just slow walk towards you until you approach. You can use this to your advantage any time you need to heal or rest for a second.

When you do approach it is important to identify which of her attacks are easily punished, so here are some things to look out for:

Her basic sword attacks should just be avoided or blocked. She will usually execute two to three wide swings in a row, then end with a jumping slam attack or sweeping kick that deals massive stamina damage on shield. There is an opportunity to Guard Counter here, but I would advise against it due to the unpredictability or her combos.

When you see her long blade slide backwards up her hand she is about to do a short dash followed by a multi-hit combo. I recommend just blocking the first three hits, then rolling toward her to avoid the fourth. From here she can extend the combo into a jumping slam or a delayed wide swing. Both are punishable, but you need to read her movements quick to decide which one she is preparing for (jump vs. stay on ground).

When you see her do a spinning jump she is about to let loose one of her kicks. DO NOT block this attack or you may be guard broken. Instead roll toward her and immediately try to punish with a few hits. Move quick though! If you wait too long she will extend into a different combo finisher which can catch you off guard.

If she pulls her blade back, but still has it pointed towards you she is about to do a fast, long range thrust. This is one of the easiest moves to punish, simply roll away when she dashes in, then hit her two or three times as she is regaining her posture (there is an alternate version of this where she jumps into the air before dashing, but the dodge and punish are the same).

HOWEVER, if she pulls her blade back with it pointed up and away from her she is about to do a short range uppercut followed by an aerial slam. This is also highly punishable, simply roll into the initial uppercut, then strafe around her to avoid the slam. Hit her two or three times in the back.

Finally, if she gets into her stance with the blade pointed horizontally (but not pointed at you) she is about to dash in with a powerful double slash. Dodge in, then strafe to avoid the second attack before punishing.

If she instead pulls her empty back she is about to do one of her most deadly moves, the dash grab. Roll away IMMEDIATELY when she starts moving to avoid getting grabbed. This attack deals massive damage, and if hit she will throw you up into the air, before impaling you on her sword. Ouch! XD But just like the other dashes it is punishable with two or three hits as long as yout time your dodge properly.

The one attack we absolutely DO NOT want to see is her Waterfowl Dance. This is the move that is notorious for dissipating tarnished's health in a matter of seconds. She signals this move by lifting into the air and curling up into a sort of fetal position for a moment, before flying toward you with a flurry of slashes. For this one, it can be a bit tricky, for there are 3 possible options on how to dodge it.

1: You will want to have a 100% physical block shield with AoW barricade shield and activate Barricade as soon as you see her float and block the entire first volley of attacks. After this she will pause, unleash another set of attacks, then pause again, and unleash another set of attacks followed by one final area slash. To avoid the second and third flurries you need to dodge roll INTO her as she begins the next set of slashes.

2: KEEP YOUR DISTANCE! This is the strategy that worked for me best, as being very careful for the fight usually ended up paying off, instead of getting greedy. You may notice when Malenia stances into her Waterfowl dance, she waits a while before starting the onslaught and barrage of slashes. This is your queue to run, and if you are far enough away, once she finishes the 3rd layer of slashes, she should be pretty close to you, and after the final aerial slash around her dissipates, you can get some good hits off while she is recovering!

3: Freezing pots. Yes, alas the good old cheese method had to make its way in here somewhere! You may be wondering, how would Freezing pots stop Waterfowl dance? Well actually its extremely simple. Since she gives such a wide window before starting the slashes, allowing you to know when she is doing said attack, you can just whack a freezing pot at her, and break her hyperarmor and stunlock her for a few seconds, although I don't recommend this to anyone who is trying to beat the fight legitimately, only people who want to give Malenia Hypothermia! ;)

Malenia, Blade Of Miquella: Part Two! - Elphael, Brace Of The Haligtree

Note about attacking Malenia: your attacks will likely stagger Malenia, but only two or three times before she will react. Her usual reactions are to dash left, dash right, or simply dash backwards away from you. IF she faces you during her dash, you can move in and stagger her again with another attack before her next action. IF she dashes and turns her back to you she is about to unleash a slash, so simply step back and await the next attack. Occasionally she will also just decide it is not your turn and deflect your attack entirely, before doing a backwards step.

With all of the above knowledge in mind, your job is to now win the battle of attrition. Take as few hits as possible and make sure you are punishing more than she is getting back via blocked attacks. You can accelerate this process using one of the aforementioned weapons. For example, using Rivers of Blood you can execute 3-5 hit combos from outside of melee range, dealing massive damage and Bleed. You will still need to keep an eye out for her dash attacks and flurry, but your high damage output will mean a quicker fight and less opportunities for her to heal. Just make sure you have enough Mind or FP Flasks to keep up the assault.

All in all, keep widdling down her health, bit by bit, until you manage to take her down to 0% health, but as she faceplants into the floor, you soon realise that in a few minutes, after the cutscene, you will be the once face planting into the floor, or her sword. Your choice!

With enough practice and determination you will become an expert at defeating Malenia. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning....

0: Malenia, Goddess Of Rot - Roots Of The Haligtree

Malenia, Goddess of Rot

Yep, of course there is a second phase to this fight. As if that first phase wasn't hard enough now we have to face a faster, more aggressive Malenia with stronger attacks. Oh, and of course she can inflict Scarlet Rot as well.

She will always open the battle with the same attack, an aerial dive that leads into a giant area of effect blast that inflicts Scarlet Rot. You have a moment to drink one Flask and put your guard up before she will dive. As soon as you see her make her move roll toward her, then run away as fast as you can to avoid the blast. You will probably get hit at least once, but that is no issue as long as you aren't too close to the center of the blast. A giant flower will bloom around her, dealing continuous Rot to anyone who stands too close.

This is a great opportunity to heal up or eat any damage bonus items you might have, since she won't do any other attacks while the flower is up. As soon as the flower begins to fade run in and start attacking. You should be able to get three or four hits before she reacts, usually with a spinning kick. If you see the kick coming you can roll in and get in another hit or two, but she likes to follow it up with a jump into slam attack, which now leaves a delayed explosion on the ground that will prevent the usual punish.

From here things get very messy. Her combos have changed slightly and she is far more aggressive than she was in phase one. It is very easy to simply get caught up on her blender of attacks and die before you even get to play. Because of this you aren't likely to get much time to learn the new movements before she kills you. Instead I recommend a simpler strategy: run away! Malenia is faster than you, but if you keep running away (while dodging any dashes she might do) you can eventually bait her into doing one of the bad attacks listed above in her first phase. As for her second phase, they arent much better, here are the 5 attacks you need to look out for, keep in note that Waterfowl Dance is still here, and inflicts scarlet rot as a little cherry on top so don't forget about that!

Scarlet Aeonia - Malenia will dive onto the player and summon a giant flower that explodes around her. This leaves a lingering mist that applies scarlet rot and a DoT effect in the area. This attack is always used as her first attack in phase two. Roll as soon as you see her sword is lifted, then sprint away for her for a little bit (around half a second), then roll away from her again. Remember to not attack her right away after the explosion as the rot will linger for quite a bit (around 4 - 5 seconds), use this time window to heal, recover FP, reapply buffs, or even cast some spells if you're a ranged user. After the scarlet rot is gone (indicated by the flower disappearing), she will be unable to move for a while, and is wide open for attacks, use this time window to use your skill (or a charged strong attack) on her to deal massive damage in a single hit.

Malenia will retain its original moves from Phase one, however there is a chance that she will do a follow-up on most attacks, where she flies up into the air briefly, then slams down her sword, dealing a huge amount of damage and creating on the ground a small vortex of rot, which then explodes after a brief delay and builds up scarlet rot. The explosion can also occur from the slamming attacks from Phase one, which she can follow up and result in a double Scarlet Explosion. This attack usually occur when she is done with her regular Phase one combo. Roll in any direction to avoid the slam, roll again if you're unsure whether exploson will hit you. This attack can be heavily punished if you roll into her and get to her back, as she will be wide open for attacks after the slam. To differentiate between this attack and the Waterfowl Dance (as these two attacks have similar starting animation), if she twirls before flying up, it's the Waterfowl Dance; if she flies upwards without twirling, she's doing the Scarlet Explosion attack.

Malenia will fly up into the air, and glides down onto the player from the left, followed by a very quick thrust attack. This attack can be followed up with the Scarlet Explosion attack. She will usually do this attack when you're at long range. Roll left to avoid the first sweep, then roll left or right to avoid the thrust. Or, roll the sweep, then jump the thrust. See above to learn how to dodge the Scarlet Explosion follow-up. Because of pierce damage, the follow up thrust attack deals increased damage if the player is in counterattack frames.

Sometimes, when the player hits Malenia, she will follow-up by countering the player with a kick (different from a regular kick). Although this kick doesn't do a lot of damage, it'll usually catch the player off guard and stagger them greatly. Never attack twice in a row when she's in a walking/running animation and always be prepared for the counter kick, roll backwards when she begins to lift her leg to avoid the attack. Unlike the regular kick, Malenia will not follow this up with another attack and will stand still for a solid second. You can exploit this weakness by doing an attack after dodging the counter kick (either doing a running attack, quick weapon's skills, or just a simple attack if you have a long weapon).

Malenia will fly into the air, creating a pool of scarlet rot on the ground below her, and consecutively fire out four phantom versions of herself that will do two horizontal sweeps, a vertical slam, a third horizontal sweep followed by a quick thrust, one final thrust, before Malenia herself comes down with a high speed flying thrust to player, dealing high damage. The first and last phantom will stay longer in order to do a single thrust attack each, occurring after the fourth's sweep attack. Roll in the directions as the following order: Backwards twice (delay a bit between these two rolls), followed by two forward rolls (immediately after one another), then roll to the left twice (immediately after one another). The timing for the third and fourth roll might be a bit difficult to get a grasp on (and will usually result in death as you'll get hit by two phantoms), but once you get those two rolls right, you'll never get hit by the phantoms.

And if you keep this up, you should be able to defeat the godess of rot, and live to tell the tale! But the PTSD might be quite horrendous if you fight her in NG+ XD! Your reward for beating Malenia is the Remembrance of the Rot Goddess (which lets you craft her incredible sword), Malenia's Great Rune, and the satisfaction that you have overcome FromSoft's most devilish challenge yet. Congratulations!

Conclusion -

Congratulations! If all goes well, you should be able to successfully fell these fearsome foes, and emerge victorious! I hope I was able to assist you with these bosses, or even if you have already defeated them, teach you something about their attacks, for next time that you fight them in NG+

If you got all the way to the end, then seriously, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is easily the most astronomical guide I have ever worked on, so a like or a favourite would be greatly appreciated, and if feeling generous, an award would help immensely.

But with that out of the way, traverse the lands between with confidence and determination intertwined, knowing that the bosses have been laid to rest, your mind can finally regain coverage from that ptsd! For your performances in those boss battles i'm sure are nought but sublime! As your vision for defeating Elden Ring Bosses, IS no LONGER BEGRIMED!! ;D

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3198049588					

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