The Most Challenging Elden Ring Bosses

In the far past, Queen Marika once ruled the Lands Between, guarding the Elden Ring, until shattering it herself, unraveling an event known as The Shattering. Since this event, the Lands Between lay wasted in ruin. The demigods and other mighty souls now grovel to themselves, vigorously protecting what they deem most precious.

Players confront the Lands Between as one of the many Tarnished, one of a group of exiles summoned back to the Lands Between to claim all the pieces of the Elden Ring, repair it, and become the Elden Lord. Finding the pieces presents a daunting task, as every foe and beast along the way draws out punishing scenarios involving tactical awareness and ample skill to overcome. Meet the toughest Elden Ring bosses.

1. Malenia, Blade of Miquella

The Goddess of Rot, the twin of Miquella, the most powerful of Empyreans, protects the source of Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. Malenia walks with her katana built into her prosthetic arm and slashes with great speed and capable of the Waterfowl Dance skill, unleashing three separate flurries of slices. Her combat prowess stands solid yet graceful and only grows stronger in phase two when she sprouts her Scarlet Rotted wings.

Floating in the air, she rapidly crashes on the player using Scarlet Aeonia, a dangerous and gorgeous spell enveloping her in a bright flower, erupting massive damage. In such a small area beneath the Haligtree, Malenia’s relentless combos and Scarlet Rot magic create the most intense combat experience among Elden Ring bosses.

2. Starscourge Radahn

Heralded as one of the mightiest living demigods and driven mad by Scarlet Rot affliction, reducing him to a feral state, Genderal Starscourge Radahn roams the vast Caelid desert upon his horse. Radahn’s men at Castle Redmane celebrate his final battle and death in the Radahn Festival by gathering warriors who may finally put the General out of his misery.

Solo victory in this battle remains possible, but finding allies using summon signs makes the battle manageable. Radahn mastered gravity magic, allowing him to ride his horse despite his massive size, summon meteors from the sky, and even launch himself, crashing down from the heavens as a meteor.

3. Radagon of the Golden Order / Elden Beast

Standing tall within the Erdtree itself, Radagon, the fractured god, wields the hammer that shattered the Elden Ring. Radagon lumbers toward the player, capable of teleportation, and smashes the glowing hammer on the ground, creating an explosion. Once a Tarnished succeeds in feeling Radagon, the Elden Beast emerges from his body for a brutal phase two.

As the true form of the Elden Ring, the Elden Beast unleashes terrifying magic barrages with various destructive forces. This final boss forces players to embrace their skills and use everything they learned until now, as this fight allows for few mistakes. 

4. Mohg, Lord of Blood

In the darkest depths of Caelid lays Mohgwyn Palace. Here awaits Mohg, the Lord of Blood, brooding in his Temple of Blood. During the battle, he employs the Blood Curse mechanic, layering up to three Blood Curses on the player while relying on sweeping attacks with his trident. These melee attacks, though slow, propel him forward.

During his transition into phase two, Mohg infuses bloodflame magic into his trident, sprouts wings, and applies his final stack of Blood Curse, causing players’ HP to drop to near death. Notably, his flying plunging attack delivers substantial damage and culminates in a delayed blood explosion, making the name of the Temple of Blood unquestionable.

5. Dragonlord

This two-headed dragon rests as the heart of the storm beyond time in Crumbling Farum Azula. Once approached, his floating body will unravel the heart-like appearance it held and begin to fight ferociously. Spitting fire and swiping with claws, Placidusax maintains a destructive distance both close and far.

In phase two, he turns to mist and vanishes, shortly returning in a red lightning cloud and swooping down to swipe red lightning at the player. This fight challenges players to dodge lightning and keep a sharp eye on the skies for the twin-headed nightmare.

6. Lichdragon Fortissax

The Lichdragon Fortissax, a massive four-winged black dragon wielding powerful lightning magic, lies in the Deeproot Depths. Fortissax initiates the battle by summoning Death Lightning, showering the ground with numerous black-gold patches of electricity that get struck by lightning bolts, leaving behind clouds of deathblight-inflicting mist. This pairs unfavorably with his other swiping attacks, potentially stunning players into the clouds.

In phase two, he grows ferocious, following his close-range attacks with breaths of fire and biting more often. Maintaining proximity to Fortissax becomes crucial in this phase; his most dangerous attack, Aerial Glaive, occurs more frequently if the player lingers too far away.

7. Godskin Duo

Deep in Crumbling Farum Azula, near the Dragon Temple Transept Site of Grace, await the Godskin Duo. This tricky fight pits Tarnished up against a Godskin Apostle and a Godskin Noble, where players must defeat them simultaneously as each one resurrects the other.

The agile Godskin Apostle favors twinblades and uses aggressive black flame incantations. The Godskin Noble wields a rapier and spews black flame magic from his gobs of skin flaps, often bloating up into a ball and rolling around, trampling anything in his path. Together, the duo maintain a ferocious encounter with an onslaught of magic and madness….and very baggy skin.

8. Beast Clergyman / Maliketh, the Black Blade

Found in Crumbling Farum Azula, the boss form of Gurranq Beast Clergyman greets the player with a violent array of attacks. Despite the Beast’s large size and seeming sluggish at first glance, his surprising agility and swift strikes may catch players off-balance.

Reducing his health to half initiates a cutscene, revealing the Beast as Maliketh, the Black Blade, smoking in a red and black glow. Maliketh flips into the air and slashes his black blade, temporarily reducing the player's health with every hit and causing damage over time, making it challenging to heal and dodge his relentless attacks.

9. Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree

Once serving the Carian royal family, Loretta now guards Miquella’s Haligtree. Upon spotting the player, she charges into battle on her horse using her signature attack, Loretta’s Greatbow, unleashing devastating magical arrows. In phase two, she fires four arrows in vertical formation that home in on the player and makes more use of her sickle, imbuing it with magic and slashing it around her horse. As she glides around the arena, she spawns Glintblade Phalanx, five floating blue swords that float for a few moments before homing in on the player.

10. Godfrey, First Elden Lord / Hoarah Loux, Warrior

Godfrey, First Elden Lord, guards the Elden Throne in Leyndell, wielding an axe and the bloodthirsty beast inside him. Staying close to him may feel counterintuitive, but his charging attacks and massive area damage make keeping a distance lethal.

Once his health drops to half, his cutscene plays, shedding his armor and unveiling his true form as Hoarah Loux, Warrior. In this phase, he ditches his axe in favor of hand-to-hand grappling, where if he manages to grab the Tarnished, the fight ends in one shot, making him one of the toughest Elden Ring bosses.

11. Godrick the Grafted

The disfigured demigod Godrick the Grafted, descendant of Godfrey and ruler of Stormveil Castle, tramples around his courtyard with a massive axe. He moves fast, capable of launching himself, spinning in the air, and smashing his weapon down. Every swing of his axe shoots bursts of wind, staggering the player.

For phase two, he chops off his arm, revealing a dragon head in its place, now throwing waves of fire at the player. Survival hinges on avoiding his dragon arm attacks and dodging any stray flames. 

12. Fire Giant

As the last known survivor of the war against the giants, the Fire Giant walks alone in the Mountaintops of the Giants. His slow but strong attacks swoop from above and often follow up with a roll, quaking the ground as he does so. The Fire Giant casts a slow-moving orb of fire that explodes once it gets close.

In phase two, his ankle breaks from the Tarnished’s attacks; he rips his foot off and uses it as a sacrifice to awaken a monumental power hidden inside him. Even though he stands less immobile than before, his fire attacks get relentless, projecting more orbs of fire, pillars of fire, and volcanic rock barrages. 

13. Astel, Natural Born of the Void

Comprised of many-colored star debris, the strange alien lifeform Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, wanders a mysterious area deep in the Grand Cloister. It opens the encounter with a laser dealing massive damage on the spot players walk in from.

Following this, it generates dark orbs of magic on its arms before slamming down, creating a shockwave for players to jump over. At half health, it uses teleportation that damages players standing too close and casts a shower of meteors, bombarding the arena in front of it. 

14. Morgott, the Omen King

Morgott, the Omen King, stands in the same arena as Godfrey, only encountered before that fight occurs. The Omen King wields a cursed curved greatsword capable of building up blood loss with every hit. Being the same person as Margit, the Fell Omen uses his Holy Hammer and Holy Sword abilities.

Morgott’s second phase manipulates the weather, forcing it to rain, and his sword, now infused with Bloodflame magic, deals immense damage on top of the blood loss build-up. He creates violent chains of spinning attacks and crushing blows with lethal doses of raining holy swords. 

15. Commander Niall

Found in Castle Sol, Commander Niall guards one of the Haligtree Secret Medallion pieces. His accompanying Spectral Banished Knights advance on the player as soon as the fight begins. One wields two greatswords and the other a sword and shield, making them a challenging duo to fight while Nial buffs them from afar.

Once they get dispatched by the Tarnished, Niall uses his most dangerous moves, commanding the powers of ice in a whirlwind around him and lightning from his prosthetic leg. 

16. Valiant Gargoyles 

Deep in the Siofra Aqueduct, the Valiant Gargoyles await the Tarnished to enter their lair. The fight begins with a single Valiant Gargoyle towering over the player, wielding a greataxe and shortsword dealing enormous damage.

Once its health drops to a third, a second Gargoyle enters the fray wielding a twinblade and greataxe, making phase two a fight against two formidable Gargoyles. Together, they have a mass amount of health and deal significant damage, resulting in a heart-pounding battle.

17. Elemer of the Briar

Elemer of the Briar holes up in Castellan’s Hall within The Shaded Castle in Altus Plateau, the site of his failed execution. He wields Marais Executioner’s Sword, which contains the weapon skill Eochaid’s Dancing Blade, throwing the sword forward in a corkscrew and making it effective at long range.

Elemer can swing the sword in a wide arc, coercing players to roll and block every way they can. His seemingly endless endurance challenges the Tarnished to find openings to attack him.

18. Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader

Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader, imprisoned within the Ringleader’s Evergoal, stands out as among the most intimidating Evergoal bosses. Like her fellow Black Knife Assassins, she displays swift aggression, closing distances with ease. Her weapon, imbued with Death, drains and reduces the players’ maximum health, shaping her fight into a dance of skillful dodging and rolling. Fortunately, her low poise increases the chances of catching her off guard with every hit, allowing for a punishing attack.

19. Crucible Knight Ordovis

Within the Auriza Hero’s Grave, Crucible Knight Ordovis presents a challenging fight between two Crucible Knights. Ordovis wields a greatsword and shield, and the other wields the Siluria’s Tree great spear. The knights manifest wings to fly, diving and dashing with their weapons, dealing gruesome damage. Like other knights in the game, confronting the two most powerful ones simultaneously promises a blistering battle for players. 

20. Commander O’Neil

Patrolling the Swamp of Aeonia walks Commander O’Neil, wielding a halberd and battle standard. Once players approach him in the swamp, he summons aid from ghostly warriors, easily over-burdening the player with enemies.

During his second phase, regardless of if his previous summons living or not, summons a second group of more aggressive axe-wielding ghosts. On top of combatting O’Neil and his forces, players must maneuver the swamps carefully to avoid the Scarlet Rot geysers or use them to their advantage.