Making players suffer by putting them in the most brutal of situations has been a tradition at FromSoftware. And their latest entry Elden Ring has had no shortcomings in that regard. Previously, Sekiro’s final boss Isshin, and optional boss Demon of Hatred were notorious for their difficulty. But with the release of Elden Ring, the hierarchy of hardest bosses in the Soulsbourne genre has shifted.
Elden Ring’s catalog of vicious boss encounters has no end. Having more than a hundred bosses in total, the game’s emphasis on its expansive open-world exploration might leave you overwhelmed. So for you, I’ve compiled a listicle of the hardest boss fights found in Elden Ring.
Tree Sentinel
With your first steps cemented on Limgrave, just before the Church of Elleh that you can see in front of you, you’ll bump into the first Tree Sentinel of the game. Some of you might be confused why I ranked the Tree Sentinel among the hardest bosses in Elden Ring. It’s because this boss is undoubtedly a tough encounter if you try to rumble with it, especially if you haven’t leveled up yet.
Being near base level, the Tree Sentinel is a force to be reckoned with. Sane players walked past this boss and later returned to claim the rewards from the Tree Sentinel. But if you’re like me, you would’ve accepted this as a challenge by FromSoftware to test your mettle.
Tackling this foe as soon as you step into the open world is unmistakably a daunting task. So for all the players who’d love to try out their acquired Soulsbourne skills, I recommend trying to budge the Tree Sentinel early on.
Margit, The Fell Omen
Margit is initially introduced as a boss guarding the entrance into Stormveil Castle. If you follow the Rays of Guiding Light you’ll eventually have to face Margit. Only after beating him can you access the first Legacy Dungeon of Elden Ring.
For most players, Margit will be the first major boss in Elden Ring’s plotline, and one of the hardest bosses at this stage of the game. He’s a tough boss to beat due to his quick long-range barrage of attacks, as well as his ability to punish you at close quarters. Specifically, his mixed-range randomized combo is the one to watch out for.
Margit isn’t just a hard enemy to beat, he’s fun to learn as well. He’s basically the perfect introductory boss. FromSoftware has deliberately designed him to ease players into what they should be expecting throughout the course of Elden Ring.
Malekith, the Black Blade
Unfortunately, this fight consists of two phases. First, players have to deal with the Beast Clergyman who’s exceptionally fond of attacking you head-on. But if you’re able to memorize some of his patterns, that’ll be enough to power through this phase.
Phase 2 is where the real trouble begins. Malekith awakens with his Black Blade in hand. The hardest part of this fight is to keep track of where Maliketh is. He’s nimble for a giant and quick to attack as well. A strike from his Black Blade will temporarily decrease the total health of your character, so that’s another thing you should be worried about.
Malekith is a pretty tough nut to crack, and that easily makes him one of Elden Ring’s hardest bosses. Beating him will be worth it though, as when you do, you’ll be able to trade his Remembrance for the Black Blade.
Dragonlord Placidusax
Placidusax is an enormous two-headed dragon you’ll find in the Crumbling Farum Azula. Luckily, this is an optional boss fight, and you can still access it after beating the game.
Among the countless dragons you’ll encounter in Elden Ring, Dragonlord Placidusax takes the cake when it comes to difficulty. Teleportation and laser attacks are just some of the tricks up its sleeve, and as its health bar lowers, Placidusax keeps on taking things to another level.
With a massive arsenal of moves that can one-shot you, this is a boss fight you’ll be spending many hours on.
Godskin Duo
Not only is this one of the hardest Elden Ring boss battles, but it’s also the most irritating one. Until now, you would’ve faced Godskin Apostle and Godskin Noble individually. But as the name implies, get ready to tackle them both at once.
Both of them will come at you together, closing the gap in an instant. They have multiple attacks which will be homing in on you, so avoiding them will prove challenging. Besides there being a collective health bar, they both possess an individual health meter. If you manage to kill one, it’ll eventually respawn, so the best bet here is to keep killing them quickly until the main bar runs out.
It’s likely you’ll end up resorting to Spirit Ashes, as without them, this Elden Ring boss fight seems impossible to conquer.
Godfrey, First Elden Lord
To handle Godfrey, you’ll need to be a bit slippery. When the boss fight starts off against the First Elden Lord, he’ll pursue you with slow but heavy attacks that could get you closer to the “You Died” screen.
If you do somehow manage to beat Godfrey, then buckle up, as he transforms into Horah Loux, Warrior. In this form he’s like a brute but as quick as a fox. He’ll try to use his grab attacks on you, and if you end up being launched into the air, prepare to say goodbye to a vast amount of your health bar. It’s recommended to use long-range incantations or spells against him, but caution is still advised.
The most ridiculous move that earns him a spot in the hardest Elden Ring bosses list is his foot-smashing AOE attack, which may one hit you if you aren’t at full health. They can be hard to predict, and if you mistime your jumps it’s game over.
Mohg, Lord of Blood
If you’re looking to acquire all Great Runes in Elden Ring, then you’ll eventually have to take down Mohg, Lord of Blood. This Demi-God type boss has relatively burdensome moves to keep up with.
His combos are brutal, though he’s slow to strike, Mohg’s attacks are capable of causing bleed buildup. Halfway down his health bar, the fight transitions into a fiendish experience as Mohg starts taking advantage of his wings. He’ll swoop in from afar, and hit you with his flame-imbued trident.
All that, stacked with Mohg’s ability to heal himself regularly during the fight make him a force to be reckoned with in Elden Ring.
Radagon of the Golden Order / Elden Beast
Elden Ring’s end-game boss battle is cinematically well-made, and tough as nails too. Taking out the Crimson Lord is more of a matter of tempo due to his quick AOE attacks and lightning incantations. Also, you’ll have to get used to his mixed slow and fast hammer attacks, and if that wasn’t enough, you’ll have to face his gigantic Elden Beast form next.
The Elden Beast is comparably slow with its AOE moves, and battling it alone wouldn’t have been that tough. But even one slip-up at any point of this epic clash will send you back to facing Radagon, making this Elden Ring’s hardest main story boss you’ll come across.
Starscourge Radahn
The Red Lion General wields powers of gravity. As massive as he is, being mounted on his trusty steed allows him to close gaps quickly. If afar, he’ll punish you with his giant gravitational arrows, and if close, you’ll be wrecked by his flurry of sword slashes.
In this Elden Ring boss battle, FromSoftware allows you to summon NPCs to help you. But personally, I recommend putting your skills to the test. General Radahn’s fearsome tenacity at approaching you head-on is devastating. His diverse arsenal of magic and physical strikes always leave you prone to damage.
Radahn’s encounter is unquestionably one of the hardest boss battles you’ll come across in Elden Ring, so be sure to visit Redmane Castle when you head over to Caelid.
Malenia, Blade of Miquella
Though Malenia might not look the part, she’s indisputably the hardest boss in the entire Soulsborne franchise. When you begin the battle, you start to chip away at her health while getting smacked a few times yourself. But it’s sometime later you realize that her health bar is still at 100%.
That’s because when she lands an attack on you, she recovers a vast portion of her health back. If that wasn’t enough, her moveset is the most versatile one among the Elden Ring characters. Most of Malenia’s attacks instakill you, and she’s notorious in the Soulsborne community as being the most broken FromSoftware boss to date.
And to add to that torment, she has a second phase as well. In this phase, she’ll morph into a butterfly-like form, and her attacks will inflict Scarlet Rot damage, probably the worst debuff in the game. To beat her it’s almost a given that you’ll have to complete the fight without being hit once. FromSoftware outdid itself while designing the difficulty of Malenia.
With that, the Goddess of Rot caps the list of hardest bosses in Elden Ring. Had more trouble fighting other bosses in the game? Let us know down below the battle which shook you the most.
