Elden Ring, the latest game in the Soulsborne genre by FromSoftware, has proved to be a landmark hit for the year, with fans across the globe enjoying the open-world fantasy adventure. It’s easy to see why fans love Elden Ring, it’s a polished game with a gripping world. However, it’s not without its challenges, featuring a host of tough bosses.
Players have been struggling since the game’s release in February, with the consensus being that Elden Ring‘s boss fights rank high in FromSoftware’s pantheon of battles. Of course, which bosses are the most difficult is subjective, based on player style and experience. However, fans have taken to Ranker to vote on which were the hardest of the game’s one hundred and twenty fights.
Note: Ranker lists are live and continue to accrue votes, so some rankings may have changed after this publishing.
Valiant Gargoyle
Valiant Gargoyle is a pretty misleading title. Despite this boss having a singular name, this boss fight is actually against two gargoyles. The second phase sees a second gargoyle join the fight, wielding twin blades. Not only does the name mislead players, but the second enemy means it’s easy to be attacked by one while targeting the other.
The gargoyles are formidable melee fighters and can jump to close distance to the Tarnished. Players should run a melee build with ranged attacks and keep their distance but not be helpless if they get close. However, there are a few ways to cheese the fight. The player can trick the Gargoyles into jumping off cliffs or losing aggro, but this takes patience on par with the fight itself.
Radagon of the Golden Order
The final battle of Elden Ring begins with Radagon of the Golden Order. This is the penultimate boss of the game and one of the toughest. This former king and counterpart of one of Elden Ring’s most important characters start the final battle in intimidating fashion. In the lore, they were the one who broke the Ring and they wield the hammer they used to do so.
These hammer strikes have a massive area of effect, so players will find them hard to dodge. They also have a grab attack that can kill the player at full health. What makes the fight especially taxing is that Radagon is immune to most damage types in the game. Players will want to exploit their one weakness – poise damage – if they want to get through this battle.
Godskin Duo
The Godskin Duo will remind Dark Souls veterans of its notorious bosses Ornstein and Smough. These two are initially fought separately, but their movesets complement each other when fought simultaneously. The Goeskin Apostle is quick and the Noble is slow and powerful, and they also share the same pool of health.
Putting down one of the two won’t actually kill them. They’ll endlessly revive until the shared health pool is depleted. This makes the fight one of endurance that can really sap a player’s patience. Luckily, summons can help the player dramatically by taking aggro off of them.
Crucible Knight Ordovis
Another duo to add to the pile is the fight with the Crucible Knights. Although fans at Ranker have determined that Ordovis is more memorable than his companion, they still possess excellent teamwork. Unlike other duo fights, both of the knights are deadly quick.
The unnamed knight brandishes a spear that gives him impressive range. Ordovis himself attacks with a greatsword but is weak to lightning damage, so players should pile that on with large lunging attacks. It’s very easy to lose sight of the other knight though, whose combos make the fight really difficult when trying to focus on one opponent.
Starscourge Radahn
According to GameInformer, Radahn is the favorite boss of director Hidetaka Miyazaki. It’s easy to see why, as his festival plotline makes for an epic encounter. The boss starts on horseback hundreds of feet away and shoots at the player. While this phase is already difficult, the second phase bumps it up a notch.
Radahn will crash through the sky like a meteor after his first phase is completed. He’s just as ruthless to deal with up close and his physical attacks are even more dangerous than his ranged. By the second phase, it’s also likely any summoned help will be gone. It’s still a great fight and beating it gives two of Elden Ring’s best remembrance weapons.
Dragonlord Placidusax
To fight this hidden boss Elden Ring players need to explore. Reaching it requires many bizarre triggers like rewinding time. This means many players haven’t fought this area-of-effect damage nightmare. Dragonlord Placidusax is a two-headed dragon that more than lives up to his title.
Fought in a crumbling arena at the edge of space, the fight is unsettling from the start, but then the dragon will begin teleporting in a frenzy. This makes it hard to focus on hitting the dragon when it could appear behind players to attack with its claws. What makes this one of the toughest challenges in the game is finding time to attack during the onslaught.
Mohg, Lord of Blood
Mohg, Lord of Blood is a rematch with Mohg, the Omen. The first fight is tough, but the Blood Lord rematch leaves players bleeding. His bleed damage will quickly drain the player’s health bar. This can be dealt with in certain builds, but most players will have a tough time.
Mohg’s biggest attack can’t be dealt with like that. At the beginning of phase two, he will slam his weapon on the ground three times. This unleashes almost unavoidable shockwaves that drain the player’s health almost completely. Not without healing will players be able to survive and it is tough when Mohg comes at them.
Maliketh, the Black Blade
Malekith the Black Blade is a lesson in death. It’s a classic Soulsborne fight where everything is not as it seems. The fight begins against a beast clergymen but in the second phase Maliketh is revealed and he is hungry for blood. He flies across the arena and delivers his destined death ability onto the player, reducing their max HP.
He’s also quick and has numerous deadly combos. These combos are easily able to kill the player in one hit, and if they don’t his aforementioned ability will be enough. His difficulty can be somewhat lessened with spirit summoned but he’s still formidable. In a lot of ways though, he’s a classic FromSoftware boss, as memorization is the best strategy against him.
Elden Beast
The Elden Beast is one of the best final bosses FromSoftware has ever created. Soulsborne final bosses have a reputation for being disappointing due to not being as tough as earlier fights. The Elden Beast breaks that trend, being a massive beast with great melee and ranged options. What makes it even harder is that it comes right after Radagon.
The giant Elden Beast’s patterns are tough to learn due to rematches needing to re-fight Radagon. Its movements are also strange yet quick, as it can swim around the arena to follow the player wherever they go. This is in addition to its holy attacks also homing in on the player. As befitting a beast of its power, players never feel safe when fighting the Elden Beast.
Malenia, Blade of Miquella
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the users of Ranker have named Malenia the most difficult and powerful foe in the game. She’s become a phenomenon, easily earning herself a place alongside FromSoftware’s most difficult. She also indirectly sparked the “Let Me Solo Her” meme phenomenon. Her renown is well deserved as she breaks FromSoftware tradition by being one of the few bosses to heal on every hit.
This devastating life-steal ability even works on the player’s summons, making it trivial for Malenia to return to full health. This ability would be more than enough to body seasoned players, but Malenia is also deadly fast. Her combos come out quick and can hit the player at any range. Even without her nebulous health refill in her second phase “goddess of rot” form, she’s more than tough enough to take the crown as Elden Ring’s hardest.
