Elden Ring: 10 Hardest Boss Battles, Ranked

Developed by FromSoftware, Elden Ring is a critically-acclaimed title that not only takes inspiration from the Souls series but also has plenty of input from George R.R. Martin. It’s a game known for its story, open-world setting, and of course, its difficulty.

As with any Souls game, there are plenty of hard boss fights to be found. And while Elden Ring is definitely no stranger to having hair-pulling boss fights, these are the ones often thought of as the hardest.

10 Morgott – The Omen King

Morgott shares many similarities to a previous boss in Elden Ring – Margit, the Fell Omen, to whom Morgott bears a resemblance. But what makes Morgott different from Margit, however, is that he’s even more powerful.

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, where he starts utilizing weapon art. His attacks in the second phase may be very hard to dodge – but dodging these attacks and staying aggressive is the key to victory.

9 Astel – Naturalborn Of The Void

This butterfly-looking creature appears to be very Lovecraftian, with its harrowing face, large mandibles, and other gnarly traits. The boss fight takes place in a cosmic setting, which doesn’t make Astel any easier to deal with.

Astel has plenty of magical spells under its belt, capable of firing meteorites, casting gravity magic, and even teleporting. Anyone who gets close to this beast will be ravaged by a shockwave, but keep any distance, and Astel will fire with a laser beam. With these moves, players will have to battle his creature both at close-range and from the distance.

8 Radagon Of The Golden Order

Radagon happens to be the first form of the final boss fight in Elden Ring. His 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. It can be difficult to avoid taking damage from Radagon’s attacks, let alone withstand them. That said, having a bunch of flasks on hand is pretty optimal as players try and survive to the second phase.

7 Malekith – The Black Blade

Malekith is part of a two-part boss battle that takes place at the end of the Crumbling Farum Azula. The first part involves the Beast Clergymen, 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 50 percent, the fight with Malekith begins. Malekith is much more violent and agile than the Beast Clergymen – he moves around the stage belligerently, unleashing combos that can drain one’s stamina. Using the four pillars in the arena sometimes isn’t worth it, as Malekith can easily close in on the player.

6 Mohg – Lord Of Blood

Mohg is an optional boss and defeating him is only optional for getting Elden Ring‘s bad ending. He can cast out magical spells that can be easily dodged but can also deal big damage. It’s not until his health reaches below 50 percent that he kicks things into high gear, and cast out an unblockable blood spell across the screen.

Mogh takes on a winged form in the second phase of the fight, giving him more speed. Moreover, his attacks can cover more ground. Anyone that dares to challenge the Lord of Blood better have one important Elden Ring item in their possession: a bunch of flasks.

5 Crucible Knight And Crucible Knight Ordovis

FromSoftware is no stranger to having double bosses, and Elden Ring has two of them in Crucible Knight and Crucible Knight Ordovis. This boss battle doesn’t matter as much in the long run, but anyone who challenges these two will be in for a hard time.

The knights fight rather aggressively, combining their moves together and going in for the kill after stunning the player with a shockwave. They open their wings in the second phase and charge at the player constantly. Given how aggressive the Crucible Knights are, countering them by playing passive is the safest bet there is.

4 Godskin Duo

Dealing with the Godskin Apostle and Noble individually can be irritating enough on its own. But dealing with them both in the same fight, however, can make for one bad experience.

Both the Apostle and Noble are super fast, and their speed kicks up a notch when they enter their second phase. They can both shoot projectiles. For instance, one boss can fire shots at a player who is fighting with the other from a distance. Unfortunately, players can’t kill them in the first phase if both their health reaches zero, as one must take down the entire life bar in order to win.

3 Godfrey – First Elden Lord

Godfrey battles with a very aggressive style, wielding a battle ax that can dish out tons of damage. In his first phase, he moves slow but heavily swings his ax around, making it hard to dodge. He will produce shockwaves by stomping on the ground, and he’ll do it quite often.

Godfrey amps up the aggression in his second phase, where he’ll ditch his ax and go completely berserk. The Elden Lord fights with his fists, as he’ll charge towards the player before grabbing them and slamming them to the ground. His combo attacks are just as lethal, too.

2 Starscourge Radahn

Starscourge Radahn is by far the biggest baddie in Elden Ring, and 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.

While having seven warriors at one’s side seems like it can make the fight easier, it sadly doesn’t. Radahn’s huge size gives his attacks a huge area of effect, giving them massive hitboxes as one will find it very difficult to dodge.

1 Malenia – Blade Of Miquella

Malenia may not be the gigantic beast that Starscourge Radahn is, but she’s still generally considered to be the hardest boss in Elden Ring. Some compare her to Bloodbourne‘s Orphan of Kos and Dark Souls 3‘s Sister Friede, which speaks to just how difficult she can be.

While her first phase isn’t that bad, her second phase involves fast combos, massive shockwaves, and several copies of herself. Malenia’s can inflict rot, which can chip away at the player’s health. And if that isn’t enough, the player has to kill her twice since her second phase starts her off at 80 percent health.