Now that Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is available, there are a ton of new bosses to frighten you. After completing the DLC, we’re inclined to agree with director Hidetaka Miyazaki when he explains that some of the bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree were created to test players to the very maximum.
Naturally, we made the decision to order the difficulty of each of the new bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree from easiest to hardest. There are many more bosses in the DLC than the ones we’ve included here, so keep that in mind. But we’ve only ranked the primary bosses, the ones who drop Remembrances, which you can then use to trade in for legendary armor and weaponry.
Naturally, if you haven’t finished the DLC, stop reading now because this is one of the lists with the most spoilers for Shadow of the Erdtree that we have.
In light of everything mentioned above, these are Shadow of the Erdtree’s most formidable bosses!
10. The Saint of the Bud, Romina
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Romina is a bit of a later-half boss, but she’s not too bad in the end. Romina, a flowery spellcaster whose primary attacks cause Scarlet Rot if you remain in her poisonous fumes for an extended period of time, is a sort of parody on Melania’s Scarlet Rot boss. She can also send you exploding butterflies if you avoid those.
Fortunately, you may easily get past these nasty Areas of Effect and continue to beat her until she is defeated. Given how late in the game you’ll encounter her, Romina scarcely puts up much of a fight, whether you’re a melee player or a spellcaster.
9. Avatar of Scadutree
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The Scadutree Avatar is one of the many formidable bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree. Despite its size, it’s ironic that it’s also simple to overlook. The Scadutree Avatar is a giant sunflower monster that can do a ton of bleed damage up close and is concealed in a secret area of the Shadow Keep. Additionally, you must battle it three times in a succession.
Fortunately, the Scadutree Avatar’s attacks are simple to avoid, just like those of other formidable FromSoftware bosses. The main challenge lies in defeating the boss three times more often than any of its real assaults.
8. Mother of Fingers, Metyr
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Metyr is an extremely tough monster despite ranking close to the bottom of the list because of her combination of powerful, physical AoE strikes and the capacity to fire lasers and other ranged weapons. Metyr can crush you like a bug if you approach too closely, but if you fight from a distance, you run the chance of being hit by one of her strong beam attacks.
She can also conjure some terrible goons to aid her, but this can get quite tedious very quickly. Nevertheless, Metyr’s resistance to magic is rather low, so depending on your setup, you might easily clear her health bar.
7. Lion Dancing Divine Beast
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The Divine Beast Dancing Lion is probably the first boss you’ll face in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, depending on how carefully you’re following the critical route. FromSoftware certainly likes to set the standard high.
The Divine Beast can fire lightning, blast you with cold, or blow you away with wind. It also moves quickly and has a powerful attack. Prepare to dodge, duck, dive, dip, and land one or maybe two hits before repeating because this is real FromSoftware combat. Divine Beast’s poor ranking is only due to the fact that the other bosses are simply more difficult.
6. Twin Moon Knight Rellana
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Like Artorias and Lady Maria, Rellana’s bosses have a lengthy history of giving players the impression that they are facing up against another player character in a duel. Rellana, the magical knight sister of Renalla, combines ferocious swordplay with a magic-focused second phase in which she will employ both ice and fire magic against you.
Rellana was the first monster I ran into trouble with. She used a combination of close-combat strikes, long-range AoEs, and a one-hit magic spell that took this writer several hours to find out how to resist. As a result, I had to spend days trying to defeat her, even with the assistance of an NPC summon.
5. Midra, Ruler of Crazy Fire
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Since they both use a combination of long-range and close-range sword attacks, Midra and Rellana are essentially similar bosses. These long-range strikes are Frenzied rather than magical, just in Midra’s case. The two bosses differ mostly in that Midra is a little bit faster, Frenzy is a little bit more troublesome to deal with, and he can use AoEs across a wider area than Rellana.
Finding the patterns to avoid Midra’s assaults is a little more difficult because, in keeping with the Frenzied Flame moniker, his attack patterns are undoubtedly more erratic.
4. Knight of Putrescent
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The Putrescent Knight’s look, which features a gooey, skeletal knight riding a slime horse, as well as its constant attacks, reminded me a lot of Bloodborne. The Putrescent Knight usually seems to hit a few more times than you anticipate, so just when you think you’re safe and about to take a puff from your flask, hey presto! You’re dead now that he hit you again.
Furthermore, dealing with the Putrescent Knight’s evil tendency to detach from his horse and momentarily transform into two adversaries is a hassle.
3. Gaius, Commander
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During conversations with other early access Shadow of the Erdtree fans, Gaius kept coming up in the topic of “Toughest Bosses.” Commander Gaius tramples players as he charges into the battlefield on a powerful boar, resembling a remix of Radahn from the original game. Make it through that? He’s fully equipped with gravity magic, which he can utilize to crush you in the second phase.
The main issue with Commander Gaius is that time accuracy is crucial. He’s likely to stomp you out in one attempt if you don’t manage to avoid him even once. But like with Radahn, you should be set up for an epic duel if you take him on head-on and time it perfectly.
2. Messmer the Impaler
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With good cause, FromSoftware has been promoting Messmer the Impaler extensively prior to the DLC’s release. One of the hardest boss fights in the entire DLC—if not the entire game—is Messmer’s. Messmer launches his assault with his powerful spear, which has an enormous range, to start the two-part battle. Messmer is not only quick, but his fire damage and counters make him difficult to handle with in just his first phase.
Unfortunately, the true battle begins in the second phase when he gains the ability to add a gigantic snake to his toolkit. It’s likely game over if either of the two catches hold of you, so you’ll need to avoid them both. Messmer is a challenging boss to read and much more so to avoid, whether it’s his flaming hold that can virtually one-shot you or the snake’s clasp that slams you into the ground.
1. Radahn, the Promised Consort
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Director Hidetaka Miyzaki may have been alluding to Promised Consort Radahn, who is essentially the “Final Boss” of the DLC, when he spoke about pushing the limits of fight difficulty for the DLC.
Promised Consort Radahn is adamant, to put it plainly. Radahn’s stature in his initial phase belies his sheer quickness. Fast-moving, hard-hitting, and with a gigantic health bar and tremendous sword swings, it will be a miracle if you survive his first phase unharmed.
On the other hand, the second part seems completely unattainable. When Miquella’s holy strikes are combined with Radahn’s move set, the player is never safe anywhere in the arena. Promised Consort Radahn can now move at the speed of light, hurtling down the player at breakneck speed and barely pausing even when the pair is surrounded by a barrage of holy rays. This essentially eliminates the players’ most powerful ability, the dodge roll.
Defying this two-part boss encounter will require dexterity, cunning, and perhaps a fair amount of luck. But the pleasure you’ll get afterwards is worth it, I swear.
Thus, in the new Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, that is how we evaluate the hardest boss battles. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our review of Shadow of the Erdtree and let us know which bosses are giving you especially difficult times in the comments section.