Summary

• The game's deep lore enriches the reputation of Bosses, making them iconic within the game world and generating interest among the fanbase.
• Only a small number of Bosses are required to finish the game, with optional Bosses offering significant rewards and a smoother difficulty curve.
• Elden Ring boasts 165 full Boss fights, with an additional 238 when including Minibosses scattered throughout the Lands Between.

The Lands Between contains a wide assortment of enemies in not all hard enemies Elden Ring are Bosses, but even when discounting them, the game still has an incredible number of unique fights to overcome.

Elden Ring has incredibly deep lore, something which its many Bosses both benefit from and add to. Naturally, this can give a dramatic boost to their reputation both inside the game and among the fanbase, and makes the Lands Between feel even more like a real, complex word. Of course, given the nature of fandom, even the most forgettable of Elden Ring Bosses can enjoy their own brand of popularity as well. There is such a great variety of Bosses present in the game that at least some are sure to intrigue any player.

Elden Ring Includes 165 Full Boss Fights

238 When Including Minibosses

Assuming that a Boss is defined as an enemy that has its health bar appear across the bottom of the screen, then there are 165 separate Boss fights in Elden Ring. However, it is worth noting that this number does count the occasional instance of paired Bosses, like the Crystalian Spear & Crystalian Staff found in the Academy Crystal Cave, as one. Moreover, if Minibosses, powerful enemies that nevertheless lack their own iconic health bar, are included, then the total climbs to 238 Bosses. But in either case, the number of Bosses actually required to finish the game is much lower.

Depending on the precise route one takes through Elden Ring, only a small handful of Bosses are actually required to complete the game. Only two Great Runes are required to reach Leyndell, which can be acquired from Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood, who have no preceding Boss fights. By then proceeding directly to Leydnell, only nine more Boss fights are required to finish the game (if counting Radagon and the Elden Beast as one), for a total of 11 required Boss fights.

The other Bosses on this short Elden Ring completion route are the Draconic Tree Sentinel, Godfrey (Golden Shade), Morgott, the Fire Giant, the Godskin Duo, the Beast Clergyman/Maliketh, Sir Gideon-Ofnir, Godfrey once more, and finally Radagon.

Of course, these numbers only cover the base game. The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will undoubtedly introduce more Bosses to be encountered during the course of its own story. The prominence of Messmer the Impaler in trailers indicates that he will be one of the major Bosses, although even so, Messmer may not be the DLC’s toughest Boss. It is unclear precisely how many Bosses will be included in Shadow of the Erdtree at this time, although the fact that it covers an area similar to Limgrave offers the potential for many new Bosses.

It Is Well Worth Battling Elden Ring’s Optional Bosses As Well

Off The Main Path

Aside from the major Bosses of Elden Ring, the demigods, their champions, and the most powerful of monsters lurking in the Lands Between, there are still scores of Bosses to contend with beyond them. They can be found roaming freely in the world, as well as found in the Evergaols scattered across the Lands Between. Notably, some are clearly intended to be faced long after it is possible to discover them, such as the Tree Sentinel found in Limgrave; despite being in a very early part of the game, it will almost certainly kill a new Tarnished with little issue.

Of course, there are significant rewards for seeking out as many Bosses as possible in Elden Ring. The Tarnished can earn both large numbers of Runes and all kinds of unique equipment by defeating them, making it well worth the time and effort to do so. The same can be said of facing as many Shardbearers as possible, especially considering the potent rewards offered by their Remembrances. Moreover, facing even a handful of these optional Bosses offers a far smoother and more manageable rise in difficulty than heading directly to Leyndell can do for the average player.

With it being possible to fight well over a hundred Bosses in Elden Ring, the game clearly has a lifespan far beyond the constraints of its core storyline. Not only are there plentiful challenges for the Tarnished, no matter their level of power and skill, but each successful battle brings appreciable rewards (including intriguing pieces of lore revealed through item descriptions). Of course, the Tarnished can seek out as many or as few of these Bosses as they wish, but each is an undeniable point of interest for any Elden Ring player.