Summary

  • Elden Ring is a critically-acclaimed title known for, among other things, a number of very difficult boss fights.
  • The game's expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, introduces even more challenging bosses.
  • Most of Elden Ring's hardest bosses are some of the more famous characters in the Lands Between, but hidden or secret bosses, as well as some boss duos also qualify.

Developed by FromSoftware, Created in collaboration with George R.R. Martin, a high fantasy author most famous for A Song of Ice and Fire, Elden Ring is known for its deep RPG systems, fascinating open world, nebulous story, and – perhaps most of all – its difficulty. As with many of FromSoftware's most recent offerings, there are plenty of hard boss fights to be found.

FromSoftware's Elden Ring finally arrived in February 2022 after years of speculation and hype, a lead-up that repeated itself with the long wait for the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring's first and only DLC, which came out in June 2024. Shadow of the Erdtree ramps up the difficulty, introducing some of the game's toughest bosses and regular enemies alike. With consideration for where they appear in the base game and DLC, below are the 15 hardest bosses players can encounter in Elden Ring.

Image of Malenia after she turns into the Goddess of Rot for the final phase of her boss fight. Behind her are the roots of the Haligtree, which have grown to resemble a person, most likely Miquella who created it.
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15 Margit, The Fell Omen Is A Difficult First Hurdle

Stormveil Castle

Margit, the Fell Omen from Elden Ring, standing near the gate to Stormveil Castle holding his staff.

The first main boss most Elden Ring players will likely face is Margit, the Fell Omen, who guards the entrance to Stormveil Castle and essentially demands that new players hone their skills in order to continue on – a skill check prior to entering the game's first Legacy Dungeon. While it's technically possible to by Margit, defeating him is required to face Godrick the Grafted, one of the game's easier demigods, two of which are required to enter Leyndell, Royal Capital.

Margit may not technically be the most difficult boss in Elden Ring, but given how early on he is encountered, he can certainly be pretty tough. The most challenging aspect of his boss fight is a number of delayed attack patterns, maneuvers with tricky timing that many later bosses in the game utilize as well. That makes Margit, while difficult, an excellent introduction to the boss mechanics of Elden Ring.

14 Romina, Saint Of The Bud, Brings Scarlet Rot To Shadow Of The Erdtree

Church Of The Bud

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Romina, Saint of the Bud, is secreted away in the deepest recesses of the Rauh Ruins. Romina is a giant, partially insectoid enemy, combining biological elements of scorpions, centipedes, butterflies, and humans. She uses her multiple mouths, stingers, and spears to create a confusing blur of damaging strikes.

Much like Malenia before her, Romina requires the Tarnished to deal with Scarlet Rot. She inflicts the deadly status effect rapidly, basically necessitating the use of Preserving Boluses or some Rot-resistant piece of equipment. Although the player has ample time to prepare for an encounter with Romina, she's still a worthy challenge whenever they arrive.

Messmer, Radahn, and Gaius from Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
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13 Astel, Stars Of Darkness Poses A Dual Challenge

Yelough Anix Tunnel

An incredibly strange-looking alien from Elden Ring. It's almost the shape of a butterfly, with a long body that looks made out of stars, and four ethereal wings. its head looks like a human skull with crystals growing out of it, and it has two large pincers near its mouth. It is flying in an ice cave and summoning a bright pink ball of magic.

There are two fights against Astel in Elden Ring, the first against Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, and the second against Astel, Stars of Darkness. Naturalborn of the Void is the final hurdle in Ranni the Witch's questline, but Stars of Darkness appears later in the game, has more HP, and an additional attack.

Astel has plenty of magical spells under its belt, and it's capable of launching meteorites, casting gravity magic, and even teleporting. Anyone who gets close to this beast will be ravaged by a shockwave, but keep some distance, and the Elden Ring boss will fire a damaging laser beam. With these moves, players will have to battle this creature both at close range and from a distance.

12 Bayle The Dread Demands Persistence

Jagged Peak Summit

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As the player travels through the Land of Shadow in Elden Ring's DLC, they're likely to encounter an NPC named Igon, who furiously curses the name of an unknown nemesis, Bayle. Igon points the way to Jagged Peak, an optional region that involves a sustained, treacherous climb up a rocky slope, beset by roaring winds and deadly lightning. When they make it to the top, they'll find that Bayle is an ancient dragon who once tried to usurp the throne of Placidusax.

Bayle is tough - he breathes deadly fire at the Tarnished from across the arena, jumps in the air, and slams back down with an incredible damage output. Much as Igon regales the player with tales of his repeated battles against Bayle, this fight seems designed to take multiple tries. Defeating him isn't necessary to progress in the game, but is incredibly rewarding: Bayle is tied to Igon's questline, and the drake warrior can be summoned as an ally against him, finally getting revenge on his eternal enemy.

11 The Draconic Tree Sentinel Blocks The Way Into Leyndell

Capital Outskirts

A player battling the Draconic Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring, which unleashes a red-colored lightning bolt while preparing to swing its weapon.

Players will encounter the Tree Sentinels multiple times throughout their adventures in Elden Ring's Lands Between, but while the most infamous fight stands just outside the game's tutorial area, another particularly fearsome Elden Ring boss guards the back entrance to Leyndell, Royal Capital. Found before a fog gate, the Draconic Tree Sentinel (Capital Outskirts) is typically a massive challenge relative to almost anything that's come before.

Elden Ring How To Beat The Draconic Tree Sentinel Leyndell
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Agile, tough to hit, and capable of launching lighting strikes that require almost frame-perfect precision, the Draconic Tree Sentinel boss fight represents a serious barrier to progression, playing a similar role to Margit. Once players get past him, they can enter Leyndell, Royal Capital, an important step on the path to the final boss.

10 Rellana, Twin Moon Knight Is A Grueling Duel

Castle Ensis

After the reintroductory wake-up call provided by Shadow of the Erdtree's first mandatory boss, Divine Beast Dancing Lion, the dungeon ends abruptly, and players are encouraged to seek out Castle Ensis as they continue to follow in Miquella's footsteps. At the end of that much smaller dungeon, they encounter Rellana, a former princess of the Carian Royal Family. She fights with a pair of swords, one made of magical glintstone, and the other coated in a roaring fire. The battle against her is reminscient of the one against Malenia, as she leaps across the battlefield, cutting wide arcs in inscrutable combos. She'll also coat the battlefield with arcane AoEs. Thankfully, there's no Scarlet Rot involved this time.

Rellana is hard, but the fact that her worst attacks deal fire damage makes it a little easier to mitigate her damage in the long run. That said, she still deals a lot of it, and the length of her combos can be intensely frustrating. She's the first major obstacle to progress in the player's journey towards the Shadow Keep.

9 Radagon Of The Golden Order Is The Harder Of Elden Ring's Two Final Bosses

Inside The Erdtree

the mysterious Elden Beast. Radagon's 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, and his attacks are often as difficult to withstand as they are to dodge.

It seems a bit counterintuitive that Radagon would be more difficult than the Elden Beast (which doesn't even crack the top 15), but the latter has attacks that are much easier to dodge, even if the fight does generally take longer. Radagon leaves very little room for error, and punishes mistakes with tremendous damage and devastating combos.

8 Mohg, Lord Of Blood Gives No Quarter

Mohgwyn Palace

Mohg, Lord of Blood in Elden Ring. He holds his staff in his right hand while also lifting his left hand. His face is filled with horns which make it near undescribably. He stands in a dark arena with the underground portion of the map's night sky filled with glistening stars.

Elden Ring's Mohg boss is fairly out of the way, and those who don't seek out Varre or venture across the Consecrated Snowfields likely won't find him. He utilizes magical spells that can be easily dodged, but they deal an incredible amount of damage when they connect. It's not until his health is half depleted that he kicks things into high gear and casts an unblockable blood spell across the screen.

Mohg is one of two bosses players must defeat in order to begin Shadow of the Erdtree.

Mohg takes on a winged form in the second phase of the fight, giving him more speed. Moreover, his attacks can cover more ground. Mohg is certainly not the most difficult optional boss in Elden Ring, and there are ways to cheese the Mohg fight, but those who seek him out legitimately ought to be prepared for a fight.

7 The Godskin Duo Teams Up Against The Tarnished

Crumbling Farum Azula

The Godskin Duo stood side by side the tall skinny one on the left and the larger one on the right

Dealing with the Godskin Apostle and Godskin Noble Elden Ring bosses individually can be irritating enough, but dealing with them both in the same fight can make for a terrible experience. In fact, it is arguable that these two are among the most reviled bosses in all of FromSoftware's catalog.

Both the Apostle and Noble are very fast, and their speed kicks up a notch when they enter their second phase. They can both shoot projectiles, meaning they often engage the player from different ranges. Worst of all, these Elden Ring bosses must be fought multiple times, as they'll continually resurrect until their whole health bar is completely depleted.

Elden Ring: Godskin Duo
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6 Godfrey, First Elden Lord Is The Hardest Boss In Elden Ring's Final Chapters

Leyndell, Ashen Capital

A close-up of Godfrey, First Elden Lord in Elden Ring, who has the ethereal Beast Regent Serosh clinging to his back.

Godfrey became the first Tarnished after being exiled from the Lands Between, but he returns to the Ashen Capital when the player is on the brink of toppling the Golden Order. He is very aggressive in his boss fight, wielding a battleaxe that can deal tons of damage. In his first phase, the Elden Ring boss moves slowly, but his cadence can make him tough to track, and he frequently produces debilitating shock waves by stomping the ground.

Godfrey's second phase sees him reverting to his alter ego, Hoarah Loux, Warrior, a title previously held when he conquered the giants, prior to becoming First Elden Lord. To do this, Godfrey removes Serosh, the Lord of Beasts, from his back, who was suppressing Godfrey's bloodlust so he could act according to his lordship. Now shirtless and coated in blood, Hoarah Loux shirks his axe, fighting bare-fisted and even more aggressive. Outclassing Radagon, Godfrey is the toughest boss in Elden Ring's final stretch.