Hardest Elden Ring Bosses

20 Hardest Elden Ring Bosses

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re returning to the Lands Between to take on the most challenging foes to emerge from Elden Ring.

Draconic Tree Sentinel

Every Tarnished remembers their opening moments in Elden Ring. Walking out to discover Limgrave in all its splendor, being told they’re maidenless, and exploring further pastures in search of adventure. Only to get killed ten seconds later by the wandering Tree Sentinel. Truly, this golden horse-riding asshat was the first major challenge of the game. And then they decided to keep bringing it back, with its strongest form being found near the Capital of Leyndell. Not only do its swings hit just as hard, but now its steed can burst out waves of flames that can decimate your health if you aren’t quick on your toes.

Astel, Naturalborn of the Void

By this point, nothing in Elden Ring should surprise us anymore, especially in terms of boss designs. But then along came this anomaly. Astel won’t even give you time to freak out over how unnatural it looks, since there’s nothing more it loves to do than snipe you from across the arena. Teleporting, throwing exploding waves of cosmic energy, you'd think your best bet to avoid getting wasted would be to get in close and get to cleaving. And then you remember this thing has giant pincers protruding out of its face. ET really should have stayed home…

Elemer of the Briar

Nothing quite like that classic FromSoft set-up of you being trapped in a tiny room with a giant armoured behemoth who is way too quick with a greatsword. If players venture deep enough while exploring the Shaded Castle, they’ll find themselves having to quickly roll to get out of the way of Elemer’s absurd reach. His shoulder bashes are hard enough to deal with, but then he starts levitating his sword all over the place to cut down the distance between you and a Game Over. Just hope you don’t get caught up in one of their combos or its curtains.

Decaying Ekzykes

Every dragon dotted around the Lands Between brings some level of challenge, even the lesser ones. What puts Ekzykes above his contemporaries? Two words – Scarlet Rot. This thing is pulsating with it. And if you get caught in that breath, you’d best hope you have a cure on standby otherwise this whole battle serves as a precursor with a certain Goddess of Rot. He may not be as agile as other dragons, but the rate at which Ekzykes spews out the stuff really piles on the pressure to get in, attack, and get out fast.

Fire Giant

A spectacle as far as cinematic bosses go, the Fire Giant may allow for plenty of openings, but taking him down is still no easy feat. The amount of damage and distance he can cover when he starts rolling around is quite staggering, so best be nibble and keep hacking away at his ankles. Phase Two is where the giant turns up the heat. Quite literally, in that it starts to unleash homing flames that will start detonating all across the snowy landscape, quickly changing the tide of the battle if you lose your cool for even a moment.

Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast

As if the trek to Volcano Manor wasn’t treacherous enough, there’s this little problem to deal with. An absolute damage sponge, the Fallingstar Beast practically demands you use Torrent in order to escape its charges. Easier said than done, especially when it goes full-aggro and starts to increase the rate at which it lunges, not to mention casually sending you into the sky before bringing you down with its gravity manipulation. It and Astel are clearly cut from the same cloth, except this thing’s insistence on getting all up in our face makes it a much greater pain to deal with.

Valiant Gargoyle & Valiant Gargoyle (Twinblade)

Exploring Nokron is already a nerve-wracking experience, but then you get to the end to find this colossus waiting for you. With wide swings and the ability to infect you with poison damage, the Valiant Gargoyle can be a trying but wholly beatable trial…and then it calls for backup. The Twinblade Gargoyle is much faster, and when the two get in sync and start lashing out, the battle can become overwhelming. Keeping your distance and separating the two is the best way to ensure you live long enough to make it to the Deeproot Depths.

Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy

Making it to the heart of Volcano Manor is an ordeal in of itself, but what you find there is arguably a million times worse. The God Devouring Serpent, as its name suggests, is a big ass snake that will constantly lash out in an effort to swallow you whole. Overcome that, and you’ll find it's actually Rykard, who turns out to be so much worse than his serpentine pet. His sword has killer reach, he can summon ghostly apparitions that will hunt you down and burn through your health, and he’s surrounded by lava, meaning that getting up close and personal is a dangerous gamble. We can see why so many picked up the Serpent Hunter.

Black Blade Kindred

It may appear to be just another Valiant Gargoyle with a sleek makeover, but don’t be fooled, this thing by its lonesome is far deadlier. Mainly because it is utterly relentless. Fast, flashy and prone to unleashing torrents of crimson wind that will drain your health at a startling rate, knowing when to dodge and when to delay is key to surviving its onslaught, though that’s far easier said than done. In many ways, the Kindred is an indicator of what to expect in the later fight against Maliketh, as terrifying as that may sound.

Crucible Knight Ordovis & Crucible Knight

One of the most gruelling two on one fights in the whole game, these two are more than happy to give you their full attention and attack in tandem. You not only have to worry about the reach of their swings, but also their faith-based abilities. Ordovis is especially lethal when it comes to this, unleashing holy blasts that consume a wider area, as well as growing wings and striking with blinding speed. As far as dungeon bosses go, these two stand right at the pinnacle.

Morgott, the Omen King

There’s no denying that as the first main boss of the game, Margit the Fell Omen was a tough cookie, but at the end of the day, was just a stepping stone on the way to Stormveil Castle. Right? Wrong. Turns out this demigod isn’t some lackey of Godrick, but is actually the King of Leyndell, and has every intention of slicing you up before you can enter the Erdtree. Not only does he retain his speed and sweeping attacks from his earlier encounter, but Morgott’s arsenal is substantially upgraded here. Trading in his cane a sword that can do some serious damage, along with a plethora of grace-given weaponry, ranging from daggers to swords to a giant spear.

Godfrey, First Elden Lord/Horah Loux, Warrior

The demigod family tree is pretty messed up, to say the least, especially when you have Godfrey as a rageful papa bear looking to tear off some Tarnished heads. As the First Elden Lord, Godfrey constantly demonstrates why he was worthy to serve as Queen Marika’s consort, slicing across the field with his great axe and uprooting the earth with every stomp. Knock him down to half-health, and that’s when the gloves come off. Or should we say, the spectral lion. After trading in his weapon for good old fashioned fisticuffs. Horah Loux goes full-on berserker, utilizing his anger and strength as the first Tarnished. Watch out for the pile driver!

Starscourge Radahn

The man fought Malenia to a standstill, held the very stars in place, mastered gravity magic so he could still ride his scrawny steed, and now you have to fight him. While having access to a bunch of summonable NPCs does take the edge of this fight, Radahn is still a beast. If he’s not crushing you with his great swords, he’s bringing out comets to chase you all over the Wailing Dunes. You have to be on top form to face off against the Red Lion General, since it doesn’t matter what your build is – nobody walks away undamaged after Radahn turns himself into a self-made meteor!

Commander Niall

It’s not so much this knight is a tank who can manipulate the elements and comes armed with a giant spear, it’s that he’s a tank who can manipulate the elements, comes armed with a giant spear, AND has two spectral warriors acting as an entourage that take a fair amount of damage! Even if you eradicate his guard, the tight nature of the battlefield makes Niall a nightmare for melee builds. If he’s not conjuring up an ice storm, he’s busting out a prosthetic limb shrouded in lightning to kick your Tarnished’s face in.

Mohg, Lord of Blood

Because just one Omen brother obviously wasn’t arduous enough. Bad enough you have to trek through one of the most treacherous areas in the game order to face this guy, all before this Empyrean-stealing terror tears your Tarnished a new grace site. While the wide swing of his weapon, use of wings, and fondness unleashing wave upon wave of burning blood makes Mohg all kind of dangerous, he’s got an ace up his sleeve that can mean certain death if you aren’t careful. You’d better chug back those Crimson Tears when he starts chanting, otherwise you’re going to end up rapidly hemorrhaging health!

Dragonlord Placidusax

There are a lot of dragons dotted around the Lands Between, but all play second fiddle to this two-headed bringer of destruction. Should players manage to navigate their way to its resting place, which features a nifty back-jump through time, they’ll have to tango with Placidusax and the million ways he can easily annihilate a Tarnished. Lightning storms that leave barely any time to react, teleporting claw swipes that will knock you flat, and let’s not forget the twin bursts of laser breath. Lichdragon Fortissax was a great fight in of itself, but there’s a reason why they call this thing the Dragonlord!

Maliketh, The Black Blade

We should have known FromSoft wouldn’t be above pulling a fast one on us. By himself, the Beast Clergyman is formidable but wholly beatable once you get to grips with his erratic movements. At least he was until he decided to ditch the robes, don the armor, and pull out a blade that harbors the Rune of Death. From that point on, the fight goes from about a seven all the way to “oh my god, he’s so fast, why is he jumping on the pillars, someone help me!” If the speed of his slashes wasn’t enough, every hit that Maliketh lands reduces a Tarnished’s maximum health, and there are a LOT of hits to dodge. Bad dog!

Radagon of the Golden Order/Elden Beast

Ha! As if the final boss in a Souls game wouldn’t be a gauntlet! You’ll barely have enough time to get over the fact that General Radagon and Queen Marika are the same person before he goes full hammer time. Between the lightning bolts, teleportation and godly swings, you’ll be lucky to walk away from phase one unscathed. Even if you do, the following scuffle against the Elden Beast is an absolute gauntlet. Get ready for an onslaught of light rays, sword swings that consume the whole swing, golden rings you’ll have to jump over, and worst of all – chasing after the damn thing as it swims to the other end of the arena! Sit still, you stupid cosmic vassal!

Godskin Duo

While challenging in their own right, the Godskin Apostle and Godskin Noble aren’t exactly what you would call the pinnacle of difficulty. But stuff them both together into a tiny arena? They will become the bane of your existence. Between the Apostle’s ability to stretch and the Noble turning itself into a rolling marshmallow of death, the two can unleash monstrous damage and easily corner you. Plus, even if you somehow wipe out both their health bars at the same time, they’ll still come back for one last hurrah at the end! There is no shame busting out the Mimic Tear when it comes to these two.

Malenia, Blade of Miquella/Goddess of Rot

The undisputed, uncontested, queen of difficulty, and possibly the hardest boss in FromSoft history, Malenia is a name that will etch itself into your psyche. Her speed combined with the reach of her blade is vicious, made all the more dangerous due to how she heals herself every time she cuts up the player. And unless you’ve got her timing down to the millisecond, her Waterfowl Dance might as well be considered an insta-death. Then there’s her second phase, where she swaps out the sword for Scarlet Rot. Good luck trying to avoid a dive bomb that doubles as whirlwind of poison that can easily consume an entire health bar should you venture too close!

Which Elden Ring boss broke you? Let us know in the comments!