Astel, Naturalborn of the Void is a menacing cosmic horror-esque monstrosity of a boss in Elden Ring. There is one more version of this boss in the game as well. How to defeat the boss? What is the boss weak to? What strategies can you use to beat it? Are there ways to cheese the boss? All will be answered in this ultimate boss guide to beating Astel, Naturalborn of the Void in Elden Ring.
While fighting Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, you must not lock on to him. His movements and sheer size will bother you while targeting him. Any sort of spirit summon (preferably Mimic Tear) will alleviate some of the pressure from you during this fight. His laser beams, exploding swipes, meteorite rain, and grab attacks are the attacks you should be extra vigilant for.
Let’s take a look at the best strategies and builds in this boss guide that can help us easily defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void in Elden Ring.
Is Astel, Naturalborn of the Void Optional?
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void is an optional boss in Elden Ring. However, if you want to complete Ranni’s quest or are working towards the Age of the Stars ending then he must be defeated.
Strategies for Defeating Astel, Naturalborn of the Void
Below are some strategies for defeating Astel, Naturalborn of the Void boss in Elden Ring. The build you selected will determine the approach you should go for. We will cover the basic melee/magic caster strategies here:
Melee Strategy
The fight starts out with Astel firing a laser beam at you which you need to side-roll to avoid it. The arena is huge so start running toward the boss but be careful, he might use a long-range tail attack to get you. If you dodge the tail ship in time, use the recovery time to move to the boss’s face and start whaling at it.
If you see him do hand swipes in front, he usually leaves a trail of purple magic afterward which explodes.
You either want to roll through that if you’re standing close or if you’re at midrange you want to roll backward and wait for explosions. Get back into close range afterward.
Periodically, he’ll raise up into the air and then slam down. The best thing to do here is just move or roll forward. Let the attack go over your head and turn around and start striking him from below.
If you get greedy during this opening, there is a chance he will raise up and put his hands on the ground, and starts firing purple waves. Roll backward when this occurs. Do not begin any long animation weapon art during this window.
Whenever he teleports, look to your left immediately as he might perform a grab attack that can make quick work of you.
Looking to the left always seems to work and if he goes for the grab then dodge away from it. If he is not grabbing you after the fight, he might spawn back at a further distance behind you.
When he is far away from you, he will use the beam attack again and the tail whips while you close the distance so employ the same strategy as before.
At the 50% health mark, a new meteorite rain attack will be added to his repertoire. You will see the sky turn purple and a bunch of portals will start firing meteorite at your general direction.
The best thing you can do here is to continuously start rolling to the left side and the meteorites will either miss you or they go through your i-frames.
Staying close to him is the key here. Many of his close-range attacks are easy to read and can be avoided with a bit of leg work.
His head is his weak point so pound on it every chance you get but don’t stick to it. Getting under him is relatively safer and optimal for dealing damage.
A longer-reaching melee weapon like spears and greatswords will rarely miss. Shorter weapons will find it harder to connect regularly.
Magic/Faith Strategy
This boss is resistant to all manner of sorceries and incantations. However, he gives a lot of opportunities to use deadly long-animation spells. Medium range is the desired place to be if you are taking the ranged mage approach.
Since he is somewhat weak to Scarlet Rot, equipping the Rotten Breath spell will be amazing for this fight. The recovery from the long-range tail whips mentioned before is the right time to use this spell.
You can use Comet Azure in this opening too, but his resistance to magic will negate much of the damage.
Hemorrhaging spells work wonderfully on him too. Stay at the medium range and fire away. Swarm of Flies spell will home in on him, and proc bleed with ease.
Magic builds will have to use quickly firing spells like Comet, Great Glintstone Shard, and Glintstone Pebble if you do not have anything else. The Shard Spiral sorcery will travel through the boss’s long body dealing significant damage along the way.
Night Maiden’s Mist is amazing too for its huge hitbox. Although the boss tends to move about rendering the mist useless, you use it to augment your regular projectile spell damage.
Watch for his attacks from the mid-range and use the spells we have mentioned and you will be good to go.
What is Astel, Naturalborn of the Void Weak To?
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void is weak to the following damage types:
- Standard Damage
- Strike Damage
- Slash Damage
- Pierce Damage
- Weak Spot – Head
What is Astel, Naturalborn of the Void Strong Against?
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void is strong or resistant to the following damage types:
- Strong
- Magic
- Fire
- Lightning
- Holy
- Immune
- Frostbite
- Sleep
- Madness
Can You Parry Astel, Naturalborn of the Void?
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void can not be parried. Nevertheless, he can be stance broken, and you can subsequently perform a critical strike on him.
Can You Cheese Astel, Naturalborn of the Void?
Sadly, there are no cheesing methods for Astel. The maximum you can do to expedite this fight is tag team with a Mimic Tear summon. Having the same spell on both of you that exploits his weaknesses will move things along faster. Try to not equip other spells or equipment like weapons etc. so that your Mimic doesn’t deviate from this strategy.
The best spells for double-teaming Astel are:
- Rotten Breath
- Swarm of Flies
Keep firing them continuously and watch as his ugly mug disintegrates.
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void in Elden Ring seems like a boss straight out of Bloodborne. It literally is an alien in this world and his appearance alone will scare the living hell out of you. Watch for his attacks and keep him close to you otherwise, his gravity-based attacks will pummel you instantly.