Godrick The Grafted is the first Shardbearer demi god boss most players will face in Elden Ring. 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 Godrick The Grafted in Elden Ring.
Godrick is quite quick on his feet contrary to how he looks. Although many of his attacks are incredibly telegraphed, you should have little trouble figuring out his attack patterns. To make this fight easier, you can talk to Nepheli Loux NPC before you enter the arena and she will become summonable for the fight.
Let’s take a look at the best strategies and builds in this boss guide that can help us easily defeat Godrick The Grafted in Elden Ring.
Is Godrick The Grafted Optional?
Godrick The Grafted is an optional boss. However, he is a Sharbearer, and at least two must be defeated to progress the main quest in Elden Ring.
Strategies for Defeating Godrick The Grafted
Below are some strategies for defeating Godrick The Grafted 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
Godrick’s main attacks come from his massive golden axe. He’ll swing it around, jump in the air and try to smash you with it. He’s got a weird rolling attack that has long wind up and ends with a giant jumping axe attack.
This rolling attack leaves him wide open when he’s finished so dodge roll through it and then whale on him when he’s done.
He also brings his axe down and causes the ground to crumble beneath his might resulting in an AOE. Another thing he’ll do is these wind attacks. He’ll create a cyclone around himself and then fire these bursts of air at you. Keep your distance cause these moves will hurt.
When you’ve gotten his health bar down to about halfway, that’s when he enters into his second phase where he attaches a dragon head to his arm.
This lets him use the dragon’s head as a hand that shoots fire. He’s got a bunch of fire attacks where he spews fire in front. He’ll perform a wave of fire that’s pretty easy to dodge through. Some fireball attacks will be added, and his wind attacks now come with bonus fire.
Godrick has some odd delays when it comes to his attack animations so don’t roll too early or you’ll be taking some damage. You could also get some good hits on him just before he enters his second phase as he spends a few seconds screaming.
He’s very weak to hemorrhage so there’s some solid potential for you to inflict serious bleed damage on him. Poison is also very effective so if you have like poison arrows that’ll get some nice damage.
Melee builds need to time your dodges right. Watch out for his big AOE attacks and capitalize on the moments where he’s not moving.
Soon enough you should have Godrick beat, and you’ll get your first Great Rune.
Magic/Faith Strategy
Maintaining distance from this boss is easier and ranged mage builds will have a more effortless time with this boss. Keep moving away from him and try to strafe in a circle. Occasionally, when he does cover the distance, dodge away from the attack and run to the other side and start using your spell of choice.
Physical-based spells are preferred for this fight. INT builds should opt for Rock Sling sorcery while FAI builds should employ the Bestial Sling incantation. Any basic spell at your disposal would work fine for the boss. Just try to avoid Holy spells, and you are good to go.
Poison and Scarlet Rot are incredibly potent during this fight and can tick away his health comfortably. Poison Mist spell and/or (if you can get it) Rotten Breath would do wonders. Rotten Stray Ashes are a nice way of applying Scarlet Rot early on.
Having a tanky summon will help out tremendously during this. While they hold the boss’s aggro, you should focus on casting your spells. Spirit Jellyfish Ashes can be found earlier on, and her high defense allows her to survive the fight.
Nepheli Loux NPC can be mighty helpful too, but you might have to save her from constant attacks from the boss as she is relatively weaker.
What is Godrick The Grafted Weak To?
Godrick The Grafted is weak to the following damage types:
- Standard Damage
- Strike Damage
- Pierce Damage
- Slash Damage
- All Status Effects
What is Godrick The Grafted Strong Against?
Godrick The Grafted is strong or resistant to the following damage types:
- Strong
- Holy
- Immune
- Madness
Can You Parry Godrick The Grafted?
Godrick The Grafted can not be parried. He can be poise broken, and then you can perform a critical strike on him.
Can You Cheese Godrick The Grafted?
This cheese strategy requires you to explore the Caelid region to get your hands on the Rotten Stray Ashes. Once you have them, upgrade them if you have the necessary material back at Roundtable Hold. It will work regardless of upgrades however the summoned dog will be much weaker and easily killed.
Now make your way to Godrick’s arena and summon the Ashes as you enter the gate. Now distract the boss while the dog attacks him. It will take a few hits from the Rotten Stray to apply the Scarlet Rot. The dog is weak so you should try your hardest to keep the boss’s attention otherwise he will go down if the boss lays into him.
Once the Rot is applied, watch as his health quickly dwindles away. You won’t have to fight the boss at this point and let the rot do all the work. Use the big statue in the middle of the arena to circle around and let Godrick chase you.
Soon the boss will succumb to the status effect, and you can watch as he fades away. This cheese is for new and beginner players as later on in the game you will find other much easier methods of inflicting Scarlet Rot.
Godrick is one of the early bosses in Elden Ring and thus is designed to show you the ropes on how the combat functions in this game. His attacks are telegraphed enough to get an understanding quickly.
And melee and magic builds, both will find this fight much more manageable compared to the brutal monstrosities that wait for you later in the game.