Leonine Misbegotten is found in Castle Morne on the Weeping Peninsula in Elden Ring. This boss appears multiple times in the game so learning his moveset will be helpful later on. 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 Leonine Misbegotten in Elden Ring.
The fight against Leonine Misbegotten is pretty challenging since you’ll be facing him early on in Elden Ring. He is a fierce boss and gives you little opportunity to strike back. You should get your roll timings just right when facing him. Blocking without Barricade Shield Ash of War will annihilate your stamina.
Let’s look at the best strategies and builds in this boss guide that can help us easily defeat Leonine Misbegotten in Elden Ring.
Is Leonine Misbegotten Optional?
Leonine Misbegotten is an entirely optional boss. He is not linked to any Shardbearer hence there is no need to kill him. However, he is part of the Edgar and Irina NPC quest line.
Strategies for Defeating Leonine Misbegotten
Below are some strategies for defeating Leonine Misbegotten 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
Leonine Misbegotten is extremely aggressive. You have to roll or block a lot during this fight and get in close for your melee attacks. Having a shield for this fight helps tremendously but his attacks deal so much stamina damage that unless you use Barricade Shield Ash of War, you’re probably not going to be blocking much.
If you are not using a shield or do not have Barricade Shield then you should opt to roll through his attacks and try to dodge out of the way and then get in some shots.
Both of these are viable strategies but just keep in mind that you’re probably going to be dodging more than blocking unless you’re using the prescribed Ash of War.
If you are using Barricade Shield, not only will you consume lesser stamina, most of his attacks will bounce off the shield.
This stun animation opens up the option to perform a guard counter and subsequently stance-break him. This Ash of War has to be activated continuously which consumes FP.
His swings tend to be horizontal for the most part and very erratic which means that you have to time your dodges really. Dodging forward more than backward works far more often because he tends to be aggressive and go through you while attacking.
If you dodge forward, you have less of an area that you can get hit from, but you also need to be on the lookout for his jump attacks.
Sometimes he’ll jump up into the air, and you need to make sure that you time your rolls when this happens so that you catch the i-frames in the roll. Rolling toward him is better for melee since you can get in some shots as soon as he lands.
Pay extra attention to his three-hit combo where he does a swipe then swing and then spins in the air for a plunge sword attack. If you can sidestep that last plunge, it gives you a huge opening to deal massive damage.
Lookout for his stomp combo where he will stomp and then heavily swing his sword around. If you get caught in this attack it will be very hard to dodge. Dodging forward through that attack is the right choice as he tends to spin through you. Just don’t be close to him when he does the stomp.
Magic/Faith Strategy
Magic and Faith builds will have to apply similar tactics as their melee counterparts owing to the boss’s relentless attacking. However, they need to roll backward or away from his attacks instead of forward. As a ranged character, you need to strive to create extended separation from the boss to cast your spells.
The jumping attacks are the ones you want to quickly roll away from and utilize the landing recovery time to pummel him with your spells.
INT builds should opt for Glintstone Pebble for quick long-range firing and Carian Slicer to poke the boss melee style. Glintblade Phalanx or Magic Glintblade will perform wonderfully during this fight as that spell punishes aggressive behavior.
FAI characters should get their hands on any Fire spells they can find. Fire is one of his weaknesses. Other than that, any quick-casting incantation will do the job.
Using a Spirit or NPC Summon will take away the boss’s aggro, giving you the time to lob your spells from relative safety.
What is Leonine Misbegotten Weak To?
Leonine Misbegotten is weak to the following damage types:
- Slash Damage
- Fire
What is Leonine Misbegotten Strong Against?
Leonine Misbegotten is strong or resistant to the following damage types:
- Strong
- Magic
- Lightning
- Holy
- Immune
- Madness
Can You Parry Leonine Misbegotten?
Leonine Misbegotten can be parried. Most of his attacks can be parried. You can also perform a critical strike once he is stance-broken.
Can You Cheese Leonine Misbegotten?
To cheese Leonine Misbegotten you need to have either the Poison Mist spell or any bow of your liking. Having a shield is a plus but not necessary.
What you need to do is as soon as you enter the arena, run straight towards the huge tombstone at the back. Move to the left side of the ginormous tombstone and use the smaller one as a platform to jump on and make your way to the bigger tombstone in front of the huge one.
You must do this before the boss comes near you since he can destroy the smaller tombstones. Use a spirit summons to distract the boss while you scale the tombstones. You can see the exact tombstone to get on top of in the picture above.
Once you are on the tombstone, use the Poison Mist or the bow to start chipping away the boss’s health. Most of his attacks won’t be able to reach you. Only a few attacks like his overhead strike or jump attacks can get to you. To counter these attacks, you can either block them with the shield or jump at the right time to ignore them completely.
Keep attacking the boss, and it will soon succumb.
Leonine Misbegotten is a hard boss early on in the game. You will have to fight a bunch of other variants of this boss while you are discovering the Lands Between. Apply the strategies we have discussed above, and this boss will pose no threat to you.