The Regal Ancestor Spirit boss is quite a majestic sight when first faced in Elden Ring. You will quickly endanger this species, sadly. 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 Regal Ancestor Spirit in Elden Ring.
The Regal Ancestor Spirit and the Ancestor Spirit boss are technically the same boss. Although, you must first light 6 altars near the arena to face it for the prior. The boss is fought in a huge arena, and most of his attacks can be swiftly ignored if you move away just a little bit. Stay near his hind legs and lay into to slay the ethereal beast.
Let’s look at the best strategies and builds in this boss guide that can help us easily defeat Regal Ancestor Spirit in Elden Ring.
Is Regal Ancestor Spirit Optional?
The Regal Ancestor Spirit is an optional boss. You can bypass it even if you are going for Ranni’s quest line.
Strategies for Defeating Regal Ancestor Spirit
Below are some strategies for defeating the Regal Ancestor Spirit 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
In the Regal Ancestor Spirit boss fight, there are only a few attacks you need to pay attention to. The first one is where he double or triple jumps up into the air and then plunges down on top of you.
When he plunges, you either want to roll using your I-frames to roll through it and get some attacks, or you can even block it if you have a substantial shield or if you’re using Barricade Shield.
Usually, he immediately rears up afterward and stamps his hooves down in the front, so you want to move to the back of him when attacking after this to make sure you don’t get hit by that attack.
Periodically he’ll fly up into the air and perform a breath attack; this is very easily avoided. All you need to do is back away and wait for it to clear.
Probably the most deadly attack that you need to be on the lookout for is when he starts swinging his head back and forth about three times in a row.
This can consume a lot of stamina if you’re trying to block it and not using Barricade Shield. If you’re trying to roll, you have to roll around three times unless you can get to the back of him before his third attack comes.
Generally, you want to try and stay near his back legs. He’ll do a donkey kick attack if you get directly behind him. You can either block that, or a roll would suffice. If possible, you want to try and hug his back legs; that’ll keep you in the safest place.
Bait him to either perform his back kicks or front stomps and punish these attacks after successfully defending them.
Magic/Faith Strategy
Although the Regal Ancestor Spirit is strong against magic attacks on paper, he isn’t actually. On top of that, he is weak to Holy damage for all the Faith builds out there.
The strategy is simple here, use the vastness of the arena to maintain distance from the boss and fire your favorite spell. His ranged attacks are very telegraphed so you will see them coming. Move away in time and use the opportunity to land multiple hits.
His long-winded flying breath attacks and on-the-ground breath attacks are excellent openings to go casting crazy. Most of his attacks have long animations, so use them to your advantage.
The only thing you need to worry about is his ability to heal itself which will only prolong the inevitable. He will go down quickly, so keep casting.
What is Regal Ancestor Spirit Weak To?
Regal Ancestor Spirit is weak to the following damage types:
- Fire
- Holy
- Slash Damage
What is Regal Ancestor Spirit Strong Against?
Regal Ancestor Spirit is strong or resistant to the following damage types:
- Strong
- Magic
- Status Effects
- Immunity
- Sleep
- Madness
Can You Parry Regal Ancestor Spirit?
Regal Ancestor Spirit can not be parried. The boss can be stance broken and critical-striked.
Can You Cheese Regal Ancestor Spirit?
There was a way of cheesing this boss, which doesn’t work all the time or might have been patched. It worked for many players at launch, so you can give it a whirl if you want.
As you enter the arena, wait for the boss to perform his regular attacks, and as soon as he falls to the ground and is about to disappear, strike it in that instance. If your attack lands (as seen by the lowered health) at the right moment, the boss will vanish as usual but won’t return.
His health bar will stay active for a while, but nothing will happen. Roam around the arena, and soon the boss defeated screen will appear, and the boss will be no more.
When it did work, this cheese was bugged for some. Many players didn’t receive the Remembrance from the boss using this method, so use it at your own risk.
The Regal Ancestor Spirit, although intimidating, is an easy boss. It is a slightly more powerful version of the Ancestor Spirit boss found in the same location before. If you have faced him already, you will have few surprises in this boss fight.