Elden Ring is a massive game, boasting at least two open-world games worth of explorable areas and things to do in said areas. This game’s boss fight list is also incredible, featuring over 150 boss encounters.
However, that number is a bit inflated by “field bosses” (bosses with no lower health bar and no inescapable boss arena), repeated boss encounters, or completely skippable fights. This made picking the bosses for this ranking difficult, as I could not expound on every single boss battle in this amazing game.
The following thirty boss fights are encounters that are either A. completely mandatory for finishing the experience, denoted by no asterisk, B. somewhat avoidable depending on which route(s) you take in the game, denoted by two asterisks, or C. entirely optional as far as the main game is concerned.
The mini-bosses/ field boss list will have to wait another day, but I can’t wait to make that list, as many of them were standout fights.
Each player’s difficulty will also be extremely subjective based on their play style, build, and experience with previous titles.
30. Mimic Tear*
Not to lean into the meme of “weak enemy ahead,” knowing full well the upcoming boss fight is against yourself, but in this case, it is true. Cheesing this boss is as simple as un-equipping everything before the boss fog and re-equipping everything after you enter for the biggest smackdown in Soulsborne history.
Even without this cheese, this fight is ridiculously easy, as no one will know your attacks and spam better than you. The only tears shed on this battlefield will belong to the mimic!
Difficulty: 4 out of 10
29. Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing
By the endgame, most human enemies and invaders will be total pushovers for the player, and having one as a late-game boss is no different. He can tend to spam various magic attacks if you hang around in front of him for too long, but his health bar is so low that he won’t have time to get into all that if you are quick.
Keep up the pressure, don’t let him get heals off, and don’t be an idiot about attacking windows and he will be dead before he can finish his brainwashed Golden Order rant.
Difficulty: 5.5 out of 10
28. Regal Ancestor Spirit*
Between the Ancestor Spirit and his Regal brother, I give the nod in terms of difficulty to the latter due to his slightly more diversified moveset and increased damage. Neither one of them is truly a threat, however as long as you don’t get super greedy and just chip away at their health.
He leaves so much room for healing in this fight that even if you are very bad at identifying attack windows, he is simply a matter of dealing out more damage than he can. In many ways, this fight reminded me of Sif from the original Dark Souls as a fight that, while a lot of fun, made me feel like a monster for winning.
Difficulty: 5.75 out of 10
27. Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon**
*Skippable if you kill two: Godrick the Grafted, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, or Starscourge Radahn.
This boss boils down to a simple puzzle in phase one and whether or not you can kill her in the second phase before she starts summoning big boys to help her out. Magic builds will have an even easier time with this boss than melee builds, but even they will probably not die to this boss all that often if at all.
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
26. Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella*
By the time I actually made it to Nokstella in Ranni’s quest, I have to admit I felt that I was quite over-leveled based on how this fight went. He did very little damage to me, and I wrecked his health bar.
Who knows how I would feel about him had he come earlier in my playthrough but considering that he is in an optional part of an already optional zone, I imagine that many players can understand why he is so low on my list.
A fun boss fights to be sure, just not all that difficult, especially if you have fought the pantheon of large bosses in From’s catalog.
Difficulty: 6.25 out of 10
25. Magma Wyrm Makar**
This boss can be completely avoided if you can discover both pieces to the crest that activates the Lift of Rold, but finding those pieces is much harder than killing this big pushover of a lizard.
As long as the player can keep enough space around Makar on all sides to avoid his spewing lava attacks when needed and has a decent dodging ability for his long sword swipes in phase two, the average player should be able to fell this boss on the first try.
Difficulty: 6.25 out of 10
24. Red Wolf of Radagon**
**Skippable if you kill two: Godrick the Grafted, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, or Starscourge Radahn.
Once again I feel like this boss would be much higher on my list here if it weren’t for his absolute joke of a health bar. At this point in the game, I was still rocking an early strength build (before I realized how bad it was and respected an arcane/ dexterity build) and it took only six hits from my hammer to feel this beautiful creature.
Perhaps for a From Soft newb, the magic spells he casts in conjunction with his leaping attacks would be an issue. Still, I found the timings required for dodging to be generous and the opportunities for retaliation obvious so long as I wasn’t too greedy. It’s an entertaining fight but not too hard to get down quickly.
Difficulty: 6.5 out of 10
23. Leonine Misbegotten* (Weeping Peninsula)
Even though I found this completely optional boss fairly early on, (he was only the third non-dungeon boss I found) I still found him to be quite simple to learn and exploit. His moveset felt like the typical enemies you must fight through in Castle Morne to get there, and he staggered fairly easily to my strength build.
He almost got me on my first playthrough after one of his “red eye” buffs, leaving me just a small sliver of my health before a narrow dodge and heal. So with that, I must give him his respectful due as an easy opponent that might kill the unprepared.
Difficulty: 6.5 out of 10
22. Draconic Tree Sentinel** (Lyndell)
Skippable if you complete Fia’s quest and kill Lichdragon Fortissax.
Similar in fashion to many of the bosses on this list, I feel that players who explore each area well before moving on to the next will have the easiest time with the “gatekeeping” bosses like Draconic Tree Sentinel. Like the early tutorial experience of the Tree Sentinel in Limgrave, this suped up version is there to teach players to be prepared before engaging in a new level of enemy.
Players that are particularly thorough about discovering every item, upgrade material, and weaponry should have zero problem beating a re-skinned boss encounter whose horse sometimes shoots fireballs and whose spear can call red lighting down from the heavens.
Difficulty: 6.75 out of 10
21. Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Shade)
This encounter probably feels the most like an OG Dark Souls boss fights to me in the sense that it he a slow-moving big boy with well-telegraphed moves and big damage upon connection. That’s not to say he can’t move across the arena quickly though, as his axe throw and follow-up slam caught me at least twice in my first playthrough.
Even without any type of summon he is fairly easy to play, keep away with, and bait his “easy to exploit” attacks. With a summon, however, this fight becomes a very one-sided affair as he seems to have major trouble picking a target he wants to engage. Perhaps I got good RNG, and he just “derped” out on me, but I would suggest bringing a friend if you want to make him even easier.
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
20. Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree*
As a corporeal version of an earlier boss with a slightly diversified moveset, I did not find Loretta to be challenging at all but rather a breath of fresh air from the nightmare that ended up being the Haligtree area for me. After learning the tells for her magic-buffed sweep attack that has the potential to one-shot you and learning not to hang around behind her for more than a second, she fell pretty easily.
Try hugging her horse on the left side, getting two quick strikes in, and rolling away at the slightest movement of her spear, especially if you don’t have a hefty vigor bar. This knight begins to feel like a worthy opponent, but she pails in comparison to the other boss fighting in her zone.
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
19. Astel, Naturalborn of the Void*
I’m not going to lie, when I first walked into this boss fight after the Lake of Rot, I breathed a sigh of relief as I believed it to be a boss version of one of the smaller Void creatures seen hanging from the ceilings in the ruins of Nokstella. I promptly ran toward Astel only to be sniped by his extremely fast-moving gravity spell, and just like that, I was sent to a loading screen.
He ended up being pretty easy after I got in close enough to force his easier attacks, although his grab attack with his pincers seemed to have tracking on it that was completely unavoidable. I only fought this other-worldly creature in my first playthrough, so maybe there was a safer spot to fight from, but I hung out right in front of his face whenever I could.
Difficulty: 7.25 out of 10
18. Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy**
*Skippable if you kill two: Godrick the Grafted, Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, or Starscourge Radahn.
A gimmick boss done right. I won’t spoil too much for the uninitiated, but this boss felt more like a typical boss encounters in a God of War or similar third-person action game. Tons of fun, to be sure, just not very “soul-like.”
Someone at Rykard’s secret manor should be fired for leaving the one weapon that could easily kill him inside his boss’s door, but maybe that’s just me.
Difficulty: 7.5 out of 10
17. Lichdragon Fortissax*
This fight probably seemed more difficult than it should have because I found him early in my playthrough.
That said, he is a slightly stronger version of the ancient dragon fights up until this point, with red lightning instead of traditional yellow. I found him slightly more challenging than Draconic Tree Sentinel, so I’m not sure how much of a “skip” it is.
Difficulty: 7.5 out of 10
16. Morgott, the Omen King
This fight is sure to be a fan favorite for years to come in my mind because of the pacing and perfectly balanced damage output/ retaliation opportunities. The musical score and opening cutscene were a huge boon to it as well!
Throw in a second phase with magic attacks forcing spatial awareness and a slew of combo chain mixups, and you have a boss to stare down the entire fight in anticipation. Regarding how enjoyable the boss fights in this game were, only his relative Mohg might rival this crestfallen king.
Difficulty: 7.75 out of 10
15. Godskin Noble** (Mt. Gelmir)
*Skippable if you kill two: Godrick the Grafted, Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, or Starscourge Radahn.
Hard for all the wrong reasons. He Spams fireballs when you are trying to heal pokes his “needle” at you from five feet away with perfect tracking, and does a rolling attack at various points that can either last 5 seconds or 20 seconds regardless of whether he hits you or not.
I have never been more glad to be over-leveled for a boss encounter in all my life. I would still be fighting this guy if I hadn’t been.
Difficulty: 7.75 out of 10
14. Godrick the Grafted**
*Skippable if you kill two of the following: Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, or Starscourge Radahn.
For most players, this will be their second “major” boss of the game and he presents a real challenge, especially for the From Soft uninitiated.
He is learning to keep close during his storm windup to force his extremely dodge-able and punishable slam attack, to quickly roll away when he raises his axe into the air to avoid a huge AOE and to quickly run to the right during the first attack of phase two are all things that cost me life at some point.
Difficulty: 8 out of 10
13. Godfrey, First Elden Lord/ Hoarah Loux
Most of Godfrey’s first phase attacks are similar to his golden shade counterpart, except this time, an earthquake AOE and stomp attack accompany them. This may be the only boss in the game with which jumping to dodge an attack is necessary.
In my opinion, his second phase isn’t too bad since most of his attacks can be avoided by rolling backward, attacking once, and then rolling back again. Summoning Nephali and keeping her alive until phase two helps tremendously with this.
Difficulty: 8 out of 10
12. Mohg, Lord of Blood* (Mohgwyn Dynasty)
While not the hardest in the game, Mohg can be quite challenging for those who dislike collecting items or reading said item descriptions. The three massive blood loss attacks at the beginning of his second phase can be completely avoided, and another special item will bind him to the earth for a few moments for some easy damage at various times.
His second phase is still no joke and can be quite challenging. Just like every boss in the series, I would advise simply dodging everything you can at first and finding those perfect windows for the attack.
Difficulty: 8.25 out of 10
11. Valiant Gargoyle* (Siofra Aqueducts)
Think Bell Gargoyles from Dark Souls, but make them twice as tall, have twice as much health, and leave little to no time to get any real healing off.
I hated these guys when I fought them the first time and those feelings are still very strong.
Difficulty: 8.25 out of 10
10. Fire Giant
The only thing that makes this fight hard is how much health this big dude has and how much massive damage he can inflict with each slam of his giant plate. Low-vigor players will have a very hard time here, whereas I feel that high-vigor players will be able to squeak by even without a master strategy.
Phase two is even easier than the first, so long as you are patient for good windows. Avoid his spam-tracking fireball and circle behind him on the left for a safe spot to hit him while he does his flame pillar attack.
Difficulty: 8.25 out of 10
9. Margit, the Fell Omen**
*Skippable if you kill two of the following: Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, or Starscourge Radahn.
If the Tree Sentinel at the start of the game didn’t scare you off, then this guy just might. His timings seem purposeful at various points to keep you on your toes and punish those who panic roll after being struck.
Stay calm, watch for how close to the edge you are, and only ever go for a maximum of two attacks when windows present themselves.
Difficulty: 8.5 out of 10
8. Dragonlord Placidusax*
This fight will go down as many Elden Ring players’ favorite encounters of the entire experience if they even figure out where he is located, to begin with, that is. The music, atmosphere, cutscene, boss design, and combat design are all tremendous, leading to, quote, possibly the best dragon boss fight of any From Soft title.
The combination of large sweeps that can be avoided fairly well if you know what you are looking for, combined with several AOE attacks that require decent spatial awareness, means that this fight is difficult for all the right reasons and a blast to conquer.
Difficulty: 8.5 out of 10
7. Starscourge Radahn**
*Skippable if you kill two of the following: Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, or Godrick the Grafted.
Even with these cheap deaths on his hands, I still feel like Radahn is one of the best mid-game bosses ever. I have not fought him since he was recently patched to have much less aggression, but I have never loved panic rolling away from a large, angry boss more than this guy.
Difficulty: 8.75 out of 10
6. Radagon of the Golden Order
While many in the From Soft community like to hate on this boss right now, I found him to be quite enjoyable to learn. Something about how he stares you down as he slowly and menacingly moves closer to you has my heart pumping.
He almost seems to toy with you in the first phase before realizing you are a legitimate threat and picking up the pace in his second.
If he wasn’t the first fight in a mandatory double-header final boss with an ancient god from space, I am positive he would rank higher as far as enjoyment goes in people’s eyes.
Difficulty: 8.75 out of 10
5. Godskin Noble and Godskin Apostle (Crumbling Farum Azula)
I will give a little more attention to detail with my top five here, as I believe these are the bosses many players may find themselves stuck on for a while. Such is true with what many call the Godskin Duo.
Most players will have already encountered each of these nightmares separately at various points along their travels, but having them both together, sharing one single health bar, and being able to revive each other, makes it a whole new level of awful.
On many occasions, FromSoft has attempted to recreate their iconic Ornstein and Smough fight from the original Dark Souls. While this particular recreation has the difficulty of that fight, it has none of the balance or enjoyment.
Only one will stay in attack mode at a time, but it can be difficult to tell if/ when they switch things up. Many of the fights of this game seem purposefully planned around using spirit summons, but this fight makes them nearly mandatory.
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
4. Commander Niall* (Castle Sol)
Commander Niall was an absolute blast to fight, in my opinion. Much like Melania further down on my list, his attacks require near-perfect timings to avoid, and he punishes greed in a big way.
His first phase, where he summons two banished knights to fight alongside him, can be countered by bringing in a summon or two of your own or by smartly using a Bewitching Branch to turn his allies against him for a time.
After the knights are both dead, he will enter a much more challenging phase in which he can close just about any distance in the arena with two of his attacks.
Many of his normal attacks can also be chained in a strong leg slam with lightning AOE (area of effect) damage, causing absolute caution on the player’s part as to where and when to get strikes in. If his health bar were a little bit longer, I have no doubt he would rank higher on this list.
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
3. Beast Clergyman /Malekith, the Black Blade
The Beast Clergyman, whom many players will have already encountered (and possibly even sparred with if you follow his quest line), starts this fight off and isn’t too bad in his own right. Still, after Malekith and the Black Blade are revealed, he will show you why his Rune of Death has that moniker…. again and again and again.
The issue isn’t so much the dodge timings as it is to even land a successful hit on him without taking huge damage yourself.
The way he flips around the arena with a very little cooldown on his attacks leaves the tiniest room for error in the player moving in, getting a hit, and getting out of Dodge before he retaliates.
This boss is a mixture of Ludwig the Accursed from Bloodborne and Artorias the Abysswalker from Dark Souls, not just in appearance and atmosphere but regrettably in difficulty.
Difficulty: 9.25 out of 10
2. Elden Beast
This may be the highest that I have ever put a true non-optional final boss in one of my lists, mainly due to the difficulty the second phase of this fight presents for pure melee builds.
If you thought Malekith liked to stay outside of your melee range, just wait until you have to learn all of this boss’s patterns to come close to getting good damage on him before he dives or flies away.
None of that is hard enough to justify this penultimate spot in my mind, though; it is his Elden Stars miracle that he can cast, coupled with raining and tracking holy beams and several holy arcing sword slashes, that do it for me.
If your vigor is below 40 at this boss or you do not have access to holy damage-negating spells or consumables, get ready to die many times to this series of attacks, as no amount of perfect dodging can save you from all of the Elden Stars damage.
Difficulty: 9.5 out of 10
1. Malenia, Blade of Miquella/ Malenia, Goddess of Rot
In many ways, the optional fight against Malenia is difficult simply because her moveset is far more straightforward than the other “pillar” fights of Elden Ring.
Where many of the bosses on this list have unusually slow wind-ups to throw off souls veterans, Malenia represents a return to form that caught me off guard the first several fights.
The timings for dodging her normal swipes and lunging stabs aren’t too bad, but the Waterfowl Dance attack in her first phase and the Scarlet Aeonia attack in her second have really hard dodge timings and can both one-shot low-vigor players.
Difficulty: 9.75 out of 10