In a game as big as this, Elden Ring Bosses are many.
However, you might be surprised that you only need to encounter a fraction to complete Elden Ring.
Not that you have to stick to the critical path, as many are also essential to certain side quests and are subject to achievements and trophies, for finalists the list is much longer.
And, for the curious, we have compiled a list of the hardest bosses in the Elden Ring – which, although subjective, can give you an idea of the most difficult challenges you will face.
Note there is spoilers on this page, so continue at your own risk!
On this page:
List of main Elden Ring bosses in order
There are certain bosses you need to defeat to reach any Elden Ring ending.
There is a degree of flexibility to this at the start of the game, but once you reach the capital city of Leyndell, from there the mandatory bosses until the end of the game are set.
In summary, the main bosses in order are:
- A Great Rune Bearer
- A second Great Rune bearer (of the following four*):
- Margit The Fell Omen then Godrick the Grafted
- Red Wolf of Radagon then Renalla, Queen of the Full Moon
- Godskin Noble then Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy (Mt Gelmir)
- Starscourge Radahn (Redmane Castle, Caelid)
- Dragon Tree Sentinel**
- Godfrey, First Lord Elden
- Morgott, King of Omens
- fire giant
- Divine Skin Duo
- Maliketh, the Black Blade
- Sir Gideon Ofnir, the Omniscient
- Godfrey, First Elden Lord / Hoarah Loux, Warrior (two-phase fight)
- Radagon of the Golden Order
- Elden Beast (immediately follows Radagon)
* To access Leyndell, you need two Great Runes. The two easiest runes are defeating Godrick the Graft (which also requires beating Magrit in Castle Stormveil) and Renna, Queen of the Full Moon (which also requires beating Red Wolf of Radagon in Raya Lucaria Academy), although the others from Radahn and Rkyard are there if you prefer.
** To enter Leyndell, Draconic Tree Sentinel is the “easiest” route – but there are apparently other ways, such as by progressing through the Fia quest, but these are longer routes with their own challenges and a set of bosses to overcome.
Anyway, starting with Morgott, the bosses you need to defeat to access any Elden Ring ending are fixed.
What are the other key bosses in Elden Ring?
Don’t let the list above fool you – there are plenty more bosses you’ll likely encounter, whether in the open world, in dungeons, or assigned to side quests that lead to different different endings.
A good guide to the most important bosses beyond the critical path, perhaps, is looking which bosses have a trophy or achievement assigned to themgiving us a sense of developer importance, and acts almost like a checklist of others worth checking out – even if it takes multiple plays.
These are:
- Spirit of the Ancestors (Hallowhorn Lands)
- Astel, Naturalborn of the Void (Great Cloister, Lake of Rot)
- Commander Niall (Castle Sol, Mountaintops of the Giants)
- Nokstella Draconian Soldier (Ainsel River)
- Dragonlord Placidusax (Crumbling Farum Azula)
- Elemer of the Briar (The Shadowed Castle, Atlus Plateau)
- Fire Giant (Giant Summits)
- Godfrey the First Lord (Leyndell, Royal Capital)
- Godskin Duo (Crumbling Farum Azula)
- Godskin Noble (Volcano Manor)
- Hoarah Loux the Warrior (Leyndell, Ashen Capital)
- Leonine Misbegotten (Castle Morne)
- Lichdragon Fortissax (Deep Depths)
- Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree (Miquella’s Haligtree)
- Magma Wyrm Makar (Ruin-Strewn Precipice, Liurnia)
- Maliketh the Black Blade (Crumbling Farum Azula)
- Margit, the Fell Omen (Castle Stormveil)
- Mimic Tear (Nokron, Eternal City)
- Mohg, the Omen (Underground Avoidance Lands)
- Red Wolf of Radagon (Raya Lucaria Academy)
- Royal Ancestor Spirit (Nokron, Eternal City)
- Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon (Raya Lucaria Academy)
- Royal Knight Loretta (Caria Manor, Liurnia)
- Shardbearer Godrick (Castle Stormveil)
- Shardbearer Malenia (Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree)
- Mohg Shardbearer (Mohgwyn Palace, Siofra River)
- Shardbearer Morgott (Leyndell, Royal Capital)
- Shardbearer Radahn (Castle Redmane, Caelid)
- Shardbearer Rykard (Mount Gelmir)
- Valiant Gargoyle (Aqueduct of Siofra, Nokron)
How many bosses are there in Elden Ring?
Determining how many bosses are in Elden Ring is not straightforward for a number of reasons.
If we count any enemy with a boss bar – either through a fog door or discovered while roaming the world that you can run away from – our best guess is that there are 157 boss encounters in Elden Ring. This includes repeats – for example, Crystalians spawn multiple times with different weapons, while an Erdtree Avatar encounter can be located around most minor Erdtrees.
With that in mind, we think 103 are “unique” bosses – but even then some of them are variations of one another – like Tree Sentinel and Draconic Tree Sentinel, or Magrit and Morgott – while some bosses can appear in late game areas. later as regular enemies.
If you want to see a more detailed breakdown of all the bosses, then caheiodleojndm on reddit attempted to categorize the bosses from dragons to shard bearers.
Once you’ve chosen a starting class and a starting souvenir item, you first need to figure out how to level up, how to respec, and how to use Ashes of War. Need direction from there? Try to find Golden Seeds, Holy Tears, Crystal Tears, Talismans, and some of our top early weapon and armor picks. If you’re nearing the end of the game, we can help you with the Haligtree Secret Medallion locations, the Millicent quest, and defeating the toughest bosses including Commander Niall, Morgott, Godskin Duo, Maliketh, and Malenia.
What are the hardest bosses in Elden Ring?
Boss difficulty is largely subjective – depending on the build, level, or weapons you’ve chosen, the difficulty of each encounter can vary wildly from player to player.
That said, some bosses are clearly more difficult than others, and regardless of their build, they will give almost any player a hard time.
For those who joined, Malenia, Blade of Miquela seems to be the toughest boss in Elden Ring – partly because every attack she lands heals her and her attacks are relentless – requiring you to learn her patterns all the way through and be prepared for a long battle. It’s optional and is hidden at the edge of the map – so don’t worry, you won’t stumble upon it by accident!
Starsbane Radahn
The one that is not optional is Divine Skin Duo. It has you taking on two tough enemies at once – with echoes of iconic Dark Souls bosses Ornstein and Smough – but with an added grip; they share a single health bar, and either will be resurrected if you don’t finish off the other soon after they disappear.
Speaking of multiple enemies, Commander Niall is a boss that comes with two of his own summons, and if they are defeated will see him go into a difficult second phase. This is cited as one of the most demanding bosses in Elden Ring – and unfortunately for the finalists, there is a trophy/achievement attached to defeating it, and is required to complete the secret Haligtree Medallion.
It’s also worth shouting Magritwhich is undoubtedly a huge obstacle at the start of the game, especially as the “first” boss, and is apparently designed to teach players how to develop their characters before facing him.
Magrit is technically optional – although recommended as Godrick is an easier source when it comes to large runes – but the arguably tougher ‘rematch’ against Morgott, King Omen is bound to beat the game once you reach the capital.
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