Boss Guide#
Boss counts in ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree vary by counting method. This page first aligns the authoritative sources, then lists verified names in three tiers — mandatory story bosses, optional tough bosses, and dungeon bosses. No verifiable data exists for individual boss HP, damage multipliers, drop rates, or rune rewards, so this site speculates none of it.
The Many Boss Counts#
| Source | Count | Counting Method |
|---|---|---|
| Official (pre-release interview) | 10+ new boss fights | Miyazaki’s own figure |
| Prima | 32 | 11 story + 10 dungeon + 7 field + 4 catacomb |
| Twinfinite | 38 | Media tally |
| TheGamer | 40 | Listed bosses |
| PC Gamer | 55 | Including returning types |
| GGRecon / TheGamer | ~10-11 | Remembrance-dropping bosses |
| GGRecon | 6 | Mandatory story bosses |
The spread comes from where the line is drawn (dungeon bosses, field bosses, catacomb bosses, returning types) — not from contradictory data. The lists below are grouped by category.
Mandatory Story Bosses#
In progression order (GGRecon / Game8):
| Order | Boss | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Divine Beast Dancing Lion | Belurat, Tower Settlement |
| 2 | Golden Hippopotamus | Shadow Keep main gate |
| 3 | Messmer the Impaler | Shadow Keep, Storehouse |
| 4 | Romina, Saint of the Bud | Ancient Ruins of Rauh, Church of the Bud |
| 5 | Radahn, Consort of Mordem | Enir-Ilim |
Before the final boss fight comes a forced standoff around Needle Knight Leda and her allies — its lineup depends on your NPC quest choices, detailed in the Quest guide.
Two common location errors, corrected: the Golden Hippopotamus guards the Shadow Keep main gate (not the Gravesplain); Romina waits at the Church of the Bud in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh (not a Scadu Altus church).
Radahn, Consort of Mordem: The Officially Nerfed Final Boss#
The final boss sits at the summit of Enir-Ilim. One verifiable fact: the official 1.14 update of 2024-09-10/11 directly lowered this boss fight’s difficulty (alongside PvP-side balance changes) — a single boss fight singled out in patch notes, showing how much feedback its difficulty generated. Push your Scadutree Blessing as high as possible before the attempt; for level advice see community figures (marked as community recommendations, not official requirements).
Optional Tough Bosses#
| Boss | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rellana, Twin Moon Knight | Castle Ensis | Castle gatekeeper; whether any alternate route bypasses Ensis, defer to the game |
| Bayle the Dread | Jagged Peak summit | Supersboss, climax of the Jagged Peak line |
| Commander Gaius | Shadow Keep back entrance | Side-route tough boss of the Keep |
| Scadutree Avatar | Scadutree-adjacent area | Exact location, defer to the game |
| Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame | Abyssal Woods | Gatekeeper of the Abyssal Woods line |
| Metyr, Mother of Fingers | The Finger Ruins | Gatekeeper of the Finger Ruins line |
| Ancient Dragon Senessax | Jagged Peak | Fixed field boss, no trigger required (the earlier rumor that killing ~12 small dragons then returning to the summit triggers it is false) |
⚠️ The Jagged Peak summit superboss is Bayle the Dread, not Senessax — treating Senessax as the hidden final target is wrong.
Dungeon / Catacomb Bosses (Prima’s list)#
Of Prima’s 10 dungeon bosses and 4 catacomb bosses, the following entries survived cross-verification:
| Boss | Dungeon |
|---|---|
| Demi-Human Swordmaster Onze | Belurat Gaol |
| Dragonkin Soldier | Dragon’s Pit |
| Magma Wyrm | Dragon’s Pit |
| Death Knight | Fog Rift Catacombs / Scorpion River Catacombs |
| Bloodfiend | Rivermouth Cave |
| Black Knight Edredd | Fort of Reprimand |
| Curseblade Labirith | Bonny Gaol |
| Mourners | Mourner’s Gaol |
| Inquisitor Jori | Darklight Catacombs |
Dungeon bosses listed in earlier versions of this page — the crystal-person trio, graveyard shades, rotting tree spirits, death ritual birds — were found unsourced and removed.
Universal Pre-Boss Preparation#
Directional advice independent of any specific numbers:
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Scadutree Blessing level | First priority. Without fragments every boss’s damage overflows — go collect, then fight |
| Revered Spirit Ash Blessing level | Whether your ash survives decides your damage windows; collect all 25 in step with the story |
| Resistance direction | Prepare resistance tools for the boss’s damage profile; exact resistance values, defer to hands-on play |
| The retreat signal | Multiple deaths with visibly pathetic damage means your Blessing is too low — withdraw and collect |
Community Strategy Themes (directional)#
The following are community-wide strategy consensuses. Move-level details and numbers are not verified item by item — defer to hands-on play:
- Divine Beast Dancing Lion: as the first story boss it tests whether you understood the Blessing system — a wall without fragments, a tutorial fight with them.
- Golden Hippopotamus: the Keep’s gatekeeper — huge body, sweeping moves; exploit the gaps after its attacks.
- Messmer: keeper of the Keep’s Storehouse, a high-pressure fight; community discussion before and after the 1.14 patch consistently lists him among the hardest.
- Romina: keeper of the Church of the Bud in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh; her style plays on the “bud” theme.
- Radahn: the final boss, individually nerfed in 1.14; challenge at or near max Scadutree Blessing.
- Bayle: the Jagged Peak summit superboss, positioned above ordinary optional bosses in difficulty.
Statement on Uncollected Information#
The following have no verifiable sources, so this page omits them all — defer to hands-on play and encyclopedias:
- Individual boss HP, damage multipliers, drop rates, rune rewards;
- Complete movelist names and combo lengths per boss;
- Quantified weakness values per boss;
- Mechanics details such as “switches element at every 30% HP lost.”
These entries require hands-on testing or authoritative encyclopedia cross-checks before inclusion — this site prefers omission to speculation.
Related Pages#
- Walkthrough — story order and per-node preparation
- Combat System — Blessing values and combat mechanics
- Quest guide — the side choices behind the Leda and allies standoff