Compared to previous From Software games, Elden Ring has a lot of bosses. In fact, including Shadow of the Erdtree, bosses in Elden Ring total more than a hundred. But you don't need to defeat all of them to beat the game, nor do you need to defeat all Elden Ring bosses to get every achievement.
Elden Ring: Best Overpowered Builds
These powerful, OP builds will make adventuring and fighting through the world of Elden Ring feel like a walk at the local park.
In fact, you only need to defeat ten Elden Ring bosses to beat the game, and only five to beat the DLC – you don't even need to kill every Shardbearer. This guide explains who each of the seven Shardbearers are and which bosses you need to defeat to beat the game and its DLC, and details every major boss in Elden Ring that grants an achievement or serves as a pinnacle fight to an optional area.
All Shardbearer Bosses In Elden Ring
Godrick the Grafted
- Godrick Location: Stormveil Castle, Limgrave
- Required Side Bosses: Margit the Fell
- Godrick's Great Rune Effect: Grants +5 to all stats
Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
- Rennala Location: Academy of Raya Lucaria, Liurnia of the Lakes
- Required Side Bosses: Red Wolf of Radagon
- Rennala's Great Rune Effect: None, but is necessary to access Rennala's respec capabilities
Starscourge Radahn
- Radahn Location: Southwest Caelid, Redmane Castle
- Required Side Bosses: None, but must activate the Radahn Festival
- Radahn's Great Rune Effect: Increases HP, FP, and Stamina by 15%
Morgott the Omen King
- Morgott Location: Leyndell, Royal Capital
- Required Side Bosses: Draconic Tree Sentinel, Shade of Godfrey
- Morgott's Great Rune Effect: Increases HP by a massive 25%
Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
- Rykard Location: Volcano Manor, Mt. Gelmir
- Required Side Bosses: Godskin Noble, must complete the Volcano Manor questline or find the portal to his location
- Rykard's Great Rune Effect: Restores 80 HP plus 7% Max HP when you kill an enemy
Mohg, Lord of Blood
- Mohg Location: Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum, atop Mohwyn Palace
- Required Side Bosses: None
- Mohg's Great Rune Effect: Grants a blessing to nearby monsters when invading other worlds
Malenia, Blade of Miquella
- Malenia Location: Beneath Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree (Miquella's Haligtree)
- Required Side Bosses: None, but players must find both halves of the Secret Haligtree Medallion to reach the Haligtree
- Malenia's Great Rune Effect: Restores HP when you hit enemies immediately after taking damage
Elden Ring: 27 Easiest Bosses
Not all Elden Ring bosses are created equal; here are the easiest ones that players can take on.
All Required Bosses & Major Bosses In Elden Ring
Required Bosses To Beat Elden Ring Base Game
Though there are more than a hundred bosses in Elden Ring, players are only required to fight ten mandatory bosses to beat the game. To start, players have to break the seal barring the way into Leyndell, which requires you to defeat any two Shardbearers. Most typically go for Godrick and Rennala.
To get into Leyndell, you must defeat the Draconic Tree Sentinel, then fight Morgott the Omen King at the end of this legacy dungeon. You will be sent to the Mountaintops of Giants to beat the Fire Giant, after which you will be teleported to Crumbling Farum Azula.
Here, players are required to beat two bosses – the Godskin Duo and Maliketh – to proceed to the final zone of the game. Leyndell, Ashen Capital contains three mandatory Elden Ring bosses that make up the final three fights in the game.
Elden Ring: All Ashes Of War
This guide lists every Ash of War in Elden Ring sorted by innate Affinity – players can change all Ash of War affinities with Whetblades.
In total, only ten bosses are actually required to beat Elden Ring.
-
Any two Shardbearers – any combination of Godrick, Rennala, Radahn, Rykard, and Mohg
- Godrick the Grafted: Preceded by required Margit the Fell boss fight, just outside of Stormveil Castle
- Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon: Preceded by required Red Wolf of Radagon boss fight, inside the Debate Parlour
- Starscourge Radahn: Must activate the Radahn Festival by reaching Altus Plateau or through Blaidd/Alexander's quests
- Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy: Preceded by required Godskin Noble boss fight, inside the Church of Eiglay
- Mohg, Lord of Blood: Must reach Mohgwyn Palace either via Varre's questline or a portal in the Consecrated Snowfield. Not recommended, Mohg is a significant challenge for low-to-medium level players.
- Draconic Tree Sentinel, who is required to access Leyndell
- Morgott the Omen King, preceded by mandatory Shade of Godfrey boss fight in Leyndell
- The Fire Giant, in the Mountaintops of Giants
- Godskin Duo, who block your way forth in Crumbling Farum Azula
- Maliketh, the Black Blade, at the end of Farum Azula
- Sir Gideon Ofnir, the third-to-last boss in Leyndell, Ashen Capital
- Godfrey, First Elden Lord, who blocks your way into the Erdtree in Leyndell, Ashen Capital
- Radagon of the Golden Order & Elden Beast, the final two-phase boss in Elden Ring
Required Bosses To Beat Shadow of the Erdtree
The number of required bosses to beat Shadow of the Erdtree is smaller, which makes sense for it being a DLC, but it's still surprising how few bosses are actually mandatory in SOTE. In fact, you only have to kill five bosses to beat the DLC.
Messmer the Impaler is technically the first required boss in Shadow of the Erdtree – you can skip the Divine Beast in Belurat, Rellana, and even the Golden Hippopotamus that guards entry into the Shadow Keep's main gate.
After that, you must go to the top of Ancient Ruins of Rauh to activate Enir-Ilim, which is guarded by Romina of the Bud. Finally, in Enir-Ilim, you have to beat Leda and her cohorts and, of course, the final boss of the DLC.
- Mohg, Lord of Blood, the only base game boss required to enter the Realm of Shadow
- Messmer the Impaler, in the Shadow Keep
- Romina of the Bud, atop the Ancient Ruins of Rauh
- Leda & Allies, blocking the way further into Enir-Ilim
- Promised Consort Radahn, the final boss of Shadow of the Erdtree
All NPC Quest Lines In Elden Ring
Find full walkthroughs for every Elden Ring NPC quest line in the base game in this guide, which pairs certain NPCs together if their quests overlap.
Other Major Story Bosses In Elden Ring
These other major bosses in Elden Ring grant Achievements when defeated, and are often tied to other major required bosses or notable locations (such as Margit, the Red Wolf of Radagon, etc). All bosses listed above, including Shardbearers and required bosses, grant Achievements, too.
|
Boss Name |
Boss Location |
|---|---|
|
Margit the Fell Omen |
Stormveil Castle |
|
Red Wolf of Radagon |
Academy of Raya Lucaria |
|
Leonine Misbegotten |
Castle Morne |
|
Ancestor Spirit |
|
|
Magma Wyrm Makar |
Mt. Gelmir |
|
Mimic Tear |
Nokron, Eternal City, and the Hidden Path To The Haligtree |
|
Royal Knight Loretta |
Caria Manor |
|
Regal Ancestor Spirit |
Ancestral Woods |
|
Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella |
Uhl Palace Ruins |
|
Valiant Gargoyles Duo |
Siofra Aqueduct |
|
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void |
Grand Cloister (via Lake of Rot) |
|
Godskin Noble |
Volcano Manor |
|
Elemer of the Briar |
Shaded Castle |
|
Shade of Godfrey |
Leyndell, Royal Capital |
|
Commander Niall |
Castle Sol |
|
Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree |
Miquella's Haligtree |
|
Godskin Duo |
Crumbling Farum Azula |
|
Dragonlord Placidusax |
Crumbling Farum Azula |
|
Lichdragon Fortissax |
Deeproot Depths |
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
