Fight these 12 main bosses to complete the DLC
In this guide, we’ll rank the 12 main Elden Ring DLC bosses in the order you should fight them. We’ll cover their strengths and weaknesses and where you can find them.
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In Shadow of the Erdtree there are 83 new bosses. Only 12 of these are considered main bosses, meaning they give you remembrance or similar items at the end of the fight. Only 3 bosses are required to beat the game.
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Divine Beast Dancing Lion
Rellana, Twin Moon Knight
Putrescent Knight
Messmer The Impaler / Base Serpent Messmer
Commander Gaius
Scadutree Avatar
Metyr, Mother Of Fingers
Romina, Saint Of The Bud
Midra, Lord Of Frenzied Flame
Bayle The Dread
Needle Knight Leda
Radahn, Consort Of Miquella
Location: Belurat, Town Settlement
Divine Beast Dancing Lion is often the first major boss players encounter, known for its challenging mechanics and elemental attacks.
The lion often chains attacks together, making it difficult for players to find safe windows for healing or counterattacks. Attacks deal significant damage, especially if players are caught off-guard by its rapid movements.
The Divine Beast Dancing Lion is particularly vulnerable to fire attacks. Utilizing spells like Fire Knight or Messmer incantations can significantly increase your damage output against it. This boss is also susceptible to bleed effects, making weapons or builds that inflict bleed damage effective choices.
Start at the Stagefront Site of Grace in Belurat.
Ascend the stairs and pass through a series of doors until you reach a large double door with engravings.
Enter through this door to trigger a cutscene that leads to the boss arena.
Additionally, you can also find a variant of this boss at the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, located northeast from the Temple Town Ruins Site of Grace.
Location: Castle Ensis
Rellana is a Legendary Boss and a former princess of the Carian Royal family, making her the younger sister of Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. She wields two Light Greatswords, which she can infuse with Glintstone magic and Messmer’s Flame, allowing her to deal both physical and magical damage.
Rellana is known for her agile and aggressive fighting style, utilizing fast-paced combos that can be difficult to predict and counter. Her attacks include rapid slashes and powerful thrusts.
At low health, she performs a devastating move called Twin Moons, where she leaps into the air to summon two moons that create shockwaves upon impact. This attack can easily catch players off-guard and lead to heavy damage or death.
Rellana is particularly weak to bleed damage. Utilizing weapons or abilities that inflict bleed buildup can significantly enhance your effectiveness against her.
She also has a weakness to lightning attacks. Although assembling a strong lightning build might be challenging if not already prepared, using lightning-based spells or weapons can deal substantial damage.
Rellana can be found at the end of Castle Ensis, specifically in the Moongazing Grounds.
Start at the Castle-Lord’s Chamber Site of Grace.
Head to the East Wing of Castle Ensis.
Ascend the stairs around the tower to reach a bridge guarded by an enemy knight.
Defeat this knight, then use the elevator behind it to go up.
The mist door leading to Rellana is located in the next hallway on your left.
Location: Stone Coffin Fissure
The Putrescent Knight combines mounted and dismounted combat. While on horseback, it can charge at players with powerful melee attacks. When it dismounts, it becomes more aggressive with its cleaver, executing quick and deadly strikes.
One of its signature moves involves levitating and unleashing multiple blue fire projectiles, creating a dangerous area-of-effect attack that requires careful dodging.
The knight’s attacks can inflict frostbite, adding pressure to players who must manage their health while avoiding damage.
When the Putrescent Knight’s stance is broken he becomes vulnerable to critical hits, allowing skilled players to deal significant damage. Utilizing Spirit Ashes can help distract the knight while you focus on dealing damage or healing.
Read our in-depth guide on how to beat the Putrescent Knight.
Start at the Cerulean Coast, specifically near the gigantic hole in the ground at its southern tip.
Navigate through the depths of the fissures until you reach a large horned statue leaning over the abyss.
Jump into the abyss to enter the boss arena where the Putrescent Knight awaits.
Location: Shadow Keep
Messmer the Impaler is a towering humanoid boss with long limbs and a massive spear, accompanied by a red snake coiled around his body. His design and combat style are inspired by real-world legends, like Vlad Dracula.
Messmer’s attacks are imbued with fire, making him a formidable opponent. He uses his spear for both melee and ranged attacks, including a leaping fire spear throw.
The red snake wrapped around Messmer can transform into different forms during the fight, adding complexity to his attack patterns. In the second phase, Messmer transforms into a giant one-eyed snake, enhancing his attack range by alternating between snake attacks and spear attacks,and introducing new moves like the Explosive Bite.
Messmer is vulnerable to bleed and frostbite damage, which players can exploit to deal significant damage.
Messmer the Impaler is located in the Dark Chamber, above the highest point of the Specimen Storeroom in Shadow Keep.
Progress through the Shadow Fort until you reach the Specimen Storehouse tower.
Ascend to the top of the tower to find the Dark Chamber site of grace.
After exiting the tower, cross a bridge guarded by two Messmer Knights to reach Messmer’s arena.
Location: Scaduview
Commander Gaius is a legendary knight who rides a massive boar into battle, combining both physical prowess and gravity magic. His combat style is characterized by powerful melee attacks and devastating gravitational abilities. Although he is an optional boss, defeating him yields valuable rewards.
Gaius fights while mounted on a giant wild boar, which can perform charges and kicks, adding an extra layer of difficulty to the fight. His attacks are slow but deal massive damage, making it essential for players to master dodging techniques. Heavy attacks and jump attacks can break Gaius’s stance, providing openings for critical hits.
In his second phase, Gaius enhances his attacks with gravity magic, increasing their damage and complexity. This includes gravitational dives and energy blasts that require precise timing to dodge.
Commander Gaius is located at the back of the Shadow Keep Legacy Dungeon.
Navigate through the Shadow Keep area until you reach its rear section.
Gaius is found immediately at the back of this dungeon, requiring players to progress past other bosses like Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, and Messmer the Impaler to reach him.
Location: Scadutree Base
The Scadutree Avatar is a powerful entity resembling an enlarged Shadow Sunflower, serving as the Realm of Shadow’s equivalent of the Erdtree Avatar. It has a distinct design with a sunflower-shaped head, which acts as its weak spot.
The fight consists of three phases, each progressively more challenging. After each phase, the Avatar resurrects with 75% of its health restored.
Scadutree Avatar uses a combination of standard, strike, and holy damage attacks. It is immune to Scarlet Rot.
Its head is the weak point, allowing for critical hits after breaking its stance or depleting its health in earlier phases.
The Scadutree Avatar is located in the Scadutree Base, northeast of the Shadow Keep area and directly east of Albinauric’s Shack.
Begin at the Scadutree Base Site of Grace, which is the nearest point of respite.
From there, navigate towards the Scadutree Base region to encounter the Avatar.
Location: Finger Birthing Grounds
Metyr, Mother of Fingers, is a large boss composed of numerous fingers with two prominent arms and a stomach made of smaller fingers. This creature is deeply connected to the lore of Elden Ring as the progenitor of all finger creepers and the Two Fingers, making it an ancient entity tied to the Greater Will.
Metyr utilizes both magic and physical attacks. Its head and tail can deal magic damage, while its arms perform powerful melee strikes.
During the fight, Metyr can open its chest to release smaller fingers and summon Colossal Fingercreepers to overwhelm players. The finger growth on its chest is a critical weak spot that players can target for increased damage. Metyr is also vulnerable to bleed and frostbite damage.
Metyr is located in the Finger Ruins of Miyr, beneath the Cathedral of Manus Metyr.
Start at the Cathedral of Manus Metyr Site of Grace.
Enter the cathedral and interact with the throne to reveal a ladder leading downwards.
Descend the ladder to reach the Finger Ruins of Miyr.
Continue along the path until you find a summoning pool and a finger-shaped bell. Interact with the bell to enter Metyr’s arena.
Location: Church Of The Bud, Ancient Ruins Of Rauh
Romina is a mid-sized boss characterized by her composite form, which includes features of a centipede, scorpion, butterfly, and human. Romina’s body includes centipede fangs, a scorpion stinger, and butterfly wings, allowing her to execute multiple attack types simultaneously.
Romina can inflict Scarlet Rot, a status effect that deals damage over time. She is weak to frostbite, making frost-based attacks particularly effective against her.
During some attacks, Romina leaves behind butterflies that explode after a few seconds. Players must quickly move out of their range to avoid damage. Using Spirit Ashes like the Mimic Tear can help distract Romina while you focus on dealing damage or healing.
Romina is located at the Church of the Bud, which is situated at the end of the Rauh Ancient Ruins.
Start from the
Scorpion River Catacombs
and head south.
Navigate through the Rauh Ancient Ruins until you reach the Church of the Bud.
The closest Site of Grace is the Church of the Bud, Main Entrance.
Location: Abyssal Woods
Midra is a humanoid figure wielding a large two-handed sword, heavily infused with the Frenzied Flame. His appearance is marked by a fireball for a head, which complements his reliance on fire-based and madness-inducing attacks.
Midra’s attacks are infused with the Frenzied Flame, dealing both physical and fire damage. His abilities can inflict Madness, a status effect that disrupts players’ focus and health.
He utilizes a mix of melee and spell attacks. Notable moves include sweeping sword strikes followed by bursts of frenzy flames, as well as long-range dash attacks leaving trails of flames.
At around 60% health, Midra enters a second phase where he levitates and creates massive explosions. His sword attacks become augmented with flame, increasing their range and damage.
Midra is parryable requiring three successful parries to break his stance, making him vulnerable to critical hits.
Midra can be found in the Abyssal Woods, an area shrouded in darkness and mystery.
Navigate through the Abyssal Woods until you reach Midra’s dwelling.
The area is marked by its isolation and absence of daylight, reflecting Midra’s descent into madness.
Location: Jagged Peak
Bayle the Dread is a draconic boss distinguished by his massive size and devastating attacks. Unlike other dragons, Bayle has only two legs, one of which is functional, ithe other damaged from past battles. This unique physical trait sets him apart from both ancient and modern dragons in the game.
Bayle combines fire and lightning in his breath attacks, creating powerful area-of-effect damage that requires precise dodging. He uses a variety of physical attacks, including bites, stomps, and tail swipes. His lunging bite and stomp can be fatal if not avoided.His large size and sweeping attacks can dominate the battlefield, making positioning crucial for survival. Staying near Bayle’s tail can help avoid some of his more devastating frontal attacks.
In his second phase, Bayle’s attacks become more aggressive and frequent, incorporating additional fire and lightning elements. Despite his resistances to many status effects like lightning, fire, magic, holy, poison, scarlet rot, bleed, and frostbite, Bayle is vulnerable to piercing attacks and those with anti-dragon effects.
Defeating Bayle rewards players with 490,000 runes and Bayle’s Heart.
Bayle is located at the Jagged Peak Summit, a challenging area that requires players to navigate through the Dragon’s Pit Dungeon east of the Gravesite Plain Site of Grace.
Begin at the Gravesite Plain Site of Grace.
Travel east through the Dragon’s Pit Dungeon.
Ascend to the Jagged Peak Summit to encounter Bayle.
Location: Enir-Ilim Legacy Dungeon
Before you reach the final boss, Needle Knight Leda and her allies will attempt to stop you, resulting in a massive NPC fight. When you arrive, Leda will engage you in monologue preventing you from attacking her at the start. Then she’ll disappear leaving an invasion sign in her place.
Your fate during this fight will depend on which NPC you helped during your questline. Those will be your allies and the rest will be allies of Leda. There will be gold summon signs for you to interact with to summon your allies. This fight can be extremely challenging depending on which allies you have on your side.
Go to the Enir-Ilim Legacy Dungeon. Needle Knight Leda’s boss fight is located near the end of this dungeon, just past the Cleansing Chamber Anteroom Site of Grace.
Exit through the left door from the Cleansing Chamber Anteroom and ascend the stairs to find a large room where Needle Knight Leda awaits
Location: Enir-Ilim
Radahn, now known as the Promised Consort of Miquella, is a powerful and agile warrior who employs a combination of melee attacks and magic. This version of Radahn is more dangerous than his previous incarnation in Caelid, featuring an expanded moveset that includes gravity magic and holy spells.
This is the final and most challenging battle of the DLC consisting of two distinct phases. In the first phase, Radahn uses gravity magic and powerful melee attacks. In the second phase, he gains additional abilities with holy elements and more aggressive attack patterns.
Radahn utilizes gravity-based attacks that can pull players in or launch meteors, requiring precise timing to avoid. He is vulnerable to bleed and frost effects, although his susceptibility to frost decreases significantly in the second phase.
To get to the final boss, you must defeat Divine Beast, Messmer, and Romina. Radahn is located in the last Legacy Dungeon of the DLC, Enir-Ilim, specifically at the Divine Gatefront Staircase Site of Grace.
Navigate through the Enir-Ilim Legacy Dungeon, which serves as the final area in the DLC.
The nearest Site of Grace to Radahn’s arena is the Divine Gatefront Staircase. Ensure you are well-prepared before proceeding.
Once you reach this Site of Grace, continue forward to enter Radahn’s boss arena.