Elden Ring boss tips and locations

Knowing how to defeat the various Elden Ring bosses you will encounter is a big part of the game. While we can’t tell you how to defeat every major boss, sub-boss, and slightly bigger enemies, we can at least guide you through the first few hours and guide you through those first steps. The full game hosts dozens of bosses, some spending time in castles and others ready to ambush you in the open world. And with that in mind, here are the first few Elden Ring bosses you may encounter when you first start playing, as well as some tips on how to find them and, more importantly, how to fight them.

Farum Azula’s Monster Man

The Farum Azula Monster is found in Limgrave, north of the Cave of Knowledge, in Groveside Cave, next to the church, along a wall behind the nearby forest. This boss drops an amulet that increases your maximum stamina, and a treasure chest in the area of ​​effect contains the precious Bottle of Great Physics that can be customized to heal your HP and FP.

You can kill this boss with any class starting gear and you must fight him as soon as possible to get that extra bottle. A shield trivializes most of his attacks, and the shield sold at the church merchant is more than enough to keep him at bay. Block, counter when stopped, and watch out for a jump attack at the end of the combo sequence, which appears to be used more often when below half health. Some of their attacks take a while to end, so don’t block or dodge too soon. Rolling backwards will avoid most of his attacks as he swings his sword in a bow.

Half Human Chiefs

Demi-Human Chiefs live in the Opponent’s Cave, located behind Limgrave’s west coast. You’ll want a torch to navigate inside the cavern, so if you don’t have a light source be sure to purchase one from the nearby church merchant. After defeating this boss, you can access the dragon covenant island at the end of this cave and it is home to some beautiful spells.

Demi-Human Chiefs are basically overgrown elemental enemies with on-screen HP bars. Smaller half-humans pinching your heels during this fight are the real problem. Keep your distance or watch your back as you destroy other enemies, then focus on the chiefs. The magic is incredibly powerful here, as you can weaken the swarm without falling within range of melee attacks. If you stay at the front of the cave, you can sometimes fight the first chief without disturbing the second chief as well.

Tree Sentry

This cavalry appears as soon as you exit the Cave of Knowledge, but we do not recommend fighting it right away. At the beginning of the game, it’s much safer to sneak past him or take the long way to avoid his line of sight. Whenever you decide to fight him, you will gain an Ash of War shield called Holy Ground.

The Tree Sentry uses a long-reach halberd and has high mobility thanks to his mount. It’s tempting to meet him in horsefight, but we actually recommend fighting on land. Most of his attacks can be easily blocked or parried, and we’ve found that fighting him on a ghost horse leaves us more vulnerable to attack. Watch out for his jumping attacks and try to stay on his right side because if you fall to his left he will beat you with his shield. Magic and other ranged attacks are very effective here, as Tree Sentinel likes to gallop away from you after attacking.

pumpkin head

The Pumpkin Head is found in a cave on the east side of Limgrave, east of the lake guarded by the Flying Dragon Agheel. Look for some ruins with a large pink plant inside. Climb the nearby piece of ruin and descend the stairs below to reach the covered tunnel leading to Pumpkin Head. After defeating him, you will take his helmet and meet a sorcery instructor named Sellen.

Pumpkin Head is a big guy with a big elbow and a big head. Even if it goes past his shield, his swing will cause bleeding, so try to stay near and behind him so you can more easily dodge his blows. Blocking is effective, but you’ll still take bleed damage in the end. Pumpkin Head sometimes uses his massive helm to head you two or three times in a row, and you have to try not to hit his head as he doesn’t take much damage. As always, playing from range works wonders.

Grave Tree Watchdog

This strange gargoyle is the final patron of the Stormfoot Catacombs, located just northwest of Limgrave church. A statue on the hill behind the church will reveal this dungeon if you activate it. Look for a lot of torch-bearing sediment that crosses the ruins on the ground. Burial Tree Watchdog drops a magic-type War Ash with a powerful ability when killed and gives a big boost to intelligence-based characters early on.

The Burial Tree Keeper moves and attacks with strange bursts. It likes to float to the ceiling and spam a sudden attack, and your best bet is to back off and roll during this move. Wait for the dive to start and Then roll, otherwise his attack will likely follow you. Hitting with melee usually causes a 360-degree sword spin and can also spray fire at you from range. However, melee attacks are harder to dodge than spells, so magic is a good match. Surprisingly, pyromancy is also quite effective.

grave keeper

Grave Warden, the last patron of the Murkwater Catacombs, is located on the east side of Limgrave, at the end of the northern branch of Lake Agheel. It is protected by skeletons and slime that can be easily jumped. This boss drops the Storm Blade Battle Ash, which is very useful for the less magic-prone Blackened.

Grave Warden punches you with close range hammer swings and long range sweep attacks. All sorts of magic works on him, but he quickly closes the gaps, so you need to stay on your feet. There’s no real magic bullet for this boss: watch out for massive chain attacks, block or avoid hammer dams (usually comes in three hits), and sneak damage whenever possible. When you lower his health he will enter an empowered state which seems to amplify his attacks, so be extra careful in the second half of the fight.

Stone Digger Troll

This boss is basically a tougher version of the meaty giants found all over Limgrave. The final boss of the Limgrave Tunnels, accessed from the northwest end of Lake Agheel. To reach this boss, you will need to make two elevators downwards; Drop the latter halfway down its descent to reach a hidden platform. This leads to a forked road with a third lift on the left. You can take it down or leave rocks swirling clockwise around the mine shaft.

The Stonedigger Troll has high physical defense and can even cause sharp weapons to leap from its thick skin. Crushing weapons like axes and sticks do work, but magic is the real ticket here. Even the simplest of spells will do her job in a short time and from a safe distance, so channel your inner mage if possible. When Stonedigger Troll’s health reaches half, watch for a flurry of smash attacks that usually results in an AoE that affects nearly the entire room. Keep your distance during this attack as the troll will turn towards you. If you decide to hit her legs with melee, plan to avoid a stomp attack after each hit you land on.

Hound Knight Darriwil

The Bloodhound Knight Darriwil is located on Forlorn Evergaol, accessed from the teleport plate at Stormhill, north of Limgrave’s starting area. You can’t leave without defeating or dying Darriwil after using the plate, so go prepared.

This boss moves and attacks fast, has long range thanks to a large bleed-inducing sword, and usually disappears before it gets close to you quickly. There’s a simple four-hit attack combo that usually results in a splashing attack, giving you a nice opening to deal damage. If you see him dragging the ground with his sword, dodge right at the absolute last second to avoid a trailing rise. If he’s dragging his claws, dodge straight backwards to stay out of range. Using magic in this fight is difficult because Darriwil is very aggressive and you’ll probably want a reliable shield no matter what you use. However, you can sneak magic damage when Darriwil enters the arena.

This boss is very similar to Artorias in the Dark Souls DLC; his cunning moves may take some getting used to, so expect a tough fight.

Flying Dragon Agheel

This dragon will land on Lake Agheel when you approach the middle of the lake. Defeating him will receive his heart, which you can exchange for a powerful spell on the island accessed through the Demi-Human Chiefs’ cave.

Agheel simply feels like a Monster Hunter boss. He has heavily telegraphed tail, claw, and hard-hitting breath attacks and has a ton of health and high defense. You’ll want to ride your ghost horse Torrent throughout this entire fight. Fighting Agheel on foot is a nightmare because her fiery breath attacks are nearly impossible to dodge without Torrent. Gallop away if he twitches too much, and canter counter-clockwise if Agheel flies into the air to avoid airborne and breathing attacks. Sweep claw attacks can be reliably avoided by backing off and double jumping with Torrent. Agheel’s head takes extra damage and is weak against lightning, but hitting her wingtips and legs is also effective. This fight will take some time, but Agheel falls pretty easily as long as you stand on your horse and play carefully.

Falling Omen Margit

The final boss of the Elden Ring network test and the starting boss of Stormveil Castle, Margit the Fell Omen is a fast-moving magic swordsman with an incredible variety of attacks. She bring a shield, bring a friend, summon a ghost—use whatever you have.

If you retreat to heal or cast spells, Margit will often throw lightning daggers at you, so be careful at range. When you lower his health a bit, he will summon a lightning hammer for a massive splash attack. If you dodge this move just before hitting the ground, you can take some free damage. After performing this move, Margit will begin to summon various magic weapons and perform new attacks.

When Margit finishes combos with a downward swinging wand swing, she often stabs a quick blade from a magic dagger. He can also do this after the hammer bounce attack, so don’t be too aggressive. If you hit it from behind, it will use its tail to swipe you as it turns. The lightning sword combo is better to block, and you can usually fit into a guard counter after the fourth hit. Margit is the complete package: mobile, deadly and powerful. Good luck, Tarnished.

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