Summary
- Elden Ring's open world design allows for players to progress freely, making fewer boss encounters mandatory.
- Optional bosses, like Alecto and Vyke, offer rewarding exploration and add depth to the game's story.
- Unique and challenging boss fights, such as Malenia and Rykard, showcase the game's intricate design and gameplay mechanics.
The freeform nature of Elden Ring's world design places few limits on how players choose to progress. This, as a result, means that a much smaller percentage of the boss roster is mandatory than might be typical for a FromSoftware title.
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This can add to the sense of reward that a player feels for exploration - investigating a new location might not only yield a sword with marginally better stats than what is currently equipped, players could uncover a whole new area featuring a boss that has heavy ties to the wider story. Not every optional boss will be so grand, but many of them have managed to stick in the imaginations of fans.
10 Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader
Hidden Encounter with Godwyn's Assassin
- Ringleader's Evergaol in the Moonlight Altar Plateau.
- Drops Black Knife Tiche spirit ashes.
- Weaker to Frostbite.
The Black Knife Assassins are such a core component of Elden Ring's story, especially in its prologue, that it can seem unusual that they aren't more prominently featured throughout its story-focused boss encounters.
Players do encounter the Black Knife Assassins as regular enemies from time to time, but in this Evergaol towards the end of Ranni's questline, there is an encounter with the original ringleader of the group. Alecto is more challenging than the regular enemies, but the rewards for victory are bountiful.
9 Roundtable Knight Vyke
The Mysterious Candidate for Elden Lord
- Contender's Evergaol in the Mountaintops of the Giants.
-
Drops
Fingerprint Set
and
Vyke's Dragonbolt.
- Weak to Lightning.
In regards to elements players might have thought more essential to the story, Vyke is perhaps the most prominent. Being the character featured on the cover art of the game, his two boss encounters feel surprisingly easy to miss.
The first can also feel too easy, but this second, a true battle towards the end of the game is arguably more in line with expectations. What Vyke does do, however, is add some depth and texture to the Flame of Frenzy sub-plot and ending.
8 Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast
Rampaging Beast in the Ruins of the Shattering's Horrific Battle
- Mt. Gelmir.
-
Drops
Fallingstar Beast Jaw.
- Weaker to Magic, Fire, Lightning, and Holy.
Launching upwards on a jump-pad, riding Torrent, the player begins to see where they're landing - a scorched crater containing a very menacing beast in its center.
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With Mt. Gelmir being as difficult as it is in places, players might want to just run right past and get to Volcano Manor as quickly as possible. The spectacle and chaos of this fight make it well worth the challenge, however - even yielding a weapon that can deal heavy damage with the right builds.
7 Mohg, Lord of Blood
Champion of the Formless Mother
- Mohgwyn Palace.
-
Drops
Remembrance of the Blood Lord.
- Weaker to Hemorrhage.
An incredibly important character in the mythology of Elden Ring and one that is necessary to defeat in order to access its DLC area, Mohg is one of the final bosses that players might encounter throughout their time in the Lands Between.
However, Mohg might also be a boss that players have already encountered in some form due to his spectral counterpart in the Leyndell Sewers - known in that instance as Mohg, the Omen.
6 Astel, Naturalborn of the Void
Fallen Star and Destroyer of the Eternal City
- Grand Cloister.
-
Drops
Remembrance of the Naturalborn.
- Weaker to Standard, Slash, Strike, Pierce.
Ranni's questline is famous for being seen as taking you through the most interesting and challenging parts of the game that might otherwise go ignored. Right at the end of that questline, there is this encounter with the strange and otherworldly Astel.
As with many creatures in Elden Ring, what's mesmerizing about Astel is how it rides that line between majestic beauty and horror, forcing players to contemplate the forces beyond the stars that are more involved in the story than they expected.
5 Dragonlord Placidusax
Elden Lord of a Previous Age
- Crumbling Farum Azula.
-
Drops
Remembrance of the Dragonlord.
- Weaker to Pierce.
One of the most visually spectacular bosses in the game, getting to Placidusax in the first place requires some careful navigation and platforming. This also means it's one of the only long boss run-backs in the game should players be defeated.
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Once you are there, however, players can expect a fight that is both incredibly challenging and heavy on interesting lore. Being one of the endgame optional encounters, Placidusax is scaled accordingly, meaning it might be one of the final hurdles players overcome in the game.
4 Malenia, Blade of Miquella
Undefeated Empyrean and Demigod
- Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
- Drops Remembrance of the Rot Goddess and Malenia's Great Rune.
- Weak to Fire, Frostbite, Hemorrhage.
Malenia is most famous for how difficult she is, especially in regards to her Waterfowl Dance move which has been noted for appearing impossible to avoid at times, and the fact that she heals herself upon hitting the player.
With an iconic design, imposing soundtrack, and familiar field of flowers arena - Malenia is as compelling as she is difficult. Additionally, there are many tools like Spirit Ashes available to help players balance the scales.
3 Lichdragon Fortissax
Ally and Protector of Godwyn the Golden
- Deeproot Depths.
- Drops Remembrance of the Lichdragon.
- Weaker to Pierce.
While Godwyn is a mysterious character in the game, his death instigating the events that led to the main story, he still has an important role to play in Fia's questline - one that can net the players a new variant of ending.
Before that prize can be claimed, though, Fortissax must be defeated. The presentation is the priority here, with a striking, nightmarish sky and a menacing soundtrack working in tandem to create an inescapable atmosphere.
2 Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
Traitor to the Erdtree and the Golden Order
- Volcano Manor.
- Drops Remembrance of the Blasphemous and Rykard's Great Rune.
- Weak only to the Serpent-Hunter, found in the entrance of his arena.
This style of boss might be familiar to those who have played all of FromSoftware's games - it's often referred to as a 'gimmick boss', with Yhorm from Dark Souls 3 and the King of Storms from Demon's Souls both also being brought down by the Storm Ruler sword.
However, what sets Rykard apart is how even with this weapon, he's still engaging, fun, and challenging. A lot of this has to do with his design, as well as the mood of the escalating encounter - forcing players to fight him while also contending with swirling red vortexes that summon Hellish skulls to pursue them.
1 Starscourge Radahn
Mightiest Hero of the Demigods
- Redmane Castle.
- Drops Remembrance of the Starscourge and Radahn's Great Rune.
- Weaker to Pierce and Scarlet Rot.
The vast scale of Radahn, from the way that he's built up as having had a titanic clash with Malenia that led to the wasteland players now finding him in, to the charge to take him down with others attending the festival - it all adds to a sense of enormous event.
Radahn's backstory and lore cleverly bolster this through that familiar edge of FromSoftware tragedy. While his mind has been destroyed by the scarlet rot, Radahn using magic to avoid hurting his undersized horse Leonard is both funny and endearing, reminding players of his lost humanity.
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
