Elden Ring has a handful of mandatory boss fights in a sea of optional. While it’s a very good idea to make as many optional matches as possible to get runes to level up, it’s also good to know which matches absolutely can not be skipped to complete the story of Elden Ring. Being obligatory does not make these struggles easy; in fact, they make up some of the toughest matches to win in the game.
While there are over a hundred Elden Ring bosses, only 12 of them are mandatory. If a player only stuck to these bosses, they would miss much of the game, such as the entire Weeping Peninsula, Caelid, Mt. Gelmir and Consecrated Snowfield. In addition, they would miss out on almost all side tasks, which would give them less room in which finish they get.
First Mandatory Managers: Margit and Godrick
These two bosses are the first non-optional matches players are going to tackle. They are at the beginning and end of Stormveil Castle, which players must traverse to gain access to the northern half of Lands Between. Margit is a boss that many players struggle with as he has an extremely aggressive long range of combinations. However, players can get help by summoning Rogier and using Spirit Ashes. They can also buy Margit’s Shackle from Patches to stun him a little too easy hits.
Players who come past Margit usually do not have major problems with Godrick the Grafted. Players can summon Nepheli Loux for assistance. The biggest strategy is to stay out of Godrick’s field of vision and not get stuck behind anything, so it’s easy to dodge. Like Margit, he also has two phases. In phase two, players have a great attacking opportunity from behind when he makes a fiery attack.
A boss to give another big rune
With Margit and Godrick defeated, more of the world opens up to the player. Godrick gives one big rune and the player requires at least one more to continue Elden Rings history. Most players get their second big rune from Rennala at Raya Lucaria as it is located just north of Stormveil Castle. However, players must also defeat the red wolf from Radagon and cross the academy to get to her.
There are plenty of other options as there are a total of seven large runes, though none are easy. Players can also get a large rune from Rykard at Volcano Manor, from Malenia at Haligtree, Radahn at Caelid and Mohg at Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum underground. Just one of these in addition to Godrick’s Great Rune can get the player into Leyndell Royal Capital, which is a requirement to advance in the game’s history.
Spectral Shade Godfrey And Morgott
Once inside the royal capital, there are two additional mandatory bosses. The first is a shadow of Godfrey, the first Elden Lord. He can be difficult for his misleading wide range as well as his combination of slow and fast attacks. Players need to give themselves a lot of room to move in safety and can definitely benefit from Spirit Ashes that are durable. They should avoid sacred harm as he absorbs most of it. He is also immune to scarlet fever, poison, bleeding, death and frostbite.
Not long after, Godfrey is Morgott, who is actually Margit. The fight looks like his first in some ways, but he has some new tricks this time. The player can summon Melina for help with his fight and can still use Margit’s Shackle to stun him for a while. He is immune to death and madness and absorbs a lot of sacred damage. Melina is very helpful for her fight and can hold her attention.
The fire giant and the god-skin duo
After arriving at Erdtree in the capital, the player then travels to the Fire Giant. Most players use horseback to close the distance and then stick behind the giants’ ankles. He strikes hard and his arms take more damage in his second phase, but it may be easier for certain edifices to just keep attacking his ankles to avoid his attack. His rolling attack is particularly deadly. Some players seem to stay on horseback to make the fight easier, while others have found it harder.
Godskin Duo is another mandatory battle that packs a punch. These two bosses can meet in other dungeons, but this time they are together as the player walks through the crumbling Farum Azula. NPC knight Bernahl can be summoned for help. The two have a collective health bar, so defeating just one will not keep them down permanently. A healthy strategy is to put a boss to sleep, then switch and work on them one at a time.
Maliketh, Gideon and Godfrey
Maliketh is a very difficult obligatory boss and his second phase is able to shorten the players’ health barrier. He is immune to sleep, madness, death injuries and almost completely immune to injuries of the holy type. For both phases, columns can be used to avoid his hard-hitting attack. His first phase is pretty easy to dodge attacks, but his second phase requires really strict attention and more precise evasion and / or blocking.
Gideon is a very different match than Maliketh, and a match that players have found to be the easiest of the obligatory bosses. He is easily displaced and has less health from previously defeated bosses. However, Gideon’s betrayal serves the themes of the story, and players have found that no matter how they interact with him in Roundtable Hold’s, he still reveals himself as a mandatory boss after Maliketh is defeated.
Right after Gideon, Godfrey (not a shadow this time, but the actual man) is all that stands between the player and Erdtree. Players can summon Nepheli to help, as she did with Godtrick the Grafted. Godfrey’s two phases are ax-swing and then hand-to-hand combat. He’s far harder than Gideon, but players tend to have less problems with them than they had with Maliketh.
Radagon And The Elden Beast
The last mandatory bosses for Elden Ring is Radagon and Elden Beast. If they were two separate matches, they would not be so difficult. However, these matches take place without breaks in between. Players must be careful not to spend all their resources on fighting Radagon so that they can still fully fight the Elden Beast, which is certainly a challenge. Radagon can hit very hard and can get the player to drink most of their health drinks before even fighting the Elden Beast.
The Elden Beast is a lot like fighting one of them Elden Rings dragons, except without horseback to close any distance when the creature moves far away. It has great mobility and the healthiest strategy is to attack it from behind and try to catch up without taking too much damage. It and Radagon are also very resistant to sacred damage.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
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