The final boss of the DLC from Elden Ring is a tough nut to crack. In our guide, we show you how to tackle the fight.
Who is the final boss of the DLC? The final enemy of Shadow of the Erdtree is a familiar face: Radahn, whom players already know from the main game. However, this time he seems younger and even more agile. You will face Radahn in his prime.
In the second phase, he is supported by none other than Miquella. We will explain how to keep the two in check and successfully complete the DLC below. First, though, here are the key points at a glance:
- Boss type: God
- Optional: No
- Health: 46,134 HP
- Weaknesses: Bleeding, Scarlet Rot, Stabbing, Frost
- Strengths: Holy damage
- NPC summons: Yes. Thiollier and Ansbach can be called for help.
- Spirit ashes: Yes
- Online multiplayer: Yes
- Rewards: 500,000 runes, Echo of a God and a Prince
With the help of the table of contents, you can jump directly to a desired point in the article.
Finding Radahn
Where is the final boss located? The final boss is located in the area of Enir-Ilim. This, in turn, is located northwest of Castle Belurat and becomes accessible only after you have burned the Scadutree after the fight against Romina. This is only possible if you have defeated Messmer beforehand.
Radahn awaits you at the end of Enir-Ilim. Rest at the Site of Grace “Front Steps to the Divine Portal” before the entrance to the arena and prepare yourself.
Defeating Radahn
Radahn is an opponent with strong armor and two large swords, which he intends to use to smash you. To be well-prepared for his powerful attacks, gather as many Scadutree shards as possible beforehand. They make your attacks stronger and increase your defense. On MeinMMO, you will find a guide on this.
If you want to make phase 2 of the fight easier, also acquire Miquella’s Great Rune. You will obtain it after defeating the Avatar of the Scadutree in the Shadowkeep. With it, you can remove a deadly status effect.
Calling NPCs and Summoning Spirit Ashes
You can summon two NPCs for help in this fight after you have correctly completed the Thiollier quest and the Ansbach quest. You can also summon your spirit ashes, particularly strong ones are the Mimic ashes or Tiche. You can also get help in the form of real players if needed.
Radahn’s Weaknesses
What are Radahn’s weaknesses? The final boss is particularly sensitive to bleeding damage and Scarlet Rot. Therefore, use weapons that fall into either category. We have a particularly strong bleed build for you on MeinMMO. Frost is also effective against Radahn.
Holy damage is unfortunately misplaced here, as Radahn is immune to it. He himself uses holy attacks.
With strong attacks that can be achieved with a strength build, it is also possible to break the opponent’s posture and land a critical hit. You can also parry Radahn, although it takes three successful parries before you can execute a critical attack.
The fight against Radahn consists of two phases. We will examine the attacks and explain how you can respond:
Phase 1: Attacks and Tactics
In the first phase, the boss calls himself “Radahn, Promised Husband”.
- If Radahn stands far away, he flies towards you while rotating and extends his two swords at you. When he lands, there is an explosion. Roll out of the landing zone before Radahn reaches you.
- In close combat, Radahn swings his sword and creates flames that cause bleeding damage. Roll backward three times to avoid the range of the sword and flames. Alternatively, roll into the first sword attack and then behind him to dodge the flame. Watch out: After the flame explosion, further attacks follow, so be prepared.
- If you are far away, Radahn can pull you towards him using gravity magic. During this time, you are immobile. When he is in front of your nose, he strikes the ground and creates sharp rocks that protrude from the ground. However, you can dodge this attack: When Radahn folds his hands, roll quickly back to avoid being pulled. If that happens, try to roll out of the attack radius of the sharp rocks as quickly as possible.
- At close to medium range, Radahn strikes at you three times. Roll either left or right, three times as well.
- Radahn can also execute a combo of four sword swings. He ends it once again with rocks coming from the ground. You can evade the sword swings by rolling, then wait about half a second and roll again to avoid the rocks.
- Radahn can quickly cover a certain distance by performing a somersault and landing directly on you. Dodge to the side by rolling, but be cautious: Radahn can repeat this attack immediately, so do not attack right away.
Phase 2: Attacks and Tactics
In phase 2 of the fight, the boss receives a new name: “Radahn, Miquella’s Husband”. In addition to the attacks from phase 1, he also has some new attacks up his sleeve and now uses holy attacks. This phase starts once you have brought Radahn’s health bar down to about 70%.
- The sword attacks from phase 1 now also cause holy damage with each swing. So be careful when dodging, roll to the side or forward, but not backward, so that you don’t acquire any of that.
- Radahn floats in the air and creates eight electrically charged meteor projectiles that hunt you. Run left or right just before they would hit you.
- Radahn raises his sword high and creates four doppelgangers made of light. They rush at you and attack before Radahn follows with a light explosion. Roll here left or right to avoid Radahn’s and the clones’ attacks, and then once forward.
- If Radahn is far away, he can also raise his sword and create a holy energy field that fills the entire arena. Just roll underneath it.
- Radahn can grab at you. First, he glows golden, then jumps towards you and tries to grab you. Radahn then holds you towards Miquella, who enchants you. You will not take damage from this. However, if you are grabbed a second time, you will die immediately. You can prevent this by rolling away just before Radahn lands. If he grabs you anyway, use Miquella’s Great Rune to dispel the deadly spell.
- If Radahn has about 20-30% of his health left, he will fly high into the air and crash back into the arena near you after a brief moment. The explosion it creates is very dangerous and can kill you instantly. It is best to run to the opposite side from where Radahn took off and try to roll away from the explosion at the right moment. Timing may take a few attempts, listen for a scream, and then roll.
If you need additional tips on how to obtain the helpful Scadutree fragments, the following video from MeinMMO might help:
More Tips
What else is there to consider? Many of Radahn’s attacks are physical in nature. A good armor is important not to bite the dust immediately. At the same time, you should at least have a medium roll. So make sure that your load does not exceed 69.9%, otherwise, you will be overloaded and roll slowly. An even better option is a quick roll (load under 30%).
To be prepared against holy attacks, it may be worth bringing the talisman “Golden Braid” (high resistance to holy damage) and the item “Holy-Safe Dried Liver” (-15% holy damage).
There are also builds that are particularly strong against Radahn. For example, one that uses the new perfume bottles, which is currently used by many players against the final boss.
If you play with summons, it can be helpful to draw Radahn’s attention on you, especially at the beginning. This way, your helpers can deal a lot of damage and ideally also survive into phase 2.
Once the boss is down, you will be rewarded with 500,000 runes and the “Echo of a God and a Prince”.
If you keep these tips in mind, the fight against the final boss of the DLC should be easier. Have you developed your own tactics against him? How do you find Radahn as the conclusion of Shadow of the Erdtree? Feel free to let us know in the comments. For more guides on Elden Ring, check out our overview on MeinMMO.
