The bosses in Elden Ring represent the most important and special moments in the game. These nasty characters test your skills, drive the story of the game forward, and impress with fantastic presentation. MeinMMO author Marko Jevtic tells you which 5 bosses have blown him away the most.
To say that Elden Ring has some bosses is an understatement. Depending on how you count them, it has significantly more than all previous Souls games combined. And with all this quantity comes a lot of quality.
In particular, a handful of bosses completely blew me away in the game – in several senses of the word. Whether it’s moveset, presentation, lore, soundtrack, or a crisp level of difficulty, everything just worked for me with these opponents. That’s why I want to introduce you to my 5 favorite bosses from Elden Ring.
Keep in mind that this contains spoilers. So if you are new and want to be surprised by the boss battles, you should not continue reading.
See here how in Elden Ring a half-naked warrior with a pot on his head became a community legend:
5. Morgott, the King of All
Morgott is one of the most interesting opponents in the whole game. He is the true form of the hated boss Margit and serves a similar purpose in the game: While Margit separates the wheat from the chaff among beginners, Morgott is the final hurdle before the endgame of Elden Ring.
And what an impressive hurdle that is. Not only is it a shock to see this unloved opponent again, his pitiful way of talking about succession even awakens brief sympathies – until he reveals that his “walking stick” is a fearsome blood-flame blade.
Those with unpleasant memories of Margit’s second phase at the beginning of the game will immediately experience a shock moment. Morgott begins the fight as a sort of ultra-version of Margit:
- He immediately swings his hammer, faster and more dangerously than before.
- His throwing knives come in greater numbers and are even more surprising.
- In addition, he has a spear that he uses for fearsome combos.
- His attacks are generally faster, more dangerous, and even harder to read.
And those who die have to listen to the exact same phrase as before with Margit. FromSoftware really rubs it in players’ faces: Do you really think you are that much better than at the beginning?
The 2nd phase of Morgott manages to take it a step further. The noble arena, which stands in the shadow of the golden earth tree and was just adorned with royal thrones, gets flooded with a disgusting swamp of suffering and decay. Morgott also loses his dignity, fighting wilder and more desperately.
If you have killed him, a withered husk of this memorable opponent lies before you. It is the strange reward for your hard work.
4. Elemer of the Thorn
Elemer doesn’t have the most exciting story in the game, is, on the whole, a minor presence. But this boss was incredibly fun for me.
The guy reveals himself early in the fight as a sort of Darth Vader of the Between Lands. With a mask that is both human and alien, alongside a massive greatsword and a thorny shield, he makes an impressive impression right away. Then he starts swinging his sword with a sort of telekinesis even from a distance.
The moveset of this boss is not the most versatile, but it is much more dangerous than one would think. Because this opponent, who initially appears to be a pure melee fighter, can get to you from almost any distance. He hardly gives you breaks to catch your breath or heal.
You have to enter into a dance with Elemer, follow his lead, and learn his step sequence. And with some practice, you’ll be twirling around his flying blade, taking advantage of the brief opportunities for your own attacks, and feeling like a nimble panther when you’ve earned the victory screen.
Admittedly, the fight loses a bit of uniqueness since Elemer, as a surprise boss, can appear multiple times in the open world under certain conditions. But the idea of this bounty hunter stalking you like a nemesis throughout the game world is also appealing.
3. Godfrey, the First Elden Lord/Hoarah Loux, the Warrior
The penultimate boss in the game is also one of the best. What makes Godfrey immediately special is his way of talking to you.
While other bosses in the game – like Morgott in the exact same arena – make fun of you, belittle you, or generally underestimate you, Godfrey is an honorable warrior. He praises your strength and gives you much respect, even when he has just knocked you down in no time.
In addition, the fight consists of 2 fantastic phases. In the first, he still fights like his golden projection earlier in the game, but the 2nd phase is perhaps the best in the game. Godfrey puts down his weapon and suddenly fights like Zangief from Street Fighter.
As a mix of a wrestling fighter and a sumo wrestler, he makes it hell for you and tests you in a completely unique and memorable way.
Those who succeed in the battle against Godfrey or Hoarah Loux know exactly why everyone in the Between Lands holds him in such high regard. This guy deserves at least as much respect and recognition as he gives you in battle – but actually much more.
2. Radagon of the Golden Order/The Elden Beast
The final boss fight in Elden Ring is divided into 2 phases, which could not be more different.
Phase 1 is the fight against the legendary Radagon, who wants to smash your skull with a very special hammer. With this hammer, Queen Marika destroyed the Elden Ring. He not only uses an excellent moveset, which requires the very best timing and the deepest game knowledge from you – he is also immune to many popular build strategies like bleeding.
The fight against Radagon is a very simple but effective battle between the tarnished and a person who is at least your equal despite a zombie-like condition. This noble stone husk you are fighting against unites almost all the narrative threads in the game, thus fully convincing from both lore and gameplay perspectives.
Unfortunately, the fight has a 2nd phase. The Elden Beast jumps around a lot, has corrosive attacks, and is generally very rarely hit. Most of the time you are just running around the arena wildly, rarely experiencing a real feeling of a fight.
Fortunately, this arena has a lot going for it. Visually and with the music that appears throughout the boss fight, it induces pure goosebumps. Additionally, the creature resembles the Night-Walker from Princess Mononoke, which is always a plus.
Without this 2nd phase, Radagon would have easily been my favorite boss in the game. Thus, it remains an impressive 2nd place.
1. Mohg, the Blood Lord
If there is such a thing as pure evil in Elden Ring, then it is Mohg. You can fight this cursed creature in Leyndell as a projection, or in his true form in the Mohgwyn Palace.
Just the lore surrounding the boss fight is impressive, if you understand it. Mohg has indeed committed a truly vile act. In the background of the battle, you can see the sleeping demigod Miquella in a giant cocoon, who has been kidnapped by Mohg. Because Miquella is cursed with eternal childhood, Mohg abuses this poor being in unspeakable ways. It’s not just for this reason that it’s fun to kill him.
Mohg has an intriguing moveset that rewards good dodge timing and requires you to distinguish many animations based on subtle cues. But the special part is the 2nd phase:
This begins with Mohg pronouncing a blood curse, which takes him a few seconds. This is really nasty, as it deals overwhelming damage over a long time and cannot be blocked or dodged.
If you have been attentive, explored the world thoroughly, and read the item descriptions, you might remember a crystal tear you found many hours ago that should protect you from exactly this curse.
Thus, the game rewards precisely what makes Elden Ring so distinctive in this fight:
- Good timing and strong combat basics.
- Thorough exploration of the vast game world.
- Careful tracking of lore and story.
- Putting all these puzzle pieces together into a complete picture.
Mohg thus embodies, in addition to the great boss fight itself, the quintessence of Elden Ring and everything that makes FromSoftware games so special. This nasty villain is clearly my favorite boss in the game.
5 more bosses worth a mention
With over 160 bosses in Elden Ring, of course, more than just 5 are really good. That’s why I want to mention 5 more bosses that, while they didn’t fully excite me with gameplay, scored points with absolutely outstanding presentation.
Malenia, Blade of Miquella
The Blade of Miquella is now one of the most famous and notorious bosses in Souls history. The fight with her is excellently presented and can be very fun at times. However, she has 3 annoying mechanics:
- She heals herself with every successful attack.
- Her signature attack is hard to dodge without tricks and can often be instantly lethal even with many health points.
- The Scarlet Rot in her 2nd phase encourages either extremely aggressive or extremely patient play.
In addition, Malenia is in the odd position of being extremely hard with most builds, but due to her poor stance values and vulnerability to bleeding, she can be trivialized with a few simple and popular tricks. So cool as Malenia could be – she doesn’t feel balanced and well-rounded.
Royal Ancestor Spirit
There isn’t much to say about this boss in terms of gameplay. This magical deer is super easy to defeat and should not pose major problems for most players.
However, the presentation is unbeatable. The boss music is clearly the best in the game, and the tragically graceful arena paired with the majestic movements of the creature really gets your tears flowing.
Listen to the boss music in this YouTube video:
That this creature also moves like our faithful horse Stormwind gives even more the feeling that one should not strike here. Instead, I kept asking myself during the battle: Am I doing the right thing? Am I the power-hungry villain?
Astel, Birth of the Abyss
Astel is a cool boss with interesting moves and a good level of difficulty. You encounter him when you follow Ranni’s quest. His location is very mysterious, as you can only get there from the terrifying Rot Lake via a taxi ride in an empty sarcophagus. Totally disoriented, you must confront this alien creature from another world.
But actually, I don’t care about all that. Astel is particularly high on my list because this creature feels like it wandered out of the world of Bloodborne into the Between Lands. As a huge fan of Bloodborne and the eldritch horror of that game, Astel could be a completely irrelevant fight – I would still be in seventh heaven.
Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
Rykard is a gimmick boss, like those in Demon’s Souls or Dark Souls 3. You get a special weapon at the beginning of the fight that is only really good in the boss arena. Because only against the boss can this weapon fire powerful beams that make this fight feel epic and gigantic.
However, Rykard is significantly more fun in terms of gameplay than Yhorm, and this strange freak is simply incredibly interesting. This snake-human hybrid paradoxically cannot pronounce an “S” and mumbles at you while pulling a disgusting sword from the mouth of a giant snake.
What a disgusting, strange, absurd boss. I love him so much.
Starcaller Radahn
The legendary Radahn throws a festival in his name, and the best warriors in the world are invited to take him down. This premise alone is excellent, but it is topped by Radahn himself.
The once noble, invincible warrior is now just a rotting shadow of himself. In the battle against Malenia, he was virtually destroyed by Scarlet Rot. His legs have rotted away and his mind has been lost. Now a pitiful, tiny steed carries this gigantic zombie creature through the desert, which seemingly stays alive only through pure pride.
To call Radahn a boss fight would be wrong – it is a boss battle. Not summoning the numerous NPC helpers borders on heretical blasphemy, and it is the only main boss in the game you can fight on horseback. And just when this battle couldn’t be more epic, Radahn suddenly disappears at about 50% of his health – and reappears in the most impressive way.
This battle is an absolute spectacle.
What do you think of this list? Do you agree with my selection, or do you have entirely different favorite bosses? How did you generally find the boss quality in Elden Ring? Let us know in the comments.
If you want to find out which weapons are currently the best in the game even after the latest patch, we recommend our detailed tier list:
