Elden Ring is a huge game and has, by far, the largest number of bosses in any Soulsborne title to date. There are 168 boss fights if you challenge absolutely everything in The Lands Between, but cut out all the repeat encounters and we’re left with “only” 123. Among these fights are some that are technically different enough to be called new, but similar enough that the same strategies tend to work between them. Don’t let their number mislead you into thinking there are any cakewalk fights, either. Every boss fight is challenging in its own right. The story bosses, particularly those with Remembrance items and achievements tied to them, can be the toughest of the lot.
In this article, I’ve listed every unique boss fight in Elden Ring in reverse order of difficulty. I will note that the difficulty level I’ve given them is my opinion only, and you may have an easier time with some bosses that gave me more trouble. Some placements on the list will probably be pretty obvious, but you’ll need to read on to find out where your personal Kryptonite landed. I also made this list with first playthroughs in mind, as even the toughest bosses in Elden Ring have cheese strats that make their fights a joke.
Every Elden Ring Boss, Listed by Difficulty
122. Patches
121. Stonedigger Troll
120. Beastman of Farum Azula
119. Grave Warden Duelist
118. Guardian Golem
117. Mad Pumpkin Head
116. Tibia Mariner
115. Erdtree Avatar
114. Leonine Misbegotten
113. Miranda the Blighted Bloom
112. Erdtree Burial Watchdog
111. Scaly Misbegotten
110. Alabaster Lord
109. Misbegotten Crusader
108. Bols, Carian Knight
107. Crystalian
106. Crystalian Spear & Crystalian Staff (Duo)
105. Onyx Lord
104. Erdtree Burial Watchdog (Impaler’s Catacombs)
103. Stonedigger Troll
102. Spirit-Caller Snail
101. Frenzied Duelist
100. Mad Pumpkin Heads
99. Cleanrot Knight
98. Bloodhound Knight
97. Nox Swordstress & Nox Priest
96. Battlemage Hugues
95. Elder Dragon Greyoll
94. Demi-Human Chief
93. Adan, Thief of Fire
92. Putrid Grave Warden Duelist
91. Esgar, Priest of Blood
90. Kindred of Rot (Duo)
89. Fell Twins
88. Mimic Tear
87. Cemetery Shade
86. Necromancer Garris
85. Ulcerated Tree Spirit
84. Perfumer Tricia & Misbegotten Warrior
83. Crucible Knight
82. Onyx Lord
81. Cleanrot Knight (Duo)
80. Erdtree Burial Watchdog (Duo)
79. Demi-Human Queen Maggie
78. Demi-Human Queen Margot
77. Demi-Human Queen Gilika
76. Ancient Hero of Zamor
75. Crystalian Spear & Crystalian Ringblade
74. Putrid Crystalian Trio
73. Flying Dragon Greyll
72. Flying Dragon Agheel
71. Glintstone Dragon Smarag
70. Omenkiller & Miranda the Blighted Bloom
69. Royal Revenant
68. Grafted Scion
67. Night’s Cavalry
66. Royal Knight Loretta
65. Magma Wyrm Makar
64. Great Wyrm Theodorix
63. Magma Wyrm
62. Omenkiller
61. Ulcerated Tree Spirit
60. Deathbird
59. Beastman of Farum Azula (Duo)
58. Fia’s Champions
57. Crucible Knight & Misbegotten Warrior
56. Glintstone Dragon Adula
55. Abductor Virgins (Duo)
54. Draconic Tree Sentinel
53. Grave Warden Duelist
52. Red Wolf of Radagon
51. Black Knife Assassin
50. Wormface
49. Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
48. Borealis the Freezing Fog
47. Decaying Ekzykes
46. Tree Sentinel (Duo)
45. Godskin Noble
44. Godskin Apostle
43. Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast
42. Godskin Apostle and Godskin Noble (Spiritcaller Snail)
41. Crucible Knight Siluria
40. Sanguine Noble
39. Putrid Avatar
38. Ancestor Spirit
37. Regal Ancestor Spirit
36. Runebear
35. Death Rite Bird
34. Night’s Cavalry (Duo)
33. Godefroy The Grafted
32. Margit, the Fell Omen
31. Godfrey, First Elden Lord
30. Dragonkin Soldier
29. Godrick the Grafted
28. Starscourge Radahn
27. God-Devouring Serpent/Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
26. Black Blade Kindred
25. Tree Sentinel
24. Fire Giant
23. Crucible Knight & Crucible Knight Ordovis
22. Vyke, Knight of the Roundtable
21. Mohg, the Omen
20. Elemer of the Briar
19. Valiant Gargoyle & Valiant Gargoyle (Twinblade)
18. Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader
17. Morgott, the Omen King
16. Ancient Dragon Lansseax
15. Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing
14. Commander O’Neil
13. Elden Beast
12. Astel, Naturalborn of the Void
11. Mohg, the Omen
10. Beast Clergyman / Maliketh, the Black Blade
9. Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree
8. Godskin Duo
7. Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Hoarah Loux)
6. Lichdragon Fortissax
5. Mohg, Lord of Blood
4. Radagon
3. Commander Niall
2. Dragonlord Placidusax
Hardest Boss in Elden Ring: Malenia, Blade of Miquella
Found in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree, Malenia, Blade of Miquella is the hardest boss in Elden Ring and arguably the hardest boss in any of FromSoftware’s Soulslike games. To access the fight with Malenia through the Grand Lift of Rold, players need to have both halves of the secret medallion, one from Western Liurnia and the other from the Mountaintops of the Giants. With both halves, the player can find the Lift in the Consecrated Snowfield.
The trick to fighting Malenia is keeping in mind that she can regain health from every hit that she lands on the player and their summons, even if the player is blocking. That means the player should stay on the move, not rely too heavily on guarding, and bring in weapons and spells with a high damage output to keep Malenia at a disadvantage. Long-range weapons, like the Moonveil or Rivers of Blood, are invaluable to keep hitting Malenia at a distance, as she has no real projectile attacks of her own.
In Malenia’s second phase, she becomes much more aggressive and gains the ability to inflict Scarlet Rot on her opponents, so stay on your toes as the fight intensifies. Though Malenia is faster than the player, keep moving and know when to run as she winds up her devastating area-of-effect attacks, while remembering that her combos and timings have changed slightly. Like many boss fights in Elden Ring, the battle against Malenia is one that requires patience and recognizing attack patterns in a grueling war of attrition.
Other Bosses in Elden Ring
Special mention for difficult bosses in Elden Ring goes to Soldier of Godrick, who remains undefeated (unless he’s not). Some of the placements on this list might be obvious, particularly Malenia, Niall, and Radagon, but your boss order might look completely different from mine, especially at the bottom and middle of the list. That’s the beauty of Elden Ring. Everyone’s experience is a little different, but there are some commonalities we all share.
And don’t forget, Elden Ring has an expansion on the way called Shadow of the Erdtree, so we can expect to see this list of bosses expand further once that drops.
KEEP READING: Is Elden Ring Connected to Dark Souls?
The above article was updated on March 24, 2024 by Escapist Editorial to include a new section and image.
Published: Mar 24, 2024 11:52 am