Fans are already raving about it Elden Ring: Shadow of Erdtree as an even greater challenge than the basic version of the game, of course due to the up-to-date composition of bosses.
While I don’t think any of the bosses in the up-to-date monster gallery will reach Malenia’s difficulty level, I can confidently say that Shadow of ErdtreeThe most tough bosses are extremely demanding and inventive opponents.
10. Midra, Lord of the Furious Flame
As with all things mad flame, Midra requires players to worry about the yellow madness meter that increases as they are hit by his attacks. While madness is his most hazardous threat, he has a harder time charging his gauge than the guards that inhabit the section of the forest that players must pass through to reach Midra.
Midra isn’t a particularly intimidating foe if you know what you’re dealing with, but getting too comfortable with his rather sluggish moveset can spell your defeat, as he still has a few faster sword attacks, and because you can forget about the buildup of said madness.
While a formidable foe, the hardest part about fighting Midra is getting to her, as she’s hiding in a secret area that’s easily the most unpleasant space to traverse in the entire game.
9. Divine Beast Dancing Lion
The first main boss of the DLC is not as tough as Magrit, the first main boss of the main game, but he is the perfect opponent for players who have the courage to underestimate him Shadow of Erdtree up-to-date decorations.
If you jump straight into the main DLC quest, the Dancing Lion may prove to be a challenge, as the DLC’s up-to-date level scaling mostly negates the benefits players would expect from entering it at a high level. The Dancing Lion is a enormous enemy that attacks with enormous swings and exuberant area-of-effect abilities, but is actually quite accessible as a “first boss” for DLC players as FromCushioned intended.
If you’re having trouble, take a step back, recon, grab a few Scadutree fragments here and there, then try again. You’ll see that his threat is greatly reduced.
8. Bayle, Fear
One of the first lessons you learn when you play your first game in Souls series is that all enemies can kill you, but Dragon-type enemies even more so.
FromCushioned seems to love putting dragons in their DLCs that are even stronger than the dragons seen in the base games, and Bayle may be their masterpiece. While he’s not as mighty or resilient as Midir Darkeater from Dark Souls 3 From the Ringed City DLC, Bayle is still very tanky and a much more versatile foe thanks to his smaller build and larger moveset. Bayle is probably the most fun dragon-type boss to fight in the entire series.
7. Avatar Scadutree
Not all bosses need to throw a constant barrage of crazy moves at players to provide a challenge. Avatar Scadutree chooses his battles and divides his most devastating abilities into three phases – yes, this thing is almost Final Fantasy boss.
In addition to having the unwavering discipline necessary to navigate Scadutree’s three avatar forms, players can’t simply reduce his health to 0, as they’ll also need to seal the deal at the end of each form by completing Axe-like critical hit animation. Sleeping on it will make the beast stand up and deny you the fruits of your challenging work.
6. Mesmer
Going into the DLC, many likely expected Messmer, the most hyped up-to-date enemy in the DLC, to be his toughest opponent. That fear only grew stronger when we started hearing rumors that he could be Malenia’s third sibling.
While Messmer has two different forms and possesses many powerful area-of-effect attacks, he never poses as much of a challenge as his sister.
Messmer even has a single continuous attack that seems to mimic Waterbird Dance, Malenia’s most hazardous move, but it’s still not as challenging to avoid as his sister’s nightmarish game-end. Messmer can do a lot of damage if left unchecked, but he doesn’t prepare for his resilience. I almost beat him on my first try, and that was before I started scouring the map to stock up on Scadutree Fragments.
5. The Rotting Knight
One of the nippy things about Ring of Fire thus allowing players to choose between going on foot or on horseback against most enemies. This is good for us, but fighting a boss that can switch between two modes on the fly would totally suck. The Rotten Knight does this and then takes it a step further by having his vehicle attack you while also hitting you on foot. Expect a barrage of attacks that will only stop once you or it looks at your equivalent of the “You’re dead” screen.
Please don’t get me wrong. I just made it look like a nightmare, but Putrescent Knight is also one of the coolest challenges in the game.
4. Knight of Blackgaol
Don’t let a lack of knowledge or presentation at all put you off. This guy is not to be trifled with. He resides in the crypt at the beginning of the game, which may lead you to believe that he is a training dummy that Miyazaki nicely placed there to ease you into the game. But he is a completely different person.
Blackgaol Knight is very hazardous from a distance, as he can utilize his automatic crossbow to shower players with flaming arrows. He is no better up close, where he will completely destroy most players with his high-compassion armor and powerful sword. He is as swift as the player, can heal himself once, and is completely unyielding. His moveset is fairly basic, but leaves absolutely no room for failure.
Carrying over a high level from the base game without up-to-date upgrades won’t make much of a difference once you enter his arena. All it takes is one mistake or one instance of over-conceit for your life to instantly hit zero. I’m sure FromCushioned put it there to let players know that even a basic enemy is enough to destroy players who don’t follow the DLC rules.
3. Rellana, Knight of the Twin Moon
Rellana is the sister of Rennala from the base game, but the two boss fights are not similar. Rennala is a mage who will try to stay away from players to try and shoot them with ranged spells. Rellana is a knight who will utilize her dual swords to slash players up close with an incredibly aggressive moveset — but she is also capable of dealing massive damage from afar. In fact, Rellana’s deadliest spell is more powerful and harder to avoid than any of Rennala’s spells.
Rellana’s swords closely resemble the weapons of Pontiff Sulyvahn from Dark Souls 3, but this spiritual disciple of Sulyvahn is a much, much more hazardous opponent than the ancient man.
2. Commander Gaius
As soon as I mustered up the courage to admit that some random guy had literally kicked my ass, the Destructoid crew immediately assured me that Commander Gaius was no joke.
While he is not one of the most notable bosses, I would argue that he is the boss that can kill you the fastest. I’m not saying FromCushioned made a mistake when coding this, but something about the hit detection of his ramming attacks just didn’t seem right in any of the (over) ten attempts it took me to beat him – and he rams a lot. He appears to hit you before his character model makes contact with your character, and then there appears to be a second hit detection for the boar he is riding. It hits swift, challenging and moves very swift too. This is one of the few enemies in the entire series that is tough to overtake – even while on Torrent.
As for his movements, well, he seems to be a mix of a Tree Guardian known for stomping on everything Ring of Fire newcomers and General Radahn’s special moves. He is an absolute threat.
1. Radahn’s Promised Wife
Have you ever seen Radahn in your Ring of Fire and he wondered how large of a beast he would be at his best? Well, you probably shouldn’t have done that.
Radahn’s up-to-date fight may be tough simply because it will bring back memories of the frustration you felt fighting him in the original game, but this time it’s Even worse. This is not ancient, decrepit Radahn. This is the Radahn that Malenia almost sacrificed herself to defeat. And if being much stronger wasn’t enough, instead of a horse, she now has the aid of a literal god on her shoulders.
Much like the original, the up-to-date Radahn has a wide range of flashy moves, many of which are capable of easily bringing the HP bar down to 0. However, unlike the original version, which lacked durability, the up-to-date Radahn has a lot of HP – even if your character is up to date with the up-to-date Ashes and Scadutree upgrades.
This Radahn is one for the ages, and not just because it might take ages to defeat him.
