Elden Ring elden ring guide: Complete Guide 2026 - Boss Guide

{ "title": "How to Beat Every Mandatory Boss in Elden Ring (2026 Complete Strategy Guide)", "content": "

TL;DR Quick Reference

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Boss	Recommended Loadout	Key Punish Window	HP Threshold
Godrick the Grafted	+1 Longsword, 20 Vigor	After Stormcaller Slam (2.1s window)	4,171 total HP
Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon	Magic Glintstone, 25 Mind	Phase 2 post-Comet Crash (1.8s window)	4,358 total HP
Radahn, Starscourge	Bleed Uchigatana +3, 30 Vigor	After Rain of Spears (3.2s window)	11,113 total HP
Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy	Serpent Hunter +6, 25 Endurance	After Lunging Bite (1.5s window)	9,391 total HP
Morgott, Omen King	Holy-infused Greatsword +10, 40 Vigor	After Triple Sword Combo (2.4s window)	10,397 total HP
Godfrey, First Elden Lord	Heavy Greatsword +15, 30 Strength	After Stomp AOE (1.9s window)	10,509 total HP
Radagon of the Golden Order + Elden Beast	Mimic Tear +10, 50 Vigor, Bleed Twinblades	After Elden Beast Holy Breath (3s window)	Radagon: 13,722 HP / Beast: 21,903 HP

This 2026 complete boss strategy guide walks you through beating every mandatory boss in Elden Ring, with up-to-date meta builds, exact frame data for punish windows, and tested strategies that work for new and veteran players alike. If you’re stuck on any story boss, we’ve got you covered with specific numbers and step-by-step execution that outperforms generic wiki guides.

Boss Overview: All Mandatory Elden Ring Bosses (2026 Meta Context)

After 4 years of patches, balance updates, and DLC, the 2026 meta for Elden Ring boss fights favors bleed and status effect builds for 90% of mandatory encounters, but melee strength and pure sorcery builds are still fully viable if you know the right breakpoints. Every mandatory boss has a total HP value that’s been datamined and confirmed post-1.10 patch, so we’re using the exact values you’ll face in a new game (not NG+).

For this guide, we’re covering only mandatory story bosses — the 7 you have to beat to reach the Elden Throne ending. We’re skipping optional bosses like Malenia and Mohg, but if you’re looking for those, See also: How to Beat Malenia Blade of Miquella Without Summons (2026).

Recommended Loadout & Setup (2026 Tier List)

Before you even enter a boss fight, your loadout determines 70% of your success. Below is a tier ranking of the best early-to-endgame loadouts for all mandatory bosses, with exact stat breakpoints and upgrade levels for a new game playthrough.

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Rank	Build Type	Core Weapon/Spell	Stats (Lv 100)	Justification
S	Bleed Dual Wield Melee	Uchigatana +18 / Rivers of Blood +10	50 Vigor, 18 Mind, 20 Endurance, 40 Dexterity, Arcane 30	Proc bleed every 3-4 hits, 15% of any boss’s max HP per proc. Cheapest, most accessible meta build in 2026.
A	Pure Sorcery	Lusat’s Glintstone Staff +10, Comet Azur	40 Vigor, 60 Mind, 15 Endurance, 70 Intelligence	Stuns most bosses through hyperarmor, can melt phase 1 of 6/7 mandatory bosses before they can attack. High stat reqs make it worse for new players.
A	Strength Greatsword	Dark Moon Greatsword +10	50 Vigor, 15 Mind, 25 Endurance, 38 Strength, 12 Intelligence	High poise, 722 damage per fully charged heavy attack, free magic AoE procs. Only loses to bleed because of slower proc rate on higher HP bosses.
B	Holy Faith Build	Coded Sword +10, Golden Vow	45 Vigor, 30 Mind, 20 Endurance, 40 Faith	High damage against most demi-gods, but 20% damage penalty against the Elden Beast makes it a drag for the final fight.
C	Arcane Poison Build	Morgott’s Cursed Sword +10	50 Vigor, 30 Arcane	Poise damage is low, DoT is slow, bleed outperforms it in every scenario. Only useful for niche PvP.
D	Bare Fist / No Upgrade Run	Caestus +0	Any	It’s a challenge run, not a viable strategy for new players. Don’t do this if you just want to beat the game.

Pro Tip: At Lv 100, the softcap for Vigor is 50 (adding more Vigor after that only gives 1-3 HP per level). Stop at 50 Vigor for new game, pour the rest into damage stats to shorten boss fights and reduce your chance of making mistakes. That’s a 2026 meta trick most older guides miss.

Required Items For Every Boss Fight

Mimic Tear Spirit Ash +10: Best of all summons in 2026 post-nerf, it still draws aggro 60% of the time and deals 20-30% of your total DPS. You can find it in Nokron, Eternal City after beating Radahn. How to unlock: Defeat Starscourge Radahn, drop into Nokron, follow the left path past the silver tear slimes, open the chest in the Ancestral Woods.
Gold Scarab: Adds 20% more runes from boss kills, lets you level up 1-2 levels before each fight with minimal farming. Worth the 5% damage vulnerability penalty for most players.
Flask of Wondrous Physick: For all melee builds, use Crimsonburst Crystal Tear (restores 20% HP over 10s) and Thorny Cracked Tear (adds 10% damage for 3 minutes). For sorcery, swap to Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear for 20% extra sorcery damage.

Phase-by-Phase Breakdown: Every Mandatory Boss

We’re going one boss at a time, with exact attack patterns, punish windows, and step-by-step strategy.

1. Godrick the Grafted (Limgrave)

Total HP: 4,171 (Phase 1: 2,919 / Phase 2: 1,252). Damage per attack: 782 (unblocked) / 412 (blocked with 100% physical shield). Average i-frame window for dodges: 0.8s after the attack starts.

Attack Pattern Analysis

Vertical Slam: Godrick lifts his axe overhead and slams it down. 12-15 frames of startup, 0.5s of recovery. Roll sideways to avoid, punish with one light attack.
Three-Hit Swing Combo: Left to right, right to left, then vertical slam. 18 frames total startup for the full combo. Roll through each swing, wait for the final slam, then punish with two lights.
Stormcaller Slam (Phase 1 only): Godrick charges storm damage for 1.2s, then slams the ground to create a 15m AoE shockwave. This is Godrick’s biggest punish window: 2.1s of recovery after the slam. That’s enough time for a fully charged heavy attack if you’re two-handing.
Grafted Dragon Arm (Phase 2): Godrick attaches a dragon arm to his body, adds fire breath and a lunging grab. The grab deals 1,247 damage at +0 upgrade — it will oneshot any player under 30 Vigor. Roll backward when you see him reach forward to avoid.

Step-by-Step Strategy

Summon Mimic Tear as soon as you enter the fog gate. It will draw aggro immediately, letting you get free hits from behind.
Stay at mid-range, only attack when Godrick is facing the Mimic. Don’t rush in — his 3-hit combo can kill you in 2 hits if you’re underleveled.
Punish every Stormcaller Slam with a fully charged heavy attack. This will get him to phase 2 20-30 seconds faster.
In phase 2, dodge the fire breath by rolling sideways, then punish the 1.5s recovery with two light attacks. Don’t attempt a heavy attack after fire breath — he’ll grab you 70% of the time if you overcommit.

Best Way to Defeat: Bleed build will proc bleed twice on Godrick, taking off 1,250 HP total — that’s almost 30% of his total HP before phase 2 even starts.

2. Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon (Liurnia)

Total HP: 4,358 (Phase 1: 1,110 / Phase 2: 3,248). Damage per Comet: 987 (unblocked) / 512 (blocked). Stun threshold: 150 poise, can be staggered once in phase 2 for 3s of free damage.

Attack Pattern Analysis

Phase 1 Amber Egg: Rennala floats in a bubble, surrounded by students. You have to hit three glowing students to break her shield. Each glowing student has 127 HP — one hit from any weapon will kill them. Don’t waste time fighting non-glowing students, just run past them.
Full Moon Comet (Phase 2): Rennala launches a slow-moving giant moon that tracks you for 8s. It deals 1,124 damage on hit, so roll sideways when it’s 5m away to avoid it. The moon has 200 poise — you can destroy it with 3-4 light attacks if you’re having trouble dodging.
Comet Crash: Rennala summons three small comets that crash into the ground around her. After the third crash, she has 1.8s of recovery — that’s your main punish window.
Blizzard AOE: She blasts a cone of ice in front of her, deals 350 damage per tick and inflicts frostbite. Roll backward to get out of the cone, then punish with one heavy attack.

Step-by-Step Phase Breakdown

Phase 1: Ignore all non-glowing students. Run directly to the first glowing student (it spawns on the left side of the arena 80% of the time), kill it, then the second on the right, then third near the back. That breaks her shield in 10 seconds flat.
Phase 2: Summon Mimic Tear immediately after phase 1 ends. The Mimic will draw aggro, letting you hit Rennala from behind.
Dodge the Full Moon Comet by rolling sideways, then get into melee range. Wait for Comet Crash, then punish with 2-3 hits.
If you’re running a sorcery build, you can use Comet Azur right after breaking phase 1 to take her down to 50% HP before she even starts attacking. That’s the fastest 2026 strategy for sorcery players.

3. Starscourge Radahn (Caelid)

Total HP: 11,113 (Phase 1: 6,210 / Phase 2: 4,903). Damage per arrow: 892 (unblocked) / 451 (blocked). Damage per Rain of Spears final hit: 1,427 — oneshots 90% of underleveled players.

Is it worth summoning the NPCs for this fight? In 2026, the answer is yes — the NPCs deal 1,500-2,000 damage total and draw aggro during the opening arrow barrage, so they save you more time than they waste.

Attack Pattern Analysis

Opening Arrow Barrage: Radahn rains 12 arrows down on you as soon as you enter the arena. Use Torrent to dodge — sprint in a zig-zag, don’t stop. 90% of new players die to this before the fight even starts because they stop to summon the NPCs too early. Wait until the barrage ends to summon.
Gravity Pull: Radahn pulls you toward him from across the arena, then follows with a slam. Roll forward when the pull ends to avoid the slam, then punish with one hit.
Rain of Spears: Radahn jumps into the air, summons a flurry of spears, then slams down with a final giant spear. After the final slam, he has 3.2s of recovery — this is the biggest punish window in the entire fight. You can get 3-4 hits off, or a fully charged heavy and a proc of bleed.
Phase 2 Meteor Swarm: Once Radahn hits 50% HP, he jumps back and summons 5 slow-moving meteors. The largest central meteor deals 2,100 damage — roll backward as far as you can when it’s 10m out to avoid it. After all meteors land, he has 2.5s of recovery.

Step-by-Step Boss Strategy

Enter the fog gate, summon the first NPC immediately after spawning, then mount Torrent and sprint in a zig-zag to avoid the opening arrow barrage.
Once the barrage ends, summon the other two NPCs and your Mimic Tear. Now Radahn has 4 targets, so he’ll rarely focus you.
Stay behind Radahn at all times. When he does Rain of Spears, dodge the final slam by rolling sideways, then run in and punish for 3-4 hits. A bleed build will proc bleed every 2-3 combos here, taking off 1,600 HP per proc.
In phase 2, dodge the meteors by running along the edge of the arena. Don’t try to roll through them — you’ll get clipped by a small meteor and die. Wait for them to land, then go back to punishing.