Elden Ring: elden ring guide: Complete Guide 2026 - Boss Guide (2025)

TL;DR Quick Reference

This 2026 complete Elden Ring boss guide covers every mandatory boss fight, with exact HP values, damage numbers, attack patterns, and phase breakdowns that work for every playstyle — from casual first-time players to min-maxed speedrunners. Whether you're stuck on Godrick or one-shotting the Elden Beast, this guide gives you actionable steps to beat every mandatory boss the first time you try.

Boss Overview: Mandatory Bosses in Elden Ring

To beat Elden Ring and unlock the default Age of Fracture ending, you must defeat 7 mandatory main path bosses, plus 2 mandatory Shardbearer bosses of your choice. This guide focuses exclusively on the non-optional main path bosses that you can't skip, with updated 2026 meta strategies that account for all patches (including the 1.10 Shadow of the Erdtree balance changes that nerfed Rivers of Blood's bleed proc by 15% but left it still S-tier for boss damage).

All bosses have two core hard mechanics that apply across the board: poise break (20% extra damage for 3 seconds after breaking poise) and critical hits (which deal 180% of your weapon's base damage, guaranteed, on a riposte). We'll reference these mechanics throughout, so memorize that damage modifier now — it's why ripostes are always worth going for.

Below is the full HP and damage breakdown for every mandatory boss (all values at New Game, level scaling adjusted for your run):

Pro Tip: New Game Plus scales all boss HP by 25% per cycle, up to a hardcap of 8x HP on NG+7. All strategies below work for any cycle, just adjust your fl asks and damage output accordingly.

See also: Elden Ring Best Bleed Build for Shadow of the Erdtree DLC Bosses (2026)

Recommended Loadout & Setup (2026 Meta Tier List)

How to defeat every mandatory boss consistently starts with the right loadout. Below is a tier ranking of the most popular boss builds, with exact stat breakpoints and upgrade requirements for New Game:

Weapon Tier List For Boss Damage (NG +25 Upgrade)

Recommended Stat Breakpoints (New Game)

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1. Bleed Arcane (S-Tier): Vigor 40, Mind 15, Endurance 25, Arcane 80 (softcap), Remaining points into Dexterity. 1,250 HP, enough to survive two consecutive hits from any NG boss.
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2. Magic Intelligence (A-Tier): Vigor 40, Mind 30, Endurance 20, Intelligence 60 (softcap), Remaining points into Vigor. Enough FP for 8 Dark Moon Greatsword weapon arts without a flask.
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3. Strength (A-Tier): Vigor 50, Mind 10, Endurance 30, Strength 50 (softcap), Remaining points into Endurance. Enough poise to survive a hit and keep swinging through most light attacks.
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Best Way To Prep For Every Boss Fight: Bring the Green Turtle Talisman (10% faster stamina recovery, worth 300 extra damage per phase from extra attacks), Arsenal Charm +1 for extra equip load, and Lord of Blood's Exultation for 20% extra attack power when bleed procs. This setup adds 60+ DPS to any bleed build for zero downside. Where to find Lord of Blood's Exultation? Kill Eleonora, Violet Bloody Finger at the Second Church of Marika in Altus Plateau.

See also: Where to Find All Legendary Talismans in Elden Ring (2026)

Phase-by-Phase Breakdown & Attack Pattern Analysis (By Boss)

We break down each boss fight from the first to the last phase, with exact punish windows and boss tips to avoid taking unnecessary damage.

Godrick the Grafted (Stormveil Castle)

Godrick is the first mandatory main path Shardbearer, and 70% of new players die to him within their first 3 attempts because they don't recognize his punish windows. Let's fix that.

Phase 1 (100% - 50% HP, 4,350 HP total)

Godrick's Phase 1 attack patterns are all 3-4 hit combos that end with a high-stamina windup, giving you a 1.2 second punish window that's long enough for two heavy attacks or one full katana combo.

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1. Overhead Slam: Godrick lifts his axe overhead and slams down at your feet. Deals 420 damage, i-frames through the roll by rolling into the slam at 0.5 seconds before impact. Punish: Two light attacks after the roll, 120+ damage guaranteed.
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2. Flurry Combo: 4 consecutive horizontal axe swings. Roll through each swing one at a time, don't try to run away — Godrick's swing range is 2x longer than his hitbox, so running gets you hit every time. The combo ends with a 0.8 second windup for a final overhead slam. Punish: One heavy attack after the final slam, 180+ damage.
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3. Storm Breath: Godrick breathes a linear storm wind AoE that deals 120 damage per tick. Get behind him to avoid it, this is a 2.5 second punish window — you can land a full 3-hit combo here for 350+ damage.
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Common mistake players make here: Trying to hit Godrick in the middle of his flurry. He has hyperarmor during Phase 1 flurries, so your hits won't stagger him, and you'll get clipped for half your HP.

Phase 2 (below 50% HP, 6,210 total HP after transition)

Godrick cuts off his arm and grafts the dragon head to his shoulder, adding two new attacks and 20% extra damage to all existing attacks.

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1. Grafted Dragon Breath: 60 damage per tick, covers 180 degrees in front of Godrick. Roll all the way behind him to avoid, 2 second punish window for a full combo.
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2. Storm Slam: Godrick jumps 10 meters into the air and slams down, creating a storm AoE that deals 782 damage if you're caught in the center. Roll away from the impact marker 0.3 seconds before he lands, then run in — this is the biggest punish window in the entire fight: 3 full seconds, enough to proc bleed and get a critical hit if you break his poise.
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3. Combination Swing: Axe swing into dragon bite. Roll through the axe, then roll away from the bite. The bite leaves his head open for 1 second, land a heavy attack to the head (15% extra damage to Godrick's head) for free damage.
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Pro Tip: Godrick takes 20% extra damage from poison, and is vulnerable to poison from your first hit. Bring a poison grease coating to melt 15% of his total HP over 10 seconds for zero FP cost.

Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon (Raya Lucaria Academy)

Rennala is the second mandatory Shardbearer, with a unique two-phase fight that trips up new mages and melee players alike.

Phase 1 (100% - 100% HP, 3,888 HP total)

Phase 1 is a puzzle, not a fight. Rennala floats in a golden shield, and three of her students around the arena have glowing amber shards over their heads. Kill the three glowing students to break her shield and stagger her for a critical hit, which drops her to Phase 2. If you're melee, don't waste time killing non-glowing students — they respawn, and you only need the three glowing ones. If you're magic, one shot each glowing student with a pebble to end Phase 1 in 10 seconds.

Phase 2 (100% - 0% HP, 8,031 total HP)

Rennala becomes mobile, and uses a mix of magic attacks and melee swipes with her staff. She staggers easily, so you can interrupt most of her big attacks if you deal enough poise damage fast.

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1. Full Moon Barrage: 3 consecutive small full moon projectiles, each dealing 450 damage. Roll through each projectile, the third one leaves her open for 1.5 seconds after it fires. Punish: Full combo, 400+ damage guaranteed.
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2. Full Moon Big Blast: 1 second windup, fires a giant full moon that deals 912 damage if it hits. You have 1 full second after the projectile launches to roll away, so don't panic roll early. If you get behind her before the moon launches, you can land 3 hits before she recovers.
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3. Comet AoE: Rennala summons 5 comets that fall at your location. Run in a straight circle around the arena to avoid them, don't roll — rolling makes you miss the timing and get clipped. After the last comet lands, you have 1 second to land one hit.
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4. Melee Staff Swipe: If you get too close, Rennala does two quick swipes that deal 320 damage each. Roll through the second swipe, then punish with one heavy attack. Don't stay within melee range forever — she traps a lot of players into constant chip damage by spamming swipes.
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Pro Tip: Rennala takes 15% extra damage from magic damage, and her poise is so low that two