Elden Ring Bosses

The bosses that matter to your progression are the Shardbearers, the demigods who hold Great Runes. You do not have to fight them in a fixed order, but you do have to beat at least two of them: a barrier at the entrance to Leyndell, Royal Capital only opens once you hold two Great Runes.

The main gates

Godrick the Grafted waits at the end of Stormveil Castle, Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon holds Raya Lucaria Academy, Starscourge Radahn rules the desert of Caelid, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy is buried in Volcano Manor, and Mohg, Lord of Blood waits in Mohgwyn Palace. Each of those Shardbearers is optional individually, but two of them are not.

Beyond the capital the game becomes linear again: Morgott, the Omen King; the Fire Giant; Maliketh, the Black Blade; Godfrey, First Elden Lord; and finally Radagon of the Golden Order.

Field bosses and dungeons

Not every hard fight is a story gate. Field bosses roam the open world, and many of them drop the upgrade materials or talismans that make the main fights possible. If a legacy dungeon boss is too strong, hunting field bosses and catacombs in the same region is usually the faster fix.

Approach an attempt as a checklist

Before you go in	Why it helps
Rest at the closest Site of Grace	A failed attempt costs a short ride, not a long walk
Spend your runes	You cannot lose what you already banked
Choose one weapon and one Ash of War	Fewer options to fumble under pressure
Bring the right Spirit Ash	Attention taken off you is time to heal
Check the damage type	Resistance is often the real wall

If three attempts follow the same pattern, the fight is telling you something. Borrow a different tool rather than repeating the same opening.

Two optional fights are famous for a reason: Malenia, Blade of Miquella in Miquella’s Haligtree, and the expansion’s final opponents, Messmer the Impaler and Promised Consort Radahn. Neither is required to finish the base game’s story.