Elden Ring Enemies
On this page
Most enemies in the Lands Between belong to a family that behaves in a consistent way, and learning the family saves you from learning every individual. Soldiers advance in formation and shield up, demi-humans swarm and jump, dogs and wolves circle, and larger knight-type enemies telegraph slow, heavy attacks that punish panic.
Reading a group
Fights go wrong when two or three enemies arrive at once. Three habits fix most of them:
- Back off until the group spreads out, then take the fastest one first.
- Use the terrain: a doorway, a rock, or a slope turns a group into a queue.
- Pull with a ranged attack or a throwing knife instead of walking into the middle.
When an enemy feels unfair
If something kills you in one animation you have not seen before, that is usually an attack with a wind-up rather than a random hit. Watch rather than swing on the next attempt. Large enemies almost always announce their strongest attacks, and the answer is to move early rather than to roll late.
| Enemy type | Usual answer |
|---|---|
| Shielded soldiers | Guard counters or a jump attack |
| Swarming demi-humans | Backpedal and use wide swings |
| Armoured knights | Posture damage, then a critical hit |
| Ranged enemies | Close the distance or silence them first |
| Mounted enemies | Fight them on foot, or use reach |
Enemies that are not worth fighting
Running past a group is a legitimate strategy. The open world gives you room to ride around most encounters, and the runes you would earn are rarely worth the flask charges. Save your resources for the fights that drop something you need.