Highlights

• Elden Ring features an expansive world with unique bosses, and there is no set boss order in which you should fight them.
• Some bosses are better tackled early on, while others are better left for later, and their placements have a reason.
• The final boss encounters, including Malenia and the Elden Beast, provide intense battles and a fitting end to the game.

Elden Ring has an almost overwhelming expanse of regions you can explore, each with its own unique and intimidating bosses leading the helm. With an open narrative and an even more open world, how you want to progress through each encounter can vary. As such, there's no true order that you should fight each boss.

That's not to say you can go and fart your way into becoming the Elden Lord immediately. Some bosses are better tackled early on, while others are better left for later. And while some placements may surprise you, they all have a reason. Follow this list of the best boss order if you want the most enjoyable Soulsborne experience.

Updated on February 3, 2024, by Branden Lizardi: Did you think we'd have the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC by now? Yeah, so did we. Unfortunately, we remain no more informed about it than we did during its initial reveal. While we're waiting, why not one more playthrough? We haven't done a bestial Incantation build yet. To help facilitate this, we've updated this list to include some more bosses that we think deserve to be included, even if not technically a main boss. We also implemented some formatting updates that will help keep things looking sharp.

1 Margit, The Fell Omen - Godrick, The Grafted

• Pro Tip: Godrick is weakest to normal physical damage, so don't bother with magic unless you have to.

This is the first meaningful boss pairing that you will likely encounter. The game heavily encourages moving in their direction, leading to the Stormveil Castle. Compared to the grand scheme, both Margit and Godrick are mere peanuts. They highly telegraph their attacks and are easily dodged with some practice and experience. It's made even easier with the Shackle. Moreover, getting through the castle will grant you some reliable armor and weapons that can carry you throughout most of the game.

For most entries, we're also running on the assumption that you'll be fighting the minor bosses in the surrounding area as well. That's not the case here. Between the Flying Dragon Agheel and the Tree Sentinel, there are a good handful of local minor bosses you should probably ignore until later.

2 Leonine Misbegotten

• Pro Tip: He is weakest to Slashing and Fire damage, so put some Fire Grease on your best sword.

While Leonine Misbegotten is an optional boss encounter, he's the most 'main boss' optional boss you'll find. The final enemy of the Castle Morne area of the Weeping Peninsula, this beastial individual acts as the leader of a Misbegotten army that invaded the castle.

He's not the toughest fight, with average damage and speed, but he is the perfect transitionary period for a young Tarnished ready to expand outside of Limgrave. It's less trecherous than Lurnia of the Lakes, but provides more challenge (and runes) than Limgrave. Besides, there's an entire NPC plotline that involves taking him down.

If you really want, you could even tackle Leonine before going after Godrick, The Grafted. This could help provide some better armor, weapons, and extra runes needed to get past that fight.

3 Rennala, Queen Of The Full Moon

• Pro Tip: Rush her with non-blunt weapons in the second phase. Summon multi-person summons to help stagger her.

Now it's time for all you melee unga bunga builds to have a tough time. Ignore the wretched landscape called Caelid and make your way North to Lurnia of the Lakes. Except for those oddly large and powerful crayfish, most of the creatures in this land should be appropriately challenging for you by this point. Certain builds will struggle with the range of the spellcasters in the Academy of Raya Lucaria.

Rennala is a unique experience, with invulnerability phases that transition into an open-area fight. The latter phase sees her go hard on her magical power. Every move hits hard, and the longer you go, the more overwhelming it becomes. Regardless of your build, we recommend rushing her as safely as possible.

4 Starscourge Radahn

• Pro Tip: If you don't summon a real-world ally, you can stay atop Torrent the whole time.

It's time to backtrack to the East side of Limgrave into Caelid. This red, rotten landscape is home to only two things: nightmare creatures and the Radahn Festival. Had you asked us to make this list on launch day, Radahn would be further down. But after a few balancing patches, he now sits more comfortably here, after Rennala. Since you can't engage with him until after reaching a certain point in Ranni's questline, it can't be placed any sooner.

Once you get past the difficulty, this is one of the most fun boss fights. The unique mechanic of summoning a horde of cooperators to fight alongside you instills a real rallying effect. Don't get cocky, though. He still hits like a literal meteor. So you won't last long if you don't play defensively.

5 Morgott, The Omen King

• Pro Tip: He is a bit weaker to slashing damage compared to other types.

After that, it's time to take the elevator up to the Altas Plateau. Fight through Leyndell and take on the reigning king, Morgott. Don't fuss with Mt Gelmir and the reptilian hassle known as Rykard. Leave that for later. Blocking the way to the Erdtree, Morgott is an essential encounter to continue the plot.

He's actually the same guy you fought outside of Stormveil Castle, with the false name of "Margit" (clever, right?). But that time, it was just an illusion he was casting. This is him in his true form. This fight should feel familiar but more intense at this point. Fortunately, you've had time to level and refine your character build. So, assuming you didn't rush too hard, you should be in the perfect place to fight him.

6 The Fire Giant

• Pro Tip: He is a little weaker to Slashing damage, and resistant to Holy damage. (He is very resistant to Fire damage, but we figure you already figured that one out)

The next natural step in the main plot line, the Fire Giant is keeping the crucible flame, a punishment given to him by Marika. It almost makes killing him a service, really. Whether or not this is a tough fight mostly depends on your build, with ranged and magic users having an easier time. His massive size is an easy target. Even so, it's not a tough fight and better dealt with sooner than later.

After the fight, do not light the fire. That will send you off to Farum Azula. Before you do that, it's time to return and take care of the bosses we've skipped.

7 Astel, Naturalborn Of The Void

• Pro Tip: It is very resistant to all magical damage types. Spellcasters should use spells that deal physical damage, like Rock Sling.

This completely optional encounter is hidden away in a rather hard-to-reach location. Just getting there is half of the battle, really. Astel is at the end of the Grand Cloister, which is on the other side of the Lake of Rot, a place as awful as it sounds. Reaching the Lake of Rot requires going through the Ainsel River Main, accessed either by going through the Deeproot Depths or from a Waystone provided by Ranni.

If you can manage to get to this boss, you're stong enough to defeat them. WIth a general weakness to physical attacks, and a variety of slow, easy to avoid attacks, getting close enough tolay down some heavy strikes shouldn't be too hard. And by this point, you'll be tough enough to survive if you end up taking a couple of hits back. Whether Astel is considered a 'Main Boss' is up for debate. But since it's required for the Ranni ending (which we know is the most popular ending), it deserves mention.

8 Rykard, Lord Of Blasphemy

• Pro Tip: He is particularly resistant to Strike damage. While resistant to all magical damages, he is least so to Lightning damage.

From the winter wonderland up north to the toxic landscape of the Lake of Rot, you're probably tired of hazardous environments. Well too bad, it's a perfect time to backtrack to the equally unpleasant landscape of Mt Gelmir. Deal with the chaos and nonsense that surrounds Volcano Manor and engage in the battle against Rykard, a demigod that has since become a giant snake.

This encounter forces you, more or less, into using a specific weapon, which can cause some serious lack of flow with whatever build you're rocking. This was the main reason to wait. Dealing with the other challenges first means you're leveled up enough to make up for the lack of optimization.

9 Mohg, Lord Of Blood

• Pro Tip: He is very resistant to all magical damage (especially fire). While more resistant to all status effects, he is weaker than average to Hemmoraging.

With the big snake taken care of, there's one more loose end before heading to Farum Azula. The next bearer of a Great Rune, Mohg is the secluded, demigod-kidnapping Lord of Blood. Looming over a terribly inhospitable landscape only accessible via teleportation, he's been swooning over a slumbering Miquella and preparing to raise an army from blood magic.

Depending on which sidequests you do, this encounter could happen as soon as Lurnia of the Lakes. But given his powerful bleed-effects and hard-to-avoid attacks, it's better to wait until now.

10 Maliketh, The Black Blade

• Pro Tip: They are resistant to just about everything (especially Holy), but have somewhat of a weakness to Poison and Scarlet Rot.

It's finally time to head to tornado town, AKA Farum Azula. Make your way through the floating, broken landscape to Maliketh. Masquerading at the Beast Clergyman, this dog-like monster man holds the Rune of Death, which you need.

It's a tough-as-nails battle, where a constant bombardment of attacks is made extra-spicy with a health-draining flame effect. Taking on all those other bosses first should provide a much-needed rune-boost to help make this battle more tolerable. But even then, it won't be a walk in the park.

Many of Elden Ring's major boss encounters are optional and often out of the way. For brevity's sake, we've omitted some bosses you might have considered a 'main boss.' If you've been wondering when to go tackle Dragonlord Placidusax or Astel, Stars of Darkness, now would be the best time.

11 Malenia, Blade Of Miquella

• Pro Tip: She's somewhat weak to the Frostbite effect.

At this point, no one is left short of the final boss(es). That means it's time for... her. An extremely capable fighter, she is held back by an infliction with a rare god-disease called Scarlet Rot. Despite this infliction, there's a reason why we saved her for as late as possible. Malenia is infamous among the Elden Ring community for a reason.

Her two-phase boss battle is full of overwhelmingly fast attacks, which restore her health with each successful strike. In our opinion, she is the hardest boss in the entire game. The only reason she isn't placed last is that the final boss is, like it says on the tin, the final encounter you can do in a playthrough.

12 Godfrey, First Elden Lord - Radagon Of The Golden Order - Elden Beast

• Pro Tip: For Godfrey, use Pierce and Lightning Damage. For Hoarah Loux, use Slashing and any magic but Holy. For Radagon, Strike and Fire damage is best. For the Elden Beast, have a high Holy resistance.

Godfrey

With everyone else taken care of, it's finally time to end things and become the Elden Lord. It begins with taking down Godfrey, an encounter that begins as a fairly normal battle between warriors. But deal enough damage, and it evolves into the most hardcore episode of Wrestlemania you've ever seen. Our sympathies to all shield bros for this battle; it's far more advantageous to dodge.

Radagon

Once defeated, the 'final' boss remains. It's none of than Radagon, the literal god. You've heard much about him and Marika until now, learning about their actions and motivations while killing off their children one at a time. It's a very aesthetically pleasing battle, with dark backgrounds contrasting the bright glow of his Golden Order powers.

The Elden Beast

Lastly, there's the REAL final boss: The Elden Beast. The living incarnation of the concept of Order, this beast was born alongside the Elden Ring itself, and it works to protect it. This fight is even more dramatic, with a visually stunning encounter occurring outside existence but within the stars. Taking place immediately after Radagon, there's no healing beforehand. The immense stakes contrast the sometimes calm and melodic moments beautifully. A fitting end, we say.