Highlights

• Demigods in Elden Ring offer unique challenges and rewarding Great Runes with powerful buffs for your character.
• Some Great Runes, like Rennala's, offer special mechanics such as respec options without needing to be equipped.

In Elden Ring, the Demigods offer their own set of unique challenges aside from their daunting fights. Though you only need to defeat two of them to begin Elden Ring’s endgame, they’re all memorable encounters with powerful Great Runes to reward your time and effort.

After defeating any Demigod, you’ll be rewarded with their Great Rune that you can equip for powerful passive bonuses. You’ll first need to activate each Great Rune at its respective Divine Tower and use a Rune Arc if you want to get your hands on these game-changing buffs. While each Great Rune serves a purpose, some simply outperform others.

Updated February 22nd, 2024 by Andrew Scariati: Elden Ring's Great Runes offer some of the easiest ways to buff your character. Whether you're aiming to wield the best strength weapons or have a more magic-oriented build in mind for your choice of Great Rune, Elden Ring boasts plenty of ways to make use of these excellent boss-related boosts.

7 Rykard’s Great Rune

Acquired by defeating Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, in Mt. Gelmir, this Great Rune restores 80 HP plus seven percent of your max HP upon defeating enemies. Rykard’s Great Rune must be activated at the Divine Tower of West Altus which can be found through the Sealed Tunnel in Altus Plateau.

Though HP restoration may seem like a powerful buff, remember that the effect only triggers when enemies are killed. In practical terms, this means the Great Rune is useless during one-on-one boss fights. However, it is still very useful when exploring new areas; especially if you’re unsure as to where the next Site of Grace might turn up.

6 Mohg's Great Rune

While it's far from the best, this Elden Ring Great Rune is one of the hardest to acquire.

As a notoriously tough optional boss located in Mohgwyn Palace, taking on Mohg, Lord of Blood, is a serious undertaking for even the most skilled Tarnished. Defeat him, however, and you’ll unlock Mohg's Great Rune which provides a Blessing of Blood to any spirits that you summon.

Every time a blessed spirit kills an enemy, you’ll be healed for ten percent of your maximum HP. What makes this one of Elden Ring's best Great Runes, however, is the damage buff (similar to the Lord of Blood's Exultation) shared with Spirit Summons when there is blood loss in the area.

This Great Rune is essential to defeating Malenia if you plan to use the Mohgwyn Sacred Spear with a Mimic Tear summon strategy.

5 Morgott’s Great Rune

Morgott’s Great Rune can be found once you defeat Morgott, the Omen King. Activated at the Divine Tower of East Altus in the Capital Outskirts, this Rune will greatly raise your maximum HP. This equates to a 25 percent bump in your HP and takes all of your health-increasing buffs into account, netting you more health.

In any Soulsborne game, HP is, broadly, a measure of how much and how often you can get away with being hit.

Every botched dodge or late parry costs HP and having that extra buffer layer between you and death can be all the difference, especially when fighting a new boss or venturing out into unexplored territory.

4 Malenia’s Great Rune

This fan favorite is acquired after beating Malenia, Blade of Miquella, an optional Demigod located at the bottom of Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. Her Great Rune, activated at the Isolated Divine Tower, offers a buff that’ll make Bloodborne fans feel right at home.

With this Great Rune, when you attack right after taking damage, you’ll be able to recover HP up to the amount you lost for five seconds after being hit. This is a huge boon if you favor a more aggressive style of play, but is somewhat restrictive if you prefer a slow-and-steady pace.

With this Rune, a well-timed counter-attack will allow you to turn the tide of even the most desperate fight.

3 Great Rune Of The Unborn

Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, not only offers one of the most breathtaking boss fights in Elden Ring but also possesses a Great Rune that works a little differently than the others. It does not need to be activated at a Divine Tower, nor does it need to be equipped. Rather, it gives you access to Rebirth: Elden Ring’s respec mechanic.

Unlike other Demigods in Elden Ring, Rennala sticks around in the Raya Lucaria Grand Library after you defeat her. To begin Rebirth, you’ll need to bring her a Larval Tear. These are found in limited amounts each playthrough, so be careful to mind your Larval Tear count while you're trying out all the schools of sorcery.

2 Radahn’s Great Rune

Earned after beating Starscourge Radahn, this Great Rune may seem dull at first glance, but it has considerable potential. To restore this Rune, you’ll need to visit the Divine Tower of Caelid and complete a platforming challenge to get to the top.

This Great Rune raises the user’s maximum HP, FP, and Stamina by 15 percent. It’s great for giving you that pinch of extra survivability and utility that can be the difference between life and death in The Lands Between. More FP means more Weapon Arts and more Spells.

Spirit Summons will also take up less of your resources, and everyone loves more efficient Jellyfish.

1 Godrick’s Great Rune

Godrick's is the first of Elden Ring's Great Runes you acquire and provides a rock-solid buff that cannot be ignored. Dropped as a reward for defeating Godrick the Grafted at Stormveil Castle, this Great Rune gives all of your attributes +5 bonuses.

In isolation, this might not seem like much, but the versatility and utility of Godrick’s Great Rune speak for themselves. It benefits any build and any play style and doesn’t require a specific context to become useful. Once you activate this Rune at The Divine Tower of Limgrave, you’ll have a solid, reliable, and often underestimated buff that will serve you well no matter where you find yourself in The Lands Between.