All Elden Ring Remembrance bosses ranked by difficulty

The legendary foes of Elden Ring are some of the strongest and toughest across all FromSofware titles.

With Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro as a baseline, FromSoftware generated some of the most infamous bosses in video game history. Each has its own unique strength, move set, and gimmick, and can pose a challenge for even the most experienced souls-like players. While all bosses found in the Lands Between are beautifully designed, many players want to know how each one stacks up when ranked against one another.

Here, we’ll be ranking every Remembrance boss in Elden Ring based on difficulty. The 15 bosses on this list are specifically ones that reward the player with a Remembrance. These Remembrances can be turned in to Enia, the Finger Reader, to recall the heroic power of these bosses and select a unique boss-related item. Bosses on this list will be ranked starting with the easiest and finishing with the hardest.

15) Regal Ancestor Spirit

The first legendary boss on this list is the Regal Ancestor Spirit. Similar to the Ancestor Spirit found in the Siofra River, the Regal Ancestor Spirit is also a reanimated carcass of a deer. Found in Nokron, the Eternal City, this boss is unlocked by lighting six pillars hidden around the nearby area. When players enter the boss fight, they’re greeted with a Stake of Marika, indicating there is a challenge ahead.

The Regal Ancestor Spirit is majestic and its foggy arena only adds to the visually beautiful fight. With that said, fighting the Spirit is not all that challenging. The Spirit has a few melee-based attacks that, once seen, are easily telegraphed. It also has a small area-denial magic attack that gets spread on the floor, which can also be easily avoided. The most problematic mechanic of the fight is that the Ancestor Spirit can regenerate and heal by consuming the spirit animals in close proximity.

Overall, while the boss and its arena are beautiful, the fight leaves something to be desired. The Regal Ancestor Spirit finds itself in the last spot on this list.

14) Godrick the Grafted

Godrick is likely the first legendary boss that many players will encounter. Found at the end of Stormveil Castle, the scion finds himself on this list as the second easiest legendary boss. Similar to the Regal Ancestor Spirit, Godrick has a lot of moves that can be easily dealt with after seeing them a few times. The dodge and roll timings can be a little tough to get right during phase two with the addition of fire-based attacks but are manageable overall.

One of the coolest aspects of this fight is how FromSoftware teaches the player that rolling is not the only option to evade attacks. Players are introduced to area-of-effect earthquake moves that are new to the souls-like games. Aside from running away from the large, destructive earthquake area, players also have the option to jump to avoid the quakes.

13) Renalla, Queen of the Full Moon

The third boss on this difficulty ranking list is Renalla, Queen of the Full Moon. Secluded away in the Academy of Raya Lucaria, Renalla awaits the Tarnished challenger. Renalla, being the head of the academy, uses a variety of sorceries during her boss fight. The first phase of the fight is more so a gimmick that many players can brute force through. Attacking the crawling enemies that glow will deplete the force-field around Renalla and allow the player to attack. But it’s the second phase that provides the challenge.

During Renalla’s second phase, she unleashes her true Glintstone power. Opening with a choreographed Comet Azur can catch many players off-guard, but the true spectacle comes from the spirit summons that Renalla conjures. These range from simple wolves all the way to an intimidating dragon. While this is in fact one of the coolest, and at times chaotic, boss fights in the game, players can simply wait for the summons to disappear and then go in for counter-attacks, making most of the challenge of the fight avoidable.

12) Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy

Hidden away in the Volcano Manor is No. 4 on this list, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. This two-part fight pays homage to previous Dark Souls and Bloodborne boss fights. Players who opt to use the Serpent Hunter Spear will not have any problems dealing with the snake in the first phase. But, like many bosses in Elden Ring, it is the second phase that proves to be the larger challenge.

In the second phase, Rykard shows himself conjoined with the serpent. He pulls out a sword and has the ability to use Rykard’s Rancor, an explosive sorcery that tracks the player. The Serpent Hunter Spear is still the best option for the second phase of the fight. Players can even upgrade the Spear to +10 for an even higher damage output and A-Scaling in Strength. In the end, as long as players use the Serpent Hunter Spear, the fight doesn’t prove to be that much of a challenge.

11) Starscourge Radhan

Secluded away on the Wailing Dunes lies a monstrous foe who has mastered gravitational sorceries and seeking an honorable death by combat. Starscourge Radhan gives many players trouble. He is large, very mobile, and does a lot of damage. While one-on-one combat with Radhan can be more of a challenge, the fight is set up for players to summon in other champions to aid them in the fight.

The second phase starts off with a bang as Radhan comes crashing down from the skies. At this point in the fight, Radhan begins to unleash his true mastery of gravitational magic. He has powerful slams and conjures large rocks that are directed at players like the Carian Phalanx, or Homing Crystal Soulmass from Dark Souls. Players will find it in their best interest to be aggressive in this fight since Radhan has trouble hitting players underneath him.

10) Fire Giant

This massive humanoid monster defends the Forge of the Giants, and defeating it is required to burn the thorns off of the door to the Erdtree. The Fire Giant is a challenging boss fight due to its ridiculous health pool. With roughly 43,000 HP, players may spend a lot of time hacking away at its ankles just to get crushed as the Giant decides to rolly-polly all over the place. One nice aspect of the fight is that Torrent is available. Without Torrent, getting to the boss alone might’ve been the largest frustration since the fight covers a very large area. But once players reach the Giant, it’s advised to fight on two feet.

9) Astel, Naturalborn of the Void

The most difficult part of this fight is actually getting a hit in. While players can hit one of Astel’s many hands, the big damage comes from hitting the head as well as the body. But this boss is more unpredictable with its attack patterns. There are a fair amount of attacks that come at the player out of camera or force players to look around the arena. This can prove to be challenging, especially when Astel begins to summon meteors that get sent at the player in seemingly all directions.

8) Lichdragon Fortissax

It’s unfortunate that Fortissax is so far off the beaten path. Many players never found this awesome-looking dragon on their first playthrough or while they were weaker, making the fight harder. This four-winged black dragon uses powerful red and death lightning attacks and will happily fly up and dive-bomb the lowly Tarnished. Players can take refuge underneath Fortissax to get a break from the chaos of Deathblight and lightning strikes.

7) Morgott, the Omen King

Morgott has a very similar moveset to the first time players face him. But this time, the fight has a lot more going on. Morgott is more aggressive and there is a second phase. Additionally, getting hit by Morgott’s Cursed Sword will cause blood loss build-up, only adding to the pressure that players face. Even though players have the tools and are comfortable with the combat system at this point in the game, Morgott is a very challenging late-mid-game boss that can put a wrench in the progress cogs.

6) Godfrey, First Elden Lord

After burning the thorns on the door and returning to the base of the Erdtree, players are met with the First Elden Lord, Godfrey. Similar to Godrick the Grafted, Godfrey has an earthquake mechanic that is prevalent throughout the fight and has a long-reaching Greataxe. When players trigger the second phase, Godfrey separates himself from Serosh and unleashes his true identity, Hoarah Loux, the Warrior.

Hoarah Loux is weaponless, but that can quickly seem untrue as he proceeds to show off a moveset straight out of Street Fighter and begins to command-grab the player and slam them into the ground. Earthquakes make a return and this time stretch to near-half the arena. This fight is pure chaos and is why it ranks so high on this list.

5) Dragonlord Placidusax

Hidden away outside of time in the Crumbling Farum Azula, Dragonlord Placidusax reigns. This once multi-headed dragon has a strong moveset that combines melee hits, fire breathing, and calls of red lightning. As players whittle down Placidusax’s health pool and the fight continues, the Dragonlord shows off its true power with new disappear/reappear attacks. The massive dragon vanishes into a cloud only to reappear and come crashing down with a claw of red lightning.

Compared to the bosses previously mentioned on this list, the strong moveset and large health pool of Placidusax put this royal dragon in the top five.

4) Mohg, Lord of Blood

The Blood Lord himself, Mohg is a powerful being looking over Miquella and looking to create a new dynasty. He uses forbidden blood flame sorceries that make the fight a real challenge since players must manage and mitigate their blood loss build-up.

One specific mechanic in this fight comes from Mohg’s special ability that surrounds the player with three rings. This will happen during the first phase. When Mohg enters his second phase, he will activate his ability with these rings that will cause instant blood loss for the player. The blood loss caused by this attack will cause Mohg to recover health and force players to drain their Crimson Tears.

Mohg is a real challenge for those who lack a good store of Crimson Tears and damage output. The fight can get chaotic since he is surprisingly quick for a large Omen.

3) Maliketh, the Black Blade

Players were already struggling with the Beast Clergyman. So when it’s revealed that the Clergyman is actually Maliketh in disguise and players have to adapt to an even faster, more deadly fight, the Black Blade makes it all the way near the top of this ranking list.

Maliketh’s Black Blade can be a massive problem for players. The attacks are very fast and often difficult to react to. Additionally, the attacks have a slow, lingering health drain that players must keep aware of. If that wasn’t enough, getting hit by the Black Blade will also lower the player’s maximum health.

Maliketh is an incredibly challenging foe that must be eliminated for players to reach the Elden Throne. Thus, he finds himself almost at the top of this list.

2.5) Godskin Duo

While the Godskin Duo does not reward the player with a Remembrance upon defeat, it would not be a true ranking list without them.

Here, the new dynamic duo is more of an honorable mention due to the lack of reward, but by no means are they not strong enough to be on this list. Many of the bosses on this list are solo, one-on-one fights that players can manage with enough tries and memorization. But the Godskin Duo, as the name implies, throws two individually challenging bosses at the player at the same time.

The fight pays homage to the notorious two-on-one fight in Dark Souls with Ornstein and Smough, but with their own unique twist. The two foes share a health bar, so while players may be able to take out one, the leftover Godskin foe can simply resurrect their fallen ally. Equipped with Black Flame sorceries, highly effective melee weapons, and unique abilities, this new iconic fight finds itself at the top of the boss rankings list for its difficulty. Hair was ripped out by many as they took on this non-optional boss fight.

2) Radagon of the Golden Order/The Elden Beast

The last roadblock to claiming the Elden Throne is Radagon and the Elden Beast. This two-part boss fight is one of the hardest in all FromSoftware’s soulsborne-ring titles. While there are gimmicks players can take advantage of, one-on-one combat with Radagon is incredibly difficult, especially without a specific build made for damage output.

When players make it to the Elden Beast, the game almost turns into a running simulator. Players have to run to the Beast while evading all sorts of Golden Order sorceries. Elden Stars and Golden Wave are the two main projectile attacks that frustrate many players. These attacks, and more, combined with the Beast’s large health pool and no replenishment of Crimson Tears after Radagon, make it one of the hardest bosses to survive. That is why these two come in second place.

1) Malenia, Blade of Miquella

Without further ado, the Big Cheese, the best of the best, the one and only, Malenia, Blade of Miquella. To many, and probably most, it’s no surprise that Malenia is found at No. 1 on this list. She’s incredibly quick and agile and can kill a large portion of the player base with one opening of her own.

Her passive ability, life steal, lets her regenerate health on successful hits. So trading hits is out of the equation. Players have to be careful and plan almost every attack, because one bad opening may be the end.

By far, the most frustrating aspect of this fight for many is her signature move, Waterfowl Dance. This fast, multi-hit attack is a true challenge to evade. One flurry can outright kill the player, and if it doesn’t, she will just regenerate most of her health bar from the hits. Many controllers have been broken because of this move. Luckily, the weapon art is on the Hand of Malenia, her sword obtainable from trading in her Remembrance. While she’s already incredibly powerful, her second phase only builds upon the chaos.

In her second phase, she will become the Queen of Rot and has the ability to inflict Scarlet Rot. She has additional new moves, but all the moves from phase one make a return, including Waterfowl Dance.

The vast majority of the community struggled with Malenia. “Let Me Solo Her,” a community hero, helped many defeat her and is now a staple in Elden Ring community lore.

These have been all of the Elden Ring Remembrance bosses ranked. This was not an “all bosses” list, however, since there are roughly 165 bosses in Elden Ring with many being less significant dungeon or weak bosses.

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