FromSoftware DLC is infamous for being brutally difficult, even more so than the base game. Something about expansions makes Miyazaki and the team go absolutely bonkers with their enemy and boss design. The one and only expansion to Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, is no exception. In fact, the DLC provided such a challenge that players ended up review bombing the game on Steam in retaliation prompting FromSoftware to update the DLC to make it a bit easier.
The DLC includes up to 80 total boss fights of varying difficulty. As a souls-veteran, I have fought and defeated each one and now present a list of the 10 that gave the toughest challenge. It is worth noting that your mileage will vary depending on build, character level, and use of support items and summons. I was around level 130 entering the DLC and left around 210, primarily used the new Great Katana, had a very heavy armor build, and did not use any summons or spirit ashes.
Spoilers for the entirety of Shadow of the Erdtree below. Be warned!
Blackgaol Knight
The Blackgaol Knight will likely be your first boss encounter in the DLC. In the grand scheme of boss battles, the Blackgaol Knight can seem minor compared to the likes of the remembrance bosses. What makes this ironclad spirit most threatening is really the time most players fight it.
Given that this boss is accessible so early, most players will not have gained any of the DLC’s new Shadowtree Blessings yet. In the Land of Shadow you come across Scadutree Fragments that, when used at a Site of Grace, will increase the damage you deal to enemies within the DLC and reduce the damage you take. Without these, you’ll be hard pressed to handle very many bosses in the DLC, let alone one as bulky as Blackgaol Knight.
Even with a few buffs under your belt, the Blackgaol Knight can still pose a significant threat. He’s wearing armor that makes him very difficult to stun due to high poise, he has a rapid fire ranged attack thanks to his flame bolt crossbow, and he has a propensity to do powerful jump attacks and use his own Ash of War to mix up his moveset. Tackling this guy too early can make any powerful end-game level Tarnished feel once again like they have begun a brand new journey.
Ancient Dragon Senessax
Most of the time, FromSoftware bosses follow the philosophy of “tough but fair” providing a challenge where deaths are generally the player’s fault and can be fixed. And then, there’s Ancient Dragon Senessax. Initially, Senessax just looks like one of the many Ancient Dragons you fight throughout the base game of Elden Ring. That is, until you realize how he actually works.
Dragons in Elden Ring are typically a pain. There are two main ways to deal with them: hug their ankles, which have high defense but are safer to hit, or smack the head for big damage but risk more danger. The problem with the head smacking approach is that dragons only give you a handful of moments to strike their head and certain weapons make doing so near impossible due to their lack of reach. So, attacking the ankles tends to be the best choice. Unfortunately, Senessax foresaw this eventuality and prepared a slew of attacks to respond accordingly.
Many Ancient Dragons have lighting attacks, it is par for the course with them. They like to travel a bit of distance and catch players in an AOE (area of effect). Senessax uses lightning much the same, except this time, he punishes you for using the typical ankle biting tactics that work on most other dragons. Not only do his lightning moves have a tendency to travel beneath and behind his body, catching you if you stick to his rear, but also he happens to be standing in the middle of a shallow area of water, meaning that all lightning becomes amplified and travels even further. Since Ancient Dragons tend to have even fewer windows to attack their head as normal dragons, these lightning attacks make this fight feel extremely frustrating and more difficult than it really needed to be.
Death Knight
There are two classes of Death Knights found in the Land of Shadow. One uses dual axes while the other prefers a single two-handed axe. Each is difficult in their own right, but I found the most difficulty with the twin axe version.
You can find these bosses down in the Fog Rift Catacombs and Scorpion River Catacombs respectively. They remind me a lot of the Crucible Knights found throughout the base game in how they respond to your attempts to heal and their approach to aggressiveness with an almost relentless pursuit of your character.
During phase two, each Death Knight becomes imbued with lightning and their attack pattern now includes lightning fast movements and ranged lightning abilities that can catch you off-guard. The twin axe version in particular is surprisingly fast and can let off an insane amount of damage in quick succession. They also have a special grab that, if caught, will sap you of your health while healing themselves, often to full health, eventually resetting your progress. Without the right Shadow Blessing level or preparation, the Death Knights can become a surprisingly tough threat to any character.
Needle Knight Leda and Allies
Though technically this fight does not feature the traditional boss health bar, the difficulty of the fight and its role as an obstacle to defeat just before reaching the final boss, gives this battle enough weight to consider it a boss fight.
This fight is the culmination of the NPC questlines you have been following since the beginning of the DLC and, depending on your choices and how far you progress certain characters, will change who appears in the fight. You can end up with up to 5 different enemies to fight all at once. Thankfully, you can summon other NPCs to fight on your own side to balance the scale if you so choose.
The variance found in this battle is what keeps it from ranking higher on this list. The threat can vary dramatically based on your own choices throughout the DLC. For my part, I ended up fighting three of them with no summons and got through the ordeal fairly quickly. Others, however, may not fare as well due to the overwhelming task of tackling five enemies at once.
Divine Beast Dancing Lion
Very likely the first of the major remembrance bosses players will encounter, the Divine Beast Dancing Lion serves as an early example of the insanity that the DLC bosses have in store.
Divine Beast Dancing Lion, who has been revealed to be literally just two dudes in a big lion costume, poses the first serious threat to player progress in the expansion. Its attacks can be ruthless as it jerks around in strange shuffling motions. It is not the fastest boss, but it can be quite difficult to get a handle on proper dodge timings due to its erratic movements.
The beast really ramps up during subsequent phases when it will imbue itself with the elements of lightning, ice, or wind. Lightning will always appear first and poses the greatest danger. In this form, Dancing Lion moves incredibly quickly, has attacks that require precise timing to avoid, and creates various AOE lightning strikes around its attacks which can catch a Tarnished off-guard. The other phases pose their own problems but none match the initial lightning phase.
Bayle the Dread
Resting atop the massive spire of Jagged Peak, Bayle the Dread is an example of a proper dragon boss fight that is, for the majority, fair and fun while still being brutally difficult.
Bayle is unique in that he is a much heavier dragon than usual. He’s short, stocky, and low to the ground. He also initially lacks wings which keeps the fight grounded. His lower posture allows you to take swings at his more vulnerable head way more often than typical dragons. But, if that approach is still troublesome for your character, you can still use the age-old tactic of attacking his ankles, especially his amputated left leg which takes more damage than normal.
Bayle’s greatest challenge is in his strength and surprising speed. His attacks deal loads of damage and a few have a swiftness to them that is shocking given his heft. Once phase two begins, Bayle grows his lost wings and all hell breaks loose. Giant fireballs, massive tsunami of flames, molten lava exploding from beneath the earth, all intertwined with amplified versions of his attacks create an extremely challenging battle and one of the best dragon fights in the game.
Rellana the Twin Moon Knight
Likely the second remembrance boss most players will face throughout their journey through the DLC, Rellana is what can be called a “wall” for new DLC players.
Walls are bosses and/or areas in FromSoftware games that are checks on the player’s skill and damage output. Essentially tests to see if the player has what it takes to continue the journey into harder areas. Rellana is notorious for being just that as new players in the DLC slam their heads against the wall in an attempt to defeat this magical and ever aggressive knight.
Rellana is a combo-queen. Her attacks are long, constant, and hard to predict. She can attack with near instant speeds if you are too aggressive and she can slow her swings down to an uncomfortable level that will trip up even the most experienced players. Rellana is also fond of using ranged magic attacks that add another layer to her already long combos. In phase two, these strings of never-ending combos are only amplified as she imbues her twin swords with magic and fire, adding extra swings to her attacks. Rellana also recovers incredibly quickly from her own onslaught and often favors a mid-range distance as she jumps back from the player, avoiding potentially devastating attacks and making it difficult to whittle her large health bar down.
Messmer the Impaler
This might be the most controversial pick on this list, not because Messmer is easy, but because many players would put him squarely in the runner-up spot for the hardest DLC boss.
The crusader son of Queen Marika serves as a middle point in the DLC and more than likely the second wall players will encounter. Holed up in the center of the massive castle connecting the Shadowlands, the Shadow Keep, Messmer awaits the Tarnished. His repertoire of long-reaching spear attacks and powerful flame attacks will keep players on their toes.
Messmer is quick and punishes the player perhaps more than any other boss. His grab attack is especially dangerous and will more than likely one-shot players unless they have extremely high health or a higher than average Shadowtree Blessing level. In phase two, he plays similarly but adds in various massive snake attacks that can cover the distance of the entire arena. None of his moves feel unfair or near-impossible to dodge, but they are fast and require dedication and skill to master.
Commander Gaius
Honestly, at first glance I did not expect much out of Gaius. Most mounted enemies in Elden Ring have become second nature. Tree Sentinels, Night Cavalry, they all have a familiar flow to their attack patterns that develop muscle memory in the player. So, when I saw Gaius riding toward me on his chunky armored boar I figured this would be much the same. I was poorly mistaken.
Gaius is clunky. He and his trusty boar have several attacks with hit boxes that are never quite right. A trademark of a good boss attack is one that requires the player to learn the proper timing and, once mastered, can be dodged consistently every time. Gaius in contrast has several moves, such as his initial charge attack that he likes to do at the beginning of each fight, that seem to require exact frame perfect timing in order to dodge, otherwise you’ll have an 80% success rate at best.
Once he starts including gravity moves into his arsenal, he only gets more frustrating. He can cover the entire field with on jump, stab you with a gravity enhanced lance from a mile away, place a gravity orb that will stagger you at just the wrong time, and he can string together wild combos that include his own attacks followed by his boar which, if not dodged perfectly, results in massive punishment. He also has a long combo attack that weaves his own attacks with that of his boar making it even more difficult to dodge properly.
Radahn, Consort of Miquella
The crown for hardest boss in Shadow of the Erdtree was never in doubt. Radahn, Consort of Miquella is not only the far and away hardest boss in the DLC, he is the most challenging boss in the entire game, and potentially one of the most difficult bosses I’ve ever fought.
Players may become overconfident walking into this fight. After all, we’ve defeated Radahn in the base game. However, that was but a shell of himself, this is Radahn in his prime and it shows. Radahn hits like a truck and can string together heavy, wide, and delayed combos like any other. His dual swords and his massive posture make it almost impossible to stagger him and results in your character becoming fairly vulnerable with each hit.
His second phase, which occurs at about two-thirds of his overall health, is the greatest threat. He begins by unleashing a massive holy blast that you have to anticipate and just run full speed the other direction if you want to avoid it, one second of hesitancy results in massive damage. He continues by utilizing similar combos as his first phase, except now he also has beams of light that flare upward in a delayed arc where his blades were, constantly deal holy chip damage. He also has a grab attack that, if caught victim of it twice, results in guaranteed instant death.
There is almost no room for mistakes. Radahn recovers incredibly quickly, has an insane amount of health and posture, and is unrelenting in his aggression. Oh, and did I mention many of his attacks now also feature special doubles of himself that will do more chip damage and cause you to lose balance and rhythm, resulting in taking even more devastating blows from the real Radahn? Radahn has so many particle effects and visual clutter that it can obscure your vision and impact your responses. Radahn is quite possibly the hardest boss in FromSoftware history.
Do you agree with our list? Which Shadow of the Erdtree boss has given you the most trouble? Let us know in the comments and on our social media. Our DMs are always open!
