Elden Ring is a game defined by the quality and quantity of its boss battles. Like the FromSoftware titles that came before it, Elden Ring has an intricate combat system that has the most brought out of it during the game's numerous difficult fights. But to fill the huge map of the Lands Between, the number of boss battles in the game has had to grow significantly.
Indeed, Elden Ring has been a big change for FromSoftware. Dark Souls 1 only had 26 boss battles including the DLC, while Elden Ring has 23 in its main storylines alone. Past these, the number of boss battles in the game appears infinite. With tons of Evergaols and hidden dungeons, every crevice of the Lands Between seems to hold some sort of enemy waiting to fight the Tarnished. But because Elden Ring's map is both large and jam-packed, a lot of bosses are reused in different areas, which arguably reduces the total number of actual bosses in the game.
Before one begins counting the number of bosses in Elden Ring, though, one has to distinguish bosses from other enemies in the game. Bosses in Elden Ring are different from Invaders or difficult NPCs because they have health bars that appear at the bottom of the screen. With this designation in mind, the number of boss battles in Elden Ring is estimated to be around 150 and the number of unique bosses (not counting duo battles or variations of a boss's design except for Godskin Duo) is estimated to be around 112. To chronicle each of these unique bosses, the following article contains all of the bosses in Elden Ring and what role they play in the game.
Elden Ring's Main Story Bosses: The Required
- Margit, the Fell Omen / Morgott, the Omen King
- Godfrick, the Grafted
- Draconic Tree Sentinel
- Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Gold Shade)
- Fire Giant
- Godskin Duo
- Gurranq, Beast Clergyman / Maliketh, the Black Blade
- Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing
- Godfrey, First Elden Lord / Hoarah Loux Warrior
- Radagon
- Elden Beast
Though Elden Ring's story can take a long time to complete, it is a rather simple one if the Tarnished manages to stay on track. In fact, the path to the Elden Throne is focused solely on defeating Shardbearers and those who protect them, and not even all Shardbearers are necessary for completion. The only required demigods (along with other miscellaneous boss battles) are the ones in the list above.
The Tarnished can actually evade some of these bosses as well. There is a dangerous yet usable path that allows players to avoid Stormveil Castle and thus not fight Margit or Godrick. Additionally, there is a glitch outside of the Godfrey/Hoarah Loux fight in Elden Ring that allows for players to finish that battle before it even starts. Despite the fact these bosses can be avoided, other bosses must still be defeated to attain the Elden Ring. However, since players are given the decision as to which of these demigods to slay, they are part of the following list of story-related bosses that are not necessary to beat the game.
Elden Ring's Main Story Bosses: The Non-Required
- Red Wolf of Radagon
- Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
- Starscourge Radahn
- God-Devouring Serpent / Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
- Mogh, Lord of Blood
- Commander Niall
- Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree
- Malenia, Blade of Miquella / Malenia, Goddess of Rot
- Astel, Naturalborn of the Void / Astel, Stars of Darkness
- Elemer of the Briar
- Regal Ancestor Spirit
To reach Leyndell, the Tarnished must first defeat two Shardbearers. Because Godrick counts as one of these Shardbearers, players have the option of who they would like to defeat next: Rennala or Radahn. Because players can choose which of the two they would like to fell, neither is technically necessary for the completion of the game.
What makes Elden Ring's other optional boss battles in the list above important enough to the game to be considered "story bosses" is that each of the entries in the list is either a Shardbearer or must be defeated to reach a Shardbearer. Rykard holds a piece of the Elden Ring, and the Red Wolf of Radagon and Loretta are both relevant to Elden Ring's overarching narrative and must be fought before proceeding to the next Shardbearer.
However, the final three entries on the list - Astel, Elemer, and the Ancestor Spirit - are neither necessary nor Shardbearers. Rather, Elden Ring instills enough importance in these bosses to make them and their equipment legendary. Thus, Astel and the Ancestor Spirt have remembrances, and Elemer has legendary armor accessible only through Enia.
Elden Ring's Many Dragon Bosses
- Elder Dragon Greyoll
- Flying Dragon Agheel
- Flying Dragon Greyll
- Glintstone Dragon Smarag
- Decaying Eksykes
- Magma Wyrm Makar / Magma Wyrms
- Great Wyrm Theodorix
- Borealis, the Freezing Fog
- Glinstone Dragon Adula
- Ancient Dragon Lansseax
- Lichdragon Fortissax
- Dragonlord Placidusax
The Lands Between was once ruled by dragons, and the presence of these monsters in Elden Ring can attest to this history. The dragons are a powerful breed of beings who have access to ancient magic. As such, they make for excellent bosses in Elden Ring, which can be seen in the list above.
Though most of these dragons have unique names, a majority of them will fight in the exact same way (and players can thus punish this by attacking their hind legs). However, Lichdragon Fortissax and Dragonlord Placidusax provide interesting battle experiences. Fortissax's lighting makes him very different to stand beneath, and Placidusax's transporting, weapon, and two-headed build make him an entirely unique character who even has his own remembrance.
Elden Ring's Overworld Bosses
- Bell Bearing Hunters
- Black Blade Kindred
- Commander O'Neil
- Crucible Knight Siluria
- Dragonkin Soldier/ Dragon Soldier of Nokstella
- Deathbird
- Death-Rite Bird
- Demi-Human Queen Maggie
- Divine Bridge Golem
- Erdtree Avatar
- Fell Twins
- Fia's Champions
- Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast
- Godskin Apostle
- Godskin Noble
- Mad Pumpkin Head
- Night's Cavalry
- Nox Swordstress
- Nox Priest
- Omenkiller
- Onyx Lord
- Putrid Avatar
- Royal Revenant
- Tibia Mariner
- Tree Sentinel
- Ulcerated Tree Spirit
- Valiant Gargoyle
- Wormface
The overworld bosses of Elden Ring are those bosses who roam around the Lands Between freely. While some of these characters can be tucked away behind the yellow veils that designate boss battle rooms, their fights can be initiated by simply waltzing into the wrong area at the wrong time. But most simply stand or walk in a select area, waiting for the Tarnished to approach them.
The most notable of these bosses is the Tree Sentinel, as players begin their experience in the Lands Between by trying to avoid this one-shotting beast. Tree Sentinels then later reappear as a duo outside of Leyndell. The Tree Sentinels also have a twin in the Night's Cavalry, who also have a duo boss fight.
Elden Ring Evergaol Bosses
- Adan, Thief of Fire
- Alabaster Lord
- Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader
- Ancient Hero of Zamor
- Battlemage Hugues
- Blood Hound Knight Darriwil
- Bols, Carian Knight
- Crucible Knight
- Godefroy the Grafted
- Roundtable Knight Vyke
The Evergaol optional bosses of Elden Ring tend to be unique characters who are imprisoned within their own battles. This sense of imprisonment is suiting for someone like Adan, as he stole the forbidden fire of the Fire Giants. Roundtable Knight Vyke is also befitting of the Evergaol boss role, as the magical prison preserves the champion he was before turning into a servant of the Three Fingers and destroying Elden Ring's Frenzied Flame Village. But other Evergaol bosses are simply reused character models with nothing new added excpet for changes to their stats. In cases like the Alabaster Lord, these characters are made stronger. In cases like the Ancient Hero of Zamor, they are made weaker.
Elden Ring Dungeon Bosses
- Abductor Virgins
- Ancestor Spirit
- Beastman of Farum Azula
- Black Knife Assassin
- Cemetery Shade
- Cleanrot Knights
- Crucible Knight Ordovis
- Crystalians / Rotten Crystalians
- Demi-Human Chieftan
- Demi-Human Queen Gilika
- Demi-Human Queen Margot
- Erdtree Burial Watchdog
- Esgar, Priest of Blood
- Fallingstar Beast
- Frenzied Duelist
- Grafted Scion
- Grave Warden Duelist/ Putrid Grave Warden Duelist
- Guardian Golem
- Kindred of Rot
- Leonine Misbegotten
- Lion Guardian
- Miranda the Blighted Bloom
- Misbegotten Crusader
- Misbegotten Warrior
- Necromancer Garris
- Patches
- Perfumer Tricia
- Red Wolf of the Champion
- Royal Knight Loretta
- Rune Bear
- Scaly Misbegotten
- Soldier of Godrick
- Spirit-Caller Snail
- Stonedigger Troll
The bosses of Elden Ring's dungeons are the most plentiful and varied of the game's boss categories. Not only are there 32 unique bosses within this category, but they can also make different teams for duo battles like the Leonine Misbegotten and Crucible Knight team. The reason why there are so many dungeon bosses in Elden Ring is because of the number of locations that qualify as dungeons: Catacombs and caves more obviously count as dungeons, but so do larger and more open areas like Castle Morne or Castle Sol.
Regardless of the case, dungeons not only have plenty of options when it comes to bosses but are also willing to reuse boss models. The Ulcerated Tree Spirit is often reused alongside the Demi-Human Chieftans and Cemetery Shades. This ultimately makes the boss battles of dungeons unpredictable and scary to walk into, as the Tarnished will never know which boss or bosses await them until walking into the arena.
Though Elden Ring can suffer from reusing certain bosses too often, the game has an incredible list of enemies. Since the appeal of the game is so centered around its intricate combat system, having access to a nearly bottomless list of boss battles is nothing but exciting. The current total number of bosses in Elden Ring is 104, although future DLC will surely add more.