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Who can ignore the massive scale of Elden Ring? Whether you just began or put hours (days) into it, it feels neverending. With that in mind, it makes sense this classic RPG is overflowing with bosses at every turn. Whether they’re optional boss fights or mandatory ones, just how many bosses does Elden Ring have? Brace yourself for this one: it features over 150 bosses. But the ones you’ll have to battle to finish the campaign are less than a fraction of that.
How Many Main Bosses in Elden Ring
[Updated May 21, 2024 – added a table for the main bosses as well as lists of additional boss encounters]
In Elden Ring, the main bosses aren’t there just because of difficulty. Some are required to advance or beat the main campaign. Others are a bridge between you and one of the stronger bosses. The table below should give you a good idea of what to expect while exploring. Generally, the main boss encounters are listed in the order you should cross their paths.
You can have about 14 main boss encounters in Elden Ring, but some are optional. The optional ones usually deal with the Great Runes as you only need two, yet a handful of enemies hold one. This technically makes each an optional boss in Elden Ring.
| Boss Name | Location | Optional or Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
| Margit, the Fell Omen | Stormhill (when approaching Stormveil Castle) | Optional (must defeat to reach Godrick) |
| Godrick the Grafted | Stormveil Castle | Optional (provides 1 of 2 required Great Runes) |
| Red Wolf of Radagon | Raya Lucaria Academy (library) | Optional (required to reach Rennala) |
| Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon | Raya Lucaria Academy | Optional (provides 1 of 2 required Great Runes, the respec feature, and required to unlock a specific ending) |
| God-Devouring Serpent and Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy (2-phase boss) | Mt. Gelmir and Volcano Manor | Optional (provides 1 of 2 required Great Runes) |
| Starscourge Radahn | Redmane Castle | Optional (provides 1 of 2 required Great Runes, required to unlock specific ending) |
| Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) | Leyndell, Royal Capital | Mandatory |
| Morgott The Omen King | Leyndell, Ashen Capital | Mandatory |
| Fire Giant | Mountaintops of the Giants | Mandatory |
| Godskin Duo | Crumbling Farum Azula | Mandatory |
| Maliketh / Beast Clergyman | Crumbling Farum Azula | Mandatory |
| Sir Gideon Ofnir, The All-Knowing | Leyndell, Ashen Capital | Mandatory |
| Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Hoarah Loux) | Leyndell, Ashen Capital | Mandatory |
| Radagon of the Golden Order (Elden Beast) | Elden Throne, Leyndell, Ashen Capital | Mandatory |
Additional Boss Encounters
As you play Elden Ring, you’ll encounter mini-bosses, some bosses that feel like main bosses, and a host of field enemies. Of course, you don’t have to spend your entire time hunting down and defeating every enemy. But keep in mind a lot of them offer great loot that can make your journey less strenuous. Some are just there for the achievement/trophy, which is always important, right?
Mini-Bosses in Elden Ring
Some of these mini-bosses are just as tough to face down as the main bosses. You can avoid most of these, but if you want to build a solid character to face down the tougher encounters, you should push yourself to defeat a good helping of mini-bosses to enjoy the loot.
Below are some of the enemies you can run into:
- Ancestor Spirit (Hallowhorn Grounds)
- Borealis the Freezing Fog (Mountaintops of the Giants)
- Cemetery Shade (Tombsward Catacombs)
- Dragonkin Soldier (Siofra River)
- Flying Dragon Agheel (Dragon-Burnt Ruins, Limgrave)
- Leonine Misbegotten (Castle Morne, Weeping Peninsula)
- Glinstone Dragon Adula (Cathedral of Manus Celes, Liurnia of The Lakes)
Field Bosses in Elden Ring
Alongside the main and mini-bosses, Elden Ring features numerous field bosses that roam the Overworld. Don’t get fooled by these. They can take you down just as quickly as a main boss can. The Tree Sentinel alone can one-shot you if you’re not careful. They make up for the largest amount of enemy boss encounters you can have, boasting numbers in the dozens, but I’ll only list a few you can run into:
- Ancient Hero of Zamor (Weeping Evergaol)
- Beastman of Farum Azula (Groveside Cave)
- Demi-Human Chief (Coastal Cave)
- Devine Bridge Golem (Leyndell, Royal Capital)
- Draconic Tree Sentinel (Capital Outskirts)
- Elemer of the Briar (The Shaded Castle)
- Erdtree Burial Watchdog (Stormfoot Catacombs)
- Godskin Apostle (Atlus Plateau, Caelid, Mountaintops of the Giants)
- Godskin Noble (Carian Study Hall, Spiritcaller’s Cave, Volcano Manor)
- Grafted Scion (Chapel of Anticipation, Stormveil Castle)
- Mohg the Omen (Subterranean Shunning-Grounds)
- Royal Knight Loretta (Caria Manor)
- Runebear (Earthbore Cave)
- Soldier of Godrick (Fringefolk Hero’s Grave)
- Stonedigger Troll (Limgrave Tunnels)
- Tree Sentinel (Limgrave)
It’s simple enough to stick to the main campaign of Elden Ring if you don’t want too many boss encounters. However, diving off the set path now and then will lead you to some interesting, exciting, and exhausting encounters that will only help your character improve their gear and skills. So, it can be worth undergoing dozens of fights.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
