You can consider Romina, Saint of the Bud in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree as the second to the last boss (or third). Hence, she’s a legitimately tough fight. You might even consider her bordering on unfair (especially if you’re averse to the Spirit Ash playstyle). To make this monster waifu-wannabe more manageable, I’ve prepared a guide on how to beat Romina, Saint of the Bud in the Elden Ring DLC.
Where to Find Romina in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
You can actually fight Romina, Saint of the Bud before you even fight Messmer the Impaler in the DLC. There’s a separate and rather accessible entrance to her area, Ancient Ruins of Rauh connected to the Shadow Keep’s Storehouse, First Floor (Grace).
From the Shadow Keep’s Storehouse, First Floor (Grace), simply turn left and explore the room until you get past the larger rooms filled with Jar enemies.
Once you’ve opened the door next to the gate that leads to the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, the real struggle with the exploration begins.
Ancient Ruins of Rauh Directions
The white trail is surface traversal, the red trail is underground or indoor traversal.
You’ll have to go through several floors of ruins and some frustrating combinations of enemies. The map image above is an estimation of the trail I took to get to Romina, Saint of the Bud’s boss arena. The key is finding the bridge next to the Rauh Ancient Ruins, East. It’s guarded by a Furnace Golem. You can run past him using Torrent, thankfully.
After that, it’s a matter of running past ruins and other troublesome enemies. After your ordeal through that late-game gauntlet, it’s time to prepare yourself for a beating.
How to Beat Romina in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Based on the area you’ve been through, you probably know Romina’s boss gimmick. She’s a Scarlet Rot fangirl and that means trouble. So with that in mind, follow these pointers and tips to prepare for the fight.
- Make sure your Scadutree Blessing is at 12+.
- Max out your weapon or your Spirit Ashes (if you want to use one).
- I highly recommend a Greatshield for this fight.
- If you use the Greatshield, pair it with a Thrusting Weapon infused with Bleed.
- Romina can Bleed and be staggered.
- Romina is also weak to Frostbite, Holy damage, and Pierce damage.
- Bring your Preserving Bolus against Scarlet Rot buildup.
- Use Ashes of War/skills/spells with high Poise damage
- Lion’s Claw
- Giant Hunt
- Impaling Thrust
- Cragblade
- Glintblade Phalanx
- Carian Grandeur
- Square Off
- Unsheathe
If you want to cheese this fight, just bring a Mimic Tear or if you still want an easy solo fight without summons, you might want to change your build to the Greatshield + Bleed Thrusting Weapon combo (with the Greatshield Talisman).
You still need to observe and react to her attacks and phases. So it’s on to those. Romina will initiate her Phase 2 once you get her to around or near half her HP.
Phase 1 of the Romina, Saint of the Bud Boss Fight
Trust me when I say that this boss arena is not big enough. Romina is a large boss and can quickly move around or even box you in. For that matter, as soon as you enter the arena, move quickly to the center to avoid getting cornered and having your camera go berserk with the lock-on.
You’ll notice that she has a scorpion tail and a centipede part, but what you really want to attack is the humanoid part in the middle. Staying near her center can even help you avoid certain melee attacks and is a convenient spot for when you need to go in for a Critical Attack.
Avoid the centipede as it often has a grab attack. You also need to watch out for the following attacks:
- Double tailspin (run away backward while dodging)
- Wheel roll attack (dodge to the right before she rolls over you)
- Aerial dive (dodge as soon as her weapon glows or descends)
If you use the recommended tips and pointers above, you should be making her bleed or stagger into Phase 2.
Phase 2 of the Romina, Saint of the Bud Boss Fight
Now she’ll throw in Scarlet Rot to the mix. Romina will open up Phase 2 by glowing and swirling pink and summoning spectral butterflies around her. Do not attack her during this phase or you might die afterward.
Instead, run away as far as you can, away from any butterfly you see. Those butterflies will all explode in a Scarlet Rot mist.
She’ll then interweave these Rot butterflies with her combos. So if you see the butterflies, roll away from them. She’ll often summon these butterflies after an aerial sweep combo.
Apart from that, she’s still easy enough to stagger and bleed so if you learn to avoid her combos and rot butterflies, you shouldn’t have a hard time.
