Elden Ring Runes hosts countless boss battles, though there's a handful that stands above the rest to be notoriously difficult.
FromSoftware makes a name for itself for more than a decade by crafting carefully paced and very rewarding experiences. It is also famous for its games being notoriously difficult, although never unfair, making victory much sweeter once players have the ability to overcome an obstacle. All of those design principles reached a peak with last year's Elden Ring, a sprawling fantasy open-world RPG having a stunning environment to understand more about and countless mysteries to find out. It was lauded by critics and players alike, with a few going so far as to consider it the developer's magnum opus and also the culmination of all things it had achieved prior.
Naturally, alongside its massive open world, FromSoftware still maintained its trademark difficulty in Elden Ring. This higher level of challenge permeates through the entire game, from random enemy encounters while seeking the world to terrifying death traps sprung around the player while seeking ancient tombs. Rather, the real danger in traversing the planet of Elden Ring is originating face-to-face with some of its nightmarish boss battles. With so many brutal opponents to square served by, the question arises about which boss battle is really the most difficult in most of Elden Ring. While the overall impossibility of a boss may vary from player to player, the toughest battles in Elden Ring are usually considered to become those the following.
Fire Giant
Although the smoothness has a fairly generic name, it's the definition of not judging a magazine by its cover. Living as much as the latter 1 / 2 of its name, the Fire Giant towers within the player like one of the numerous bosses from Shadow from the Colossus. Taking up a lot of space around the screen, Fire Giant's attacks are slow but massive, producing a push-and-pull dynamic in which the player must keep a distance but additionally stay relatively close enough to be able to land attacks.
As if it is a gargantuan shield getting used as a blunt weapon wasn't enough, Elden Ring's Fire Giant can also be capable of throwing a group of fire-based projectile attacks at the player. The sheer size of this boss 's the reason for much of the challenge, as his attacks sometimes happen off-screen and the hitboxes become susceptible to damage and could be a bit finicky. However, if players keep trying, it produces a satisfying 'David and Goliath' triumph for overcoming this type of colossal foe.
Malekith
Switching from the giant and slow boss to 1 that is smaller and infinitely faster, Malekith ranks as one of probably the most fast-paced encounters, not only in Elden Ring but for all of FromSoftware's Soulsborne games. Malekith's move set is deceptively swift so that as he lurks around the battlefield, pacing toward the ball player, his attacks are purposely made to throw gamers off guard. Building upon the timing-based combat in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Malekith's many attacks require pitch-perfect reactions sometimes and paying attention to his movements to be able to properly dodge and counter.
Some of those attacks in addition have a purposeful delay, tricking players to dodge too soon resulting in a much more punishing blow. The real kicker is this fact is all only the first phase of the fight, with Malekith eventually transforming into a level deadlier second form. He is then in a position to leap all around the stage and toss red energy beams from his sword that scatter over the entire screen, leaving little wiggle room to evade and discover an opening.
Radagon from the Golden Order/Elden Beast
Technically speaking, they are two separate boss battles. However, players have to square off against Radagon and Elden Beast consecutive, producing a vicious one-two punch that essentially amounts to 1 extended confrontation. Radagon expires first, and he is a sadistically challenging boss to deal with, forcing players to make use of all they've learned to be able to survive. He includes a huge arsenal of attacks, which range from simple melee combat to damaging moves which cover a great amount of space within the stage, all of which require a completely new technique to evade and counter against.
Although it might be tempting, it is important not to use up all Elden Ring's healing items here, while there is still the 2nd part from the fight against the Elden Beast, who's no slouch either. The Elden Beast mostly attacks from the distance with devastating ranged attacks that may eat up the bar otherwise dodged effectively. It's a gauntlet, but hugely rewarding to defeat both of those bosses consecutively.
Malenia, Blade of Miquella
Although a clear inclusion for anyone who played cheap elden ring runes, Malenia's status as one of the hardest bosses in a FromSoftware game shouldn't be understated. She is an ideal storm associated with an individual ingredient that players would claim as challenging from another battle. Malenia's onslaught isn't just lightning fast, but unfathomably vicious, with anyone attacking chewing up large chunks from the player's health.
Similar to Malekith above, she also offers deceptive combo attacks that may trick the ball player and open them as much as even more damage, all while she is in a position to heal herself after landing every blow. Topping that all is her signature move, the Waterfowl Dance Attack, a sensational sight to behold but simultaneously one of probably the most crushing attacks in a Soulsborne game. It's unabashedly difficult and covers FromSoftware's design philosophies with what is often ranked because the single toughest boss battle within the entire game.
Elden Ring can be obtained on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
