Proof that average players can beat Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss- Elden Ring DLC 

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I'm not by any means good at these games and I did it after 200 tries and it was pure ecstasy. Definitely pushes the boundaries of fairness but it was so satisfying.

This fight is all about managing ressources. If u take the holyproof liver, the braids of marika as well as the physical resist talismants, u already cut the damage by so much. Add in the shield grease , u become unbreakable and the holy beams dont do shit. Add in a raptors of the mist weapon to avoid the light and the meteor, and nothing can stop u. The trick is to find openings to keep your buffs actives

Props for not including spoilers in the title, I'm sick to death of small channels doing that lol

i literally got him so close to dying last night, like pretty much 1 hit away but i choked last second and died. i was so salty but i just gotta keep my composure and i know its doable

People acting like you can't make a single mistake against this boss to beat him 😂😂

ER first timer here. he's the only bossed that made me re-think my approach. from a dex build to a smol shield and tiny shank (bleed) lol. i knew nothing about parrying or his moves but after 60ish attempts i defeated him. so glad its over :)

The biggest takeaway ive gotten from beating him a few times now is that: He can get to your from anywhere. But you can only get to him if you're close. Don't make space to heal and buff. He can get to you instantly if he wants.

Dude is parrying radhan and calling himself average 😂

This video is the one that got me through this boss, no cheese, no challenge runs, just straight business

I love your encouragement. I've been playing souls games since DS3 release, and there were times I thought I couldn't finish them or that the difficulty was unfair. Feel like many of the people saying the dlc is too hard are getting discouraged. This is a good example to show those people.

For me, learning the first phase moveset is absolutely key. Keep close and dodge into him. Literally have gone hitless in first phase. Second phase is trickier with the pillars of light, but it isn't impossible. Again keeping close to him does the trick to avoid most pillars except whenever he does an overhead attack, in which the pillars will come squarely down the middle and catch you if you kept dodging into him. This is a great boss fight, but I have just a few hang ups with some of the undodgable attacks like the double slash into cross slash that's only avoidable with light rolling. I think the entire moveset of the boss should be dodgable via base movement (Rolling, running, jumping) on light AND mid equip load. Also people forget run jumping exists lol. Here's what my 'dream nerf' to this boss would be Damage wise, I think its actually pretty solid so long as you wear the right things. I was having 70 base physical defense when I: Had the Dragoncrest Greatshield, ate a crab, drank the Opaline Hardtear. I was blessing 12ish when I took him on and I just had decent armor. But for those that wear much lighter armors, I'd prob ask for maybe an overall 12% damage nerf on his physical attacks and 18% on his beams/light spells Obviously, nerf the double slash-cross slash to be slowed down by 2-4% to make it dodgable for mid roll builds in between swings Reduce the range of the Miq's Giant Light nuke by 8-10% or give us 3 seconds more to run from the circle Reduce the range the Falling Star phase transition. It's quite literally almost all the arena and there are additional light beams that rain down too. This is prob the only one I'd ask for a significant damage nerf, about 15-25%. (Though I also argue you can just bubble perfume or VotI/Raven's Mist but like I said, I'm only considering base movement here) Space out some of the light illusion attacks or make them deal no poise damage so you can keep running and avoid the real drop (Except any of the ones that deal with his gravity spells. Those are the easiest to dodge and don't need any changes) This is a random one and relies a bit on a blend of circumstances, but delay the grab frames of Miq's heart stealing grab. It actually starts really early and if you are both in the air and right in front of Radahn, it can grab you SUPER early (just before reaching the height of his jump) and it looks super jank. Guess who got hit by that lmfao. Random phase 1 nerf, the range on the earth shatter move needs to be trimmed just about shorter to the back side for Radahn by literally like 2%, it catches me every damn time where it looks like it shouldn't Pull back the hair of Miq by like three or six hammer units and reduce the lightning a tad, that should fix a lot of problems about seeing his attacks. --- I think with those, Radahn would be a perfect send-off boss. He doesn't need anything crazy just a few trims here and there with maybe a fix up of one really ugly patch of hair. He isn't 'impossible' and if you know how to build right, he shouldn't be oneshotting you even with lighter armor sets. Remember, all your damage is USELESS if you can't stay alive. So if dying is your problem, switch to more defensive talismens and armorsets. Or be a dunderhead like me and memorize his entire moveset to the point where the hair of the second phase doesn't matter because he moved his arm in such a way that I know what attack is coming out lmao. I've been playing since Demon's Soul so I know I'm not exactly an average player, but I'm no means a speedrunning pro and I don't think my advice shouldn't matter just because 'I'm not casual enough'. I hate that, don't put yourself down like that. Everyone can get better if you cool down, stop stroking your ego and ask 'what did I do wrong there'. And if you can't figure it out, upload the footage or show someone else your gameplay that knows the game a bit more and then can tell you exactly what it is. I'm very analytical of my own gameplay so when this boss was kicking my ass, I began studying his moveset and my movement. Anyways great fight dood!

Dude, that was epic. Awesome skills mate.

Hey man, I played through the base game and beat the bosses with summons and my mimic, and the DLC with NPC summons. But when I was fighting Radahn, summoning Thiollier and Ansbach scaled my own damage so bad, and summoning my mimic at the start of the fight always ended with me getting almost one shot by Radahn's spinning gravity attack, that I genuinely wanted to fight him one on one. 8 hours in two days and I did it. Level 150 Strength build, Chilling Mist Greatsword, Buckler parry, Mist Raven Misericorde, level 17 Scadutree Blessing, and I did it.

Great video and I agree with the description, the most annoying part of the second phase is that it cuts my fps in half (literally from 60 to 30) so those flashbangs are almost seizure-inducing. If I didnt cave in and used a mimic tear I think I would genuinely start to hate it

The antspur rapier with a poison infusion is your best friend in this fight

Anyone who has trouble parrying can try the deflect tear too, definetely recommend the og & new greatshield talismen for phase 1 & 2 respectively with it. I cant parry outside ds1 & find it much MUCH better than parries or regular blocking, something i also rarely used outside ds1. Even if i wish it was just a base mechanic, 5min is enough time to not just fight a boss but also fight most enemies between dungeon bonfires

Great job, man.

Verdegris shield and antspur rapier with blood infusion is what finally got it for me.

I feel like average experience is more blocking through everything as it's mechanically easier. That's what I did since I can't parry. 25 antspur rapier for rot and Latenna summoned in a corner for damage (up until the meteor, there's a bug where summons can disappear at that point since they lose a target) and the fingerprint shield and shield talisman to block every attack. You still need to learn openings to heal as you can be chipped away by all the holy and magic damage, but the grab is the only move that can't be blocked so that's the only thing that needs to be dodged. You can try and time using miquella's rune, but I had attempts where the second grab could happen before I had an opening. In my final run I heavy rolled past every grab so armor weight wasn't a real concern. TL;DR: heavy armor, big shield, rot weapon, and long range spirit summon help a lot

This is pretty neat, you can see that the fight is doable even if you don't have a super minmaxed build. This fight also reminded me of Sekiro, at least in the sense that the "safest" position to be is directly in the boss' face

very well done sir

Well yeah I can and I did, but was it good? Should this get a pass because it's beatable? I don't really care about winning as much as enjoying a fight, and the audiovisive clutter of this fight was not a very good experience, learning when many moves (like the lag attacks) are counter intuitive to dodge, isn't enjoyable either and feels unfair. Messmer is my ideal fight, and this guy is everything he isn't.

Dodging Miquella's grab attack like Aids. Bravo

Thou is a true tarnished, worthy of Elden Lord, claiming the title as the only Consort. 🙇‍♂️

He’s a god for puttin the gold bug rune on last minute

I did it on a dex build with a great katana (my beloved) and cheesed him in the 2nd phase by applying rot at 19 scadu levels. I think he took me maybe 1-2 hours to kill, but I was just glad it was over. I hated the visual vomit, the arena wide beams, and the frame trap slashes more than anything, By the way, which game cycle was this?

Spear poking with a tank build saved me from having to parry or dodge, though the holy bleedthrough was hard to deal with since i was fatrolling

I was unable to understand how to even damage him properly on phase 2, I was losing my mind...i switched one of my talismans to the holy damage negation one and after a couple of more attempts got lucky on phase 2 to finish the fight

Boss is a bug learning curve but you just need the right strat. I got him after my 10th attempt with shield and scorpions stinger

I did it with a pure dex build that had Blood Backhand Blades today. I had 20 blessing and still struggled quite a bit… I had to light roll for it and basically learned how to dodge everything from videos and practice. I had pearl, physical, and marika’s braid on my talismans along with damage reduction from physick tear, so I was really into defense… I’m not very good at the game, but as long as you stack defense and learn how to dodge it, it will be alright.

No average player ever parries. You've spent hours learning its moveset so definitely not an average player.

I liked how you realised you were too late to run Miquella's Light so you just blocked it for minimal damage. IMO the battle is just too much bs. It is doable, but the lightspam does get in the way of linesight.

Dang bro, i'm learning a thing or 2 from here

Apart from the impressive parrying, I kinda agree that this would be something your average player would experience. Dodge a few hits but still get hit by some. Also, the part where you had no time to get away from the holy nuke was relatable - nothing else to do but stand there and tank it lol

I feel like this boss would be perfect with less health, but it's really not as bad as some people say. His combos are all dodgeable by just sticking to him like glue and rolling left with the right timing,which also means you won't get hit by beams in phase 2, any chip damage you take from clones or beams in phase 2 can be mitigated to nothingness (other than the grounded clone attack which actually hurts a lot) and even the gigantic aoe can be i-framed with raptor of the mists for example, giving you more chances to do damage. He's hard and borderline unfair, but what you need for him is the same skill with positioning and preparation as with someone like Margit.

What's the shield setup you got?

Build breakdown?

I uses a shield with this boss, it helps so much

It took me 10+ hours of trying but I did it, great katana so a little bit of bleed to help but not an insane amount, level 180 and 18 scadutree. The second phase just takes too long to learn and get into your muscle memory.

what's the first talisman at 5:08? Congrats btw- i'm trying to escape the nightmare of radahn lol

Ngl Impenetrable thorns goes hard in this fight. Still have to look for openings to use it. And make sure you're built to resist phys/holy damage. Edit: I also did not know you could parry some of the phase 2 attacks

well done! now thats how you play the game.

You're overestimating the average, but yes, i agree

Aye i used this same strat gg bro!

The real issue is the blinding lights in second phase. I wanna see the sword movement these thing fucking purposefully blinded the player

What ng is it?

Im not really good at Souls games, but as a matter of fact Elden Ring was my first. I beat the final boss by parrying as well, rot really helps in the first phase but could not do it in his second phase.

My friend beat him while screensharing on discord using only a greatshield and a spear, not even dodge rolling. After he defeated him, he opened the equipment menu and he'd forgot to equip talismans before the fight If anyone didn't know, you can keep attacking with the spear while having the shield up, and this approach trivializes most bossfights in the entire game, DLC included. There's only a few exceptions like Malenia since she heals from hits People really like to complain about the DLC's difficulty, but in all honesty, it's just hurt egos everywhere, the means to not have a hard time were always available to everyone

No average player is parrying that well nor rune arcing mid fight lol

I think after you beat the final boss you are not considered an “average player” anymore 😅

My goal is to beat him with a sword and dodging in the future. I had to use a thorn build which basically takes the fun out of it. I think The developers out did themselves!

If you dodged, you’re not an average player

There is a move in the second phase that Im thinking is literally impossible to dodge.

Wait did you just dodge the jesus beam?? How?

You are clearly not average.

WOW

comparing my and your gameplay, i basically tanked all attacks i was literally wearing the most poise and defense sets in game and was also wearing heavy defense talismans, while as you are wearing average armor and actually dodging attacks, you are not average

Average player? The boss dies in 2 more hits and you still keeep it cool. No average players can do that

Dont worry i parried this boss and i missed that left cross slash everytime too haha

I wish I could parry like average elden ring player 🥴

Bold of you to assume the average player can time a parry

I've played and beaten every single souls game and love them.. have never complained about their difficulty. This is the first time I honestly believe they went too far. I was not having fun anymore after 100 tries and just wanting to complete a great overall experience. I had to resort to cheesing for the first time to get past this. Really dislike this fight and won't even bother with it if I do another play through.

As a "good" player i can tell you that this fight is tougher than the mayority of the base game bosses at level 1. I really think you could pull of a level 1 run in a lot less time than you'd expect

He's easy to parry. So far I have these on my reasons why he's not that hard of a boss list: The Boys (summons) Electroperfume Parrying Bloodhounds Step (I think fromsoft forgot this Ash of War exists when they made the DLC because all bosses are super easy with it) Piercing Fang

All you poor bastards using shields lol

Yeah, of course an average player plays like that

I think the reason most people are complaining is because they are using their NG+ characters characters that are probably on their 5th or 6th run, probably even max stat character on the NG7. These guys are fighting insanely boosted bosses and enemies. I just started over with a new character, and the dlc was easy.

That vigor is not 60. Any "average" player would be at 60 or below. Also, you're taking too little physical dmg, meaning it's either you're a higher level, have a 20/20 scadutree blessing, or both. There is no way the physical damage he's dealing would be so low as well as the holy damage. I did learn he could be parried, though, something I never tried due to him wonking my health for every hit, meaning that even if I tried a parry and failed, it would be almost death. Overall though, it's a good fight. But definitely nothing "average" here.

No average player parries or dodges like that. I am an average player. And I did beat it, but you are indeed and above average player. Congratulations

That is not average player. those acrobatic skill to avoid the hit is not easy to pull off….

Ngl with those parry skills you seem slightly above average to me

I'm not an average player since I've played every from software game, and trust me, is difficult for me to parry enemies, now, against Radahn I can't even dodge his attacks and I will parry him 😂. I beat the boss, but using a shield.

You just need to become parry god which most “average players are not 😂😂😂

Noice noice. I dont know why but i find Malenia harder

Is just so cute compared to ng7

Ggs that’s amazing. Bet your heart was in your mouth when he had 0 health

Average players not gonna parry radahn bro, we end summoning mimic and ansbach so we not sitting there for over 100 tries.

- Level 186 - “Average Player” Ok .

Didn’t watch further than 5 seconds, as any casual wouldn’t have as much viger Plus rolling the first swing? Also no magic spam? Not very casual looking are we 😅

That's not an average player

I suck at using carian retaliation huhu

Parry spaming is not doable on every build, but it makes his attacks easy as hell. I get the point of the video, but parrying is not every player. If anything, i feel like it does make him a lot easier. He's not impossible, there's just things about him and his fight that are bad. Also, what did fromsoft do to the AI, especially in that fight, they lobotomised the Ai it feels.

Average player? Sure

You do realize that you aren’t an “average player” if you go so far in the DLC? To the point where others may quit while you stayed till the end?

I beat it solo in 30 attempts and im no means a pro, malenia far harder i am 50 attempts in malenia still no solo kill

You literally take low damage. I die with two hits in his 2nd phase

I think it still kinda says something about the boss that the average player either has to learn to parry them over hours of attempts, or use a great shield and poker. I understand limiting the builds and strats to best the boss, but there are two that are effective. And one requires a fair amount of skill.

Hmm, seems average to me...

You are not an average player

imo half the fun of Elden ring is just to build craft a build suited to you and to the boss

People say this is Fromsoftware’s hardest boss, but I firmly believe the Orphan of Kos is harder. The fact that it has the ability to cancel animations is what makes it much more difficult. I guess it depends on what kind of difficulty we’re talking about, since it is different for everyone. I personally feel more afraid of the Orphan than Rhadan

I beat him at lvl 185 so i'm actually 0,001 percent better than you. JK, gratz

While its true, dude, you are far from average 😂 Average player wouldnt go as far as using parries effectively or swapping weapon for stronger critical, but they would probably summon an ash

Sees you parrying, average scrubs dont know what parry is...hmm all the more liar ahead 😂

Another poke to death spammer

Ok and? You learned to parry and avoid its attacks, congrats, same here, its still a terrible fight with way too much visual clutter and some of the most unfair, aggravating abilties in any boss ever. Its bad, im sorry but its bad and as a fromsoft fan it hurts to see an entire community on its knees desperately defending a bad boss, because fromsoft is going to see that and they wont learn their lesson for future titles