After defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade, you will enter an alternate state of Leyndell known as Leyndell, Ashen Capital. This state is an alternate version of Leyndell, Royal Capital. Technically speaking, this is the last area of Elden Ring, and it is also the location of the game’s final boss. This page will contain information that will serve as a guide on how to get to Leyndell, the Ashen Capital, how to navigate between the various Sites of Grace, how to find all of the secrets and treasures, and how to defeat all of the powerful bosses.
How to Get to Leyndell, Ashen Capital
As was mentioned in the opening paragraph of this section of the guide, the player will not have access to Leyndell, Ashen Capital, until they have completed Crumbling Farum Azula and won a battle against Maliketh the Black Blade. The moment you put an end to Maliketh’s reign of terror, a cutscene will begin to play, and it will conclude with you waking up in the remade capital.
Leyndell, Ashen Capital Walkthrough
After activating the Leyndell, Capital of Ash Site of Grace that is located nearby, travel directly south until you reach an area with a sloped hill where you will find a body with a Rune Arc on it. When you reach the bottom of the hill, you will see an open building as well as an open sewer if you head straight down the hill from this body.
You are able to descend into the sewer in order to locate the Crimson Amber Medallion +2, but in order to exit the sewer, you will need to use the warp portal to return to the Site of Grace. You will find a tarnished golden sunflower on the interior of the building.
Once you have exited the building through the opposite side, continue walking straight ahead until you come across the giant dragon corpse, which is now mostly buried under the sand. However, you can still access the ramparts by climbing up the arm of the structure. If you look down off to the right where the Roundtable Hold building is, you will see something by the front door as well as a gargoyle watching over the street. After you have gotten the item, which is a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, you should simply run away from the gargoyle after you have jumped down to the street.
You should head back south once you have warped back to the Site of Grace. This time, run past the body of the Rune Arc, and behind you will be a staircase. The staircase is in the distance. Check the rooftops on the left side of the staircase before climbing the staircase. There is a Hero’s Rune [4] hidden there. After turning around and climbing the staircase, proceed to the lift at the top of the building. Continue forward along the path to reach the Erdtree Sanctuary, where we previously met Godfrey; however, the person who is currently residing there is…
Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing Boss Fight
Oh, Sir Gideon, please don’t add to the list. Oh well, it seems as though we will have to put an end to our long-time companion in order to move forward. To our relief, he has the characteristics of a glass cannon and can be destroyed with only a few well-executed combos.
His moveset, which is a combination of abilities stolen from all of the game’s major bosses, gives Sir Gideon the ability to live up to the name “All-Knowing,” which he has given himself. Renalla’s assortment of spells, Mohg’s blood magic, Malenia’s scarlet aeonia, Rykard’s rancour, and so on are just some examples. Be on your guard at all times, but especially when it comes to Renalla’s soul spears, as the majority of these spells deal significant damage. Because the majority of these assaults consist of projectiles, you can use the pillars that are located near the centre of the room as a barrier to protect yourself from them.
The one spell that you do need to be wary of is called Law of Causality, and it is represented by a glowing ring that he sometimes equips for himself. If you strike him an excessive number of times while he has this buff active, it will detonate and deal a significant amount of damage to you.
The good news is that Gideon is susceptible to the same types of attacks as any other humanoid foe. He is vulnerable to both stabs in the back and front and can be easily speared. A quick weapon can be used with relative ease to stunlock him. I was able to put an end to him in an instant by using the Rivers of Blood weapon art, which he was unable to escape from due to his slow movement speed. Due to the speed with which he passed away, I was hoping there would be a phase two, but alas, there will not be.
After you have vanquished Gideon, you will receive the All-Knowing Scepter and the All-Knowing Armor Set as your rewards. You will have the opportunity to rejuvenate and advance your character’s level at the Erdtree Sanctuary Site of Grace when it reappears. You can ascend to the second floor using the large root in the same way that you did after you defeated Godfrey if you start from here. In the Queen’s Bedchamber Site of Grace, which can be reached by following the path, you will find a new spell called Erdtree Heal.
After getting some rest at the Site of Grace, you can then ascend the staircase leading to the boss arena. This is the same arena in which we fought Morgott, the Omen King, earlier. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of Godfrey…
Godfrey, First Elden Lord Boss Fight
This boss fight against Godfrey, First Elden Lord is virtually identical to the one we faced the first time we travelled through Leyndell, and just like the previous version of Godfrey, this one is extremely vulnerable to being defeated by exploiting Guard Counters.
When you first engage him in combat, he will almost always begin by throwing an axe while jumping. Simply roll backwards to avoid the impact of the axe, and then when Godfrey lands and picks the axe back up again, you can sneak in two or three attacks on him.
From this vantage point, all you need to do is stick close to Godfrey and keep your shield raised as much as possible. We want to buy ourselves enough time to guard counter one of his many slow swinging attacks so that we can topple him. If he slams his axe INTO the ground rather than sweeping it across the ground, the combo is considered to be over. This is because the rule generally states that the latter action is more damaging. He will also signal when one of his big combo finishes is about to happen by delaying his swing for an unusually long amount of time or by spinning the axe over his head. These are the times when you can throw in a Guard Counter, but if your defence and poise are high enough, you can sometimes hit multiple Guard Counters across one of his combos and just power through the damage. If your defence and poise are high enough, you can also sometimes hit multiple Guard Counters across multiple of his combos. After a topple, you have just enough time to drink a flask before launching the critical attack, so be sure to restore your health before you do so!
However, the aforementioned rule does have some room for flexibility. If he starts his combo with the downward axe slam, he is going to follow it up with an uppercut right after it. It is common for him to combo from his stomp into a grounded axe slam, which then transitions into a massive area of effect slam when he steps on the axe and digs it into the ground with his foot. Because both the wind up and the cooldown of this attack are fairly slow, you should make an effort to sneak one or two attacks in between your guards.
Stomping is one of his most favoured attacks, despite the fact that it is also one of the most punishable moves in his arsenal. You should simply roll through the attack whenever you see him going for the stomp, and then hit him in the back a couple of times while he is recovering from the initial blow.
Godfrey will real back on one foot and charge up for his second phase at 75% health. During this phase, Godfrey’s attacks will become stronger, particularly his stomp, which now spreads across the entire boss arena. If you choose to punish Godfrey while he is powering up, however, none of that will matter at all. Keep a close eye on his health, and as soon as you see him start to shift phases, unleash everything you’ve got on him at once. While he is in this defensive stance, it is surprisingly simple to land four or five hits on him, which provides ample opportunity to consume the remaining 25 percent of his health (especially if you have Bleed or Freeze).
It’s possible that you’re thinking, “Wait, why is it only 25%?” It seems that our good friend Godfrey is keeping one more trick up his sleeve; this time it involves his ultimate form…
Hoarah Loux, Warrior Boss Fight
When Godfrey assumes his final form as Hoarah Loux, Warrior, he casts aside his weapons and armour so that he can rip you apart with his bare hands. The battle against Hoarah Loux is a lot less complicated than the one against Godfrey because he has a lot fewer moves to use, but he uses them more consistently, which makes it difficult to find an opening. Hoarah Loux’s multiple grabs, each of which deals massive damage and must be avoided rather than blocked, further complicate the situation and make it more difficult to win. This fight is all about recognising patterns, learning the dodge timings for the grabs, and making the most of the few opportunities to punish your opponent that you are given.
The following are the grabs that you need to keep an eye out for:
Hoarah Loux starts by swinging his right arm around, pausing for a second, and then making an uppercut motion with his hand before grabbing you and slamming you into the ground. To get around this one, all you have to do is strafe around and roll in at the exact moment that the grab is happening. If your roll is successful, you will have the opportunity to land two or three attacks on his back afterward.
Before charging forward and clawing you with both hands, Hoarah Loux makes a sort of X with his arms and then crosses them over. You are catapulted into the air, and after landing on the ground, you take significant damage. Once more, you will need to perfect the timing of your dodges and roll into the attack just before he claws at you. This one is difficult to punish due to the fact that he usually slides far past you afterwards, but it is a good opportunity to heal.
Hoarah Loux extends both of her hands very high into the air, and then she squats down and uses both of her hands to lift you into the air. This one has pretty deceptive timing, but as always, strafe around while you wait for the grab motion, then roll through it and hit him in the back. This one has pretty deceptive timing. This is the one that he starts the fight with the vast majority of the time.
In addition to the grabs, another technique to watch out for is the roar, which causes knockback and always chains into a subsequent attack. Both of these are jumping slam attacks, one low and one high. Both of these are jumping slam attacks. It is possible to easily avoid the low jump by rolling in as he lands, and once he has landed, you can attack him two or three times as he stands up. A similar strategy can be utilised to avoid Hoarah Loux’s high jump, but after he completes it, the area around him will be struck by two earthquakes. You can avoid these quakes by dodging them or jumping over them if you have good timing, and then you can possibly land one or two attacks as he stands up.
Even though he uses the same stomp attack that he did in phase one, it is significantly more difficult to defend against it now due to the fact that he frequently chains it into a second kick, spinning kick, or punch attack. Use the same strategy of strafing and dodging to get behind Hoarah Loux if you see the stomp coming, but wait to attack him until you see if he will chain it into a combo first. If you see the stomp coming, use the same strategy. Stay on your toes because there is a good chance that there won’t be any opening at all before he moves into the next phase of his attack.
His moveset is rounded out with a variety of different punch and kick combos, all of which deal a moderate amount of damage to the target. It is much simpler to just wait for one of his slower attacks rather than trying to punish these, so I would recommend just rolling away from them or blocking them all rather than trying to punish them. His two-handed hammer fist is the one that is most likely to get him in trouble with the law. Simply strafe and roll around to get a few attacks on his back whenever you see him raise his hands above his head and slam both of them into the ground. He has one particularly lengthy combo that he telegraphs by slowly raising one of his open hands behind his head as if he is about to uppercut, but instead he lets loose with a series of quick swipes. His combo is particularly effective. I would advise taking an immediate step backward and not making any attempt to deflect or avoid this blow at all.
When Hoarah Loux reaches 25% health, he will perform the same charging up animation as Godfrey, leaving himself wide open for a significant punish before he enters his final phase. Godfrey’s animation can be seen here. The majority of Godfrey’s attacks are utilised in this phase as well; the difference is that they now have updated forms and greater ranges.
Rinse and repeat the same strategies we used in the first phase of this battle to successfully complete it and earn your reward, which includes access to the FINAL boss as well as the Remembrance of Hoarah Loux and the Elden Throne Site of Grace. Climb the stairs to the bottom of the Erdtree, then engage in conversation with the glowing barrier there to initiate a cutscene that will lead us to our last test..!
Radagon of the Golden Order Boss Fight
We have reached our destination and are now confronted by the illustrious Radagon about whom we have heard a great deal. Radagon is yet another formidable humanoid foe, and much like Godfrey, he is susceptible to a significant amount of damage from Guard Counterattacks. You will need to keep constant tabs on your health and stamina in order to avoid being defeated by one of his explosive attacks. This is because his constant output of holy damage makes things a little more complicated.
The majority of Radagon’s movesets consist of a variety of different swings with his mace, with a few magic spells thrown in for good measure. In a manner similar to that of Godfrey, our strategy is to get as close to him as we can while keeping our shields raised (use the Barricade Shield if you have it) in order to force him to continue swinging his mace rather than casting spells.
The first thing that should be brought to your attention is that Radagon does not move at all for the first ten to fifteen seconds of the fight. You should immediately run at him as soon as you spawn in, and you should be able to land three to four attacks on him before he does anything.
When the sight first opens, keep an eye out for the following kinds of attacks:
After a double swing from side to side with the mace, proceed to slam it overhead. It is simple to block or dodge through, and once you have done so, you can punish the opponent with two or three attacks or a guard counter. Sometimes continues on with a delayed fourth swing after this, which you can also Guard Counter after successfully defending against the third.
Swing in a diagonal direction, then swing around in a complete circle. You can block or dodge, and it’s not difficult to guard counter either.
a 360-degree spin swing that transitions into an overhead slam. Before the first blow, Radagon performs a spin move, and then he charges up for a holy mace slam. Once more, either roll out of the way of the incoming attack or block it and guard counter the second hit.
Holy slam from above the rim. Before bringing it down, he infuses his mace with holy energy and charges it. After that, you immediately follow it up with another slam or an uppercut. Both can be easily countered with guard, although doing so will cause you to take some holy damage.
Straight right hand into a holy slam. Performs an upward swing with the mace before grabbing it with both hands and bringing it crashing down. Another simple way to circumvent the Guard, provided you don’t mind taking holy damage and are willing to just strafe and dodge behind him. There is also a variation of this that is performed at a slower tempo, and both swings feature a holy charge. It is subject to the same legal consequences.
Lightning bolt slam. When Radagon finishes one of his combos, he will occasionally launch himself into the air and call forth a lightning bolt, which he will then use to strike the ground. It may appear that this move can be punished, but shortly after it is used, the lightning bolt will dissipate, and the ground around it will cause damage. As quickly as possible, move backward away from the bolt.
His holy swing has a wide area of effect and is another attack that can deal a lot of damage. He will lift his foot and swing his mace back behind his head, filling it with holy energy, before doing a horizontal swing that causes the ground in front of him to start glowing, and then explode, dealing damage to you if you stand on it. He will then do a horizontal swing that causes the ground behind him to start glowing, and then explode, dealing damage to you if you stand on it. You can, thankfully, simply strafe around him and roll through his swing to avoid it. Once you’ve done that, you can hit him in the back three or four times while he regains his posture.
Radagon possesses a stomp in the same way that Godfrey does. The first is a standard melee attack that causes pushback, and the second inflicts holy damage on a large portion of the area around him. If you see him lift his foot up to stomp and the sole of his foot starts glowing gold, you should probably just guard it. The next thing he will almost always do after this is leap into the air, and then immediately after that, he will slam back down onto the ground with a holy explosion. You can get behind him and sneak in two or three attacks as he is standing back up if you roll in just as he is about to hit the ground.
If you move too far away from him, he will switch between his various offensive strategies. He will leap forward and fire a bolt of lightning, which will then detonate a few seconds later. He will release a swift burst of holy energy that will do a modest amount of damage to the target. Alternately, he can perform a dash attack with a significant range. The dash attack is the best case scenario because it allows you to dodge through and run up and attack him while he regains his composure. However, I recommend that you just stay close to him as much as possible for the most part.
In one of his more menacing attacks, Radagon will slowly float above the ground while raising his mace towards the sky. Then, he will fall back to earth and slam the mace into the ground, causing a burst of holy damage from the ground around him. This is one of Radagon’s more intimidating attacks. After that, he gives it another quick slam before leaping into the air once more, and then after he lands, he delivers a third and concluding smash. Because of how overly dramatic the slams are, it is very simple to anticipate their arrival and sidestep them when they come. Keep your distance from him, strafe around him, and simply avoid getting hit by any of the slams. After the finishing blow, you can score some free damage by striking him in the back.
When his missing arm starts to glow golden, it indicates that he is about to use his dashing grab attack, which deals significant damage if he manages to grab you in the process. This grab attack, like the others used by Hoarah Loux, cannot be blocked; therefore, you must pay attention to the timing of the dash and avoid being grabbed by him when he lunges forward to grab you. It is possible to avoid this attack by simply moving away from it, but it is recommended that you keep a close distance and strafe around him instead. This will often cause him to lose tracking on you, which will then cause him to dash in the wrong direction, which will result in a free punish for you.
Last but not least, he also has an alternate version of his high jumping slam in which, rather than jumping directly upwards, he sort of dashes through the air. Be sure to move away from the glowing area on the ground and out of the way when he follows up this attack by slamming the ground. This will cause an explosion of holy damage to occur around him a few moments later.
When Radagon has about half of his health remaining, he will begin interspersing teleports with his attacks. He vanishes for a moment before reappearing a short while later, at which point he deals a sudden and significant amount of damage to holy targets. Because of this, some forms of punishment may have a lower chance of being effective because his teleportation is so fast, allowing him to bypass guard counters in an instant. I would stop countering at this point and try to rely more on fundamental swing punishments for a little bit of added safety.
Between teleports, you should continue to punish him until you finally manage to take him down. Take advantage of the lengthy death animation that he has because we are not yet finished here.
Elden Beast Boss Fight
After much anticipation, the true final boss, the enigmatic Elden Beast, has been unveiled. He is similar in appearance to some of the larger foes that we have faced throughout the game, most notably Astel, Naturalborn of the Void; however, he wields a colossal sword and a complete arsenal of potent holy spells instead of the former. Take a deep breath, and get ready to bring this game to a successful conclusion, as the Elden Beast, the game’s final boss, is relatively straightforward to defeat.
The side of the Elden Beast, close to its hind legs, is the most advantageous position from which to launch an assault, just as it was for the various dragon foes we’ve faced in the past. The primary objective of our tactic should be to convince the Elden Beast to perform one of its sluggish and simple to sidestep melee attacks, at which point we should rush it and land as many blows as possible on its stomach before it swims away. You can either put up your shield and block the Beast’s sword swings by simply blocking them, or you can simply roll through them to get into a better position. Thankfully, the Beast’s sword swings are very obvious and slow.
The arm thrust is yet another one of its favourite close-range attacks. The Beast will conjure up a ball of light in its off-hand and then thrust it forward at you as it attacks. This attack, like the sword swings, is highly telegraphed, and it is easy to avoid it by simply rolling through the orb as it comes towards you. This presents yet another wonderful opportunity to take a few swings at the belly of the boss.
You should strafe and get away as quickly as you can if the Beast’s mouth starts leaking flames so that you don’t get caught in the large area of effect that the fire breath has. If you are able to move quickly enough to get behind the beast, you will be able to completely avoid being attacked by it. Because this is one of the beast’s attacks that deals the most damage, it is not a good idea to try to defend yourself against it by putting up a shield.
Additionally, the Beast is equipped with a variety of perfume attacks, similar to those that Astel utilised during their conflict. He can either scatter the fragrance in a line in front of him or use it to construct a barrier in front of him. To avoid any potential damage, you should simply move away from the bottle of perfume before it explodes if either of these options is chosen. A slam is the third and final perfume attack. The beast will use its off hand to conjure up a cloud of perfume, and then it will smack the ground to cause an explosion to occur. The most effective strategy in this situation is to simply roll away and return to the fray after the scent of the perfume has dissipated.
The Beast will launch its final perfume attack by turning its back on you and conjuring a massive cloud of perfume as it swims away from you. If you get too close to the exploding perfume while it is in the air, you will take significant damage from the holy plane. The perfume will hang in the air for a short while before being set off by a golden flash. The most effective course of action in this scenario is to flee as soon as you notice the cloud of perfume approaching. After the explosion, the Beast will need some time to regain its composure; therefore, you should take advantage of this moment to move closer to where you can attack it.
The Beast’s sword thrust, which it telegraphs by rearing back and grabbing the handle of the sword with both hands, is possibly the most dangerous close-range attack it possesses. After about two to three seconds, it will cause a massive explosion by pointing the blade towards the ground and then driving it into the ground. Another situation in which you should get out of there as quickly as possible is the one that you are currently in.
Once it has gotten a sufficient distance away, the Beast will decide which of several possible attacks to use. The first is a sword projectile with a long range, very much like the one that Maliketh used. As is the case with Maliketh’s, it is simple to avoid these blades by simply dodging in the direction of the beast just before they strike. In addition to that, you will be able to quickly close the gap that exists between you and the boss.
An additional strategy is something I’ll refer to as the “ring” attack hereafter. The body of the Beast will begin to glow, and it will rise into the air, causing a golden ring to materialise in the sky. Immediately turn your attention to the ground, and within a short amount of time, you will notice a golden ring beginning to form around you as well.
As it begins to encircle you, dash towards the edge of the area. It is imperative that you vault over the ring and make your way outside of the glowing circle as quickly as possible before it detonates and deals significant damage.
The Beast will not hesitate to cast either of its two holy spells, regardless of how close or far away you are from it. These attacks are by far the most frustrating of all of its attacks. To begin, it will run its hand along its sword, accumulating holy energy in its palm before releasing it. This ball of energy will follow you around the battlefield, releasing bits of holy shrapnel that will deal a small amount of damage to you each time it does so. It will remain in close proximity to you for approximately 15 to 20 seconds before detonating. You won’t be rendered immobile by the shrapnel damage, so you can continue to heal even if you have to. The most effective course of action in this situation is to simply keep moving away from the ball of energy and to continue dodging any other attacks that the Beast may launch at you in the meantime.
The other spell is comparable, but it poses a significantly greater threat. The entire body of the Beast will begin to glow, and it will spread its wings while simultaneously releasing a slew of holy missiles from its back. These missiles will launch themselves into the atmosphere and then descend upon you in a swarm all at once. If you stay in one place during the barrage, it will dismember you in a matter of seconds; therefore, you should begin running to the left or right as soon as possible to avoid the arrow rain, which, thankfully, only lasts for about 5 seconds.
The Beast has a significant amount of health, but if you remain vigilant and keep your attacks coming, you will eventually be able to kill it. After you have defeated the final boss, you will receive the Elden Remembrance as well as a significant number of Runes as your reward. After the fight is over, you will be returned to the Stone Platform where you engaged in combat with Radagon. Get close to his dead body to launch the game’s final cutscene and discover the game’s conclusion. Congrats!