Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree - 10 Hardest Optional Bosses (2024)

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree offers a metric ton of content for you to enjoy, from brand new areas to explore, new lore drops, to many many new bosses. In true FromSoftware fashion, the amazing boss fights that are difficult alongside being fun are optional, meaning you’ll have to go and look for them yourself.

While the main path of Shadow of the Erdtree offers its fair share of challenges, the optional bosses are where the real masoch*sts find their thrill. You’ll die, a lot, because these encounters are designed to test not just your skills, but your well-being too.

10 Ralva The Great Red Bear

FromSoftware Gave Us The Father Of Runebears

Ralva is a massive, enraged bear with claws the size of your head and a temper to match. It will strangely remind you of the Runebears in the base game. The bear’s attacks are brutal and relentless, hardly giving you an open window for attack.

It's also surprisingly agile for its size, able to close the distance quickly, and like his Runebear counterpart, it won't calm down with the aggression anytime soon. The beast is a force of nature and taking him down will require lightning-fast reflexes, which is surprising for an area boss that you’ll randomly run into.

9 Jori, Elder Inquisitor

The Guardian Of The Abyssal Woods

This boss is a tough one to find, having you explore the Darklight Catacombs, which are already well hidden. But if you by chance run into him while not appropriately blessed with Scadutree Fragments, you’re going to have a hard time with Jori.

Jori has a lot of different attack types and beating him means you’ll have to be an expert at dodging and prepared to face multiple summons of the inquisitor enemy type. It’s very much worth beating him though, as you can gain access to The Abyssal Woods, one of the most fun areas of the game and home to a Remembrance Boss.

8 Demi-Human Swordmaster Onze

If You Want A Great New Summon, You Need To Beat Onze

Part of the Demi-Human category of bosses, Demi-Human Swordmaster Onze will only be difficult if you have just started the DLC and headed to Belurat as the first legacy dungeon to explore. You’ll find the Belurat Gaol east of the Belurat Tower Settlement, where you’ll have to explore the entire area before getting to the boss arena.

He’s a bit aggressive and can do a lot of damage, but doesn’t have much HP, so you might or might not have an easier time with Onze depending on your build. Beating him is very much worth it though, as you’ll get one of the best new early game spirit summons in the DLC.

7 Scadutree Avatar

The Scadutree's Representation Is An Angry Sunflower

The Scadutree Avatar is a three-phase secret remembrance boss fight that you can reach after draining the flood in the Shadow Keep church district. Again, the Scadutree Avatar isn’t too difficult, but the fact that you need to beat it three times and its weird attack timings make it one of the harder optional bosses in the game.

The Scadutree Avatar was born after Miquella discarded his Great Rune in this area, so you’re basically fighting a shard-bearer, which explains the difficulty on some level.

6 Metyr, Mother Of Fingers

Cosmic Horror Is Personified Through Metyr

Metyr is one of the hardest remembrance bosses to meet in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, because the path to this boss is only revealed after completing the entirety of Count Ymir’s questline. This requires you to traverse through a lot of new different places in the Land of Shadow.

Once you’ve done so, you can summon Metyr by interacting with the bell at the cathedral and beginning the fight. Not only is Metyr extremely challenging, but the path to even starting her boss fight is in itself difficult for an optional boss.

5 Putrescent Knight

Become A Professional Cliff Jumper With This Fight

The Putrescent Knight is the remembrance boss you face at the end of Stone Coffin Fissure, located on the Cerulean Coast. It is after this abomination you’ll find Miquella’s discarded half, St. Trina.

The Putrescent Knight has a rhythm to it that is initially really difficult. As you continue attempting him, you’re going to find the dodge pattern for one of its attacks, and it’s going to feel like a eureka moment. His Ghostflame can also be challenging to deal with, killing you many times as you figure out that you need to jump it.

4 Midra, Lord Of Frenzied Flame

The Climax Boss Fight Of One Of The Best Areas In The DLC

Midra is another remembrance boss themed after the Frenzied Flame, and it is the end boss of the Abyssal Woods region of the Land of Shadow. After going through Midra’s manse, you are repeatedly offered warnings not to enter any further.

Nobody sane playing the game will ever listen to that voice and continue on further till they reach Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame, a boss that might remind you of Morgott with his delayed attacks and AOE damage. The encounter is completely optional but highly recommended to experience the DLC at its best.

3 Rellana, Twin Moon Knight

A Callback To Pontiff Sulyvahn And Ten Times More Difficult

Rellana is another boss that you can find more or less quickly in the Land of Shadow and she is skippable, despite what you would think at first. You can find Rellana guarding one of the ways to Scadu Altus, at the end of Castle Ensis.

Rellana, much like her sister, uses some sorceries at her disposal when fighting you and is extremely unforgiving with her combos. You have to properly figure out her timings before you reach phase two and have to learn new moves all over again. Suffice to say, Rellana is no walk in the park.

2 Commander Gaius

Yeah We Know, The Boar Charge Is Infuriating

Commander Gaius is a boss parked on Scaduview that is a reminder of the Draconic Tree Sentinel in some ways and, as a mounted enemy, is one of the more fun bosses of the DLC. Gaius used to be Radahn’s rival and uses gravity magic in his fight with you.

The difficulty with Commander Gaius lies with his almost undodgable boar charge and very infrequent attack windows, but defeating him is a must to get a bunch of Scadutree fragments. Scaduview is guarded by him, so exploring the region further means you’ll have to make quick work of him.

1 Bayle The Dread

The Peak Of Boss Design, Represented By Bayle

Bayle the Dread is the pinnacle of FromSoftware's boss design. With this DLC they seem to have perfected the dragon bosses in Soulsborne titles, with neat homages to previous iconic dragons from other entries.

Bayle is extremely difficult even if your Scadutree blessings are maxed out, but his fight is so much fun and cinematic that you’ll almost entirely enjoy every attempt. As an optional boss, you don’t have to beat him to close the story, but it’s very much worth going out and looking for him in the Land of Shadow.