Elden Ring Radahn Boss Fight: How To Beat Starscourge Radahn
The Elden Ring Radahn boss fight is an absolute beast. Elden Ring carries forward much of the design DNA of previous FromSoftware games and big, scary bosses are core to that. A lot of players have come up against Radahn and found themselves in a lot of trouble. We have braved the Starscourge a couple of times, and found ways to bring the demi-god down, so here is a guide to the Elden Ring Radahn boss fight: How to beat Starscourge Radahn.
- To make the right start at this boss fight, you will want to complete Blaidd's quest first. For tips on how, check out Elden Ring Blaidd: Where To Find Blaidd and How To Complete His Side Quest.
Elden Ring Radahn Boss Fight: How To Unlock The Boss
Click to enlargeBelieve it or not, even as one of the main bosses of the game, getting to Starscourge Radahn is a bit of a mystery. You might assume that, like Godrick or Rennala, the way to Radahn is to find his legacy dungeon and complete it. Not so in this case, although Radahn is found at Redmane Castle you do not need to complete the area to fight him. In fact, you never need to step foot in the castle before going straight to the fight.
The reason for this is that Radahn can only be fought once the Festival of War is triggered. There appear to be multiple ways to do this, but one of those seems to be the intended method. Many players don’t seem to realise that the fight does not unlock automatically, which implies that there really are ways to accidentally trigger the festival. Some people claim the festival activated once they activated the Grand Lift of Dectus and went to Redmane Castle afterwards.
The method that seems to be the intended one is to complete Blaidd and Ranni’s quests. These involve investigating Siofra River and the mysterious Eternal City, Nekron. We have a guide covering all of these steps, and that is linked above. Follow that guide it will lead you on the intended path to the Starscourge Radahn boss fight. To start it, once you have the invitation from Sellen, go to the Impassable Bridge and use the teleporter.
- Before facing Radahn, you should take down Rennala in Raya Lucaria. Check out Elden Ring Rennala Boss Fight: How To Beat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon.
Elden Ring Radahn Boss Fight: How To Start The Fight
Click to enlargeOnce you teleport into Redmane Castle, speak with Jerren and the way will be open. Take the elevator down to the beach and then use the teleporter to enter the arena. Be on your toes, as Rabahn does not wait about.
You will start a long distance away from Radahn, and he will begin firing arrows at you. These come in two forms; purple magical arrows that do huge damage and you need to learn how to avoid them, and barrages of arrows he fires into the sky that rain down on you. Your first task here is to get used to these attacks, as learning to avoid them in the early fight is crucial.
While avoiding arrows, you need to start summoning. Radahn is quite a gimmicky boss fight, the intention here isn’t to run in swinging your sword. This is a festival, and you can’t have a festival with just two people, so it’s time to bring in the guests. Directly in front of you, you should see three summon signs.
These are the three warriors you saw as spirits back in the castle, summon them and they will charge at Radahn. Next, head left and you will find the summon sign for Blaidd the Half-Wolf, provided you used the side quest method to get here. Then, head over to the right side and you will find the summon sign for Alexander the Warrior Jar, again provided you freed him from being buried earlier.
There are two more summons, further apart. If you head straight towards Radahn from where you start, you can find a summon sign for Patches. In typical Patches fashion, he will appear and then immediately run away. Go right from Patches and over a sand dune you will find another sign, for the Finger Maiden you would have also seen at the castle. Summon her, and you now have a small army to join your fight.
- You're going to need as much power as you can get to take down Radahn, and jumping ahead to grab the Comet Azur spell is a great way to get that. Elden Ring Comet Azur: Where To Get The Comet Azur Spell.
Elden Ring Radahn Boss Fight: How To Beat Him
Click to enlargeAt this point you have two options, keep your distance or get stuck in with the others. Your summons will charge in and attack Radahn, and they can do plenty of damage. When they die, they can be re-summoned at one of the banners around the battlefield. It is totally viable to keep your distance, stay on Torrent, and focus on summoning NPCs.
If you aren’t a ranged player or the summons are taking too long, you can take on Radahn like any boss yourself. He is very tough and his attacks are huge, even for physical fighters it might be best to use Torrent to hit and run Radahn.
Radahn is very mobile for a huge enemy, so be wary of him charging around. Of particular concern should be any of his magical attacks. Any time you see him charging purple energy in his weapons, run for the hills. Or, dunes. Regardless, he hits hard so stay back as much as you can. Wear him down and when he gets to around half health, that is when phase two begins.
Click to enlargeThankfully, this isn’t a complicated change. The most pressing thing to be aware of is that at this point, Radahn leaps into the air and disappears. Keep your eyes to the sky, because after a short time Radahn will come crashing down like a meteor. Watch for this, and be ready to move to avoid it. He is targeting you, and this will kill you.
Avoid the attack and you are into the final phase of the battle. Continue as you were, Radahn fights mostly the same way but has a few extra magical attacks. He can summon purple orbs that will track you and do huge damage. Stick to your guns, do what you have been doing so far and you should be able to finish Radahn off.
- Where Does Elden Ring Take Place? The answer may shock you (it isn't Ohio, contrary to popular belief).
Elden Ring Radahn Boss Fight: How To Make The Fight Easier
Click to enlargeFight smarter, not harder. Elden Ring has so many tools available to players, and while it may never be obvious there is usually a way to make life a lot easier for yourself. Enemy weaknesses are there to be exploited, and Radahn is no different. Radahn is a victim of the scarlet rot, a corruption that has warped him, and he is particularly susceptible to it in the fight.
What we recommend is to learn the Rotten Breath incantation. It requires 15 Faith and 12 Arcane, so not a huge investment even for physical fighters. The incantation can be acquired at the Cathedral of Dragon Communion, in the south of Caelid, just outside of Redmane Castle.
Buy the spell for one dragon heart and equip it for the fight. Do the same as above, particularly important is to summon every character you can. While they fight Radahn, get in close and use the Rotten Breath. Just two of these will trigger the rot, and Radahn’s health will go into freefall. This will last until he leaves for phase two, so once he returns you need to reapply the effect. Two more blasts and Radahn will rot away until he dies. Just like that, you have beaten one of Elden Ring’s toughest bosses in four moves.
With all that information you should have no issues tracking down and defeating Starscourge Radahn. Once Radahn is defeated, you can go and get one of the most powerful Spirit Summons in the game. For more, check out Elden Ring Mimic Tear: How To Get The Mimic Tear Ash.
