A main feature of the SoulsBorne subgenre is the multitude of bosses that will be found throughout a game. As started by Demon’s Souls back in 2009, FromSoftware pioneered the subgenre with bosses that could be hard, easy, frustrating, fun, or emotional.
Bosses have stats much like the player, with HP being the biggest example. Many bosses need a HP stat that makes sense and, more importantly, is balanced. In the earlier, more linear games of FromSoft, the HP stat wouldn’t reach all too tremendous heights. However, with the inclusion of Elden Ring, its open-world formula allowed for an expansive experience that pushed the boundary for the stats of bosses, with some reaching absurdly high numbers.
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10 Godrey, First Elden Lord
21,903 HP
The penultimate boss fight in Elden Ring, Godfrey possesses one of the highest HP stats of a boss, as would be fitting for a man of his station.
For someone who is as big and legendary as Godfrey is, and as a character who is also a strength build, giving him a large health pool makes sense thematically as well as lorewise. He helped shape The Lands Between long before the game takes place, such as with the destruction of the Fire Giants, or when he defeated the Storm Lord. As a result, his high HP befits his status as a noble and legendary figure.
9 Elden Beast
22,127 HP
The Elden Beast is the final boss of Elden Ring and, as would be expected, it has one of the highest HP bars in the game.
Elden Ring’s playerbase has mixed feelings toward the boss fight, with many praising its unique and beautiful art design, but others criticizing the gameplay of the battle, with the Elden Beast having a tendency to run away. Pair this with FromSoft’s previous game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, holding what’s widely considered the best final boss they’ve created, and it becomes more clear why players are so split on the Elden Beast. Regardless, it is one of the more difficult beast bosses FromSoft has created, partly owing to its large health pool.
8 Decaying Ekzykes
23,731 HP
Not a major boss by the standard of some of Elden Ring’s other fights, Decaying Ekzykes has quite a large amount of HP nonetheless.
Found within the rotted landscape of Caelid, many players consider Ekzykes as one of the more difficult open-world dragon bosses. Notably, as he is in Caelid, Ekzykes utilizes Scarlet Rot attacks, which can prove fatal for players if not kept in check. His arena also isn’t as big compared to other dragon bosses such as Agheel or Smarag, which can lead to frustrating, but quick player deaths.
7 Great Wyrm Theodorix
25,649 HP
A boss that is somewhat hidden towards the end of the game, Theodorix, is the last of the Magma Wyrms, and the only other that is named, along with Makar. Due to Theodorix being found in the Consecrated Snowfields, his high HP fits, and is one of the few non-major boss fights with a health pool so high.
While the boss fight is not different from Makar and the other Magma Wyrms, Theodorix does drop a unique Dragon Communion Incantation. However, the fight can be trivialized via the Land Octopus nearby, as it can attack Theodorix.
6 Godskin Duo
26,350 HP
While FromSoft has attempted these types of boss fights before, where players must attack individual enemies to reduce the HP of an overall health bar, such as with Dark Souls’ Four Kings, the Godskin Duo is Elden Ring’s attempt, and the results are less than stellar.
One of, if not the most hated bosses in the game, the Godskin Duo’s HP stat might be a reason why the fight is so disliked. Many players have criticized the fight for not being balanced, with the two Godskins having no synergy together, and working better as individual battles. Combined with the Godskins’ propensity to fling fireballs when players are healing, dealing a damage over time effect, this fight has become very controversial. But while frustrating, at least the music never lets players down.
5 Dragonlord Placidusax
26,651 HP
The main boss that is the easiest to miss in Elden Ring, Dragonlord Placidusax kept FromSoft’s tradition of dragon fights being some of the best, and hardest, in their games.
Elden Ring: 8 Best Boss Arenas
Elden Ring has some pretty cool boss arenas that tell their own stories in a variety of interesting ways.
The first ever Elden Lord in the lore, Placidusax is clearly way past his prime, with his body showing scars and damage, most notably his missing heads besides the two he still has intact. Despite being weaker than he once was, he can still kick the butts of players who challenge him via his lightning nuke or laser beam attacks, instantly killing any would-be aggressors, with his high HP helping to bolster him while he does so.
4 Malenia, Blade Of Miquella/Goddess Of Rot
33,251 HP
The most infamous boss in Elden Ring, and now often ranked as the hardest boss in a soulslike game, Malenia possesses a large amount of health across both her different phases.
In Malenia’s individual phases, she still has a big HP pool, but one that would be expected being an endgame boss. In her first phase, she has 18,473 health and her second phase sees her with 14,778 HP. However, combined across her overall encounter she holds a total of 33,251 HP players must get through before they can defeat her.
3 Fire Giant
42,363 HP
The Fire Giant is one of the biggest bosses in Elden Ring and so an appropriate amount of HP would be needed to make it feel like players are truly fighting such a massive creature.
In terms of a normal, non-gimmick major boss fight, the Fire Giant holds the highest amount of HP in the game. The Fire Giant is Elden Ring’s attempt at a spectacular boss, with FromSoft doing a great job. The contrast of the fire with the snow on the mountain while the Erdtree looms in the background makes for a battle straight out of legend. Despite this, the Fire Giant has drawn some criticism, with his size being a drawback, as players are unable to see what attacks he is about to commit at times. His high health can only further compound this, with players who dislike the fight having to go through a very long battle.
2 Elder Dragon Greyoll
87,664 HP
Elder Dragon Greyoll is not a typical boss fight as players must either take out the smaller dragons surrounding her to deal damage to her, or just attack her stationary body in which she doesn’t fight back. She doesn’t even have a boss health bar appearing on the screen.
Elden Ring: The Best Blood Weapons
Blood weapons are quite powerful in Elden Ring, and the Tarnished has a few great options to choose from for their build.
However, what she does have is an insane amount of HP, the second highest in Elden Ring. Her health is so high that many players who decide to kill her will bring some sort of status inflicting weapon, mainly Blood Loss, so they can reduce her HP as fast as possible. Her large health does make sense though, as she is a massive dragon with tragic and sad lore who covers a portion of Caelid’s landscape.
1 Rykard, Lord Of Blasphemy
89,613 HP
While Rykard has the highest amount of HP on paper, it might not feel like he does when actually fighting him due to the gimmick with the Serpent-Hunter weapon.
However, the boss does possess the largest amount of health in Elden Ring, split up between Rykard himself in the second phase, and the God-Devouring Serpent in the first phase. Phase one of the boss fight sees the God-Devouring Serpent with 30,439 HP, while in the second phase Rykard has 59,174 HP, together equaling a total of 89,613 health, making for a doozy of a fight inside the giant arena.
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
