Best Boss Battles: Starscourge Radahn

Before we begin, allow me to paint you the full picture.

General Radahn is cursed ever to wander. Eaten from the inside, by Malenia’s scarlet rot, his wits are long gone. Now he gathers the corpses of former friends and foes alike, gorging on them, like a dog. Howling at the sky.

But now, we must make merry. O gathering of champions, the revels begin! The celebration of war! The Radahn Festival!

Deep in the desolate wastes of Ohio stands Redmane Castle. Within this stronghold resides Witch-Hunter Jerren, who gathers champions from across the Lands Between for a celebration. A festival with one purpose: to fight and slay his old friend, General Radahn, and give the demigod the honorable death he deserves.

Warriors from far and wide would make their way to the castle to participate. Mighty warriors seeking glory. Loyal hounds on a quest for their master. Even a traitorous schemer finds his way to the castle. Among such champions comes a lowly Tarnished, blissfully unaware of what awaits them ahead: you.

Well, that ‘blissfully unaware’ bit may have just been me. But for the sake of my dignity, let’s pretend that you were in the same boat, shall we? Thank you.

Starscourge Radahn is unlike any other From Software boss to ever come before it. Yes, it is still very much has all the key hallmarks of their best bosses. But it’s not the usual David VS Goliath situation standard to these games. It’s a genuine festival through and through.

A festival of ants trying to bring down an elephant.

Normally, From Software will offer you the ability to summon one, perhaps two, NPC companions to help you out in a boss fight. Here? You can summon nearly ten allies to join the battle! Also unlike other battles, you don’t summon them behind the safety of the fog wall; you’ve got to call them forth on the battlefield itself, with the mighty general attacking you from a distance the instant you set foot upon his shores.

Of course, if you’re a hardcore masochist, you could fight Radahn one-on-one. But personally, I have much more fun summoning helpers. It’s a festival, after all; you can’t enjoy those by yourself. Believe me, I’ve tried. Also, I need the help, because I am nowhere near good enough at Elden Ring to take this particular demigod on by myself.

Besides, I will always get a laugh out of Patches ditching you as soon as you summon him.

When the fight begins, you’ll find yourself a considerable distance away from Radahn. Your first goal is to get in close enough to begin the fight proper. Don’t think that will be easy, though; the general brought his enormous greatbow to the festival, and he’s got a few different arrow varieties to kill you with. A gravity-powered sniper shot, a powerful short-ranged shotgun blast, and a devastating rain of shots from above. Even reaching Radahn is a challenge in it of itself.

Luckily, you’ve got full access to Torrent in this fight. Not only does your trusty steed help you close the distance, he also offers you a new tactic in combat. Do you joust with Radahn, pitting Torrent against Radahn’s own beloved steed, Leonard? Or do you keep on your feet and stare up at the giant from below, using your build’s standard move-set against your hulking foe?

By the by, Radahn mastered gravity magic because he was getting too big and still wanted to ride his scrawny little pony. Which is surprisingly sweet for a guy who also used said magic to literally stop the movements of the stars themselves. Why’d he do that?

I dunno, maybe he made a bet with Godfrey.

Once you get in close, Radahn lowers his bow and draws his two massive swords. With these, he’ll overwhelm you and your fellow champions with sweeping strikes, explosive overhead swings, and even a few leaping attacks. On top of that, he’ll unleash powerful gravity magic, letting him stun you, fling deadly meteors, or send out devastating shockwaves.

Don’t let his massive size and tiny horse fool you. Radahn is every bit as fast as he is large. If you’re going to fight him on foot, you’ll need to keep on your toes. Especially since he hits like Truck-kun on rocket fuel; if you come at him too early into the game, he’ll make a pancake of you in one or two hits.

Or you could use Godfrey’s Great Rune and power level the hell out of your Vigor. The demigod’s monstrous strength doesn’t seem so overwhelming if you do that.

Survive long enough and do enough damage, and Radahn will leap into the sky. This should give you some time to catch your breath, reapply some buffs, and do a bit of healing if necessary. But keep your eyes on the sky, because the general will come down sooner or later.

In the form of a giant flaming meteor that will instantly kill you and likely all of your fellow champions if you get caught in the blast.

Phase two Radahn is a whole different beast from the first phase. He moves faster, hits harder, and has a greater repertoire of gravity spells. What’s worse, that meteor strike will likely have wiped out most of your party, leaving you at a severe disadvantage at the start of this phase. You’ve got to balance re-summoning your helpers and dodging his overwhelming onslaught. If you’re playing solo, you’re gonna have to figure out his move set real quick if you don’t want to get smashed against a wall repeatedly.

Though, if you’re a Souls fan, I’m probably threatening you with a good time. So… enjoy.

His protective meteors are the most devastating by far. If you’re not careful in your attacks, they’ll interrupt your combo and stun you long enough for Radahn himself to completely annihilate you. And considering that he gets a huge damage buff in phase two, no amount of Vigor or Godfrey runes will help you there. If you see rocks hovering around his head, you may want to stay your hand for a bit.

Regardless of how you approach it, Radahn is anything but invincible. His moves are fairly easy to learn and avoid for the patient player. Of course, if you keep getting wiped out, you can just go explore elsewhere and level up your stats and equipment. Like most Elden Ring bosses, it is possible to out-level him and somewhat trivialize the challenge.

Even so, claiming victory over the demigod general is one of the most exciting and satisfying moments of the entire game. More than that, you’re fairly well rewarded for the effort. Not only do you get his Great Rune, which increases your HP, FP, and Stamina, you also unlock access to Nokron, the Eternal City beneath Limgrave, letting you continue Ranni’s questline or simply gain access to some of the game’s best loot and optional bosses.

Including the most deadly, damn near unbeatable boss: the Mimic Tear. If demigods cannot destroy you, then the only thing that can is you. Unless you take all your equipment off before entering. But surely you wouldn’t be so dishonorable as to kill your own doppelganger in their/your birthday suit… Right?

As a nice little cherry on top, you’re also rewarded with a gorgeous cutscene. Remember: Radahn used his incredible magic to hold the stars themselves in place. Hence the title Starscourge. Now, with him slain by your hand, the stars are set free once more. An accomplishment worthy of a true Elden Lord.

I absolutely love this boss battle! It’s completely unlike any other boss in the game, yet it doesn’t sacrifice a single element that makes its peers so incredible! Whether you’re going at it solo or joining in the festival, Starscourge Radahn stands as one of the most memorable and exciting battles From Software has ever crafted!

But alas, there is one tragedy in this battle. One that we cannot prevent. A crime committed by the player themselves, which shall haunt me to my dying days.

The death of poor, loyal Leonard. A finer steed, there never was.