Elden Ring: How to beat Radagon and the Elden Beast

Well, this is it. The final battle to claim the title of next Elden Lord begins. You face Radagon… or Marika? Or maybe both? Elden Ring lore is cryptic, but the general belief is that both Radagon and Queen Marika are the same person. Either way, that might explain some things with Malenia and Miquella. But that’s for another time — now, you must fight. Radagon and the Elden Beast are both tough bouts, but this handy guide will help you figure out how to beat them and at last discover the final treasure of Elden Ring: the end credits.

Note: For more information, check out our Elden Ring guides and features hub.

Elden Ring boss guide – How to beat Radagon of the Golden Order

Radagon of the Golden Order is the first phase of the final boss encounter in Elden Ring. At the start of the fight he walks up to you like a JoJo character, brandishing the hammer used to destroy the Elden Ring — which kicked off the game’s whole story. This broken god certainly looks fairly terrifying early on. However, most of his melee attacks are slow and can be dodged without much effort. His special abilities are nothing to sneeze at, though.

Elden Ring Radagon boss fight phase 1

• Melee attacks – Radagon wields a one-handed hammer — Marika’s Hammer. He usually swings it once, but will sometimes follow it up with another strike or a combo.
• Dash attack – At a distance, Radagon will dart forward and strike once. This move has a lot of recovery time.
• Glowing stomp – Radagon charges up his right leg before slamming it down in an AoE attack.
• Jumping slam – Taking to the air, Radagon will hover for a moment before flying down and striking the earth with an AoE explosion.
• Laser beams – Glowing particles will gather around what remains of Radagon’s left hand. He then fires them off in a shotgun-like effect. If you’re close enough, he’ll follow this up with a hammer jab. He can also do this from the air.
• Teleport – Radagon will disappear and swiftly reappear near you in a beam of light that can cause damage.
• Lightning bolt – He fires off a single bolt of lightning, which explodes a couple seconds after burying into the ground. From the air, he may also drive the bolt into the ground, creating a damaging circle for a few seconds.
• Grab slam – Golden light will appear in Radagon’s left hand, and, after a couple seconds, he’ll grab you and throw you to the ground. He’ll hit you twice with the hammer before you’re released.
• Triple ground slam – Radagon will strike the ground three times, causing an explosion.

Radagon hits insanely hard. In fact, if you don’t have a lot of points in Vigor, he could chunk most of your health in one melee blow. However, many of his attacks are slow and have long windup times. You should be able to dodge roll through most of his attacks without much worry.

However, his special abilities can be tough to deal with. When he teleports, it’s likely best to roll backwards and then hit him after he attacks. Roll forward when you see the lightning bolt coming, that way you can get into melee range while avoiding the explosion. Roll through the laser beams.

Radagon has two moves that will cause the most trouble. The first is the grab, which is hard to time. If anything, I’d suggest just trying to get away from him if you’re not confident of your timing. The second move is the triple ground slam. When you see Radagon begin to float with his hammer burning yellow, get ready. You can roll through the damage, but it’s tough. The area of the explosion is wide as well. I don’t suggest rolling toward him, as that’ll put you in a bad position. Instead, roll at an angle to the left or right while getting closer — but not too close. Once he’s done, Radagon will be vulnerable for a few hits.

Elden Ring Radagon boss fight phase 2: Elden Beast

Once Radagon is Rada-gone (hah), you face your final Elden Ring challenge: the Elden Beast. This massive, winged-creature is powerful, mobile, and can fly. And it wields a sword. Because why not? You can think of the Elden Beast as you would a dragon. It has size and the ability to fly, plus it can breathe fire in a way similar to Placidusax. Most of its melee attacks are slow and easily avoidable, but its special abilities can catch you off guard if you’re not careful.

• Melee attacks – The Elden Beast swings its massive sword. It may only attack once, but it could also go for a three-hit combo. If you recall your fight against Rykard, you should do well against these attacks. It may also “swim” a short distance away before swinging.
• Holy rain – The beast gathers energy in its wings before sending dozens of lances into the air that soon chase you down.
• Exploding rings – After taking to the sky, the symbol of the Elden Ring appears floating above the Elden Beast. A moment later, golden rings will appear around you, shrinking down before ending in an AoE explosion.
• Bursting stars – The Elden Beast sends out a cloud of stars shrouded in black mist, much like the night sky. After a moment, they explode. There are two versions of this: one that stretches in a line toward you, and another the beast uses around itself for protection.
• Golden fire breath – The Elden Beast breathes fire directly in front and to the sides of its body.
• Grab – The creature’s left hand glows before reaching out for a grab that sends holy lances into you.
• Holy hand slam – The Elden Beast will charge up holy energy into its left hand before slamming it down.
• Homing light ball – Called “chasing stars” by the community, this move begins as the Elden Beast slides its hand along the blade. Afterwards, it sends out a pulsating orb of holy energy that follows you around while shooting out smaller orbs. It’s annoying.
• Wave of Gold – The Elden Beast charges up its sword and unleashes a wave of holy fire.
• Sword beams – The Elden Beast envelops its sword in holy fire before slashing, sending out a wave of energy.
• Swimming – The boss arena is covered in black water that the Elden Beast can dive and swim in. Keep your target locked on it to more easily track its position. Watch out for when it re-emerges, however, as it may slash at you with its sword.

The Elden Beast is the final fight in the game, but like any good boss, it has a clear weak point. If you look at its chest, you’ll see something like an orange crack. Hitting that deals additional damage against the beast, so try and get in close whenever you feel safe. At worst, you’ll have to watch for its holy hand slam and grab move. Doing enough damage will eventually cause it to run away. Its poise can also be broken, letting you go in for a grab attack on this weak point.

There are two moves to watch out for the most: the sword beams, and the exploding rings. For the latter, you should know the attack is coming when you see the Elden Ring symbol in the sky. A ring will appear around you before quickly closing in. At first, you only have to deal with one ring. But once the Elden Beast is at half health, three rings appear. You can jump or roll through these, but be quick. The area explodes once all the rings are gone. There’s another, outer ring that stays stationary, and represents the safe area. Get past that and you’re good. The sword beams can be rolled through. My suggesting is to roll forward through the beams, that way you can close the gap between you and the boss. The Elden Beast will pause after this attack, letting you dish out some damage.

If you’re close to the boss, it may try and breathe fire. The blaze covers the area in front of the boss, and then its sides. My suggestion is to charge the beast and get to its rear, and attack while the fire animation continues. You should also turn off the target lock while doing this, otherwise the camera is going to get stuck in its armpit.

Like with the sword beams, you can use the holy rain to get closer to the boss. As the lances are chasing you, make a beeline toward the Elden Beast and try to get some damage in.

The homing light ball, or “chasing stars,” is one of the more challenging attacks. And by challenging, I mean kind of irritating. The attack doesn’t do a lot of damage, but it chases you around for quite some time. If you ignore it, it can eat through your health. However, you’re mostly trying to avoid it and the Elden Beast’s other attacks, which is what actually makes it dangerous. When it gets close, roll through it and try to make some distance. By my count, this attack lasts for about 15 or so seconds.

And that just about covers it. For the most part, the Elden Beast isn’t nearly so bad as it looks. If you’re able to dodge the exploding rings and sword beams, then you should have this in the bag. Best of luck, and congrats! It was a hell of a ride, fellow Tarnished.

Your reward for beating Radagon and the Elden Beast

After the Elden Beast is dead, you receive 500,000 Runs and the Elden Remembrance. You can trade the Remembrance for Marika’s Hammer, a STR/DEX/FAI Hammer, or the Sacred Relic Sword, a STR/DEX/FAI Greatsword.

Elden Ring is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.