How to beat Ralva the Great Red Bear in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

One of the tougher overworld bosses you’ll come across while playing Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is Ralva the Great Red Bear, but how can you beat this creature? Here are some tips on taking down this large bear.

Elden Ring: Ralva the Great Red Bear boss guide in Shadow of the Erdtree

You’ll find Ralva the Great Red Bear stalking the forest surrounding a small lake northeast of the Highland Cross Site of Grace, specifically in the Scadu Atlus region unlocked after defeating Rellana, Twin Blade Knight.

While it’s not as tough as some of the main bosses, it certainly packs a punch with its meaty paws. Let’s go over some tips for beating Ralva the Great Red Bear in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Phase one

First off, don’t be afraid to summon a Spirit Ash. This area allows this, so I brought along my Mimic Tear. If you don’t have that one, I’d also recommend Lhutel the Headless or Black Knife Tiche. Ralva is a huge bear that will take swipes at you with its large paws, so anytime this happens you’ll want to dodge backward.

Ralva will typically swipe at you around four times in a row, and you can easily time it by dodging backward four times. It’s hard to get a hit in when your Spirit Ash isn’t taking the aggro off of you, so wait until Ralva is distracted by your Spirit Ash to strike. If you have an Intelligence or Faith build, it’s also best to stay at a far range and shoot spells or incantations.

Ralva will still try to close the distance, and when Ralva slams on the ground, it’ll cause an AoE effect which will shake the ground, making you fall prone. You can avoid this by dodging backward or running away before you’re caught in the area.

It’ll either shake the ground right in front of Ralva or around it in a circle. If it pounds the ground in front of you, dodging backward may not get you out of there in time. Try dodging to the side to avoid this one. Ralva also may pull the ground up from under you, which reaches much farther than you may realize. This must also be dodged by rolling to the side.

Phase two

During Ralva’s second phase, it’ll let out a shattering scream that you don’t want to be close to. After that, its paw swipes are more powerful with extra wind effects trailing them. Strike at Ralva when it’s turned from you and attacking your Spirit Ash. You won’t have a lot of time to do this, so only hit it once or twice before backing away.

Ralva’s strikes may also cause you to gain the Hemorrhage status effect, and if the bar fills up you’ll suffer a great amount of damage. You can avoid Hemorrhage with things like Bestial Constitution (Incantation), Staunching Boluses (consumable), or the Mottled Necklace (Talisman).

After you finally defeat Ralva the Great Red Bear, you’ll receive the Pelt of Ralva helmet. It gives an extra boost in Magic and Light damage negations, with a Physical damage negation of 3.1 and an Immunity of 27.

Now that you learned how to beat Ralva the Great Red Bear in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, you may be ready to take on the mighty Furnace Golems.