Starscourge Radahn is one of the hardest, but most fun, bosses you’ll face in Elden Ring. Here’s how to beat Radahn and take his Elden Ring shard.
We’ve all dreaded facing Starscourge Radahn since we first saw him in Elden Ring’s story trailer. This enormous brute is one of the biggest challenges the game throws at you. Sadly, there’s no simple way to defeat Radahn, but there are ways you can make your life easier.
Word of warning, this guide will contain spoilers for the boss fight and general story of Elden Ring, simply due to the characters that appear.
Elden Ring does a great job of building up the Radahn boss fight before you get to his location. You’ll be hearing about his “festival” from multiple NPCs before you arrive there, but once you do, it’ll be different from what you imagined. Radahn is there, but he’s far from in control. However, you’ll still need to beat him to claim his shard, here’s how to do it.
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Where to find Radahn in Elden Ring
Radahn can be found in Redmane Castle in the southeast of Caelid. Technically, this is a Legacy Dungeon, but it’s not a traditional one. While you can fight your way through Redmane Castle, you’ll be met with minimal resistance. This is apart from the two Lion monsters, but fighting these is completely optional.
If you like, you can take advantage of the portal outside the entrance to warp straight to where you need to get without swinging your sword once. You see, despite what you’ve heard about the fearsome General Radahn, the Starscourge went insane long ago and is now essentially an attraction for adventurers.
The reason for Radahn’s sorry state is a battle he had many ages ago with another demi-god. You can learn what happened to him in-game, or you can watch the story trailer of Elden Ring to get a good idea.
In the courtyard of Redmane Castle, you’ll find an assortment of friendly NPCs, many of whom you’ll have met before, or are likely to at some point on your travels. They are all here to take part in a festival, one which pits a collection of warriors against Radahn in bloodsport. The winner gets to claim his shard of the Elden Ring.
To trigger the boss fight, tell the host upon the ramparts when you’re ready and he’ll open the door to the castle’s chapel. From here, make your way to the beach where you’ll find a portal that transports you to the vast boss arena. Be ready.
NPC support
The Radahn boss fight in Elden Ring is unique in the game, there’s also nothing quite like it in any earlier Souls titles. In this fight, not only can you summon NPC support, but you can summon several NPCs at once, and do so continuously throughout the battle.
Should an NPC fall to Radahn, their summon sign will respawn, allowing you to bring them back. While these NPCs can damage Radahn, they’re unlikely to kill him. Especially once the second phase of the fight begins.
However, they can get lucky if you can summon enough of them at one time throughout the battle. This is difficult to pull off though, as Radahn will cut them down quickly and turn his attention back to you.
NPCs include Alexander the Warrior Pot, Blaidd the Half-Wolf, Patches, Tregoth, and a bunch more. If you haven’t rescued Alexander yet or met Blaidd at the Mistwood ruins, then now may be a good time to do so.
You can meet Blaidd in person by using the finger-click gesture in the ruins, he’ll then invite you to kill the first evergaol boss together. Alexander can be found stuck in a ditch in northern Stormhill. He needs you to whack him a few times to release him, he’ll then invite you to the festival.
Be aware, Patches will enter the boss arena when you summon him, but he’ll return to his own world in fear once he sees how monstrous Radahn is. Be honest though, what else did we expect from this universe-hopping coward?
It’s also advisable to defeat Radahn before you hunt down and defeat his fellow demi-god Rykard at the Volcano Manor. This is because Tregoth is one of the Manor’s assassination targets, and killing him will mean he’s unable to participate in the Radahn boss battle.
Killing Tregoth is optional. It’s possible to locate and defeat Rykard without killing him. Although, completing the Manor’s list of targets unlocks some sweet rewards, including various armor sets. Just remember, Tregoth is a powerful NPC who can hold his own against Radahn better than most, he’s also a useful ally against the Draconic Tree Sentinel that guards the gates to the capital city.
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How to defeat Radahn in Elden Ring
The moment the battle begins Radahn will start shooting arrows at you from afar. Therefore, dodge these and rush forward to summon your first set of NPC allies. If you’re the sort of player who prides themselves on beating bosses solo, you’re free to, but just know that this is essentially the closest thing Elden Ring has to a Raid boss. You and your NPC allies are supposed to fight together, and Radahn is buffed and designed to be fought by multiple enemies.
Once your allies get close to Radahn, he’ll turn his attention to them, so quickly summon the others and join the fray before he kills them all. The more players attack him at once, the easier the fight will be. Just know that you’ll likely need to re-summon these NPCs as some will fall multiple times, but their summon signs will respawn, allowing them to rejoin the fight.
You may be tempted to spend the duration of the battle re-summoning your allies, but this isn’t always an effective plan as without your support, your allies are weak. You can then take down the Starscurge on foot with a crew. However, you can’t use Spirit Summons in this fight so bear that in mind.
Summoning help from other players can be invaluable in this difficult battle – but beware, doing so will mean you lose access to Torrent in this fight, who’s perhaps even more useful. This is a much tougher fight without a mount.
Without Torrent, Radahn can easily catch up to you and end your existence with a few powerful swipes. Torrent allows you to traverse the battlefield quickly and resurrect fallen NPCs once their summon signs return.
This is incredibly difficult on foot and you’re unlikely to reach many of them. Therefore, make sure your initial squad of players and NPCs has what it takes to defeat Radahn. As once the dominos start falling, the rest will surely follow.
Ranged strategy
Casters and archers will find Radahn easier than melee builds. They can move around the battlefield summoning allies back to life while taking shots at Radahn himself. This is essential for bringing him down. We’d advise you to only consider your NPC allies as distractions. As for Radahn to fall, you’ll need to be the one to inflict the lion’s share of the damage.
Keep your distance, keep summoning, and keep shooting at him. The general will soon fall to this strategy. Arrows and spells that inflict poison will be very helpful, this way, Radahn’s health will be chipping away while he’s thrashing around the battlefield and far away from you.
Once his health reaches around 50% he’ll summon a meteor that will cause massive damage to a wide area. When he vanishes from the battlefield, ride away to safety and prepare to summon your allies again. He’ll soon go back to attacking, this time more frantically, but you can take him down by repeating the same strategy.
Melee strategy
Getting up close and personal with Radahn is dangerous, but it can be done. If you’re fighting him without multiplayer support, then Torrent will be essential to your survival, as will your NPC allies.
Move around the battlefield summoning them as often as you can, but try not to neglect the battle itself. Your allies will comfortably get Radahn to half health, but once Radahn starts summoning meteorites in phase 2 they (and you) can be easily one-shotted.
When he starts this process get as far away as you can, then get back to him once it’s safe to do so. You’ll likely start summoning your squad again after his meteorite hits. Remember, if he kills all your allies and you’re far away from him, he’ll start firing those dangerous arrows again.
Try and keep your team alive make sure you strike at Radahn yourself. He’ll often turn his attention to you if you’re nearby or cross the battlefield to reach you. Use as many buffs as you can to improve your stability on horseback and overall defense. It’s also worth trying to poison Radahn with items if possible.
He’ll charge at you with some attacks, meaning you can circle around him and strike from behind or underneath on a few occasions. Should he summon his purple skulls though, ride away until this threat has passed. This move can instakill even the most leveled player.
So, that’s how you take down Radahn in Elden Ring. Make sure you check out our Elden Ring page for all the latest news and guides.
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