Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree player finds the perfect way to shut down one of the final boss's most annoying moves, and it's all thanks to best girl Ranni

Elden Ring screenshot showing Ranni, a young woman with pale ice-y blue skin and a large brimmed witch-like hat
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss is absolutely brutal, but if you're struggling with the fight, fear not, as one player has now discovered a perfect way to counter one of the most annoying moves that can be thrown at you. Be warned, there are spoilers ahead for the final boss.

It took me more hours than I'd like to admit to beat Promised Consort Radahn, but this counter could help speed things up significantly for any magic builds by unlocking the ability to not only dodge but also deal safe damage to the burly foe during his rock throw move, which is otherwise tricky to punish. While it's not too difficult to get away from Radahn as he rips a load of rocks out of the ground and soars into the air, in the process of performing the attack, he tends to get really far away from you. Even if you dodge the boulders as he hurls them, you're probably not going to be able to get to him before he lands to deliver a hit in retaliation before he's onto the next move. 

As demonstrated by Reddit user Popular-List7033, however, using the Ranni's Dark Moon sorcery right after he takes off is an incredibly effective attack. As you can see in the clip below, the magical moon you fire out outright smashes through the incoming boulders, and then hits Radahn for a nice chunk of damage, to boot. This is even better when you consider that Ranni's Dark Moon builds up Frostbite damage, which Radahn is weak to. It also apparently works in phase two, too, as long as you're quick to dodge out of the way of his speedy follow-up attacks right after casting it. 

Coolest way to counter this attack from r/Eldenring

You can only grab Ranni's Dark Moon once you've gotten a large way through Ranni the Witch's questline, so it now feels like an even greater reward for helping out the action RPG's best girl. Unrelated to the strategy itself, it's also worth noting that Ranni and Radahn are siblings, so it's very appropriate that her power would be able to help you match and even surpass his in this fight. 

Admittedly, unless you're already rocking with a high-Intelligence build or are willing to respec your Tarnished to become one, this isn't going to work, as you need 68 Intelligence to use the spell in the first place. Considering how tough this guy is though, it may be worth paying a visit to Ranni's mom with a Larval Tear to give this a go. 

Be sure to take a look at our guide for Shadow of the Erdtree final boss Radahn for some extra tips to help you through the fight.

Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.