How to beat the Shadow of the Erdtree final boss

The Shadow of the Erdtree final boss, Promised Consort Radahn and the demigod Miquella, are about as brutal as FromSoftware games get, especially in phase 2 when you're suddenly going up against Radahn, Consort of Miquella. Yes, it turns out that the two half-siblings are getting married - this is lore co-authored by George R.R. Martin, after all.

Radahn is a final boss so powerful that it crosses a line for many, going from something fun to something actively exhausting and seemingly impossible, even by the brutal standards set by FromSoftware, Soulsborne games and Elden Ring. However, I have managed to beat Radahn personally, and I promise you that it can be done - and I'll walk you through how you can do it. It won't be easy, but there's options you can take that will give you a real fighting chance - and with that in mind, let's get into how you can beat Promised Consort Radahn in Shadow of the Erdtree.

How to beat Radahn in Shadow of the Erdtree

We'll go into far more detail below about how to beat Promised Consort Radahn, last of the Shadow of the Erdtree main bosses, but here's a quick summary of some key points.

• Use Scarlet Rot, Bleed and Frostbite attacks
• Have a Scadutree Blessing of at least 14, ideally 16 or higher
• Don't use Summon Signs if there are any, but do use Ash Summons
• Radahn can be parried.
• As a general rule, it's good to get behind Radahn when you can.
• In Phase 1 it's mainly physical attacks, in Phase 2 there's a lot of Holy/Lightning, so armor yourself accordingly.
• Radahn's Phase 2 grapple does no damage, but puts an effect on you that means you instantly die if grappled again, no matter your health.

Radahn's weaknesses in Shadow of the Erdtree

Both Promised Consort Radahn and Phase 2, Consort of Miqulla, have the same weaknesses: status effects like Bleed, Scarlet Rot, Frostbite and, to a lesser extent, Poison, are something that Radahn quickly succumbs to, at least compared to other bosses. 

When we specify Poison "to a lesser extent", it's only that he has so much health that poison's slow drain isn't as meaningful as a person might hope. But otherwise this all makes a lot of sense: in lore, Radahn is a character known for being corrupted by the Scarlet Rot created by his infamous sister Malenia, so it tracks that the same and similar methods will work on him. Bleed is a particularly good option for many players, as there's many powerful Bleed weapons like the Shadow of the Erdtree Rakshasa's Great Katana.

What to do before fighting final boss Promised Consort Radahn

Before going into the arena at the top of Enir-Ilim, there's absolutely some steps that you should take, no matter your build.

• Get your Scadutree Blessing to +14 at the very least, and ideally much higher - otherwise you'll have a real bad time.
• Don't summon any Gold Signs outside if there are any (which is admittedly quest dependant), as these NPCs don't help enough to make up for the health boost Radahn gets.
• However, you should bring in an Ash summon like Tiche or the Mimic. There's no health boost to Radahn there, and they can draw his aggro.
• If you're not using them for specific builds, remember to cast buff spells and drink your Wondrous Physick Flask before going in. 

Shadow of the Erdtree Promised Consort Radahn - Phase 1

In Phase 1, you're up against Radahn on his own, using a mixture of sword strikes and gravity magic to keep up pressure. As a rule, you want to stay agile and try and get behind him where possible, using heavy attacks and letting your Ash summon distract him. 

This is by far the easier of the two phases, but "easier" is a very relative term here. You should absolutely make use of this - go aggressive to make the most of this, so ideally you can get to Phase 2 with as many Healing Flasks as possible. 

Below, we've got all of Promised Consort Radahn's attack patterns, and how you handle them. Keep in mind that Radahn has a few basic sword slashes that can link these more complex moves, but these can generally be avoided with simple rolls or shields.

• Spinning Jump: Radahn leaps at you across the arena, spinning through the air to crash into the ground. He usually starts the fight with this.
  • Players should: Roll left or right just before he hits the ground.
• Rock throw: Radahn rips a bunch of boulders from the ground with an upward sword swing, rises up with them, then launches them at the player.
  • Players should: Dodge roll just as Radahn rips the boulders out, then start dodging over and over to the left or right to avoid the barrage of rocks.
• Up-down slam: Radahn sweeps his swords up to knock an enemy into the air, then brings them down with a second slam.
  • Players should: Watch for him to bring both swords above his head and pause. When that happens, roll backwards.
• Gravity Pull: Radahn drags everything towards him with a singularity effect. If players are close and in front of him afterwards, he follows it up with a ground strike that causes the ground to erupt.
  • Players should: Dodge roll back repeatedly when Radahn crosses his arms, the sign he's about to pull you close. If you end up close anyway, dodge roll to behind him to avoid the quake follow-up.
• Fire slice: Radahn cuts a horizontal slice in front of him that leaves a red line in the air - which explodes.
  • Players should: Roll directly backwards twice - once to evade the slash, once to evade the blast.
• Three-hit combo: Radahn swings his swords at you three times, a basic combo.
  • Players should: Roll behind him and keep behind him at all costs.
• Four-hit combo with quake: Radahn does a four strike combo that starts with a quake-causing foot stomp, and ends with him tearing up the ground in front of him.
  • Players should: Perform carefully timed rolls towards Radahn and to the left.
• Frontflip sword slam: Radahn does a flip in the air and brings his swords down on the ground. He might repeat this move multiple times. 
  • Players should: Roll backwards at the very last second before impact.

Bring Radahn down to 50% health, and a cinematic will trigger that brings you to phase 2 - and one boss becomes two.

Shadow of the Erdtree Radahn, Consort of Miquella - Phase 2

Radahn's Phase 2 is infinitely tougher and more brutal than Phase 1, unfortunately. Miquella appears through the Divine Gate and begins literally hanging on his brother's back, granting him massive amounts of Holy power that infuse his attacks, granting a whole new set of moves. 

When this phase starts, you'll appear at a slight distance from Radahn and Miquella, squaring them down. This'll probably give you a brief moment to drink a potion or cast a spell - but you don't have long. Use this moment well, according to your needs.

In Phase 2, the thing to be wary about is that Radahn's attacks are just complex in a way that's just hard to keep track of. A sword strike now summons rifts of light from the ground that you also need to be wary of, a jumping attack now has ethereal holograms to try and throw off your timing, and a shockwave now has extra lightning strikes that act as wildcards. If Phase 1 was the time to act aggressively, now is the time to play defensively and invest in all the resources you saved in Phase 1. Stay mobile, let any surviving summons draw focus, and see if you can inflict status effects that'll wear the big bugger down.

It's also worth acknowledging the Illusions. Radahn's phase 2 has many attacks that send glowing, spectral copies of himself. Don't worry - these are harmless, but they're trying to throw off your responses. See him as the distraction as they are and wait for Radahn himself to go for you.

With that in mind, we'll cover the main attack patterns of Radahn, Consort of Miquella below. Of course, knowing what to do isn't the same thing as learning how to do it well - that's just practice. Still, we can give you that initial lesson for you to learn from. This is in effect the last ever challenge of Elden Ring - so good luck. You're going to need it.

• Holy blast: Radahn levitates into the air, marking a large circle on the ground. It explodes a few seconds later.
  • Players should: Sprint to the nearest edge of the circle, rolling at the last second. Then keep rolling to try and avoid the follow-up beams of light that drop down.
• Miquella's grab/charm: Radahn leaps into the air, drops down and grabs you, followed by an animation in which Miquella strokes your face. This doesn't hurt, but marks you with a debuff that means you're killed if he can grab you again, no matter your health.
  • Players should: Roll towards Radahn at the last second. This attack is pretty easily telegraphed, and there's a pause afterwards, so if you dodge successfully, you can do some damage. If you fought the Scadutree Avatar boss and got Miquella's Great Rune, you can actually use it in combat to cure the debuff effect.
• Four strike combo: Radahn swings his swords four times, sending up streaks of light ahead of him each time.
  • Players should: Dodge in time with each strike to the right to try and get behind him.
• Side dodge/illusion strike: Radahn dodges rapidly to the side in a streak of light, before sending an illusion at you. A moment later, he lunges at you with a two-strike combo.
  • Players should: Expect the harmless illusion and don't let it throw you off. The moment it's past you, roll towards Radahn to get behind him.
• Rock throw: Radahn pulls rocks into the air and throws them at you like in Phase 1.
  • Players should: Run horizontally to clear the attack.
• Spinning Jump: Like in phase 1, Radahn leaps at you while spinning. 
  • Players should: Dodge left or right at the last second, like in phase 1. 
• Leap and illusion barrage: Radahn leaps up and floats there, sending multiple illusions streaking at you. After several of them, he copies their motions and crashes into you. 
  • Players should: Don't be fooled by the illusions - stay standing and dodge roll to the side at the last second.  
• Four-step combo and explosion: Radahn holds up his glowing swords above him in a + shape before leaping at you with a four-strike sword combo. The last attack is Radahn leaping into the air and coming down in a radianting shockwave of energy that's massively damaging.
  • Players should: Dodge the first three attacks by rolling around Radahn to get behind him, run away from him when he jumps up - then dodge into the shockwave as it's about to hit you, using your I-frames to clear it. This is a hard one to deal with, so it'll take time to learn.
• Meteor Dive: At 25% health, Radahn may leap into the stratosphere and vanish. A moment later, he comes back down and lands with a massive blast.
  • Players should: Pick a direction and keep running to get out of blast radius.

It's… a lot, but it can be done. Don't lose hope, don't be afraid to respec, and always consider getting more Scadutree Fragments if you're not sure you're tough enough.

Promised Consort Radahn rewards

Beating both Phases of Promised Consort Radahn ultimately is the end of the main story of Shadow of the Erdtree, but there are also some more tangible rewards.

• 500,000 Runes
• Remembrance of a God and a Lord
• "Let Us Go Together" gesture (found in the middle of the arena)
• Interactable "memory" that players can use to witness a cutscene ((found in the middle of the arena)
• Circlet of Light (headgear that is given to players after watching the above memory)
• The "Young Lion" armor set can now be purchased in the Equipment of Champions 

The Remembrance can actually be redeemed for three potential rewards, the Light of Miquella Incantation, or either of Radahn's Blades; Colossal Swords which have different stats and skills accordingly.

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