Elden Ring - The Many Problems With Its Bosses

An extensive look at the problems I encountered with Elden Ring's major bosses.

The more I've played Elden Ring, the more I've started to dislike its bosses This video discusses what exactly went right and wrong when it came to the design of these fights, with a large focus on mechanics and gameplay.

Chapters
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:38 - Margit, the Fell Omen
00:08:53 - Godrick the Grafted
00:15:00 - Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
00:20:12 - Magma Wyrm
00:22:48 - Starscourge Radahn
00:28:12 - Regal Ancestor Spirit
00:31:02 - Valiant Gargoyles
00:35:56 - Astel, Naturalborn of the Void
00:41:03 - Lichdragon Fortissax
00:46:02 - Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
00:50:36 - Morgott, the Omen King
00:56:34 - Commander Niall
00:59:26 - Mohg, Lord of Blood
01:05:13 - Fire Giant
01:09:01 - Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree
01:11:51 - Malenia, Blade of Miquella
01:20:05 - Dragonlord Placidusax
01:26:32 - Beast Clergyman & Malekith, the Black Blade
01:34:18 - Godfrey, First Elden Lord & Hoarah Loux, Warrior
01:41:07 - Radagon of the Golden Order & Elden Beast
01:50:38 - Conclusion: FromSoftware's Uncertain Future

#EldenRing #EldenRingBoss #FromSoftware

[dietrichrache]

I like Joseph Anderson's take on the Elden Beast. "I wouldn't be surprised if they simply forgot to enable Torrent for this fight and now they're too embarassed to admit and fix it"

[turtleking]

My biggest issue is how many bosses you have to constantly chase around the arena to even try to hit

[ciaranmcguinness]

I'm surprised there was no mention of easily the most hated boss in the game, the Godskin Duo, a fight that fools you into thinking it's like Ornstein and Smough where one is slow and does massive damage and the other is fast and uses hit and run tactics but in reality both of them are ridiculously fast with no end to their combos and not to mention that bullshit nearly unavoidable roll the fat one does and it's mandatory to even get to Malekith

[justie]

I agree with you on Hoarah Loux, but not on Godfrey. Godfrey was the only boss I felt like I could reliably dodge in the whole game because he was telegraphed properly every time.

[zomeraktiven]

One thing that i really wish they did, is have the camera zoom out on bigger bosses. They did it in sekiro, and it makes it soo much easier too see what the boss is doing when you you're close and attacking. Now with no camera change, it sometimes makes the boss figh just seem cluttered, sparaddic and sometimes unfair.
(Just realized while waching, this happens on some bosses, but is inconsistent)

[gluttonyfang]

The camera problem can be solved by what Generation 5 Monster Hunter games do; whenever a monster is about to do a wide scaled attack the camera zooms out to give you the vision cue you needed.
These things will make fighting things like the Ulcerated Tree Spirit or giants much more comfortable.

[jakeoshea]

I feel like Elden Beast should have been more similar to Moon Presence from Bloodborne in that it could have been a kind of secret extra boss. Radagon feels like a much more fitting end boss, and Elden Beast feels more like Moon Presence thematically.

[PGM_EGG]

Crazy how many people don’t think that these bosses have problems. It’s also crazy how most, if not all of the problems are amplified in the dlc

[m.m.]

I think the lack of Marika's Statues in Raya Lucaria makes a lot of sense, but I would have loved to see them replaced by Radagon Statues. Not only would this tie into the lore of the Marika/Radagon are the same being, but it would also promote the idea that these statues are still intact because Rennala still cares for Radagon.

[lesp]

A great boss like Ishin tests all the skills you learned during the whole game, a boss like Malenia tests your ability to watch a youtube video on how to dodge waterfowl dance.

[storageaftermath]

As much as I love this game, it’s hard to ignore some of the BS in the boss fights, people always say malenia is good because she’s hard but it goes from hard to unfair very fast.

[matthewduncan]

I think the issue having gone through Elden Ring a few times is that the game feels as if a lot of the bosses are balanced around the summons the game gives you. FS WANT you to use them. So bosses end up feeling overturned because they’re not balanced to be fought one on one. Going through the game with and without summons on bosses are completely different experiences

[Angelec]

"the other games sped you up with the enemy" that finally got me on board with what you were saying. I think that's the biggest issue with all of this. BB and Sekiro had insanely fast bosses but you were also insanely fast

[DieLit_]

My biggest gripe with the twin gargoyles is that they wasted such a beautiful boss arena on them. The huge open cave, the giant waterfall, the pretty rock formations, you would think they would have made some kind of aquatic monster like maybe a giant squid creature or something along that line to complement the boss arena.

[yllifazlija]

"Nothing links Yura to Mohg" when the first instance of seeing Yura is killing a Mohg follower together ? And every part of his questline is killing mohg followers ?

[Max-tqfs]

This video is so funny now that the DLC is out, where the negatives of boss design are ten times worse.

[megaairsoft]

Note, the fireballs for the fire giant don’t prime to explode until they are near you. So you’re meant to trigger them, then get out of the way before they detonate.

[blackswordsman]

I absolutely hate the delayed strikes. Yea, I agree that if used once in a while it would actually be really cool, but it seems like almost every single boss does it. You can't get naturally better at dodging attacks with instinct, instead, you just have to memorize the delay, which is super frustrating when you can die in 2-3 hits

[heyimbilliejean]

I did my playthough blind, and hadn't found the tear when I fought Mohg. The way I managed it was to get him close to his push, pop a stamina buff, then switch to the claws with a bleed buff and the bleed boosting gear, push him while he was in the middle of an attack animation, then burn through his HP before he could do the phase transition.

[the.bloodless.one]

1:32:29 this is exactly what irks me about so many Elden Ring bosses, it’s all just one sided and dodging. There’s no more those engaging back and forths like I loved so much in the bosses of DS3 and ESPECIALLY Bloodborne. And even Sekiro since every hit can be a back or a forth depending on if your parry is successful or not.. in Elden Ring it’s just staying away or dodging for 4 years while the boss flails around like a lunatic till you can finally find a tiny millisecond after 4 years of dodging to finally get in a little poke. It’s just exhausting and not as instantly rewarding or satisfyingly engaging to lock into that flow state with a boss.