A boss fight inElden Ringisn’t just a battle for supremacy or a mere test of perseverance. Because once players have gotten past the rage and frustration, they might eventually realize that some of these bosses have a story to tell or are fighting their own battles on top of a Tarnished zombie with a protagonist complex.
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They might not outright or explicitly say it but bits of their dialogue, as well as the hidden descriptions drowned by a sea of text in items associated with them, paint a rather interesting picture. Some of the bosses inElden Ringare either suffering or have suffered a lot more compared to the players they repeatedly kill. TheseElden Ringbosses continue theSoulsbornetradition of sadboss fightsand bittersweet victories.
8Godrick The Grafted
There’s no doubt he’s one of the worst and most evil characters in the game after sacrificing tons of warriors to be grafted onto him. However, Godrick does have his reasons and while that doesn’t excuse what he did, it somewhat puts him in a pitiable light. Turns out he’s aninsecure little godling. Being a distant relative of Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, Godrick had big shoes to fill.
Unfortunately for him, his spot in the family tree ensured thathe received less of Godfrey’s powerful blood or genes. So he had to compensate with the grafting; even then, he still didn’t measure up to bonafide demigods like Malenia. His delusions about his Golden Age and heritage made him more pathetic than infuriating. He certainly deserved to die but it’s like mercy killing a deranged man.
7Rennala, Queen Of The Full Moon
Ever since Radagon left her for Marika, Rennala has apparently been in astate of constant depression, according to Miriel (Turtle Pope). So it’s safe to assume that the version of her that players face in Raya Lucaria Academy is agrieving single parentwho also justlost all of her children(Ranni killed her physical self, Rykard was eaten by the Serpent God, and Radahn was turned into a zombie).
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Some players have even theorized that all the maidens in Rennala’s room were her attempts to recreate a physical form for Ranni. So essentially, players just barged in on amourning mother&divorceewhile she was trying to cope with the loss of her children just to grab some Runes.
6Elder Dragon Greyoll
That one huge dragon that players love to abuse go get a few hundred thousand Runes after starting a New Game? Turns out it’s amother dragon.Themother of dragons inElden Ring. All those dragons around her are her children and she’s alsosuffering badly from Scarlet Rotwhich explains whyshe doesn’t put up a fight and can’t move.
All Greyoll can do while players hack her to death with a Bleed weapon is scream in agonizing pain while reeling from Scarlet Rot. That’sanother sick motherthat players decided to kill just for Runes. The things Tarnished will do just to becomeElden Lord, huh?
5Starscourge Radahn
On a lighter note, here’s someone willing to go out in ablaze of glorydespite his debilitating condition and gettingzombified due to Scarlet Rot. General Radahn’s men knew him well and respected him enough to turn the ceremony of killing him into a celebration. Because that means he’ll be freed of his affliction and that whoever defeats him is a worthy contender to the throne. Two birds with one stone.
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There’s much more to Radahn, however, apart from being a brute. Because if one watches the trailer where he fought Malenia, one can see Radahn patiently waiting for her to put back her prosthesis for a fairer fight. This man is themost honorable demigod in the Lands Between. What did he get for that honor? Beingdone dirty by Malenia. Fighting Radahn in his current state inElden Ringis thus a sad affair as he could have been majestic in his prime.
Oh and Radahn also cherished his little normal-sized horse named Leonard. It’s worth noting thathe protected Leonard from Malenia’s Scarlet Rot explosion. More than that,Radahn also learned gravity magic to reduce his own weight so that Leonard won’t get back problemscarrying him. In Radahn’s isolated moments of madness as a zombie, Leonard was his only companion and friend— the only being who didn’t want him dead.
4Malenia, Blade Of Miquella
With that said, Malenia, Blade of Miquella— whose name will forever be forcibly ingrained in any player’s memory, is not without her own tragic tale. Everything she did was for her disabled little brother as she firmly believed that Miquella is the best candidate for the throne. So Malenia fought hard and well— evensacrificing herself to give her baby brother a chance.
Malenia had toshed away her dignityand self by turning into an Outer God’s puppetwhich explains theScarlet Rot. This is all so she could measure up against General Radahn. Sadly,all her sacrifice was in vainsince Miquella never got to beElden Lordand was kidnapped by Mohg.
3Ancestor Spirit
Nothing is more agonizing inElden Ringthan killing an old, innocent creature who doesn’t even want to fight. Such is the recurring pattern here, and it’s quite apparent in the Ancestor Spirit boss fight, mostly thanks to the music. The melancholic strings of the whole boss fight tell a harrowing tale ofa spirit forced to fight to protect its ancestral domain.
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The Ancestor Spirit’s appearance also reflects its weariness. It’semaciated, slow, and dying. It’s a point in its lifespan where all it needs is a rest after defending its people for goodness knows how long. Then along comes apower-hungry Tarnished, hell-bent on burning Siofra River just to become more powerful. Players are starting to look like villains at this point.
2Dragonkin Soldier
The Dragonkin Soldier isn’t unlike the Ancestor Spirit. It’s a creature way past its prime except this thing was afailed experimentby the people of Nokstella to imitate dragons or create some kind of dragon hybrid. That explains the boss' appearance. Itcan’t even use its legs properlyand fights players by crawling.
Players can justify killing it by claiming to put the beast out of its misery but even then, the actual fight isborderline bullyingdue to how incapable a fighter it is; it’s one of the weakest bosses in the game. The fact that it mostlydid nothing wrongand was onlya product of multiple twisted injusticesmakes the fight somewhat ethically dishonorable.
1Morgott, The Omen King
He talks smack a lot and Morgott (Margit) has the swagger of a witty king but his life story is actually miserable. He just tries to mask it with overt pride and arrogance. Morgott is an Omen so the Erdtree didn’t like him even though he’s Godfrey’s son. Despite beingshunned and outcast all his life in the Leyndell sewers, Morgottstill remained loyal to the Erdtree.
During the Shattering, he wasthe only one who defended the Erdtreeand evenrepelled and defeated Radahnas the latter was trying to invade the capital. That’s also why he was adamant in calling his siblings “willful traitors, all.” While most of his siblings vied for the throne and sought their own Outer Gods to get more power,Morgott was protecting his family’s legacyand preserving what little remained of its dignity.
What did he get in return? Nothing.The Erdtree still hated himbecause his stalwart loyalty didn’t change the fact that he’s acursed Omen. Regardless, he’ll readily leap in front of the Erdtree to protect it against its enemies and to put their foolish ambitions to rest.
Elden Ringis available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
