Given that we have done a massive series around a litany of bosses from before the Elden Ring DLC released, the premise of this article should be fairly straightforward. So we are going to use a similar approach to ranking these bosses: difficulty, lore and general entertainment/fun value will lead the way here. Where they would appear on our grander scale boss ranking series will also be noted.

With that, let’s begin.

10. Needle Knight Leda & Allies

This is a neat little encounter that has a very Battle Royale-esque feel to it, especially if the player has done their legwork in terms of DLC questlines. The player can summon their own real-life friend for this, as well as up to three different NPCs to do battle with as many as six different NPCs, one of which being Needle Knight Leda. Leda was the NPC who helped the player get into the DLC in the first place, and she can be summoned for multiple bosses around the Shadow of the Erdtree, so this will be a familiar face at this point. This fight isn’t anything grand or spectacular, as it is ultimately just a bunch of player models smacking each other around. But it was a neat take on fighting NPCs, much better than if From Software simply decided to have Leda invade the player and have that be that. It would probably appear somewhere around the middle of our larger boss ranking series.

9. Commander Gaius

This fight cracks the top 10, so it’s a solid one. It’s a fight with a fairly unique amount of pacing, as the player doesn’t face too many mounted foes in this game, and those they do encounter don’t fight like Gaius does at all. However, there is one glaring flaw stopping this from going any higher on the list. Gaius has an attack where he simply has his boar run right over the player. This attack itself isn’t problematic so much as it has some problematic intangibles. For one, the boar’s tusks do not actually have a hitbox, so the player must wait for the tusks to visually touch their character, *then* roll through it to avoid damage, which may be a bit awkward to adjust to. Second, Gaius is completely invulnerable while charging without so much as a single cue to his invulnerability. If the tusks were given a hitbox as they should and either the invulnerability was to be removed or clearly indicated somehow, this fight would probably crack the top 5.

8. Putrescent Knight

Another mounted foe moving into our top ten, this is one of the more volatile fights not just in the DLC, but the entire game. This is *the* boss to punish panic rolling, as there are very distinct delays on almost all of its attacks designed to catch those circle button spammers. In second phase, it almost tends to discourage rolling completely; its Putrescent sorceries are best evaded by either outpositioning or jumping over them entirely. This muscle memory meddler can be a really doozy to overcome, but at no point feels anything less than a completely fair fight.

7. Rugalea/Ralva the Great Red Bear

From Software saw how even just regular Runebears can easily inflict the fear of god onto their players. Some regular Runebears have more health than Remembrance bosses! So what did they do? Do you even have to ask? Yes, we ditch the concept of a ‘regular’ Runebear, for a Runebear on steroids that has a projectile. Sadly, for as menacing as this sounds, the only real knock against these fights would have to be that they aren’t terribly difficult. Nevertheless, both fights give great, often hilarious rewards and are still entertaining and engaging to fight.

6. Metyr, Mother of Fingers

Though some of her hitboxes can be slightly janky, Metyr is a perfectly fair, reasonably challenging and rewarding fight. This is another boss against whom proper dodge timing isn’t too essential, instead favoring optimal positioning to avoid her nastier attacks. Her boss room is huge however, and makes doing this very much feasible.

5. Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame

There aren’t a whole lot of bosses in the DLC where close quarters fighting is terribly optimal for sustained periods of time. This has a lot to do with the speed of these bosses, sometimes the size, and frequently their moveset. This is not one such boss. This is also a boss with a very enjoyable amount of build up, in the form of a “coming of age” esque second phase, and a grotesque one at that.

4. Promised Consort Radahn/Radahn, Consort of Miquella

Yes, this fight has its fair share of jankiness. There is some degree of visual clutter. It is not the best final boss From Software has ever done. It is, however, still a hell of a fight. Interestingly, Radahn can be both parried and staggered/riposted, rewarding skilled play. Moreover, while his moveset is incredibly varied, each of his offerings have consistent counterplay that can be learned and adapted to like any other boss. The main reason for this fight appearing this high is a culmination of his impressively choreographed moveset, which is incredibly big and deep, and the amazing soundtrack encompassing both phases of the fight. Though his moves cause a lot of visual clutter, they are also quite the spectacle to look at; primarily his Starscourge-patented, Miquella altered holy orbital divebomb attack.

3. Messmer the Impaler/Base Serpent Messmer

The main man himself- the one plastered all over promotional artwork for the DLC, and the man for whom From Software made a killing selling plastic statues of, is unsurprisingly a great fight. This fight features arguably the best second-to-second gameplay of any fight in the DLC. There are no real “get off me” buttons entwined within Messmer’s moveset, making him very easy to fight fluidly with nothing but melee weapons. He has a grab attack to keep shield users honest, and many of his moves requiring dodging in different ways to properly evade. This is a very satisfying boss to properly learn, and it has a cinematically great boss room and eerily fitting soundtrack. Finally, to encapsulate the concept of ‘saying more with less’, Messmer’s dying words upon defeat take him mere seconds to utter but convey enough lore context to fill a novel with. This is one of Elden Ring as a whole’s better bosses, and it’d probably rank up pretty high on a From Software general tier list as well.

2. Rellana, Twin Moon Knight

Messmer’s fight is great, but this fight right here is picture perfect second-to-second gameplay. Rellana is fast, aggressive, has cinematically beautiful choreography and general moves, and is distinctly lacking in any “BS” that could leave players with a sour taste in their mouths should they lose to her. This may also be the most no-nonsense fight in the entire game; a perfect fit should the player just want a good, quick fight with none of the potentially tedious build up involved. This fight essentially serves as the Margit the Fell Omen or Abyss Watchers of the Elden Ring DLC; a good, quick and clean fight, but not one the average player can just straggle into and win in two minutes without at least being slightly well prepared and set up for it. This fight teaches the player that engaging with the Scadutree Fragment mechanic, for most people, is a necessity.

1. Bayle the Dread

Say hello to From Software’s new best dragon fight. This fight has all the elements From Software has gathered over the years in making a great dragon. The camera doesn’t really interfere despite Bayle’s massive size, none of his moves have any real jank and can be dodged through learning their timings and being properly positioned. Cinematically, this is the most beautiful fight in all of Soulsborne, period, especially in second phase. Most of second phase Bayle’s moves come out as terrifying nukes, but are intuitive to deal with and satisfying to evade.

One secret ingredient, a risk From Software took at that, comes from how the player can only lock onto Bayle’s head, not the rest of his body. At first, this definitely seems like a baffling decision. However, the real genius behind this lock on limitation is in how Bayle’s moves interact with the player. 99% of the time, the player will be fighting Bayle head on. His moveset forces this, lock on mechanics practically force magic and bow users into doing this. In the past, such as with Darkeater Midir, the player has been greatly encouraged to fight these dragons head on, but From Software did this by trying to punish players for getting under the dragon and hitting them in the legs. Here, the head-on only approach is done seamlessly. The player is simply prevented and even rewarded for attacking Bayle in front. The result is a fight with immaculate pacing, one where the player may not even be perceptive to From Software railroading them in this way.