Just as the Guiding Grace has led the Tarnished back to the Lands Between after the Shattering of the Elden Ring, Godfrey has returned to claim his place as Elden Lord once again. This non-optional boss is extremely hard-hitting and brutal, but can be mastered with patience and help from NPCs.
Godfrey, First Elden Lord’s Move Set
The Tarnished will have already faced a version of this boss as a golden specter in the Royal Capital at an earlier point in the game. However, the move set for the real version of Godfrey is more varied and much deadlier. Thankfully, this section of the fight comes with many attacks that are well telegraphed and will require the Tarnished to prepare for a few delayed strikes.
Stomp: Godfrey will stomp the ground, creating a rupture in the ground in a cone shape emanating from him. This is one of many of his attacks that the player can jump over to avoid the ruptured ground. Axe Toss: Godfrey will leap into the air and throw his axe forwards a short distance. This can be easily avoided by staying close to Godfrey. When he leaps, the Tarnished will be able to run underneath him to avoid the axe throw. While Godfrey moves to pick up his axe, the Tarnished can run after him or cast spells to inflict extra punching damage. Plunging Axe: A slight variation on the Axe Toss, Godfrey will jump into the air and slam his axe into the ground. This attack’s similarity to the Axe Toss will make it difficult to discern how to effectively counter the moves quickly. Just to be safe, the Tarnished should always dodge the instant he lands to avoid damage. Triple Axe Combo: Godfrey will swing his axe three times, first to the right and then twice to the left. This attack will require the Tarnished to dodge into the attack multiple times from the direction the axe swing is coming from. This arguably makes the Triple Axe Combo the hardest to dodge of Godfrey’s move set, but as long as the player stays calm and focuses on the axe swings, they should be able to follow the rhythm of this attack. Fissure: Godfrey slams his axe into the ground and creates a massive rift into the ground. After a delay, he will push his axe further into the ground and a massive energy burst will come out of the fissure that will cause massive damage. This is more of a cinematic attack to show off Godfrey’s brutal strength. It’s remarkably simple to avoid, just don’t stand in the fissure. Overhead Smash: Usually a beginning to a combo, Godfrey will attack with a quick overhead strike which may then be followed up by another spinning overhead strike. Due to this attack being a vertical strike, the Tarnished will be able to dodge to the side to avoid the first strike. Moving out of the range of the second strike by running away is another way to avoid damage. Earth Shattering Stomp: A more powerful version of the Stomp attack, Godfrey will raise his axe with both hands and charge up his stomp. The following stomp will create shock waves throughout the arena and does massive damage. The only way to avoid damage is to jump over the shock wave right as his foot lands. Keep jumping for a couple of seconds to avoid possible combo additions to this attack.
Hoarah Loux Move Set
For his second phase, Godfrey will embrace his animalistic nature by absorbing his Beast Regent Serosh, becoming Hoarah Loux, Warrior. Here, Hoarah Loux will use different charges and grapple attacks that all do incredible amounts of damage. This close-quarters fight will favor melee builds as cast times for spells may leave the player open to attack.
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Power Bomb and Running Power Bomb
The Power Bomb attacks are running grabs that result in the player being tossed into the air and pummeled back down into the ground, which will likely take out most of their health bar. The Power Bomb is telegraphed by Horah Loux running with his arms stretched high above him. This move can be dodged with a well-timed sidestep.
The Running Power Bomb deals even more damage and is telegraphed by Horah Loux running towards the player with his arms crossed over his chest. This attack can also be avoided by dodging to the side, although sometimes Hoarah Loux will start either attack with a running leap, which will mean the attack will occur even faster.
Hoarah Loux’s Earthshaker
This attack comes in multiple parts. First, Hoarah Loux will attempt to stun the player by roaring. If this works, it will knock the Tarnished to the ground. Players can avoid being knocked over by keeping outside the roar’s range.
Next, Horah Loux will create a massive shock wave by slamming the ground. This can be dodged by jumping or using invincibility frames. Lastly, energy bursts will come out of the fissures created by the slam. To avoid this part of the attack, simply stay clear of the area where all the fissures are.
Basic Attacks
In addition to the complex moves above, Hoarah Loux has a few simpler moves.
Kick - The weakest attack in Hoarah Loux’s move set is his kick attack, which can be easily avoided by dodging to the side. Choke Slam: This attack is often used as part of a combo right after the Kick. Horah Loux will grab the player and slam them to the ground. The entire combo can be avoided by constantly dodging to the side, although dodging backward also works. Claw Barrage: This is the equivalent to the Triple Axe Combo, except in the second phase, the Tarnished needs to dodge through multiple strikes which will end with an uppercut. The strategy for dealing with the Triple Axe Combo also applies here, although this may be followed up with a Choke Slam.
Strategies
Depending on the progression of various NPC questlines that the Tarnished will encounter in The Lands Between, they may get extra help for this boss battle. If the player has completed the Nephili Loux questline, they will be able to summon her outside the boss arena. If the player has encountered the Three Fingers, they will also be able to summon Shabriri.
Godfrey’s size can be exploited by keeping close to him, which will allow players to run under a number of leaping attacks where he will then be weak to his back. As Hoarah Loux, working on when to specifically time dodges to his different grapples will help avoid a large portion of his move set.
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