Starscourge Radahn Showcases Every Element of Elden Ring’s Combat at its Finest

The fight against Starscourge Radahn in Caelid is a pivotal moment in Elden Ring that brings together multiple aspects of the open-world combat in a way that few other bosses manage to include. From the inclusion of Torrent in the arena to the plentiful NPC summons, the entire Radahn Festival is a showcase of the game’s systems all wrapped up in a brutal and complex boss encounter.

While the fight against Starscourge Radahn might appear as one of many difficult bosses across Elden Ring, it’s the scope of the Festival that sets the event apart from the other 164 similar encounters. This scope is what has elevated Radahn as one of the most popular fights in Elden Ring, even as the boss has been repeatedly nerfed and buffed into the tentative state as one of the hardest encounters in the game.

Related

All The Elden Ring Lore You Need to Remember Heading into Shadow of the Erdtree

Shadow of the Erdtree will continue to build Elden Ring’s world, so players should have a solid grasp on certain lore elements before it drops.

Radahn and His Champion Must Be Jacks-of-All-Trades

Radahn Masters Range and Melee Combat

The start of the Starscourge Radahn encounter has quickly become infamous among Elden Ring players, due to the way that the boss starts off the fight with a hail of arrows in various forms. This ranged onslaught starts with gravity-imbued arrows and continues until the player comes close enough to be followed by more than rain down from above, similar to Aldrich’s signature attack from Dark Souls 3. Having these heavy attacks hounding the player from a distance right from the start of the fight means that a quick approach will be necessary, as Radahn has the advantage at a distance with his greatbow.

Coming within melee range of Radahn doesn’t suddenly remove the danger, however, as the boss is equally capable with his giant curved swords. Riding atop his horse, Radahn is able to move at breakneck speeds and has swings that will whip around the arena in an almost uncanny trajectory that can easily catch players off-guard. To make matters worse, forcing Radahn to put away his bow before backing up to fight with one of Elden Ring‘s overpowered ranged builds isn’t a sure path to success either, as the boss still has a host of gravity magics at his command to continue dominating at a distance.

The Player’s Allies Act as Both Spectacle and Companions

One of the most impressive aspects of the Radahn Festival is how many characters have gathered around Redmane Castle to challenge the legendary general. This collection of NPCs leads to a fight where players can call up to seven allies to help in the fight, and Elden Ring‘s cowardly version of Patches immediately leaves once he realizes what he’s gotten himself into. The result is the closest that the Soulsborne series has gotten to charging into a battle with an entire army at the player’s side.

To enhance the feeling of leading an army into a war is the way that the player is allowed to play the part of the cavalry by riding on top of Torrent throughout the fight. While games-improvements/”>horse combat in Elden Ring is rarely the best choice against a boss as tough as Radahn, the speed Torrent grants is extremely helpful when dodging arrows early or trying to close the distance after his massive attacks. This can lead to a dynamic fight where players are incentivized to hop on and off of Torrent during one of the few major bosses where the mount is available in order to press what little advantage Elden Ring gives against any boss.

Everything Comes Together For Radahn

The result of these various systems coming together in the Radahn Festival sets the encounter as a showcase of everything that Elden Ring has to offer in combat. From mounted combat to ranged enemies and NPC helpers, the fight against Radahn is a condensed version of the Lands Between as a whole brought into the context of a single fight. All of these systems coming together for Radahn makes him a stellar landmark of the Elden Ring‘s already impressive mid-game.

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is a fantasy Action-RPG adventure set in a world co-created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of the influential Dark Souls video game series, and George R.R. Martin, the author of the best-selling fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. This collaboration between two renowned creators has resulted in FromSoftware’s largest game to date, filled with danger and discovery at every turn. Hidetaka Miyazaki, president and game director of FromSoftware, has a history of directing highly acclaimed games in franchises such as Armored Core and Dark Souls.

Released

February 25, 2022

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer

Engine

Proprietary

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

How Long To Beat

58 Hours

Metascore

96

Platforms That Support Crossplay

PS4 & PS5 and Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S

PS Plus Availability

N/A