Elden Ring boss guide: How to beat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon (2024)

In the final room of the Raya Lucaria Academy in the Liurnia of the Lakes region, you'll find the third major boss in Elden Ring: Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. While she's far from the toughest boss in Elden Ring, she is one of the most unique ones, and players unprepared for her unconventional attack methods in her second phase will likely struggle to take her down.

However, once you know what she's capable of and how to counter her, Rennala becomes much easier to deal with. In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about fighting Rennala, including general tips and a detailed overview of both phases of her boss fight.

Elden Ring Rennala general tips

These general tips and pieces of information will help you prepare for the fight and plan your approach to the battle with Rennala.

• Rennala uses sorcery magic for all of her attacks, so wear armor that resists magic. You should also use a magic-resistant shield if you plan on trying to block, though strafing and dodging will generally be the better options in this fight.
• Rennala has high magic resistance, so avoid using magic against her. This makes the fight difficult for sorcerers and incantation users, who will need to use the best melee weapon they're able to wield.
• Spirit Ash Summons are very effective, especially in Phase 2. They'll distract Rennala and cause her to fire her magic at them, making it easier for you to close the distance and damage her.
• Summoning other players is also an effective strategy if there are any summon signs before the battle. They, like Spirit Ash Summons, can take the aggro for you.
• Never deplete your stamina entirely. In this fight, you'll always want to have at least a little bit of stamina so you can roll or sprint.
• Equip a bow or throwable projectiles like Kukri before you start the fight. These items can often come in handy during both phases of the boss battle.

Elden Ring Rennala Phase 1

Phase 1 of the fight with Rennala takes place in her study, which is filled with her "children" when the battle begins. Here's what you need to know about this part of the encounter.

• Rennala will float into the air, protected by a shield bubble. In this state, you cannot hurt her, so don't bother attempting to do so.
• One of Rennala's children will glow with golden energy and begin to sing. Look and listen for this enemy and hit them once to break the energy and damage Rennala's shield. The glowing child will use magic to hurl books at you as you approach, so be ready to dodge.
• Hit three of the glowing children to break Rennala's shield. She will then gasp and fall to the floor, exposed.
• Hit Rennala with everything you've got while she's on the ground. If you've got enough stamina to do multiple attack combos, it's possible to get her health down to 50% in one go.
• When Rennala begins to glow golden, back away. This signals that she's about to create a magical explosion and replenish her shield.
• After the first time you break her shield, Rennala will occasionally turn some of her children into explosive headstones and throw them at you. This takes time, and if you're quick, it's possible to damage the next three golden enemies and break her shield again before she launches the headstones at you. Be ready to dodge if you can't achieve this. Throwing projectiles at the golden enemies is a useful way to take them out fast if they're far away from you.

After you've repeated this process two or three times, a cutscene will play and Rennala will change the boss arena into an open waterlogged area beneath the bright moonlight. Phase 2 will begin.

Elden Ring Rennala Phase 2

Phase 2 of Rennala's boss battle requires lots of patience and careful management of your stamina. Here's a full breakdown of how this part of the boss fight works.

• In this phase, Rennala constantly launches barrages of magic towards you. Many of the spells can be avoided by sprinting and strafing left and right, though you'll need to dodge her massive beam attack as well as her massive moon-shaped "bomb."
• Close the distance as you avoid her attacks and hit her. Rennala has extremely low poise, meaning that you can often hit her four or five times before she's able to leap away and resume attacking you.
• At 50% health, Rennala begins summoning Spirit Ash Summons for assistance. These can include wolves, a bloodhound knight, a giant troll, and a dragon.
• Keep as close to Rennala as you can, hitting her between her magic attacks while dodging her summons. It's generally not smart to attack Rennala's summons, leaving you open to her sorceries.
• Don't attack her while her dragon summon is active, as its fire breath is too dangerous. Keep at a safe distance until she summons a new spirit.
• If you're not able to get close to Rennala to damage her, use ranged weapons. Bows, Kukri, and other ranged options are effective ways to deal good damage to Rennala if you're having trouble getting close to her.

If you remain patient and take advantage of every opportunity you get to strike whilst avoiding the attacks of Rennala and her summons effectively, the third major boss fight of Elden Ring will be over before you know it.

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