Elden Ring: How to Beat Godrick the Grafted

How do you beat Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring? After working your way through Stormveil Castle, you will come up against this next mainline boss, gating your main progress. In this Elden Ring guide, we are going to reveal how to beat Godrick the Grafted. Killing him unlocks the Shardbearder Godrick Trophy.

Elden Ring: How to Beat Godrick the Grafted

On this page, we're going to explain how to beat Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring. We'll include an overview of the foe, boss fight strategies, tips and tricks, and item drops.

Godrick the Grafted: Overview

Godrick the Grafted: Boss Fight Strategy

Godrick the Grafted is a formidable foe, and will likely pose the toughest test in the game so far. The first phase of the encounter has him equipped with two huge axes and wind attacks, both of which he deploys on the ground and in the air. Another attack you need to look out for is his ground stomp, which crushes the area around him twice in quick succession, dealing a lot of damage if you're caught up in it. Another flurry he has up his sleeve sees him almost slither along the ground and then jump into the air for one more final blow. You'll be able to withstand some of these attacks by guarding with a shield, but also create some distance for the hits that have a wider reach. If he breaks through your guard, you're almost certainly toast.

What we recommend doing is summoning the NPC just outside the fog gate to help you with this fight. If you haven't found her just yet, take the path behind the fog gate entrance down until you spot a door with a dead soldier inside and an NPC standing over it. You'll need to pass by a giant and a few enemies to reach her. Speak to her a few times and she'll agree to help during the encounter.

With the NPC by your side, allow her to aggro the boss while you get behind it and start dealing damage. You won't have to worry about so many of its attacks while it focuses on the NPC, but do keep in mind the one where it slams the ground. That'll still hit you. Keep your guard up if you happen to take aggro, and retreat so the NPC can take over again.

It's also a good idea to keep the fight to either the entrance or exit set of staircases. Because of the slight elevation they allow, you can perform jump attacks much more easily. The boss' attacks may also miss.

Once Godrick the Grafted's health bar has reached roughly 50 per cent, a cutscene will play and you'll enter the second phase of the fight. Here, one of his arms will have been replaced with a dragon's head that spits fire at you. There are two variants to this: one where the dragon will slowly cover the area with fire, and another where it reigns fireballs down from above. If the first attack begins, simply run in the opposite direction. For the other one, try and roll into the boss or get behind it and you should avoid them.

Besides that, though, the fight remains much the same. Just with a bit of added fire. Continue to allow the NPC to take the aggro (she can heal herself once or twice to stick around longer) while you chip away at its health bar from behind. If it turns on you, then retreat once again and let the NPC do its work. If they die, activate some Ashes like Lone Wolf Ashes for even more distractions.

It'll probably take you a good few hours to kill this boss, with the first few attempts hardly leaving a scratch on Godrick the Grafted's HP. Stick with it, though, and you'll eventually overcome the game's toughest test so far. If you're still having trouble, we recommend using Fire Grease on your weapon for a temporary buff. This will boost your attack power further by adding some flames on the end.

Do you have any other tips for how to beat Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring? Leave your own strategy in the comments below and check out our Elden Ring Guide for more help and information.