Godrick the Grafted is perhaps the first Great Rune bearer that you will encounter in Elden Ring’s The Lands Between. He is going to be the second main boss that you are going to tackle in the RPG, especially if you are going for a more linear approach to the open world exploration.
He is challenging and comes with a variety of AOE skills which will often force you to learn some of his attack patterns by heart. Much like Margit, he brings some delayed attacks to the mix. However, unlike him, he boasts two phases with the second one being a significant upgrade to the first, adding a few more abilities to his vast arsenal.
Goadrick is not an optional boss fight in Elden Ring, and you might struggle a fair bit if you are not going in prepared.
Contents:
- Godrick boss fight overview
- Where to find Godrick
- Godrick phases and movesets
- Godrick’s resistance and weaknesses
- How to beat Godrick the Grafted
Godrick the Grafted boss fight overview
Location:
- Stormveil Castle (Secluded Cell)
Optional:
- No (If you are going for linear progression)
- Yes (You only need to beat two Shardbearers to gain access to Leyndell)
Available Summons
- Spirit Ashes
- Nepheli Loux (NPC)
- Sorcerer Rogier (NPC)
Weakness
- Rot (High)
- Poison (High)
- Bleed (Medium)
Boss Drop:
- 15,000 Runes
- Godrick’s Great Rune
- Remembrance of the Grafted
The Godrick fight is all about learning his core movesets by heart. He has two phases with the second phase adding a couple of more abilities to his kit.
The Lord of the Stormveil Castle has a lot of AOE attacks that can catch you off-guard, however, he is a bit more predictable than Margit. Godrick usually has a big wind-up time for his attacks but he can mix in some delayed hit with his axe, which will hit you if you roll too soon.
Fortunately, the fight can be made more manageable if you exploit his Poison and Bleed weakness. Having additional help from summons, like Nepheli Loux and Jellyfish Ashes can make the the significantly easier.
Godrick is slower than most bosses in Elden Ring, but he still hits like a truck. So the best way to tackle him will be to learn his attack patterns and improve your dodge game.
Where to find Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring?
To unlock the Godrick encounter in FromSoftware’s RPG, you will first need to defeat Margit the Fell and make your way into Stormveil Castle.
There are two ways to reach the Secluded Cell. One will be through the secret path that goes from the side of the castle. The other is straight through the main gate, which is faster. However, for newer players we will recommend the secret path, it will make exploring the castle much easier.
Once you make your way to the northernmost point of the Castle, you will reach the Secluded Cell Grace Point. It has two entries into it, one entry is guarded by a giant and two Godrick Soldiers. The other entry leads to a room full of pots.
Godrick the Grafted phases and movesets in Elden Ring
As mentioned, the Godrick boss fight has two phases in Elden Ring. However, unlike some of the other “two-phase bosses”, he does not get a renewed health bar with the second phase. The second phase kicks off once you chip him down to 50%-40% health, where he will then proceed to cut off his main left arm and graft it with a Dragon’s head.
But in both stages, Gordrick’s attack patterns have a significant wind-up time and are well-telegraphed. Unlike Margit, he does not randomize his set of moves, which makes learning his patterns easier.
Here are some of Godricks attacks that you will need to look out for in the Elden Ring boss fight:
Phase One:
Axe Swings (Medium damage)
- Godrick will usually go for regular axe swings when you are in melee range. These are fairly easy to avoid. So just roll to either direction to dodge them.
Repeated Axe smash (Medium damage)
- Again if you are in melee range Godrick will take his ae and repeatedly smash it on the ground. This does medium AoE damage but can be easily avoided.
Jumpin Axe slam (Extreme Damage)
- One of Godrick’s signature moves is when he jumps into the air, raises his axe up high, and then slams it into the ground. It deals an incredible amount of damage and can one-shot you based on the build you are going for.
Charge lunge with follow-up (Extreme Damage)
- Godrick will charge an attack and then lunge at you cleaving his axe. This deals very high damage and will often have a follow-up second hit. So make sure you are prepared to dodge twice.
Wind Gust (Long Range/Low Damage)
- Godrick will spam this attack against you a fair bit if you are a ranged player. So if you are relying more on spells and incantations, be aware of this wind attack. The gust also has good tracking and can catch you off-guard.
AoE Wind attack (Shot Range/High Damage)
- The Sotrmveil lord has an AoE wind attack up his sleeve. It’s a big tornado-like wind attack that he launches at you by swinging his axe around. He will use this move for both melee and ranged builds.
Phase two:
AoE fire breath (Long Range/Extreme Damage)
- Godrick’s Fire Breath is incredibly dangerous and you will need to avoid it at all cost. His grafted Dragon arm spews fire in front of him and will chunk out a majority of your HP if you are directly hit by it. Either keep your distance or run out of its large AOE field as soon as he channels it.
Wind attacks are now imbued with fames (Long and Short range)
- Both of Godrick’s long and short-range wind attacks are now imbued with flames and deal even more damage. He will also start mixing them up frequently with his fire breath if you are keeping your distance.
Repeated Axe smash gets a new finisher (Extreme Damage)
- His repeated axe slams now finish with a third and final hit which does significantly more damage and has more AOE range.
Godrick the Grafted resistances and weaknesses in Elden Ring
Resistances:
Godrick is Resistant to most types of attacks in the game. The amount of damage that he takes also remains the same when he moves into phase 2. However, he is a bit more resistant to Fire once he grafts the Dragon onto his arm. So avoid flame-based attacks in phase twp.
Weakness:
Godrick is very weak to Poinon and Rot with medium weakness to Bleed. On a New Game, and at this stage of the game you are not likely to come across any times that cause Rot build-up.
You will, however, get access to a lot of Poison Darts, the Poison Mist Ash of War, and weapons like the Morning Star and Uchigatana that cause Bleed buildup.
How to beat Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring
Godrick’s boss fight’s difficulty in Elden Ring will depend on how much of the Limgrave, Caelid, and Liurnia you have explored before encountering him. Exploring new dungeons and taking down the various field bosses is one of the best ways to get more levels into your character.
So if you have the requisite amount of Vigor and upgraded weapons then you are not going to struggle much.
However, irrespective of your build, there are a few good practices that you should always keep in mind when facing off against the Lord of Stormveil Castle.
General Tips for beating Godrick:
- Explore Limgrave as much as you can before moving on to face him. Getting more levels into your character will make the fight easier.
- Don’t be ashamed to use Spirit Ashes or summon summon Nepheli Loux and Rogier.
- Phase 2 always starts with a fire breath attack, so make sure you are dodging out of the AoE.
- Summon other players if you can’t seem to have any DPS uptime on him.
- Rely on poison-based attacks if need be. Darts and the Poison Mist Ash of War can come in clutch.
- If you are going a melee build, it can be very helpful if your weapons cause Bleed build-up.
- Get in as much damage as possible during his second-phase animation. It is possible to stagger him out of the animation by breaking his poise.
Ranged build tips for Godrick
Godrick is significantly easier for those who are going for a build that relies heavily on Incantations and Sorcery. Godrick’s ranged attacks are telegraphed, they are easy to dodge, and the animation has a good deal of wind-up time.
Bow players can, however, suffer, because of the lack of DPS this early on. They will also face a lack of resources to make the required amount of arrows.
The strategy for ranged users for both of Godrick’s phases will be to keep their distance and keep spamming attacks. But make sure to not rely on spells that have a very long windup time. Godrick might be one of the slower bosses, but he can still close the gap in a flash.
Using spells with more wind-up will force your character to be stuck in an attack animation. This will leave them vulnerable to Godrick’s variety of attacks and combos.
Alternate between your light and heavy spells, keep your distance, do the most amount of damage that you can during his phase two animation, and call up a summon if needed.
Melee build tips for Godrick
Melee builds will struggle against Godrick if you are not learning some of his movesets and patterns. You will have to successfully keep dodging his variety of axe and wind attacks to keep up your DPS. His delayed attacks can mess the timing up for you, so be careful and watch out for them.
Try weaving in some Poison Darts and the Poison Mist Ash when you are retreating after a combo. As Godrick is very weak to this status effect in Elden Ring, his health will constantly tick down once it builds up.
For melee players, the fight will be a rather long-drawn affair. With Godrick poisoned you will have a much easier time beating him.
Make sure the weapons you are using have Bleed build-up on them. Faster weapons like daggers and katanas will build it up faster and when you cause him to bleed, he will lose a good chunk of his HP and stagger.
Once staggered you will be able to hit him with charged attacks or jumping attacks which will cause his poise to break faster. This will leave him open to a critical attack.
Summon an Ash, Nepheli Loux, Rogier, or another player to help you out if you are not able to effectively land your combos.
When defeated, Godrick will drop one of the best early-game Great Runes in Elden Ring. Once equipped and activated it will raise all of your character’s attributes by +5.
