The Red Wolf of Radagon is one of the Great Enemy bosses that you will fight in Elden Ring’s Academy of Raya Lucaria. The Red Wolf is a mandatory encounter if you are looking to face off against Rennala and unlock character respec. However, the encounter is optional to the main story as you will only need to beat two Shardbearers to enter Lyndell.
If you are going for a more linear approach to open-world exploration, the Red Wolf will be the next major boss you face after Godrick the Grafted. But unlike the lord of Stormveil, Radagon’s Wolf is much faster and weaves in spells with melee attacks during combos.
The boss can be a challenge depending on your build. So either you are going to struggle a lot or breeze through the encounter.
Once defeated, the Red Wolf of Radagon will drop 14,000 Runes and a Memory Stone in Elden Ring.
Contents:
- Red Wolf of Radagon boss fight overview
- Red Wolf of Radagon Location
- Red Wolf of Radagon movesets and counters
- Red Wolf of Radagon Resistance and Weakness
- How to beat the Red Wolf of Radagon
Red Wolf of Radagon boss fight overview
Location:
- Academy of Raya Lucaria
Optional:
- No (If you are going for linear progression and want to unlock respec by beating Rennala)
- Yes (You only need to beat two Shardbearers to get into Lyndell. This makes both the Red Wolf and Rennala optional)
Summons:
- Other Players
- Spirit Ashes
- Sorceress Sellen (NPC summon if you have completed a good chunk of her questline)
Boss Drops:
- 14,000 Runes
- Memory Stone
Weakness:
- Slash Attacks
- Jumping Attacks
- Heavy Attacks
Resistances:
- Magic
- Fire
- Lightning
- Holy
Mages will struggle the most against the Red Wolf of Radagon in the RPG. This is because the boss is very fast with his movesets and in most cases will not give you enough room to channel a spell or incantation.
Additionally, the Red Wolf has high elemental resistances. So builds that heavily rely on Magic, Fire, Lightning, and Holy, will not be as effective against him.
He takes more damage from slash attacks. So, while melee players will have a hard time with DPS uptime, they will do much more damage than spell builds when they finally get some hits in.
The Red Wolf is pretty weak to jumping and heavy attacks which will often break his posture leaving him open to a ripost. He is not parry-able so the total number of ways to break his poise is rather limited.
Hence, based on the build you are going for, you might find the Red Wolf of Radagon a challenge in Fromsoftware’s title.
Where to find the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring?
To reach the Red Wolf encounter in the Academy of Raya Lucaria, you will first need to explore the Legacy Dungeon till you reach the Schoolhouse Classroom Site of Grace. From there make your way across the corridor (filled with Glintstone Sorcerers and a Living Jar) till you reach the next room.
Take out more Glintstone Sorcerer’s there and turn west to see two flights of stairs. Make your way up the stairs, till you reach the fog gate. Interact with it and the Red Wolf of Radagon encounter will begin.
Red Wolf of Radagon movesets and counter in Elden Ring
Unlike Margit and Godrick, the Red Wolf of Radagon does not have multiple stages to his fight. There is only one phase in the encounter where the wolf goes over the same rotation of spells and melee attacks. Oftentimes combining the two in combos.
Here are all of his movesets you should look out for:
Bite
- Move: The Red Wolf will step forward and try to bite you.
- Counter: It’s one of his basic attacks. The best way to avoid it is to roll forward, block, or step back.
Rearing Bite
- Move: The boss will sand on its two hind legs and launch a powerful bite attack by plunging forward.
- Counters: Has a high wind-up period. Will give you enough time to roll forward. Get an attack in during the long recovery period.
Jumping Bite
- Move: Will jump at you and take a bit. However, the Red Wolf will land behind you after the attack animation and make a 180° turn facing you.
- Counter: Just roll forward. You will not get much time to counter this move.
Golden Blade
- Move: The Red Wolf will conjure a big golden sword and start swinging it in wide slashes.
- Counter: Avoid the attacks by rolling towards the swing of the blades. You can even choose to block it with a shield as it primarily deals Physical damage. This move can have wind-up variations, so try not to panic roll as the delayed swing will catch you.
Blade Plunge
- Move: The boss will summon a sword and then jump high up. He will then slap the sword into the ground after a corkscrew motion.
- Counter: Roll forward as soon as you see him descending. The move ha a long recovery period, so you can get a lot of hits in.
Glintblade Orb
- Move: Radagon’s Wolf will create a magical orb after dashing in a direction (left /right). After a brief delay, the orb will fire a single Glintblade.
- Counter: Dodge or run sideways and you will be able to avoid the attack.
Multiple Glintblade Dash
- Move: The wolf will keep dashing left or right and create three Magic Glintblades.
- Counter: You will need to keep moving around and dodging when the Glintblade shoots at you. He will also weave in melee attacks when the Glintblade are firing so be careful of the direction you dodge.
Jumping Glintstone Cometshard
- Move: The Red Wolf will jump into the air and then shoot a magic projectile at you which deals a lot of damage.
- Counter: Roll or run infront as soon as he jumps up. The attack has a very long recovery so get some DPS in as soon as he lands.
The Red Wolf of Radagon resistances and weaknesses in Elden Ring
Resistance
The Red Wolf of Radagon is resistant to all elemental damage types. He will not be receiving much damage from attacks that deal Magic, Fire, Lightning, and Holy damage. Hence, Sorcery and Incantation builds will have a rather tough time beating him.
The boss also has average resistance values to Poison, Scarlet Rot, Hemorrhage, Frostbite, Madness, and Sleep. So you can try and exploit these status effects atleast once in the fight.
Additionally, none of his moves or attacks can be parried. The only way to ripost him will be to break his poise with normal attacks.
Weakness
The Red Wolf is weak to Slash attacks, hence weapons like swords, katanas, and daggers will deal additional damage to him. He is also weak to heavy attacks and jumping attacks. They will very easily break his poise leaving him open to a critical hit.
How to beat the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring
The Red Wolf of Radagon boss fight difficulty will directly depend on the build you are going for. Caster will struggle, while melee build will have it a bit asier taking him down.
He is very fast with his moves with a lot of combo variations. Some of the boss’s hitting moves can also one-shot you if your health is low enough.
General Tips for beating the Red Wolf of Radagon
- If you are struggling to get some attacks in make sure to use Ashes like the Spirit Jellyfish or the Marionette Soldier to distract the Red Wolf’s attacks. This will give you enough room to land some hits.
- If you are a caster rely on spells and incantations that have less casting time. The boss will not give you much room to cast spells, so make sure you aare not stuck in an animation when he is on the offensive.
- Use a shield with 100 Physical Block capabilities to make the fight significantly easier.
- Summon other players or even Sorceress Sellen (if you have progressed a bit in their questline) if you are struggling.
Ranged build tips for Red Wolf of Radagon
Ranged Mages will struggle quite a bit. Not only is the Red Wolf highly resistant to Magic and other elements, but he will often dodge spells and incantations. So your goal will be to corner him and not give him enough room to dodge your attacks. Wait till he performs his heaviest moves, the higher attack recovery will give you room for your spells.
If you have a melee magic build try relying on spells like the Carian Slicer to do a good deal of damage to him. Catch Flame can also work, but you will have to cast it point-black to have the desired effect.
If spells are not getting the job done, use weapons that scale with either Faith or Intelligence. By now you will probably have armaments like the Rosus’ Axe and Winged Scythe which can get the job done.
Melee build tips for Red Wolf of Radagon
The melee playsytle will be to bait and then attack during openings. The Red Wolf takes additional damage from slash attacks, and most weapons will be able to exploit that weakness.
So bait its heavier attacks which have longer recovery periods. This will give you ample time to get some DPS in after you have dodged the attack.
Physical Damage negation shields are also great against the Red Wolf. If you have shields with 100% Physical reduction, turtle behind and go for counter hits. This strategy will prolong the fight, however, you will have a much easier time surviving his attacks.
Once you have defeated the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring, the boss will drop 14,000 Runes and a Memory Stone. The latter is a crucial item for caster builds.
