ELDEN RING: Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon Boss Guide

Class: Hero
Level: 51
Equipment used:

• Weapon: Dismounter +8
• Shield: Blue-Gold Kite Shield
• Head: Knight Helm
• Chest: Knight Armor
• Arms: Champion Bracers
• Legs: Foot Soldier Greaves
• Flask of Crimson Tears: 7
• Flask of Cerulean Tears: 0

Deaths: 5

Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon is the main boss at the end of the Raya Lucaria academy and a mandatory boss to finish the story for ELDEN RING. 

Rennala is the first boss in the game to have three stages: first, you'll need to kill her; second, she'll change arena and fighting style; and lastly, she'll enter another stage halfway into the second fight. Thankfully, her first stage isn't nearly as punishing as some of the bosses, as it is more tedious than not. 

First Stage

1:18 in the video

This stage is by far the easiest thus far, as Rennala herself barely attacks since she is suspended midair. Much like the Deacons of the Deep in DARK SOULS III, you'll have to hit the "sweetings" (as Rennala calls them) once in order to transfer the golden power to another. Once you've done this three times, Rennala will fall and you'll be able to hit her.

Usually, you'll have to do this three times in order to kill her and get to the second stage; however, with a powerful enough weapon, you should be able to do it in two. In the video, I had to go through three rotations to kill her, but once I played on a separate account (starting with the Samurai class), I was able to do it in two.

Avoid taking as much damage as possible in this stage, however taking a bit of damage is inevitable since the best way to track which sweeting has the golden globe is by finding which one is throwing the books.

Most attacks that Rennala does in this stage have very clear telltale signs that should be easy enough to dodge. As seen at 2:23 in the video, she turns the sweetings she raised from the ground into a tombstone-looking item that she'll fling at the player after a long delay. These projectiles can be very lethal, as they do criminally high amounts of damage, and not having enough Vigor will surely end the fight in one blow.

At 2:31 in the video, you can see me hiding from the tombstones of death, and at the bottom right corner, you can see fire falling from above. When this happens in any of the "entrances" to the outside part of the library, it indicates that a chandelier will fall from above; this also does obscenely high amounts of damage. As seen in the video, I stand by the wall waiting for both the tombstone attack to hit it, and for the chandelier to fall.

Second Stage

5:29 in the video

Rennala's second stage occurs after you kill her in the first one; this is where I'd say the true boss fight begins, as she now works more like the other bosses we'd encountered up until this point. That said, I will not be splitting this guide into "dodgeable" and "punishable" attacks, as her second and third stage includes a wide array of attacks that can be punished under the right circumstances.

In this stage, Rennala uses magic-based attacks to fight, and closing the gap on her too much can lead to staff-based attacks as well. Thankfully, her battlefield is very forgiving. Thanks to the way the arena is set up, most of her attacks should be easy enough to dodge.

Rennala will always cast a beam-like attack at the start of the second stage; this can be dodged very easily by running straight to the sides. As you run, walking closer to her will allow you to stand beside her and deal damage. Keep in mind, however, that any attack will interrupt the beam, so you should always use your strongest as your opening hit.

At 5:38 in the video, Rennala jumps back and throws some Glintstone shards in the air that home towards the player; dodging forward should allow you to get through them with ease.

At 5:57 in the video, Rennala creates an ice attack in front of herself that shoots out after a short delay. The easiest way to dodge is by rolling forward once it shoots.

At 6:22 in the video, Rennala jumps to the side in a flowing and floating motion, summoning Glintstone projectiles. These work the same as the ones present at 5:38 in the video, so you'll want to roll forward when they're close enough.

At 6:38 in the video, Rennala jumps into the air and cocoons herself within a moon. After a long time inside, she will jump out and the moon will begin hovering towards the player in a downwards trajectory, eventually touching the floor and dissipating. If the moon touches the player, it'll do tons of damage. You should never try to punish this attack, as it is very difficult to time the dodge due to the large explosion that happens afterwards.

At 7:13 in the video, Rennala throws her staff, and it boomerangs back to her. This attack doesn't do a lot of damage, so feel free to continue punishing the attack afterwards.

Third Stage

5:50 in the video

As Rennala enters her third and final stage, she will begin summoning minions to aid her in battle; these are at random, so you won't be able to predict what’s next. The choices are between:

• Giant (5:53 in the video)
• Wolves (6:09 in the video)
• Bloodhound Knight Darriwil (6:26 in the video)
• Dragon (7:03 in the video) 

Hovering around the battlefield dodging both her attacks and her summons is one of the better ways to go about it, as — eventually — the summons disappear. That said, if you feel confident enough to continue pursuing her, feel free to do so.

Attacks not depicted in the video:

Rennala does a spiral attack with her staff, spinning it in her arms. This happens when you are too close, try to just step back from the range to stop from being hit by it too many times.

Rennala throws her staff and it does a wide circle around her; this attack — much like all of the other staff attacks — deals minimal damage.

Rennala creates nine ice projectiles in a straight line and then fires them all. Running left will make all of them miss. 

Boss Reward: