ELDEN RING: Godrick the Grafted Boss Guide

Class: Hero
Level: 35
Equipment used:

• Weapon: Dismounter +3
• 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: 12

Godrick the Grafted is the first lord that players have to defeat in ELDEN RING; he's a grafted abomination with several dozen arms and legs that are sure to make just about anyone that suffers from chirophobia quit the game (if, of course, the Grafted Scion didn't do it first).

Surprisingly — despite how terrifying Godrick seems at first — he isn't nearly as challenging as some prior bosses. His attacks are heavy, giving room for a lot of hits per dodge, and after he reaches his second stage he gives even more openings. That being said, a lot of his timings feel uncomfortable and off by a millisecond or two, which made me take too many hits when I didn't intend to.

Although I recommended bringing a shield in my Margit, The Fell Omen Boss Guide, I recommend the opposite with Godrick — the sooner you learn to roll over all of his attacks, the better. The windows to dodge his attacks are far more forgiving and rewarding since he attacks significantly slower than Margit. Although that means that you'll die significantly more through every failed test trial, it's worth the effort.

I recommend keeping the pressure on Godrick consistently throughout the fight, as his attacks are easy to punish; doing so repeatedly will lead to breaking his posture and getting a critical hit in, which will let you deal tons of damage. For this reason, I recommend trying to stick to him as long as possible and punishing his missed attacks at any given opportunity.

Attacks you should be able to easily punish (and how I performed them in the video)

First Stage

Early on in the fight, you'll start far away from Godrick. Running towards him might trigger the attack seen at 1:21 in the video, in which case you'll want to wait around two seconds and roll towards his left. Doing so will open a window to hit him with a roll attack and another hit.

At 1:26 in the video, Godrick raises his axe and slams down after a short delay; this attack is very easy to dodge, the problem is actually his follow up attack, a wide swipe that comes immediately after. Although you should be able to land a hit or two with a quicker weapon, avoid punishing this attack until the second swipe if you have a heavier one (such as I do in the video).

At 1:35 in the video, after Godrick creates a whirlwind attack around himself, he will opt for one of two attacks (which I wasn't able to figure out if I could trigger somehow). The one depicted in this bit is as he jumps high in the air to slam down. This is a very easy attack to dodge, as all you'll have to do is time for the short delay and roll forward towards him, leaving you on his back side to deal some damage.

Again at 1:38 in the video, Godrick leaps high in the air and stabs his axe in the ground. This is one of the easier attacks to dodge, and rolling forward should put you behind him, allowing you to get a hit or two in. 

At 2:28 in the video, Godrick rolls the way he does when he uses his whirlwind attack, but without actually doing the whirlwind. This means he'll raise his weapon high and after a delay, he'll slam it down. Pressing yourself against him and walking towards the left should let you get under his arm to be behind him and attack. I keep my shield raised in case I am not out of his range, to ensure that I'll take endurance damage if not. 

Attacks you should dodge

First Stage

At 1:31 in the video, Godrick creates a damaging whirlwind attack around himself. It is very hard to predict this attack, and it is often inevitable that you will get hit by the first whilst playing aggressive. That said, the attack doesn't do a lot of damage, and I recommend raising your shield (or rolling out of the way) enough to avoid the third wave and healing during the animation.

At 1:43 in the video, Godrick holds his axe with both of his hands and charges at me. Trying to block any of the attacks (as I do with the third one) will result in him breaking your posture, so you'll probably want to dodge all of them. That said, I found some success blocking the first attack, as the delay between the first and second was long enough for me to recover from the posture break and dodge the rest.

At 2:19 in the video, Godrick raises his axe over to his left side and takes two short steps before releasing a combo of two attacks. Although you can try to dodge forward in order to punish the attack, I opted to dodge this one as the quick succession of the two requires a precise roll to avoid.

Second Stage

2:33 in the video

At around 60% of his HP, Godrick will enter the second stage of the boss battle. He will first finish whatever ability he was in the middle of before he begins to chop off his own arm; while he does this, make sure to get a lot of hits in. Try positioning yourself behind him to avoid getting hit by the swing. The transition is a perfect opportunity to deal a lot of damage and raise his posture for the second stage.

This stage introduces a brand-new dragon arm that Godrick grafts onto himself, and with it comes burning hot new abilities that will deal heavy amounts of damage. That said, most of the added attacks are even easier to punish, as they make him heavier than he was in the first stage; this, paired with the damage dealt during the transition, should make the second stage easier and shorter than the first.

Attacks you should be able to easily punish (and how I performed them in the video)

Second Stage

After a cutscene, the fight continues with Godrick using his new dragon arm to breathe fire into the air and then straight at the player; although this is scary, running directly towards him whilst steering a bit to the right is the best idea. Once at close range, make sure to hit him with the strongest attacks in your arsenal, as the fire-breathing arm will have no effect when standing beside him. Since I'd hit him during his transition stage, I was capable of breaking his posture with just four hits.

At 3:58 in the video, Godrick raises his dragon arm in an attack very reminiscent of the one above. This one's different, however, as when Godrick raises his arm, he might start shooting fire towards the player and into the ground, and standing in front of him will get you hit (as happened to me in the video). Instead, run behind him to get several hits throughout the long animation (like I do at 4:38 in the video).

At 4:16 in the video, Godrick slams the dragon's head into the floor and its mouth begins spewing fire; run directly towards and behind him when he does this (unlike I did in the video) because this is the first attack he does when he changes stage. Punish it as such.

At 4:54 in the video, Godrick raises his weapon and slams it into the ground. This attack happens in the first stage too, though it wasn't showcased in the video. To dodge it on the second stage, wait for the delay and roll twice almost back-to-back. After dodging the first two, Godrick will slam one more time into the ground. Although you can try to learn the timing for this one, I advise looking at his torso, as he'll get some momentum before slamming one last time; this animation gives enough time to dodge one last time forward to punish.

Attacks you should dodge

Second Stage

Same as before, at 3:53 in the video, Godrick will raise his arm over his left side and take two steps; this is the same quick two-hit attack present in the first stage, just that this time he slams with the dragon head after a short delay. Standing back, just as in the first stage, is the best idea. However, if you have a long weapon (such as I do), trying to hit his dragon arm will deal damage.

Attacks not depicted in the video

Godrick will do the whirlwind attack and drag his axe forward. When he does this, walk back as much as you can before he shoots his first of two projectiles and dodge forward, then wait for the short delay and dodge again. Feel free to block this attack, but try to learn how to dodge it, as in the second stage he imbues the whirlwind with fire, adding chip damage to the attack.

Boss Reward