The vast world of FromSoftware’s Elden Ring hides hundreds of secrets, some of which are entirely optional boss fights that players can easily miss.
Elden Ring has grown quite infamous, in part thanks to its open-world take on Dark Souls games. Far less linear than its predecessors, Elden Ring players often receive very little guidance about where they should be going, what quests they should be completing, and even what bosses need killing.
This is often part of the enjoyment in Elden Ring, forcing players to explore the furthest reaches of the eerily beautiful environments. The downside is that players can end up missing out on some brilliant questlines, items, and boss fights. These Elden Ring hidden bosses shouldn’t be missed.
Updated July 11, 2024, by Hamza Haq: The release of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree promises players a brand new swath of land to explore. With that, the list of hidden areas, secret bosses, and optional pieces of content increases drastically. In fact, SotE takes Elden Ring’s already notoriously confusing approach to map design one step further, making liberal use of verticality to confuse players even more. 15 Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader
Location: Ringleader’s Evergaol
Runes: 88,000
Drops: Black Knife Tiche Ashes
HP: 17,482
Many different types of Black Knife Assassins can be found throughout The Lands Between, and their order is pivotal to the story’s lore. They were instrumental in the plot of Lunar Princess Ranni to cast out her Empyrean flesh and to slay Godwyn the Golden. Alecto, as her full title suggests, was the leader of the Black Knives.
Alecto is now trapped in an Evergaol known as the Ringleader’s Evergaol, but this one can be hard to find as the part of Liurnia that it resides in can only be accessed late into Ranni’s quest after slaying Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. Fighting Alecto is well worth doing, as players will be rewarded with the Black Knife Tiche Ashes. Tiche is the daughter of Alecto who perished protecting her mother on their flight from Leyndell, and she may be one of the most powerful spirit ashes in the game. 14 Demi-Human Swordmaster Onze
Location: Gravesite Plains, Shadow of the Erdtree
Runes: 80,000
Drops: Demi-Human Swordsman Yosh
HP: 7,441
Demi-Human Swordmaster Onze is a boss at the end of the Belurat Gaol in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. An optional dungeon in the DLC, Belurat Gaol is very easy to overlook as its entrance is a small door by the side of a lake that’s off the beaten path.
To reach Onze, players will need to look for Belurat Gaol east of the Belurat, Tower Settlement. The entrance is hidden between some metal cages next to the lake. Defeating Onze is the only way to obtain the Demi-Human Swordsman Yosh Spirit Ash. 13 Mohg, The Omen
Location: Cathedral of the Forsaken
Runes: 100,000
Drops: Bloodflame Talons
HP: 14,000
Mohg, The Omen, may only be a fraction of the strength of his true form, Mohg, Lord of Blood, but that doesn’t prevent him from being a formidable adversary. The reason that Mohg, The Omen, can be challenging to find is that he is located deep within the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, found in the sewers of Leyndell. The sewers are labyrinthine and hard to navigate, and players will likely want to make use of Rainbow Stones to mark their way if it’s their first time down there (or if they just have a poor sense of direction).
Once players reach the Forsaken Depths Site of Grace, Mohg will be just down the hall. While he’s not a required boss, players will need to defeat either Mohg or the terrifying Valiant Gargoyle duo to get to the Deeproot Depths and achieve the Age of the Duskborn ending, and players going for the Frenzied Flame ending will also need to get past Mohg first. If players have released the Dung Eater, he can be summoned for this boss. 12 Ancient Dragon Lansseax
Location: Altus Plateau
Runes: 60,000
Drops: Lansseax’s Glaive
HP: 9087
Dragon fights are a staple in fantasy, and Elden Ring is no exception.
