How to Beat Starscourge Radahn in Elden Ring

Elden Ring is globally infamous for having some of the strongest bosses to ever exist. If you’re a fellow Tarnished, you must have already encountered the Starscourge Radahn, one of the strongest optional bosses in Elden Ring. While you can skip this boss, we already know that players will need to defeat Starscourage Radahn to access the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. While it’s easier said than done, we are here to help! So keep reading and learn how to beat Starscourge Radahn using our dedicated boss guide right here!

How to Unlock Elden Ring Starscourge Radahn Fight

Starscourge Radahn is located in Caelid, at the end of the Redmane Castle. To find Radahn in the Elden Ring, players must trigger the Radahn Festival event, which will completely change the Redmane Castle. Once this event is triggered in the game, players will be able to use a portal from inside the castle to reach Starscourge Radahn’s boss location.

There are two ways to trigger the Radahn Festival in Elden Ring which include progressing Ranni’s questline and using the Grand Lift of Dectus. Here is how you can use both ways to trigger the event.

1. Ranni’s Questline Method

Ranni the Witch is the daughter of Radagon and Rennala and one of the Elden Ring demigods. She first meets the tarnished at the Church of Elleh as Renna to give the Spirit Calling Bell.

To start Ranni’s questline, players must first head to Three Sisters, accessed through Caria Manor in Liurnia. Players need to defeat the Royal Knight Loretta to unlock the way to the Three Sisters from Caria Manor.

After reaching Three Sisters, look for Ranni’s Rise, with a glinstone dragon sitting outside. Enter Ranni’s Rise and head up to the top to find Ranni (or Renna). Speak with her and enter her services to start the quest.

After starting her Quest, you must first introduce yourself to the rest of Ranni’s crew. Once you have done that, visit Siofra River, accessed through the Siofra River Well located east of the Mistwood Outskirts site of Grace in East Limgrave.

Continue making your way until you find the Siofra River Bank Site of Grace. Now, head east and continue walking left hugging the cliff edge until you see Blaidd.

Speak with Blaidd and he will send you to Seluvis in the Three Fingers, located near Ranni’s Rise. Next, speak with Seluvis and he will lead you to Sorceress Sellen in the Waypoint Ruins Cellar of Limgrave. Speak with her to learn the secret of Nokron. Return to Blaidd in Siofra River and talk with him to trigger the Radahn Festival.

2. Grand Lift of Dectus Method

The other way to trigger the Radahn Festival is to use the Grand Lift of Dectus. To do that, you need to find the two halves of the Dectus Medallion and hoist them up at the Dectus Grand Lift.

The left half of the Dectus Medallion is located in Fort Haight, southeast of Mistwood. Make your way to the end of the Fort Haight, defeat the Golden Knight, which will reward the Ashes of War: Bloody Slash, or go past him to the arched room with a ladder. You will find the left half of the Dectus Medallion at the top, inside a chest.

The right half of the Dectus Medallion is located in Fort Faroth, southern cliffs of Dragonbarrow. Head inside Fort Faroth and make your way past the bats and up the ladder. Open the chest to find the right half of the medallion.

After getting both halves of the Medallion, head to the Grand Lift of Dectus in the Northest of Liurnia. Use the interaction key when you see the “Hoist Medallion” prompt. The lift will take you to the Altus Plateau, triggering the Radahn Festival.

Don’t forget to get the nearest Site of Grace, before heading back to Redmane Castle!

How to Reach Starscourge Radahn in Elden Ring

After you have triggered the Radahn Festival, you now need to reach the Redmane castle to find this boss. Head to the Impassable Bridge Site of Grace in Caelid. Run past the enemies until you reach the Bridge and see the Waygate next to it. Interact with the Waygate to teleport to the Redmane Castle.

Make your way inside the Redmane Castle and soon you will find a room full of NPCs, champions to fight Radahn. Head upstairs to Jerren the Witch Hunter and interact with him to trigger a cutscene. Continue down the path, use the small lift, and then use the Waygate to reach Starscourge Radahn’s boss area.

How to Defeat Starscourge Radahn

After you have found Radahn in Elden Ring, it is time to defeat him. Starscourge Radahn is one of the strongest bosses in the game, having extremely strong ranged and melee abilities. The boss arena is filled with summoning signs for the champions, so make sure to use all the summons in the area to make the fight easier.

Starscourge Radahn First Phase

After entering the Radahn’s boss area, he will be at a distance and shoot at you with his bow. Use Torrent to close in on Radahn by running diagonally and using the dash key to avoid getting hit by the arrows. After entering the melee range, Radahn will leave his bow and engage you with his swords.

If you are planning to fight Radahn alone, I recommend using a 100% Physical Shield in Melee combat, sticking to his left, and timely blocking his attack in the first phase. You can hit during the time window that opens up.

Furthermore, fighting Radahn with Torrent using Melee weapons isn’t the best option in the first phase, as it increases your hitbox for Radahn’s sweeping hits.

Use Torrent to dodge out of his Gravity pull attack, if you cannot i-Frame it. Stay behind his body during the Gravity pull smash attack, to not get hit it melee range. Continue chipping his health until he reaches 50% HP. He will then progress towards the second stage.

Starscourge Radahn Second Phase

Radahn will enter his second phase after dropping below 50% HP. During the phase transition, he will jump into the air and do a meteor-style drop attack, which almost always is instant death on hit.

Whenever he jumps into the air, use Torrent to quickly move around the map and try to locate Radahn in the sky. Once you see him, continue moving to either the left or right using dashes until he hits the ground.

You should also know that Radahn’s entire move set changes, he becomes much more aggressive, moves and attacks faster, and throws multiple rocks that homes in on the players. I recommend using Torrent to keep your distance and dodge his Rock throws.

Wait for Radahn to commit himself in an attack to close on him and deal damage. If you are a sorcerer, continue staying at a distance and chipping at his health bar with spells. Once you’ve done enough damage, this Elden Ring boss will fall dead and let you proceed with your journey!

Is Defeating Radahn Required to Unlock Shadow of the Erdtree?

Yes, Miyazaki has confirmed that players must defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg Lord of Blood to unlock the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. The exact reasons for this are still up for speculation, but if you want to access Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree on Day 1 then make sure to defeat both Radahn and Mohg before it. Defeating Radahn also unlocks the city of Nokron and any subsequent areas attached to it, while also progressing Ranni’s quest.

So, that’s it. Hopefully, this guide will help you defeat Starscourge Radahn in Elden Ring. Once you’re done, you should learn how to defeat Mohg and finally be ready for Shadow of the Erdtree! Still having difficulty? Ask your questions in the comments below!