Godrick the Grafted is the first demigod and shard bearer boss in Elden Ring – and your first obstacle to becoming Elden Lord. Here’s how to defeat Godrick.
The aim of the Tarnished in Elden Ring is to hunt down the demigod children of the goddess Marika, destroy them, and take their Elden Ring shards. Godrick the Grafted (who prefers to be called Godrick the Golden, despite that honor going to Godfrey and the deceased Godwyn) is the first of these, but he’s not going to go down without a fight or hand over his shard willingly.
Godrick is the Lord of Stormveil Castle and will need to be defeated to continue the story. Once he is, the game’s world opens up in a number of ways and Elden Ring’s adventure truly begins. Here’s where to find Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring, and how to defeat him.
Contents
- How to find Godrick
- NPC summon support
- How to defeat Godrick the Grafted
- Evergaol encounter: Godefroy
How to find Godrick the Grafted
Godrick is relatively easy to find if you follow the game’s main story campaign. Simply progress through Stormveil Castle until you reach the fog gate that’s guarded by a giant troll and two Exile Knights.
There’s a Site of Grace in a secluded cell to the right, outside of Godrick’s arena. So, make sure you heal and tool up before you head in to face him.
NPC summon support
It’s possible to summon the friendly NPC Nepheli to fight Godrick at your side. Her summon sign can be found right outside the fog gate and she can be a useful ally.
Her damage output isn’t great, but she’ll draw half of Godrick’s attention, allowing you to score some shots against him. You can also bring your Spirit Summons into the battle for more allies.
To summon Nepheli, you first need to find her and exhaust her dialogue. She can be found in a room off the road outside Godrick’s arena, where the path curves towards him.
Summoning Nepheli is completely optional, but we’d recommend speaking to her even if you don’t summon her to continue her very rewarding questline.
How to defeat Godrick the Grafted
Fortunately, Godrick isn’t as difficult as Margit the Fell because he doesn’t have that character’s speed. However, he’s still incredibly aggressive and powerful and can kill even the most skilled player in just a couple of hits.
If you’ve not upgraded your weapon to at least +3 at the Roundtable Hold, then we advise you to do this now. Although, most players will have done so before facing Margit.
In the first phase of the fight, Godrick will wildly swing his axe around leaving little openings for him to be hit before you’ll need to dodge. After his combo, he’ll swing his axe down vertically into the ground and this will take him a few seconds to recover. So hit him with everything you’ve got, then get out of there.
His axe swings are deadly and cover a lot of ground, so melee fighters will need to stay on their toes. Ranged fighters simply need to keep their distance and attack him from afar. Don’t let him get close, as getting caught in his combo will likely mean death.
Blocking can be an effective strategy for tanky melee, builds, but his combos are fast, powerful, come in waves. So, it’s often more advisable to dodge and let his animations play out. Be careful though, he can launch into another in a split second.
Second phase
In the second phase of the boss fight, Godrick will grab a dead dragon and inherit the ability to breathe fire. These attacks do major AOE fire damage, so, if you have any gear that provides buffs against fire, now is the time to equip them. Or before the fight begins ideally.
It’s imperative to avoid this dragon fire, as it can insta-kill weaker players and has ridiculous range. So, stay mobile and take potshots when you can. When you do enough damage to Godrick, he’ll stagger, and you can move in for a critical attack.
Godrick will now rely more on fire damage than just physical attacks, so be sure to have purchased the Cookbooks from the various merchants to learn how to craft items that cast protective buffs. You can also loot the Flamedrake Talisman from the mini-boss in Groveside Cave in Limgrave.
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This will help keep you slightly safer from Godrick’s fire damage. It’s also helpful against the Dragon Agheel too when it comes to battling him.
Spirit Summons to use
Godrick will likely kill your Spirit Summon if left alone with it, but once Godrick is poisoned or suffering from Scarlet Rot then its work is done. After this, its main use is as a distraction. If you’re a magic or ranged build, bring in the tankiest Spirt Ash you have.
Your Spirit Summons and Nepheli can be vital allies in this battle. If you’re a melee build, consider bringing the Jellyfish Spirit Ash with you. This way you and Nepheli can tank Godrick while your jellied ally poisons him from afar.
If you’ve managed to complete the Frindgefolk Hero’s Grave dungeon from the start of the game and beaten the boss there, you’ll have unlocked Banished Knight Oleg. This is a powerful unique NPC summon that can tank a lot of Godrick’s attacks along with Nepheli while you damage him from a distance.
If you’ve fallen for one of Patches traps and discovered the Rotton Stray Ashes in Caelid, then this too is a helpful spirit summon as it can infect Godrick with Scarlet Rot which depletes his health quickly.
Nepheli will also more than likely fall if the fight goes on too long, but her main value is to draw Godrick’s attention away from you.
Once Godrick falls you’re be awarded your first Great Rune, a powerful item that can be used to buff yourself once you’ve unlocked its power.
Evergaol encounter: Godefroy
Elden Ring has a habit of recycling its main bosses as field or Evergaol bosses. So, many hours after defeating Godrick, you can take him down a second time. However, this is an identical copy known as Godefroy the Grafted who uses the exact same move-set.
To reach Godefroy, you’ll need to travel to the Golden Lineage Evergaol in the Altus Plateau, very close to the Grand Lift of Dectus. Here, you’ll then need to spend one Stone Sword Key to enter the Evergaol and challenge Godefroy.
As you’ll likely meet Godefroy some time after Godrick, he’s a much higher level this time around, but you likely will be too. Therefore don’t be intimidated, you may even be overleveled by this point. He also only has one phase this time, making the fight much simpler.
However, as this is an Evergaol boss, you’ll have no access to Spirit Ash, NPC support, or co-op partners this time. This battle is you versus Godefroy, one on one. Repeat the strategy above to bring him down, you’ll also earn the Godfrey Icon talisman for your trouble.
So, there you have it, all the tips and tricks you need to beat the Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring. Make sure you check out our Elden Ring page for all the latest news and guides.
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