Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is arguably the toughest From Software experience so far and it has a monster of a final boss, but it turns out that even they can be beaten with a single attack. All it takes is some preparation, buffs, and an appetite for potions, and you can slay a god. As Twitch streamer Ainrun demonstrates in the video below, all that prep work allowed him to deliver an attack so powerful that it bypassed the second phase of this fight entirely.
Warning: Shadow of the Erdtree spoilers below.
From the creators of 49k Midra comes 93k Radahn pic.twitter.com/qLNkCrbG0t
— Ainrun (@Ainrun_ttv) July 21, 2024
To pull this off, Ainrun downed potions like Wondrous Physick and Bloodboil Aromatic while activating buffs like Rallying Standard and Seppuku. Finally, Royal Knight’s Resolve Ash of War was used to charge up his next attack, allowing Ainrun to slay Promised Consort Radahn with a blow that dealt 93,000 points of damage.
“This was the maximum damage i could achieve on Radahn using all the new buffs available in the DLC and base game buffs,” Ainrun explained in a follow-up post. “I could cross the 100k [mark] on weaker bosses but I couldn’t figure out how to get to 100k+ on Radahn. Maybe another time.”
For those players who don’t carry a small apothecary of potions with them at all times, Radahn can technically still be beaten without taking a single hit. As Elden Ring legend Let Me Solo Her–now going by the name Let Me Solo Him–has demonstrated, expert memorization, dodging, and swapping between multiple Antspur Rapiers can help you defeat the final boss.
Since its release, Shadow of the Erdtree has reignited discussions about the game and its difficulty, with some players scoffing to the max at the thought of using summons to assist in battle.
While there are players who abstain from making use of that perfectly valid gameplay mechanic, those who do for the sake of proving their “git gud” credentials are missing out on Shadow of the Erdtree’s best moment, a memorable scene revolving around summoning Igon to help in the fight against the dread dragon Bayle.