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The priests became guardians of the birds through the rite of Death, which also serves as an oath sworn to their distant resurrection. — Death Ritual Spear
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Death Rite Birds are optional recurring bosses in Elden Ring. They only appear at night and are a more powerful version of the deathbirds.
Overview[]
Death Rite Birds are gigantic decaying birds with incrusted corpses over their body, partially covered in ghostflame and guarded by the spirits of the servants of death inside their wings.
All deathbirds are said to be the offspring of an entity called the twinbird, which is an envoy of an outer god.[1] Their purpose was to tend the ghostflame[2] by raking out the ashen remains of the death from their kiln. Because of this, they were called graveyard fire keepers[3] and used to be widely active before the Erdtree existed,[4] although regarded as malevolent deities by some.[5]
Through the ancient act of the rite of Death, priests of old were permitted to come among the deathbirds and become their guardians, and act which serves as an oath sworn to their distant resurrection.[6] Such priests can be seen inside their wings as spirit beings wielding death ritual spears.
Boss fight[]
The Death Rite Bird often spawns from a giant ball of Ghostflame up in the sky.
It is possible to lock onto either the boss's head or the spine. It takes extra damage when hit in the head, but due to how much it moves, it can disorienting and result in getting dead-angled when blocking, so it's usually safer to lock into the spine or not at all.
While it is possible to fight this boss on horseback, it is not recommended. The safest place to be in melee range is behind its legs, where neither the weapon swings, nor the beak can hit you.
This boss can be staggered when dealt enough damage, giving you a window to land a visceral attack on its head.
Moveset[]
The first phase is very similar to a normal Deathbird fight, with the difference that its melee attacks deal both physical and ghostflame damage, making shields somewhat less effective although blocking is still preferable to receiving the damage directly.
Death Rite Birds also uses Ghostflame Ignition, the unique ash of war of the Death's Poker.
Phase 1[]
| Moveset List | ||
| Assortment of melee attacks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Melee attacks that inflict Frostbite status. Half physycal and half fire damage.
Many of this boss' swipe attacks have it move backwards, meaning rolling towards it tends to result in getting hit. Some of its ghostflame attacks will leave a trail of fire that deals chip damage when stepped into. | ||
| Screech | ||
| A short screech that shortly inflicts Death Blight if close. Will follow up with a grab attack if the player is at mid-range. | ||
| Grab | ||
| When the player is at mid range (not close enough to melee but not extremely far away), the bird can try a grb attack that can be dodged. If not dodged, will inflict heavy damage. | ||
| Ghostflame Ignition | ||
| The bird will hit the ground with its poker, leaving a giant fireball in front of it.
Close Range: If the player is nearby, the bird will detonate the fireball, creating a huge blast in its close range. Long Range: If the player is mid-to-long range, it will hit the ball to create a wall of ghostflame in the direction of the player. | ||
Phase 2[]
When dropping to 50% HP it gains 3 new attacks:
| Moveset List | ||
| Rancorcall | ||
|---|---|---|
| Will screech and channel ghostflame orbs from its wings that will follow the player. Can do other attacks while the orbs follow the player. | ||
| Ritual Spear attack | ||
| Will fly away and reposition. The souls within its wings will launch a rain of spectral spears, hitting from above. Keep running to dodge. | ||
| Ghostflame Explosion | ||
| Inflicts Frostbite status.
His poker will light brightly with ghostflame and then stab it into the ground, followed by a large explosion that leaves a trail of black flame that deals continuous damage all across the arena. | ||
Weaknesses[]
As they count as Those Who Live in Death they are weak to Holy damage and extremely weak to specific anti-undead weapons. Ash of War: Sacred Blade and Holy Water Pots are useful tools to make short work of these enemies, even if the user doesn't have a lot of Faith.
Drops[]
| Item | Drop Rate | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Ancient Death Rancor | 100% | Liurnia of the Lakes |
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Death's Poker | 100% | Caelid |
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Death Ritual Spear | 100% | Mountaintops of the Giants |
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Explosive Ghostflame | 100% | Consecrated Snowfields |
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Ghostflame Call 
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100% | Charo's Hidden Grave |
Bosses[]
Background[]
Found at night. A short distance South of the Gate Town North grace, in the area in-between the small islands and ruins.
Background[]
Found at day or night, far west of the Snow Valley Ruins Overlook grace, past the cemetery and facing the cliff. There is a Stake of Marika nearby.
Background[]
Found at night, Southeast of the Apostate Derelict grace and at the end of the frozen river.
Background[]
Found at night, North of the Charo's Hidden Grave grace. Surrounded by Gravebirds that spit Ghostflame fireballs, so it is recommended to kill those first to avoid getting ganked in the middle of the fight.Gallery[]
