“
|
I was born a champion's cub. Now I am the Lord of the Battlefield's lion. |
”
|
Starscourge Radahn (星砕きのラダーン, Hoshikudaki no Radān), also known as General Radahn, the Red Lion General, and later as Promised Consort Radahn and Radahn, Consort of Miquella, is an optional Demigod boss in Elden Ring and a mandatory God boss in Elden Ring:;Shadow of the Erdtree.
Overview[]
General Radahn was feared as the strongest Demigod during the Shattering.[1][2][3][4] This Shardbearer must be defeated to access the Realm of Shadow and achieve the "Age of the Stars" ending.
Background[]
Red-maned Radahn was the son of Radagon, a champion of the Erdtree, and Queen Rennala of the Full Moon, head of both the Carian royal family and Academy of Raya Lucaria, born after the Second Liurnian War. He had two siblings, Rykard and Ranni. Radahn inherited his father's flaming red hair and was fond of its heroic implications.[5] From a young age, he was enamored with the Elden Lord Godfrey. Attempting to emulate his idol, Radahn adorned his armor with lions, the symbol of Godfrey and Serosh.[6]
At some point, the first Elden Lord, Godfrey, was robbed of grace and hounded from the Lands Between. Radahn's father, Radagon, left Rennala to become Queen Marika's new consort and the second Elden Lord.[7] Radahn and his siblings were thus raised to demigod status by their new step-mother, Marika.[8]
In their youth, Radahn's Empyrean half-brother Miquella deeply admired him for his kindness and strength, seeing in him the qualities of a lord. When he decided to pursue godhood, he made a vow with Radahn that,[9] upon his deific return, he would take Radahn as his consort.[10] In return, Miquella would uphold some unspecified part of the vow.[11]
Not wanting to abandon his scrawny but beloved steed, Leonard,[12][13] Radahn studied gravitational magic in Sellia under a master who was an Alabaster Lord.[14] Radahn befriended the Albinauric Gaius, a senior disciple of his teacher, and the two formed a competitive yet friendly rivalry. Radahn's step-brother Messmer the Impaler was also friends with Gaius, and the two became as elder brothers to Radahn.[15]
Mastering gravitational magic allowed Radahn to manipulate the forces of gravity and challenge the stars themselves.[16] During the Starscourge Conflict, Radahn saved Sellia by conquering the stars and arrested their cycles, delaying fate. Having earned himself the moniker "Starscourge," he engraved the gravity crest upon his blades.[4][17]
Radahn's soldiers were known as the Redmanes for the red-maned lion raising a sword in the image of Radahn on their surcoats.[18] The longest serving of the Redmane Knights was Ogha, who studied gravitational techniques alongside Radahn in Sellia.[19] It was popularly said that the Redmanes knew no weakness.[20] At an unknown period in time, Jerren, a guest of the Carian royals, became a guest commander for Radahn's armies, and they swore a mutual oath of honorable death.[21][22] During his youth, Radahn witnessed the valor of a gladiator called Freyja, who he asked to become another member of his knights; an offer Freyja accepted.[23]
The Shattering[]
Radahn duels Malenia at the Battle of Aeonia
At some point following the Night of Black Knives, Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring, and her offspring acquired the Great Runes. The maddening taint of their newfound strength led to the Shattering, a war between Marika's demigod descendants, each seeking to become the new ruler of the Lands Between.[24]
From his stronghold of Redmane Castle in the Caelid Wilds, Radahn led his armies against the forces of the other demigods. Radahn tried to challenge Godrick the Grafted in Limgrave, but the latter hid in Stormveil Castle.[25]
By the end of the Shattering, only Radahn and his half-sister Malenia, Blade of Miquella were left standing. The two fought to a stalemate in the Battle of Aeonia, their duel ending inconclusively when Malenia unleashed her Scarlet Rot.[26] As the Scarlet Aeonia flower blossomed, Malenia whispered in Radahn's ear, "Miquella awaits thee, O promised consort."[27]
The Scarlet Rot ravaged Caelid and consumed Radahn from the inside, eating away at his psyche but failing to kill him. Following the Battle of Aeonia, Radahn roams the Wailing Dunes as a mindless beast who devours the flesh of friend and foe alike, howling at the sky.[28] Without their commander, the Redmane Knights burned the crest on the left breast of their armor to indicate their resolve not to return home, and to serve as a bulwark against the spread of the rot in Caelid using fire.[29][30]
Despite his madness, Radahn continues to ride his scrawny steed, as well as halt the motions of the stars. The Radahn Festival has been organized by his men in Castle Redmane to celebrate his last battle. It is a gathering of mighty warriors who might finally put the General out of his misery and claim his Great Rune for themselves. The festival serves as Jerren's way of fulfilling his oath of honorable death to Radahn.[31][32]
Game events[]
Upon the participation of a Tarnished Champion, the Radahn Festival is a success, and Radahn is freed from his tortured existence. His death causes the stars to resume their cycles, some of which come crashing down upon the Lands Between. One such falling star lands in Limgrave, opening the path to Nokron, Eternal City, and allowing the fate of Ranni the Witch to progress.[33][34]
Shadow of the Erdtree[]
Following Radahn's defeat, his soul met its end. However, Miquella sought to revive it,[35] still desiring for Radahn to be his lord consort. Miquella successfully revived Radahn, placing his soul into a vessel made from the remains of Mohg, Lord of Blood, another Demigod slain by the same Tarnished who had defeated Radahn.[36] The Tarnished encounters the newly-resurrected Radahn at the Gate of Divinity at the top of Enir-Ilim. Radahn stands guard as Miquella completes his ascension to godhood and battles the Tarnished once more. During the ensuing battle, Miquella steps out of the Gate of Divinity and embraces Radahn as his consort and fights the Tarnished with Radahn.[37] The Tarnished triumphs over Radahn and Miquella, thus preventing Miquella's age of compassion.[38]
Followers[]
First Encounter (Starscourge Radahn)[]
The fight against Starscourge Radahn only becomes available when the Radahn Festival commences. This requires the player to either activate a Site of Grace in Altus Plateau, talk to Blaidd the Half-Wolf about Radahn in Siofra River, or talk to War Counselor Iji about Jerren.
Torrent can be called during this fight and is useful for closing distance and evading Radahn's ranged attacks.
Multiple NPCs are available to be summoned during the fight, and their summons can be located throughout the arena. Six can be summoned at a time, and once a summon sign is used it will vanish, however each NPC has multiple summon signs that can be used.
The following eight champions are available:
- Alexander, Warrior Jar
- Blaidd the Half-Wolf
- Castellan Jerren (phase 2 only)
- Finger Maiden Therolina
- Great Horned Tragoth
- Lionel the Lionhearted
- Okina
- Patches (disconnects after arrival)
Moveset[]
| Moveset List | |
| Radahn's Rain | Phase 1 |
|---|---|
| Fires a volley of arrows into the air, which proceed to rain down in a line which homes in on the player. | |
| Gravity Arrow | Phase 1 |
| Fires an arrow infused with gravity magic, which homes in on the player. | |
| Scattershot | Phase 1 |
| Fires several arrows in front of him with a wide spread. | |
| Double-Blade Slash | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Pulls back both swords and slashes forwards in a horizontal arc, leading with the left sword. | |
| Upwards Slash | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Drags his left sword along the ground and slashes upwards. | |
| Cross Slash | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Crosses his swords in front of him and slashes forwards with both. Follows up by lunging forwards and slamming each sword downwards. | |
| Slam/Sweep Combo | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Swings his blades downwards multiple times, followed by a horizontal swing with both blades. | |
| Quick Swings | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Swings his blades multiple times in quick succession, ending with a spin. | |
| Gravity Stomp | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Performs a gravity-infused stomp with his right leg, and follows up with a slash. | |
| Cragblade | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Digs his blades into the ground and unleashes an explosion of gravity magic. When he removes his blades from the ground, they are coated in rock and will deal additional damage. | |
| Starcaller Cry | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Unleashes a roar which generates a field that pulls the player and any summoned allies towards him | |
| Collapsing Stars | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Slams his swords into the ground, creating several purple orbs which home in on the player. The player will be pulled towards Radahn if they hit. | |
| Jumping Slam | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Leaps into the air and brings both swords down. | |
| Gravity Dive | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Leaps into the air and crashes down, swinging his swords. Upon hitting the ground, he unleashes a wave of gravity magic which emanates away from him. | |
| Meteor Impact | Phase 2 |
| After his health drops below 50%, he crackles with gravity magic and slams both swords into the ground before propelling himself into the air and vanishing. After several seconds, he hurtles back down from above, causing a devastating explosion upon impact. | |
| Levitating Meteors | Phase 2 |
| Drives both swords into the ground and pulls them back up, calling four meteors to appear. They will float around him until he sends them flying towards the player. | |
| Spinning Attack | Phase 2 |
| Hovers in the air and charges twice while spinning rapidly. | |
Phase 1[]
The player will spawn some distance away from Radahn, with the boss visible at the top of a dune in the distance. Immediately, Radahn will begin firing volleys of arrows which rain down from above, homing in on the player, as well as gravity arrows. The latter can be avoided by hiding behind the clusters of weapons dug into the ground, however the weapons will break when struck. Riding Torrent will make it easier to avoid the volleys. Summon signs can be found in clusters all around the arena, and can be used to summon NPCs to assist in the fight.
Once the player is close enough, Radahn will begin attacking using his swords. He is very mobile, using his horse to cover distance easily. He also uses a number of gravity-based attacks, such as Cragblade, gravity waves, and Collapsing Stars.
Phase 2[]
Once his health is below 50%, Radahn will launch himself into the sky, disappearing for several seconds. He will then come crashing down in a ball of fire, dealing devastating damage to anyone caught in the impact. Radahn now gains the ability to raise four floating rocks, which will hover beside him and then launch at the player or their summons. He also gains the ability to float into the air and spin rapidly while charging.
Environment[]
The Wailing Dunes is a very large arena consisting of many tall dunes, with Radahn initially standing at the top of the largest dune close to the centre of the area. Clusters of weapons can be found stuck in the sand, and can be used to hide from Radahn's arrows. Summon signs can be found throughout the arena, often in clusters of two or three.
Strategy[]
- During the first encounter, Radahn can be defeated by luring him to the cliffs in the far north, causing him to fall to his death. Alternatively, players can position themselves at the southern shore during his phase transition, leading Radahn to crash into the ocean upon descent.
Second Encounter (Promised Consort Radahn)[]
The second encounter with Radahn serves as the final boss of the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. The first phase is Promised Consort Radahn and the second is Radahn, Consort of Miquella.
Moveset List[]
| Moveset List | |
| Spinning Gravity Bomb | Phase 1 |
|---|---|
| Rushes through the air while spinning before ending with an explosion | |
| 6-Slash Basic Long Combo | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Does a right foot stomp followed by a single overhead sword slash, a double sword sweep, then, a slightly delayed dual overhead sword slash, and a ground explosion. | |
| Slash Swing Combo | Phase 1 |
| Performs a long string of attacks, starting with a right sword sweep, then a left sword sweep, a half-spin attack, a quick double sword sweep, a slightly delayed double sword sweep, and a delayed left sword thrust. | |
| Cross-Slash | Phase 1 |
| Does a quick slash with each sword in succession, and end with a delayed cross-slash. | |
| Hit Combo | Phase 1 |
| Opens with an overhead right sword swing, followed by a slightly delayed quick left and right sword sweep in succession before doing two fast right and left swings. | |
| Double-Slash Uppercut Slam | Phase 1 |
| While raising both swords into the air, will do a sideward double slash and end with a delayed double overhead sword swing. | |
| Somersault Sword Slam | Phase 1 |
| Does a front somersault toward your position and smash both swords into the ground. | |
| Bloodflame Slash | Phase 1 |
| Swings sword at close range. The trail created from the slash engulfs a small area in bloodflames and explodes after a short duration. The bloodflame causes Blood Loss. | |
| Gravity Meteor | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Slashes both swords through the ground, then slashes them upward causing rocks to fly into the air. He then leaps into the air from a distance and uses gravity magic to launch the meteors towards the target. | |
| Starcaller Cry | Phase 1 & 2 |
| Pulls the target towards him with gravity, causing them to stagger. Slams the ground and uses gravity to force ground spikes upwards. | |
| Light of Miquella | Phase 2 |
| Levitates with arms stretched out, and summons an explosion of light in a wider area. | |
| Promised Consort | Phase 2 |
| Raises both swords as they glow with the Holy Light before slashing them forward to create a blinding light. Will then quickly slashes both swords again after a delay, before jumping to end the move with a Cross-Attack Slash that creates a massive AoE explosion. Each slash spawns a pillar of light. | |
| Consort's Meteor Rain | Phase 2 |
| Slams his swords on the ground, before leaping into the air. After a delay, will fly back into the arena at the speed of light, crashing back to the ground in a glorious explosion | |
Phase 1[]
Just like in the base game, players will spawn a distance away from Radahn. While retaining his gravity magic, and as his soul now possessed Mohg's remains, Radahn now employs Bloodflame, and seamlessly switches between the two elemental magics while in combat. To defeat him, it is always important to time your attacks in between Radahn's string of attacks or pull off counters at the very end of a combo. Because of his recovery time, this makes his boss battle complicated, as he can launch other attacks almost instantly after finishing a heavy attack. As a result, it is important to note that patience and appropriate timing are the keys to defeating Radahn. The optimal moment to attack is when he finished his basic sword combos, and would take a brief pause to recover.
At the start of his boss battle, he will nearly always use a gravity attack to prevent players from summoning or buffs upon entry into the boss battle. Because of this, players are recommended to use buffs before accessing the boss and cast summons right after dodging the initial attack. During his first phase, Radahn will use a flurry of combos aside from special abilities such as a Bloodflame Slash and his Gravity attacks. After being reduced to 65% of his health, this will trigger a cutscene leading to Phase 2.
Phase 2[]
In this phase, Radahn's previous attacks are improved and he gains new powerful abilities. Most of them are Holy-powered and have a wider AoE. Overall, while his attacks become more lethal, Radahn is now faster in speed, now capable of creating mirror images to attack and using strong Holy-based abilities, making the boss battle more difficult and challenging. However, despite gaining immense power, Radahn's health has already been reduced to 75%, allowing players to gain a slight edge. It is important to capitalize on the pauses of Radahn's combo attacks, as there are opportunities to strike. Constantly taking advantage of them can deplete his health and because Radahn's attacks can be very punishing if caught off-guard, you have to be prepared to switch between offensive and defensive at times.
While Radahn can still perform similar combos from Phase 1, they have an additional Holy damage explosion at the end. As Miquella is now mounted on his back, he can do a grab attack where he will glow and jump at the player in order to grab them. If successful, Radahn will bring them close to Miquella, who will then place the player under a charm. While this doesn't deal any damage, if Radahn successfully grabs the player a second time while they are charmed, this will ultimately result in instant death. Using Miquella's Great Rune will undo the charm.
Environment[]
The arena consists of a very wide area, with a rough white surface filled with gray-white decomposed corpses, which can be found sticking from the ground. At the other end of the arena, stands the Gate of Divinity itself, where Miquella will step out in divine aspect in the second phase.
Dialogue[]
| English Dialogue |
 Unused Gate of Divinity cutscene
|
|---|
| I am Radahn. |
| Born of red-maned Radagon, and Rennala of the Full Moon. |
| A lion bred for battle. |
Notes[]
- General Radahn and his foot soldiers engaged Margit, the Fell Omen during an undisclosed battle of the Shattering.[39]
- Starscourge Radahn's feet have been eaten away by the scarlet rot.
- Promised Consort Radahn has Omen horns and casts Blood Oath Incantations because he inhabits Mohg's body.
Trivia[]
- Radahn is the only Shardbearer boss with no spoken dialogue or cinematic introduction immediately before his battle (excluding the cutscene triggered by speaking with Castellan Jerren) or during his phase transition.
Although Radahn remains silent in the DLC, unused voice lines suggest he once had an introductory monologue.[40]
- The version 1.00 description of the Longtail Cat Talisman referenced Radahn owning a pet cat, though this detail was later removed.
- Hidetaka Miyazaki has cited Radahn's first battle as his personal favorite boss fight, praising the character's design and the duel's bittersweet tone.[41]
Gallery[]
Relevant Items[]
.png "ER Icon Weapon Greatsword of Radahn (Lord).png (443 KB)"){kind=icon}
.png "ER Icon Armor Young Lion's Armor (Altered).png (1.32 MB)"){kind=icon}
.png "ER Icon Armor Radahn's Lion Armor (Altered).png (1.24 MB)"){kind=icon}
.png "ER Icon Armor Eccentric's Hood (Altered).png (948 KB)"){kind=icon}
Other appearances[]
.png "ER Chapter 39 Radahn (1).png (1.4 MB)")
.png "ER Chapter 42 Radahn (1).png (1.65 MB)")
.png "ER Chapter 39 Radahn (2).png (1.52 MB)")
.png "ER Chapter 40 Radahn (1).png (1.14 MB)")
.png "ER Chapter 40 Radahn (2).png (1.63 MB)")
.png "ER Chapter 42 Radahn (2).png (1.66 MB)")
References[]
|
.jpg){kind=link}