After journeying through the Mountaintop of the Giants, you’ll eventually come face to face with the colossal Elden Ring Fire Giant boss. This will likely take you by surprise, as there is no mist door to traverse on your first attempt.
This is a mandatory boss who can be daunting on account of his sheer size. However, he’s actually a fairly comfortable boss to defeat once you know a few tips and tricks.
Here’s our boss guide providing everything you need to know about how to beat the Elden Ring Fire Giant boss.
- RELATED: Elden Ring Review (spoiler-free)
What level to fight Elden Ring Fire Giant boss?
As long as you’re over Level 100 at this stage, you should be able to take down the Elden Ring Fire Giant boss by following our tips and guide below. This might even be on the low side but as long as you aren’t taken out in one hit, you should be fine. Fire Giant is very slow so you’ll have ample chance to heal between hits.
How to beat Elden Ring Fire Giant boss: General Tips
Before we delve into his specific phases and attacks, here are the general tips to bear in mind whilst battling the Fire Giant boss.
Why can’t I do damage?
If you’re wondering whether you’re woefully underlevelled, don’t panic. You cannot do much damage to Fire Giant unless you specifically attack his left ankle. This ankle has orange ropes around it and is on your right-hand side as you face him head-on. When you attack his ankle enough times, the makeshift guard will be destroyed, exposing the weak spot further. You’ll know when you have destroyed the ropes because Fire Giant will cry out in pain and be temporarily stunned.
After this point, he’ll get a little more dangerous but continue to attack his left foot to do considerably more damage than elsewhere.
Equip Talismans to boost physical and fire resistance
As his name suggests, Fire Giant has a range of fire elemental attacks. This is particularly true in his second phase, and these are immensely powerful.
If you have the Flamedrake Talisman, it’ll be worth equipping for this battle, which could be the difference between life and death.
However, Fire Giant can still deal some serious physical damage with his stomps, rolls and swings, so it is also worth considering physical resistance talismans such as a Dragoncrest Shield Talisman, or simply those that increase your health.
Don’t rely on summons
Some bosses can be completely nullified by using the right summons, but not so much here. Summons aren’t completely useless, but don’t assist very much. The sheer size of Fire Giant, plus his AOE attacks and tendency to move away makes it one of the worst battles for summons. Moreover, your positioning behind him is very important in phase 2, and summons aren’t smart enough to clock onto this strategy so will likely be defeated.
As such, learn to beat Fire Giant on your own steam and consider any summon help to be a bonus. I would recommend keeping them handy until phase 2 of the battle where a little bit of extra damage could help you get over the line.
Don’t bother blocking
A shield is very little use here, as his attacks are either very powerful or simply unblockable. You’re also advised to be on horseback for decent portions of this fight where a shield is redundant. As such, you’ll be best served by equipping your weapon with two hands. This will do a little more damage whilst on your horse with no negative repercussions.
Blood Loss does work, eventually
Blood Loss is an incredibly handy tool in Elden Ring, and virtually all bosses are susceptible to it. Fire Giant is actually resistant to Blood Loss, but that doesn’t mean he is completely immune – it just takes longer to affect him. If you have an Ash of War that can cause Blood Loss buildup from your attacks, then it’s definitely worth equipping for the battle (and every other battle!). The chances are you’ll get a chunk of health blasted off at some point, and if this happens in the attritional second phase it’s a massive help.
Elden Ring Fire Giant boss guide: Phase 1
Fire Giant has a range of dangerous attacks, which are mostly easy to avoid but can deal huge damage if they hit. These are the main attacks and how to avoid them.
Attack Pattern
Snow Scoop – Often his opening move, which he will only use when you are keeping your distance. You can jump over this attack on horseback or roll through it on foot, and it shouldn’t be a problem afterwards.
Fire orb – Fire Giant can pull these out of his chest, where they’ll slowly pursue you and explode when they get close. If you go near them, they will briefly pulse and stay in position, giving you a chance to get away before the explosion. It’s important to keep track of these when they emerge so you aren’t caught by surprise. In the first phase he will release one at a time.
Foot stomps – This is fairly self-explanatory, and a particular danger whilst attacking his left foot. Thankfully, these stomps are telegraphed clearly and give you a decent amount of time to dodge out of the way even if you are mid-attack.
Roll – Be careful of Fire Giant dropping to the floor and rolling away. He can go either side and this can hit you for a massive amount of damage. If you stay behind him and near his feet, this should be avoidable as he generally moves away from you. As soon as you are out of the way, I would recommend getting straight back onto Torrent and bursting underneath him as quickly as possible.
Ground Flames – Fire Giant will cause a sea of flames to engulf the area around him. These flames are patchy and don’t cover the whole area, leaving sizeable gaps between them. You can actually get lucky and avoid this altogether if you are in a safe zone when they appear. However, the safer move is to dodge backwards and get out of there as soon as you see the flames emerging.
Slam Attacks – He will raise the disk and slam it downwards. There are a few similar attacks of this ilk, including one where he jumps forwards with a massive slam, but they are all slow and easy to read. Dodge forwards and get between his legs or around him when he is performing these.
Strategy
He’ll likely start by using his huge metal disk to scoop snow and launch it towards you along the ground. Dodge this by jumping over it and approaching him as fast as possible whilst on horseback.
The target here is Fire Giant’s left ankle with roping around it rather than a metal bracer. At all times in this phase, only attack the left ankle as it’s his weak spot.
Rush towards him on Torrent and jump off when you reach his feet. Hack away at his left ankle whilst preparing to dodge if he starts stomping or conjuring flames. As soon as he rolls, summon Torrent again and sprint towards his feet as soon as possible, giving him minimal chance to perform his deadly slams or snow scoops. Jump off again and repeat your assault on his left ankle. Keep an eye out for fire orbs and run away when you see or hear one pulsing.
When he’s down to around half health, the next phase will commence.
Elden Ring Fire Giant boss guide: Phase 2
After a short cut-scene, Fire Giant will rip off his own leg and collapse to the ground. His moveset and patterns will now change. He’ll only be left with about a third of his health (he deals damage to himself during the cutscene), but since his weak spot has been removed this phase may take a lot longer than the first.
Attack Pattern
Fire Giant has a few new tricks up his sleeve during the second phase. Most will defeat you within a couple of hits so avoidance is always the best option.
Fire orbs – Fire Giant can still do this, but now summons two at a time. Since this phase should be done on horseback, they are still easy to avoid. Go in close to trigger their pulsing, before running away to avoid the explosion.
Fire Storm – This is a new attack, whereby Fire Giant blasts a series of fire chunks from his chest. It can be difficult to anticipate where they will land, so stay on the move and try and close the distance on him. Once you’re near to him or preferably behind him, this will be avoided.
Fist Swings – Fire Giant no longer has his metal disk, so he swipes and punches with his fists instead. This will likely be performed after he rolls away, but if you stay to one side and gallop wide you can easily avoid this whilst on horseback. Usually you are safest approaching him from the right-hand side as you face him.
Chest Fire – This is like a Dragon’s fire breath, except it comes from Fire Giant’s chest. It’s a constant stream of flames that will follow you around for a while as he turns. He won’t use this much if you’re behind him, and if he uses it simply dash back around him as quickly as possible with Torrent.
Strategy
I strongly recommend using Torrent for this phase. The most important thing is to get behind him since the majority of his phase 2 attacks point forwards. In fact, if you are behind him the main things to worry about are orbs creeping up on you or his roll. Once you safely make it, now’s the time to use a summon if you intend on using one.
He rolls a lot more in this phase, which is why it is much easier on horseback. I spend the entire phase atop Torrent and didn’t take a single hit. Once again, get to his back and hack away until he rolls around. If he ends up in an awkward position, you can run through his legs despite him kneeling on the ground. It doesn’t matter where you attack him now. His weak spot is gone so all of your attacks will do little damage and it’s now a case of persistence.
When he rolls, so sprint on your horse and get back around him using a wide angle to avoid his swinging fists or flames. Sometimes he’ll roll several times in a row before settling in position and attempting an attack, so stay on your toes until he stops.
Like any boss battle, don’t get greedy – even if looks like he only needs a couple more hits, this can be misleading due to his immense resilience. Stick to the plan and finish him off slowly but surely.
Fire Giant boss fight Rewards
Beating the Fire Giant will result in a nice 180,000 runes, which should enable a couple of levels up. You’ll also get the Remembrance of the Fire Giant which can be traded back at Roundtable Hold.
WARNING: After beating Elden Ring Fire Giant boss
I’m not going to spoil anything here, but I’ll just alert you that the next area will lead to a crucial decision that affects the ending of the game. This pivotal choice also causes several sidequests to disappear, so make sure you are ready to proceed before you do so. The open world does not get locked out after the choice is made, but it’s still a good time to tie up some loose ends.
Recap
Here’s everything important to remember from our Fire Giant boss guide:
- Approach Fire Giant as quickly as possible and attack his left ankle (the one without a bracer)
- Always attack this ankle during the first phase and nothing else
- Dodge his stomp attacks, and get away from him if he summons flames
- Trigger his fire orbs by going close to halt them, before dodging away
- Once he rolls away, quickly get near him again to avoid his slam attacks
- When he reaches his second phase, use your summon (if you want) and mount Torrent
- Get behind him and much as possible and slowly whittle down his health
- When he rolls away, take a wide angle to avoid his fists and keep getting behind him
Hopefully this boss guide of how to beat Fire Giant will give you everything you need to know to advance towards the business end of Elden Ring.
If our guide to the Elden Ring Fire Giant boss was helpful, check out our Malenia boss guide here if you intend to tackle the Goddess of Rot.
