Elden Ring: How to beat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
How to get through both phases of the Rennala boss fight
Are you stuck trying to beat Rennala in Elden Ring? You're far from being the only one who has difficulty with this powerful magic-wielding Queen. Rennala is, after all, one of the major bosses of Elden Ring, and the guardian of one of the Great Runes that you must acquire in order to repair the Elden Ring itself.
This two-phase boss fight can be rather confusing at times, so be sure to check out our Rennala boss fight walkthrough below. You can watch how I defeated her, and then peruse our top tips for surviving this challenging encounter.
Elden Ring Rennala boss fight walkthrough
Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, is the main boss of the Academy of Raya Lucaria - and she's one of the most dangerous foes you'll have encountered thus far in Elden Ring. You may not think much of her at first, but after beating her first phase you may be in for a nasty surprise as she ups the difficulty with a dazzling array of magical attacks.
Beating Rennala is not straightforward - but with the below tips in mind, you can at least make it look as straightforward as I do in the below video. Let's take a look at how best to defeat the Queen of the Full Moon in Elden Ring.
Rennala boss fight video walkthrough:
How to beat Rennala: top tips for success
Here are our top tips for succeeding in your fight against Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon:
- Upgrade your magical protection
- How to beat phase 1 quickly
- Play as aggressively as possible in phase 2
- Use Rennala's spinning shield attack as a chance to heal
- Ignore her small summons, avoid her big summons
1. Upgrade your magical protection
Rennala's attacks are almost exclusively magical, as you'd expect from the highest authority in the Academy of Raya Lucaria. So in this fight it's really important to switch out your usual physical protection armour for your most magically protective garments. You can loot both a Karolos Glintstone Crown and a Raya Lucarian Robe during your travels through the Academy; both have high magic defence and are therefore great for this fight.
If you have any spells such as Magic Fortification, or talismans which can protect you against magical damage, then be sure to add those as well. Seriously, you don't need physical protection for this fight.
2. How to beat phase 1 quickly
The first phase of Rennala's boss fight is amazingly easy once you understand what's going on. Rennala herself stays floating above her minions, and your aim is to find which of the minions is creating the invulnerable barrier around Rennala. You can tell which one it is because:
- They have a golden glow about them;
- They will throw magical books at you as you approach;
- They will be the source of the lullaby you hear, so it will get louder as you approach them.
Hit the golden minion once, and Rennala will transfer the power to another minion for you to find. Once you've hit three golden minions, Rennala will fall to the floor, her shield shattered. This is your chance to deliver massive damage to her, but be sure to step away before she brings her shield back up, or you'll take damage.
Rinse and repeat until Rennala's HP reaches zero. Be aware that after the first stage, Rennala will turn some of her minions into magical gravestones and send them hurtling towards you; but this attack has a very long wind-up time, and you'll often be able to find and attack all three golden minions before she unleashes it. If you can't interrupt the attack in this way, put as much distance and as many obstacles between you and Rennala as possible until the danger has passed.
3. Play as aggressively as possible in phase 2
Phase 2 is where Rennala becomes truly dangerous, as the Queen of the Full Moon is now at full strength and has many magical attacks to send your way. However, despite her intimidating spells, she herself has low poise and can be easily interrupted with melee attacks.
Therefore, you should endeavour to stay as close to her as possible. Play aggressive, and always look to close the distance with your rolls as you dodge her magical attacks.
4. Use Rennala's spinning shield attack as a chance to heal
If you do get hit by one of Rennala's attacks, you'll find they're very powerful. You can likely only take one or two of those attacks before you die. But with her array of homing spells, it can be hard to find a moment to heal.
I've found a very useful moment to heal is when Rennala spins her staff in front of her, creating a shield against you. This attack seems to happen fairly often if you stick within melee range. It's easy to dodge, and lasts long enough that after you recover from your roll you'll have time to drink a flask to heal up.
5. Ignore her small summons, avoid her big summons
Once Rennala is below 50% health in her second phase, she may begin to summon Spirit Ashes to attack you for a short while. They will begin with small summons such as Lone Wolves; and while dangerous, these wolves can be avoided. Roll through their bite attacks and continue to pummel Rennala. The summons only last a few seconds before disappearing, so you don't need to deal with them.
However, at low health Rennala will summon a Dragon Spirit to protect her. That's a little bit of a more dangerous prospect than some wolves, so I'd advise you keep your distance until the danger has passed.
Of course, as you can see from the above video, if you play aggressive and keep interrupting Rennala towards the end of her life, she may not even have time to summon anything!
That wraps up this walkthrough on how to beat Rennala in Elden Ring. While you're out exploring the Academy of Raya Lucaria, you may be interested to know that there's more to this place than you might think. In fact, if you get out onto the rooftops, you may find one of the best early-game weapons in Elden Ring.