Godrick the Grafted is the second Great boss in Elden Ring that you need to beat to progress in the story. It has a lot of moves that can be deadly no matter if you play a Vagabond, Warrior, or Astrologer. But learning these moves can help you defeat it in no time. So in this guide let us quickly take a look at how to beat Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring.
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How to Defeat Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring
There are two phases in this fight let us learn all the moves and tips to beat it. An important note here, these are the move names I have used to describe them and not the official in-game move names.
Phase 1
- Jump slash: He will mostly start the fight with this move. Godrick will jump the follow it by either slashing at you horizontally or doing a downward slash. Before the attack can connect do a forward roll or roll to the right. You can hit him twice on the back.
- Axe Slash: This is another move he can start the fight with. Godrick will drag the axe on the ground. You can see some sparkle around it and he will lunge towards you by slashing the axe. You can roll towards him (recommended) or towards the right to dodge this attack. After dodging the attack hit him while he readies his next attack.
- Four hit combo: He will use his axe and slash left, followed by another left slash using his right hand. Then he will backslash with his right hand. And finally, use his right hand to smackdown. If you can get behind during his attacks then try hitting him, else it’s best to guard these attacks.
- Whirlwind attack: Godrick will swing his axe up twice, creating two whirlwinds around him and prepare for his next attack. This will create another whirlwind around him. Each such whirlwind gets stronger than the previous one. Now there are two moves that it can do here.
- Jump slash: He will jump and slash downward at the player. You can roll forward and hit him behind.
- Launch small vortex: He will launch to vortex towards the player. One comes from the left the other from the right. You can dodge it by moving right while keeping your shield up.
- Forward thrust: You can recognise this attack by him readying his axe hand. He will jump forward while thrusting its axe at you. You can dodge this attack by moving right while keeping your shield up. If you do this correctly you can even land two or three hits on him.
- Hammer pound: His axe has the head of a hammer. Godrick will pound it on the ground twice. The first pound has a smaller shockwave. His second pound does more damage and has a bigger shockwave. You can easily avoid it by jumping before the shockwave hits. For the second shockwave pay attention to his hands. Try doing a jump attack when he launches his second shockwave. You can land a total of three hits here. Be careful not to get hit by these shockwaves as it will result in death.
- Roll and slash: Godrick rolls to the side and raises his axe arm. He will next bring it down. You can easily avoid it by rolling back or to the side.
- Five Slash combo: This is the most dangerous attack in his first phase. The best thing to do is run as far away as possible. You can recognise this attack by him raising both his arms. He will either yell something or grunt. Once you see his both arms raised run behind as far as possible to ensure you are out of his attack range. He will do two horizontal slashes, followed by two vertical slashes. Finally, he will end it by swinging the axe down. Another thing to notice about this attack is these slashes will have a white outline during the hits.
These are all the moves he does in his first phase once you bring half his HP down, you will see him kneel on the ground. This is an ideal opportunity to go to his side or back and spam attacks. I also suggest you wield the weapon with both hands as it will deal more damage. After this, a cutscene will start and the second phase will begin.
Phase 2
In his second phase, Godrick will have a dragon attached to his arm. This dragon will not only do regular damage but also fire damage. Let us check his moves for the second phase.
- Flamethrower arc: The second phase always begins with this move. Godrick will use his new dragon arm as a flame thrower and cover a wide arc with flames. You can run far behind to get out of its range. And even if you end up in its range then you can find gaps between the fireballs. Pass through this gap and you will come out unscathed.
- Upgraded Whirlwind attack: The attack plays out the same as it did in phase 1, but now with flames in the wind. You should try retreating from this attack instead of blocking it. As the blocks might defend you but you will still take fire damage. His follow-up attack jump slash and vortex launches will also be imbued with fire.
- Four hit combo: This is the same as phase one but now with dragon arm dealing more damage. There is also a new move here which you should definitely avoid. Godrick will try to grab you using his dragon arm. This attack cannot be blocked. If he does grab you then you will take a lot of fire damage. Avoid it back rolling back.
- Spinning Fire attack: This is a very good attack for you as you can easily hit him thrice during this attack. Godrick will pound his dragon arm with fire ready in it and start spinning, he will follow it by launching a volley of flames in the air. Once you see him spin run towards him and hit at least twice or thrice. Although if you are quite far then don’t risk it, instead run even further back to get out of its attack range.
- Flamethrower: Godrick will use his dragon arm to spew fire on the ground and forward. The best thing to do is run back and wait for this attack to end. Alternatively, if you were close to him before the attack begin then you can go behind him and attack. This will be useful as you can easily hit him while he attacks in front of him to no one!
- Upgraded hammer pound: This is another attack similar to its phase one. But instead of twice, he will pound the hammer thrice to the ground. Also in his phase 1 attack, he pounded the hammer once and pushed it further down. This time he will pound it on the ground thrice. Each of these has a bigger and more powerful shockwave when compared to his first attack. But dodging it is easy, just jump before the attack hits the ground. And start hitting him after his third pound.
Once you learn these moves and counter them at the right time you will beat Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring, and learn it was quite not so tough.
General Tips to Beat Godrick the Grafted
- The recommended weapon for this fight is a battle axe or a claymore.
- Carry a flame-resistant shield or at least one that gives better resistance to fire damage. Alternatively, you can also equip Flamedrake Talisman.
- You should at least be level 20 or above when challenging this boss.
- Learn the above moves before taking him down.
- Running away behind is fine. Godrick’s moves are slow but deal a high amount of damage. One misstep and he can beat you in one or two hits easily.
- Last but not least, it is okay to die multiple times. These types of fights are tough and you will rarely conquer them in a few tries let alone the first try. So as trivial as this tip might be, be ready to fail in this fight a lot before finally defeating him.
While the tips described with the moves may be more helpful for melee classes. If you use ranged attacks you can still benefit by learning these movesets to know the perfect time to dodge these attacks.
That covers everything you should know about how to beat Godrick the Grafted in Elden Ring. You should also check our other guides on how to beat the Tree Sentinel in case you saved it for later. You can also check our dedicated section on Elden Ring for more such guides.