How to Beat Elemer of the Briar: Boss Fight Guide

This is a guide on how to beat Elemer of the Briar, an optional boss in Elden Ring. Read on to learn more about Elemer of the Briar's drops, weaknesses, and recommended level!

Elemer of the Briar General Info

Stats and Rewards

Elemer of the Briar
Weakness	Resistance	Immune
━	Standard Strike Slash Fire Holy Bleed Frost Scarlet Rot Sleep Poison	Madness Instant Death
Affected By	Poison, Frost, Scarlet Rot, Bleed
Spirit Ashes Available?	No
Rune Rewards	24000 (NG)
Summonable NPCs	None
Location	・The Shaded Castle, Altus Plateau
Item Drops	・Briar Greatshield ・Marais Executioner's Sword

Elemer of the Briar Location

Where to Find Elemer of the Briar

Elemer of the Briar is found in the Shaded Castle in Altus Plateau. To reach the Shaded Castle, start from the Bridge of Iniquity site of grace and ride across it heading East. Once across the bridge, immediately take a right and drop down two Spirit Springs and then head North. To enter the Shaded Castle, follow the perimiter heading West and jump up to a ledge leading inside.

Elemer of the Briar is located toward the center of the Shaded Castle, so you will need to proceed to reach this boss.

The Shaded Castle Walkthrough and Location

When to Fight Elemer of the Briar

Elemer of the Briar is best fought around level 70. He deals a high amount of damage and has rapid attack patterns leaving you with few opportunities to heal. Having high defense and HP will help you survive Elemer's relentless attacks.

Note that you can fight Bell Bearing Hunters at various locations which all share the same moveset as Elemer of the Briar. For more info on their locations and drops, check out the guide below.

How to Beat Bell Bearing Hunters

How to Beat Elemer of the Briar

Tips for Beating Elemer of the Briar
Stay Close and Learn the Dodge Timings
Heal After Grabs or Shield Slams
Start the Fight with Rotten Breath

Stay Close and Learn the Dodge Timings

Staying at close range is recommended as Elemer's attack patterns are more predictable while in melee range. To get comfortable with the dodge timings it's recommended to equip a shield and block while counting out the timing of the boss' attacks as they hit your shield. Certain attacks are heavy attacks are have a long delay to them, so take note of those in particular.

Staying close will also prevent him from using his sword at range, which can roll catch or reach you from across the room.

Heal After Grabs and Shield Slams

Since Elemer's sword can hit you at range, he can heal punish you from anywhere in the small boss arena. The only safe heal opportunities you have will be after dodging a grab, or any of the boss' shield attacks.

Ideally you will want to use these windows of opportunity to attack, but it's important to know heal windows as healing windows and attack windows aren't always the same.

Start the Fight with Rotten Breath

If you have the Incantation Rotten Breath, you can use it immediately when the fight starts to inflict Elemer with Scarlet Rot. By itself, this can take out a majority of the boss' HP, so you can block or dodge and wait for the Scarlet Rot to wear off before finishing off the fight.

Note that this Incantation has a slow start up animation, so your only opportunity to cast it safely will be at the very start of the fight. Also even though Elemer of the Briar is resistant to most status effects, it is still possible (and even recommended) to use them as once they take effect they can deal significant amounts of damage.

Elden Ring Related Guides

List of All Bosses

DLC Bosses

Main Bosses

Optional Bosses

Mini-Bosses

Hostile NPCs and Invaders