Variety is Elden Ring’s key aspect as a fantasy role-playing game. You will come across a mix of unique creatures, hostiles, and friendlies for every new region, no matter where you look.
One of your early encounters during the game is the Demi-Human Chief Duo. As daunting as the idea may seem, it is rather straightforward, assuming you are deploying the right strategies and prepping accordingly for the boss fight. If one Elden Ring boss is difficult enough on its own, what about two?
Demi-Human Chief Duo Overview
The Demi-Human Chief Duo are two tall and slender beast-like creatures, a human body, and a doggish head. The two Chiefs guard the way to the Church of Dragon Communion. They can also summon smaller Demi-Human to aid them during the boss fight.
Health Bar: It is unclear how much HP each Demi-Human Chief has, but expect it to get progressively bigger with each playthrough.
Types of Damage: Demi-Human Chiefs deal slash damage.
Weaknesses: The Demi-Human Chief Duo are weak to standard, strike, slash, fire, holy, frost, and thrust damage.
Weapons: Both Demi-Human Chiefs wield a knife in each hand. But in certain situations, they will even use their jaws to deal damage.
Parrying: While all of Demi-Human Chief’s attacks can be parried, it can be challenging to do so consistently. The double knife slam attack is the easiest to parry, but parrying is wholly unreliable in this boss fight.
Elden Ring Demi-Human Chief Duo’s Location: The Demi-Human Chief Duo can only be found in the Coastal Cave in the Limgrave region. Once you are in the cave, you will have to dispose of some small Demi-Humans before waking up one of the Demi-Human Chiefs and commencing the boss fight.
You might also want to bring along a torch or light source, as the cave is dark. A torch can be acquired from Kale in the nearby Church of Ellen.
Moveset:
- Wild Swings: Demi-Human Chiefs unleash a flurry of deadly knife swings in quick succession. This attack often ends in an overshooting dash attack, so be wary of that and any other chained-in attacks that might come after.
- Overhead Attack: At the end of combos and attacks, the Demi-Human Chief Duo will often dash towards you with both knives raised above their heads. The chiefs will then slam both knives down directly in front of them, dealing mammoth damage.
- Leap Attack: The Demi-Human Chief leaps toward you and performs three downward swings during this attack. Wild swings or an overhead attack typically follow this attack.
- Knife Swivel: This attack consists of two spins with outstretched arms. The chiefs gain ground and progressively get closer to you with each spin. An overhead attack or a scream for backup will typically follow after this attack. The reach of this attack is nothing special, but it can easily catch you off-guard if you are not careful.
- Quick Bites: The Demi-Human Chief Duo will often try to catch you napping by using their mighty jaws to snap at you in-between attacks. Be extra wary of this attack, especially if you are a melee player, as it can break your stance and leave you vulnerable to attacks. As well as that, the recovery time for this attack is a tad lengthy, giving you ample time to counter-attack or heal.
- Scream for Backup: At some point during the fight, at least one of the Demi-Human Chiefs will scream. The scream will not incur any physical damage to you, but it will spawn additional small Demi-Humans in the arena. You should dispose of any spawned-in Demi-Humans as soon as possible to avoid getting overwhelmed.
Can you backstab the Demi-Human Chief?
Indeed, you can! Thanks to the Chief’s lengthy recovery times, it is a relatively easy maneuver, giving you ample time to make your way behind it and perform a devastating backstab.
What are Demi-Humans in Elden Ring?
A Demi-Human is a humanoid creature in Elden Ring. They are agile and hostile cave dwellers that will attack without any provocation. Demi-Humans scavenge the land in groups commanded by a leader, a stronger and more menacing creature, in the Demi-Human Chief. They are much smaller in stature than the Demi-Human Chief, but they can still be nuisances.
Pre-fight Preparation
While defeating the Demi-Human Chief Duo is a fairly straightforward affair, some prep work is needed for maximum efficiency. Your needed preparation will vary depending on your build. Melee builds will require different pre-fight preparation compared to magic and ranged builds.
That being said, here are some general tips which can be applied to all builds.
Dispose of the small Demi-Humans before starting the boss fight.
Ideally, you will want to capture the attention of the small Demi-Humans and have them come to you so that you can pick them off one by one without alerting the sleeping Demi-Human Chief. However, if that is not possible, try to kill them all as soon as possible while the Demi-Human Chief is making its way toward you.
Killing the small Demi-Humans will be much easier for ranged players, as they can pick them off one by one from a distance without any risk of alerting the sleeping Demi-Human Chief.
Summon spirit ashes
A multi-unit Spirit Ash or a tanky Spirit Ash will help you for this boss fight. Spirit ashes will keep the Demi-Human Chief Duo distracted and vulnerable to attacks, but they also chip away at their health bar and accelerate the fight. They will also take care of the small Demi-Humans that spawn in during the fight, keeping your focus solely on the Demi-Human Chief Duo.
Our picks for this fight would be Lone Wolf Ashes, Wandering Noble Ashes, Spirit Jellyfish Ashes, and Northern Mercenary Ashes.
You are always free to summon a spirit ash of your choice, as long as it can last against the Demi-Human Chief.
Make sure not to wake up the second Demi-Human Chief prematurely
This boss fight can become exceedingly difficult if the second chief joins the battle too quickly. Ideally, the second chief wakes up when the first one is either dead or on very low HP.
Avoid the second Chief at all times and let it join the fight in its own time.
Recommended Level
A level 15 should suffice for this boss fight. It’s relatively undemanding and simple to get through scathe free.
Melee Players
Use magic, if you have any
The more damage you can incur to the first Demi-Human Chief, the better. When the twin Demi-Human Chief makes its appearance, the first one should have minimal HP. The quickest and easiest way of dealing great damage in a short period is by enchanting your weapons, using the variety of spells and magic at your disposal.
Magic and Ranged Players
Equip a decent shield
Given the extended range of many of the Demi-Human Chief’s attacks, it would be wise to equip a shield that can withstand a hit or two from the Chiefs as an extra layer of protection.
Fight Strategy
You are in the thick of it now, and you need a plan. This boss fight is ideal for melee-focused builds, but we’ll discuss both scenarios and offer two separate strategies for each build.
However, one small note is that the small Demi-Humans should be killed as soon as they spawn in mid-fight. This will alleviate pressure and allow you to focus your efforts solely on the Demi-Human Chiefs.
Those pesky small Demi-Humans will get in your way and frustrate you, so swiftly dispose of them.
Melee Players
Be aggressive
The Demi-Human Chief can be staggered effortlessly. You need to keep the pressure on and mount as many attacks as possible within a short period and then retreat. It will take around four hits before the Chief can recover, which is enough to shave off a considerable chunk of its health bar.
Keep an eye on your stamina
Depleting your stamina will put you in a rather awkward situation. So, monitor your stamina levels and conserve your efforts accordingly.
Be wary of the Chief’s overhead attack
The Chief’s overhead attack can easily catch you off-guard if you are not careful and can bypass your shield. React quickly to this attack and either create distance between the pair of you by dodging away or trying to parry it if you feel courageous.
Capitalize on the Chief’s long recovery times
Most of the Demi-Human Chief’s attacks have extensive recovery times, creating prime striking opportunities for you to pounce on.
Do not attempt to block any of its combos
While blocking the Demi-Human Chief’s combos is possible, it is unreliable and unsafe. You would be much better off avoiding them altogether.
Keep an eye on the second sleeping Chief
The last thing you would want is being backstabbed by one of the Demi-Human Chiefs. As you fight the first Demi-Human Chief, take a peek now and then at the back tunnel to ensure that the twin Demi-Human Chief is still unaware of the boss fight.
Maintain your composure
Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, do not panic. Whether you are stuck against a wall or a small Demi-Human, keep your composure and seek a way out of your awkward situation.
Panicked dodging or attacking can only get you from bad to worse, so be smart and keep a cool head.
Magic and Ranged Players
Make the most out of your summoned spirit ashes
There is no telling when your spirit ashes will perish, so capitalize on their distractions as much as possible by attacking the Demi-Human Chief Duo non-stop.
Your spirit ashes will also take care of the small Demi-Humans, so that is one less thing for you to worry about.
Be wary of your surroundings
The tightness of the cave makes it extremely difficult to navigate around your surroundings while keeping your distance from the Demi-Human Chief. You’ll also have small Demi-Humans roaming around, which can impede and corner you. But most importantly, keep away from the deeper cave, where the twin Demi-Human Chief is, to avoid waking it up prematurely.
Try to hold your shield up whenever possible
Hold your shield up for extra protection if you are not actively shooting at the Demi-Human Chief Duo. You will have more than one source of damage to contend with, so you might not be able to evade all attacks.
Rewards
Besting the Demi-Human Chief Duo will entitle you to several rewards. They are as follows:
- 1,200 Runes on your first playthrough.
- Tailoring Tools: A Key Item that allows you to adjust your armor at sites of grace.
- Sewing Needle: A Key Item and the Demi-Human Chief Duo’s prized possession. You can offer the sewing needle to Boc the Seamster in return for other choice items.
In addition to these items, defeating the Demi-Human Chief Duo will grant you access to the tunnel leading to the Church of Dragon Communion.
With all of that said, you can now venture into the Coastal Cave and apply the knowledge you have just been endowed to make light work of the Demi-Human Chief Duo and their pesky little Demi-Human compatriots. Good Luck!
