We can all agree that all 120 bosses in Elden Ring are distinctly challenging to beat. However, once in a while, you’ll come across a standout boss fight that proves to be more difficult than the rest.
Among those standout bosses is Leonine Misbegotten, an agile and aggressive boss that instills fear into the eyes of its opponents. Unprepared, Leonine proves to be a rather challenging boss to beat, but with the optimal strategy, you can make light work of the feral boss.
Leonine Misbegotten Overview
Leonine Misbegotten is a mix between a feline and human, sporting feline features and a thick, crimson mane. He’s aggressive and feral and sees nothing but rage. However, Leonine’s motivation and role within the game world are still unknown.
Weaknesses: Leonine Misbegotten is weak to slash and fire damage.
Weapons: Leonine Misbegotten wields a Grafted Blade Greatsword and double-hands it for most of his attacks to incur maximum damage. He’ll also inflict damage by roaring and stomping on the ground, as well as using his claws for quick short-range attacks.
Parrying: Most of Leonine Misbegotten’s attacks can be parried with relative ease. Parrying is most useful for light weapons’ melee builds, as you won’t have to roll through every attack that comes your way. You’ll find more success parrying with a small shield.
Elden Ring Leonine Misbegotten’s Location: Leonine Misbegotten can be found near the southern edge of the map of The Lands Between, in Castle Morne, which is located in the Weeping Peninsula.
You’ll need to cross the wooden bridge connecting the two castle towers, defeat the two enemies perched up there, then descend the ladder.
From there, you’ll need to crouch and stealthily make your way through the water and between the non-hostile jellyfishes, without alerting them.
You’ll find a tower on the other side, with its entrance blocked by mist. Traversing the said mist will take you to Leonine Misbegotten.
Moveset:
- Four-Hit Combo: This combo consists of three quick swipes, followed by a jump and a sword thrust. With a good shield and high enough stamina, you can block this combo. Otherwise, you can either dodge through each attack or parry the first swipe.
- Leaping Attack: Leonine Misbegotten leaps toward you and thrusts his sword at you. This move is quite telegraphed, making it easy to time your dodge through it.
- Spinning Swipes: During this attack, Leonine Misbegotten swings its sword horizontally twice, as it spins, creating more velocity for the second spin. This attack will typically be preceded by a stomp or roar, so be wary of that.
- Dashing Strike: Leonine Misbegotten dashes to one side, then follows up with a horizontal slash.
- Wide Swipes: This attack consists of numerous wide swipes that track your movement. It is often followed up with a leaping attack.
- Jumping Ground Slam: Leonine Misbegotten leaps high in the air while holding his sword horizontally in front of his body, then slams down on the ground, creating a large AoE.
- Claw Swipes: Leonine Misbegotten swipes at you with his claws. This attack can occur between or at the end of other moves, making it difficult to time your blocks and dodges well.
- Roar: This attack, where Leonine Misbegotten roars, creates a small AoE directly in front of the boss and deals an unremarkable amount of damage. Roars are typically a sign of the start of another attack.
What level should I be to fight Leonine Misbegotten?
Ideally, a level 25 or higher must be reached before embarking on your fight with Leonine Misbegotten.
Is Leonine Misbegotten a main boss?
No, Leonine Misbegotten is not one of the 12 or so main Elden Ring bosses. Defeating Leonine Misbegotten is optional, however, some would consider it worthwhile due to the rewards that come with it.
Can you summon for Leonine?
Indeed, you can. You can and should summon spirit ashes during your boss fight with Leonine Misbegotten, as they can be of great help.
Is Leonine harder than Margit?
Based on our experience and that of the Elden Ring community, defeating Leonine Misbegotten is a lot easier than Margit the Fell Omen. If you’re struggling to defeat the latter, feel free to check out our guide on how to defeat Margit the Fell Omen.
Pre-fight Preparation
To increase your chances of achieving victory in a boss fight, you must prepare according to the boss you’re fighting.
Here are some pre-fight tips to better your chances of defeating Leonine Misbegotten.
Summon Spirit Ashes
For this boss fight, you’ve got a choice of multi-unit spirit ashes or strong and tanky spirit ashes. Both types will have a good chance of staggering Leonine Misbegotten while keeping him distracted throughout the fight.
Our pick for this boss fight would be Spirit Jellyfish Ashes, as it can poison and stagger the boss with every attack. You can get Spirit Jellyfish Ashes by talking to Roderika in Stormhill Shack or Roundtable Hold, depending on how far you are in the game.
Equally, you’re free to use whichever spirit ashes you have on you.
Casters should use quick spells
Leonine Misbegotten’s aggressiveness leaves you with little to no time to shoot any casts or projectiles with a long wind-up. You’ll need something quick and snappy, such as Glintstone Pebbles. If you’re a bow user, use a shortbow for the same effect.
Use Glintblade Phalanx
Leonine’s over-aggressiveness can be used against him by casting a defensive spell that punishes his over-eagerness. Glintblade Phalanx creates a defensive arch of magic glintblades around you, meaning that every charge from Leonine Misbegotten will be punished with several hits from the blades.
Glintblade Phalanx can be purchased from Sorceress Sellen or Miriel, Pastor of Vows for 2,500 Runes. Or, you can get the Glintblade Phalanx Ash of War after defeating Godrick the Grafted in Stomrveil Castle.
Use the Barricade Shield Ash of War
Due to the pure velocity of Leonine Misbegotten’s attacks, it is extremely difficult to consistently block his attacks, even with a good shield. Unless you’re using the Barricade Shield Ash of War, there’s no point trying to block, as it will drain your stamina in an instant.
It must be said, though, that Rolling and dodging are effective for evading Leonine’s attacks. However, blocking can allow you to counter with heavy attacks. It’s a high-risk, high-reward gamble.
Melee should equip a heavy weapon
Exploit Leonine Misbegotten’s low poise by using a heavy weapon to increase your chances of staggering the boss after every attack.
You can also equip a whip alongside your main melee weapon, as it will stagger and stunlock the boss with nearly every hit. If you haven’t got a whip, you can get one from the room with rats near the Beside the Rampart Gaol Site of Grace.
Fight Strategy
In order to defeat Leonine Misbegotten, a concise strategy must be followed. The designated strategy for this boss fight will not differ greatly between melee and ranged builds. The only real difference between the two is that ranged players must create separation at all times.
And with that said, let’s get to it.
Never block Leonine Misbegotten’s leaping attack
Even if you’re successful in blocking Leonine’s leaping attack —which is highly unlikely—, it’ll drain most of your stamina bar, turning you into a sitting duck.
You’re much better off rolling through Leonine’s leaping attack if you’re a melee player, and rolling away if you’re a ranged player.
Dodge forward
You’re much better off dodging forward, as opposed to backward, because Leonine’s attacks often overshoot their target and extend their reach, meaning that there’s no guarantee that dodging away will get you out of harm’s way. The same cannot be said for dodging forward and through his attacks.
Work on your timings
Most of Leonine’s attacks are erratic, unpredictable, and long-winded, making them challenging to block or dodge through consistently. Doing so is not impossible, but you’ll need to quickly learn the timings of each attack if you’re to have any chance of evading the boss’s attacks on a consistent basis.
Be wary of Leonine’s four-hit Combo
Blocking Leonine Misbegotten’s four-hit combo is evidently too risky. A well-timed heavy attack mid-combo can stagger and stunlock the boss but it’s a bit random, so we wouldn’t advise it.
Sidestepping the last downward vertical swing, however, is a highly effective and easy way of creating a great opening to strike the boss while it recovers.
Make the most out of your spirit ashes
This tip applies especially to ranged players, who will struggle to create separation throughout the boss fight, owing to Leonine Misbegotten’s aggressiveness.
Capitalize on every second that the boss is distracted by your spirit ashes, and perform heavy attacks if you’re a melee player or use your most powerful casts or bows if you’re a ranged player.
Be mindful of your surroundings
Many sizeable obstructions are scattered across the arena, which can both impede or help you, depending on your awareness. Keep an eye on what’s around you and avoid any obstacles by pre-planning your movements, so as to avoid cornering yourself.
These obstacles can also be used to create a barrier between you and Leonine Misbegotten for a relatively short period of time, just long enough for you to heal or restore a bit of your stamina. Speaking of which, …
Keep an eye on your stamina bar
Your stamina bar is detrimental to your chances of defeating Leonine Misbegotten. The second your stamina is depleted is the second you lose any advantage you had in this boss fight.
Conserve your stamina bar and try to always keep it above one quarter.
Control the pace of the fight and don’t get greedy
No matter how low Leonine Misbegotten is on HP or how open you think he is for a heavy attack, you must maintain the same slow and steady pace that got you in this advantageous situation rather than diving into attacks, solely because you’re close to winning. It’s a risk not worth taking, we’re speaking from experience.
Rewards
Upon defeating Leonine Misbegotten in Castle Morne, you’ll be entitled to the following rewards:
- 3,800 Runes
- Grafted Blade Greatsword
Is the Grafted Blade Greatsword good?
Leonine Misbegotten’s very own Grafted Blade Greatsword is an excellent weapon in its own right, especially considering that it can be obtained fairly early on in the game.
The more keen-eyed players, however, have noticed that it is a clear reference to the eponymous Iron Throne, present in the Game of Thrones TV series and novel, in the sense that it was crafted out of countless smaller swords, all haphazardly melded together.
Despite the daunting agility and aggressiveness of Leonine Misbegotten, I think we can all now agree that this boss isn’t that difficult to beat, as long as you deploy the right strategies, that is. We sincerely hope that this guide has been of help to you and, as always, we wish you the best of luck!
