Following in the footsteps of previous Soulsborne titles, Elden Ring comes with no shortage of extremely difficult bosses. No matter which area you explore, be it caves, dungeons, or castles, you’re sure to find a myriad of powerful enemies always ready to show you your place.
Aside from the main story bosses, many of the stronger foes you’ll encounter in Elden Ring will be optional to fight. One such optional enemy is the Deathbird, a recurring boss that resembles a huge bipedal bird with a skull for a head. These birds can be found at several locations throughout The Lands Between.
Deathbird Overview
The base Death bird appears to be a large bipedal with twig-like arms and a bird skull as a head. There is, however, a more powerful version of this enemy, known as the Death Rite Bird. These large skeletal birds are tougher than their smaller counterparts and can only be fought during the night.
Weapons and Damage
The regular Deathbird would have a cane with it, which it will use to perform sweep and thrust attacks, besides several other melee attacks it has in its arsenal. On the other hand, the Death Rite Bird has a variety of ranged attacks as well, some of which induce the Death Blight status effect. It also carries a greatsword known as Death’s Poker, which it uses for smash and sweep attacks. Players need to be extra careful when dealing with the stronger variant of the bird.
Status Effects
Deathbirds are immune to almost all status effects except Scarlet Rot.
Elden Ring Deathbird Locations
You can find a total of 8 Deathbirds in Elden Ring, with equal numbers of both regular and Death Rite variants. Let’s discuss the locations of each Deathbird.
Regular Deathbirds
- Limgrave: This variant will probably be your first Deathbird encounter in the game, which should give you a good taste of what to expect from this boss in the coming battles. It can be found on the east side of the Warmaster’s site of grace in Limgrave.
- Weeping Peninsula: This particular Deathbird lies southwest to the Castle Morne.
- Liurnia of the Lakes: Much like how the difficulty of many other enemies in the game spikes when you reach this region, the Deathbird fight will also get stiffer. If you’re not careful, some other enemies might also crash the fight. You can find this Deathbird to the north of the Scenic Isle Site of Grace.
- Capital Outskirts: To find the Deathbird, follow the road east of the Hermit Merchant’s Shack, located on the outskirts of Leyndell, Royal Capital. This fight is relatively difficult compared to the others, as several snails are lurking around the area where the Deathbird spawns. They will roll at you and, if ignored, can make the fight more troublesome than it already is.
Death Rite Birds
- Liurnia of the Lakes: This Death Rite Bird is can be found in the southern direction of the Gate Town North site of grace.
- Caelid: You can find this Death Rite Bird in Caelid, just across the road lying east from Southern Aeonia Swamp Bank Site of Grace.
- Central Mountaintops of the Giants: You can go toe-to-toe with this bird right after crossing the bridge northwest of Stargazer’s Ruins and then following down the snow-capped cliffs. The nearest site of grace is Snow Valley Ruins Overlook. This particular variant can be found and bested during the daytime as well.
- Consecrated Snowfields: The Snowfields’ variant is unarguably the most dangerous Deathbird encounter in Elden Ring as it appears near the end of the game. This Death Rite Bird can be found in the Consecrated Snowfield, southeast of the Apostate Derelict site of grace.
Pre-fight Preparation
In a game where one simple misstep results in instant death, pre-fight preperation is of paramount importance. Let’s discuss the movesets and weaknesses in this section to be prepared to face what lies ahead.
Moveset
The moveset of all the Deathbird variants remains almost consistent throughout the run. Same goes for weaknesses. Let’s dissect the complete moveset of both variants along with the best ways to counter them.
Deathbird Moveset and Counters
- Cane Thrust: The bird pulls up its cane and performs a forward thrust, plunging into the ground. You can roll away or dodge the thrust.
- Cane Sweep: The Deathbird lifts the cane up and performs a sweep attack; you can dodge or roll away from it.
- Cane thrust and pull: It plunges its cane into the ground and then pulls it back with force, creating a shockwave. You need to dodge and roll away as soon as the cane hits the ground in order to avoid the shockwave.
- Peck: The Deathbird pecks at you if you’re below its hind legs. The best strategy is to roll and go behind the bird where it won’t be able to peck you. Plus, you’ll be able to land a few hits from behind.
- Fiery sweep then slam: The Deathbird will swing horizontally, before ending with an overhead slam. You’ll have to dodge roll both the swings and the slam.
- Cane slam: The Deathbird will raise the cane with two hands and slam it to the ground. As soon as you see the Deathbird two-hand the cane, roll away. We recommend rolling behind it so that you can get a few hits in as well.
Death Rite Bird Moveset and Counters
- Overhead Smash: The Death Rite Bird strikes its weapon in front of it in an overhead strike. You have to dodge sideways.
- Stab: With its weapon held on the opposite shoulder, the Death Rite Bird rears back and then quickly stabs forward. Observe how it holds the spear and dodge sideways.
- Peck combo: The boss pecks multiple times in front of it and deals a good amount of damage. You can either block or dodge this attack.
- Rain of Spears: The boss flies away and releases a rain of spears upon its target. Sprint away from the white circles appearing on the ground—the telegraphed landing spots for the spheres.
- Black Pinion Barrage: In the move that usually follows the Rain of Spears, dozens of black flame-engulfed feathers are released on the target by the Death Rite bird. The feathers can track you, so it’s best to keep sprinting sideways and dodge any incoming feathers. Getting hit by one can stagger you, creating an opening for more hits.
- Ghost Flame Nova: The Death Rite Bird raises its weapon upright and charges it with Ghostflame. It then slams it into the ground, releasing a large area-of-effect flame attack. The attack leaves fire trails on the ground, which deal damage when stood in. Maintain a medium distance away from the bird and be mindful of the flame patches on the ground. Ranged players can exploit the charge time to get a few hits in.
- Leaping Grab: The Death Rite Bird moves back and quickly lunges forward after releasing a screech. If it grabs you, it will pin you to the ground and repeatedly peck you. Dodge out of the way when you see it screeching.
- Death Screech: The boss releases a powerful screech up to two times. This will deal damage and build up the Death Blight status effect. Move away as you see it screeching.
Weaknesses
Now that you understand the basic moveset of the two variants of Deathbird, let’s dive into their weaknesses.
Easy to Stagger
The Deathbirds are, of course, flying creatures and are, therefore, quite easy to stagger. If you’re using a powerful heavy weapon, you’ll notice how conveniently you can stagger this foe. However, chaining posture-breaking attacks in quick succession is quite difficult because of the speed of these creatures.
Weak Points
The head and the area between the legs of the Deathbird are vulnerable. This goes for both variants. Targeting the head while being too close to the bird might not be a good idea as it can easily start pecking you. So, it is best to target its head using ranged spells and abilities.
You can also target the area between its legs, but try to avoid being in the direct line of fire of the bird’s spells or swipes.
Holy Damage
As far as damage-type weakness is concerned, the Deathbird is highly vulnerable to Holy damage. Using a weapon with Holy damage can greatly aid in your fight against these creatures. Additionally, doing some extra work to craft Holy pots would generate great results, as some of the birds early on can easily be dealt with using 2-3 holy pots.
Fighting Strategy
Elden Ring provides many avenues for its players to choose from. Whether you go for melee, ranged, or a hybrid build, besting the Deathbirds will require a fighting strategy.
Melee Strategy
Dodging is important
As you might know by now, almost every attack the Deathbird has in its arsenal can be avoided with a well-timed dodge. Be on the lookout for important markers, especially for the Death Rite Bird’s AOE and ranged attacks, and correctly time your dodge.
The boss can easily be staggered if after dodging a certain attack like a slam, you return to land some hits. A jump attack when it tries to fly also helps in adding posture damage.
Ditch your Spectral Seed
It is recommended not to use Torrent in these fights because most of the attacks, especially of the stronger variant, will be powerful enough to clip you. You risk falling from your horse, leading to more follow-up attacks by the Deathbird. Instead, stay as close as you can to the boss. It’s best if you stay underneath.
Faith Build
The faith build works wonders as Deathbirds are extremely weak to Holy damage. Having any faith scaling weapons such as Ciper Pata or Coded Sword would benefit greatly. Additionally, having an Ashes of War like Sacred Blade could almost double your damage output.
General Tips
Try staying near the bosses’ legs, and dodge roll according to its attack pattern. Whenever the boss tries to disengage to use its Rain of Spears or Black Pinion barrage attacks, immediately get out of the area of effect. Return using the horse and dismount as you approach the boss again. Be sure to not use the horse in close combat with the boss.
Spells/Ranged Strategy
Attack the head
The Deathbird takes massive damage to its head, but targeting it using melee weapons is too dangerous. So, this strategy only works for ranged builds.
Holy Water Pots
You can craft Holy Water pots after buying the Missionary’s Cookbook from merchant Kale in Limgrave. Craft as many holy pots as you can, as these will be one of the most effective weapons against Deathbirds.
Spells, Incantations, and Spirit Ashes
You’re going to need a good arsenal of spells, especially when you’re up against the stronger version of the boss. Rock Sling, for instance, is quite effective, dealing a good amount of damage while chipping down the poise.
As the Deathbird is also vulnerable to Scarlet Rot, spells such as Rotten Breath or Ekzyke’s Decay can work well in the fight. For spirit ashes, we recommend using Black Knife Tiche.
General tips
Ideally, you should land behind Death Rite Bird after one of its longer combos, such as the Double Slash or Peck. Use the window of opportunity to spam some recommended spells/incantations.
Rewards
Regular Deathbirds
- Limgrave: 2800 Runes and the Blue-feathered Branchsword.
- Weeping Peninsula: 3900 Runes and a Sacrificial Axe.
- Liurnia of the Lakes: 6,600 Runes and Red-feathered Branch sword.
- Capital Outskirts: 29,000 Runes and Twinbird Kite Shield.
Death Rite Birds
- Liurnia of the Lakes: 7,800 Runes and Ancient Death Ranchor.
- Caelid: 15,000 Runes and Death’s Poker.
- Central Mountaintops of the Giants: 77,000 Runes and Death Ritual Spear.
- Consecrated Snowfields: 220,000 Runes and Ghostflame Sorcery.
With that, you have all the information you need to beat the Deathbird boss in Elden Ring. Some of these fights, especially the late-game ones, will be excruciatingly challenging. Still, you’re sure to win with the right strategy and the right gear!
