It’s Elden Ring! You are bound to face off against intimidating, dangerous bosses. You might curse at your setup and controller in the beginning, but you get used to its unfairness once your;e suckered into its sprawling, treacherous world.
Still, none of its main and optional bosses come quite close to Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, the Bloodborne-esque beast that possesses menacing gravity-fueled attacks.
Unlike most of the other unique bosses, Astel can be easily missed entirely during the playthrough. Getting to the Naturalborn of the Void is already a difficult task, thanks to a long journey through Nokstella, Eternal City. On top of that, you have to go through The Lake of Rot, one of the most infamous locations in Elden Ring.
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void Overview
As horrifying as the creature may look crawling around in its murky ancient cave, it is actually far easier to defeat Astel than some of the previous bosses that come beforehand. Even so, be prepared to see the “You Died” end screen multiple times, as it does take a couple of tries to learn its attacks and patterns.
This fight can be done at a low level, but it’s not recommended, as the eldritch horror, Astel, packs a heavy punch, or pinch. Some of his moves require a borderline perfect series of dodges, which at a low Vigor could prove fatal. Even at a high level, he uses attacks that can either instakill you or leave you with little to no health.
The fight also only consists of one phase, so there is no need to worry about the boss regaining all of its HP at some point.
Is Astel, Naturalborn of the Void mandatory?
Astel is a non-mandatory boss for advancing the main story of Elden Ring. However, if you are following Ranni the Snow Witch’s questline, or are looking to achieve the Age of the Stars ending, you will be forced to bring him down, as there is no way to skip him, and the area that is beyond him cannot be accessed anywhere else.
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void location
The most common way of getting to Astel is through Ranni’s questline, where after completing her first task, you’ll be able to go to the Ainsel River by heading to Renna’s Rise (not Ranni’s Rise) and interacting with the portal on the top floor.
Once you’re there, pick up the miniature Ranni item inside the coffin, then walk to the Site of Grace nearby and keep speaking to her until she replies. She will try to embarrass you, asking if it’s your hobby to play with dolls, but then she will command you to eliminate the Baleful Shadow in the area.
Getting there is very linear, simply keep going forward, and you will eventually arrive at the Invader fight room. Defeat the Invader, and you will gain access to the location where Astel is. Go down the elevator, where you will arrive at the Lake of Rot, an area that is as frightening as it sounds. Equip your Preserving Boluses, if you have any, and prepare to run through the lake.
There are a couple of pillars that serve as checkpoints with a pressure plate. Stepping on them will cause platforms to ascend out of the lake. Head south until you see a huge stone temple with two giant statues, then go inside through the left side and continue going forward down the stairs until you arrive at the final Lake of Rot Site of Grace, the Grand Cloister.
Once you rest and remove the Scarlet Rot, go West and make your way down through the platforming section. Beware, as at the very bottom, there are Pests (the shrimp-looking creatures) that can gang up on you and potentially kill you instantly. After reaching the bottom, keep heading west towards the area where the Pests are seemingly worshiping a statue, then head to the left, where a scarlet rot waterfall is located. In the middle of it, there will be a coffin, which by interacting with it, will lead you to Astel, the Naturalborn of the Void’s boss cavern.
After arriving, head through the smoke barrier to start the fight. There is a Stake of Marika, so you won’t have to run all the way back to the coffin if you die.
There is also an alternate way to get to Astel through the Deeproot Depths, but if you haven’t advanced Ranni’s questline, you will not be able to get into the area that Astel is guarding.
Pre-fight Preparation
Before you enter the fight with Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, you’ll need to make some arrangements. We strongly recommend taking these steps into consideration:-
Pack light
Astel will keep teleporting intermittently throughout the battle. If you are close to it, you will be knocked back and take light damage. This move can easily be identified, though. As soon as the cosmos starts glowing around Astel and its body suddenly starts vibrating, he is about to teleport, either away or just behind you.
Practice dodging and rolling
Since this fight occurs late in the game, you are expected to possess excellent offensive and defensive strategies. In this fight, however, you need to lean more towards defense. Good reflexes will save you tons of frustration that comes with fighting this boss. We strongly recommend practicing rolling and dodging before going for Astel.
Fight Strategy
Below is a list of tips to help make your battle against Astel, Naturalborn of the Void a bit more tolerable.
If you are using a mimic, prepare to dodge
There’s no shame in using summons, but be careful when entering the boss arena. It’s not uncommon for players to summon their Tear Mimics the moment they enter the boss fight, but Astel will use his laser at that time as well. If your Vigor is low, you could be instantly killed due to the HP taken by the Mimic + the high damage output Astel’s laser has. If you do summon the Mimic, make sure you spam your roll so you’re able to dodge the laser at the last second.
Use magic to your advantage
Although Physical attacks deal the most damage to this particular boss, a well-put-together Int+Magic build can deliver a strong blow to Astel’s HP. Comet Azur is a great example since it can take a chunk of HP quite easily.
Some weapons deal extra damage
For example, Starscourge Greatsword, belonging to Radahn, deals 30% extra damage. The Meteoric Ore Blade, which can be found early in the game, deals 20% extra damage.
Bleed build? No problem
If your build revolves around Bleed damage, don’t be disappointed in his resistance to Hemorrhage. With enough damage to his head, particularly his forehead, you will be able to get some good bleed damage in.
Bring Bloodhound’s Step Ashes of War
As you probably know, Bloodhound’s Step is one of the most powerful Ashes of War, thanks to its insanely low FP cost. If you have this AoW, consider using it in this fight, as you can practically take away half of his area of effect attacks by just using it and evading them.
Be prepared for his Mouth Laser attack
This ranged attack will always be used by this boss as soon as you enter the arena. This attack can either be blocked or dodged.
Run away or roll through its Cosmos Swipe attack
Astel will raise its right hand (left in your point of view) and swipe it in front of him, creating a purple cosmos mist that will explode and deal light damage. If you are hit by his hand as he swipes, you will take very light damage. The mist itself is generally not a problem. Even if you’re caught in the mist, you have a 2-second window before it actually deals damage, so run or roll.
Be wary of the Gravity Lift
Astel will begin glowing and flashing purple as he slightly raises his head, and the area around him will begin shaking, with purple electricity sparking around. Then, he will grab you, lift you up with magic, and slam you back down. This move is dangerous, as it can end that run quickly. If you can manage to identify the first second of the attack, you should have enough time to run away until you’re out of the area of effect. This will also guarantee you a heavy hit on him. This attack can also be rolled through, but the timing is very clunky.
Dodge his devastating Tail attacks
When the player is mid-range, Astel will slightly levitate up and use his tail to attack the player, usually two times in a row. This can be easily dodged to the left or right, never front or behind. It’s not rare for this attack to be used at the very start of the fight, right after the Mouth Laser attack.
Don’t try to roll or dodge your way out of Gravity Shockwaves
Gravity Shockwave is another common move, which can be identified by Astel’s hand suddenly glowing purple with around 3 energy balls, which he will then slam into the ground, creating a shockwave that repeats three times. This can be blocked to reduce damage. Medium and Heavy rolls can dodge the first shockwave, but not the second and third. Light Rolls can dodge all of them if timed correctly. Another option is to run away, but it might be hard to do so in time.
The same rule applies to his upgraded Gravity Shockwaves.
Dodge his meteorites
After reaching roughly 50% HP, Astel will teleport away from the player, and as he reappears, he will start summoning meteorites. You can identify this attack by the portals appearing on top of him, as well as a purple, space tear dissipating around him.
This attack does heavy damage, but the meteors are random, so it should be easy to dodge unless you get unlucky. If you are far away, running to the right side of the map will get you to completely avoid all of the meteors.
Rewards
Upon defeating Astel, you will receive:
- 80,000 Runes
- Remembrance of the Naturalborn
His remembrance can be traded in to Enia, the Finger Reader, located in the Roundtable Hold for Bastard’s Stars (Flail) or Waves of Darkness (Ash of War). The remembrance can also be consumed for 30,000 Runes.
Now that you know everything about Astel and his moveset, you’re more than ready to face him off in a fair battle and continue Ranni’s questline.
