No two Elden Ring boss fights are the same. They might strike a few similarities but never identical, emphasizing the uniqueness of each boss. It’s a truly incredible feat for a game with 120 boss fights.
Of the said unique bosses is Elemer of the Briar, an incredibly deadly and daunting boss, thanks to his agility and speed. Unsurprisingly, defeating Elemer is no easy task, especially considering the tiny boss arena. With the optimal strategy, however, Elemer of the Briar should be no match for you.
Elemer of the Briar Overview
In essence, Elemer of the Briar is an optional human boss, also known as the Bell Bearing Hunter. Elemer’s weaknesses are far and few, and his aggressiveness brings about devastation and carnage like no other human boss in Elden Ring.
Weaknesses: Elemer of the Briar is weak to Thrust and Lightning damage.
Elden Ring Elemer of the Briar’s Location: Elemer of the Briar can be found at the end of the Shaded Castle on the Altus Plateau. Here’s how to get to it:
We’ll use the Shaded Castle Inner Gate site of grace as a starting point. From there, you’ll find a ladder, leading to a building entrance. Enter the building and exit through the door ahead.
Go left, then cross the bridge and watch out for the enemies on your way. Head right and enter the building on your left, then take the stairs on the right side. Exit the building from the other side and enter the elevator tower.
Stand on the platform to ascend to the upper story. Once you’re up there, you’ll find the entrance to the boss fight waiting for you at the end of the hall.
Pre-fight Preparation
Before you head into battle, you must make some arrangements and alterations to your loadout to better suit this boss fight. Below, you’ll find some helpful pre-fight tips.
What level should I be for Elemer of the Briar?
You’d be much better off fighting this boss at level 70 or higher. If you’re any lower than that, return at a later time after you’ve upgraded your stats, especially your defensive stats.
Summon Skeletal Militiamen Ashes
Spirit ashes can be of great assistance to you during this boss fight. They’ll distract the boss and deal significant damage to it or even stagger it.
The issue is that Elemer of the Briar can easily kill them, courtesy of his powerful short-range attacks. For that reason, we recommend summoning the Skeletal Militiamen Ashes, as they’ll revive themselves after dying, as long as the boss doesn’t finish them off while they’re down.
If you have no access to the Skeletal Militiamen Ashes and have no desire to go to Summonwater Village to defeat the Tibia Mariner Field Boss, then any tanky spirit ashes will do just fine, albeit not as good as the Skeletal Militiamen.
Ambush the boss at the start of the fight
Once you enter the boss arena, you’ll find the boss standing still and facing away from you. You could sneak up on him and execute a heavy attack but it’s quite risky against this boss, as he can use his shield to block it and retaliate with a heavy attack of his own.
Our tactic is to bring in the Rotten Breath incantation and use it at the start of the boss fight to inflict Elemer with Scarlet Rot, which will chip away at his health bar for a considerable period of time. If done right, it could easily shave off 50% of the boss’ health bar.
Rotten Breath can be purchased at the Dragon Communion Altar at the Cathedral of Dragon Communion for 1 Dragon Heart.
Equip a good shield
While dodging is just as effective, you might find blocking to be much easier and more forgiving when it comes to timing your blocks.
Thankfully, all bar one of Elemer’s attacks can be blocked with a 100% physical resistance shield, such as the Beast Crest Heater Shield, which can be found inside a chest at a camp along the road west of the Saintsbridge site of grace in east Stormhill, protected by Godrick Foot Soldiers, Godrick Soldiers, and a Godrick Knight.
Melee should equip lightweight weapons
Admittedly, heavy weapons can be of some help to you, as they will allow you to finish off the boss in a timely manner. However, that comes with significant cons, namely the fact that your character will become burdened, and therefore, less agile.
Against Elemer of the Briar, agility and nimbleness are of the highest priority, as you’ll be dipping in and out of his melee range throughout the entirety of the boss fight.
We have no particular lightweight weapon in mind but we would recommend that you equip the most powerful and highest level one in your possession.
Bring plenty of HP flasks
During this boss fight, any hit from the boss, no matter how unremarkable, will come with grave consequences, especially if you’re not in full health.
The hope is that you evade all of the boss’ attacks, but if you don’t, it would be wise to have a safety net to fall onto. In this context, that safety net would be Flasks of Crimson Tears.
Fight Strategy
Try to clear the obstacles around you as you fight the boss
The boss arena itself is already small enough as it is, but with the obstacles on either side of the arena, it’s made even smaller.
The boss will likely break most obstacles as the fight progresses but not all. Try to bait Elemer into hitting the remaining obstacles or even hit them yourself. The sooner you get rid of them, the less you’ll have to worry about your surroundings.
Don’t stray too far from the boss
The further away you are from the boss, the likelier he is to use his ranged glowing sword attacks or shielded shoulder barges, which deal devastating damage.
Distance will also aggravate the boss and force him into performing combos and quick attacks in quick succession, which will prove difficult to evade.
If you’re a ranged player, try to not stray too far when keeping your distance. If you’re a melee player, on the other hand, try to dip in and out of the boss’ melee range to strike and retreat without putting yourself at too much risk.
Make the most out of your spirit ashes
Whether you’re a ranged, melee, or mage player, you must capitalize on the full extent of your summoned spirit ashes. Attack while the boss is distracted by the spirit ashes and if you’re a ranged player, refrain from shooting until the boss finishes his combos and stands still for a few seconds.
Know when to heal
Elemer of the Briar is a very agile and nimble boss that can effortlessly punish you for mistiming an attack, block, dodge, or heal.
Your best windows to heal will come after the boss’ shield and grab attacks, as they both come with lengthy recovery times, enough for you to heal safely.
Block the boss’ red glowing sword attacks
Assuming you have a 100% physical resistance shield and a fair amount of poise, you can and should stick to blocking the boss’ red glowing sword attacks, since dodges will vary greatly in terms of timing.
You’ll have much better luck blocking than dodging these attacks. That being said, should you experience any hesitation before dodging, regardless of the attack, resort to blocking, as that’s a lot more reliable.
Maintain constant movement
Any moment of stillness on your part can and likely will be punished, owing to the boss’ agility and wide range of attacks.
Keep moving even when attacking the boss.
Watch out for the boss’ grab attack
The second you notice the boss raise his left arm up and it starts glowing red, focus your attention on his arm and do not panic roll. Wait for his arm to start moving towards you before you dodge away or to the side.
Dodging prematurely will have you swiftly at the boss’ mercy, resulting in grave repercussions to your health bar.
Practice self-preservation
Much like straying too far, lurking too close to the boss for extended periods of time will place you at risk. Elemer of the Briar has no shortage of quick defensive attacks, such as a quick AoE blast, shield bash, and so on.
Refrain from attacking for too long and don’t test your luck. A few quick and safe attacks over a long duration are much better than a torrent of lengthy and risky attacks.
In simple terms, don’t be overeager, so that you can live to fight another day.
How do I Cheese Elemer of the Briar Elden ring?
If beating Elemer of the Briar normally proved a tad too arduous for you, you’re in luck because cheesing this boss is simply dependent on whether you have the Rock Sling spell or not.
If you haven’t got it, you can find it in a chest in an underground cellar just north of the Street of Sages Ruins.
All you need to do to cheese Elemer of the Briar is stand as close as possible to the mist-blocked entrance of the boss fight and fire your casts using Rock Sling until you notice a health bar pop up.
When that happens, keep still and hold your crosshair in the same position and keep shooting until Elemer of the Briar is defeated.
The reason why this works is that this boss spawns before you even initiate the boss fight, meaning that, with the right tool, you can hit it without even entering the boss arena.
Rewards
Once you’ve defeated Elemer of the Briar, you may now enjoy the following rewards:
- 24,000 Runes on your first playthrough.
- Marais Executioner’s Sword: A highly regarded Greatsword in the Elden Ring community.
- Briar Greatshield: A Greatshield that inarguably provides the best protection in Elden Ring, with the most efficient weight to effectiveness ratio for a shield in the game.
With that, you may now take on Elemer of the Briar, knowing that you have just acquired a detailed look into this boss fight and been provided with helpful tips and astutely-procured strategies that will undoubtedly assist you against Elemer of the Briar. Good luck, fellow Tarnished!
Do you have any thoughts and suggestions? How did your fight with Elemer go? Please let us know in the comments section.
