Elden Ring’s first real boss lives up to the hype of the game, while acting as a major checkpoint for new players.
After three long years Elden Ring is here, and there is no shortage of brutal encounters. Right after the first area you can fight the Tree Sentinel. And you can find some very tough enemies roaming the world which could be a handful.
After you leave the first area after you die (or if you’re just that good, kill) the tutorial boss, the NPC White-Faced Varre points the player to Stormwind Castle, where the first major boss, Godrick the Grafted resides. But before reaching him, you meet the first unavoidable boss of Elden Ring, called Margit, the Fell Omen.
As customary to FromSoftware’s games, the first (or among the first) boss of the game is a big challenge; acting as a filter for new players, and a great accomplishment if you can manage to beat. Margit is no different, he hits extremely hard; and while he has a fairly small moveset, it’s just enough to make you try more than one time. Margit has two phases, the first one is straightforward, he has his cane which he hits you with, and can throw light-daggers at the player. While most of his moves are pretty slow, he has very off-putting timings which can take a while to get used to. He enters his second phase when he gets close to 50% HP.
He always opens his second phase with a leaping light-hammer attack. And he gains some new moves, namely a flurry of blows with a light-sword and his stick, the hammer leap and a hammer smash, and a stab with the sword; which deals massive damage. One thing to look out for is that his summoned weapons deal elemental damage. So, even if take the fight with a 100 physical damage shield, he can hit through it.
He has a number of moves when the player can get in some good hits. But its essential that you don’t get greedy as he is an incredibly aggressive boss, and punishes people hard for overextending. The safest approach with any class is to get a decent shield, block his faster attacks, then bait out the slow ones — the safest one; which always guarantees two hits or one heavy hit, is when he lifts his cane overhead and smashes down.
You can avoid this attack by strafing around him, so you don’t even have to waste stamina or rolling. During his second phase, another safe window is when he jumps high and smashes down with his hammer. The dodge timing can take a while to get used to. But if you nail it down, it’s almost always guarantees two hits. You can also stagger Margit for a critical hit – jumping heavies can do wonders.
If you started with a class using magic, he is a bit easier; as you can keep your distance and spam magic to wither his health down. A shield is advisable this way as well though, as he has some attack where he closes the distance quickly. Also, keep in mind that while he can’t fall down from the arena, you can! So, always look out for your surroundings! Another way to help yourself out with magic is to summon Spirits – you can find our guide about Spirits here. Or you can always partake in some jolly cooperation!
And don’t forget, Elden Ring is an open world game — you can always find other areas and explore to get stronger!