How to beat the Regal Ancestor Spirit in Elden Ring

Update: Elden Ring has had plenty of updates, so we've updated this Elden Ring Regal Ancestor Spirit boss fight guide to reflect any changes made to the game. There's also some new tips and tricks for taking on this beautiful but troubling creature.

The Elden Ring's Regal Ancestor Spirit boss fight is one of the less complicated ways to earn a Remembrance.

It’s essentially an enhanced version of the fight against the regular Ancestor Spirit you may have faced in Siofra River, though with one crucial difference: this one can heal itself. Defeating this boss has no bearing on the ending you receive, but you will get thousands of Runes and access to some unique abilities at the end. So, here's exactly how to beat the Regal Ancestor Spirit in Elden Ring.

When should you fight the Regal Ancestor Spirit in Elden Ring?

The Regal Ancestor Spirit is an optional boss that offers up a Remembrance. Unlike other legendary foes – Rykard and Malenia, for example – the Regal Ancestor Spirit has less health and a more limited movepool.

The Regal Spirit is in the Northern Hallowhorn Grounds, only reachable after you defeat Radahn and descending into Nokron, Eternal City. Similar to the regular Ancestor Spirit, you’ll have to light several braziers (eight this time) before the boss arena appears.

You should be able to handle the battle if you’re at least level 60, and given the challenges faced even reaching the northern Hallowhorn Grounds, that should prove no issue. Your weapon level is more important for this fight. The Regal Ancestor Spirit has a healing skill that restores significant quantities of its health, so we recommend a weapon that’s at least level 12 or higher to help cut the Spirit down faster.

How to make the Regal Ancestor Spirit fight easier

The Regal Ancestor Spirit has the same set of weaknesses and resistances as the non-regal version. Inflicting status ailments of any kind is nigh-on impossible, but the boss is weak to fire, holy, and physical slash attacks. Melee classes can use grease to infuse their weapons with fire or holy and deal a bit of extra damage. It's also worth noting that the Regal Ancestor Spirit is immune to sleep and madness status effects, with relatively high resistances to bleed, frost, scarlet rot, and poison. You can still consider trying to deal additional damage with them, though; we just wouldn't recommend relying on them.

Faith-oriented classes should rely on high-level Incantations, such as the dragon Incantations and Frenzied Burst, to deal heavy damage at key moments. The time it takes to cast a spell, such as Flame Sling, is about how long it takes for the Spirit to attack you, so you need to pick your moments carefully. Frenzied Burst is an excellent choice, since it has a longer range than most other Incantations and Sorceries and lets you stay out of range almost for the entire battle.

Sorcery users have a slightly easier time, thanks to spells such as Stars of Ruin and Loretta’s Greatbow that cast faster and track the target to an extent. That said, this particular boss is stronger against Magic attacks, so Magic users may have a trickier time combatting this foe.

Magic builds may want to consider using a weapon, such as the Sword of Night and Flame or Moonveil Katana, to make this fight easier. Casting even the strongest spells is effective, but even with Radagon’s Icon, it makes the fight take longer and leaves you vulnerable more often.

And of course, if you're struggling, we always recommend summoning a Spirit Ash to take some of the heat off you during battle. A tanky melee spirit such as Radahn's Soldier Ashes or Banished Knight Oleg should help, or even the nerfed Mimic Tear, if you're not running an Intelligence build.

How to beat the Regal Ancestor Spirit in Elden Ring

The Regal Ancestor Spirit only has one phase, though they start adding the healing skill when their HP reaches roughly 75 percent. The Spirit seems to rely on its jump and spirit flame attacks most often. For the jump attack, the spirit rides into the air, jumps twice, and crashes down, dealing damage in a wide area. Instead of running away, dodge forward before the crash. The Spirit is immobile for a couple of seconds after the attack, giving you a brief window of opportunity to strike.

They also breathe a plume of spectral fire in a semicircle, sometimes on the ground, but more often by walking on air and spewing it. Like other flame attacks, this will keep you from escaping and damage you multiple times. If you feel daring, you can try staying in the center of the semicircle, so you’re closer and can launch a few attacks after the Spirit is back on the ground.

If you remain at close range, the Spirit will use a two-hit combo where it swings its head to the side. There’s a slight delay between the first and second strike, so time your dodges carefully. It may also headbutt you, and, if you’re behind it, the Spirit will kick at you. These attacks are faster and leave you no room for countering, so just dodge and wait for the next opening.

When the Spirit begins to glow, it may unleash a few different attacks. One is a flame-infused version of the headbutt, but the more dangerous one is a bizarre hopping move. The Spirit stands on its back legs and hops several times, dealing heavy damage in a small area each time it lands.

You can take advantage of the charge for each of these attacks and land one or two hits of your own before running away, though there’s also an opening right after the Spirit finishes attacking if you prefer keeping your distance while it charges the move.

The third move sees the Spirit absorb the souls of the spectral animals on the field and restore its health. Take this opportunity to attack as much as you can, since the Spirit is vulnerable throughout the move and for a second or two afterwards.

Finally is an evasive maneuver. The Spirit crumbles into dust and repositions somewhere else in the arena, usually at the end opposite where it collapsed. This is usually followed by the healing ability, which you can’t really counter so far away.

What to do with the Regal Ancestor Spirit's Remembrance in Elden Ring

Once you’ve laid the Regal Ancestor Spirit to rest, you’ll earn 24,000 Runes and the Remembrance of the Regal Ancestor. You can give the Remembrance to Enia and purchase the Winged Greathorn or Ancestor Spirit’s Horn, or you can use it to obtain another 30,000 Runes.

If you haven’t used the Walking Mausoleums from the Mausoleum Compound in Liurnia of the Lakes, you can use one of them to duplicate this Remembrance and purchase the item you skipped the first time. These are the only ones that work with non-demi-god Remembrances.

If you need more help in The Lands Between, check out our collection of Elden Ring guides.