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If anything, going through the second playthrough in Elden Ring’s New Game Plus is like completing a hitlist. During this playthrough, the Lands Between has become the operating table, and the players are the surgeons. Players will want to start with the softest targets, of course. These bosses are some of the most vulnerable in New Game Plus. They called the Tarnished maidenless; repay them in kind by making them lifeless.
9 Grafted Scion
The Grafted Scion in the Chapel of Anticipation is technically the first boss that players will face in Elden Ring. It mostly exists to send players to their first death. In the first playthrough, it’s almost impossible to win against the Grafted Scion as their screech attack is unblockable. The players also have just a couple of charges for their HP flasks.
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All that lopsidedness is gone in New Game Plus, of course. The Grafted Scion at the start of Journey 2 is no more dangerous than regular cannon fodder in Stormveil Castle. Players can even take it out in one or two attacks depending on their build. After that, they’ll have to find another way to die because the Grafted Scion failed its job.
8 Tree Sentinel
Likely the second or third boss that most players in Elden Ring will face, the Tree Sentinel is one of the earliest nightmares for players. It’s also the first roadblock in the game which teaches players that not all encounters are worth confronting. For level 1 or level 10 players fresh out of a cave, a golden giant knight on a horse is just too much.
But for an accomplished Elden Lord past level 150 who’s out for a leisurely walk in New Game Plus, then the Tree Sentinel is just target practice. Players can approach this boss casually with a JoJo walk while they prepare their one-shot combos. Usually, the Tree Sentinel won’t stand a chance.
7 Crucible Knight
For some, the Crucible Knight is even harder than the main bosses. After all, this boss’ Evergaol is located just on Stormhill, implying that it’s an early boss fight. That couldn’t have been further from reality. Because this thing fights like an endgame boss. The dodge windows are too tight and it gets angry if players heal.
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It’s still quite tough in New Game Plus, but at least the Crucible Knight’s HP is more manageable this time around. The players’ fully-upgraded weapons, bloated stats, and massive HP bar ensure that the Crucible Knight won’t be as intimidating this time around.
6 Margit, the Fell Omen
It’s a good thing the players didn’t put their foolish ambitions to rest. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have had a chance to tell Margit what it feels like to be embraced by the Erdtree who kept rejecting him. Only Elden Lord candidates get to be inside the Erdtree. Who’s the foul tarnished now, old man?
It’s too bad the Elden Ring protagonists are all silent. So it’s up to the players to speak for their characters when voicing out their spite and supremacy against Margit. Before, he was the greatest newbie filter to exist in open-world games; now in New Game Plus, he’s just a cranky outgunned geriatric who keeps telling players to get off his Stormveil Castle lawn, to no effect.
5 Godrick, the Grafted
Godrick, the Grafted holds a similar spot to Margit as the big bad boss in Stormveil Castle. He’s not exactly as difficult as Margit since players have had the chance to level up quite a bit before facing him, but he’s still formidable for a New Game playthrough. A lot of melee characters will certainly have trouble with his slam attacks.
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Thankfully, his damage as well as his HP doesn’t scale too high when it comes to New Game Plus. In fact, a lot of players in Journey 2 are killing Godrick before he even gets a chance to transform into his second phase. So much for bearing witness to his golden age.
4 Starscourge Radahn
Regardless of the number of playthroughs, the epic battle with Starscourge Radahn will always be janky— sometimes even borderline comedic, with all those tiny NPCs swiping at his legs (or lack thereof). The big difference is that in New Game Plus, players aren’t running for their lives anymore.
Whereas in New Game playthroughs, the players will most likely be on the bench, letting Radahn smash Alexander; in New Game Plus, taking down Radahn is easier than expected with a full build. It’s even faster if the players use Bleed weapons against him. For an even more epic flex, players can forego summoning the other NPCs and just solo Radahn.
3 Astel, Naturalborn of the Void
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void is one of the freakiest bosses in a Souls game, and this adds much to the fear factor when facing it for the first time. Its attacks are too damaging and there are even some deceptive jabs at players that are often unseen.
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Thankfully, this thing is not exactly tanky. In New Game Plus in Elden Ring, Astel gets the shorter end of the stick when it comes to HP buffs. Players can easily kill the creature just by bopping its head a few times. On the off-chance that it moves to 3,000 miles away during the fight, then that’s more of an annoyance than a prelude for an untimely death.
2 God-Devouring Serpent/Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy was already quite easy in the first playthrough since players will just use the Serpent-Hunter anyway. However, New Game Plus gives players the opportunity and the abundance of extra resources to fully upgrade the Serpent-Hunter to +10 or +9.
This practically nullifies Rykard’s HP increase. The damage dealt is just too massive. There are some bold souls in the Elden Ring community, however, that prefer to not use the spear. In this case, a Bleed build can take care of Rykard, proving just how overpowered it is, especially in New Game Plus.
1 Beast Clergyman/Maliketh, the Black Blade
The Beast Clergyman and his second form, Maliketh, have always been at the top of the food chain in Elden Ring both in lore and gameplay. He’s certainly up there among the top five most difficult bosses. Unlike Malenia, however, Maliketh is more forgiving due to his lower HP. His most dangerous move also involves lowering the player’s HP.
In New Game Plus, players already have so much HP that they can easily shrug off Maliketh’s HP debuff and just keep trading hits with him. In fact, his first form can be even more dangerous because it’s more aggressive and relentless.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.
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