Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade)

godfrey golden shade bosses elden ring wiki guide
Location Leyndell, Royal Capital
Drops runes currency elden ring wiki guide 1880,000
Talisman Pouch (NG Only)
HP 7099
Stronger VS
Neutral to

Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) is a Great Enemy Boss in Elden Ring. This is a spectral shade of Godfrey that is encountered in Leyndell, Royal Capital. This is not an optional boss as players must defeat it to advance in Elden Ring.

Godfrey, First Elden Lord is another variant of this boss fight.

Elden Ring Godfrey, First Elden Lord Boss

  • This is not an optional boss
  • Closest Site of Grace: West Capital Rampart
  • Multiplayer is allowed for this boss
  • You can summon Spirit Ashes for this boss

Elden Ring Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) Location

From the Western Capital Rampart Site of Grace, head south along the ramparts until you climb onto a tree branch. Then follow the branch upwards to a balcony, then head north through the fog gate to fight Godfrey. [Map Link]

Godfrey, First Elden Lord Combat information

Negations (or Absorptions)

The negation numbers are the % of your damage that gets blocked. For example, if a negation is 60, 40% of that damage by that type will go through and 60% will be negated. Bigger number = less damage. A negation of 100 means no damage goes through, and a negation of -100 mean the enemy takes 2x damage from that source. 0 means damage goes pretty much as is.

Resistances

The resistance numbers are the buildup amount to trigger it. For example, if a resistance is 100 you must deal 100 points of the given buildup to trigger it. Note that these go down over time, and increase each time the effect procs. The values after the "/"s indicate the increased resistances after each successive proc.

  NG NG+ NG+2 NG+3 NG+4 NG+5 NG+6 NG+7
HP 7,099 8,895 9,784 10,229 10,674 11,563 12,008 12,453
Defense 114 118 121 124 130 136 141 153
runes currency elden ring wiki guide 18Runes 80,000 240,000 264,000 270,000 288,000 294,000 300,000 306,000

Resistances

poison status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxPoison Immune
scarlet rot status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxScarlet Rot Immune
hemorrhage status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxHemorrhage Immune
frostbite status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxFrostbite Immune
sleep status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxSleep 552 / 842 / 1299 270 / 560 / 1017 274 / 564 / 1021 278 / 568 / 1025 282 / 572 / 1029 286 / 576 / 1033 290 / 580 / 1037 294 / 584 / 1041
madness status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxMadness Immune

 

 

Elden Ring Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) Boss Guide

Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) Boss Video Guide

[video coming soon]

 

Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) Fight Strategy

The Best Tips for Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade):

  • Use any durable spirit that will distract the boss
    • The fight can begin with the boss lunging towards the player, so it is best not to summon immediately upon entering the boss room.
  • Using lightning spells / incantations or a weapon enchanted with a lightning Ash of War (Lightning Slash, Lightning Ram, or Thunderbolt) will allow you to deal more damage. 
  • The boss has a deceptively large range, frequently swinging with his axe fully extended. If you need to heal or use items, give yourself plenty of space.

 

Melee Users

Godfrey attacks very agressively and sporadically, often combining slow and fast attacks in a lengthy combo. Attacking after a slow attack in his combo and dodging through the fast attacks will allow you to whittle down his health. As for the weapons, you can either use a heavy, colossal, or any fast weapons. Avoid using weapons that deals holy damage, try for ones that has pierce or lightning damage. If you're using a heavy or colossal weapon, don't go for a combo, no matter what type of attack he throws at you. He will most likely switch up his attacks from slow to fast and fast to slow swings. If you're using a fast weapon, you can maybe manage to get at least two to three hits after a slow attack, just don't get too greedy.

Magic and Ranged Users

For magic and ranged users, heavy-hitting spells/incantations and skill are the key if you don't really wanna use any melee. The same strategy above applies here, you have to be wary that this boss can combine slow and fast hitting attacks in a single string. His range options are limited but he can rush you down if you're not careful. Equipping talismans, runes, or armor that can help in reducing the cast time of spells is useful for this fight if you're a magic user.

 For Dexterity users, a very viable option is to obtain Bolt of Gransax, upgrade it to +5 and pair with Godfrey's Icon/Carian Filigreed Crest/Lightning Scorpion Charm. Godfrey is not an aggresive boss, what can be used to use charged Ancient Lightning Spear skill for massive damage.

Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) Attacks & Counters

Attack Description Counter
Ground Stomp Raises its foot high and slams it downward, sending out a stream of rocks forward in a cone-shaped formation. You can dodge roll to either side, but it is recommended that you just block the attack, since mistiming the dodge can clip you. If you can gauge that you're in a safe distance to dodge roll, you can dodge roll backwards. This attack can also be jumped over.
Two-handed Axe Slam Two-hands the weapon then slams it to the ground, following up with a series of axe swings. This is the fastest move of the boss. You'll see him lift up the axe with two hands, and slams the weapon onto the ground, this can be followed-up with his other combos. It's best to just dodge roll away for this.
Jumping Axe Throw Leaps into the air, throws his axe towards the player, then dives onto it. If you see him jump to the air from a distance, just continue running towards him and go under, you will completely avoid the attack this way.
Jumping Axe Slam Jumps into the air, with a bit of delay, slams the axe to the ground. You can roll backwards for this attack.
One-handed Overhead Slam Puts the axe back on his left arm, then swings it overhead before slamming it onto the ground. Dodge roll to either side at the right time.

Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) Lore, Notes & Other Trivia

  • Voice Actor: Edward Rowe
  • The axe that it uses is not broken, which shows that the original axe had two blades.

 

 

Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) Image Gallery

godfrey first elden lord 1 elden ring wiki guide

 

Elden Ring Bosses
Abductor Virgins  ♦  Adan, Thief of Fire  ♦  Alabaster Lord  ♦  Alecto Black Knife Ringleader  ♦  Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader  ♦  Ancestor Spirit  ♦  Ancient Dragon Lansseax  ♦  Ancient Hero of Zamor  ♦  Astel Naturalborn of the Void  ♦  Astel, Stars of Darkness  ♦  Battlemage Hugues  ♦  Beast Clergyman  ♦  Beastman of Farum Azula  ♦  Bell Bearing Hunter  ♦  Black Blade Kindred  ♦  Black Knife Assassin  ♦  Bloodhound Knight  ♦  Bloodhound Knight Darriwil  ♦  Borealis the Freezing Fog  ♦  Cemetery Shade  ♦  Cleanrot Knight  ♦  Commander Niall  ♦  Commander O'Neil  ♦  Crucible Knight  ♦  Crucible Knight and Misbegotten Warrior  ♦  Crucible Knight Ordovis  ♦  Crucible Knight Siluria  ♦  Crystalians  ♦  Death Rite Bird  ♦  Deathbird  ♦  Decaying Ekzykes  ♦  Demi-Human Chief  ♦  Demi-Human Queen Gilika  ♦  Demi-Human Queen Maggie  ♦  Demi-Human Queen Margot  ♦  Draconic Tree Sentinel  ♦  Dragonkin Soldier  ♦  Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella  ♦  Dragonlord Placidusax  ♦  Elden Beast  ♦  Elemer of the Briar  ♦  Erdtree Avatar  ♦  Esgar, Priest of Blood  ♦  Fallingstar Beast  ♦  Fell Twins  ♦  Fia's champions  ♦  Fire Giant  ♦  Flying Dragon Agheel  ♦  Flying Dragon Greyll  ♦  Frenzied Duelist  ♦  Glintstone Dragon Adula  ♦  Glintstone Dragon Smarag  ♦  God-Devouring Serpent  ♦  Godefroy the Grafted  ♦  Godfrey the Grafted  ♦  Godfrey, First Elden Lord  ♦  Godrick the Grafted  ♦  Godskin Apostle  ♦  Godskin Apostle & Godskin Noble  ♦  Godskin Apostle (Caelid)  ♦  Godskin Apostle and Godskin Noble  ♦  Godskin Duo  ♦  Godskin Noble  ♦  Grafted Scion  ♦  Great Wyrm Theodorix  ♦  Guardian Golem  ♦  Hoarah Loux, Warrior  ♦  Kindfred of Rot  ♦  Kindred of Rot  ♦  Leonine Misbegotten  ♦  Lichdragon Fortissax  ♦  Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree  ♦  Mad Pumpkin Head  ♦  Magma Wyrm  ♦  Magma Wyrm Makar  ♦  Malenia Blade of Miquella  ♦  Maliketh, the Black Blade  ♦  Margit, The Fell Omen  ♦  Mimic Tear  ♦  Miranda the Blighted Bloom  ♦  Misbegotten Crusader  ♦  Misbegotten Warrior  ♦  Mohg, Lord of Blood  ♦  Mohg, the Omen  ♦  Morgott the Omen King  ♦  Necromancer Garris  ♦  Night's Cavalry  ♦  Nox Swordstress & Nox Priest  ♦  Omenkiller  ♦  Omenkiller and Miranda, the Blighted Bloom  ♦  Onyx Lord  ♦  Perfumer Tricia  ♦  Putrid Crystalians  ♦  Putrid Grave Warden Duelist  ♦  Putrid Tree Spirit  ♦  Radagon of the Golden Order  ♦  Red Wolf of Radagon  ♦  Red Wolf of the Champion  ♦  Regal Ancestor Spirit  ♦  Roundtable Knight Vyke  ♦  Royal Knight Loretta  ♦  Royal Revenant  ♦  Runebear  ♦  Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy  ♦  Scaly Misbegotten  ♦  Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing (Boss)  ♦  Soldier of Godrick  ♦  Spirit-Caller Snail  ♦  Starscourge Radahn  ♦  Stonedigger Troll  ♦  Tibia Mariner  ♦  Tree Sentinel  ♦  Ulcerated Tree Spirit  ♦  Valiant Gargoyle  ♦  Wormface

 




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    • Anonymous

      wow I hated this boss

      cheese tip: throw Carian Grandeur on your highest hitting weapon, summon Greatshield Soldier ashes, and just repeatedly wail on him

      • Anonymous

        *stomp attack which stuns me and then a folllow up* guess i'll die i guess thanks goldgrey can't wait to fight you again later

        • Anonymous

          First playthrough and yes he drops the talisman, is that what they mean newgame as first time and not newgame+ ?

          • Anonymous

            Thunderbolt ash of war set to keen on a +12 pike made this fight almost disappointingly easy lmao. Wont be doing that next time lol

            • Anonymous

              Took a bit to figure out but the greatshield soldier ashes work great against this pain if you're having issues like this noob did. Summoned them after his first initial leap when you enter and then headed left down the long path to get some distance for the distraction to take place. Out of pure luck they ended up backing him in a corner the whole fight lol. Even if they don't do that for you, I was able to get most of his health down with them the couple of times before this instance (i'd get greedy or not pay close enough attention to his move set)

              • Anonymous

                I feel like this is a well-accepted fact, but this was likely created by Morgott. The shade has the same golden hue as his holy weapons, it still has Godfrey's Axe unbroken (according to how Morgott might remember his dad), and when it dies, it gives off the same sparkling golden lights that appear when you defeat Margit the Fell Omen, or Mohg the Omen. It's a common theme in illusions created by Morgott.

                • Anonymous

                  Things I love about this fight:
                  - Good camera (for the most part)
                  - No instant zoning moves, so you can play as aggro as your ability allows
                  - Attack times and openings are logical and well paced (no delayed moves to memorize)
                  - Fight forces you out of depending on status effects
                  - Leaves you wondering and interested in the lore

                  • Anonymous

                    I despise this boss. It's complete BS . Too much health, too much range, and every one of his attacks two shots me.

                    • Anonymous

                      Great fight at RL1. Like watching ballet. Shame he didn’t have the power and HP to make it a decent fight at normal levels.

                      • Anonymous

                        Genuinely thought this guy would be very difficult, and while he was quite challenging, the Starscourge Greatsword made quick work of Ghostly Godfrey and his poise.

                        • Anonymous

                          Randomy encountered this guy just now on my first play through. Demolished him on my first try. I had to actually come here to make sure he was a boss. What a weak foe.

                          • Anonymous

                            He really feels like a more refined DS1 Taurus Demon.
                            In my first fight against him I was running a sorcerer and blasted him away with night comet, which didn't feel right.
                            This time around I went naked with a claymore and five flasks just like I did many years ago with the demon. I even limited myself to R1 and R2, so as to not cheese him with ashes and jump attacks.
                            Unlike Taurus, this one I got fair and square. Back when I defeated the demon for the first time, I died to him some 15-20 times (among them one in which I was only two hits short) and in the end he somehow managed to clip past the wall and jump into the abyss. As I said, more refined lol.
                            Most fun I've had this playthrough so far.

                            • Anonymous

                              I despise this boss. Not because of his move set or his difficulty. But because he doesn’t belong here lore wise. It makes no sense to fight this shade before Morgott when they could have given Morgott a beast companion/protector and saved Godfrey’s appearance for the very end of the game.

                              • Anonymous

                                Damn it was fun. He's not the hardest but you'll always feel rewarded for getting with the flow of his attacks and punishing him at the right opportunity. Compared to Margit and Goddrick who use cheap and dirty moves, it really felt good to have a fair boss encounter for once.

                                • Anonymous

                                  such bs that he punishes you for using any flask AND can interrupt your AOWs? god damn i've never hated someone with an axe more

                                  • Anonymous

                                    its funny how it says to use the bolt of gransax to make this fight easy but forget to mention that the only way you can get that weapon is AFTER YOU BEAT THIS BOSS. what point is noting that the weapon makes this boss easy when the only way you can use it against this boss is in ng+.

                                    • Anonymous

                                      The whole game is underwhelming as a caster. You essentially found a difficulty option in a game that doesn't allow it.

                                      • Anonymous

                                        one way to cheese him is to run up and down just out of his reach till he does his axe throw attack then dodge to the right and use bloody slash then roll away and repeat

                                        • Anonymous

                                          This boss is more interesting when you are making a co-op and or invasion build for early-mid game. Its the boss that gives you the final talisman pouch, and if you’re fighting him at level 20-35 with max weapon upgrade of +5 regular it starts to be more of a worthy challenge.

                                          • Anonymous

                                            This entire comment section: I don't like this fight cause it's easy, but because *enter other reason here even though it's definitely because he's one of the easiest in the game*

                                            lul

                                            • Anonymous

                                              He's absolutely not immune to scarlet rot. I suck at Elden Ring and I killed him in about two minutes by summoning a tanky spirit and then retreating and hitting him three times with Ezykes' Decay.

                                              • Anonymous

                                                Just bear him level 35. He mopped the floor with me for a couple hours until I realized you just have to roll straight at him for literally everything and poke. He will stomp, swing twice and give a poke opening. A pokening. Repeat for like 20 mins until he dies. All other attacks are well telegraphed and easy to dodge.

                                                • Anonymous

                                                  I played an int/dex build and annihilated him on my first try. Sad to say didn't go well for his actual self

                                                  • Anonymous

                                                    With my melee only gigachad no armor double katana character, level 65, Golden Godfrey got me three times. Combos are fairly easy to read, ground stomp dodge is very forgiving, and does this boss even have a second phase? Difficulty 2/5, Quality 3/5

                                                    • Anonymous

                                                      Morgott making an illusion of the only person who truly ever loved him to help him protect the Erdtree will never not hurt.

                                                      • Anonymous

                                                        If you press L2 he will always jump and interrupt you. Damn input reading. I am really curious who designed it. Boss punishes heals? it's totality fine. Boss will dodge ranged projectiles? maybe a bit unfair but let's say it makes the boss look intelligent so ok. Boss will interrupt you out of weapon skills? Really? I am afraid dlc will have bosses that will spam grab attacks every time you raise a shield.

                                                        • Anonymous

                                                          I hate that he swings his axe horizontally so you instinctively doge back but right before it would hit you he switches to slashing vertically. I don't know where they do that at but i guess him being a shade prevents his wrist from snapping.

                                                          • He doesn't frustrate me when he kills me, he just kills me. I accept it. But i can't call it "fair". More fair that other fights, yeah. 5 hit combos that he can't be staggered out of isn't fair. Immunity to damn near everything isn't fair. Endless stamina and being able to stomp all day isn't fair. Having over 7x the health i have and doing at least 3x the damage i can with one hit isn't fair either. It's ok, though.

                                                            • Anonymous

                                                              If you want your 4th talisman pouch on a low level PvP character, grab a shortbow, some kukris and Skeleton Militia summons and kite him from one side of the arena to the other. It'll take a while but it's doable. Make sure to intervene with a shot every time a Skeleton goes down to pull aggro back to you and stop him finishing it off.

                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                You can probably beat this guy fair and square at low level just by dodge and poke but ain't nobody got time for that health pool. I beat him at RL 30+3 by mixing a Flask with Cerulean Hidden Tear (to summon Banished Knight Engvall to tank) and Lightning-Shrouded Cracked Tear to amp up my Lightning Noble's Estoc and Lightning Pots. It makes the fight into a matter of drawing aggro with a lightning pot whenever Godfrey turns on Engvall.

                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                  first time I tried him I was under levelled and lost a shed load of runes by walking into the boss room thinking I was fine as long as I didn't cross a fog gate, he battered me. just tried him again now and I see what the comments mean about it being a good fight, a fair fight and enjoyable.

                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                    Way too easy or I was extremely overleveled. Beat him on first try using only the Spiked Pallisade Greatshied with Shield Crash

                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                      He is a very fair boss, if you have ever played a Souls game you will probably find the fight enjoyable. Dodge to the side for vertical attacks, roll back for horizontal sweep attack. He does not throw many weird curveballs or AOE attacks at you.

                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                        A boss type that I wish Elden Ring had more of, not because of the lack of difficulty, but for realistic non-cheap movement and rhythm of the attacks. I feel that ER has a lot of the over the top "Epic" bosses (which fits the game I guess), but lacks a lot of the basics that makes Fromsoftware games fun (Bosses such as Isshin, Artorias, etc.). Imo, i'd rather fight the Bed of Chaos than some of the bosses in this game, even if they were more thoroughly designed.

                                                                        • Anonymous

                                                                          He has less health and resistances than the Valiant gargoyle just before him that you can't even use ashes for... Seems like a cool boss but the difficulty is just a bit off.

                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                            Just lost two hundred and forty odd thousand runes to Godfrey, wasn't entirely my fault either.
                                                                            I'd been exploring the Royal capital looking for cool pick ups, My weapons and attributes are a bit under levelled for this area I can deal with the soldiers, Leyndell knights and perfumers but I have to be careful and not get impatient. I got to an area with thick roots that can be climbed, I got to the top and saw a message saying "good luck" and one saying "boss ahead" but I couldn't see a boss fog gate anywhere so I wasn't too concerned, but as soon as I went inside the first elden lord shade spawned in front of me, I turned to run but the fog gate that wasn't there earlier was there now, blocking my escape. The Inevitable happened, when I came back via the stake of marika the gold marker that you can touch to get your runes back was inside the fog with Godfrey.

                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                              Honestly didn't feel like a boss. Walked in unprepared and used maybe one flask? At least you get 80,000 runes for barely any effort

                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                Very fair fight, i found a 100% safe time to hit him is when he does a fully extended axe slam, this can be a combo ender or just the move itself, his openings are only one attack long (heavy weapons). His attacks are very slow and predictable though, so by attempt 3-4 you should have him figured out. His stomp is also easily dodge able and he usually does not follow up with that many attacks.

                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                  Idk if his AI broke or something for me, but I was able to just fire off night comets from a distsance, and he just sorta slowly walked up to me the entire time. He used a grand total of 3 attacks for the entire fight lol

                                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                                    you can use AoWs such as Lion's Claw and Giant Hunt to duck under some of his attacks if you time it right. Don't know if it's better dps wise, but it feels cool as hell.

                                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                                      For anyone having trouble: run as far away from him as possible then walk (very) slowly toward him until he throws his axe. Begin moving right and roll right just before the axe hits the ground. Then sprint towards him after he lands for a jump attack (or whatever you like, just don't get greedy) . Sprint and roll backwards to avoid his follow up stomp. Rinse and repeat.

                                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                                        I did it first try! Well…okay it wasn’t really me who did it, it was my +6 greatshield soldiers but let me enjoy the victory

                                                                                        • Whenever you use range attacks on him he dashes towards you and does a stomp. As long as you aren't close enough to be stomped by his foot, you can easily jump over the quake (and if you're using a light bow, you can shoot him in midair).

                                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                                            very fair fight, once you learn him his moves are predictable, and just dont panic roll. killed him at level 1 with +5 broadsword.

                                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                                              Run to one side of the room. Fire your arrows. Run to the other side of the room. Fire your arrows. Rins and repeat. Cheese cake.

                                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                                Resistances are probably very wrong. It seems the wiki doesn't have proper values until the real values are datamined so they're trying to gauge them using a base point of 0. However, I can say without any question this boss is very resistant to lightning just like the other elements, just less so than holy. Also be warned his hit detection on several attacks is noticeably delayed similar to the Ragadon bug but they have not fixed it for Godfrey. Take his ground stomp wave attack for example. You can still jump or roll dodge it after the visuals has completely finished and all spikes are out and, in fact, this is precisely how you roll dodge it which is safer than jumping for this boss if you aren't close enough to roll entirely past the wave to begin with. Not all of his attacks have the delay but some do. Some have poor collision detection so if you're standing next to him in the right spot the axe simply goes through you and you get free hits on him without needing to dodge, such as some times it passes his left side in a swing.

                                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                                  Just spammed lightning bolt. Whittled him down. Took a few tries but it’s doable. Saw zero openings for melee with my present weapons

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