Lesser Runebear | Elden Ring Wiki

You can run away far enough until they get bound by territory border, then just use ranged attacks to kill them. The same is true for every other boss. Yes, i said boss, runebears are way worse than any boss i encountered, and i only used that tactic on runebears.

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BEAR SMASH!!!!

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They should have a greater runebear boss battle that is on horseback. Sort of like Radahn but without the crazy magic and summoming

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The real reward is the satisfaction of killing them.

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The one in dragonbarrow cave become a puppet turning his back to you almost constantly and almost stopps attacking if you constantly hit it with great grindstone peeble

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Imagine the dlc has snails who summon snowfield runebears

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It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

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Y'all tripping. These guys are super easy if you don't move away, just need some courage.

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BEAR WITNESS!

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yogi bear

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I'd hate to meet a Greater Runebear.

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Today I discovered that you can cheese the horrific Runebear in consecrated snowfield by running down from where it spawns enough that it becomes bound to the zone it spawns in and can't go beyond a certain point. I only figured this out because it chased me the entire way there while I was trying to get hits on it. Just spam some ranged weapon art at it while toggling it's aggro zone and it'll die without much of a fuss, lol.

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Trying to think of the equivalent in each game (not power level, just tanky enemies not worth fighting):

DeS - Bug Bear
Ds1 - Big mushrooms or crystal cave butterfly
Ds2- everything
BB - Shark giants or undead giants
Haven’t played much of Ds3 and never played Sekiro.

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Am I the only one who thinks these aren't too bad? Maybe I just got permament Bloodborne brain from dodging into enemies instead of away from them. That has definitely screwed me up on other occasions, though.

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Aint no reason why the "lesser runebear" in the dragonbarrow cave is harder than the god damn boss. He looks like he is bigger than the average runebear

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One of those enemies where you have to get in close and hope for the best. Int builds, forget about spells and use the astel's wing weapon art.

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FWIW the one south of Deep Siofra Well that guards a Stonesword Key, I've killed him a few times and every time all I had to do was stand on the well's platform and get his attention with an arrow. Was using the range charm btw. For me, every time I do this he gets locked in a position where he just stands there and does the shout ranged attack. I use the mighty shot skill, and the place he stands you can lock onto him np. Just dodge the shout, hit, dodge, repeat. Never tries to charge at me etc. Usually these things are insane but this one is basically free revenge.

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one of those enemies that traumatizes you so much in the early-game that you pass a lower level one that can be killed in like 2 hits later in the game

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Does anyone know about the number of subspecies of the Lesser Runebears? I have encountered at least three different subspecies:

Brown Lesser Runebear: Most common variant out there in the Lands Between. Fairly aggressive in nature. Best be avoided whenever deemed necessary.

Snowbear( white Lesser Runebear.): A white furred variant of the Lesser Runebear, with no visible Runes on it's chest. Average level of aggression, and tanky as hell. Only found in the Consecrated Snowfield.

Black Lesser Runebear: The rarest variant to date. They have a grayish-black pelt with bluish Runes on its chest. I have only spotted a total of two of them in the Lands Between. Are more aggressive than normal Lesser Runebears, and they are the only ones that I know that uses a deadly leaping attack and AoE roar attack. If you spot one, it is best advised not to engage one in a fight.

(The two attacks mentioned above are only seen being used by the black Lesser Runebear, but those attacks must be coded into every Lesser Runebear. Although they never seem to use them.) If I have missed any subspecies, please let me know by replying to this message.

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Something interesting to point out. The lesser runebear east of the Agheel lake south grace disquised as a lone wandering sword wielding noble isn't present anymore. I don't know why it's gone from the game but it doesn't show up anymore.

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what a nice enemy! surely it wont be pissed-OP...

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So they'll nerf Radahn but not this dogshit enemy?

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There needs to be a mod and / or update that puts these things onto the 'do not respawn once killed' list. They're literally just obstacles, not much different from the dumb parkour areas. Honestly, the knowledge that it's out of the way for good would be a fair reason to bother fighting them IMO. "You killed it? Great, obstacle cleared, no need to suffer it again."

Same goes for the giant crabs / lobsters too. Not as bad as Runebears, but still no fun to fight and possessing no worthwhile rewards either - basically just roadblocks for the sake of it.

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Anyone have any resistance data on them???

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I keep Beastlure Pots in my quick items specifically for this one enemy and only so I can gtfo. Definitely my least fav mob and I'm not one of those people complaining about every enemy in the game; this one is just typically not worth the huge pita it is to take them down.

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I usually just whip out Fallingstar Beast’s Jaw and spam the weapon art to constantly stun them. Is it cheap? Yes, just like these stupid crackbears.

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Yeah, this enemy is definitely fair. What a garbage game.

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"1 hanging out with 2 small bears directly southwest of Consecrated Snowfield site of grace"

Can you stop making them sound so cute please?

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Why are you calling LESSER when the one in Deeproot Depths has like 10k HP? They are not LESSER.

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Honestly, the best way I found to fight these guys. Is by equipping dual Falchions and staying close to them as humanly possible. They may have great reach, but what good does having long arms when your target is practically hugging you?

Ironically, running isn't the best option. Since they can easily outrun Torrent, the Spiritual Steed. If you decide to bolt out of the fray, then I'd suggest bee-lining it. But take caution while doing so, their sweeping attacks will get you if you get cocky.

And yeah, most of the drops are far less than great. But if slaying giant man-eating bears is on your bucket list, then feel free to hunt them at heart's content. Just take care not to get over confident while doing so. Arrogance is the biggest killer in From Software's works of art.

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IT TOOK SO MANY CASTS TO INFLICT ROT ON THE DRAGONBARROW CAVE ONE!

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BEAR IS GO FAST

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Watch them put one in dlc that has more resistance than vendrick if you have 0 giant souls.

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Apparently, rune bears are transforming into magma wyrms. If you look into their eyes, theyre very reptilian looking like a dragons, and on on their chest you can see stone chunks comming out of their heart.

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I'd be ok with sh tty oversized, overpowerd enemy with milion health, instant charge attacks and ranged projectile attack that doesn't make any sense for it to have if we would get any sort of reward for killing it. It drops nothing of value, not many runes either.

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Lesser or not I hate these guys so much

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Artificial difficulty. A large monster that moves far faster than it's bulk would suggest, and it's not a boss, but a regular enemy found everywhere. The shoulder tackle is by far my most hated move, followed closely by that ridiculous "bear hug". It hits fast, repositions faster, and it's not in any way fun to fight. Most people here tell you to either avoid it or cheese it.

This might just be the worst enemy in the game.

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Best rune farm in east limgrave.
Broadsword +0 with its natural Ash of War make them a joke.

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Flame of the Redmanes can consistently put the bear with the Larval Tear in Consecrated Snowfield down with two casts for a crit. Just hope the bear doesn't decide to kill you if you need to chug a blue flask.

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try the pulley crossbow and sleep arrows to slow these guys down

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Turns out that fighting these things with bloodhounds step makes them sorta fun.

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If you must fight one of these, roll into their attacks and try your best to hug them and/or stay underneath them, i would usually just avoid these things since their drops are not anywhere near worth the trouble of dealing with one of these things but rolling into them and sticking close to them usually works, atleast for me.

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Honestly, I don’t think From intended for us to fight/farm these beasts. I believe From purposely placed the Rune Bears in certain locations simply for the “Crap” factor effect!

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The existence of these bastards aswell as the red wolves prove that Miyazaki is an evil sadistic man who loves to make people suffer

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For the bear that ambushes you at mt gelmir on the way to the azure sorcerer, I put it to sleep with one direct hit from a sleep pot and I only have 20 ARC. But it can easily be baited into breaking open the statue that holds smithing stones with its sonic roar attack.

The two in deeproot depths have massive health pools, on top of being the same kind of c**t every other rune bear is. One needs to be killed for the prince of death's cyst, but ignore any message left outside or near its cave, stand outside the cave and place a blue marker on the map, then climb the roots using the marker to guide you until you are on top of the waterfall. There is a hole you can drop into then drop down from ledge to ledge until you are on the upper level of the cave the bear is in. From there you can kill it without taking any damage yourself.

The second is sleeping in a cave with four items that can be looted around it, I used the twiggy cracked tear in a physik then drank it just outside the cave I collected the items on torrent, I got three the first time and had to reset at a grace so I could use the physik again for the fourth item, the bear won't start to attack as soon as it gets up so I had enough time to ride around it and grab the items on torrent. Nothing I found in there is worth losing a load of runes if you don't have the twig in a talisman slot or the twiggy cracked tear in a physik.

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If you're not sure about fighting one of these, the best method that I've learned is to just sneak past them. Make sure to have sleep arrows/pots/Trina's sword at the ready so that if one spots you, you can just put it to sleep with a few hits and then either go for the critical hit or run away.

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They have the Oceiros charge.

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If they grab you they literally **** you

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My best tip for these guys is to go under them and attack their back legs, you still have to roll through most of their attacks but they're easy to dodge anyway

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"What kind of bear is best?"

"I don't know, Jim, but I know which one is worst."

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double crucible knights or double runebears

what would you pick the fight ?

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hell nah not fighting these thing ever

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I've been trying to get the runebear into a scrap with the carriage trolls, but they just won't aggro him :(

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I feel like the amount of runes these guys give needs to be buffed tenfold, either that or make them have a 25-50% chance of dropping a rune arc, otherwise there's no reason to ever engage with them other than the larval tear bearing variants.

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So not only do these guys run an average of 20,000 health (for reference, Godfrey/Hoarah Loux has 21,903), they deal absurd amounts of damage. Took a modded savefile that had 99 Vigor, infinite weight load, and was still taking 3-10,000 damage per hit, specifically that final headbutt they do in their chain was tapping me for upwards of 10,00 damage with just that hit. I don't know if Fromsoft knows that this is absolute **** design but the bloat that mid and late game mobs get is ridiculous, unfun to deal with, and makes this game far from a masterpiece. It's one thing to have mobs that level in later areas, it's a whole other beast to make them scale so hard that even modded saves are 1 shot, and unmodded players should no joke just give up and never bother with these things.

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Woohoo! A sliver of meat! I'm sure glad I died trying to get this item.

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Wasted an hour trying to kill this abomination, dying countless times and what have I got in return ? A golden dung!

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I am disappointed that there is no bear summon

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FOTRM, +25 Keen Rapier 70 dex, the crit damage is insane

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For the Consecrated Snowfield one, you can lure him to a place where you can use summons. Go to the Albinauric Rise to the northeast, kill the two imps, and place a beacon in the area for easier wayfinding. Then go back to where the zombies are digging their friend out of the snow. Kill them all to spawn the Runebear, then jump on Torrent and ride to your beacon once the bear is agro'd. Keep pushing Torrent and you'll be out of range of most of his attacks except the roar. Eventually you'll get to the point where you can use summons.

The only hard part is the Runebear wants to stop following you after a certain distance, and may turn back. In that case you have to turn around and chase after him, and hit him with a ranged attack. Then he will chase you again and you should to make it to the summon area. I used Mimic Tear with Sleep Pots as my only equipped item, and it was a very easy fight.

If you want to fight him without summons, sleep pots are the way to go. While he's sleeping, you can hit him with Poison Mist...just make sure it procs before attacking him. Rot Breath may work as well, but I haven't tried it.

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Theres no way you can hit and recover quick enough and avoid his stupid charge with any mid speed or slower weapon. Its just impossible.

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A world full of strange, otherworldly enemies, the most terrifying of which can be found playing with a big red ball at your local zoo

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Just fought the one massive Lesser Runebear scratching a very tall tree next to the pillar where the East Limgrave Map is located and it grabbed me, i mashed R1/L1, it let go, then it clipped through the ground and died in the void. Was a bit weird but i guess we take those?

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The SOB in the snowfield is definitely on some BS. Absolute unit.

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The true gods of the lands between. These guys can probably beat the game on their own.

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I'm usually not one for complaining but these guys' charge is some grade-A bulls**t

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Flame of the Redmanes for easy stagger

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Very prone to sleep btw

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It's among the most terrifying experiences in Elden Ring when one of these things begins charging at you. I love it.

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I hate these things. They're amazing and impossible to ignore if you have too much pride for a Souls game

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These things are terrifying but honestly not that bad. Roll forward and try to stay underneath them. Their attacks will hits behind you then you can get in a couple swings. Keep the block button held down while underneath in case it makes contact.

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Safest way I've found to fight them is to be the lamest souls player ever with a no-skill greatshield, a spear or heavy thrusting sword w/ bloodhound step, greatshield talisman + both stamina talismans. Do nothing but shield poke and bloodhound step from the grab.

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How many HP they have?

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How many HP they have?

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These have to be one of the most annoying enemies I’m level 122 and get four maybe 5 shotted by the bear in the dragonbarrow cave

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Like hell the bear in Dragonbarrow is a Lesser Runebear. He's the strongest in the damn game

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This is by far one of the strongest enemies in the game, I can't defeat one

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i got my ass kicked by a bear in a cave and i couldn't do anything

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bears in consecrated snowfield are the true final boss.

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Why the **** didn't Jerren just throw a runebear at radahn... No need to gather thousands of warriors over hundreds of years to do what a simple ****ing bear can do in 2 minutes.

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I found the beast-repelling torch for dogs... where do i find the beast-repelling orbital strike for runebears?

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This page says that these enemies give 16 RUNES and that’s definitely not true

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This page says that these enemies give 16 RUNES and that’s definitely not true

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There is one in Gelmir, a little past the Magma Wyrm

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My life got significantly better when I realized these guys are not horse fights. On horseback they're horrible, but on foot the fight is a lot more bear-able!

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Ngl it's satisfying when one of these spawn with golden eyes in Consecrated Snowfields

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Can I just say there needs to be a patch to make these things less terrifying, I've tanked 4 direct hits from Margott, so why can this bear one shot me?

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The one in the deeproot depths apparently has hp of around 10723...

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the large and small variants are both highly susceptible to bleed and strike damage. two light attacks with the morning star will trigger hemorrhage on the small ones.

a charged heavy plus follow up attack will break poise.

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the large and small variants are both highly susceptible to bleed and strike damage. two light attacks with the morning star will trigger hemorrhage on the small ones.

a charged heavy plus follow up attack will break poise.

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If you go at night, he is sleeping and you can sneak around to collect everything even jump in the cellar :)

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There I was, wandering in the woods on my way to the raya lucaria crystal tunnel, not really knowing where I was going but there was a sniper so I decided to go around. All of a sudden this giant bear comes out of nowhere and while I thought I successfully blocked, I had not and died in one hit. You can keep those runes, bear. I won't be attempting to retrieve them.

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Um I just kille one of the undead farmers who was wielding a sword south of waypoint ruins and as soon as he died a puff of smoke appeared and got myself mauled by a runebear.......can't find anything online about a runebear appearing like that

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I came across one in a ravine in North East Limgrave absolutely destroying an entire pack of wolves. I had to use two full blasts of Rotten Breath to take it out. Their HP and speed is insane!

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Toughest thing in the game right here. I'm honestly convinced this was created to teach you that there are certain enemies you should run away from. It's telling that there's no Runebear spirit ash. Imagine how game breaking that would be. It would probably solo Malenia before she even got to the "blade of Miquella" line on her intro.

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1 single Sleep Pot will proc Sleep and allow for a riposte

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They're just too fast, relentless, deal too much damage, and have an insane amount of HP.

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They have extremely low sleep resistance.

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If these are meant to be the ''lesser'' ones, i shudder to think what kind of unholy monstrosities the ''greater'' ones are.

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There are very few things in Elden Ring I consider to be genuinely broken, but Runebears definitely fit the bill. They have more health than most bosses. They can close the gap instantly. Their attack patterns are so constant and fast, it rules out using any weapon other than a fast dagger. Their quick lunge is faster than most weapon recovery frames. Their grab attack has a tractor beam that can pull you in like a DS3 lagstab. Their item drops are trash. They poise through all hits. Seriously, I’ve had more problems with these guys than any boss I’ve encountered from Caelid to the Altus Plateu. Needs health decreased by at least 25% and windup attack frames on some attacks increased by at least 10%.

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