Shadow of the Erdtree has dozens of boss encounters spread across fields, caves, gaols, catacombs, mausoleums and the main legacy dungeons. The clearest way to find them is by encounter type and local site rather than by an assumed linear order. You must defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood in the base game, then enter the Land of Shadow through the Cocoon of the Empyrean Site of Grace.
There is no publisher-issued definitive boss total. PC Gamer’s 2024 guide counts 55 encounters, including returning enemy types and tough boss-like enemies, and classifies 42 as original; that is an editorial count, not an official statistic. The location list below follows that broad practical convention and identifies optional, hidden and quest-dependent fights.
How many bosses are in Shadow of the Erdtree?
No single number covers every reasonable definition of “boss.” Some lists count only unique enemies with dedicated health bars, while others include repeated encounters, field monsters with unique drops, NPC invasions and multiple versions of the same enemy. PC Gamer’s 2024 guide reports 55 total encounters and calls 42 of them original, but the guide explicitly uses its own editorial criteria. Treat that figure as a useful checklist rather than an official total.
The tables below separate the encounters into field, dungeon, mausoleum and major progression groups. A fight can be optional even when it appears in a major area, and the open-world encounters do not share one mandatory order.
How do I access the Land of Shadow?
The expansion requires progress in the original game before its map becomes available. Follow these steps:
- Defeat Starscourge Radahn in the base game.
- Defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood in Mohgwyn Palace.
- Travel to the Cocoon of the Empyrean Site of Grace in Mohg’s arena.
- Interact with the withered arm at the cocoon to enter the Land of Shadow.
Once inside, you can explore many optional areas in different orders. Progression gates, hidden routes and quest triggers matter more than a fixed recommended sequence.
Where are the field bosses?
Field encounters are fought in open areas rather than at the end of a traditional dungeon. Several are easy to miss because they appear in lakes, ravines, poison pools or remote corners of the map.
Furnace Golems
PC Gamer lists eight Furnace Golems. Their locations are:
| Encounter | Local site | Wider region and access |
|---|---|---|
| Furnace Golem 1 | Road just past the Scorched Ruins | Gravesite Plain |
| Furnace Golem 2 | Southern Ellac River route | Travel toward the Southern Shore |
| Furnace Golem 3 | Outside Shadow Keep | Scadu Altus |
| Furnace Golem 4 | Eastern Scadu Altus road | Road toward the Church District entrance |
| Furnace Golem 5 | West side of the upper Rauh Ruins | Upper Rauh Ruins |
| Furnace Golem 6 | Near Castle Watering Hole | Lower Scadu Altus |
| Furnace Golem 7 | Outside Unte Ruins | Lower Scadu Altus |
| Furnace Golem 8 | Western Charo’s Hidden Grave | Reach Charo’s area through Jagged Peak |
These are optional roaming fights. Their inclusion in boss checklists reflects their unusually tough design and unique rewards rather than a separate main-story requirement.
Ghostflame Dragons
| Local site | Region |
|---|---|
| Lake west of Abandoned Ailing Village | Gravesite Plain |
| Road south near a Messmer soldier camp | Scadu Altus |
| Southern Shore; the dragon flies down while you travel south from Cerulean Coast | Southern Shore |
Ulcerated Tree Spirits
| Local site | Region and access |
|---|---|
| Poison area behind the locked well gate in Belurat | Belurat, Tower Settlement, Gravesite Plain |
| Ellac Riverbed | Gravesite Plain |
| Flooded Church District | Shadow Keep; drain the water first |
The guide treats these dangerous Tree Spirits as bosses because each location has a unique drop.
Jagged Peak Drakes
One Drake waits at the entrance to Jagged Peak, with two more encounters farther up the mountain. They form a route of separate fights rather than one multi-phase boss.
Golden Hippopotamuses
| Encounter | Local site | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Main Golden Hippopotamus | Entrance to Shadow Keep | Scadu Altus |
| Regular hippopotamus 1 | Lake south of Bridge Leading to the Village | Scadu Altus |
| Regular hippopotamus 2 | Lake south of Bridge Leading to the Village | Scadu Altus |
| Regular hippopotamus 3 | Lake south of Viaduct Minor Tower | Upper Rauh Ruins |
| Regular hippopotamus 4 | Lake west of Charo’s Hidden Grave Site of Grace | Charo’s Hidden Grave |
Some checklists count the Shadow Keep fight as the boss and list the other hippos separately; others group all five together. Do not add the five to a total without stating which convention you are using.
Other field encounters
| Boss | Local site | Region and access |
|---|---|---|
| Tree Sentinel 1 and Tree Sentinel 2 | Two sequential encounters in the Hinterlands | Scadu Altus |
| Fallingstar Beast | Near a crater and gravity portal | Hinterlands, Scadu Altus; another walkthrough labels the area Finger Ruins of Dheo, so confirm the in-game map label |
| Ancient Dragon Senessax | Near the mountain’s summit, beyond the twin drakes | Jagged Peak |
| Dryleaf Dane | Moorth Ruins | Scadu Altus |
| Ralva the Red Bear | Lake northeast of Highroad Cross | Scadu Altus |
| Rugalea the Red Bear | Woods northwest of Rauh Ruins Base | Reach it at ground level from Scadu Altus |
| Demi-Human Queen Marigga | Hidden beach reached through ravines near Cerulean Coast West | Southern Shore |
| Death Rite Bird | Graveyard | Charo’s Hidden Grave; access the area via Jagged Peak |
Which bosses are inside dungeons?
Dungeon bosses are at the end of gaols, caves, forts or catacombs. Their entrances can be more difficult to find than the arenas themselves.
| Boss | Dungeon | Region and access |
|---|---|---|
| Demi-Human Swordsman Onze | Belurat Gaol | Gravesite Plain |
| Ancient Dragon-Man | Dragon’s Pit | Gravesite Plain; this is the dungeon boss, distinct from the similar NPC encounter on the approach |
| Magma Wyrm | Dragon’s Pit | Gravesite Plain |
| Chief Bloodfiend | Rivermouth Cave | Gravesite Plain |
| Death Knight with twin axes | Fog Rift Catacombs | Gravesite Plain |
| Black Knight Edredd | Fort of Reprimand | Scadu Altus |
| Curseblade Labirith | Bonny Gaol | Scadu Altus |
| The Lamenter | Lamenter’s Gaol | Charo’s Hidden Grave |
| Death Knight with longhaft axe | Scorpion River Catacombs | Rauh Ruins Base |
| Jori, Elder Inquisitor | Darklight Catacombs | Abyssal Woods; reach the catacombs from lower Scadu Altus |
Demi-Human Queen Marigga is a field boss, not a dungeon boss, despite sharing a type with enemies found in caves and gaols.
Where are the Nameless Mausoleum bosses?
Each Nameless Mausoleum contains an isolated boss fight. These arenas are optional and often require a short detour from the main road.
| Boss | Mausoleum | Region and route |
|---|---|---|
| Blackgaol Knight | Western Nameless Mausoleum | Gravesite Plain |
| Dancer of Ranah | Southern Nameless Mausoleum | Southern Shore; reach the island through a cave along the shore |
| Red Bear | Northern Nameless Mausoleum | Gravesite Plain; approach through Rauh Base and use a nearby Spiritspring |
| Rakshasa | Nameless Mausoleum at Recluses’ River Downstream | Lower Scadu Altus; enter through Shadow Keep and follow the river downward |
Which bosses are main-story or major progression encounters?
Spoiler warning: the following section names the expansion’s major story bosses and reveals late-game locations.
| Boss | Local site | Region | Story status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divine Beast Dancing Lion | Belurat, Tower Settlement | Gravesite Plain | Major early legacy-dungeon encounter |
| Second Divine Beast Dancing Lion | Temple in the upper Rauh Ruins | Upper Rauh Ruins | Additional optional encounter |
| Rellana, Twin Moon Knight | Castle Ensis | Gravesite Plain | Major legacy-dungeon encounter |
| Putrescent Knight | Stone Coffin Fissure | Southern Shore | Major optional-area boss |
| Commander Gaius | Shadow Keep back gate | Scadu Altus | Major optional encounter |
| Bayle the Dread | Summit of Jagged Peak | Jagged Peak | Optional |
| Romina, Saint of the Bud | Church of the Bud | Upper Rauh Ruins | Late progression encounter |
| Messmer the Impaler | Top of Shadow Keep | Scadu Altus | Major progression encounter |
| Scadutree Avatar | Scadutree Base | Scadu Altus | Multi-phase fight; revivals are not separate bosses |
| Metyr, Mother of Fingers | Cathedral of Manus Metyr | Scadu Altus | Requires Count Ymir’s quest |
| Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame | Midra’s Manse | Abyssal Woods; route through lower Scadu Altus and down the river | Optional late-game encounter |
| Radahn, Consort of Miquella | Enir-Ilim | Endgame area | Final major encounter |
Bayle is not required for the central ending route. Metyr is unavailable until Count Ymir’s quest opens the path to the Cathedral of Manus Metyr. The Scadutree Avatar’s repeated phases and revivals belong to one encounter and should not be counted as several bosses.
Which encounters can be missed?
The most important missable warning concerns the Sealing Tree. PowerPyx reports that burning it advances the story and causes quest-related NPCs to disappear, failing their questlines and the NPC miniboss encounters attached to them.
- Before crossing that progression threshold, review every active NPC quest in the Land of Shadow.
- Resolve any conversations, invasions or summon-related steps that you still intend to complete.
- Do not assume an NPC fight will remain available after the story advances, even if the surrounding region is still explorable.
Quest dependence also explains why some encounter lists disagree: one guide may include an NPC duel while another counts only enemies with conventional arena health bars. The safest completion strategy is to check quest status before burning the Sealing Tree and to revisit optional field areas as new paths open.
Is there a required order for these bosses?
Only the broad story route imposes a progression structure. Optional field, dungeon and mausoleum bosses can generally be attempted whenever you can reach their areas, and PowerPyx organizes its walkthrough by region rather than by a universal boss order.
A practical exploration route is to clear nearby Gravesite Plain encounters first, then branch into southern shore, Scadu Altus, Rauh, Jagged Peak and Abyssal Woods as your map access improves. This is a navigation convenience, not a fixed completion order; hidden caves, rivers and Spiritsprings frequently let you reach areas earlier than expected.
What should I use as a completion checklist?
- Record each encounter by its local site, not only by the broad region.
- Mark Furnace Golems, Ghostflame Dragons, Tree Spirits, Drakes and hippos separately from named dungeon bosses.
- Check all four Nameless Mausoleums.
- Search the hidden routes into Charo’s Hidden Grave, the Southern Shore, Abyssal Woods and Recluses’ River.
- Finish relevant NPC quests before burning the Sealing Tree.
- When comparing totals, note whether your list includes repeat enemy types, NPC fights, regular Golden Hippopotamuses and multi-phase revivals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do different guides give different Shadow of the Erdtree boss totals?
They use different definitions. One list may count only unique arena health bars, while another includes repeated enemies, NPC duels, field monsters with unique drops or ordinary variants grouped with a named boss. Compare the actual location checklist rather than treating one headline number as definitive.
Where is the Fallingstar Beast encounter labeled on the map?
The encounter is described near a crater and gravity portal in the Hinterlands of Scadu Altus. Another walkthrough calls the sub-area Finger Ruins of Dheo, so use the in-game map and nearby landmarks instead of relying on one guide’s regional label.
Can I reach the Southern Nameless Mausoleum directly from the main road?
No. The Dancer of Ranah’s island is reached by finding a cave along the Southern Shore and using that route to cross to the mausoleum. If the island is not visible from the road, continue searching the shoreline for the cave entrance.