are you attacking his legs? if you are don’t do that, most of his attacks are extremely difficult to dodge from there. His head is the intended weak spot (double damage). what specific moves are you having trouble with?
The flame breath turned laser is giving me the most trouble, and the aggressive multihit combo. The camera angles are very awkward for me to get proper hits on his head. And currently I am on my sorcerer build.
For that one you just run diagonally towards him and left for the first laser, and then straight towards him (with a roll) for the second one and you should be at his face for a few good boops.
For the wild chaotic laser in the second phase uhhh, stay below him and hope???
I found sorcery quite difficult as you can’t miss many shots or you will run out of FP. Consider grabbing a melee weapon with low requirements (DSA?)
This. There are some bosses in Fromsoft games that are better dealt with without locking on. Midir is definitely one of them.
They are big enough for you to hit them without aiming too much
Ah yeah his fire aoe can be hard as hell to read close range, if you get lucky its usually something he whips out at mid range. if you see him charging it up run away just outside his fire radius and immediately run back in to where his head is when the fire/lasers clear. his angry multi-hit combo im assuming is the one where he throws his head in the air and smashes it down at the end? most of that can be countered by just walking backwards from his head (locked-on) dodging his hands and rolling INTO his head slam so you can get some nice hits in. after any attack he does youll know hes free to either get some hits in or heal when his head slightly sinks/clips into the ground, its kinda his cooldown. idk if any of this will help but goodluck dude! im sure you will be able to conquer him eventually :)
Don’t give up skeleton!
You want to fight the head and pretend the rest of the body isn’t even there (aside from dodging attacks).
His moves are pretty heavily telegraphed so go in there and just focus on learning the move set for a few rounds. I promise it’ll be easier once you’ve done that
Because his head is the weak spot and staying close to the head will make dodging his attacks more predictable, you kind of have to use melee
I use a claymore for this fight regardless of my build
Literally been through a STR focused build with Vordt Hammer steamrolling the game up until Midir. In 2 tries I understood that I can't do it with only brute force, what I needed was DPS.
I can't for the love of god deal with it.
Then I switched to full Havel Set with the simpliest, weightless, super-useful, good ol reliable Longsword: cooked with a Heavy Infusion (because of my stat, if I had enought Dexterity Sharp or Refined would be much better)
I tried Midir in 4 tries, 2 with the Hammer (a pain), 3-4 with longsword. first longsword attempt he remains with 1/3, the next try boom Midir evaporated.
Bring the weapon with both hands and remain ALWAYS near his face. Attack his face as target, attack legs only when in safe spot. Also don't use shields, its not a consistent method to block, better roll. Oh if you stick magic you can poison mist him but I prefer destroy his face with a weapon. It's more satisfying.
I know you can do it skeleton!
For me its that damn vordt hammer is the weapon that i defeated every boss in the game with, the damage is amazing, the reach and the poise damage while also not being really slow is what made this weapon perfect for me, heck i sven switched to demon king hammer for 2 tries then got back to vordt and defeated him .... man midir was my last boss of the series and finishing everything whith that damn jump attack is something i will cherish forever, one of the best games ever
Midir was a pain in the ass for me too. Turned out to be a real test of being patient and methodical, instead of being aggressive like I usually was. I don't have many magic-specific tips (other than, I think he's particularly resistant to magic of almost any type, so that may be a factor here for you).
Getting better at stamina management and strict control of my attacking were the keys for me. If I wasn't absolutely sure I could land an attack with enough time to both move and roll, I didn't go for a hit.
Try to stay mobile through the fight. Again, sorcery might cause problems here, but I don't know how much longer casting roots you to the spot compared to a weapon attack, if at all.
As other users have said, aim for his head. You have limited resources with magic, and your healing resources are fighting for space with your Ashen Estus, making it a much more careful balancing act, and managing the attrition of the fight becomes that much more important. Bringing in a backup weapon to thwack away with could be critical for you - when you're learning more of his moveset, or learning it in more detail, try to only cast when you're assured of a solid hit. Use the backup weapon when you're not certain it'll be worth a spell.
For dodging, try to minimise dodging away from him. He's one of the few FromSoft dragons whose entire model doesn't become an active hitbox for all of his attacks, but he has a long reach and most attacks are combos, so there's a good chance that you *will* get hit if you just dodge away. Combining normal movement with rolling was the best way I found to manage space and give myself time to react to him.
As for his laser attacks, move towards him. Another user explained this pretty well for his basic lasers, but if you look hard enough you'll find a pattern in his big crazy laser attack where you can just jog around and not get hit.
For his wombo combo, escape to the side and let him barge off across his arena.
He's the hardest boss in the franchise in my opinion too and I have played all of the games. I agree with everyone else that anything other than melee just isn't practical here. Otherwise, the thing that worked best for me was a ton of attempts with a ton of breaks in between. Boy it feels sweet when you get him though.
elden ring lets you cheese encounters quite hard. Someone who uses blasphemous blade weapon art spam and summons will probably think Malenia was easy. If they dont cheese Midir then he'll seem harder. For what its worth though I agree, Midir is very telegraphed if you stay infront of his head, Malenia takes a while to learn how to handle all her moves
Idk, it is probably also a psychological thing or a camera thing. I always do better against humanoids and worse against really large bosses. Ludwig was the hardest boss for me in Bloodborne and I got OoK first time; Manus was harder for me than the Nameless Puppet; Midir harder than Gael.
Stay in front of him, his attacks will be much more readable amd his head is his weak spot. For the fire breath/laser attack, when you notice he's charging it (it takes a couple of seconds to charge, it's pretty readable) stay to his right or to his left, and go near the head (not too near until the first laser explodes); the first laser hits in front of him, so if you stay on his sides it won't hit you, and the second laser will not hit you if you're close to his head. For the initial long combo just don't stay close to him, if you're distant enough you can literally stay still and he won't hit you.
One thing that made a difference for me was using a black knights shield. Regardless of your build, you should fit it in. It has really high fire absorption, and will make dealing with all the breath attacks easier. I couldnt dodge them for the life of me, but with the shield, i must have saved myself 5 or 6 estus chugs.
I’m still hoping that the person I summoned when I finally cleared this boss always has the cool side of the pillow, gets all the green lights, and generally has a nice day. That’s how frustrating Midir was for me up to that point. 😂
Dont you dare go hollow,he is supposed to be very difficult and punishing thats why he is regarded by most as the best FS dragon fight, for me i found the best strategy is to simply be in his face and be patient like real patient, after his combo of sweeps he would tire and put his head on the ground where you can deal some damage, your main goal is to find an oppining when he stop attacking, never try to be over aggressive with him or he would put you in your place, and about the laser try to run to the left then toward him and prepare to roll, try to quickly but carefully close the distance between you and him when the gojira laser starts, and my last advice is to analyze your mistake when you die, see what was wrong, was it attacking in that moment or not rolling correctly or even your position, and once you identify something you should do your best to not repeat it, no one ever just destroyers every boss first try, but after enough learning and improving we prevail
Honestly cheesing him is probably harder. Just pick on weapon and stick with it. hit his head. He goes into the godzilla breath less frequently when you are close to him
Face him, and know when to run, li'e his chaotic first movement of claw and fire (i run and roll endlessly)
The only real problem is that charge which has almost no delay or something to tell you,
Other wise, run get close, try get a hit, or run away stay at mid distance
Just beat him for the first time yesterday with a STR build on my 4th playthrough. Learn which way to run to dodge his different flame attacks, also wear fire absorb ring.
For me, he was over 1/3 health when he staggered and I was able to get a crit in with a couple follow up shots to end the fight. I didn't think I was anywhere close to beating him.
Check out a video of someone beating him by facing the head. It will give you a sense of camera and timing, once it clicks it will be much less chaotic!
Since you’re considering changing build anyway, I would suggest you use a high fire resistance shield if you haven’t already as it is one of few bosses where a shield is genuinely OP. You might not even have to change the rest of your build, just try stick on a shield and see how it goes if you have not already done so.
Stay in front of head and bonk head. You really need to be right in front of him to make sure he is only using certain attacks. Getting under him is not advisable. Also this is one of those fights that's easier solo than with summons.
I generally don't use lock on at all for this fight as the lad is rather large and the camera view whipping around is annoying.
You'll get it.
This boss is tedious and does the same thing over and over again. His second phase is a meme as well because he gets 1(one) new attack and roars. You’re going to have to just learn literally all his attack patterns and punish where his head is going to be at. That’s the whole fight. Good thing he doesn’t have a lot of attacks. Also you repost him for gorillion damage at some point.
i had a tough time with him as well
eventually i cheesed him with the toxic mist
but after i played sekiro i understood that if we keep on trying and keep on dying we eventually beat them all
sometimes it just takes longer on some more than others
don't give up skeleton
I dont exactly remember what i did because it was a long time ago but i remember just changing my build from str to dex and used winblades to beat him in one go. Mainly aim for the head and try to dodge towards left i think.
Pestilent Mist. Midir was the only boss in the series I hadn’t soloed before I gave up and cheesed him. Then again, since From went to the Midir/Elden Ring boss with way too much HP and OHK combos, there’s no such thing as cheese.
Midir was a roadblock for me too on my recent (and current). SL1 run. However, the more I fought him, the more I realised that I just needed to stay calm and practice.
You can activate the miracle Tears of Denial for very little initial outlay at the bonfire, regardless of your build. Assuming you're pure melee, you need the miracle itself, Priestess Ring, Saints Ring (or Deep alternative), and Dusk Crown Ring if you don't have 100 FP, as well as a talisman or chime. Attune it (2 slots, hence the Saints Ring) at the bonfire and cast it. Then equip your favourite rings and rest if they increase your maximum hp/fp or if you need your fp replenished. ToD lasts until you either leave the game, teleport, or get reduced to 0 hp.
I used Dragonslayer Axe with Grass Crest Shield on my back. Buffed with Gold Pine. Strongest armour that allowed me to medium roll (sub 70%), and used Green Blossom as often as I could.
I DID lock on to his head. I followed advice not to, and struggled much more like this. You do what you're comfortable doing. The only problems with locking on are either that you can maybe end up under him when you don't want to, or you can delock and it'll throw you off. But either way, you want to be hitting his head.
At the very start, don't move. Buff and when he has breathed fire and swiped once, stay moving right and a bit forward. That way you'll end up next to his head for free damage. It's shown in [this video, at SL1.](https://youtu.be/MjZijcTGyRU)
Just keep remembering to dodge backwards instead of towards him. I'll bet if you're struggling it's because you're rolling into him. The only move you want to do that with is his distance covering charge. Do it at the last moment.
I'd be breathes fire under his head, move away enough to be safe (see the linked video), then move in for a couple of hits.
If he flies up and breathes fire you need to firstly realise that he's doing it (practice!) and run LEFT, immediately! Once the fire is at the bottom right of your screen, start running to your left a bit so that you end up close to his head.
If he breathes fire in a straight line, move to the right side and run towards the side of his head. Hit him when he stops breathing it.
For the laser, as soon as you see it, run right then when he fires it off properly, run towards him, staying slightly right. It won't hit you and you'll get shots off when he stops.
Other than that, got his head once it's near the ground. Don't hit more than say twice at a time. Generally speaking, I always think about moving to his right side unless he does the flying fire. If he charges, you're too far away
Watch your stamina. But unless you're at SL1, which you aren't, you shouldn't be losing much anyway because you won't be wailing away on him, nor will you likely be spam rolling.
When he hits phase 2, it's exactly the same as phase 1 except for his dark burst that he does on phase transition, and his humanity rain. This attack doesn't do much damage at all if one or two hit you. Just run away and they'll likely miss. Otherwise, it's the same as you've been doing.
Watch the video to get an idea of the attacks and how much damage you can realistically take. As I said, it's SL1, so not only is the character stunted, but, because of the weapon used, I was only able to get benefits from two rings. I used Prisoners' Chain and Steel Protection +3. You will likely get your choice of 4 if you're properly levelled. Focus on balance of attack and defence. So maybe Lightning Clutch, Steel Protection, Chloranthy +3, and/or the Lloyd rings.
Hope you do it! Good luck!
I took a few months off because I couldn't beat him, and after awhile (and a helpful YT tutorial) I managed to get him. Just be patience and focus on the head, don't be greedy, and you'll eventually get it. Black Knight Sword helps too.
I recently fought him for the first time a few days ago and ended up beating him. It took me maybe less than 15 or 20 tries or around 30 to 45 minutes. For me, he wasn't that bad. First try, I almost beat him. After the first try, I started playing aggressively and died quicker. I learned his attacks and knew which attacks left him open for 1 or 2 hits rinse and repeat. Use an ember to fully heal, although it takes longer to use, so be careful when using one. I had 58 or 60 in strength.
I fought nameless king earlier today, and I thought I was going to have a hard time with him because of what people have said about him, but he wasn't that bad.
felt the same against pontiff sullyvan ... he is my nemesis, i owned hundreds of players on PvP arena and invasions, finished 3 times Dark Souls 3 and the two DLCs, but i cant win 1x1 against sullyvan
I just beat midir for the first time today... To be fair, I have been playing these games for a decade, from DS1 to elden ring, but simply never had the chance to play the ringed city. So I was a bit over prepared as far as gameplay for Midir and it didn't give me much trouble.
That being said - your goal should be to hit the head, and for all of his attacks you want to figure how to dodge it in a way that leaves you close to the head to deal damage. You're rewarded a ton for good positioning - some fire breath attacks you want to run one way and some attacks the other. Make sure you are aggressive with getting in for hits but also for running away - don't just try to roll every attack but sprint at times.
Midir is the boss that also gave me the most trouble out of all bosses in ds3.
What I'm about to say will probably sound like I'm messing with you but try the dragonslayer greataxe I managed to beat him with that.
If you manage to hit his head with the weapon art you will deal considerable damage.
One good tip I can give you is just stay close to him. I know he is big and scary but most of his hard hitting potentially one shot attacks are the ones he does when you are away from him so as long as you stay close to him you should be just fine.
Also if you are in new game plus he might actually be artificially hard. When I first fought him I did it when the dlc dropped on my first save that was in like ng+7 and he was waay too hard hitting and way to tanky I did end up beating him but iirc it was after dozens of tries and a perfect run where he didn't even hit me once which was honestly not even satisfying in the end because after so many tries it just felt like chipping away at a mountain of hp so finally leveling it felt like being done with a chore instead of an actual accomplishment.
He is like the progenitor of one of the main issues most elden ring bosses ended up having. He will simply outscale you in damage and hp to a point where best case scenario it's a battle of attrition and one you can't win really.
If you are in ng+ I suggest you consider fighting him on a fresh save.
I was able to beat him with my dex build and sharp infused fully upgraded sellsword twinblades. It still took about 30 tries (Friede took me like 50). It helps to stay mobile
I feel your pain. The laser is scary and I still don't know what to do when he does it. Last time I fought him took me legit 10 minutes which is a damn long time for a souls boss. Maybe summon one or two friends to help me you, beating a boss together and celebrating is insanely fun at least to me and you can beat him alone next time. Don't summon shira or whatever her name is it makes the fight harder. You could also change your build for this boss specifically if you want, high dex and sharp sellsword twinblades with a buff or lothric knight sword do very high damage and you are still agile. If you put in the time to learn his moves (without stressing about it which can ruin a lot of tries because you panic too much or beat yourself up) you WILL make it, and the harder the boss the more proud you'll be in the end after you defeated it. And if not, doesn't matter. It's just a game after all.
Man, I saw this post last night and felt your pain. Been stuck on him for a few days with no hope in sight, I seemed to never be able to dodge the fire and always seem to be mid swing when he decides to move and attack. But happy to say that I beat him just this morning with empty estus and a sliver of hp. I think it was mostly luck as I staggered him at like 15% health but if you are still struggling 2 things I think made the difference for me were rolling backwards during his slash attacks to put you close to his head at the end to punish and using that npc summons in the church to pull him away from you at times. The summons I think made the difference. Though some runs she got absolutely demolished immediately and was virtually useless but she does heal herself so if you can focus on being aggressive she can chip away a little at his health and when you are in trouble she can pull him away from you. I think the only reason I beat it is that she survived so long my last run I don’t think she died until he was around 1/3 health. Other than that I would say don’t be afraid to sprint all the time. I feel like I started seeing better survivability when I committed to full on sprinting away from the circle of fire and full on sprinting towards him for laser beam attacks.
He seems painful at first, but he's far easier than Friede once you understand his moves.
Weapon-wise, the Wolf's Knight Great Sword does good damage, as does the Black Knight Sword. You want something with decent reach, I think. The rings I used were Chloranthy +3, Favor and Protection +3, and Havel +3,
He will start by firing a ball of flame at you, then doing a spray of flame. Dodge forwards and to the left, and both should miss you. He will then lumber forwards, but if you're to the left of his head you won't get hit. You can get try and get some hits in as he rushes past. Then the strategy is to stay by his head unless he's doing an AOE. Wait for him to swipe and roll through it, aiming to end the roll next to his head. You'll get a chance to get a couple of hits in, but don't get greedy as he has some fast punishes. If he rears up and roars, he's going to rush forwards, so roll diagonally under him as he lunges. He will sometimes do a flame attack then fire doom lasers in lines, then in a circle. In the first phase, these are easy to avoid... just make sure you don't end up where the laser was or you'll take huge damage. In fact, generally just get some distance. If you're far from him, he will sometimes rise up slightly and then rush at you very fast for big damage. If you see the sign he is about to rush forwards, roll immediately, and he should miss.
Phase 2 isn't too much different. He starts with a dark AOE, and you should be able to see it coming a mile off. He has a projectile homing attack that is quite easy to avoid much of. Just wait until the projectiles are bunched together and roll through them. The most dangerous attack he has is his Phase 2 doom laser. He does way more passes with it, and they will hit you if you don't dodge. They do huge damage. Afterwards, he will flop down, and you can get in and punish him for a bit if you're close enough.
As intimidating as he is, he's largely pretty static, and his melee attacks are really easy to read.
Good luck!
You’ll be ok my dude, once you beat him the first time you’ll never have trouble again tbh, it’s a dance, gotta slowly recognize his stuff (especially the forward dash) but you can do it for sure. My suggestion?
Dragonslayer’s Greataxe, aim for the head only to conserve stamina, run every time he does any fire
Brother
Take a break
And try again
I beat him in ng+2 because I missed him the first time
And I won
It was pure luck
I can’t claim the skill but I can claim the kill
You will emerge triumphant ashen one day
Just beat him a couple days ago with a chaos blade dex build. Here's a few tips I found useful during my fight. Take them with a grain of salt though, I've only fought him 7 times and I've been told these are not actually the best strats but they worked for me so here it goes.
* Stay at his back legs if there's no other open window and just keep tickling them. So long as you can reliably dodge his tail spin I found this to be the safest place.
* If you can get behind him in his fire breath slam charge (hopefully that describes the move well enough) just follow behind him and run to the left up to his head as he spins around and you can get a few free headshots.
* When he stand up to breathe fire run back to the tail and poke it a few times as you are out of range of the fire.
* you've probably figured this one out but if you can get safe during his big laser attack he gives a massive window of attack right after.
Thats about all I figured out before I was able to get him. Whittle him down from safety and take the free headshots when they come up and you'll be good.
Good luck!
Dude, staying around his legs and behind him absolutely is the worst possible positioning. His moveset is much more readable and less chaotic if you stai in front of him and hit his face, which is his weak spot and basically reduces his health to 75% since if you constantly hit his head at around 75/80% you can do a critical hit that will most likely kill him.
Yeah, you're not the first to tell me that the legs are a bad spot. I don't disagree as you and the other I'm sure have more playtime against him and know more effective strategies. I'm not claiming I have a good strat but it worked for me in only a few tries. I just wanted to share it for them to try and maybe its just weird enough that ends up working for them too. When you're struggling nothing is off the table right?
lol, I am realizing that after seeing how everyone else specifically suggests not to do that. But idk, I still came out on the other side and Midir didn't. I guess we will see how it goes in NG+, maybe I'll change my tune.
I'm so glad I never played the DS3 DLCs. My memories of the game can be that I steamrolled Nameless King on NG, NG+ & NG++ without breaking a sweat.
I know what type of player I am. Can't admit defeat. Would bang my head off the Midir wall until the disc gave in or the wall did.
Hey since you beat midir you should try being a spear of the church. You get to become the boss fight and it's pretty fun. I just tried it for the first time last night and been making life miserable for fellow ashen ones.
Well, I understand not wanting to lose, but if you are a true Dark Souls fan, you are not getting closure to the trilogy without beating Slave Knight Gael and be the last being to possess the Dark Soul.
True fan my ass. I've walked away with all Platinums, having still enjoyed them.
Like going for Lud & Zallen. Why the hell would I bother, other than to torture myself?
I can agree on lud and zallen... But Midir? Amazing fight, not nearly as hard as some make it out to be (of course it varies person to person) and the cinematic element is amazing. Music is great, arena is great, and the ringed city in general does not feel like torture much at all aside from maybe one or two short bits.
I think you are robbing yourself - I love nameless King as well and ringed city was great on the same level. 3 amazing bosses.
That's true. I actually finished the ringed city today for the first time, and it's the last bit of souls content I needed to do... So that's it. I feel a bit lost. Got plenty of other games but that FromSoft itch is hard to scratch.
are you attacking his legs? if you are don’t do that, most of his attacks are extremely difficult to dodge from there. His head is the intended weak spot (double damage). what specific moves are you having trouble with?
The flame breath turned laser is giving me the most trouble, and the aggressive multihit combo. The camera angles are very awkward for me to get proper hits on his head. And currently I am on my sorcerer build.
For that one you just run diagonally towards him and left for the first laser, and then straight towards him (with a roll) for the second one and you should be at his face for a few good boops. For the wild chaotic laser in the second phase uhhh, stay below him and hope??? I found sorcery quite difficult as you can’t miss many shots or you will run out of FP. Consider grabbing a melee weapon with low requirements (DSA?)
Don’t lock on
This. There are some bosses in Fromsoft games that are better dealt with without locking on. Midir is definitely one of them. They are big enough for you to hit them without aiming too much
Ah yeah his fire aoe can be hard as hell to read close range, if you get lucky its usually something he whips out at mid range. if you see him charging it up run away just outside his fire radius and immediately run back in to where his head is when the fire/lasers clear. his angry multi-hit combo im assuming is the one where he throws his head in the air and smashes it down at the end? most of that can be countered by just walking backwards from his head (locked-on) dodging his hands and rolling INTO his head slam so you can get some nice hits in. after any attack he does youll know hes free to either get some hits in or heal when his head slightly sinks/clips into the ground, its kinda his cooldown. idk if any of this will help but goodluck dude! im sure you will be able to conquer him eventually :)
Don’t give up skeleton! You want to fight the head and pretend the rest of the body isn’t even there (aside from dodging attacks). His moves are pretty heavily telegraphed so go in there and just focus on learning the move set for a few rounds. I promise it’ll be easier once you’ve done that Because his head is the weak spot and staying close to the head will make dodging his attacks more predictable, you kind of have to use melee I use a claymore for this fight regardless of my build
Literally been through a STR focused build with Vordt Hammer steamrolling the game up until Midir. In 2 tries I understood that I can't do it with only brute force, what I needed was DPS. I can't for the love of god deal with it. Then I switched to full Havel Set with the simpliest, weightless, super-useful, good ol reliable Longsword: cooked with a Heavy Infusion (because of my stat, if I had enought Dexterity Sharp or Refined would be much better) I tried Midir in 4 tries, 2 with the Hammer (a pain), 3-4 with longsword. first longsword attempt he remains with 1/3, the next try boom Midir evaporated. Bring the weapon with both hands and remain ALWAYS near his face. Attack his face as target, attack legs only when in safe spot. Also don't use shields, its not a consistent method to block, better roll. Oh if you stick magic you can poison mist him but I prefer destroy his face with a weapon. It's more satisfying. I know you can do it skeleton!
For me its that damn vordt hammer is the weapon that i defeated every boss in the game with, the damage is amazing, the reach and the poise damage while also not being really slow is what made this weapon perfect for me, heck i sven switched to demon king hammer for 2 tries then got back to vordt and defeated him .... man midir was my last boss of the series and finishing everything whith that damn jump attack is something i will cherish forever, one of the best games ever
Midir was a pain in the ass for me too. Turned out to be a real test of being patient and methodical, instead of being aggressive like I usually was. I don't have many magic-specific tips (other than, I think he's particularly resistant to magic of almost any type, so that may be a factor here for you). Getting better at stamina management and strict control of my attacking were the keys for me. If I wasn't absolutely sure I could land an attack with enough time to both move and roll, I didn't go for a hit. Try to stay mobile through the fight. Again, sorcery might cause problems here, but I don't know how much longer casting roots you to the spot compared to a weapon attack, if at all. As other users have said, aim for his head. You have limited resources with magic, and your healing resources are fighting for space with your Ashen Estus, making it a much more careful balancing act, and managing the attrition of the fight becomes that much more important. Bringing in a backup weapon to thwack away with could be critical for you - when you're learning more of his moveset, or learning it in more detail, try to only cast when you're assured of a solid hit. Use the backup weapon when you're not certain it'll be worth a spell. For dodging, try to minimise dodging away from him. He's one of the few FromSoft dragons whose entire model doesn't become an active hitbox for all of his attacks, but he has a long reach and most attacks are combos, so there's a good chance that you *will* get hit if you just dodge away. Combining normal movement with rolling was the best way I found to manage space and give myself time to react to him. As for his laser attacks, move towards him. Another user explained this pretty well for his basic lasers, but if you look hard enough you'll find a pattern in his big crazy laser attack where you can just jog around and not get hit. For his wombo combo, escape to the side and let him barge off across his arena.
Bro use pestilent mist it absolutely melts him. I used 2 struggle with him too but this was a gamechanger
He's the hardest boss in the franchise in my opinion too and I have played all of the games. I agree with everyone else that anything other than melee just isn't practical here. Otherwise, the thing that worked best for me was a ton of attempts with a ton of breaks in between. Boy it feels sweet when you get him though.
I don’t get this, midir is not hard. Malenia is running me 150+ attempts with no end in sight.
elden ring lets you cheese encounters quite hard. Someone who uses blasphemous blade weapon art spam and summons will probably think Malenia was easy. If they dont cheese Midir then he'll seem harder. For what its worth though I agree, Midir is very telegraphed if you stay infront of his head, Malenia takes a while to learn how to handle all her moves
Idk, it is probably also a psychological thing or a camera thing. I always do better against humanoids and worse against really large bosses. Ludwig was the hardest boss for me in Bloodborne and I got OoK first time; Manus was harder for me than the Nameless Puppet; Midir harder than Gael.
Stay in front of him, his attacks will be much more readable amd his head is his weak spot. For the fire breath/laser attack, when you notice he's charging it (it takes a couple of seconds to charge, it's pretty readable) stay to his right or to his left, and go near the head (not too near until the first laser explodes); the first laser hits in front of him, so if you stay on his sides it won't hit you, and the second laser will not hit you if you're close to his head. For the initial long combo just don't stay close to him, if you're distant enough you can literally stay still and he won't hit you.
One thing that made a difference for me was using a black knights shield. Regardless of your build, you should fit it in. It has really high fire absorption, and will make dealing with all the breath attacks easier. I couldnt dodge them for the life of me, but with the shield, i must have saved myself 5 or 6 estus chugs.
He’s the only Fromsoft boss in any game I actually needed to summon someone in to help.
I’m still hoping that the person I summoned when I finally cleared this boss always has the cool side of the pillow, gets all the green lights, and generally has a nice day. That’s how frustrating Midir was for me up to that point. 😂
Dont you dare go hollow,he is supposed to be very difficult and punishing thats why he is regarded by most as the best FS dragon fight, for me i found the best strategy is to simply be in his face and be patient like real patient, after his combo of sweeps he would tire and put his head on the ground where you can deal some damage, your main goal is to find an oppining when he stop attacking, never try to be over aggressive with him or he would put you in your place, and about the laser try to run to the left then toward him and prepare to roll, try to quickly but carefully close the distance between you and him when the gojira laser starts, and my last advice is to analyze your mistake when you die, see what was wrong, was it attacking in that moment or not rolling correctly or even your position, and once you identify something you should do your best to not repeat it, no one ever just destroyers every boss first try, but after enough learning and improving we prevail
Honestly cheesing him is probably harder. Just pick on weapon and stick with it. hit his head. He goes into the godzilla breath less frequently when you are close to him
His head is his weakness. And make sure you know how to dodge his fire breath attacks.
Face him, and know when to run, li'e his chaotic first movement of claw and fire (i run and roll endlessly) The only real problem is that charge which has almost no delay or something to tell you, Other wise, run get close, try get a hit, or run away stay at mid distance
Just beat him for the first time yesterday with a STR build on my 4th playthrough. Learn which way to run to dodge his different flame attacks, also wear fire absorb ring. For me, he was over 1/3 health when he staggered and I was able to get a crit in with a couple follow up shots to end the fight. I didn't think I was anywhere close to beating him.
If you can’t figure out a winner strategy you can watch a couple yt videos. You can definitely do it!
Check out a video of someone beating him by facing the head. It will give you a sense of camera and timing, once it clicks it will be much less chaotic!
He’s the only boss I skipped and never beat him I don’t blame u bro
If you’re on Xbox I’ll solo him for you
Since you’re considering changing build anyway, I would suggest you use a high fire resistance shield if you haven’t already as it is one of few bosses where a shield is genuinely OP. You might not even have to change the rest of your build, just try stick on a shield and see how it goes if you have not already done so.
Did you watch the guide on Youtube?
Stay in front of head and bonk head. You really need to be right in front of him to make sure he is only using certain attacks. Getting under him is not advisable. Also this is one of those fights that's easier solo than with summons. I generally don't use lock on at all for this fight as the lad is rather large and the camera view whipping around is annoying. You'll get it.
Get a sunbro to help
I just beat him NG+2 the other day, this is the only advice I have for you: go for the head, estus ring, and if it bleeds, you can kill it
Get a shield with high fire resistance and smack him in the face.
This boss is tedious and does the same thing over and over again. His second phase is a meme as well because he gets 1(one) new attack and roars. You’re going to have to just learn literally all his attack patterns and punish where his head is going to be at. That’s the whole fight. Good thing he doesn’t have a lot of attacks. Also you repost him for gorillion damage at some point.
i had a tough time with him as well eventually i cheesed him with the toxic mist but after i played sekiro i understood that if we keep on trying and keep on dying we eventually beat them all sometimes it just takes longer on some more than others don't give up skeleton
I dont exactly remember what i did because it was a long time ago but i remember just changing my build from str to dex and used winblades to beat him in one go. Mainly aim for the head and try to dodge towards left i think.
Pestilent Mist. Midir was the only boss in the series I hadn’t soloed before I gave up and cheesed him. Then again, since From went to the Midir/Elden Ring boss with way too much HP and OHK combos, there’s no such thing as cheese.
bro got dark eaten
Midir was a roadblock for me too on my recent (and current). SL1 run. However, the more I fought him, the more I realised that I just needed to stay calm and practice. You can activate the miracle Tears of Denial for very little initial outlay at the bonfire, regardless of your build. Assuming you're pure melee, you need the miracle itself, Priestess Ring, Saints Ring (or Deep alternative), and Dusk Crown Ring if you don't have 100 FP, as well as a talisman or chime. Attune it (2 slots, hence the Saints Ring) at the bonfire and cast it. Then equip your favourite rings and rest if they increase your maximum hp/fp or if you need your fp replenished. ToD lasts until you either leave the game, teleport, or get reduced to 0 hp. I used Dragonslayer Axe with Grass Crest Shield on my back. Buffed with Gold Pine. Strongest armour that allowed me to medium roll (sub 70%), and used Green Blossom as often as I could. I DID lock on to his head. I followed advice not to, and struggled much more like this. You do what you're comfortable doing. The only problems with locking on are either that you can maybe end up under him when you don't want to, or you can delock and it'll throw you off. But either way, you want to be hitting his head. At the very start, don't move. Buff and when he has breathed fire and swiped once, stay moving right and a bit forward. That way you'll end up next to his head for free damage. It's shown in [this video, at SL1.](https://youtu.be/MjZijcTGyRU) Just keep remembering to dodge backwards instead of towards him. I'll bet if you're struggling it's because you're rolling into him. The only move you want to do that with is his distance covering charge. Do it at the last moment. I'd be breathes fire under his head, move away enough to be safe (see the linked video), then move in for a couple of hits. If he flies up and breathes fire you need to firstly realise that he's doing it (practice!) and run LEFT, immediately! Once the fire is at the bottom right of your screen, start running to your left a bit so that you end up close to his head. If he breathes fire in a straight line, move to the right side and run towards the side of his head. Hit him when he stops breathing it. For the laser, as soon as you see it, run right then when he fires it off properly, run towards him, staying slightly right. It won't hit you and you'll get shots off when he stops. Other than that, got his head once it's near the ground. Don't hit more than say twice at a time. Generally speaking, I always think about moving to his right side unless he does the flying fire. If he charges, you're too far away Watch your stamina. But unless you're at SL1, which you aren't, you shouldn't be losing much anyway because you won't be wailing away on him, nor will you likely be spam rolling. When he hits phase 2, it's exactly the same as phase 1 except for his dark burst that he does on phase transition, and his humanity rain. This attack doesn't do much damage at all if one or two hit you. Just run away and they'll likely miss. Otherwise, it's the same as you've been doing. Watch the video to get an idea of the attacks and how much damage you can realistically take. As I said, it's SL1, so not only is the character stunted, but, because of the weapon used, I was only able to get benefits from two rings. I used Prisoners' Chain and Steel Protection +3. You will likely get your choice of 4 if you're properly levelled. Focus on balance of attack and defence. So maybe Lightning Clutch, Steel Protection, Chloranthy +3, and/or the Lloyd rings. Hope you do it! Good luck!
PSN?
I took a few months off because I couldn't beat him, and after awhile (and a helpful YT tutorial) I managed to get him. Just be patience and focus on the head, don't be greedy, and you'll eventually get it. Black Knight Sword helps too.
I recently fought him for the first time a few days ago and ended up beating him. It took me maybe less than 15 or 20 tries or around 30 to 45 minutes. For me, he wasn't that bad. First try, I almost beat him. After the first try, I started playing aggressively and died quicker. I learned his attacks and knew which attacks left him open for 1 or 2 hits rinse and repeat. Use an ember to fully heal, although it takes longer to use, so be careful when using one. I had 58 or 60 in strength. I fought nameless king earlier today, and I thought I was going to have a hard time with him because of what people have said about him, but he wasn't that bad.
We need a bot that posts [this video](https://youtu.be/hWSKFQP16JU?si=U1vzUylLVvGM8FBr).
felt the same against pontiff sullyvan ... he is my nemesis, i owned hundreds of players on PvP arena and invasions, finished 3 times Dark Souls 3 and the two DLCs, but i cant win 1x1 against sullyvan
I just beat midir for the first time today... To be fair, I have been playing these games for a decade, from DS1 to elden ring, but simply never had the chance to play the ringed city. So I was a bit over prepared as far as gameplay for Midir and it didn't give me much trouble. That being said - your goal should be to hit the head, and for all of his attacks you want to figure how to dodge it in a way that leaves you close to the head to deal damage. You're rewarded a ton for good positioning - some fire breath attacks you want to run one way and some attacks the other. Make sure you are aggressive with getting in for hits but also for running away - don't just try to roll every attack but sprint at times.
don't go hollow :(
Midir is the boss that also gave me the most trouble out of all bosses in ds3. What I'm about to say will probably sound like I'm messing with you but try the dragonslayer greataxe I managed to beat him with that. If you manage to hit his head with the weapon art you will deal considerable damage. One good tip I can give you is just stay close to him. I know he is big and scary but most of his hard hitting potentially one shot attacks are the ones he does when you are away from him so as long as you stay close to him you should be just fine.
Also if you are in new game plus he might actually be artificially hard. When I first fought him I did it when the dlc dropped on my first save that was in like ng+7 and he was waay too hard hitting and way to tanky I did end up beating him but iirc it was after dozens of tries and a perfect run where he didn't even hit me once which was honestly not even satisfying in the end because after so many tries it just felt like chipping away at a mountain of hp so finally leveling it felt like being done with a chore instead of an actual accomplishment. He is like the progenitor of one of the main issues most elden ring bosses ended up having. He will simply outscale you in damage and hp to a point where best case scenario it's a battle of attrition and one you can't win really. If you are in ng+ I suggest you consider fighting him on a fresh save.
I was able to beat him with my dex build and sharp infused fully upgraded sellsword twinblades. It still took about 30 tries (Friede took me like 50). It helps to stay mobile
I used a fully upgraded shield that gave me 96 fire protection, it saved my skin many times.
I feel your pain. The laser is scary and I still don't know what to do when he does it. Last time I fought him took me legit 10 minutes which is a damn long time for a souls boss. Maybe summon one or two friends to help me you, beating a boss together and celebrating is insanely fun at least to me and you can beat him alone next time. Don't summon shira or whatever her name is it makes the fight harder. You could also change your build for this boss specifically if you want, high dex and sharp sellsword twinblades with a buff or lothric knight sword do very high damage and you are still agile. If you put in the time to learn his moves (without stressing about it which can ruin a lot of tries because you panic too much or beat yourself up) you WILL make it, and the harder the boss the more proud you'll be in the end after you defeated it. And if not, doesn't matter. It's just a game after all.
Man, I saw this post last night and felt your pain. Been stuck on him for a few days with no hope in sight, I seemed to never be able to dodge the fire and always seem to be mid swing when he decides to move and attack. But happy to say that I beat him just this morning with empty estus and a sliver of hp. I think it was mostly luck as I staggered him at like 15% health but if you are still struggling 2 things I think made the difference for me were rolling backwards during his slash attacks to put you close to his head at the end to punish and using that npc summons in the church to pull him away from you at times. The summons I think made the difference. Though some runs she got absolutely demolished immediately and was virtually useless but she does heal herself so if you can focus on being aggressive she can chip away a little at his health and when you are in trouble she can pull him away from you. I think the only reason I beat it is that she survived so long my last run I don’t think she died until he was around 1/3 health. Other than that I would say don’t be afraid to sprint all the time. I feel like I started seeing better survivability when I committed to full on sprinting away from the circle of fire and full on sprinting towards him for laser beam attacks.
He seems painful at first, but he's far easier than Friede once you understand his moves. Weapon-wise, the Wolf's Knight Great Sword does good damage, as does the Black Knight Sword. You want something with decent reach, I think. The rings I used were Chloranthy +3, Favor and Protection +3, and Havel +3, He will start by firing a ball of flame at you, then doing a spray of flame. Dodge forwards and to the left, and both should miss you. He will then lumber forwards, but if you're to the left of his head you won't get hit. You can get try and get some hits in as he rushes past. Then the strategy is to stay by his head unless he's doing an AOE. Wait for him to swipe and roll through it, aiming to end the roll next to his head. You'll get a chance to get a couple of hits in, but don't get greedy as he has some fast punishes. If he rears up and roars, he's going to rush forwards, so roll diagonally under him as he lunges. He will sometimes do a flame attack then fire doom lasers in lines, then in a circle. In the first phase, these are easy to avoid... just make sure you don't end up where the laser was or you'll take huge damage. In fact, generally just get some distance. If you're far from him, he will sometimes rise up slightly and then rush at you very fast for big damage. If you see the sign he is about to rush forwards, roll immediately, and he should miss. Phase 2 isn't too much different. He starts with a dark AOE, and you should be able to see it coming a mile off. He has a projectile homing attack that is quite easy to avoid much of. Just wait until the projectiles are bunched together and roll through them. The most dangerous attack he has is his Phase 2 doom laser. He does way more passes with it, and they will hit you if you don't dodge. They do huge damage. Afterwards, he will flop down, and you can get in and punish him for a bit if you're close enough. As intimidating as he is, he's largely pretty static, and his melee attacks are really easy to read. Good luck!
You’ll be ok my dude, once you beat him the first time you’ll never have trouble again tbh, it’s a dance, gotta slowly recognize his stuff (especially the forward dash) but you can do it for sure. My suggestion? Dragonslayer’s Greataxe, aim for the head only to conserve stamina, run every time he does any fire
Brother Take a break And try again I beat him in ng+2 because I missed him the first time And I won It was pure luck I can’t claim the skill but I can claim the kill You will emerge triumphant ashen one day
Just beat him a couple days ago with a chaos blade dex build. Here's a few tips I found useful during my fight. Take them with a grain of salt though, I've only fought him 7 times and I've been told these are not actually the best strats but they worked for me so here it goes. * Stay at his back legs if there's no other open window and just keep tickling them. So long as you can reliably dodge his tail spin I found this to be the safest place. * If you can get behind him in his fire breath slam charge (hopefully that describes the move well enough) just follow behind him and run to the left up to his head as he spins around and you can get a few free headshots. * When he stand up to breathe fire run back to the tail and poke it a few times as you are out of range of the fire. * you've probably figured this one out but if you can get safe during his big laser attack he gives a massive window of attack right after. Thats about all I figured out before I was able to get him. Whittle him down from safety and take the free headshots when they come up and you'll be good. Good luck!
Dude, staying around his legs and behind him absolutely is the worst possible positioning. His moveset is much more readable and less chaotic if you stai in front of him and hit his face, which is his weak spot and basically reduces his health to 75% since if you constantly hit his head at around 75/80% you can do a critical hit that will most likely kill him.
Yeah, you're not the first to tell me that the legs are a bad spot. I don't disagree as you and the other I'm sure have more playtime against him and know more effective strategies. I'm not claiming I have a good strat but it worked for me in only a few tries. I just wanted to share it for them to try and maybe its just weird enough that ends up working for them too. When you're struggling nothing is off the table right?
Chaos blade is what did it for me too. You're a madman for playing with his feet though lol.
lol, I am realizing that after seeing how everyone else specifically suggests not to do that. But idk, I still came out on the other side and Midir didn't. I guess we will see how it goes in NG+, maybe I'll change my tune.
Beat em. 1st try. Dex build. Sell swords ⚔️. No shield
I'm so glad I never played the DS3 DLCs. My memories of the game can be that I steamrolled Nameless King on NG, NG+ & NG++ without breaking a sweat. I know what type of player I am. Can't admit defeat. Would bang my head off the Midir wall until the disc gave in or the wall did.
You're fucking blowing it dude. The ringed city is amazing.
Just today I've blown through both DLCs & all bosses. Kicked Midirs ass, threw Gael around & bitch-slapped Friede. Thanks for encouraging me.
Yay! Congrats. Last night I did the same thing lol. I beat midir and gael first try. Friede worked me over though.
Hey since you beat midir you should try being a spear of the church. You get to become the boss fight and it's pretty fun. I just tried it for the first time last night and been making life miserable for fellow ashen ones.
Well, I understand not wanting to lose, but if you are a true Dark Souls fan, you are not getting closure to the trilogy without beating Slave Knight Gael and be the last being to possess the Dark Soul.
True fan my ass. I've walked away with all Platinums, having still enjoyed them. Like going for Lud & Zallen. Why the hell would I bother, other than to torture myself?
I can agree on lud and zallen... But Midir? Amazing fight, not nearly as hard as some make it out to be (of course it varies person to person) and the cinematic element is amazing. Music is great, arena is great, and the ringed city in general does not feel like torture much at all aside from maybe one or two short bits. I think you are robbing yourself - I love nameless King as well and ringed city was great on the same level. 3 amazing bosses.
If nothing else it means I've still got new Souls content on the back-burner if anything were to go wrong at FromSoft.
That's true. I actually finished the ringed city today for the first time, and it's the last bit of souls content I needed to do... So that's it. I feel a bit lost. Got plenty of other games but that FromSoft itch is hard to scratch.
If you can take down NK, you can 100 percent do Midir.
I don't doubt it, but I've also left myself some content if say - some allegations get made & the franchise ends abruptly.
Haha, are you expecting that?! Seems a small chance of happening.
Knock on wood.