Rykard is the final boss of Volcano Manor in Elden Ring. He can be tricky to beat, as unlike other bosses, he’s very difficult unless you adopt a specific strategy. We’ll tell you everything you need to do to beat Rykard in Elden Ring.
How to get to Rykard in Elden Ring
To fight Rykard in Elden Ring, you first have to get to Volcano Manor. You can do this in three different ways. The first is by talking to Rya and completing her request, which results in her teleporting you directly to the manor. You can also get there by being killed by an Abductor Virgin at the bottom of Raya Lucaria, or go directly there through Altus Plateau.
When you’re in Volcano Manor, there are two ways to reach Rykard. You can either proceed through the dungeon, defeating enemies and a Godskin Apostle miniboss before eventually getting to his boss room, or complete Tanith’s assassination requests, which results in her teleporting you there.
How to beat Rykard in Elden Ring
Before fighting Rykard, it’s best to get the Mimic Tear Spirit Summon, as it makes the fight much easier. Upon entering the boss room, grab the glowing item you see immediately to your left. This item, the Serpent Hunter, is the only weapon you need to comfortably defeat Rykard, as it’s the only weapon that adequately damages him. It’s important to grab this weapon and unequip any other weapon you’re holding before you summon your mimic. If you summon it before doing this, the mimic will use your other weapons and not the Spear Hunter, and will not be able to deal proper damage to the boss.
Then, you can begin the fight. As Rykard is basically a gimmick boss, it is far from the most challenging fight in Elden Ring. Rykard has two phases; in the first phase, you fight Rykard, the God-Devouring Serpent, and he simply attacks you in his serpent form. You only need to hit him as often as it takes with the Serpent Hunter while avoiding his swipe attacks and deadly grab attacks to defeat him. After defeating his first phase, a cutscene plays out, and Rykard changes to his second form, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.
In this phase, he spews lava on the floor around him. It damages you, so watch out. While the damage is almost negligible, it builds up if you don’t pay attention. Rykard also attacks you with projectiles that track you, so roll away from them. Finally, he also attacks you with the sword he pulls out from his body, but you can avoid these attacks by rolling away and taking cover behind the pillars littered around the boss room. Thankfully, the Serpent Hunter has a very long range, so attacking Rykard between his moves should be easy, and you’ll defeat him in no time.
