The Golden Hippopotamus is a monstrous boss encounter that guards the entrance to Shadow Keep, Shadow of the Erdtree’s second Legacy Dungeon. Its attacks are tough to avoid and deal a ton of damage, so if you’re struggling, keep reading.
How to beat the Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring DLC
Preparation
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is packed with challenging boss encounters, and there’s a big difficulty spike as soon as you set foot in the expansion’s second Legacy Dungeon. I was stunned by how much damage the Golden Hippo does—it can easily kill you with a single combo, especially if you don’t have much Vigor or haven’t collected many Scadutree Fragments. But after dozens of attempts, I nailed the strategy.
For starters, make sure you have 60 Vigor and the best defensive Talismans you can get—namely the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman (to reduce Physical damage by 20 percent) and the Haligdrake Talisman +2 (to reduce Holy damage taken by 20 percent) or +3 (found in the DLC). The Golden Hippopotamus does a huge amount of damage, so the tankier you are, the better. If you’re really struggling, check out our guide on the best builds to beat Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Lastly, much of the Golden Hippopotamus’ arena is covered in water, which reduces its Lightning Resistance by 10 percent. Consider using a Lightning weapon (like the Bolt of Gransax) or spells that deal Lightning damage, if you have them available and they work with your build.
Phase one
As soon as you pass through the fog gate, the Golden Hippopotamus starts charging toward you, mouth agape and ready to swallow you whole. You usually don’t have time to summon a spirit—just focus on the Hippo and get ready to dodge.
A split second before the Hippo’s mouth makes contact with your character, roll diagonally forward and left or right. Watch the first few moments of the video above and copy my timing. It might take you a few tries, but it’s important to dodge the Hippo’s bite attack, because it deals a huge amount of damage and makes the Hippo immune for the duration of the animation.
After surviving the opening chomp, find a moment to summon your spirit ally and compose yourself. Now, it’s all about carefully avoiding the Hippo’s attacks while you wait for the right moment to strike.
The Hippo’s attacks are all very clearly telegraphed with a clear visual and audio cue. Before every attack, the Hippo either opens its jaws or lunges its body. It also makes a clear grunt sound a short moment before commencing its attack, so listen carefully and turn the game sounds up (and music down) if you’re struggling to recognize it.
Phase two
At around 60 percent health, the Hippo enters phase two. It grows hundreds of golden spines and showers you with an AoE of raining spikes. Keep moving or you’ll quickly die from the constant barrage of damage.
The Hippo retains its phase one moveset but mixes its attacks in with new spells that deal Holy Damage, so your Haligdrake Talisman will make a big difference. I found the most effective strategy was a hit-and-run approach—run in and get a couple of hits, then let the Hippo attack you with a combo and try to keep your distance, rolling when a hit would otherwise connect.
In particular, watch out for the Hippo’s ranged attacks. Whenever you aren’t in melee range, keep moving so its ranged projectiles always miss. Just keep an eye on your Stamina and make sure you have enough left for an emergency dodge or to close the gap if the Hippo darts around the room.
Lastly, the Hippo is very weak to being Staggered if you can drain its Poise with charged or jumping attacks. I consistently staggered the Golden Hippopotamus after four jumping heavy attacks with the Bolt of Gransax, which leaves it vulnerable to a critical strike. If you can keep landing jumping heavies, it’s a viable strategy, even in phase two. Just make sure you get the timing right, because the Golden Hippopotamus moves and attacks very quickly, and a missed jumping attack leaves you open for hippopunishment.
