While you probably don’t live in an area where bear attacks are a major concern, I bet you still know what to do if one were to occur. You make yourself look big and try to scare them off. Well, that may work in the real world, but inShadow of the Erdtree, looking tough and intimidating will only get you so far, and in the case of a bear attack from Rugalea, you’ll get mauled to death unless you have the guts to fight back.
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Those stripped of the Grace of Gold shall all meet death.
This Bear calls the Ruah Base home and offers a high-octane, fast-paced battle that will test your mettle and reflexes as their attacks just keep coming. It’s not a mandatory DLC boss in Elden Ring, but it’s one that is a lot of fun and one you’ll want to seek out if you want bragging rights for killing every new boss in the DLC. So, to help you earn that accolade, let’s talk bear bosses!
Where is Rugalea The Great Red Bear in Shadow of the Erdtree?
As mentioned, Rugalea The Great Red Bear is located in the Ruah Base area of the game, accessed via a secret passage north of the Moorth Ruins. Once in this region, you’ll want to head through this area until you come across the Ravine North Site of Grace.
Just ahead of this area, you will come to a forest with several Bear Enemies. Do your best to avoid these, as they will put up quite a fight and lower your HP before facing off against the Big Bear of this forest. You’ll come to an open area with fewer trees, and you’ll see a bear with red fur prowling the area. As soon as you enter this area and catch their eye, the fight begins.
How To Prepare For Rugalea
Unlike a lot of the bosses within theElden Ring DLC, Rugalea doesn’t really have any weaknesses that can be exploited. This also means, however, that this boss doesn’t have any massive elemental strengths that they can use to put you in a tricky spot. Rugalea is rather straightforward in the sense that they only have attacks that cause Slash and standard damage. So, the best way to set up is to go for a high defense against physical damage. Good options for this are theDragoncrest Shield Talisman +2, theCrimson Amber Medallion +3for some added HP, and theGolden VowSpell for added attack and defense.
As for your build, due to the lack of Immunities with reference to Rugalea, you’re able to pretty much use any elemental Ash of War to deal a build-up of Frost, Fire, Bleed or whatever tickles your fancy. However, I would suggest that players use an Ash of War that allows them to dash forward, as this will allow them to dodge Rugalea’s attacks and get in great positions to land heavy attacks. TheAncient Meteoric Ore GreatswordAsh of War, White Light Charge, is a great option for this strategy.
Then lastly, as for your Spirit Ashes, all the usual suspects likeMimic Tear Ashes,Black Knife Tiche AshesandLhutel the Headless Ashesare good picks. But the issue with using summons here is that it’s very easy to stray out of the battle arena, and your summons will disappear, so while it’s fine to summon them, it’s not a good idea to rely on them in this fight.
How to Beat Rugalea The Great Red Bear in Shadow of the Erdtree
Because there is no cordoned-off area that this boss battle is fought within, you have a lot of control over how this battle begins, so you can summon your spirit to ash well ahead of time and plan your strategy going into this fight. What I should say upfront is that if you want to make this fight a bit of cheese, you can fight on Torrent’s back and run in, land a cheap shot, and run away, then rinse and repeat to win. But we will assume you are the honorable sort and fight this as the developer intended.
Rugalea doesn’t have a deep pool of attacks or multiple phases, but that being said, all their attacks hit hard and are tough to avoid. They will likely open with their maul attack, in which they slash with alternating paws for your strikes. Avoiding this attack by rolling in time with the slashes and trying to get behind the big bear is best.
After this, they will likely turn to face you once again and attempt to perform a slam attack, where they go up on their hind legs, and then slam down, causing a reasonably sized AOE. The best thing to do here is move backward when they go up on their hind legs to avoid the impact.
If you’ve backed off, you’ll then probably see one of two of their attacks when you’re at a distance. They may resort to a charging attack, where they will run at you and then run at you a second time, which can easily be avoided by rolling into the impact as soon as they reach you. Or, you might have to deal with their ground shattering attack, which will send a shockwave toward you and can be dodged by moving either left or right of the strip sent your way.
Then lastly, the other attack in their locker is their slam and ground pulse attack, where they will do a slam attack, but will then pulse the ground straight after, causing a ground shatter AOE that is very easy to get caught up in and will knock the player off their feet.
This boss does have a second phase, which occurs after you cut them down to 50% health. Rugalea will perform the Roar of Rugalea attack, which is a huge roar that deals damage to you if you are in the vicinity, and this signals that Rugalea’s attacks moving forward will be a little bit stronger. Plus, they will inflict blood loss, forcing you to play a little more defensively. However, aside from the roar, the pool of attacks Rugalea will use remains unchanged here.
The key to winning this one is getting behind or under the bear when possible, as they are only an influential damage dealer when fighting you head-on. As mentioned, ashes of war that allow you to burst forward are a blessing as they can help you dodge their attacks and position yourself while also landing a hit. Plus, learning their tells will allow you to get out of their damage zone when they perform staggering AOE moves, which are the only moves that will cause you any real concern here.
Rewards For Defeating Rugalea
If you manage to defeat Rugalea The Great Red Bear, you’ll earn the following rewards:
The rewards for this fight aren’t all that worthwhile in truth. The fight is fun to seek out, and the Runes are always welcome, butRoar of Rugaleaisn’t a spell that will likely enter your rotation soon.
That being said, this spell can be improved a lot by getting your hands on certain items. Godfrey’s Icon, thePelt of Ralvaand theRoar Medallion. It’s a cool spell visually, as you get to literally transform into a big red bear, but overall, it’s a bit style over substance.
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware’s groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
