Elden Ring Astel Boss Fight: How To Beat Astel Naturalborn Of The Void

The Elden Ring Astel boss fight is an optional but tough encounter that comes during the Ranni questline and allows you access to a completely new area. Elden Ring has more boss encounters than any previous soulsborne, but seeking out these fights can result in powerful gear and tonnes of runes. The Elden Ring Astel boss fight is difficult to initially get to, but if you need a walkthrough of how to find and beat them, we've got you covered.

• Seek out the broken churches across the land for Elden Ring Sacred Tears which can increase the efficacy of your flasks. 

Elden Ring Astel Boss Fight: Where Are They?

The Elden Ring Astel boss fight can be encountered in the underground area called the Grand Cloister, which is located below Liurnia. It can take a long time to get here, and you'll need to follow the Elden Ring Ranni questline for a while before encountering Astel, but we'll summarise the necessary steps below:

• Begin the Ranni quest at Ranni's Rise and then find Blaidd in the Siofra Riverwell.
• Go to Seluvis, and then free Sellen from the Waypoint Ruins.
• Head to Radahn at Redmane Castle and defeat him.
• Find the hole in East Limgrave caused by the falling stars.
• Head into the City of Nokron, and find the Fingerslayer Blade.
• Go back to Ranni, and then enter the teleporter at Renna's Rise to go to the Ainsel River.
• Grab the Miniature Ranni Doll and speak to it at a Lost Grace.
• Find and defeat the Baleful Shadow in the Ainsel River area.
• Take the Palace Key and head to the Raya Lucaria Grand Library to open the chest and grab the Dark Moon Ring.
• Return to Ainsel River and cross the Lake of Rot to get to the Grand Cloister Lost Grace.
• Head down and follow the Scarlet Rot river to a coffin, and enter it to be taken to the Astel boss arena.

You'll now be allowed to enter the arena for fighting Astel, and there is an Elden Ring Stake of Marika just before you enter, so you don't have to make the trip from the Grand Cloister every time. 

Elden Ring Astel Boss Fight: How To Beat Them?

Before taking on Astel, we recommend you reach at least level 90 and have weapons that are upgraded close to their maximum, as the fight can be tough. We also did this fight with our Elden Ring Samurai build, as Astel is best fought up close, and the extra magic damage from Moonveil is useful against their weaknesses.

When starting the fight, Astel will throw out a laser attack that can one-shot you, so dodge roll through this and continue to close the distance. After getting close, there are a few powerful attacks to watch out for. Two of these are shockwave attacks, where Astel will create a pulse around them that repeats itself and grows larger. The best option is to run away when Astel telegraphs these moves, which is indicated when they slam both arms to the ground.

Another close-range attack to watch for is a hand swipe that leaves a fog trail behind, which will explode and cause additional damage after one second. Dodge toward Astel to avoid the swipe and the fog aftermath, and you can get some attacks in. Sometimes Astel will also teleport across the arena or directly above you, with the latter causing them to swipe down. You can dodge this move, and if they teleport away, close the distance quickly to avoid more laser attacks. At 50% HP, Astel will also teleport away and then summon a meteor shower that attacks random locations, but these are simple enough to dodge, and once done, you can look to close the distance again.

The attack you need to watch out for most is the pincer attack, where the pincers on Astel's face will begin to glow before they snap forward and try to grab you. If you're hit by this it's game over, so you need to dodge to avoid it, but it does provide a chance for some follow-up attacks. 

To deal the most damage to Astel, always aim for their face, arms, and legs, as the crystal tail and wings are protected. If you prefer to fight from range, and are using summons to get their attention instead, attacking the wings is easier, but it can take a while to chip Astel down. This is also a good way of abusing their weakness to poison and scarlet rot.

Our preferred way is getting into their face and getting in combo hits between moves. Keeping this up will break their poise and allow you to make a high-damage critical attack on the eye on their skull. You can use melee Spirit Ashes here to help keep the attention off yourself, and due to the limited AoE attack from Astel, it's a good way of getting in lots of attacks. 

Once Astel is down, you will earn 80,000 runes and a Remembrance of the Naturalborn which can earn you a new Ash of War or a flail called the Bastard's Stars. This also unlocks a way out of out the arena - which is on the opposite side to where you came in - letting you access the Moonlight Alter toward the south-west of Liurnia, and carry on the Ranni quest. 

That's our breakdown of the Elden Ring Astel boss fight, and now you know where to find the Naturalborn of the Void, and how to avoid their moves to defeat them.

Looking for more elusive questlines to follow? Read our walkthrough of the Elden Ring Millicent quest.