There are over 10 new bosses in Elden Ring Shadow of The Erdtree DLC, but they are often hidden deep in Realm of Shadow and can be missed if you're not careful. Some of them are so hidden that you need your Tarnished to solve puzzles. There are supreme bosses and optional bosses, but the optional bosses are the easiest to miss.
These mysterious bosses usually have their own exclusive dungeons, and the paths to these dungeons are also very secret. This guide will introduce two representative bosses - Bayle The Dread and Putrescent Knight. These two bosses are located close to each other.
Let's start with the easiest one!
Bayle The Dread
Bayle The Dread is technically the first optional boss you encounter in new DLC, but it's also one of the hardest bosses to defeat. But fortunately, his location is very easy to find, so we'll start with him. If you want to find him, you need to enter Jagged Peaks region in the southeast of the map.
If you haven't explored anywhere in DLC yet, you can follow the steps below to get here. First, you need to go to Ellac Greatbridge in the north of Gravesite Plains. After crossing this bridge, you will reach one of the most important locations in DLC - Castle Ensis. In addition, you will find Castle Front Site of Grace.
From here, you need to go up the southeast fork, and eventually you will reach Pillar Path Waypoint Site of Grace on the top of the mountain. Finally, in the south of this plateau, you will find a hidden dungeon - Dragon's Pit. In it, you can defeat Ancient Dragon-Man and obtain many Elden Ring Runes and Dragon-Hunter's Great Katana.
After completing this battle, you need to continue forward and you will find Castle Front Site of Grace. At this time, you have entered the southern map. In the jagged rock area where the dragon spawns in the pool, there are two paths for you to choose - one leads to Grand Altar of Dragon Communion. The other leads to Jagged Peak. If you still want to fight Bayle, you need to take the left path.
Following this path, you will not only bypass the mountain but also jump over the dragon in front and directly reach Bayle's arena. As I just said, Bayle is very difficult to deal with. Although he is also the easiest to find, you can still choose to find him last and fight him when you are better equipped.
Putrescent Knight
Putrescent Knight is located on the southernmost part of the map, on Cerulean Coast. If you have already explored Dragon's Pit mentioned above, you can access Cerulean Coast more easily.
From Dragon's Pit Terminus Site of Grace, follow the pool of water where the drake field boss appears to the right (south) to find Grand Altar of Dragon Communion. There is a very large dead dragon here, and you can't go wrong.
After crossing the dead dragon, you will find an area called Charo, which is a hidden tomb, which can be identified by the unique red leaves here. From this area, you can use Torrent to descend directly to Cerulean Coast mentioned above.
Once you reach Cerulean Coast, you still need to continue to walk south until you see a land bridge leading to an enormous crater. Here you need Torrent, and carefully jump down from the hole to minimize the threat of falling. Finally, you will reach Stone Coffin Fissure underground. At this time, you need to get out of the car and walk to it.
Stone Coffin Fissure is a very difficult dungeon because there is a group of stone creatures that will attack you with beams. You need to pass quickly through this dungeon while dodging the beams they emit. Here is a tip for you: stand directly under them to keep you safe.
After passing the last barrier, there is a Site of Grace where you can take a breath. After resting, continue forward until you enter the end of Fissure Depths Site of Grace. You need to be mentally prepared - because the next is a very difficult boss station.
On the huge stone coffin, you need to touch two objects to enter Putrescent Knight's arena - the statue head at the front hanging over the gigantic pit and the curved horns of the statue.
This strange boss will jump directly from the horse to attack you, and the horse that looks like it has melted will also attack you. So you need to be prepared to defend from two different angles. If you are not prepared in DLC, this will be a tough battle, but fortunately, the rewards are relatively rich.
Putrescent Knight is actually very important in your later stages of the game, as you can complete Thiollier's quest by defeating him, so you will gain a very useful ally who can help you share some of the burden when you encounter a boss in the later stages.
After learning about these two hidden bosses, are you less afraid of bosses in Elden Ring Shadow of The Erdtree DLC? These bosses are not as difficult to fight as you might think. I hope you will have fun in the subsequent games!