10 strongest Elden Ring characters based on lore (2024)

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is undoubtedly the team’s most ambitious project ever undertaken. The Lands Between is an absolutely massive map that spans biomes ranging from frozen deserts to volcanic mountains. This fantastical backdrop is aptly filled with strange, mysterious, and incredibly powerful characters.

Though the player assumes the role of a Tarnished, the lowest possible rung on the Elden Ring ladder, players will square off against demi-gods and other impossibly difficult beings. While many of Elden Ring’s most difficult bosses for players may include the likes of Malenia, the obscured lore of the game tells a different story.

Elden Ring’s strongest characters, according to lore

10) Mohg, Lord of Blood

Mohg is one of two Omen children born between Godfrey and Marika. Instead of shamefully hiding away beneath Leyndell’s sewers, Mohg sought his own power by making contact with a mysterious Outer God, the Formless Mother. While Outer Gods use the Lands Between as a chessboard to further their influence, few characters have power directly given by their deity.

Though often taunted by the likes of Gideon Ofnir for his scheming, Mohg’s goals in Elden Ring are ambitious. The Mohgwyn Dynasty was cut short by his encounter with the Tarnished player, and he will likely never see his Albinauric army upend the Greater Will as he may have desired.

9) Morgott The Omen King

Brother to Mohg, players encounter Morgott twice throughout the course of the main storyline. Though the first time we see Morgott he goes by a different name and is dressed in tattered robes, our battle with him by the seat of the Erd Tree showcases the true strength of the demi-god. Though shamefully hidden away in the Shunning Grounds underneath Leyndell, Morgott ironically rose to become the last king of the faltering city.

Despite his cruel treatment, Morgott is instilled by the power of the Golden Order with a purpose to upkeep the Greater Will. Though not worthy enough to sit as the Elden Lord like his father, Morgott still remains the final staunch defender of the Erd Tree.

8) Starscourage Radahn

General Radahn, also referred to as the Starscourage, is among the most memorable bosses from Elden Ring. By the time players encounter this behemoth, he has been rendered feral by Malenia’s Scarlet Rot, only a fraction of his former glory. Prior to his battle in the midst of the Shattering, Radahn mastered gravity magic from his mother, Queen Rennala, and the fervor for battle from his father, Radagon.

Radahn’s strength becomes more apparent after his death at the hands of the Tarnished. As hundreds of meteors and stars crash into the Lands Between, players are hit with the realization that Radahn was holding the entire night sky in place.

7) Malenia, Goddess of Rot

To many players, Malenia is the most difficult boss ever seen in a FromSoftware game, though in the game’s lore, Malenia has suffered an immense deal. Children of Radagon and Queen Marika, both Malenia and Miquella were born with curses. While Miquella was born to live and die in a seemingly endless cycle, Malenia was imbued with a Scarlet Rot which saw her flesh slowly decay.

Despite her curse, Malenia became one of the strongest demi-gods in the Lands Between and championed her brother’s competitor to the Erd Tree, the Haglitree. In Elden Ring’s opening cinematic, we see that Malenia has an incredibly powerful Scarlet Rot ‘bloom’ which devastates the entire region of Caelid, reducing it to the inhospitable wasteland players know it as in-game.

6) Dragonlord Placidusax

Before the Erd Tree, Greater Will, or Golden Order, much of the Lands Between were ruled by primordial dragons. Like many bosses in Elden Ring, when players encounter this optional boss, Dragonlord Placidusax is far from his prime. We see from his in-game model that the Placidusax is missing three heads and another set of wings. At Placidusax’s best, this time-controlling dragon battle against the fiercest combatants, and held back the Golden Order which would eventually claim the entire region.

5) Godfrey, The First Elden Lord

The father of all Tarnished, Godfrey is the mechanism through which the Golden Order first ascended to its rule. The consort to Queen Marika, Godfrey waged war against all the Golden Order’s foes, from the Fire Giants to the Dragon Lords, all eventually fell by Godfrey’s axe.

Until meeting one of his own, Godfrey remained undefeated by any opponent. As Elden Ring states, Godfrey knew his purpose ended whenever his last worthy opponent died and left to wander the badlands. Though the Tarnished slay Godfrey to further their ascension to Elden Lord, Godfrey serves as one last obstacle.

4) Ranni, The Witch

Ranni may appear is as an apathetic, barely functional doll, however, she is the greatest sorceress in the Lands Between. Born from Radagon and Queen Rennala, Ranni became a deadly wielder of snow magic and earned the aid of an Outer God dubbed the ‘Dark Moon.’ Like various other demi-gods, Ranni sought to upend the Golden Order and install a new reality in the Lands Between.

Both Ranni’s cunning and power are evident as she steals the Rune of Death from Maliketh. Orchestrating the Night of the Black Knives, Ranni’s actions directly lead to the Shattering and the civil war that Tarnished is suddenly thrust into.

3) Maliketh, The Black Blade

Maliketh is the most powerful character in Elden Ring who is not a demi-god. This beast-like creature is the Shadow to Queen Marika, essentially acting as the demi-god’s enforcer. What truly makes Maliketh a formidable foe is his sword, which wields the power of Destined Death. When characters die in Elden Ring, their soul is transported to the Erd Tree, wherein they are eventually reborn. When slain by Maliketh’s Blade, however, they are gone for good.

After Maliketh is slain, we see the absolute power of Destined Death, as the Rune of Death returns to the Lands Between and entire cities are sundered.

2) Queen Marika

Marika is the mother to all demi-gods and first true champion of the Golden Order. Just as the mysterious figure championed the Golden Order, she also destroyed the Elden Ring and sent the Greater Will into chaos. Marika’s true desire, goals, and even identity are extremely unclear though it is apparent that she has the ability to destroy or remake the Lands Between at her own will.

1) The Elden Beast

The Greater Will is the conceptualization of order which has ruled over the Lands Between ever since Queen Marika and Godfrey conquered the various kingdoms. The Greater Will is viewed by many players as the most powerful and influential Outer God in Elden Ring, with the Elden Beast being the vassal which exerts the Greater Will’s order across the land. This luminous, dragon-like creature is the closest to an Outer God as we see in Elden Ring. While in-game this character is far easier to defeat than much weaker demi-gods, lore-wise most characters could even imagine standing next to this mythical figure.