Four years after its release, and even with the dust settled on the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, I still find myself drawn back to the Lands Between, often with the simple, brutish joy of a melee-only build. There's something primal about getting up close and personal, trading blows with a demigod. But let me tell you, FromSoftware has a special kind of love for making life difficult for us sword-swingers, axe-wielders, and hammer-bros. While the Tarnished of 2026 have access to all the meta-knowledge and perfected strategies, facing these bosses with just a hunk of sharpened steel still feels like trying to solve a calculus problem with a rock. Here are the encounters that turned my journey into a masterclass in controlled panic.

Royal Knight Loretta: The Early-Game Speed Bump That Feels Like a Wall

Loretta is the game's way of giving you a polite, magical smack upside the head early on. She's supposed to be a mid-game boss you stumble upon in Caria Manor, but for a pure melee build, she's like trying to swat a hyper-caffeinated hornet with a canoe paddle. Her speed is disorienting, and her ability to pepper you with glintstone spells from across the arena while you're desperately trying to close the gap is a special kind of torture. The fight is a brutal lesson in patience and pattern recognition for any warrior who thought strength alone would carry them.

Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy: The Gimmick Fight That Isn't Obvious

Ah, Rykard. The classic FromSoftware "gimmick" boss, but with a twist that punishes the uninitiated melee player. You waltz into this volcanic nightmare, see a skyscraper-sized serpent god, and think, "I've killed dragons. How different can this be?" The answer is: very. Your trusty +25 Greatsword will bounce off him like a toothpick. The secret weapon, the Serpent-Hunter, is lying in the arena, but if you don't spot it (or stubbornly refuse to use anything but your main weapon), this fight becomes an exercise in futility as endless as a treadmill made of lava. It's a puzzle where the solution is a specific tool, and without it, you're just a bug trying to fight a forest fire.

Dragonlord Placidusax: The AOE Apocalypse

You've slain dragons. You've conquered beasts. Then you meet Placidusax in his crumbling mausoleum of a boss arena, and he rewrites the definition of a dragon fight. For a melee build, this isn't a battle; it's a survival horror game. The initial moments offer a false sense of security before he unleashes hell. His red lightning AOE attacks blanket the arena, punishing any Tarnished who dares to stay within melee range for more than a second. The fight forces you to play a dangerous game of tag, where "it" is a two-headed dragon deity summoning the storm of the century. Staying close feels as prudent as taking a nap in a microwave.

Godfrey, First Elden Lord / Hoarah Loux: The Grappling Gauntlet

Just when you think Leyndell is done with you, the burned capital coughs up its final challenge: Godfrey. His first phase as the dignified Elden Lord is tough but fair, with clear windows for a brave warrior. Then phase two hits. Hoarah Loux, Warrior, discards his axe and decides to solve the Tarnished problem with his bare hands. This phase is a relentless barrage of grapples, slams, and earth-shaking stomps designed to obliterate anyone in melee range. The windows to attack are brief and perilous, turning the fight into a high-stakes dance where one misstep means getting hugged to death by a man who treats you like a stress ball. It's pure, unadulterated aggression that tests your dodge timing to its absolute limit.

The Divine Beast Dancing Lion: A Chaotic Opening Act

The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC welcomes you to the Land of Shadows with this frenetic feline. It looks like a bigger Lion Guardian, but it fights like three of them hopped up on ancient lightning. Its movements are erratic and lightning-fast, it changes elemental affinities, and its hitboxes feel deceptively large. For a melee build, it's like trying to fight a tornado in a phone booth. The constant pressure, combined with deadly lightning strikes, makes maintaining a safe offensive position nearly impossible. It's the DLC's way of saying, "Your Lands Between tactics? Forget them."

Black Blade Kindred (Bestial Sanctum): The Stone-Walled Statue

This guy is a troll in the most literal sense. Towering over the Bestial Sanctum, he seems like an optional challenge. He is not. For a standard melee build using swords or katanas, he might as well be made of neutron star material. His stone-like body has absurd damage negation against most slashing and piercing weapons. The lesson here is one of weapon diversity: sometimes, you need to put down your elegant blade and pick up something blunt and heavy, like a Club or the Giant-Crusher. If you don't, the fight becomes as productive as trying to dig a tunnel with a spoon.

Malenia, Blade of Miquella: The Infamous HP-Siphoning Menace

Even in 2026, her name still sends a shiver down the spine. While newer DLC bosses may have dethroned her as the absolute hardest, Malenia remains the ultimate melee purist's crucible. Her speed is one thing. Her Waterfowl Dance is another. But the true nightmare for a close-quarters fighter is her life-steal. Every hit she lands on you heals her, effectively punishing you for the core melee activity: trading blows. It turns every blocked attack or mistimed dodge into a double loss. Beating her with a strength or dex build is a test of near-perfect execution, where a single major mistake can undo minutes of progress.

Rellana, Twin Moon Knight: The Relentless Rhythm of Death

Don't let her elegant title fool you. Rellana is a pressure cooker of a boss fight, especially for melee. While others might point to Promised Consort Radahn as the DLC's peak, Rellana is the true melee nightmare. Her attack chains are long, fluid, and leave almost no safe openings. She mixes swift sword combos with devastating magical explosions, creating a rhythm that is brutally hard to interrupt. For a warrior who needs to be in her face to deal damage, it feels like trying to read a book while someone is constantly shaking your shoulders. She exemplifies the DLC's design philosophy: overwhelming aggression that demands flawless defensive play before you can even think about offense.

In the end, conquering these bosses with a melee build in Elden Ring is its own reward. It's a testament to skill, patience, and the sheer stubbornness required to beat a god into submission with a piece of metal you found on a corpse. The journey is painful, but the victory is all the sweeter for it.