Elden Ring's bosses are the stuff of legend. From the infamous Malenia, Blade of Miquella to the Elden Beast, these bosses serve as checkpoints that test players' skills, builds, and patience. In addition to providing a challenge, these foes also bestow some of the game's most memorable moments.
But not all of Elden Ring's bosses are given the same attention. For every memorable and satisfying challenge, there is an equally frustrating experience that muddles the otherwise fantastic journey. While each player has their own most disliked boss, some would argue that the Fire Giant is one of the most divisive ones.
The Fire Giant Is A Drastic Change In Pace
After surviving the trek up the Mountaintops of the Giants, players find themselves at the foot of a massive forge. Upon crossing one of the forge's chains, they come across the Fire Giant. Unlike many of Elden Ring's optional foes, the Fire Giant is required to progress the story and move on to the Crumbling Farum Azula. But before players think about entering the next area, they must first deal with the humongous boss in their way.
The arena that houses the Fire Giant is huge. The boss stands at the top of Flame Peak and slowly makes its way down toward players and their summons. To make this battle easier, players need to make use of their trusty steed, Torrent. Torrent plays a key role in traversal and dodging some of the Fire Giant's wide-reaching attacks such as his initial snow throw and fire-based spells. The Fire Giant's weak point during the first phase is his wounded leg, so Torrent should be used to make a beeline for this weakness. With good spacing and a great deal of patience, the Fire Giant can be felled and his second phase can begin.
Elden Ring players don't require Torrent as much in the second phase, but they do need to be wary of the Fire Giant's strong fire-based and rolling attacks. The boss's weak points this time around are his wrists and chest eye, so it does take some time to whittle down the rest of his health. A lot of time in this phase is spent rolling out of the Fire Giant's attacks, getting a few hits in, and repeating the process until he dies.
It Takes Adjustment And A Lot Of Patience To Deal With The Fire Giant
The first phase of the Fire Giant is arguably the most challenging for players that first fight him. There aren't many mandatory Elden Ring bosses that require the use of Torrent so not everyone is familiar with fighting with him. Before the Fire Giant, Starscourge Radahn is oine of the only bosses players need to face onboard Torrent to have a better chance at winning. Knowing when to get on Torrent, attack, and evade are important to besting the Fire Giant, and it may take a while before players get a hand of this combat cycle.
Switching gears in the second phase can be difficult too as players would assume Torrent is needed for th fight. While the Fire Giant still moves a lot, his mobility is more limited thanks to his lack of one leg. Fighting on foot is preferable here as players can finely adjust when and how they attack and evade.
Having to adjust combat styles for each phase of the Fire Giant is probably why players view the boss as controversial. The trek to the boss followed by routinely getting on and off Torrent requires a good degree of adaptability. Reading the boss' attacks can also be difficult because of how much space the Fire Giant takes up on screen -- the complete opposite of fast enemies like the Red Wolf of Radagon. The Fire Giant has a lot going for it, since the boss arena is stunning and defeating the boss is very satisfying, but a good number of players find adapting to him too difficult.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
