The journey in Elden Ring starts in a very familiar way. The player's Tarnished awakens in an unfamiliar place and ventures outward, knowing nothing of the incredible adventure that lies ahead. Fans of FromSoftware's previous games no doubt recall similar beginnings in other games like Dark Souls, and the similarities don't stop there. As the player progresses through the tutorial area, they eventually must confront the Grafted Scion. This powerful and unforgiving foe acts as the tutorial boss, and just like the Hands of the Fell Omen, he "brooks thee no quarter." Just when players think they'll have a chance to try out one of Elden Ring's starting classes, the Grafted Scion likely makes quick work of them.
Tutorial bosses are nothing new in the Soulsborne series, and longtime veterans of the franchise will remember their battles against the likes of the Vanguard Demon, the Asylum Demon, and Iudex Gundyr. The Grafted Scion of Elden Ring fulfills a similar role as the rest of these bosses, but does so in a unique manner. It's worth examining how the Grafted Scion stacks up when compared to these other iconic From Software tutorial bosses.
Elden Ring's Grafted Scion Tutorial Boss
The Grafted Scion is the first enemy that players encounter in Elden Ring, and it seems as though the intent is for players to lose this fight. When the player's health is reduced to zero, a cutscene starts showing them falling off the cliff. This leads to Torrent and Melina finding the Tarnished, which kickstarts the game's main plot. If players somehow manage to beat the Grafted Scion on their first try, they are rewarded with both its sword and shield, the Ornamental Straight Sword and the Golden Beast Crest Shield. The player can continue further into the area where they'll see some butterflies they can collect that serve as crafting materials.
These are a trap, however, as picking them up will cause the ground to break, sending the Tarnished plummeting down to the same cutscene. Players can return later to Elden Ring's tutorial area to fight the Grafted Scion again if they failed to kill it the first time. The rewards for doing this are the same, though. The Grafted Scion is also unique in that it appears later as a regular enemy with no boss health bar. It's still a difficult foe, but with better stats, equipment, and the ability to heal, it's much more manageable.
Demon's Souls' Vanguard Demon Vs. The Grafted Scion
The first ever tutorial boss in the Soulsborne series was the Vanguard Demon, a repugnant yet mighty demon and the first to fall to the player's character. This boss is similar to the Grafted Scion in that it appears later as a standard enemy without a boss health bar, and that beating it in the tutorial rewards the player with extra loot and a small additional area, while losing to it triggers the next part of the story. Both bosses set the tone of the game by providing a significant, seemingly insurmountable challenge right at the start.
There are several key differences between the Vanguard Demon and the Grafted Scion. For starters, players are able to use restorative items against the Vanguard Demon, and there are several weaker enemies leading up to it to give players a bit of practice with the controls. Even the fight itself is different, with the Vanguard Demon having slow, predictable attacks compared to the onslaught of blades and arms the Grafted Scion throws towards players. The loot players get for beating the boss in the tutorial is also more helpful in the long run, but there's no way to go back and fight this boss again if the player loses (the Vanguard Demon in Demon Souls' Shrine of Storms is a different one).
Dark Souls' Asylum Demon Vs. The Grafted Scion
Perhaps the most iconic of the bunch, the Asylum Demon is the tutorial boss in the original Dark Souls. Players encounter this foe as they attempt to break out of the Undead Asylum. There aren't many similarities between it and the Grafted Scion. The two enemy types are very different in strategy and design. That said, this boss is also not meant to be defeated when it is first encountered, but players that manage to do so anyway are rewarded with the Demon’s Great Hammer.
When the player finds the Asylum Demon, they have nothing but a broken straight sword. Rather than fight, the Chosen Undead finds an escape route behind the demon. After finding some better gear and Estus Flasks for healing, the player takes on the Asylum Demon again and actually has to defeat it to proceed. This does a better job of instilling the idea that perseverance is necessary to overcome the game than the Grafted Scion does, preparing players for what lies ahead.
Dark Souls 3's Iudex Gundyr Vs. The Grafted Scion
Perhaps the most straightforward of the bunch, Iudex Gundyr is the ideal tutorial boss. Compared to the Grafted Scion, the two are similar in that they both have quick attacks with wide ranges, but Iudex Gundyr's damage is appropriately scaled so that players have a reasonable chance of beating him. This is because there is no gimmick about losing and progressing anyway or having to come back later and beat it with better equipment. This is also the only tutorial boss in the list that has two phases, so it teaches players about that concept early on as well.
The simplicity of Iudex Gundyr's function as a tutorial boss works because it mirrors the simplicity of every other boss in the game; in contrast, the Grafted Scion is the only boss in Elden Ring that players are meant to lose to. Any other time the player dies to a boss, they simply lose their runes and have to try again. In a sense, this means the tutorial boss is setting expectations that the game immediately fails to meet. The Grafted Scion isn't a bad tutorial boss by any means, but when compared to tutorial bosses from previous games, it is a bit lacking in terms of both function and memorability. Thankfully, that's just a drop of water in the ocean for what is otherwise an incredible game.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
