There's no doubt that Elden Ring's bosses have some of the most interesting yet least expressive personalities in the history of gaming. This kind of design philosophy extends to friendly NPCs. All of them, based on their actions, and their mannerisms, are unique and memorable. It's just that some of them could have been fleshed out more or could have introduced themselves better as bosses.
Some of these NPCs are either too powerful, creepy or simply too peculiar to leave as friendly NPCs. As such, one can't help but ponder upon what could have been; the possibilities both in gameplay and in the story for some NPCs are astounding if only they were introduced later on as bosses. Maybe they'll even be better as alternatives to some of the repeated and reskinned bosses in the game.
8 Preceptor Seluvis
- Location: Seluvis' Rise in Three Sisters west of Caria Manor
Apart from his prowess as a puppet master and brilliant sorcerer, there's another big reason why Seluvis could have worked better as a boss. Well, two big reasons, actually. The first one is that Seluvis is the most insufferable NPC in the game; there's no shame in wanting to sandwich his skull between his hat and his mask using a colossal weapon.
The second reason is that Seluvis outright betrays Ranni by trying to make her his puppet. He has the makings of a subtle and hidden boss. The boss fight also could have been interesting given Seluvis' abilities. It would probably involve his puppets or something creative (which hopefully wouldn't include an unfair gank fight).
7 Finger Reader Crone
- Location: All over the Lands Between
The Finger Readers are essentially fortune-tellers and semi-decent quest indicators. Their wording about where to go and lore exposition is always cryptic and at times, not really helpful. They're the same as Enia in the Roundtable Hold except they appear to be clinging to the past.
Moreover, some of them are downright suspicious, especially in their placement. One is even guarding a crucial spot in the game and it seems some of them are not too keen on the player's progression, especially if they picked a deity to serve or have done something that doesn't favor the Erdtree. It sounds like they want to do something about that and the players likely won't mind fighting a bunch of old ladies in a deathmatch.
6 Gatekeeper Gostoc
- Location: Stormveil Castle gate
Here's someone a lot of players are definitely itching to pummel into oblivion. Because for those who are unaware, Gatekeeper Gostoc has some severe crimes against the players, these are:
- Stealing a portion of their Runes whenever they die.
- Locking them in that castle room with a Banished Knight.
- Getting rich off dead Tarnished.
On top of that, he plays it off as if it was nothing, smiling like a psychopath as he puts up a face for the players. Players can kill him in Godrick's arena but that's too unsatisfactory. Killing Gatekeeper Gostoc as a boss would have rewarded back the Runes he stole plus damages after several tries of attempted murder. Hopefully, Nepheli straightens out this crook.
5 Tanith
- Location: Volcano Manor
Lady Tanith of Volcano Manor was never up to anything good. She deserved to be slain for her crimes against other Tarnished and against her own foster daughter. It's just that killing her while she's eating Rykard's corpse is a rather unsatisfactory way of seeing this insidious power-hungry lady die.
After all, she seems to be on her way to becoming a boss herself. She's readily assimilating with Rykard or the Serpent God and looks like she'll be done with the process sooner or later. Instead, players get to fight another Crucible Knight if they ever strike Tanith.
4 Primeval Sorcerer Azur & Master Lusat
- Location: Near Hermit Village in Mt.Gelmir/Sellia Hideaway in Caelid
Azur and Lusat are two of the most powerful sorcerers in Elden Ring. Even arrogant snobs like Sellen look up to them. The sad part is that both of them were criminally underutilized. When players see both sorcerers in their respective locations, both are dying or are weak and couldn't even move.
It would have made both sorcerers a lot more interesting and worthy of their repute if they were presented as bosses maddened by their knowledge and ambition instead of exiled husks. What players got instead was more telling and less showing about Azur and Lusat.
3 The Great-Jar
- Location: North of Caelid, near the colosseum
It's not clear how Living Jars in Elden Ring function or grow but one proof that they have no limits as long as they don't shatter is that absolute unit of a pot man in front of Caelid's closed colosseum. He's a lot bigger than Alexander and even bigger than some dragons.
With his posture, one would expect him to invite players to a fight. Unfortunately, he wasn't the one fighting, but his invader trio instead, which is quite disappointing. Because fighting a humongous Living Jar ought to be one of the most memorable and challenging boss fights in a Souls game. Perhaps he'll yet return as a boss in a DLC. One can hope.
2 Goldmask
- Location: All over the Lands Between starting in Altus Plateau
Goldmask is one of the most enigmatic characters in the game. One person — Brother Corhyn, even tried to decipher him but the poor lad went mad trying to grasp at straws. No one really knows what Goldmask wants other than the fact that he wants to repair the Lands Between in the cleanest way possible.
With that said, turning a cryptic character into a boss always makes them unravel their stories. Any moveset, piece of weapon, or text involving their items and spells reveals more about them than their dialogue. At the very least, turning Goldmask into a Tarnished boss would have surely made him more relatable or understandable as a character.
1 Two Fingers & Three Fingers
- Location: Roundtable Hold/Frenzied Flame Proscription
They're merely messengers or envoys of the Greater Will or the Frenzied Flame (depending on the digit quantity) but apparently, it takes a special kind of weapon to kill them. That very well means they could have easily become a powerful boss with a unique mechanic. After all, it takes a Fingerslayer Blade or something of similar power to slay them.
It's a shame that these towering NPCs didn't get more exposure and exposition other than being stuck on the ground. Both of them would have been a fine way for players to be able to fight the Outer Gods in Elden Ring. That's probably something a DLC will also address, hopefully.
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Microsoft Windows.