I want to talk about the final boss of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, so obviously,
*SPOILER WARNING*
Why do I want to talk about it? Because it’s very divisive. Not just in the community in general, but in the RKG Discord in specific.
Let me state who the final boss is:
Promised Consort Radahn.
In the base game, General Radahn is one of the big bosses. He’s a shardbearer, the son of Radagon and Rennala, brother of Ranni and Rykard. He’s in the trailer, standing off against Malenia (this is important for later).
By the way, it’s hilarious that the vast majority of the characters have names that start with GR and M, which are George RR Martin’s initials. There have been countless jokes about this in the community. In the DLC, let’s see if that’s true. Leda, Hornsent, Ansbach, Thiollier, are all no. Moore is yes. Igon, no. Let me think bosswise. There’s Messmer, of course. He’s a yes. Gaius is a yes. Metyr, Mother of Fingers is a yes. Rellana, Golden Hippo (technical yes); Romina, Saint of the Bud; Promised Consort Radahn–going with a yes even though he has a title; Midra, Lord of Frennzied Flame; Demi-Human Queen Marigga (going with a yes. All the Demi-Human Queens have names that start with M); Ralva the Great Red Bear and Rugalea the Great Red Bear; and I’ll leave it there.
There are plenty that are not G, R, or M names, but many of those don’t have actual names. Like the Ulcerated Tree Spirit or the Tree Sentinel (both of whom are in the base game as well).
Back to Radahn. The fight against him in the base game is epic. I hated it on my first playthrough because I only had 18 Vigor and was one-shot by his goddamn arrows so many times. I ended up cheesing him by Scarlet Rotting him then racing away and letting my summons do the work. I kept summoning them in as they died. After he did his dreaded meteor bullshit move halfway through the fight, I Scarlet Rotted him one more time and then literally went off-screen to read a book and wait for him to die. Yes, I kept summoning as they died, but I did nothing else in the second half of the fight. I was off-screen as he died, which wasn’t satsifying, per se, but it was done.
I mention this beacuse I wanted to compare it with the times I did it in future playthrough. I’ve done it probably a half-dozen more times, and every time, I’ve had way more Vigor. That meant I could take two to three hits, which made the fight significantly easier. Not easy, mind, but easier. I have not had much trouble with him since, and I even participate in the fight now.