How to beat Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring: Boss stats, weaknesses & tips
FROMSOFTWAREThe Red Wolf of Radagon is an optional Boss that guards the Grand Library of Raya Lucaria Academy in Elden Ring. If you’re planning on going after it, here’s everything you need to know about this beast, including its location, weaknesses, and the best strategies to defeat it.
Despite Redagon leaving Raya Lucaria many years ago, his fearsome Red Wolf remains there. This boss is still loyally guarding his mistress despite his master’s departure.
You’ll need to beat Radagon’s Red Wolf in Elden Ring so that you can progress and battle Rennala in the tower above. However, this loyal beast isn’t going to let you pass without a fight.
In terms of fighting style and lore, the Red Wolf draws some obvious comparisons to the Great Grey Wolf Sif from Dark Souls. Those who’ve beaten Sif will be at an immediate advantage when this Elden Ring boss battle begins, as the strategy to beat the Red Wolf of Radagon is similar – however, unlike Sif, the Red Wolf is proficient in Glintstone magic.
Here’s how to beat the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring.
Contents
- How to defeat the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring
- Where to find the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring
- Red Wolf of Radagon stats
- Useful tips to defeat the Red Wolf of Radagon
- All Red Wolf of Radagon attacks
- Red Wolf of Radagon drops
- Additional Red Wolf encounters
FROMSOFTWAREHow to defeat the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring
The Red Wolf uses a lot of recycled moves from the Sif boss fight in Dark Souls, and the Gravetender Great Wolf from Dark Souls 3. So, if you have experience with these bosses, this will be a great help.
However, if you’re new to Souls games, you can overcome the Red Wolf by staying mobile and attacking opportunistically. The Wolf is extremely fast and hits hard, but the good news is he doesn’t have much health.
A shield can be very helpful as if his attacks connect, this will save your life in many cases. He also employs a lot of Glintstone magic throughout the fight, meaning you’ll need to keep an eye on where these attacks land as well as the Wolf himself. If you’ve got any items that offer protection from Glintstone magic, then equipping them before the fight will help immensely.
You can often dodge his magic attacks and use that as an opportunity to get close to him and score a hit, or if you’re attacking at range, you can strike from a distance while he cools down and pivots to his next move.
From SoftwareMelee and ranged strategies
Melee fighters will need to get up close and personal with the Wolf, either block or dodge his attacks and strike while he winds up a move or recovers from the last one. You can also let him come to you, then strike. Constantly running will put you on the back foot, needing to avoid his magic attacks rather than countering while he’s open, so aim to find opportunities to do both.
Ranged fighters need to avoid his attacks and counterattack when there’s an opening – but from a safe distance. It’s very important to keep a sizable gap between you both, as you’re likely to be weaker than tank-like players. However, you’re also likely to have a higher magic defense, meaning his Glintstone attacks will be less of a concern.
Stay nimble and keep one eye on the wolf and another on his AOE spells. If you’ve got health to spare and the boss is weak, one final charge and flurry of attacks will finish him off – but only if it’s worth the risk.
Where to find Red Wolf of Radagon
The Red Wolf can be found behind the fog gate that leads into the Lecture Hall in the Raya Lucaria Academy. The path to him is treacherous and filled with Glintstone sorcerers who can be a menace if they attack in groups.
FROMSOFTWARETherefore, we’d advise using stealth, then pick them off one by one as you make your way through the corridors.
Once you reach the next room, go west and all the way up the stairs. Continue east down the hallway and you’ll find the Red Wolf of Radagon’s gate.
Red Wolf of Radagon stats
This Boss has the following stats:
- Health: 2204 HP
- Defense: 107
- Stance: 120
- Parryable: No
- Immunities: Madness
- Deals: Magic and Standard physical damage
Red Wolf of Radagon weaknesses
As every other Boss, the Red Wolf of Radagon is vulnerable to Critical hits once its stance is broken, so focus on doing so. Additionally, this fierce beast is weak to Slash damage, so take with you weapons like Curved Swords, Daggers, Katanas, or even Claws and Reapers.
You can also try some of those weapons to inflict enough Pierce damage to cause bleeding, however, it’s not really worth the effort, as the Red Wolf of Radagon already has a very low health pool.
From SoftwareUseful tips to defeat the Red Wolf of Radagon
NPC summons
If you’ve met Sorceress Sellen and become her apprentice, you’ll be able to summon her for support in this boss fight. Luckily for you, her gold summon sign can be found just outside the boss’s gate.
While doing so will give the wolf a health and damage buff, Sellen will be a powerful ally to have during the encounter. She’ll be able to pepper the boss with Glintstone magic from a distance, causing a distraction and helping you chip away at his health.
Spirit Ashes
For this kind of battle, you’ll need a Spirit Ash with high defense that can stand strong for a prolonged time.
The Spirit Jellyfish is the ideal option, as it summons a giant stationary jellyfish that deals damage from a distance, while also being able to take a lot of damage. It costs 31 FP and can be obtained from Roderika at the Stormhill Shack in Limgrave.
FROMSOFTWAREYou can also go for the Marionette Soldier Ashes, which summons two marionette soldier spirits that fight by your side. They cost 67 FP and can be found right in the Raya Lucaria Academy.
If you do choose to use Spirit Summons, make sure you’ve upgraded them. By now you’ll have likely gathered some Grave and Ghost Glovewort from the numerous catacombs you’ve visited, this can be used to strengthen your Spirit Ash through Roderika at the Round Table Hold. Just make sure you’ve completed her quest to do so.
Items
Due to the Red Wolf of Radagon wielding sorceries during the battle, you need to equip yourself with items that can debuff Magic damage.
The Spelldrake Talisman reduces this by 13, 17, or 20 percent depending on its upgrade level. This useful item can be found in the Weeping Peninsula, inside the Earthbore Cave after you’ve defeated the Runebear.
You can obtain its +1 alternative in a small room on the northwest side of Sellia, Town of Sorcery, or the +2 on a corpse in an alcove at the top of the secret catacombs underneath the Hidden Path to the Heligtree.
FROMSOFTWAREAdditionally, you can also use the Spellproof Dried Liver, which is a Consumable that boosts magic damage negation by 15% for 2 minutes. You can find one under a large tombstone in Liurnia of the Lakes or inside the Black Knife Catacombs on the northeastern side of that same region.
Magic
The Red Wolf of Radagon encounter is quite frenetic, so it’s best to use fast-casting Spells such as the Glintstone Pebble.
This Sorcery fires a magic projectile made of glintstone towards your enemy. It has good range and only costs 7 FP and requires 10 Intelligence.
It is a starting spell for the Astrologer class, but if you picked a different character type, you can purchase it from Sorceress Sellen for 1000 runes the the Limgrave Waypoint Ruins or from Thops at the Church of Irith.
All Red Wolf of Radagon attacks
When fighting this beast, you must look out for all of these attacks:
- Bite
- Leaping Bite
- Golden Blade
- Blade Plunge
- Magic Glintblade
- Glintblade Dash
- Glintstone Cometshard
Red Wolf of Radagon drops
Once you’ve managed to beat the Radagon’s Red Wolf, you’ll be rewarded with 14,000 runes and a Memory Stone. Plus, you’ll be able to reach Rennala Queen of the Full Moon, and respec your character after you defeat her.
A Memory Stone increases the amount of Memory Slots each player has, and you can get up to 8 of them.
fAdditional Red Wolf encounters
Your encounter with Radagon’s Red Wolf at the Academy isn’t the last time you’ll fight this boss. There are other Red Wolves scattered around the map in different locations. The first can be found in the southwest area of Liurnia of The Lakes once you enter the Three Sisters region.
This version is reimagined as a field boss, meaning you can use Torrent to keep up with it and avoid its attacks. However, this Red Wolf has a pack of normal wolves to back it up in combat. We recommend taking this out first and then focusing your attention on the boss.
Having Torrent makes this fight much easier than before and you can match the wolf’s speed, just be wary of his pack.
Another wolf can be found in the Eternal City of Nokron, and another is patrolling the Consecrated Snowfield. Like the Red Wolf in Liurnia, these are field bosses and are accompanied by a retinue of normal wolves.
Repeat the strategies from the first Red Wolf of Radagon boss, but be sure to make use of Torrent and kill the lesser wolves before turning your attention to the larger beasts. On horseback they are fairly easy to kill if you stick and move, never reaching the threat level of the original boss.
For more Elden Ring content, check some of our guides below:
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