Elden Ring Leonine Misbegotten tips and strategy

How to prepare for Leonine Misbegotten

There's not a lot to do to prepare for the Leonine Misbegotten, in truth. The beast strikes hard with a massive sword, so to that end, you're going to make sure you're taking the toughest possible physical defence-based armor with you for this encounter.

Whether you use a Furled Finger or not, there's an AI summoning sign in gold writing immediately outside the entrance to the boss arena, and we'd very much recommend you summoning them for the coming battle.

Leonine Misbegotten tips: How to beat Leonine Misbegotten

If you've already fought the Misbegotten Warrior and the Crucible Knight over in Redmane Castle to the far east, then you know what to expect here.

If you haven't though, the Leonine Misbegotten is rapid-moving beast with a greatsword, but because the beast is so strong, it can comfortably wield said greatsword using just one hand, leaving the other one free to swipe at you.

The Leonine Misbegotten typically attacks in rapid swings of the sword, chained together in two or three hits. The only variant to this is the beast using its free hand to claw at you before setting off on the chain-attacking rampage.

Blocking with a shield isn't really a viable option here, even if you do have massive stamina reserves, so we'd recommend paying close attention to get the timings of your dodges just right to pass through the big slashes.

One potentially deadly attack is the Leonine Misbegotten's jump attack. The monster grabs its sword with both hands and jumps high in the air, crashing down towards where you're stood.

Don't roll back for this attack, but hold your nerve until the last possible moment and then dodge roll right through the attack, to emerge unscathed on the other side of the boss and give it a good whacking.

The Leonine Misbegotten can thankfully be staggered by attacks, and it isn't too large a task to pull off. If you've summoned in the AI companion near the entrance to the boss arena, they can actually get quite aggressive alongside you when laying into the boss.

If you see the beast bearing down on them, press the attack, and the AI character will join in with you, bringing you that bit closer to staggering the Leonine Misbegotten and delivering some massive damage.

Alternatively, a very viable tactic for the Leonine Misbegotten is to simply shell it with ranged magic attacks. While the AI summon character is drawing its attention, pepper it with spells like the Glintstone Pebble, or even more powerful Sorceries if you have access to them.

This mix between physical and ranged magic attacks will put up an excellent fight against the Leonine Misbegotten.

Once you have settled on a starting class and starting Keepsake item, you should first work out how to level up, how to respec and use Ashes of War. Need some direction from there? Our Elden Ring walkthrough and Elden Ring boss order can help with where to go next, but we also recommend hunting down Golden Seeds, Sacred Tears, Crystal Tears, Talismans and some of our best weapon and best armor choices. If you are approaching the end game, we can help with the Volcano Manor quest and Rykard, Haligtree Secret Medallion locations, solving the Ordina, Liturgical Town puzzle, the Millicent quest, Commander Niall, Morgott, Godskin Duo, Maliketh and Malenia.

Leonine Misbegotten reward

When the Leonine Misbegotten has been slain, it'll reward you with 3,800 Runes, with is a pretty paltry sum if you've been travelling far and wide elsewhere in Elden Ring.

Additionally though, you'll get the Grafted Blade Greatsword for your efforts, a powerful weapon which scales with Dexterity and Strength stats.

The Leonine Misbegotten is just one of dozens of optional bosses out in the world of Elden Ring. Now that the creature is felled, you can either continue exploring the world at your own pace, or pick up where you left off on the critical path.