Elden Ring Demi-Human Chief tips and strategy

How to prepare for Demi-Human Chief

The Demi-Human Chief bosses in Elden Ring are two quick foes, and also boast a variety of minions that skulk around the arena.

For this fight, we'd recommend either going with a quick one-handed weapon to strike rapidly whenever possible, or opting for a larger weapon that deals damage in a wide area, as you can likely take out a few minions as well as get off a hit against either boss in one go.

Additionally, we recommend you summon help for this boss fight. Dealing with both the Demi-Human Chiefs at once is a nightmare, and the minions are primed to gnash away at you whenever you stray too close to them.

Thankfully, there is one just before the fog gate - so make use of it. But also consider a spirit ash summon which brings in a group of allies at once. We took to using the Wandering Noble Ashes, obtained from Stormfoot Catacombs, for this fight.

With a group of spectral allies summoned, you can keep both the Demi-Human Chief bosses and the minions occupied whenever you please. Multiple allies are way more likely to draw the ire of a boss and minion than if you ventured into the arena with one ally, so keep this in mind when selecting which summon to use.

Demi-Human Chief tips: How to beat Demi-Human Chief

As soon you enter the boss arena, one Demi-Human Chief will immediately be racing towards you, surrounded by a few minions.

Pop your ashes spirit summon as soon as possible, but it's important to stay in the first half of the room, as the second Demi-Human Chief is located in the other half. They will come forward eventually, but you'll ideally want to leave this as long as possible.

Don't stand for too long around your summon, whatever it may be. Ideally, your summon will draw away at least a few of the minions, and possibly even a boss, while you can work on clearing away anyone who wasn't aggro'd.

Standing around in one area is asking to get piled on by a boss and the minions, so keep on your feet and circling around the first half of the arena.

As for the Demi-Human Chief itself, the boss hits pretty damn quickly. If you're using a melee build in Elden Ring, we'd recommend going with a shield to counteract an attack or two, as the majority of the Demi-Human Chief's attacks actually come in short bursts of one or two strikes.

Use this to your advantage if you're using a shield.

However, the chain combos from either boss can come out pretty rapidly. The Demi-Human Chief always winds its arms back for an attack, holding both arms behind its back for a second before it actually lets loose. This is about as clear as telegraphed attacks come, so plan your dodges and rolls in accordance with the timing of the arms moving back.

The Demi-Human Chief also has a nasty leap attack, which has it hanging in the air for a split second, before lurching towards you and slamming on the ground. Thankfully, this isn't actually a chain attack, so you can move in as soon as possible after the boss has hit the floor, and deliver a few strikes to it before backing away again.

Another vicious attack to look out for is the spin attack. When the Demi-Human Chief holds one arm behind it, this means it's gearing up to spin in a slashing whirlwind towards you, which can easily eat up a few meters.

Back away from the boss as soon as you see a single arm going back, and it's important to look out for the Demi-Human Chief putting its arms above its head right after it spins around, because this means it's going to slam down on the ground with a final brutal strike.

Demi-Human Chief reward

Once boss Demi-Human Chiefs hit the ground, you should gain roughly 984 Runes in total, which includes those from the slain minions.

Additionally, you'll also gain a Sewing Needle and a Tailoring kit, both key items, and you might also be able to acquire some Sliver Fireflies from minion corpses, if you're lucky.

The Sewing Needle and a Tailoring kit allow you to tweak (some) armour appearances at Sites of Grace.

After finishing up in the boss arena, take the tunnel opposite to where you entered, and you'll eventually encounter two sword-wielding minions. Reaching the mouth of the tunnel, you'll be able to find Dragon Island located to the south-west.

Here, you can find the Church of Dragon Communion, where you can spend a Dragon Heart to purchase spells. There's a Site of Grace here, so be sure to activate is so you can come back later. Otherwise, open your map, and fast travel to the main land when ready to continue your adventure.