How to Defeat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon

As one of the major Remembrance bosses in Elden Ring, players will need to know how to defeat Rennala as a way to progress the story. There are other Shardbearers the player can defeat to gain access to Leyndell, the Royal Capital on Altus Plateau.

Queen Rennala is the mother of Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni, having birthed them from her union with Radagon. While her motherly demeanor may lull the player into a false sense of security, it is worth keeping in mind she is one of the most powerful sorcerers in Elden Ring and will not be an easy fight for many.

The Carian Queen can be found in the second major map area in the game, Liurnia of the Lakes. This entire area is much larger than Limgrave and has several field bosses and major bosses to take down.

However, to face the Queen of the Full Moon, the player will need to work their way through the Raya Lucaria Academy, found in the center of the second region of Elden Ring.

Working your way through the Academy can be a bit of a challenge, as many of the enemies employ magic attacks that can deal a fair bit of damage at range. There are also some new Elden Ring enemies that you will face, such as the Marionettes and the Iron Maidens. You’ll know you’re on the right path when you have to take down the Red Wolf of Radagon.

Exploring more after this boss will have you going up against Carian Knight Moongrum, and he’s not a pushover by any means. However, getting by him is essential to access the elevator, which will take you all the way up to the gates leading you to the arena to fight Elden Ring‘s Rennala.

The Queen of the Full Moon is an adept sorcerer, and hence almost all of her attacks will deal magic damage. She can also summon four beings to attack on her behalf as well, with one of them being a dragon! So, preparing for this fight requires a decent spread of resistance and fast-moving weapons.

One of the best armor sets to don for this Elden Ring boss fight would be the Carian Knight Armor, which provides significant magic resistance. You can find this armor near the Church of the Cuckoo site of grace. If you have enough investment in Intelligence, using the Scholar’s Shield buff on your shield can reduce the impact of her magic attacks.

Melee builds will do well with having weapons that can attack fast, or ones that hit hard for the stamina cost. While this Elden Ring boss is easy to stagger, she will also create distance between the player and herself quite often, so having a weapon that hits hard once or can get off subsequent quick strikes would be ideal.

If you’re going for the quick attack method, then go for a weapon that causes Bleed or has the Bleed affinity. Elden Ring‘s Reduvia, Flails, and even the Samurai Katana are great options for this fight, as they can create the bleed effect quickly.

The Spinning Chain Ash of War on Flails can catch the second phase of Rennala in a stagger loop and constantly create Bleed as well, making the fight a walk in the park, similar to how you can beat Margit the Fell Omen.

Elden Ring mage builds might have some difficulty with this boss, as Rennala has very high resistance to magic. Thankfully, Rock Sling also imparts physical damage and can be used to stagger Rennala out of attacks.

The high stance damage will also open her up to critical hits, so keeping a melee weapon as a second choice in your dominant hand would be a good strategy to make the most of those windows.

For Talismans, you can pick up the Spelldrake Talisman in Earthbore Cave in the Weeping Peninsula to reduce your incoming magic damage. The Green Turtle Talisman will help with stamina recovery for both melee builds and mages.

Mages should also go for Graven-School Talisman and Radagon’s Icon, both of which can be found within the Academy. The first will increase the damage of your spells, and the second will improve your casting time.

Once you’re ready to take down the Carian Queen, step into her arena and be ready to get surrounded by her pupils. This Elden Ring boss is somewhat similar to Midra from the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion in that the first half of the fight is not so much a fight as it is getting Rennala to show her true power level. The goal is to get Rennala out of her glowing bubble and on the ground where you can hit her.

To do this, you will need to take out the students with a glowing aura around them. These are the ones holding up her barrier, and there are three in total. As you make your way around the books and shelves, other students will be trying to hit you with their hands, breathing flames, and also using books as projectiles.

After killing the third student, Rennala’s barrier will break, and she will sink to the floor. This is your chance to deal as much damage as possible, as she will only be down for a few seconds. With the right weapons and Ash of War, you can deplete her health bar entirely and start the second phase. Otherwise, you’ll have to go through the process of taking down three students again.

The second phase is when the Queen of the Full Moon shows her true capabilities. You will be pulled into an alternate dimension where Renala is standing and ready to face you down with her spells. She has quite a few in her arsenal, and knowing how to avoid them is key to winning this fight.

• Comet Azur: Rennala will start her second phase off by charging this spell that launches a beam of magic right at the player. If it lands, this attack could take you out right there. The best way to avoid it is to sprint towards Rennala during her charging phase and dodge diagonally to the left or right. This also puts you in a position to land some hits.
• Star Shower: The Elden Ring boss will swing her staff in an arc and summon magic projectiles that will fly at the player after a short delay. You can run to either side to avoid the stars or roll forward just as they reach you.
• Glintstone Cometshard: Rennala will levitate forward and send a single, chunky projectile at the player. Roll into the attack to let it pass over you.
• Shattering Crystal: The Queen will release a crystal mass in front of her that explodes and rains down shards in an area around her. You can block the attack or roll through the attack.
• Rennala’s Full Moon: Rennala will levitate into the air and take on the likeness of a full moon before launching it at you. She is invulnerable when in the moon state, so don’t waste your FP trying to attack her. You can run away from this attack as the arc it follows isn’t the most accurate, and you can dodge right at the moment it passes you by.
• Staff Attacks: Rennala will throw her staff in a twirling motion at the player in front of her, in a wide arc around, or in front of her as she retreats. You can dodge these attacks by rolling just as she throws her staff.
• Summons: Rennala can summon four entities to help her: wolves, a Bloodhound Knight, a troll, and a dragon. Each of these summons occurs with Rennala kneeling and creating a shockwave that pushes the player away. The summons also act differently.
  • Wolves: These wolves will disappear after a few seconds but can deal some collective damage if you get caught in a flurry of attacks. They can be killed easily.
  • Bloodhound Knight: The aggressive knight will rush at you with his sword. He will disappear after a few seconds, but taking him out will prevent him from being resummoned.
  • Troll: The Troll will appear and do some smash attacks. It will disappear after a few seconds and is a bit too difficult to kill.
  • Dragon: Another summon that’s too difficult to kill, the dragon will breathe fire in a wide arc or fly and perform a dive bomb attack. Dodge both and try to get close to Rennala to get in some damage.

The best strategy to defeat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, is to stay aggressive. She staggers easily with multiple hits, and you can cancel many of her attacks by keeping the pressure on. When she retreats by floating back, dodge her attacks, and sprint after to keep whittling away at her health.

Stay on your toes for her magic attacks, and you should be able to dethrone this Queen with relative ease! Which boss have you found to be the most challenging in Elden Ring? Let us know in the comments below and check out our other Elden Ring guides for more boss tips and tricks.