Elden Ring: How to Beat Messmer the Impaler

How do you beat Messmer the Impaler in Elden Ring? You'll face this Boss Fight at the very end of Shadow Keep in the Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree. In this Elden Ring guide, we're going to reveal how to beat Messmer the Impaler.

How Do You Beat Messmer the Impaler in Elden Ring?

On this page, we're going to explain how to beat Messmer the Impaler in Elden Ring. We will include an overview of the foe, Boss Fight strategies, their location, tips and tricks, and item drops.

Messmer the Impaler: Overview

Name

Messmer the Impaler

Location

Shadow Keep

Recommended Level

158

Runes Reward

400,000 Runes

Item Drops

Remembrance of the Impaler + Messmer's Kindling

Messmer the Impaler Location: How to Find It

You'll find Messmer the Impaler at the very top of Shadow Keep in the Scadu Altus. For a guide covering how to complete Shadow Keep, click the link.

Messmer the Impaler: Boss Fight Strategy

The first thing you need to take into account before even entering the arena is that Messmer the Impaler employs Fire-based attacks alongside his general sword swipes. Therefore, having a Talisman equipped that helps to negate Fire damage is crucial here. If you have the Flamedrake Talisman +3, this is going to help you massively. You'll simply be able to survive for longer — end of.

What's also important to understand that given how aggressive Messmer the Impaler is — across both of his phases (yes, there are two) — you should treat this encounter more as a battle of attrition rather than one you strategically handle. Yes, you must retreat to restore your HP when needed, but here, you kind of need to fight fire with fire (quite literally in this case) by going all out yourself. Don't let the boss have a moment's rest; call in your Mimic Tear Ashes and go to town on him. It's unlikely you'll have enough Poise to break him out of his own attacks, but applying Bleed damage and eventually staggering him works wonders.

In the first phase, Messmer the Impaler utilises a very long sword that he uses to prod and swing at you. There are combos where he'll lunge forward three times in quick succession and others where he swings the sword around the arena. You can block these, but since they're imbued with Fire, you're still going to take a bit of damage no matter how strong your Talisman is. As such, it's best to roll out of the way. Then, the boss will call upon Fire itself, covering the arena in fireballs within his immediate vicinity. He takes a second to activate this attack, giving you the chance to retreat to safety. There's also a grapple move where he'll stick you on the end of his sword and deal heavy damage.

You need to accept you're going to get hit a lot in this fight; it's the best way of dealing with the encounter as you essentially race his health pool against yours, hoping you have more before the battle is over. You'll do better if you're aggressive yourself.

When his health bar reaches halfway, a cutscene will trigger where Messmer the Impaler pulls his right eyeball out of his socket, granting him access to the powers of the snake accompanying him. Surprisingly, in our experience, this second phase is actually slightly easier than the first.

Now known as Base Serpent Messmer, he will at points turn into a snake and dive down from above at you up to three times. If he's targeting your Mimic Tear Ashes, you kind of don't need to worry about the move. Even better, once he's slammed to the ground three times, Messmer leaves himself open for a flurry of attacks as he slowly stands back up. This is your chance to deal heavy damage as he approaches death in this second phase.

Once again, remain aggressive in your approach and you should beat him before too long.

Did you find our guide covering how to beat Messmer the Impaler in Elden Ring helpful? Share any of your own strategies in the comments below and check out our Elden Ring guide for more guidance and information.