InElden Ring’sbase game, one boss stood head and shoulders above the rest in terms of difficulty. So much so that it even promoted a dedicated player to offer their services and ‘solo Her’ to any players struggling to best her in battle. That boss wasMalenia, Blade of Miquellaand it seems that she has a spiritual successor inShadow of the Erdtree, asthe ‘Let Me Solo Her’ guy is now helping players take down Messmer The Impaler.This is no surprise, really, because they are one tough cookie.
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This boss is native to the Specimen Storeroom area of the map, and will likely be the boss you face when on the way to the upper regions of the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. He’s a formidable opponent, a piece of cinematic and atmospheric brilliance onFromSoft’spart, and one of the best boss fights in Souls history, period. Which naturally means they will kill you over and over again. But hopefully, with this guide, you’ll be able to take them on and beat them without too much frustration.
Where is Messmer The Impaler in Shadow of the Erdtree?
Messmer the Impaleris found in the Specimen Storeroom area of the map, which is in the Church District near Shadow Keep. You’ll need to climb up the Storehouse area and use a lever to maneuver the statue in the middle of the area to create a path to the highest point. This will allow you to reach the Dark Chamber Site of Grace, and beyond this point, you will find Messmer waiting.
It is also worth noting that while you can skip Messmer and head on toward the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, and kill Romina, you will needMessmer’s Kindlingto light the Sealing Tree to gain access to the end-game area, so bear this in mind before giving up on this fight too early.
How to Prepare For Messmer The Impaler
Messmer is a ridiculously tough boss with a wide range of attacks, but most of them tend to be flame-based, so equipping theFlamedrake Talisman +3is a must for this fight, as most of their attacks will chop your health by more than half otherwise.
Then, in terms of your build, if you can change your Ash of War to provide Frostbite or Bleed damage throughout this fight, this will work wonders, as Messmer is weak to both of these effects.
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Then, as for summons, you will have access to either Jolan orHornsent, who have summon signs on the battlefield that can be activated. This will up the HP pool of Messmer, but additional distractions on the field are very welcome in this fight. Then, you can double down withMimic Tear Ashes.
How to Beat Messmer The Impaler
The fight will begin with Messmer crossing the room, leaping with a flaming fireball, and then causing an explosion shortly after. You do have just enough time to summon your Spirit Ash and still dodge this attack. The best way to avoid this is by dodging their initial lunge, and then timing your second roll with the explosion.
After this they will perform either a ranged projectile attack similar to the Messmer Flame Mages encountered in the Specimen Storeroom, or they may perform some slash attacks that spew fire with a slight delay. Either way, you’ll probably have time to get to Hornsent’s summon sign and bring them into battle too, if that’s what you want to do.
Other melee attacks that they will perform during this stage include a charged triple pierce attack, a fire spew followed by four quick piercing stabs, or they may do a singular, powerful charged slash. These are the tamest of his moves and are the best opportunities to get close to him and chip away at his health.
But he has plenty of devastating moves too. Such as his leaping spin attack, where they spin in the air twice, slash at you, do a rapid triple pierce attack and then finish off with a slam on the ground, which triggers an AOE attack where spears raise from the ground to impale you. This is tricky to avoid, but most of the attack can either be dodged or absorbed with blocking. Just be sure not to get caught up in the finishing AOE attack, as this will chop your HP right down.
They also have access to a flaming twirl attack, where they will jump and spin rapidly, before rising further into the air and launching at you with a powerful pierce attack. Again, the finishing blow is the thing to worry about here, as the rest can be absorbed by blocking.
There is one move that will pretty much be an instant kill every time, and that is their grab attack. This is telegraphed when their right hand glows, and they run at you to try and grab you. If they do, this will trigger an inescapable animation where you will be burned, thrown into the air and impaled on their spear. Avoid this one, or it’s curtains pretty much every time.
We need to stress here that there isn’t any attack that you will feel comfortable dealing with, as pretty much every one of them is fast-paced, relentless, and comes with heavy flame damage. But the key in this first phase is to soak up the weaker hits, avoid their finishing blows in each combo, and try to be close enough when they do to get some hits in before they launch into their next high-octane combo.
When you get Messmer to 50% health, a cut scene will occur, and their form will change into Base Serpent Messmer, a stronger version of this boss with access to a demonic serpent form with its own brand of punishing attacks. This portion of the fight will open up with the serpent rising tall with a fireball in its jaws and will attempt to slam its head on your position before causing the fireball to explode. This is basically like the first phase’s opening attack, only this time, sprinting either side of the impact actually works better.
Their melee attack patterns are pretty much unchanged here, but the key difference you will notice is that Messmer is a lot faster and will close gaps by gliding across the battlefield with ease, so there will be fewer chances to get hits in when they are on the offensive.
But there will be openings. Mainly when they perform the non-fireball explosion version of their serpent attack where the snake will try to bite you. After this bite, the snake will take about half a second to evaporate, and Messmer will return to its standard form. This gives the player just enough time to perform a charged attack on them and get to safety, provided you can position yourself close to the impact without taking the brunt of the hit.
Occasionally, he may also summon the snake to attack without actually becoming the snake to throw you off slightly, but other than that, this is what you’ll be up against. The second phase is actually more straightforward as all you need to do is avoid all of their attacks, forget about finding windows of opportunity, and only attack when their snake animation concludes for a safe shot at them, then rinse and repeat. It’s easier said than done, but in theory, it is easier to get your head around.
Rewards For Defeating Messmer
If you manage to defeatMessmer the Impaler, you will gain the following rewards for your efforts:
The runes gifted upon victory will be enough for most players to gain at least one new level, and as mentioned above,Messmer’s Kindlingwill allow you to head to Romina, best them in battle and burn the Sealing Tree. The true reward, however, is the Remembrance items you can claim back at theRoundtable Hold.
You will have the option to claim either theMessmer’s OrbIncantation, which mirrors Messmer’s exploding fire orb attack seen in battle. Or you can claim theSpear of the Impaler, a spear that scales into Dexterity, has excellent fire damage and also has the Messmer’s Assault Ash of War.
While both are good options, the Spear of the Impaler is a must-have, and a weapon that is even worth considering, respecting to accommodate the dex build it requires. The Ash of War is staggeringly good and the stance damage isn’t half bad either. Plus, the additional fire damage is a bonus in most fights, too. It’s up to you, but it would be foolish to pass on this Spear unless you are an out-and-out arcane user.
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