Baleful Shadow is a ferocious boss in Elden Ring that wields a Greatsword to shatter his enemies. You must defeat this boss to complete Ranni’s quest and progress further. Find the Miniature Ranni Doll at the Ainsel River to trigger the Baleful Shadow Boss in Elden Ring.
When you arrive at the Ainsel River, a coffin will be in front of you. Look closely, and you’ll find the Ranni Doll. Take the doll and rest at the nearby Site of Grace. Speak with the doll. It won’t say anything at first, but keep trying. The doll will speak with you on the third try, triggering the Baleful Shadow Boss.
Baleful Shadow Location in Elden Ring
The Baleful Shadow boss can be found near Nokstella Waterfall Basin in the Ainsel River Main area.
Move southwest from the Ainsel River Main Site of Grace to Uhl Palace Ruins. Continue moving southwest till you get to a flooded area with two large ants. After you get to the second ant, start moving northwest, and you will be at the Nokstella, Eternal City.
Exit the building in the northwest direction and run past the stairs. Run past the water while avoiding enemies in the area. When you get near an enemy riding a giant ant near the stairs, enter the building and pull the lever to call the elevator.
Once the elevator comes to the bottom, you will find a site of grace in front. Keep moving south and enter the small cave a little west in this direction. Exit the cave, and you will find yourself entering the boss arena.
How to defeat the Baleful Shadow?
The Baleful Shadow is a strong boss with a series of long-range sword attacks and a health potion to replenish his health, making it difficult to take him down. However, note that this boss is weak against poison and frostbite, which negates his healing ability so that you can use poison knives and poison mist spells or Rotten Breath.
The key strategy to inflict damage on the boss is backstabbing. When you reach the arena, wait for his attack, roll back, and backstab him from behind. When the boss gets up, move forward and attack him more with your sword, as he will take some time to attack.
When the Baleful Swords move back, this is your clue to stop attacking and move away. Note that this is when he will leap forward to attack, when his sword touches the ground, immediately roll behind him to stab him again.
Continue using this strategy and mix it with Rotten Breath Incantation to inflict poison damage. Remain close to the elevator and use the Rotten Breath to deal damage over time.
Continue to deal damage with the Rotten Breath; eventually, you’ll drain all of his energy, and the Baleful Shadow Boss will be defeated merely without a sword. This is as simple as it gets!
Drops from Baleful Shadows
Once you defeat the Baleful Shadow boss, you will get the Discarded Palace Key and 8,561 Runes.
How to Cheese Baleful Shadow in Elden Ring?
When you get to the boss arena, sneak up on the boss from behind, use rotten breath and scarlet rot on him, and then turn around and run away from him.
After waiting away from him for a few minutes, head back to the arena, and he will not be easily activated. Get behind the Baleful Shadows and use poison mist on him. This will slowly drain his health with no engagement at all.
Baleful Shadow Not Spawning
Many players have reported that the Baleful Shadow boss does not spawn in their game. If you are facing a similar issue, note that the boss only spawns if you have looted the Miniature Ranni in the starting areas of Ainsel River Main and exhausted her dialogue at the Site of Grace.
