Mad Pumpkin Head is one of the bosses you’ll face during the early stages of the game. Defeating this boss is the only way you can unlock the Pumpkin Helmet. This guide will explain How to Defeat the Mad Pumpkin Head boss and unlock the Pumpkin Helmet in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring Mad Pumpkin Head Location
Mad Pumpkin Head boss can be found in Waypoint Ruins located south of the Limgrave. After defeating it, you will be able to have access to Selen.
The Pumpkin Head Duo boss is another boss battle you can encounter in Caelum Ruins, west of Caelid.
When you do run into the boss, you’ll find yourself trying really hard not to laugh. And the boss is not just goofy, and it’s very easy to defeat as well.
Mad Pumpkin Head Recommended Level and Weaknesses
For the Mad Pumpkin Head, you will have to be at least Level 25 before engaging it. He is a heavy hitter boss who can one-shot you easily if you are under-leveled.
For the Pumpkin Duo, you will require at least Level 50 to 75 to properly engage them. They are a duo that puts you at a massive disadvantage.
Mad Pumpkin Head is only immune to head attacks. Apart from that, you can attack where ever you like.
They are massively weak to Blood loss buildup; you can just bleed it to death since they have no armor on.
Mad Pumpkin Head Attacks and Counters
Double Swing
The most basic attack the Pumpkin Head uses is the double swing, and you will see them often in your encounter. He moves his flail twice, once from left to right and once from right to left, in a slow motion.
Overhead Smash
If you manage to dodge his wild strikes, he will then use a powerful attack in which he swings his flail over his head and brings it down directly. You’ll be facing this attack mostly against the Pumpkin Head Duo in Caelid.
Hand Strike
This deals massive damage but also is easy to dodge. Sometimes the boss will combo the Overhead Smash with a wild Hand Strike attack at you to catch you off guard. He uses his unarmed hand for this attack.
Up Down Combo
If you damage the boss quite enough, he will start using uppercuts and follow up with an Overhead Smash.
Head Slam
The boss will sometimes use quick wild strike to catch you off guard. After quite a while, he will start using his head bashes, so you will have to dodge that attack since it cannot be parried.
How to Parry Mad Pumpkin Head’s Attacks
Since the Pumpkin Head Boss has no magic attacks and only blunt attacks, you can parry all of them except for the Headbash if you time it correctly.
How to Defeat Mad Pumpkin Head in Elden Ring
While a boss is meant to be as furious looking as possible, Elden Ring brings you a boss that wears a pumpkin on its head. However, it does deserve some credit since it gets the job done as a helmet and shields the boss pretty well.
Mad Pumpkin Head
To defeat the pumpkin head, you can use your reliable spirit summing Fanged Imp Ashes to deal damage.
They are not heavy hitters, but they deal lots of bleed damage which will help you a lot in the encounter. You just have to do as much bleed damage as you can to defeat it.
Your spirits will also help you with that blood loss buildup and chip away some of the boss’s health, so it will not be that head.
It doesn’t reward anything in particular, but it gives you access to Selen the Sorcerer.
Mad Pumpkin Head Duo
Defeating one is not hard, but defeating two of them at the same time can prove quite a challenge. The Duo boss will do their absolute best to mince you down, so to avoid that use your spirit summoning to distract one of them while you focus one at a time.
After defeating the first boss, you can start focusing on the other boss and bleed it to death.
The duo boss rewards you with the “Visage Shield” great shield, which has a special attack, “Tongues of Fire,” that deals AOE fire damage in a limited area. It costs 5 Focus Points which depletes the longer you use it.
How to Cheese Mad Pumpkin Head
Despite it being a heavy hitter, there is a little trick to the boss. The boss’s follow-up attacks have a move set, which he will only do if you are in its radius.
To avoid it, you will have to attack, run around the boss until he starts chasing you and attack again. Rinse and repeat the process until you defeat.
If you think the arena is pretty small to run around, do it clockwise or anti-clockwise, it will still make the boss chase you
How to Farm Mad Pumpkin Helm
The easiest way to get Mad Pumpkin Helm is to go and defeat the non-boss variant of Mad Pumpkin Head inside of Castle Morne. He will be located at the front when you go above the elevator.
Defeat the dogs so that they don’t annoy you, and then defeat the Pumpkin Head. Keep repeating the process until it drops the Pumpkin Helm. Keep in mind that the pumpkin helm can only drop from the non-boss versions known as Lesser Mad Pumpkin Head.
How to Get Mad Pumpkin Head Ashes
To get the Mad Pumpkin Head Ashes, move towards the Minor Erdtree Catacombs, located Northwest of Caelid. After reaching there, head into the catacombs and start exploring to unlock the door for the boss room.
After you have unlocked the door, go to the boss room, where you will encounter two Erdtree Burial Watchdogs. Defeat them, and it will reward you with the Mad Pumpkin Head Ashes.
