Golden Hippopotamus is an optional boss in Elden Ring introduced with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. A massive monster bustling with the energy of the Crucible, this boss has one sole duty: to stop the tarnished from reaching the eldest son of Marika.
In this guide, we will tell you how to locate Golden Hippopotamus (and its variants) and how you can take it down easily. For this purpose, we have a detailed build and strategy below outlining the fastest way to kill this monster.
Golden Hippopotamus Location in Elden Ring
Golden Hippopotamus is the first boss of Shadow Keep in Elden Ring. Shadow Keep is a legacy dungeon in Shadow of the Erdtree, and it can be found in the northern section of Scadu Altus.
It is a compulsory dungeon that can be accessed by going through the Castle Ensis after defeating Rellana, the Twin Moon Knight.
Simply go north from the Castle Ensis, and you will come upon the Main Entrance of Shadow Keep. You can also use the Ellac River skip to avoid Castle Ensis, but we strongly recommend against it. You will end up missing a lot of useful items and a legendary boss.
As soon as you enter Shadow Keep, you will find your first obstacle in the form of a Golden Hippopotamus, stopping you from reaching the Rooftops.
Three more Hippopotamus enemies can be found throughout Shadow Lands. However, they never change into Golden Hippo halfway through the fight. Their locations are.
- Ancient Ruins of Rauh
- Charo’s Hidden Grave
- Recluse’s River
Golden Hippopotamus Stats and Weaknesses
Golden Hippopotamus has 33,866 HP in Elden Ring. It has 123 Defense and 80 Stance. You can’t parry its attacks; however, you can land a critical hit on this boss after breaking its stance.
Golden Hippo is weak against Fire and Lightning attacks. This boss is strong against Frost and Hemorrhage, while being immune to Sleep and Madness.
Golden Hippo is also weak against Standard, Slash, Pierce, and Strike attacks. You can also use Magic and Holy attacks against this behemoth to land some massive damage.
Best Build for Golden Hippopotamus
As Golden Hippopotamus is weak against the majority of elemental attacks, we recommend carrying either a fully upgraded Blasphemous Blade or the Backhand Blade with Keen Affinity.
Blasphemous Blade’s special attack deals Fire damage to the enemies, while Backhand Blade can be infused with most magics or elemental greases. This will allow you to deal massive damage to the boss.
Use either a Strength or Dexterity build with most points in these stats. For the spirit summon, go with a fully upgraded Mimic Tear. Equip talismans like Rotten Winged Insignia, Millicent’s Prosthesis, Two-Handed Green Turtle Talisman, and Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman to increase the attack power of successive attacks.
This build will also increase your stamina recovery speed in addition to granting you great stamina recovery speed. Mix Opaline Hardtear and Dexterity Knot Crystal Tears in the Flask of the Wondrous Physick to increase both defense and dexterity.
Use gear that provides you with maximum mobility with the highest resistance against physical damage. Don’t equip a shield, as Golden Hippopotamus attacks will eat through your stamina if you try to block.
If you are not satisfied with the build and need to try something else, you can visit Rennala at the Academy of Raya Lucaria and use Larval Tears to undergo rebirth. This will allow you to try various builds, and you can go with one that suits you the best.
Phase 1 – An Angry Beast
Golden Hippopotamus has a lot of physical attacks in its arsenal during the first phase. It does a Bite Grab attack where it charges at the player with its jaw wide open. If this attack connects, Golden Hippo grabs the player and slams them multiple times, dealing massive physical damage.
This attack has a weird timing. Wait for the boss to do the chomp animation and then dodge backwards. You will get enough time to land some hits on the boss.
The next attack involves the boss standing up on its hind legs and then slamming its belly on the player’s location. This is also a physical attack that can be avoided by dodging sideways. Don’t attempt to block it.
You will get a chance to land a hit, but don’t get greedy, as Golden Hippo will do a chomp attack by turning its head sideways. Make sure that you dodge into boss and then hit it with some heavy attacks.
The final attack of the first phase is Hippo Rush, where Golden Hippo moves back a few steps and then charges into the player. This is a difficult attack and can only be avoided by dodging sideways at the time of impact.
If you manage to survive the onslaught and reduce Golden Hippopotamus health to 50% in Elden Ring, it will be enraged and start the second phase.
Phase 2 – A Divine Beast
At the start of the second phase, Golden Hippo will grow golden quills on his body and head. It will then stand on its hind legs and do a body slam. This attack creates a minor explosion at the site of impact, followed by a rain of quills at the player’s location.
To avoid this attack, dodge backwards and then run sideways to avoid the quills. If you get caught in the quills, it can be a certain death.
Golden Hippo also uses quill attack separately, where it does a minor ground slam with glowing quills on its back. Any time you see quills glowing, it is your cue to start running sideways.
However, Golden Hippo occasionally changes the formula and starts spinning with quills glowing. It will then throw its quills directly towards the players. This attack covers all of the arena and can be avoided by dodging forward only.
The Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring has one of the worst and most devastating attacks in Elden Ring. Its quills start glowing, and the boss jumps into the air. This movement is followed by the boss coming down crashing and then rolling towards the player.
This attack is almost impossible to avoid due to its massive poise break and damaging effect. Golden Hippo can change direction to better target the players while rolling.
Let the boss come to you, and then dive into it at the time of impact. This will allow you to use the invisible frames to pass through the boss’s roll and avoid the damage.
Once you get the timing down for all the Golden Hippopotamus attacks, you can easily chip away at its health. If you have trouble during the second phase, you can always summon Mimic Tear to distract the boss.
By following our strategy and build, we are sure you will be able to kill the Golden Hippopotamus in no time.
Golden Hippopotamus Drops and Rewards
Once defeated, Golden Hippopotamus drops 200,000 Runes, Aspects of the Crucible: Thorns (incantation), and 2x Scadutree Fragments.
This boss doesn’t drop any remembrance as compared to other legend bosses in Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
