Below we’ll walk you through exactly how to defeat the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring, starting with video footage of my attempt, and ending with our top tips to bear in mind when fighting the Wolf.
Elden Ring: Red Wolf of Radagon boss fight walkthrough
Once inside the Academy of Raya Lucaria, things really start to heat up in your Elden Ring journey. There are some powerful magic-wielding foes waiting for you around corners in this place, and before you can reach the final boss you must best the Red Wolf of Radagon - a large and magically powerful variant of the wolf enemies you’ve faced throughout Elden Ring. The Red Wolf of Radagon’s non-magical attacks are fairly straightforward - just a telegraphed series of bites. But when it combines these bites with its deadly array of spells, that’s when things can get hairy very quickly. Below we’ll walk you through some top tips to bear in mind when fighting the Red Wolf: but first, have a look at how I ended up defeating this fast-moving boss.
Red Wolf of Radagon boss fight video walkthrough:
How to beat Red Wolf of Radagon: top tips for success
Here are our top tips for succeeding in your fight against the powerful Red Wolf of Radagon:
1. Increase your magical protection as much as possible
The Red Wolf’s attacks are mostly magical, so you should try to give yourself as much resistance to magical damage as possible heading into this fight. Wear armour with high magical protection (you may have found a Karolos Glintstone Crown and Raya Lucarian Robe during your foray through the Academy - both offer good magic protection). If you’re a magic-user, you may have also found a spell such as the Magic Fortification incantation, which can boost your magic damage negation for a short time. Scour your inventory for anything like this which can help you tank the Red Wolf’s magical attacks.
2. Roll into the Red Wolf’s leap attack
The Red Wolf doesn’t have a high health pool, and it’s in your interests to remain aggressive so as not to prolong the fight. One of the best moments for a melee character to deal some damage is just after the Red Wolf’s high leap attack with the flaming sword in its mouth. This move is very clearly telegraphed, and easy to avoid. Dodge into the attack, and you’ll end up right next to the Wolf as it is recovering, giving you an opportunity to get in some crucial blows.
3. Memorise the boss’s simple combos
Unlike the major bosses you’ve faced so far, such as Margit and Godrick, the Red Wolf of Radagon uses relatively short combos. This makes it very easy to learn his attacks. His physical bite attack is just a three-hit combo (the third hit slightly delayed), and his non-leaping sword attacks are always two-hit combos. After each of these attacks, he takes a moment to recover, giving you an opportunity to hit him at least once.
4. Don’t dodge too early
You’ll see in the above video that I should take my own advice here: but equally it’s a good way of demonstrating the point. Certain of the Red Wolf’s attacks, particularly with the sword, are delayed more than the simple bite attacks, inviting you to dodge-roll too early and be punished. Watch out for this. It’s also a good idea to try and time your dodge-rolls in order to avoid simultaneous attacks from both the Wolf itself and the flying glintstone daggers it summons. It will summon these daggers sometimes one at a time, but often three at once; and they will loiter for a moment before targeting you. This means you often have to dodge both daggers and the Wolf’s next attack with a single roll. So be sure to time this roll carefully, rather than panicking and dodging too early. That wraps up this walkthrough of the fight against the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring. You’ll earn a powerful greatsword as a reward for felling this boss, and you can learn more about it over on our Elden Ring best weapons guide. You can also check out our Elden Ring best armour guide to help you survive future fights.
