Bosses Be Gone: How to Defeat Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree
Defeating the first boss of the largest dungeon is not an easy job. Let's check out the ways to accomplish this task.
If you’ve been progressing through Shadow of the Erdtree, you must’ve gotten the point that it’s featured more challenging bosses than the base game. Like Elden Ring, even the optional bosses in the DLC require a few tries to be taken down. They are in no way less powerful than the main story bosses, and undoubtedly Golden Hippopotamus will come at the top of the list.
If you’ve taken down the Divine Beast Dancing Lion or Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, you might’ve assumed none can give you a harder time, but this idea will get a hard hit when you face the Golden Hippopotamus. Technically, it’s an optional boss, but it blocks your path. So, it’s essential to remove this Golden Hippopotamus boss. If you get stuck in this fight, this guide will provide you with all the necessary information.
Bosses Be Gone: How to Defeat Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree
Optional bosses are pretty challenging. So, irrespective of where they appear, players should take them seriously and go with proper preparation for the fights. Sometimes they provide players with more challenges than major world bosses. Therefore, if you want to clear your way and fight the Golden Hippopotamus in Shadow of the Erdtree, we recommend going with proper preparation. However, let’s start with its location.
Where to Find Golden Hippopotamus in Shadow of the Erdtree
This giant enemy will be found as you try to enter the third and biggest legacy dungeon of the game, Shadow Keep. Precisely, it is found in the central courtyard of Shadow Keep. Now, this may be a valid question: why is this an optional fight? Well, the reason is that Shadow Keep can be approached from two sides.
If you enter the dungeon from the eastern side, this boss fight is not necessary. But if you are at the southern entrance of the dungeon, you have to go through the room where this gigantic hippopotamus enemy is located.
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Once you have taken down Rellana, Twin Moon Knight in Castle Ensis, and gotten access to Scadu Altus, keep going forward until you reach the Highroad Cross Site of Grace. From this Site of Grace, keep progressing toward the north. As you progress, you will eventually find a fortress becoming visible in front of you. That’s your destination, and use the elevator to reach the boss arena on the next floor.
Now that you have found the boss and the arena, it is time to fight the enemy. This fight is going to be memorable, so get prepared and then enter the arena.
How to Beat Golden Hippopotamus in Shadow of the Erdtree
Like Rellana and the Dancing Lion, this boss also has only a few attacks, but that doesn’t mean this fight is straightforward. Even with his handful of attacks, this boss has the ability to eliminate players a few times before they properly understand the situation. This aggressive enemy has a few deadly attacks to throw you out almost instantly.
Remember, players can summon Spirit Ash to accompany them to take this enemy down. Though any Spirit Ash of your preference will work, Mimic Tear may give you the best outcome, as it will have all your weapons and equipment with it. Alternatively, you can summon Black Knife Tiche, Swordmaster Yosh, or Swordmistress Puppets to help you in this fight.
Initially, the boss seems to have no weakness, but that’s not the truth. Like every other boss, the Hippopotamus comes with his own set of weaknesses. As we have figured out, this enemy is weak to bleed and frost damage. So, try to use weapons that either do bleed damage or frost damage. Though the camera angle will give you trouble throughout the fight, players still need to aim for the head of the enemy to deal the maximum damage possible.
Being the first boss of the biggest legacy dungeon in the game, the enemy has some surprising abilities that may overwhelm players for a few seconds. Sometimes, the boss moves faster and launches a chain of attacks that don’t give players any chance to react. For example, the Hippo generally welcomes players with an attack, where he runs toward them with his mouth wide open.
If it hits, players will be thrown to the side of the arena, and immediately after that, the enemy smashes its head and neck into the ground. Once they are knocked down by the first attack, players become vulnerable and off-guard. Most importantly, the other two attacks will come almost immediately without giving them (players) a chance to counter them. Now, if these attacks hit, you will be eliminated.
So, whenever you see him coming with his mouth open, run away from him. About the headslams, don’t try to dodge them from any side; instead, roll forward to avoid getting hit. This is the most frequent attack the boss has in the first phase of the fight. Apart from that, the boss occasionally uses the Sideway Bite and Head Bash Combo, where he tries to launch a bite attack near his right shoulder, which is followed by a head bash to the left. Roll to the other side to avoid them.
Finally, the last and most deadly attack of the boss is the Delayed Head Bash Combo. In this attack, the boss charges its head toward the right side and throws it up at players. This attack is followed by a head-bash. Once you have dealt enough damage to the enemy and his health reaches 40%, the second phase will begin.
This is the most challenging phase of the fight, where the enemy will get spikes like a porcupine and start shooting them upward. After a bit, these spikes will rain on players. Keep running throughout the arena to avoid this spike rain. Another attack in this phase is when the boss jumps into the air and falls towards the player. As soon as it lands, he will start rolling. Again, keep running to avoid getting hit.
This fight will take time, without question. But once you take it down, you will get Aspects of the Crucible: Thorns Incantation and Scadutree Fragment. So, the effort is worth investing in the fight. Now if this Hippopotamus is giving you trouble, you may face the same thing while fighting Ghostflame Dragon in the game. Therefore, go through our guide for all the required strategies.
Additionally, for any confusion or queries regarding Shadow of the Erdtree gameplay mechanisms or boss fights, don’t forget to check out our guides for help.
