Messmer Guide and Location (Elden Ring DLC Boss)

How to Beat Messmer the Impaler in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Our Messmer guide for the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree expansion covers everything you need to defeat the DLC boss.

This is likely the fourth boss you will face from the new DLC, after you defeat Divine Beast Dancing Lion, Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, and Golden Hippopotamus.

After you beat Messmer the Impaler, head to our guides for Romina, Saint of the Bud and Promised Consort Radahn.

If you’re looking for a DLC build instead, check out our Elden Ring build guides.

Location

Messmer the Impaler can be found at the top of Shadow Keep in Scadu Altus

Reward

After you kill this boss you get his remembrance and can be rewarded with multiple things:

You can purchase his armor from Enia.
You can purchase Spear of the Impaler (his weapon)

- This is a Greatspear with the Great Spear moveset.
  - It requires 14 Strength, 35 Dexterity, and 18 Faith to wield.
  - Has a unique Ash of War that unleashes a spinning flamming tornado, which can be extended with another press on the Ash of War button which will unleash a big wave of spear thrusts, this can again be extended with another press for a plunge which causes and an explosion followed by spears knocking everything up around you.
  - This weapon deals mixed damage being part Physical, part Fire damage.
Messmer’s Orb (A powerful Incantation)
- This is an Incantation wielded by Messmer the Impaler that summons a Fire orb that soars at your foe exploding in a huge amount of Fire damage.
- It requires 60 Faith to wield and uses 2 spell slots.
- It has a long cast animation that leaves you vulnerable but if you put enough distance between yourself and the enemy it will not be long enough for them to interrupt you.
You get Messmer’s Kindling, required for progressing the story.

Recommended Level for Attempt

Like the other bosses, it’s recommended to get Scadutree fragments and fight him when you have between 9 and 11 levels on your Scadutree. Next to that, it’s recommended to be at least level 150 like the whole DLC.

Damage Types

Strong Against

Being the wielder of Messmer’s Flame it’s no surprise that he is very resistant against fire damage. He is also more durable against Magic and Lightning damage but to a lesser extent.

Weak Against

Messmer because of his innate strength against Fire damage, has an innate weakness against Frostbite.

He is also weak against Bleed which tends to destroy him. Dual blades with Bleed shred him while powerstancing 2 Great Hammers or Collosal Swords can easily break his stance.

Two Phases

Messmer has 2 very distinct phases. This first one starts when you enter the arena where he is in Demigod form. Here he mostly uses a lot of fire attacks, delayed attacks, huge combo attacks, and occasionally throws his spear or fireballs.

The second one occurs once you get him down to 50% HP. He gets a ton more range in this phase using a variety of Snake form attacks that can reach you across the entire arena, some melee attacks, and some mixed between the two.

Notable Attacks

Attack Name	Description	Counter
Spear Thrust	In close range, Messmer will thrust his spear forward, sometimes covering it with fire and doing this repeatedly.	The tell is sometimes hard but you can dodge these with correct timing. They are however delayed attacks so another good strategy is to just back off.
Double Spear Swing	In close range, Messmer will swing his spear to the right, then to the left.	You can easily roll this move.
Leaping Spear Throw	Messmer will leap in the air, then throw a spear that will explode on impact.	You can easily roll this attack since the frames are generous, just look at his left arm for the tell.
Messmer’s Assault	A large multihit combo where Messmer will: – Jump towards the target’s right back side. – Perform a flurry of spear thrusts. – Attack from above. – Plunge his spear into the ground making it explode and making spears appear from the ground.	This is a doozy one to dodge. So it requires some practice. – Roll to your right back. – Roll towards him or back to mitigate the spear thrusts. – Roll towards him again. – After the spears appear roll towards him and either punish or heal.
Fire Grab	Messmer’s hand will glow after which he will grab you dealing a ton of damage likely killing you.	The tell is very easy just beware that you need to back off or roll delayed.
Messmer’s Orb	Messmer leaps into the air, summons a fireball in his hand, and then leaps towards you making the fireball explode after a short delay.	Messmer will always do this attack as his opener and will only occur in phase 1. Just roll the impact and explosion and you have free time to attack or heal.
Explosive Bite	Same as Messmer’s Orb, but now with a snake. He will always do this as his opener for phase 2.	Same dodge timing as Messmer’s Orb.
Snake Attack	Messmer transforms into a snake and attacks up to 3 times with a huge range.	Dodge at specific timings to avoid damage. You can punish him after the third attack.
Wrath of the Serpent	Messmer releases an AOE scream that damages after which snakes will chaotically bite around him. Next, the snakes will attack after which he will do parts 3 and 4 from the Messmer’s Assault attack.	Back away, you cannot punish this attack until it ends, and rolling the AOE scream is impossible. After he finishes the attack you can punish him.
Teleport	Messmer will teleport below you and attack in serpent form.	Just back away from the pool which shows up on the floor.
Messmer’s Finesse	Messmer will back off and thrust toward you at the end of a combo with his spear.	Back away and use the moment to heal or close distance.

Messmer has giant combos that can one-shot you if hit by a single part of it. there is however a ton of counterplay to him and we will explain why here and above in the attack guide.

Phase 1

Messmer will always open with Messmer’s Orb. This means you always get a free hit once you know how to dodge this attack since it leaves him open.

Do not try to just hit him without him finishing one of his attacks because this will swiftly be punished with heavy-hitting attacks.

The big attack to be careful about is Messmer’s Assault because this attack can 100-0 you if you aren’t careful. The rest of his attacks don’t have the hardest timing except for some being delayed which can catch you off guard.

Timing windows to attack/heal

Some of the best windows are right after his big combos like the Messmer’s Assault.

Spear thrust and Messmer’s Orb are also great windows to heal after or hit after. Especially with Messmer’s Orb being his opener this will always give you a free hit.

Phase 2 (50% HP)

Phase 2 is another demon however, the point as above still stands with the best windows to heal or attack are after his big combo but now Messmer gets a lot more range, attacks that aren’t safe to go after.

This is mainly because Messmer’s Finesse is not a good window to attack him since usually, he will do a snake attack right after.

General Tips

Messmer is one of the main antagonists going into the DLC and he surely makes himself known. He has a grab attack that nearly one-shots you if it doesn’t, he is unrelenting in his aggression and he has long attack strings that if not dodged kill you on the spot.
With that in mind here are some tips that can make this boss fight easier:

Don’t go in for hits before he ends his combo

While it can be very easy to go in for a hit, he will punish this heavily often taking half your HP if not more as a trade-off. With that war of nutrition, you will eventually lose.
Waiting for his attacks and combos to end not only gives free hits but also a breathing space to heal.

Get good armor

Defense is a godsend against most bosses in this DLC, and this can save your life in some of his combos.
The Poise can also make you withstand staggers which can otherwise make a combo once it hits instant death.
The Defence is also the most important factor in reducing Damage together with the Scadutree Fragments.
Some other ways to increase your Defense are with Talismans or Incantations that reduce your physical damage like Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman(20%), Opaline Hardtear Physick(15%), Golden Vow(Spell)(10%), Black Flame’s Protection(35%), Braggart’s Roar(10%), Endure(45%) and last but more specific for this boss the Flamedrake Talisman+3 which reduces Fire damage by 22%.
This, of course, is way too much to do for one build, but using a few of these is heavily recommended to make the bosses that much easier.

Don’t fight him too early

Messmer is a daunting boss and a big obstacle in the DLC, you can make him much easier than he has to be however by exploring the map and getting Scadutree Fragments.
Scadutree levels 1-10 will decrease your damage taken drastically making you able to survive certain combos.
Next to that, every Scadutree level increases your damage by 5% which can add up to 2x your damage at level 20(which is far too high for this boss).
Aim for level 10-12 for this boss to make it a good challenge but not like hitting a brick wall.

Elden Ring Bosses Guides