Radagon of the Golden Order is one of the final bosses in Elden Ring, the open world role-playing game from FromSoftware. The boss is not optional and must be defeated to finish the game.
What is the history of Radagon? Elden Ring, Story, Lore
Radagon is the male half of Queen Marika, the Eternal. It is not known exactly how he came to be, but some of the Queen’s offspring believe that the Greater Will split Marika in half after she became a goddess to limit her almost endless power.
Although Radagon is a part of Queen Marika, they both have their own bodies and each has a will of their own. When Marika married the first Elden Lord Godfrey after her ascension to Goddess and Vessel of the Elden Ring, Radagon led a raid against the realm of Liurnia under the Golden Order. During this battle, Radagon met and fell in love with Liurnia’s protector Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. Shortly thereafter, Radagon and Rennala married and had children together, such as the demigods Radahn and Rykard.
After Godfrey, no longer able to follow the Greater Will due to the loss of his will to fight, was disowned by Queen Marika, Radagon had to leave his wife. He was ordered back to Marika’s side and the two were married. However, Radagon left Rennala a parting gift in the form of a large egg made of amber. Enclosed in the egg is a Great Rune that grants the gift of Eternal Rebirth.
Centuries passed, during which the interlands slowly succumbed to an inexplicable decay. Queen Marika realized that it was the influence of the Greater Will that was corrupting the land, and she began to look for a way to break away from the deity. Radagon, however, was the exact opposite. He was loyal to the Greater Will and placed the Golden Order completely at the service of the gods from outside.
When it came to the destruction of the Elden Ring and the final descent of the interlands into chaos, Radagon tried to reforge the ring. It was impossible for him, however, because the parts of the ring had become the so-called Great Runes, which had spread all over the world and had become the cause of bitter power struggles.
The Greater Will foresaw that only Queen Marika could serve as the vessel of the Elden Ring. That is why she was imprisoned in the Earth Tree. Radagon had to follow her as punishment for his failure, and the two were reunited into a single body, which in time became corrupted and insane.
Where to find Radagon: Elden Ring
Players don’t encounter Radagon until the very end, when they reach the capital city of Leyndell. In a bizarre parallel version of the city, also called the Ashen City, players find the Elden Trohn. Here they meet Queen Marika, who transforms into Radagon and attacks the players.
Radagon’s body is visibly scarred from merging with his other half. His skin is burned to black charcoal and he is missing one arm completely, while the other is badly damaged. Runes glow on his torso and his long, red hair looks tangled and stringy. When the players find Radagon, he is carrying the hammer in his hand that was used to smash the Elden Ring back then. Radagon still hopes to reassemble the Elden Ring. Since tainted players who come to him are likely to be carrying most or all of the Great Runes, Radagon attacks players directly to take the runes he needs to recreate the Elden Ring.
Radagon in battle: strategy, Elden Ring
When players face Radagon, he attacks them with Holy-class attacks. Among other things, he can summon lightning and hurl it at the players. However, he is also able to briefly reshape his lost arm from pure energy to grab players with it and hurl them to the ground. His preferred weapon, however, is the hammer, which Radagon can swing so violently that the earth shakes on impact.
As a god, Radagon has significantly higher resistances to poison, freezer burn, and Scarlet Decay. While it is possible to inflict these status effects on him, it takes significantly longer than other bosses. Also, Radagon is completely immune to bleeds. In exchange, he has some weakness to burns and his attacks can be parried.
If players manage to defeat Radagon in battle, he unleashes the true power of the Elden Ring. He transforms into the Elden Beast, a monstrous vessel that carries out the orders of the Greater Will. In this form, Radagon is much slower, but his attacks are all the more dangerous. It is a god’s last stand to stop the influence of the Tainted before someone can become the new Elden Lord.