How to beat Mohg, Lord of Blood in Elden Ring

Mohg, Lord of Blood is an optional boss found in a secret area that can be easily missed during a full playthrough of Elden Ring.

But for Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Mohg is a required boss alongside Radahn. You’ll need to defeat him to get access to Miquella’s cocoon in the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum, and to be whisked away to the Land of Shadow.

In this guide, we’ll break down our best tips on how to beat Mohg in Elden Ring, including a few highly recommended items to get first, and if all else fails, a Mohg cheese.

Mohg location in Elden Ring

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Mohg, Lord of Blood is located in Mohgwyn Palace, a secret subterranean area located in the Siofra River Well region which features Nokron, Eternal City. However, despite Mohgwyn Palace being part of Siofra River Well, there is direct route from that location — instead, it requires the use of a teleporter to reach, such as by progressing Varré’s questline.

From there, you need to reach Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum. The nearest site of grace is the Dynasty Mausoleum Midpoint; from there, take the lift up to the Mausoleum proper (you might have to throw the switch on the right first), and enter the fog wall to meet Mohg.

How to prepare for Mohg in Elden Ring

There are multiple strategies for battling Mohg depending on whether you’re melee user or a ranged magic enthusiast, but whatever your playstyle, there are two items that can make a huge difference. We highly recommend you seek them out.

Get Mohg’s Shackle

Mohg’s Shackle behaves just like Margit’s Shackle — using this item will temporarily stun Mohg, up to two times and only during the first phase of the right. Use the shackle to get a few free hits in on old Mohg.

Mohg’s Shackle can be found in Leyndell, Royal Capital down in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds (where you’ll also find Dung Eater) where it is guarded by two giant crayfish. The above embedded video shows the exact location.

Get the Purifying Crystal Tear

This Crystal Tear will purify the Lord of Blood’s curse in a mixed physick, diminishing the powerful health-draining Nihil attack that Mohg does when he is at half health. The Purifying Crystal Tear is dropped by Eleonora, Violet Bloody Finger at the Second Church of Marika in Altus Plateau, who appears by progressing Yura’s questline. This Crystal Tear pairs well with the Speckled Hardtear in your Wondrous Physick mix.

As well as the above two items, other things to prepare include:

Bring lots of healing and blood loss prevention

Mohg will drain your health using his Nihil spell, and you may wind up chugging your healing flask repeatedly just to stay alive. He also inflicts hemorrhage (blood loss), so have Staunching Boluses equipped or use the Lord’s Aid incantation to diminish the effect.

When in doubt, Mimic Tear

The Mimic Tear (one of the best Spirit Ashes in the game) provides a great distraction for Mohg, letting you attack him from behind and breaking his poise to inflict extra damage. Or use the upgraded spirit summon of your choice. This is a judgment-free safe space.

Mohg weakness in Elden Ring

Mohg has strong resistance to fire, so inflicting frostbite and/or hemorrhage on him may be your best option. With all the blood loss going on around Mohg, you may want to equip the Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman, which raises attack power (by 20%) when blood loss occurs in the vicinity.

How to beat Mohg in Elden Ring

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Like many boss battles in Elden Ring, Mohg, Lord of Blood is a two-phase boss fight. In the first half, Mohg will inflict standard and pierce damage using his trident, and attack with sprays of bloodflame — a combination of fire and bleed damage that will build up over time.

Make sure you’ve equipped armor and talismans that negate physical, fire, and blood-based damage. Make sure you use Mohg’s Shackle, by the way — it only works in the first phase, so use it to get in some easy hits.

For the second half of Mohg’s boss fight, when he reaches 50% health, he’ll cast Bloodboon Ritual. This spell will heal Mohg considerably and inflict blood loss on the player, and this is where using the Purifying Crystal Tear will stop it causing significant harm.

From here, if you haven’t used one, now’s a good time to use a Spirit Ash of your choice — as mentioned above, Mimic Tear is your best bet — to provide a distraction in the second phase, especially as there will be more bloodflame to contend with all around you. Be vigilant of where it lands, stay mobile, and keep moving to help avoid these sprays.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

If you’re still struggling, then levelling up might help with your damage output and survivability — and the good news is the best rune farming method in the entire game is just round the corner.

Mohg cheese in Elden Ring

If you have done the above and are still struggling — or prefer to skip the above steps and get straight to victory — there is a cheese method that, at the time of writing in mid-June 2024, we have verified still works.

The long and short of the Mohg cheese is after starting the boss fight, then saving and reloading your save, you return to the Dynasty Mausoleum Midpoint site of grace and make your way down the cliff. Following a specific route down and across the rocky terrain below will lead you to a gap in the floor, which you can drop down while riding Torrent. By slashing the air as you freefall into the abyss for a couple of minutes, you’ll result in Mohg magically dying without laying a finger on him.

The above embedded video goes into the exact route in detail, and note if you die on the way down the cliffs, you must start the whole process over — a visit to Mohg and reloading your save and all. It’s a little tricky to pull off, but it works, and depending on your playtime, skill level, and patience, is arguably the best way to beat Mohg and get to accessing the DLC as fast as possible.