FromSoftware’s latest action role-playing game, Elden Ring, has already sold over 10 million copies on PC alone. Without any doubt, players around the world can agree that Elden Ring is one of the best Souls-type games due to its open-world approach and stunningly beautiful scenery. But, despite its aesthetically pleasing graphics, Elden Ring is an unforgiving game that punishes players harshly.
And one way Elden Ringpenalizes players is through unique enemies that carry an arsenal of attacks and weapons aimed to pulverize a player’s playstyle. And among those enemies, there are some whose sole purpose is to upset players. But, which ones take the cake as the most annoying enemies to fight in Elden Ring?
Updated May 6, 2022 by Daniel Dilena: Almost every FromSoftware game has had enemies that test the limits of hardcore players, sometimes to the point of rage-quitting. And Elden Ring has annoying enemies to spare, even more so after some of them received slight adjustments to their stats. With those buffs, some enemies have stepped up to the podium of the worst enemies in Elden Ring.
15 Giant Crab
Crabs have been a reoccurring enemy in previous Souls games, so it’s no surprise that Miyazaki decided to add some in Elden Ring. And despite Giant Crabs being slightly easier to fight in the game (thanks to Torrent), they are still considered one of the worst enemies in Elden Ring.
And that’s because Giant Crabs can spew a mist of either Sleep or Death Blight (sometimes both) that’ll quickly kill a player or leave them incapacitated. Fortunately, players can quickly kill a Giant Crab using a Fire-based weapon like the Flamberge Greatsword.
14 Flame Chariot
There are three variations of the Flame Chariot (Single Cannon, Three Cannons, and Flame Vents) and all of them take the cake as Elden Ring’s worst enemies. One reason why the Flame Chariot is annoying to fight is that it’s quite tanky, forcing players to use lots of HP and FP flasks.
The only effective way of defeating a Flame Chariot is by backstabbing its driver, but even that is a challenge since they’re often located against walls. And if a player is successful in defeating one, they’ll need to leave the area as it’ll explode, causing massive damage to everything near it.
13 Mausoleum Knight
Players who use Lhutel The Headless Spirit Ash may already know what a Mausoleum Knight can do in a fight. But, two aspects of the Mausoleum Knight that grant him the rank of an annoying enemy are its vanishing and teleporting abilities.
So, players will need to use quick attacks since the Mausoleum Knight constantly teleports around the area. The Mausoleum Knight also vanishes for a few seconds before reappearing behind the player, so players must keep moving while fighting this enemy. And to make matters worse, some Mausoleum Knights have their swords imbued with Death Blight.
12 Fanged Imp
Fanged Imps can be found lurking around in nearly every Catacomb in Elden Ring, which makes them almost impossible to avoid. And while they have a powerful attack that causes Blood Loss, it’s their ability to blend with the environment that makes them one of the most annoying Elden Ring enemies.
Furthermore, the Fanged Imp is never alone, so players should expect to be ambushed if they only see one. And not to mention that Fanged Imps are immune to any debuff, which only adds to their long list of annoying features.
11 Chanting Winged Dame
Players should not be fooled by the angelic voice of the Chanting Winged Dame since this ill-omened creature is sure to ruin any player’s game session. That’s because the Chanting Winged Dame is as quick as they come (similar to the Lesser Runebear) despite resembling an old lady.
With her speed, she spews a mist of poison that can cover a large area in only a few seconds. As players can expect, fighting a Chanting Winged Dame head-on can spell death, so a ranged approach is recommended while facing them.
10 Rotten Stray
Undoubtedly, dogs in any Soulsborne game test a player’s ability to dodge several enemies at once, especially since most dog-type enemies come in packs. But, the Rotten Stray is among the most annoying of dog-type enemies since it searches and attacks players, even if they haven’t aggroed it.
On top of that, the Rotten Stray can cause some status effects that’ll slowly eat the life-force of any player if left unchecked, which is why it’s always good to know how to craft certain cures with the crafting bag. So, players do well in either using Torrent to get away or face the pack of Rotten Strays courageously.
9 Giant Crow
The Giant Crow is a hostile wildlife creature that players can find near the Forsaken Ruins by Caelid or Mohgwyn Palace. This ill-omened creature is annoying because it’s usually perched near ruins, potentially guarding precious loot, which means players will have to face their fears and slay it.
Moreover, the Giant Crow has a powerful beak attack that can easily guard-break any shields, which leaves a player defenseless. Fortunately, the Giant Crow drops over 11,000 Runes, making the encounter a little more tolerable, so if a player needs Runes, farm Giant Crows and avoid purchasing Runes from other players!
8 Marionette Gargoyle
This magic-imbued gargoyle can easily startle even the most experienced player since it sits high upon rooftops waiting to ambush unaware players. But, the real problem about facing the Marionette Gargoyle is that it wields a scythe (this is one of the many ways a player can obtain a scythe), which means it can easily attack a player from a distance.
On top of that, the boss version of the Marionette Gargoyle (aka Valient Gargoyle) can stun-lock a player before they can even move an inch. And to make matters worse, this annoying enemy has lots of HP and Defense, so taking it down won’t be easy.
7 Banished Knight
The Banished Knight has arguably one of the best-looking armors in Elden Ring but at the same time is one of the most annoying humanoid enemies to fight. This protector of Stormveil Castle has a massive tower shield that will shrug almost any basic attack with relative ease.
Moreover, the Banished Knight has a powerful three-combo move that will break a player’s shield stance. But, if a player has obtained the Seppuku Weapon Skill (one of the best skills in Elden Ring), then fighting the Banished Knight shouldn’t be too much trouble.
6 Preceptor Miriam
Players who enjoy playing PVP were ecstatic to know that Elden Ring had PVP Invasions, which is when other players invade another player’s gameplay session (but sometimes an Invasion can go horribly wrong). Apart from the possibility of being Invaded by a player, there’s also a chance that an NPC Invader appears in a player’s game session.
And one of the most annoying Invader NPCs a player can face is Preceptor Miriam. This mage wields various spells and incantations that will decimate an unprepared player. And to top it all off, the Preceptor Miriam can teleport around the area, making her a difficult (and annoying) foe to defeat.
5 Revenant
FromSoftware is known to create some of the most creepy and hideous beings in the video game industry, and with Elden Ring, they didn’t hold back. And the Revenant is one of the ugliest humanoid enemies in the game since it’s essentially a human spider (and nothing like Spider-Man!).
The Revenant is quite annoying to battle since it can create portals to flank a player. And if the player doesn’t deal with it quickly, the Revenant will unleash a flurry of attacks that’ll stagger them to death. The best way to deal with this mutated humanoid is using Holy Damage, so Astrologers or any incantation user can use any healing spell to deal damage to the Revenant and heal themselves.
4 Giant Lobster
Often called the Railgun Crustacean, the Giant Lobster has a powerful ranged attack capable of stunning a player after a couple of hits. But, the real reason why it’s annoying to fight is that it can shoot multiple projectiles in quick succession, making it almost impossible to dodge.
On top of that, the Giant Lobster blends in well in shallow bodies of water, which means it can surprise attack a careless player. The best way to counter this crustacean beast is by riding Torrent to get to the Giant Lobster’s head since it’ll be staggered after a couple of hits.
3 Giant Dragonfly
The Giant Dragonfly is far from being a giant, and in reality, it’s one of the smallest wildlife creatures in the game, so what’s the problem? Due to its size and, most importantly, its speed, it can dodge almost any melee, ranged, or magic attack.
And on top of that, it’s constantly moving around the player, so even if they lock on to it, it’s already gone by the time they attack. So, even though it can’t kill a player (unless they purposely want it to), it will annoy them to the point of giving up.
2 Ancestral Follower
The Ancestral Follower (specifically the one that wields a bow) is the bane of all players entering the Siofra River area. Undoubtedly, Elden Ring’s most annoying enemy since it essentially has aimbot enabled. And not only will every arrow hit the player, but it will also stagger the player to oblivion, leaving an open for the other Ancestral Followers to kill the player.
And even worse, the bow-wielding Ancestral Follower can shoot a player even if it’s far away, so the only way of surviving is by leaving the area with Torrent. Perhaps in a future update, players will be able to wield their powerful aimbot bows.
1 Lesser Runebear
Players who’ve played previous FromSoftware games are well aware that appearances can be deceiving, so new players should not let the Lesser Runebear’s bulky appearance deceive them. And that’s because despite being bigger than most wildlife creatures, the Lesser Runebear is a speed demon.
What makes the Lesser Runebear annoying to fight is that its fast attacks have a long-range reach, so fighting it in close combat is almost a death wish, especially for new players. Due to its ungodly speed, it’s one of the most annoying enemies in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
