While most of the bosses in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree will likely make you cough up blood, Romina, the Bud Saint is an exception, as she’s the only major boss we killed on our first try. That’s rather odd, coming from a boss that the logical order of story progression requires us to take on after Messmer to unlock the Tower of Shadows. Either way, she’s oddly satisfying to take on, both for her exotic appearance and for her simple, straightforward, and easy-to-see attacks.
Preparations
- You can reach level 15 of Blessings of the Shadow Realm by collecting the majority of the Occult Tree Splinters available at this point in the game. This boss may be much harder than expected if you’ve been rushing across the entire continent without searching everything.
- As always, a spirit summon can make all the difference. There is no shame in using Mimicry.
- This boss’ damage is almost exclusively physical. Talismans and buffs that can reduce this damage will significantly help you survive.
- As for Malenia, plan for Immune balls will spare you a humiliating death if you are affected by the Scarlet rot that she will spread everywhere.
- Romina is relatively vulnerable to fire damage.
Fight
What probably explains the relative ease of this fight is that Romina adopts a design closer to that of the majority of the bosses in the base game. She keeps her distance when she’s not attacking, and she delivers big blows that you can see coming, rather than doing a chain of 5 attacks in 3 seconds. With a dodge or two or well-timed blocks, you can handle most of her attacks.
Attack of the Centipede : At mid-range, the centipede will attack you from right to left, 3 times in a row. Dodge, or move back out of range. You can also get close enough to naturally avoid some of these attacks.
Insectoid sweep : Romina will attack you with her centipede section at the start of the fight, or with her scorpion tail. It sweeps a wide area, but you can just jump over it. When the boss’s health is low, she will use an enhanced version of this attack, with the scorpion tail sweeping the area immediately after, so don’t get caught out.
Whirlwind Dive Attack : The boss gains altitude, then she spins twice with her spear as she descends. Roll in the direction the boss is coming from, or to the opposite side so you don’t have to roll twice.
Romina’s Rot : The boss gains altitude, then she sweeps the area twice with her spear. Once in the air as she passes, then a second time as she reaches the ground, she will sweep the entire area around her with her spear.
Putrescent butterflies : Myriads of seemingly harmless butterflies will appear all over the area. But if they come into contact with your character, or if the boss triggers the effect, they will explode, spreading scarlet rot. The explosion will set off a chain reaction with all the other butterflies.
As soon as you see butterflies, roll backwards, then move as far away from the boss as possible, until there are no more around you. Remember to watch your Scarlet Rot bar, and use a pellet if necessary. These butterflies do not inflict damage, which also explains the ease of the fight.
Reward: Bud Saint Souvenir
You can return to the Round Table to exchange memories from the expansion’s bosses. It’s a bit surprising that this boss has one.
You have two rewards to choose from:
- Bud Vouge : A spear with the same spinning attack as Romina. It has the huge advantage of accumulating Scarlet Rot on its basic hits, but you’ll need some Esotericism to use it.
- Putrescent butterflies : Same butterfly spell as Romina. It may find some use on large targets. It requires only one spell slot, and only 333 faith. There is no esoteric requirement, making it a good option for those who want to spread scarlet rot without using a dragon breath.
The most important one is certainly the possibility of setting fire to the tree hidden behind the boss arena. This will open the doors to Elden-Ilim, with the last two bosses of the DLC.
Blessings of the Shadow Realm Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: Where to find Splinters of the Eldtree and Revered Spirit Ashes?
In the Elden Ring DLC, FromSoftware has integrated a new system to progress your power. Discover how it works in this guide, as well as the position of the objects in order to obtain the Blessing of the Occult Tree and that of the Revered Spirit Ash.
