How to beat the Chief Bloodfiend in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Here's how to defeat the boss of the Rivermouth Cave to claim a new Spirit Ash summon.
The Chief Bloodfiend is the boss of the Rivermouth Cave in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. It's an optional boss, but defeating him will earn you a powerful new Spirit Ash summon, making it a worthwhile detour from Shadow of the Erdtree's critical path to try and get.
This large boss can be a tricky opponent to take down, however, as its weapon can cause serious blood loss if you're careless. If you need some help taking him down, read on below for our walkthrough on how to beat the Chief Bloodfiend in Shadow of the Erdtree.
How to beat the Chief Bloodfiend
The Chief Bloodfiend is an even larger version of the trolls you faced just a second ago in the big pool of blood outside in the main part of the Rivermouth Cave. It also wields a large and devastating axe weapon, and it can pack a real punch if you're not careful.
Like the forks and tridents used by its pals outside, the Chief Bloodfiend's weapon can inflict blood loss with each subsequent hit, so you'll want to try and dodge as many of its attacks as possible to make sure your health bar doesn't drain too quickly.
Fortunately, you can summon your own Spirit Ash to help take some of the brunt of this fight, so I'd recommend doing so to help keep the Chief Bloodfiend distracted.
The Chief Bloodfiend can leap up into the air and slam you from above, so dodge toward it at this point to avoid getting flattened - both by the monster and its axe club which it will slam down on the ground straight after landing.
It can also swing its fists back and forth to hit you three times, but this is easily avoided by dodging backwards and moving away from it.
The trickiest attack the Chief Bloodfiend has is its sweeping lunge - which it will start by leaping into the air, clutching its axe with both hands, and then swinging it horizontally in a sharp and fast slice. A strong shield can absorb this attack at the cost of some stamina, but you'll need to be quick to not get caught by the axe.
And for a delightful finish, it will also vomit blood on you, which is another attack that can inflict blood loss.
You'll do the most damage to it by attacking from behind - which is why having a Spirit Ash on hand to distract him from the front is so useful.
During the latter stages of the fight, the Chief Bloodfiend will start using a new claw attack, which you can see coming when its claws start glowing. Watch out, as this devastating horizontal attack will leave three bright red claw marks in the air, which then burst into flames and explode.
As long as you can keep the Chief Bloodfiend distracted with a Spirit Ash, though, it's reasonably simple to get in some critical hits to its back. Keep this up, and you'll take it down in no time.
On defeat, you'll be rewarded with: 80,000 runes, and the Bloodfiend Hexer's Ashes.
Now all that's left to do is use the teleporter to return back to the dungeon's entrance to continue exploring Gravesite Plain.
Continue to first boss: Divine Beast Dancing Lion
Need more help? Jump back to our list of Shadow of The Erdtree bosses or our Shadow of The Erdtree tips and tricks.