Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy is an optional boss in the game Elden Ring.

Location

Vulcan Manor. You can get to the boss in two ways.

First way

Complete each of Vulcan Manor’s orders, after which Tanith will personally transport you to the Overlord’s chambers (however, this can only be done after killing Morgott and Hoslow on the Giant’s Peaks);

Second way

Completely pass the entire Vulcan Manor from the manor itself, to the lord’s chambers (you will only need to kill the Aristocrat of the Divine Skin to do this). After killing the boss in the temple of Igli, take the elevator up to the lava lake and there will be an open window under the first notch under the bridge. Jump in there, climb the stairs, and go left, past the two lizards, and then right into the great hall. At the end of the hall there will be a portal that will take you to the boss.

Attacks

The first phase is in the form of the Serpent, the devourer of the gods.

The bite

The serpent lunges toward the player from one side. Sometimes it is followed by a second lunge from the opposite direction.

Grab

The snake raises its head high and lunges forward. If the attack hits the target, the kite grabs the player, hitting him twice, but causing damage only once.

Poison Spit

The serpent spits out several clots of poison, which disperse in different directions, instantly leaving a puddle of poison on the ground.

Magma Wave

The kite raises its head high and tilts it back. Then he strikes the ground with his chin, sending the magma outward in a very wide arc in front of him.

Magma eruption

The kite rises and turns its head to the left, and then plunges its face into the ground. After a short delay he lifts his head off the ground, causing a wide eruption of magma that moves forward in front of him.

Magma Fury

The serpent raises its head high, looking away with its mouth wide open. It then begins to lash out at the magma, spinning 360 degrees, swishing its head and tail, splashing magma in random directions.

The second phase is in the form of Ricard, the blasphemous lord. It begins after killing the serpent.

Sword Strike Combination

Ricard’s most common combination involves swinging the sword from left to right, then right to left, ending with a strike in front of him. Note that the second strike has a slight feint where he first strikes the side of the blade on the ground before turning it around to knock you off the dodge timing. Sometimes he won’t strike, and sometimes he performs a fourth attack, pulling his sword up immediately after striking, causing the ground in the area to explode.

Strike combo

Rickard presses his sword to his side, preparing to strike. He then begins to quickly strike the ground near his target. Sometimes, at the end of the combo, he makes a crushing attack, pulling his sword out of the ground and causing the ground to erupt.

Sword and Snake Bite Combination

Rickard swings his sword left, strikes with his snake head right, and lunges with his snake head left.

Magma Leap

Rickard leaps forward or backward, throwing volleys of magma in random directions as he strikes.

Exploding Skulls

Rickard extends his head forward and releases a small flaming skull from his mouth, which leaves a trail of fire along its trajectory. After a short delay, explosions cascade down the trail. Note that these skulls also appear periodically from the ground with different trajectories.

Snake Bite

Rickard turns his head to the left, revealing a snake, which then rushes forward to bite the player.

Rain of Skulls

When Rickard has about 50% health left, he raises his sword high above himself as if to reinforce himself. It will then rain many large flaming skulls from the sky, most of which fly toward the player and explode after a short delay when they reach their target or hit the ground. This rain of skulls will continue for quite some time, and Rickard will continue his standard set of moves as the skulls rain down.

Heavenly Cleaver

If Rickard is not killed during the Rain of Skulls phase, after a while he will complete the phase by raising his sword high up with both hands, aiming the fire in the sky at the blade. He will then cleave the ground directly in front of him with a blow, resulting in a fiery explosion.

Tactics

General Information.

  • When entering the arena, the boss is completely neutral to the player and “activates” only when approaching at close range.
  • The easiest tactic against the boss is to go at it with a Snake Hunter sharpened at least +3 or more for your convenience. The whole boss fight boils down to constantly stepping back to avoid lava damage, and dealing damage with any convenient spear attack, as well as the occasional dodge from the most dangerous attacks.
  • The only true and effective ashes against this boss will be False Tear’s Ashes, as it will copy the player, keeping a safe distance.
  • Fighting in Phase 2 is best finished before the boss uses Ricard’s Enhanced Grudge, otherwise the fight will become very difficult due to the mismatched timings of skull blasts and boss attacks.

Notes

  • Against the boss there is a unique weapon to simplify the battle – the Snake Hunter. The weapon lies just behind the fog gate (purple object on the left, don’t miss it). The weapon has a unique feature – when fighting Rickard, it gets a huge light blade and changes its entire muwset for easy boss combat, and its attacks start dealing about 8 times more damage.
  • Bosses of a similar plan have already existed in FromSoftware games: Giant Yorm from Dark Souls 3 and Lord of Storms from Demon’s Souls.