Why The Fire Giant Is A Bad Boss: A Deep Dive Into Elden Ring’s Colossus
The Fire Giant, a towering behemoth dwelling in the Mountaintops of the Giants, is a mandatory boss in Elden Ring. While visually impressive and boasting a lore-rich backstory, the encounter often leaves players frustrated rather than thrilled. The core issue lies in a combination of factors: an excessively large health pool, devastating damage output, and a fight design that feels more tedious than challenging. In short, the Fire Giant is a bad boss not because it’s hard, but because it’s hard in a way that isn’t engaging or rewarding, making it a significant hurdle in the game that many players dread.
The Problematic Design of the Fire Giant Fight
The Fire Giant’s primary sin is its bloated health bar. The sheer amount of health it possesses, combined with its significant resistances, results in a lengthy battle that can feel like a tiresome DPS check rather than a strategic encounter. Players are forced to repeatedly chip away at its health, often leading to frustration and a sense of wasted time. This issue is exacerbated by the boss’s erratic movement patterns and large size, which make it difficult to consistently land attacks and punish openings.
Furthermore, the Fire Giant’s damage output is immense. Even with high vigor and decent fire resistance, a single hit from one of its attacks can often take away the majority of a player’s health bar. These massive hits frequently result in the player feeling overwhelmed, forced to play cautiously, and significantly slowing down the pace of the fight, adding to the monotonous gameplay loop. Two particular attacks highlight this issue: the slow-moving, exploding fireballs with massive AOE, and the incredibly fast, homing fireballs, both capable of dealing immense damage. The lack of consistently reliable tells for these attacks, coupled with their sheer power, can make dodging more a matter of luck than skill, contributing to the frustrating experience.
The fight also heavily relies on horseback combat, which, while unique for a boss in Elden Ring, is not a mechanic that players are often practiced or comfortable with. This further complicates the encounter and adds an extra layer of difficulty for players who prefer to fight on foot. Torrent, the spectral steed, is often clunky to control during the fight and vulnerable to taking damage. This often ends with the player having to deal with dismounted combat and the Giant’s attacks.
Ultimately, the Fire Giant fight boils down to a battle of attrition where players must endure the boss’s repetitive moveset, massive health pool, and devastating attacks. It fails to provide a sense of accomplishment beyond the relief of finally finishing the encounter. It lacks the creative engagement and nuanced strategy that make other Elden Ring bosses compelling.
Why the Fight Feels Unfair
Unlike other challenging Elden Ring bosses, such as Malenia, Blade of Miquella, the Fire Giant doesn’t offer a clear path to improvement through skill. Malenia, despite her immense difficulty, allows players to learn her patterns, develop strategies, and improve their execution, leading to a rewarding experience upon victory. The Fire Giant’s attack patterns and hitboxes, however, feel less intuitive and more chaotic, making it difficult for players to feel a sense of control over the encounter.
The forced use of Torrent also contributes to the feeling of unfairness. The boss arena is large and requires horseback mobility, effectively making Torrent mandatory. This requirement introduces another layer of control and vulnerability that players often feel is outside their expertise, as Elden Ring isn’t a game where horse combat is a central element.
In summary, the Fire Giant isn’t a “hard” boss in the sense of requiring complex mechanics and quick reflexes. Instead, it’s a frustrating experience characterized by a tedious health bar, untelegraphed attacks, and the forced usage of clunky horse combat, making it an unwelcome roadblock on the way to completing the game.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Fire Giant
Here are 15 frequently asked questions about the Fire Giant, providing further insights and clarification:
1. Is the Fire Giant a necessary boss in Elden Ring?
Yes, the Fire Giant is a mandatory boss in Elden Ring. Players must defeat it to progress further in the main story and unlock key areas later in the game.
2. What type of villain is the Fire Giant?
The Fire Giant is considered a major antagonist and a boss character. Its lore connects it to the larger conflict between Queen Marika and the giants, making it a significant obstacle for the player.
3. What are the Fire Giant’s main attacks?
The Fire Giant utilizes a variety of attacks, including slow-moving exploding fireballs, fast homing fireballs, melee attacks with its metal dish, and stomping attacks.
4. Why does the Fire Giant have a face on its chest?
The face on the Fire Giant’s chest appeared after the giant tore off its injured leg. The magmatic blood that flowed from the wound covered the chest area, causing the face to open and increase its strength.
5. What is the Fire Giant’s weakness?
The Fire Giant is vulnerable to scarlet rot, poison, glintstone magic, and lightning damage. Applying these elements can significantly aid in the fight.
6. Can you summon help for the Fire Giant fight?
Yes, you can summon Iron Fist Alexander if you have progressed his questline. You can also use Spirit Summons to assist in the fight.
7. Is the Fire Giant one of the hardest bosses in Elden Ring?
While it’s not necessarily among the most complex fights, the Fire Giant is often cited as one of the most frustrating and tedious, due to its massive health and damage.
8. What level should you be to fight the Fire Giant?
It’s recommended that players are around level 110 before attempting the Fire Giant fight. This allows for an appropriate level of damage output and survivability.
9. Who killed the other giants in Elden Ring?
Queen Marika the Eternal led an assault against the giants, fearing the power of their fire, with Marika herself striking down their Fell God.
10. Is the Fell God dead?
While Queen Marika supposedly slew the Fell God, lore suggests that it still lurks within the Fire Giants themselves, according to the Flame of the Fell God.
11. Does the Fire Giant use magic?
The Fire Giant uses fire-based abilities, but these are not explicitly referred to as magic. The fire attacks and abilities are more likely derived from their Fell God.
12. How old do Fire Giants get?
Fire Giants can live to be 350 years old.
13. Why is horse combat required for the Fire Giant?
The boss fight occurs in a large open area, forcing the use of Torrent to move between the boss and opportunities for safe healing and attacks.
14. What is the eye on the Fire Giant?
The eye is believed to be a manifestation of the Outer God of fire that the Fire Giants worship.
15. What do you do after defeating the Fire Giant?
After defeating the Fire Giant, players must proceed across the chain to the Forge of the Giants. At the grace site, players can talk to Melina to progress the story further.
Conclusion
While the Fire Giant serves its purpose as a challenging roadblock in Elden Ring, its design falls short of the standards set by other bosses in the game. The excessive health pool, the erratic attacks, and the forced horseback combat make the encounter more frustrating than engaging. While it’s a necessary obstacle for any player moving towards the game’s ending, the experience serves as a prime example of how artificial difficulty can detract from an otherwise compelling game experience.