Golden Hippopotamus is one of the easier bosses to find in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and has a relatively small set of attacks compared to bosses like Divine Beast Dancing Lion and Rellana.

But having a few moves doesn’t mean it’s easy to defeat. During the battle, one slight mistake on your part could put you in trouble. This guide will introduce the steps to defeat Golden Hippopotamus and its location, so that you are prepared for this battle.

Locations Of Golden Hippopotamus

Golden Hippopotamus is located in the courtyard in the center of Shadow Keep, and you will collide with him head-on if you enter from the southern entrance of Scadu Altus. Technically, this boss is an optional boss, but defeating him will give you two Scadutree Fragments as a reward, so it’s worth fighting him.

If you don’t have an NPC ally to help you, you can summon your Spirit Ash companion.

Preparation Before The Battle

As far as we know, this monster is weak in slashing damage and also has a poor balance. So you can break its balance by using gravity magic or strong attacks. In terms of skills, Rock Sling is recommended.

Even if you miss the hitbox that provides you with a critical hit during the fight with it, you can still cause serious damage by attacking its head.

In terms of weapons, swords, greatswords, and daggers are all very reliable helpers. Backhand Blade may not have such high scaling, but it provides fast strikes and unique Ash of War that allows you to dodge around the target, so you may also consider bringing it.

In addition, Blackgaol Knight’s sword is also a good choice. If you are using a magic build, any Elden Ring Items that can increase Faith or Intelligence can be used for you.

If you only want assists, then you need to start Hornsent’s questline first, because they can become your combat allies in this battle. In addition, you can also let your Spirit Ash summon do the work, especially if you have a Mimic Tear.

With Mimic Tear at level 6 and above, and Revered Spirit Ash at level 4 and above, Golden Hippopotamus can be defeated entirely with Spirit Ash companions. Besides this, Black Knife Tiche, Nightmaiden and Swordmistress Puppets, and Swordmaster Yosh, can all make you a cup of tea in battle.

It is important to note that you must make sure to upgrade your Elden Ring Items. If you run out of Smithing Stones or Glovewort, you need to return to Lands Between and get some Bell Bearings for Maiden Husks for them.

Steps To Fight

Golden Hippopotamus behaves similarly to Ulcerated Tree Spirits, with most of its lethal damage coming from its head and mouth. It has a long body and neck that stretches far out to prevent you from running away.

On the plus side, Golden Hippopotamus is afraid of direct damage because of its enormous size, which means you have more safe attack points to fight it than other bosses, especially since you have Spirit Ash to distract it.

Phase 1

Golden Hippopotamus will only attack you a few times in the initial stage, which may sound difficult to deal with, and it is, as these attacks are linked together. Golden Hippopotamus also moves faster than you think, so it is easy to be grabbed and knocked down before you can react.

After you fall, it will greet you with its mouth wide open and rush towards you. This attack will knock you to the ground again, leaving you vulnerable to follow-up attacks. Even if your armor is strong, you should try to dodge forward or sideways.

You can also avoid its head attacks this way. For example, if it’s running towards you with its mouth open, you can roll forward; when it’s about to bite you, you can dodge sideways.

Phase 2

When you get Golden Hippopotamus down to half its health, it will stop for a moment and golden branch-like thorns will grow on its back. You can use this time to perform some additional attacks from time to time, but be careful not to stay too long.

At this time, Golden Hippopotamus will send a burst of holy water spikes around, and it will occasionally repeat this attack if you stay close to it for a long time. It will signal this by shaking its body, so you need to be prepared in advance. This attack has a range of about two dodge rolls, so you don’t need to retreat too far. Avoiding the spikes is mainly based on luck, because all the spikes are strewn with sizeable gaps between each spike.

Rolling sideways at this time will put you in danger, so the best way to deal with it is to dodge forward. The most dangerous attack is when Golden Hippopotamus jumps into the air and stays there for a few seconds before falling and rolling forward. This move is very powerful and can kill you if you are not at full health.

Given the size of Golden Hippopotamus, your best bet for surviving is to dodge forward as it falls, or, if you are far from the impact point, dodge forward as it rolls towards you.

At this stage, Golden Hippopotamus will replace the previous head swing with a powerful bite. It will lunge forward to bite, then turn its head to the side, so you need to stay away from its face. In addition, its major method - charging is also used at the same time.

Both attacks give you the opportunity to get close to the side or back of Golden Hippopotamus and quickly reduce its health with your melee attacks. If you want to deal more damage, you can use string or charged attacks and powerful weapon skills to break Golden Hippopotamus’ balance.

When you defeat Golden Hippopotamus, you will get:

• Aspect of Crucible: Thorns incantation
• Inspired form Hippo’s spines
• Two Scadutree Fragments

Hopefully, you can easily defeat Golden Hippopotamus according to the steps in this guide, and have fun exploring Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC!