RENNALA, QUEEN OF THE FULL MOON

Phase Strategy

Rennala is a test of pattern recognition, not reflexes. The fight is mechanically simple — FromSoftware designed her as a breather between Godrick and Radahn — but many players struggle because they misread the first phase as a combat encounter when it is actually a puzzle.

Phase I — The Puzzle Chamber

Rennala floats inside a golden barrier, protected by her students. They crawl on the ground and hurl debris — books, chairs, candles — at you from every angle. The arena is massive and disorienting. Ignore the students entirely.

Critical: Look for the three students glowing with golden light. They always spawn in different corners of the room. Hit each one once to break their shield. When all three are down, Rennala's barrier collapses and she falls to the ground — vulnerable for 8-10 seconds of free damage.

After you deplete her stagger window, the barrier reforms and the cycle repeats. Three golden students, three hits, free damage window. That's the entire phase.

Do not try to fight the crawling students. They respawn infinitely. Run past them, find the gold, break it, punish Rennala. Most deaths in phase 1 come from players who stop moving and get swarmed.

The students throw projectiles in waves. Sprint laterally — never in straight lines — and the books will miss. Rennala herself occasionally casts a Comet Azur-style beam while floating. It has no tracking; sidestep and keep hunting for gold.

You need 2-3 cycles to finish phase 1 with a +3 weapon. If you're taking longer, you're not hitting hard enough during her stagger — get closer before she falls.

Phase II — Queen of the Full Moon

Phase 2 is the real fight. Rennala descends from the sky, summons a Full Moon above her head, and the arena transforms into an astral plane. This is a pure sorcery duel — everything she does is magic-based.

Her phase 2 opener is always the same: Rennala's Full Moon sorcery. It's a slow-moving orb that tracks you. Sprint perpendicular to it for 3-4 seconds, then roll through as it closes. Do not panic-roll early; the moon has generous i-frames on late rolls.

After the opener, Rennala cycles through three attack types:

1. Summons — Spirit wolves, Bloodhound Knight, or a Dragon. She kneels and raises her staff.
2. Sorcery volleys — Magic Glintblades, Cometshard, or Rennala's Full Moon again.
3. Melee swing — A slow staff bonk if you're right in her face.

The summons are the priority threat. Kill them immediately. The Dragon especially will ruin your spacing. Rennala herself is passive while summoning — rush her and punish during the animation if you can, but prioritize the summon if it spawns before you reach her.

Rennala has no poise in phase 2. Staggering her interrupts her casts entirely. Jump attacks are the highest value punish — they deal stagger damage and close distance simultaneously.

Attacks & Counters

| Attack | Counter | |--------|---------| | Rennala's Full Moon | Sprint perpendicular for 3 seconds. Roll through at the last moment. Punish her during recovery. | | Comet Azur beam | She plants her staff and winds up. Strafe-walk left or right. The beam does not track. | | Magic Glintblade volley | Roll forward on a 1-count delay after each blade appears. They hover, then fire 0.5 seconds later. | | Cometshard (3x) | Sprint toward her at an angle. The comets have no side-tracking. | | Spirit Wolf summon | Kill the wolves first. They will corner you. Rennala does not punish during this. | | Bloodhound Knight summon | Bait the knight away from Rennala. Do not engage both at once. | | Dragon summon | Sprint away immediately. The dragon breath one-shots. Wait for it to despawn (15 seconds). | | Staff melee swing | Roll into her. She only uses this if you're within 2 meters. |

Recommended Loadout

Rennala is the easiest Shardbearer if you build correctly. She has no physical resistance and minimal poise.

• Spirit Ash: Lone Wolves +3 or Demi-Human Ashes. Fast summons that pressure her and interrupt casts. Do not use tanky summons — they're too slow to stop her sorcery chains.
• Weapon: Anything with reach. Claymore, Lordsworn's Greatsword, or any colossal weapon trivializes her stagger thresholds. Bleed is unnecessary — she has low HP.
• Talismans:
  • Spelldrake Talisman +1 (magic damage reduction, found in Siofra River)
  • Crimson Amber Medallion (HP boost)
  • Green Turtle Talisman (stamina regen for phase 1 sprinting)
• Items: Cerulean Hidden Tear in your Physick if you're a caster. Otherwise, standard healing flasks.

Caster builds: Rennala has 60% magic resistance. Do not use sorcery. Use Rock Sling (physical damage) or switch to melee for this fight.

Melee builds: This is your fight. Sprint through phase 1, then bully her in phase 2 with jump attacks. She cannot escape.

The Rebirth Mechanic

After defeating Rennala, she becomes a non-hostile NPC. Return to her chamber and interact with her to respec your character using Larval Tears. This is one of the most valuable services in the game — unlimited build experimentation.

Larval Tears are rare but farmable. The first guaranteed tear is in the Village of the Albinaurics (disguised as a rolling ball). Collect them as you explore; you'll want 3-5 by endgame.

Rennala is the game's permission to experiment. Stuck on a boss? Respec. Want to try sorcery? Respec. The game opens up dramatically after this fight.

Related Bosses

Rennala drops the Great Rune of the Unborn (unused in combat, but enables rebirth) and 40,000 runes. Her defeat opens the path to Caria Manor and eventually the Three Sisters — Ranni's questline begins there.

If you're following the main path, head to Altus Plateau next via the Grand Lift of Dectus. If you're hunting optional content, explore Ranni's Rise and start the longest, most rewarding questline in the game.