How to Beat Margit, the Fell Omen - Elden Ring Boss Guide

Of all of the bosses that you encountered up until now, this one is easily the most challenging. Margit has a mix of quick attacks, slow devastating strikes, and attacks that are delayed to bait you into dodging prematurely, which makes him a formidable foe. Additionally, the boss will become more dangerous during Phase 2, which begins around 60% health.

Rewards: Talisman Pouch. Additionally, once this boss is defeated, you will gain access to the first Legacy Dungeon: Stormveil Castle.
Summons Available: Yes

Note that if you’re really struggling to get past Margit, you have two other viable routes to take: you can head to the Weeping Peninsula to do some more leveling, or you can skip Stormveil Castle completely (for now) and continue to Liurnia of the Lakes (see here for details on the skip). Not exactly the behavior of an Elden Lord to be, but the options are there.

General Tips

Since Spirit Summons are available for this fight, you should definitely utilize them if you’re struggling with Margit. The Lone Wolves will work well, and the higher HP of the Jellyfish and the relative tankiness of the Skeletal Militiaman also make them good choices.
It’s relatively easy to stagger Margit if you’re using heavy attacks, so focus on punishing the end of his combos where he stabs/slams his weapon into the ground with jumping/heavy attacks.
You can purchase Margit’s Shackle from Patches in Murkwater Cave — this is usable twice during Phase 1 of this fight, and briefly locks Margit to the ground, allowing you to get good free damage in. Make sure you’re using jumping and charged heavy attacks while he’s immobilized.
Margit often has a delayed third attack in his combo, so watch for this and try to learn his moves so you can be prepared to dodge late on his final attack.

Melee Strategy

The boss’s moveset being quite extensive, it might take you a few attempts to get used to his attacks. The key here is to remain patient, and wait for safe moments to punish the boss. Two good moments to land several attacks will be the regular Reverse Swipe and any sort of hammer slam. For the Reverse Swipe, you can just strafe around the boss, which will give you enough time to attack the boss 3-4 times, depending on your weapon. While with the hammer slams you won’t have as much time, they’re also fairly easy to dodge. Try to dodge towards the boss instead of backwards, which should give you enough time to hit the boss a couple times.

Ideally, you want to hit the boss in his backside as this will usually result in a Tail Swipe, which is an easy attack to dodge. Here you can choose to either dodge backwards out of melee range, to wait for another opportunity, or roll forward instead to get another hit in afterwards. If you decide to dodge forward, you’ll most likely have to immediately dodge away from the boss to avoid his counter attacks.

Most importantly, avoid being overly aggressive and trying to take the boss head-on. Wait for an opportunity to punish him, and just continue dodging until then. Alternatively you can parry this boss, though you will need to parry him twice in a row in order to leave him vulnerable. Frequently you’ll only be able to sneak in a rolling light attack (by attacking out of the roll you use to dodge the last move in the combo), but after any attack where he stabs/slams his weapon into the ground, you can usually get a jumping attack off (however, sometimes he’ll materialize a dagger after stabbing the ground, so don’t punish these attacks if you’re low HP).

Spirit summons are of course useful here, and let you get off plenty of jumping attacks while his back is turned. Combined with the damage your summon(s) are doing, you should easily stagger him and open him up for a critical attack. If you use the Spirit Ashes the moment you walk in, and try to roll through Margit’s first attack, he should end up fighting your summons near the entrance. This will let you do jumping attacks downhill at him, which can let you sometimes jump over his attacks if he switches targets to you. Don’t forget to 2-hand your weapon for extra damage and stagger!

Ranged Strategy

Spirit summons will be of particular help if you’re trying to use a ranged strategy. It’s a good idea to only take 1 or 2 Crimson Flasks, and allocate the rest to FP so you can cast enough spells to kill Margit. Summoning a cooperater is also a good idea (Sorcerer Rogier’s summon sign is just to the right of the fog gate, or you can summon a human player by using a Furlcalling Finger Remedy).

You won’t have time to cast spells after most combos if you’re in melee range, so don’t bother casting unless you’ve managed to make some distance. The best way to do this (besides having him attack your summons) is to never get too close, and dodge away from him right when he starts his combos — try to make as much distance as possible. If you’re lucky, it will be a combo that doesn’t allow him to close the distance — you can then cast a spell while he completes it. Sometimes, he’ll jump backwards and then just stare at you — this is your other window for attacking; make sure you start your spell as soon as you see him leaping.

Avoid spells such as Dragonfire, which are longer to cast, and will leave you vulnerable to this boss’s swift attacks. Additionally, the boss will sometimes stand further away without approaching you, which will be a good opportunity to cast a quick spell. Still, your best bet is to summon the NPC by the fog gate (or a human player) and also use Spirit Ashes — if you do both of these things, you should be able to take him down from range before all your allies are defeated.

Moveset

Unlike most other bosses, Margit has many variations for his attacks, and will at times chain several of them in a row:

Dagger Throw: The boss throws one to two magical daggers forward, and occasionally will do a small leaping attack forward as a follow-up. The leap will turn into a Leaping Hammer Slam in Phase 2. Roll to the side to dodge, and watch out for a second dagger throw or a follow-up hit.
Dagger Throws Into Leap: After throwing both daggers, the boss leaps into the air and thrusts his weapon downward after a small delay. The leap will turn into a Leaping Hammer Slam in Phase 2. Watch out for the delay, roll backwards to dodge the regular leap, and roll towards the boss to dodge the hammer slam.
Reverse Swipe: While this attack starts slow and is easy to dodge, it can be followed up by either Dagger Throw, or Dagger Throws Into Leap. In Phase 2, the boss can follow it up with another regular swing, followed by a delayed hammer slam. Careful of the delay while dodging.
Reverse Swipe Charge: The boss will raise his weapon above his head, before charging forward and unleashing two reverse swipes in a row. Dodge towards the boss to avoid them.
Tail Swipe: Margit swings his tail to attack you while turning around to face you. Will only use it if you’re standing behind him, can be dodged by rolling backwards or forward.
Quick Upward Swing: Self-explanatory attack. Roll to the side to avoid it.
Quick Dagger Attack: The boss will sometimes unleash a fast dagger attack that can be followed-up by another strike. Also, a slam with his staff will sometimes follow this combo. This one is harder to dodge, but it can be avoided by not trying to attack the boss head-on.
Dagger Swing Into Backward Leap: Margit will quickly swing his dagger in front of him, before jumping backwards and throwing a dagger in mid-air. Roll backwards to dodge the swing, and dodge the dagger throw sideways.
Swipe Hammer Combo: While this attack resembles the Reverse Swipe, here the boss will swing both his weapon and hammer at the same time. Roll backwards to avoid getting hit, and be careful of the hammer coming shortly after the staff.
Leaping Hammer Slam: Margit will leap high into the air before coming down with his hammer after a small delay. This attack deals area of effect damage, so make sure to dodge roll even if you’re not under it. Roll towards the boss to dodge the hammer and be in a position to land a few hits.
Whirlwind Attack: This attack begins with a reverse sword swing, followed by 3 more spinning attacks while moving forward. Keep your distance from the boss, and keep rolling backwards.
Swords Attacks: His sword attacks will show up in Phase 2, and can be either a regular swing, or a thrust forward. While the swing can be dodged backwards, the thrust should be dodged sideways, or sideways toward the boss.