Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree – Who is Messmer the Impaler?

As you'd expect, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is loaded with awesome and phenomenally difficult boss fights from start until the very end. Messmer the Impaler, in particular, is the DLC's arguably most memorable encounter, and he is not a pushover. We recommend grabbing all the best Shadow of the Erdtree items and upgrades before taking the fight to Messmer, because you'll be hard-pressed to beat him otherwise.

But, why are we even fighting Messmer in the first place? Why has this red-headed godling been featured in promotional materials so prominently? Is he even evil, or are we just fighting Messmer through an unfortunate development of events - which FromSoft is very well known for - that might've been stopped at some point in time? We've got all the lore you need, and some tips and tricks on how to beat Messmer the Impaler, to boot. Read on!

Who is Messmer the Impaler in Elden Ring?

Messmer the Impaler is, in fact, the mid-story boss encounter of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. While the promo materials might have you think the guy would be a huge deal and a showstopper finale, he's just one more fight you'll have to push through before dealing with the real villain of the story.

As you'd probably expect, Messmer the Impaler is the son of Marika the Eternal and - potentially - Radagon. Marika sent Messmer off to basically exterminate the Hornsent people for what they did to her people (jars... just look into the jars), and this war made Messmer jaded, cold, and brutal. Further, all of Marika's children were cursed in some way, shape, or form, and Messmer was no different: the primal snake he lugs around him is a metaphysical parasite of sorts, and Marika was terrified of it, which was her secondary reasoning for sending Messmer off to slaughter her enemies.

Thing is, though, that Marika eventually stripped her Grace from Messmer himself and from his soldiers, which caused immense turmoil and led to his eventual downfall. There's much more context to this whole situation, of course, but that is basically the jist of it, as we understand it!

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Why is Messmer fighting the Tarnished?

Messmer the Impaler's reasoning for fighting the player Tarnished isn't entirely clear, as far as we can tell, but it's got to do with the Grace that's been given to us.

Specifically, the Grace that leads the Tarnished on their quest either comes from the Greater Will or from Marika herself. There's much to suggest in Shadow of the Erdtree that the Greater Will is either dead, or that it's been missing from The Lands Between for a long, long time. Regardless, this Grace was taken from Messmer and his soldiers, and he turned against the Erdtree and everything Golden-led in the interim.

This puts the Tarnished in direct opposition to Messmer, and leads to us having to fight him in order to survive.

How to defeat Messmer the Impaler?

Fire resistance, fire resistance, fire resistance. We cannot overstate the importance of strong fire resistance when taking on Messmer. This is the only way to keep up with his incredibly powerful flame attacks, which Messmer will be thrilled to spam your way no matter how long it takes.

You should also have access to a strong summon for this fight: whether a Mimic Ash or one of the awesome new Ashes found in Shadow of the Erdtree, that's your choice, but we're ready to admit that splitting Messmer's attention between the Tarnished avatar and a Mimic was the only way we could take him down.

Since Messmer often sends out high-range, high-speed spear attacks in long combos, you're either going to need a huge Stamina bar or a good, durable shield: either of these tactics will work, though we do think the shield is more foolproof, all things considered. Here are some other key tips we recommend keeping in mind:

Avoid Messmer's flaming hand grab at all costs: this can one-shot you if you're even slightly damaged.
Remember that blocking Messmer's attacks still applies fire damage to your Tarnished, meaning chip damage is a huge concern in this fight.
Approach Messmer's snake god avatar carefully: upon the initial transformation, be ready to roll out of harm's way when the snake hisses.
Come equipped with weapons that have a high stagger potential; Messmer can be staggered relatively easily, especially with a riposte move.
Do not rush attack Messmer, especially when he's pulling off one of his very many snake god attacks.

And remember: repetition is key. For what it's worth, Messmer the Impaler felt easier to deal with than Bayle the Dread was, so that might give you some hope on how to deal with him. Even as you fail time and again, the odds are good that Messmer's moveset will eventually click for you, so just keep at it and don't give up. Y'know, the usual FromSoft schtick.

CHECK OUT: Bayle the Dread Explained - Shadow of the Erdtree

As you’d expect, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is loaded with awesome and phenomenally difficult boss fights from start until the very end. Messmer the Impaler, in particular, is the DLC’s arguably most memorable encounter, and he is not a pushover. We recommend grabbing all the best Shadow of the Erdtree items and upgrades […]

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