Elden Ring maestro plays a saxophone to style on Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss, wins battle of the bands in 'a dozen attempts'

GamesRPGElden Ring maestro plays a saxophone to style on Shadow of the Erdtree’s final boss, wins battle of the bands in ‘a dozen attempts’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: From Software / DrDecomposing on Twitch.)

DrDecomposing yelps in joy as he finally conquers Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree�s final boss with nothing but a saxophone.

I’ve been delightfully proud of (and fearing) the Elden Ring community ever since its first and final DLC released last month.Shadow of the Erdtree’s final boss—spoilers, naturally—seems as though it should be a legendarily difficult encounter, sharing a throne with the infamous Malenia (reportedly the blade of Miquella, sources confirm) inFromSoftware’s rogues gallery.

To add to my wounds, someone’s gone and beat it with a saxophone now. Just like Prometheus, the metaphorical eagle continues to peck out my liver on a daily basis.

YouTuber andstreamerDr Decomposing (self-titled Dr Dooton Twitter) has, in a follow-up to his no-hit saxophone run back inAugust of last year, tackled Promised Consort Radahn with nothing but the power of jazz and a mind-boggling controller setup (thanks,IGN).

Everyone was telling me how utterly impossible the Final Boss of Shadow of the Erdtree was going to be. Outrageous moveset, impossible dodges, etc…It only took me a dozen attempts on the saxophone.THE WORLD’S FIRST (afaik) ALT CONTROLLER DLC RUN HAS BEEN DOOTED!🎷 pic.twitter.com/nUzPmfgsNxJuly 1, 2024

“Everyone was telling me how utterly impossible the Final Boss of Shadow of the Erdtree was going to be,” the fine doctor rightfully brags. “Outrageous moveset, impossible dodges, etc … It only took me a dozen attempts on the saxophone.”

A dozen attempts. Yep, that stings. In case you’re wondering how Dr Decomposing controls his snazzy Tarnished with music, each input (as explained on his Twitch) is mapped to a different note. You can actually hear that play out in the video above as, when faced with Radahn’s flurry of phantom strikes, he makes good use of the Deflecting Hardtear to timed-block his way through an otherwise nightmarishly hard attack.

In terms of his build, Dr Decomposing is using the aforementioned hardtear, which basicallyturns the game into Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicefor a few minutes, combined with theCarian Thrusting Shield: “The Carian Thrusting Shield has WILD scaling with STR when made Heavy. That + Deflect Tear + Guard Counter Boost talisman makes for an absolute powerhouse of a tank build once you learn the attack timings.”

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

That tracks as a supremely effective strategy with everything I know about this boss from my own brutal experience. Whiledodge-rolling through everything is possible, it’s also extremely difficult—builds that focus on either tanking or parrying him appear to be having far less trouble. Now we just need to seesomeone kill him with a dance pad.

Leda quest: Track the Erdtree main questAnsbach quest: Help the former servant of MohgHornsent quest: Complete the quest for vengeanceThiollier quest: Pay homage to the saint of sleepingFreyja quest: Where to find Redmane Freyja

Leda questAnsbach questHornsent questThiollier questFreyja quest

TOPICSFromSoftware

TOPICS

PRODUCTSElden Ring: Shadow of the ErdtreeElden Ring

PRODUCTS

More about rpg

A Path of Exile 2 sorceress casting flaming skulls in a hellish landscape

Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot

Double headed wizard man holding arms up looking sad

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

Wordle answers

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

See more latest►

Most PopularPiranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod sceneSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anythingIf you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 offAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bayFinal Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their altsTikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

Most Popular

Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’

Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anything

If you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 off

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

Final Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their alts

TikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals