How to defeat the Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

If you thought the Divine Beast Dancing Lion was a tough boss fight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, you might find yourself surprised and probably even humbled by the Golden Hippopotamus. Much like the Dancing Lion, the Golden Hippopotamus is a mandatory boss that blocks your path to the Shadow Keep, i.e., the third legacy dungeon of the DLC.

While the Golden Hippopotamus itself poses quite a threat, due to the amount of damage it can dish out and some of its attacks being capable of one or two-shotting you, that isn't the only thing that makes this a tough battle. The biggest hurdle you will face during the Golden Hippopotamus boss fight is the lock-on camera.

As such, it's highly recommended to fight this boss without locking onto the boss. Here are a few tips and tricks that should help you easily defeat the Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions.

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How to easily defeat the Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?

The Golden Hippopotamus sets the standard for the kind of difficulty you will face in the mid to late-game sections of the DLC (Image via FromSoftware)

The Golden Hippopotamus is the first major boss you will face upon making your way into the Shadow Keep, essentially the biggest legacy dungeon in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree and also the one that houses Messmer the Impaler. The battle against the Golden Hippopotamus is, structurally, quite similar to that of the Great Red Bears in the DLC.

However, instead of claw swipes and ground pound, the Hippopotamus uses bite attacks and the Aspect of Crucible: Thorns to attack. As for resistances and weaknesses, the Golden Hippopotamus is very resistant to Holy Damage, akin to the Crucible Knights. However, it's weak to almost every other elemental affinity, especially fire.

I highly recommend using Messmerfire Grease, which deals quite a lot of damage to the boss. Additionally, you can use a Bleed build to basically trivialize the boss fight. That being said, here are some tips to help you defeat the Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree:

• The Golden Hippopotamus always starts the battle by rushing at you with a bite attack, which he can then chain into a ground slam or worse, a grab attack, that can technically one-shot you if you're running a low-vigor build.
• Make sure you have at least 40 Endurance. You will need to dodge quite a lot during the boss, often four to five times in a row to avoid the boss' grab attack.
• I highly recommend playing this boss fight unlocked since you can only lock onto the head of the Hippopotamus, which ends up making dodging sideways during the ground slam attacks virtually impossible.
• If you're using a Faith-Arcane build, Rotten Breath can be very handy during this boss fight, as it shreds the boss' health. Conversely, Bleed weapons are super effective against the Golden Hippopotamus.
• Once the Hippopotamus' health drops below 75%, he gains the ability to use the Acpect of Crucible: Thorns, which is quite deadly if not dodged at the right time.
• Thankfully, this attack has a fairly long wind-up animation allowing you plenty of time to dodge out of it.

Build I used for the Golden Hippopotamus boss fight (Image via FromSoftware)

Once defeated, the Golden Hippopotamus drops the Aspect of Crucible: Thorns, which gives you access to a fairly strong crowd-control AOE Incantation in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Additionally, defeating the beast lets you progress through the Shadow Keep, and eventually reach Messmer the Impaler.