How to defeat Romina Saint of the Bud in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Romina Saint of the Bud is one of the mandatory bosses in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, who guards the finale of the game's main storyline. However, if you want you can reach her pretty early in the game, provided you can defeat the Golden Hippopotamus, make your way to the Shadow Keep, and subsequently, also defeat Messmer the Impaler.

Although she is a mandatory boss and is technically the last major boss before the final battle against Radahn, Romina isn't that challenging, not on the same scale as Messmer, at the least. However, her ability to inflict Scarlet Rot with her attacks as well as the Rotten Butterflies Incantation can be quite a deadly combo.

Thankfully defeating her is much easier than it looks, as long as you have the right tools for the job. Here's a comprehensive guide on how to easily defeat Romina Saint of the Bud in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

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Tips to easily defeat Romina Saint of the Bud in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Romina Saint of the Bud can only be accessed after you defeat the Golden Hippopotamus and Messmer the Impaler. Despite being one of the major bosses, Romina doesn't have too much HP, making it easier to beat her, especially if you're running a Bleed or high DPS Strength build. However, that doesn't mean she's not challenging.

The Sites of Grace with a yellow extension mark the path you need to follow to reach Romina Siant of the Bud (Image via FromSoftware)

The most devastating attack that can technically one-shot you is Romina's Rotten Butterflies, which she starts using quite frequently in her second phase (<75% HP). Rotten Butterflies is an Incantation that summons Scarlet Rot butterflies around a wide area and after a certain time they explode inflicting Scarlet Rot.

Apart from the Rotten Butterflies, Romina is incredibly agile. Despite the limiting size of the boss arena, she constantly zaps around, making it quite difficult to get a lock on her. While for most giant bosses I recommend not locking on, you need to keep a lock on Romina at all times, just to keep her in your sights.

Thankfully, much like any other major boss in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, save for the Scadutree Avatar, Romina Siant of the Bud takes a ton of Bleed damage and is also quite easy to stagger with Colossal weapons. Here are some tips that should help you easily defeat Romina Saint of the Bud in Elden Rig Shadow of the Erdtree:

• Weapon recommendations for this boss are Blasphemous Blade, which despite the recent nerf, is still very effective against certain bosses in the DLC, Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword, Rivers of Blood, Rakshasa Great Katana, or the Dragon Hunter's Great Katana.
• Romina Saint of the Bud, unlike other bosses in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, isn't nearly as aggressive and gives you enough breathing room to heal or even cast Incantations mid-battle. However, in the second phase, she becomes a bit more active, making it harder to get a breather. I highly recommend using buffs and Spirit Summons in the first phase.
• If you're having a hard time with the boss, you can also summon Dryleaf Dane, as long as you at least interact with him in the Moorth Ruins.
• There are two attacks you need to look out for, the first being a spear thrust, which is telegraphed by Romina's spear glowing red, and the second being her spinning swipe attack, which she does right after a ground slam.
• Dodge-rolling is the best and most effective way to avoid most of Romina's attacks, but in case you do get him by her, make sure you carry either the Flame Cleanse Me Incantation or Preserving Boluses to counteract the Scarlet Rot build-up.
• Additionally, make sure you don't dodge her attacks inwards, most of her attacks start with a spear thrust, as such, you want to dodge either sideways or backward to avoid getting hit. Jumping above the attacks is also a good option.
• If you're having trouble dodging Romina Saint of the Bud's Rotten Butterflies move, I highly recommend using Opaline Bubbletear or Opaline Hardtear in Mixed Physick.

The build I used for this boss fight (Image via FromSoftware)

Once defeated, Romina Saint of the Bud will drop her Remembrance, which allows you to get either the Poleblade of the Bud, and excellent Spear that comes imbued with Scarlet Rot, or the Rotten Butterflies Incantation. Additionally, defeating Romina opens up the way for you to use Messmer's flame on the Scadutree, progressing the story.