The Death Rite Bird is a field boss in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC that can be found in Charo’s Hidden Grave. It’s very similar to the Death Rite Birds you might have fought in Elden Ring’s base game, but there are a few Erdtree twists to this recurring enemy type.
You’ll also be rewarded with a powerful new Ash of War when you defeat the Death Rite Bird, so it’s well worth seeking out as you travel round the Shadow Realm. To help you beat the Death Rite Bird in Shadow of the Erdtree, read on below for some tips and strategies to exploit its weaknesses.
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How to beat the Death Rite Bird in Shadow of the Erdtree
You’ll find the Death Rite Bird just beyond the Site of Grace ‘Charo’s Hidden Grave‘. You won’t see it straight away, as it will only appear once you make your way into the large, watery area in front of you. Here is the Death Rite Bird’s precise location on the map below:
How to prepare for the Death Rite Bird fight
This gives us a nice bit of time to help prepare for the Death Rite Bird boss fight, as there are several things you can do to help you out in battle here.
The first is to summon a Spirit Ash to help you fight alongside you. This will be very important in this fight, as there are lots of smaller Death Rite Bird enemies surrounding this arena, and it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies here once the Death Rite Bird boss shows up.
As such, try to pick off as many smaller Death Rite Birds as you can before the big boss turns up. There are a number of birds near the entrance that you can take down using long-range weapons before the main action kicks off, and the more enemies you can defeat now, the easier the boss fight will be later. To help you identify which birds are enemies and which are statues, use your lock-on feature by pressing in your thumbsticks.
You can also use Torrent in this fight to help you escape some of the Death Rite Bird’s attacks, though I found it easier to beat the Death Rite Bird on foot.
Death Rite Bird boss strategy
Eventually, the main Death Rite Bird will appear once you step into the main part of the area. Given how many other smaller Death Rite Birds there are further into the boss arena, try and fight the Death Rite Bird as close to the entrance as possible so you don’t attract too many other enemies into the fight.
If you find your Spirit Ash isn’t doing much to help you, it’s probably because they’re being distracted fighting the smaller Death Rite Birds. If you can, help them out by taking out the small birds first so you can both concentrate on the fight at hand.
The Death Rite Bird has a large spear it can use to swipe at you in large arcs (either on the ground, or from above), and it also has several magic attacks that can inflict Frostbite. It will also fly at you with its back claws to knock you to the ground, and snap out its long neck to bite you at range.
These aren’t nice attacks to deal with from the front, so you’ll want your Spirit Ash to draw as much attention as possible from the front. This is because the Death Rite Bird’s weakspot is its back, so you’ll want to get behind it as much as possible to bring this fight to a swift conclusion.
Staying close to the Death Rite Bird will also help you evade some of its more sweeping attacks, and you can dodge roll into its large sweeping spear swipes to avoid them quite easily.
However, there is an important exception to this. When the Death Rite Bird starts charging their spear, move away immediately, as they’re about to unleash a devastating area of effect attack. Don’t get caught out here, like I did:
One of the Death Rite Bird’s final attacks involves it shooting down Frostbite beams from its wings. It will fly backwards and roar when it’s performing this attack, though you can dodge the beams easily enough by staying clear of the patches of light appear on the ground.
Death Rite Bird rewards
Keep up the pressure and you’ll eventually take down the Death Rite Bird. On defeat, you’ll be rewarded with: 230,000 Runes and the Ash of War: Ghostflame Call. This Ash of War gives your armament Cold Affinity, which is an apt reward for this chilly boss fight you’ve just had.
Congratulations on beating the Death Rite Bird! Now you’re free to continue your journey through Charo’s Hidden Grave and the rest of the Southern Shore.
Next boss: Charo Hidden Grave’s Furnace Golem.
Need more help? Jump back to our list of Shadow of The Erdtree bosses or our Shadow of The Erdtree tips and tricks.
