The internet agrees Malenia is harder than Bed of Chaos. The internet is wrong about which one is more unfair.
Malenia, the hardest boss in Elden Ring (community difficulty: 10/10), scores 6.82 on fairness — top 12 out of 30. Bed of Chaos, which most players clear on their second attempt (difficulty: 4/10), scores 1.50 — dead last. Difficulty and fairness are not the same thing. They never were.
Click to explore the full interactive tier list
| Rank | Boss | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Isshin | 8.59 |
| 4 | Vergil | 8.17 |
| 5 | Gael | 7.92 |
| 6 | Sigrun | 7.86 |
| 8 | Margit | 7.69 |
| Rank | Boss | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baldur | 8.73 |
| 3 | Genichiro | 8.42 |
| 7 | Ganondorf | 7.80 |
| 10 | Sans | 6.88 |
| 13 | Sephiroth | 6.82 |
| Rank | Boss | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Orphan of Kos | 5.37 |
| 24 | Absolute Radiance | 5.26 |
| 26 | Mike Tyson | 4.75 |
| 28 | Yellow Devil | 3.20 |
| Rank | Boss | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Shao Kahn | 3.26 |
| 29 | Capra Demon | 2.94 |
| 30 | Bed of Chaos | 1.50 |
Select any boss to see their exact rank, score, and fairness tier.
Formula: FairnessScore = (TelegraphClarity × 0.28) + (HitboxAccuracy × 0.22) + (RecoveryWindow × 0.18) + (LearningCurveDesign × 0.17) + ((10 − RetryFriction) × 0.10) + (CameraArena × 0.05)
Metrics: Telegraph 28% · Hitbox 22% · Recovery 18% · Learning Curve 17% · Retry Friction (inverted) 10% · Camera/Arena 5%
CommunityDifficulty: Not in the formula. Used as X-axis for scatter chart only. Sources: Fextralife, community polls, "hardest boss" rankings 2024–2025.
Sources: GDC developer talks, Fextralife boss guides, Elden Ring patch notes (v1.03), PC Gamer hitbox analysis, speedrun documentation, ResetEra / Reddit community discussions.
Sample: 30 bosses · 1987–2024 · March 2026 · RankMint