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Starscourge Radahn is a Shardbearer in Elden Ring and defeating him is necessary to advance in some quests in the Lands Between. Reaching Radahn can be tricky as the boss is located in Redmane Castle, Caelid. It's a heavily protected Castle that requires special methods to enter it, like the Radahn Festival.
Starting the Radahn Festival is required to fight the boss in Elden Ring, where Radahn is stationed in Wailing Dunes. It allows players to summon many helpful NPCs to help in the boss fight. There are two ways Tarnished can start the festival and it's up to fans to decide which path they prefer to take.
Updated July 2, 2023 by Erik Petrovich: Once players get to a certain point, many begin to wonder where is Radahn, and how they can get to Redmane Castle to defeat this so-called "strongest of the demigods" and claim his Great Rune. To get to Radahn, and start the Radahn Fight, players have to both trigger the beginning of a unique event and find their way to Redmane Castle in the southeast of Caelid. There are a lot of ways to get there, and many places where players are nudged towards this most powerful Shardbearer. But get there too early, and a special boss fight can be found instead of the Radahn Festival. Read on to find out the methods to begin the Radahn Festival, where Redmane Castle is, and how to actually start the Radahn Fight in Elden Ring.
How to Start the Radahn Festival
There are two methods to trigger the Radahn Festival: progressing Ranni's questline, or activating the Grand Lift of Dectus in northeastern Liurnia. Ranni's questline is the easier of the two methods, though it does mean getting through Caria Manor. The Grand Lift of Dectus
Ranni the Witch Method
Ranni's questline is the fastest way to reach Radahn. At the beginning of Elden Ring, players will find her in the Church of Elleh where she goes by Renna in a thinly veiled attempt at concealing her identity. Here she gives the Spirit Calling Bell, which enables the tarnished to summon helping Spirits. It's not necessary to meet here to start her questline, but it does shed light on the nature of this demigod.
To start Ranni's questline proper, head to the Three Sisters just beyond Caria Manor in north Liurnia of the Lakes. It's quite the trek to get here, made easier if you know that the higher western area of Liurnia is accessed via a hill near the Village of Albinaurics. In Ranni's Rise, the central Rise in the Three Sisters, players can enter the service of the demigod witch.
After introducing yourself to the crew, talk to Blaidd in the Siofra River. He will send you to talk to Seluvis, Ranni's Preceptor, who leads the player to Sorceress Sellen in the Waypoint Ruins Cellar of Limgrave. She will reveal the secret of Nokron - talk to Blaidd one more time in the Siofra River to trigger the Radahn Festival.
Grand Lift of Dectus Method
The Grand Lift of Dectus method for starting the Radahn Festival requires players find two halves of the Dectus Medallion. The first, and easier, of the two halves is found in Fort Haight, to the southeast of the Mistwood.
The second half is found in the Dragonbarrow, a particularly tough zone in northern Caelid. To get here, players can either take a slope leading up from Sellia, Town of Sorcery, or travel to the Bestial Sanctum and head south. The other half of the Dectus Medallion is located in Fort Faroth, on the southern cliffs of the Dragonbarrow overlooking Radahn's boss arena.
After acquiring both halves of the Dectus Medallion, head to the Grand Lift of Dectus location in northeast Liurnia. Stand on the raised platform and press the interact button when the "Use Dectus Medallion" prompt appears. The lift will take Tarnished to Altus Plateau. Summon Torrent and sprint past the two Giants and head for the nearest Site of Lost Grace on the nearby hill.
Activate the Site and pass the time to Nightfall. This triggers the Radahn Festival, allowing players to travel to the Impassable Greatbridge bonfire and face Radahn.
How to Get to Radahn and Redmane Castle in Caelid
To find out where Radahn is in Elden Ring, players can talk to Blaidd at the conclusion of this segment of Ranni's quest or speak with Alexander in Limgrave. Both characters hint at the festival in the Caelid Wilds – head to the Impassible Greatbridge Site of Lost Grace in southeast Caelid as shown above to find the Radahn Festival location.
From Blaidd, players will need to make a journey through Limgrave and Caelid, but from Alexander, it's a simple trek across the Scarlet Rot to the southeast. If you activated the Festival by using the Grand Lift of Dectus, teleport to the closest Site of Grace – likely Fort Farroth in the Dragonbarrow, for those who speedran the Medallion by going to the Beast Clergyman. Head south, then west from Fort Farroth to find a way down to Caelid.
There are a lot of disfigured T-Rex dogs around the entrance to the so-called Impassible Greatbridge, as well as Radahn Soldiers, but they will lock into combat with each other after a few seconds. This is a window of opportunity for the Tarnished to break through to the Site of Grace right next to the Greatbridge.
Near the Grace, a Waygate can be seen. Interact with it to teleport inside the Redmane Castle - this only works if the player has started the Radahn Festival, though, and will not function if Redmane Castle is in its default state. You can tell if it's active if there is a little portal contained within the Waygate and a special effect that resembles wind coursing through it.
Getting to Redmane Castle Early
It's possible to get to Redmane Castle well before being able to fight Radahn, before the Festival. The waygate won't be open, and Instead of Jerren and the rest of the festivities, players will have to face off against a Leonine Misbegotten and a Crucible Knight duo boss. Other enemies will stand in players' way of this Duo Boss on the way into the castle, including a Troll and lots of soldiers, but the reward makes it worth it: the Ruins Greatsword.
This version of Redmane Castle changes once the Radahn Festival begins, and the duo boss can't be accessed after that point. However, by beating Radahn, and exhausting Jerren's dialogue afterward, Redmane Castle will reset to its pre-Festival state once again.
How to Fight Radahn at the Radahn Festival
If you entered Redmane Castle ahead of time and unlocked the Site of Grace just outside of the duo boss room, simply teleport to this Grace to get to the festival grounds. Otherwise, make your way through the castle grounds, and avoid the lions, to eventually reach an area full of NPCs. Be sure to stop by the Grace in a room just to the right of the Radahn Festival grounds.
In these Festival grounds, players will find Blaidd alongside several other champions. Interact with him, then go upstairs to find Jerren, the Witch Hunter welcoming everyone to the Radahn Festival. Ask him to join the event, watch the harrowing cutscene, then turn around to the northwest and enter the big castle. Take the lift just outside of the rear door, and interact with the waygate to officially start the Radahn battle in the Wailing Dunes.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.