How to Beat The Deathbird - Elden Ring

Rewards:
- Limgrave – Blue-Feathered Branchsword, 2,800
- Weeping Peninsula – Sacrificial Axe, 3,900
- Liurnia of the Lakes – Red-Feathered Branchsword, 6,600
- Altus Plateau – Twinbird Kite Shield, 29,000
Summons Available: Sometimes

Deathbird is a recurring boss encounter throughout the Lands Between that can be found at night in several locations.

General Tips

While this boss has a lot of medium range attacks, its severely lacking ways to punish you if you’re under it. Stick close to the boss at all times, and it should be a breeze.
Locking on to Deathbird‘s body instead of its head will give you better visibility during the encounter.
The Deathbird is very vulnerable to holy damage. Crafting Holy Water Pots before the encounter will greatly reduce its difficulty.

Melee Strategy

The melee strategy is very straightforward here. Deathbird is unable to hit you if you’re between its legs. Whether you approach this fight mounted or on foot, sticking close to the boss will make this encounter much, much easier.

If you’re having trouble landing attacks while mounted, dismounting will hardly put you at a disadvantage as you will still remain safe, and some of Deathbird‘s attacks will even become easier to avoid.

The one thing to look out for, will be the times where Deathbird either steps or jumps backwards. If you do not follow him by rolling through his attacks, this fight can quickly get out of hand, so either dash with your mount or roll towards the boss’s bird-crotch.

Ranged Strategy

This being an open world boss, you’ll be able to use Torrent, which means casting from horseback is your go-to way to approach the fight. One thing to consider however, is that Deathbird has quite a bit of reach on his attacks, so you will need to stay at maximum range and throw 1 spell at a time.

Additionally, you can instead choose to stay between its legs as a melee character would, and use your spells and ranged attacks from there instead. Do keep in mind that if you cast a spell while the boss is idle, he could leap back at any moment and retaliate, so choose the moment to cast spells carefully.

Moveset

Pecking: The boss attack using its beak, right in front of him.
Forward Thrust: Forward thrusting attack. Has a stronger variant where the weapon is plunged into the ground and pulled out afterwards, which creates small shockwaves.
Jumping Slam: Deathbird flies up before landing and slamming its weapon down on the ground.
Step Back Attack: The boss steps a short distance back before swinging its weapon horizontally.
Hand Slam: Hand slam close to the boss, which inflicts area of effect damage.
Weapon Slam: Deathbird slams the ground and inflicts area of effect damage. Can be used outright, or after 1-2 horizontal attacks.
Small Jumping Slam: This slam has a smaller delay and the boss runs a short distance forward afterwards.
Beak Grab: After a screech, the boss lunges forward to try and grab you in its beak. Being really close or really far away from the boss are the safest ways to avoid it.