Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon is the boss that greets you at the end of the Academy of Raya Lucaria, and she's one of the strangest fights in Elden Ring. The first phase is barely a fight at all — a puzzle about picking one singing witch out of a floating choir. The second phase is a proper boss battle against a floating sorceress who rains comets, summons a moon-dragon, and throws a slow, beautiful, lethal moon at your head. Neither phase is brutal, but both punish players who don't know the script. Here's the script.
Getting Into the Academy
Before you can fight Rennala, you need to get inside Raya Lucaria, and the front door wants one thing: the Academy Glintstone Key. You'll find it in the shallows of the lake south of the academy's gate town, glowing on a corpse near a rock formation — with the Glintstone Dragon Smarag lounging nearby. You do not have to fight the dragon; grab the key on horseback, take the hits if you must, and ride out. With the key in hand, the academy gate opens, the legacy dungeon is short and linear by Elden Ring standards, and the Grand Library site of grace sits directly outside the boss fog. Rest up, summon up, and step in.
Phase 1 — Find the Real Rennala
The Grand Library's first phase isn't about swordplay. Rennala hovers in the air, wrapped in a shield of amber light, while robed students drift in a circle around her murmuring. Every so often, groups of squealing juvenile scholars — pale, overgrown baby-things — crawl out of the floor and throw themselves at you. Your job is simpler than it looks:
Clear the swarm, then look up
When the juvenile scholars rush you, either cut through them with wide swings or sprint past — they're fragile and their damage is modest. Keep your eyes on the circling students above.
Find the singer
One of the floating students is the real Rennala — she's the one that glows faintly and is clearly chanting rather than murmuring. Close the distance and land a hit or two on her.
Break the shield and pile on
The amber shield shatters and Rennala crashes to the floor. This is your big damage window — rush in and hit her hard while she's down. The scholars know it too, and they'll swarm to defend her, so keep your own health topped up as you go.
Repeat two or three times
She re-shields, the choir reforms, and the cycle begins again. Break the shield two or three times and phase 1 ends. No shame in taking it slow — this phase is pure patience.
Phase 2 — The Queen of the Full Moon
Rennala rises into the air clutching her amber egg, the library dims, and the real fight begins. She now floats around the arena casting a small but dangerous set of spells:
| Attack | What it looks like | How to answer it |
|---|---|---|
| Comet barrages | She flings volleys of glintstone comets that track you | Sprint sideways and roll through the last moment — strafing on Torrent also works |
| Star rain | A cluster of small stars showers a wide area around her | Back off to the arena's edge and let it finish before committing |
| Moon-dragon summon | She channels a spectral dragon that dives and breathes fire across the arena | Watch her raise the staff — when the dragon dives, keep moving in one direction rather than dodging in panic |
| Rennala's Full Moon | A vast glowing moon forms above her and drifts toward you, then detonates | Best answer: hit her ~3 times mid-cast to cancel it. If it launches, sprint hard to the side, don't roll into it |
| Close-range staff swipes | If you hug her, she swats with her staff and the egg | Don't stand under her — attack in short bursts after her casts and back out |
The pattern that wins this phase: stay beside her, not under her. She's squishy — far softer than any physical boss you've met so far — so short, aggressive punish windows after her spells add up fast. She staggers easily, so if your build can land repeated hits, you'll interrupt more than one moon before she gets it off. And if the fight turns into a mess of spells and scholars, remember that this is exactly the fight Spirit Ashes exist for: a wolf pack on her keeps her spinning around the room while you punish from the side.
What You Get for Winning
Beating Rennala drops the Great Rune of the Unborn and the Remembrance of the Full Moon Queen. The Remembrance trades at Roundtable Hold for either the Carian Regal Scepter (a strong sorcery catalyst) or Rennala's Full Moon, one of the best moon sorceries in the game. But the quiet, life-changing reward is what happens when you talk to the dazed Rennala afterward in the library: she can perform rebirth, letting you redistribute all your stat points with a Larval Tear. That's a full respec, available for the rest of the playthrough — misbuilt your character? Rennala fixes it.
Her defeat also matters for the story: Ranni's questline — the road to the Age of Stars ending — runs through this library, and her next big appointment with you, so to speak, comes much later. Speaking of the road ahead: the festival at Redmane Castle is next for most players, and our Radahn guide covers that celebration in full.
Rennala FAQs
Where is Rennala in Elden Ring?
Rennala waits in the Grand Library at the heart of the Academy of Raya Lucaria in Liurnia of the Lakes. Getting inside requires the Academy Glintstone Key, which sits on a corpse in the lake south of the academy gate, usually with a large dragon patrolling nearby. Once you have the key, the Grand Library site of grace is directly before the boss fog.
What level should I be for Rennala?
Most players beat Rennala comfortably between level 35 and 50 with a weapon around +6 on the regular Smithing Stone path (or +2 on Somber). She's a magic user who goes down fast to pressure, so a mid-upgraded weapon and a summon matter more than a high level.
Can I summon Spirit Ashes against Rennala?
Yes — and you should. Rennala's arena is huge, her phase 1 is built around distracting a crowd, and a tanky summon like the Lone Wolf Ashes or the Jellyfish keeps her phase 2 spells pointed at someone who isn't you. Summons are the single biggest difficulty knob in this fight.
How do I stop Rennala's full moon attack?
The moon is interruptible. If you hit Rennala about three times while she's charging the moon, the spell fizzles. If she gets it off, sprint hard to the side or behind her — the moon drifts toward you and detonates. Sorcerers can also cancel it by casting their own full moon into hers.
Is Rennala a required boss in Elden Ring?
For most endings, no — she's skippable if you never enter the academy. But her defeat is what unlocks rebirth (respecing your stats with Larval Tears), her Remembrance trades for the Rennala's Full Moon sorcery or the Carian Regal Scepter, and her fight gates Ranni's questline, which leads to the Age of Stars ending. Most players clear her as the second demigod right after Godrick.
What does the Great Rune of the Unborn do?
Unlike other Great Runes, Rennala's rune isn't equipped or activated at a Divine Tower. The Great Rune of the Unborn is tied to the rebirth power Rennala offers in the Grand Library after the fight — the real prize is that she becomes a permanent respec point for the rest of your playthrough.