Overview

The Godskin Duo is one of Elden Ring’s most infamous mandatory bosses. You’ll find them in Crumbling Farum Azula, inside the Dragon Temple. The fastest route is from the Dragon Temple site of grace, which you reach after navigating the crumbling ruins and fighting through Beastmen. The boss room is a large, rectangular hall with pillars and a raised altar.

The duo consists of a Godskin Apostle (the skinny, fast one with a peeler) and a Godskin Noble (the fat one with a rolling attack and rapier). They share a single boss health bar, but that doesn’t mean you can simply focus one. If you kill one, the other keeps fighting, and the dead one respawns after a short delay. The fight only ends when the shared health bar is fully depleted. This makes the encounter a test of crowd control, damage output, and patience.

Fortunately, there’s a well-known cheese: sleep. Both Godskins are extremely vulnerable to sleep, and with the right setup you can keep them napping while you delete their health bar. This guide covers the sleep cheese, plus alternatives like Mimic Tear, Blasphemous Blade, and Comet Azur. Recommended level is 90–120, with a fully upgraded weapon (+20 regular or +9 somber). Bring at least 10–15 Sleep Pots, the Mimic Tear Spirit Ash, and a high-damage weapon art.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

  1. Prepare your Sleep Pots. You need Fevor’s Cookbook [1], found in Liurnia of the Lakes. Then gather Trina’s Lilies, which grow abundantly in Liurnia and Limgrave, plus Mushrooms. Craft as many Sleep Pots as you can. Also grab the Mimic Tear Spirit Ash from Night’s Sacred Ground in Nokron, Siofra River. Upgrade it to +10 with Ghost Glovewort.

  2. Set up your build. Equip a weapon with a powerful ash of war: Blasphemous Blade (Taker’s Flames), Moonveil (Transient Moonlight), Rivers of Blood (Corpse Piler), or Dark Moon Greatsword (Moonlight Greatsword). If you’re a mage, equip Comet Azur and the Cerulean Hidden Tear in your Flask of Wondrous Physick. Put Sleep Pots in your quick item slot.

  3. Rest at the Dragon Temple site of grace. Buff yourself with Golden Vow and Flame, Grant Me Strength. If you have them, use Boiled Prawn or Crab for physical defense.

  4. Enter the boss arena. Immediately summon your Mimic Tear. If you completed Recusant Bernahl’s questline, his summon sign appears near the entrance—bring him too. Let your summons draw aggro for a moment.

  5. Throw a Sleep Pot at the Godskin Noble first. He’s slower and easier to hit. Then throw one at the Godskin Apostle. If either stays awake, throw another pot. Two pots per Godskin is usually enough.

  6. Once both are asleep, unleash your weapon art. With Blasphemous Blade, aim Taker’s Flames at the Apostle. The fire damage hits hard, and you heal with each hit. If you have Comet Azur, drink your Flask of Wondrous Physick (with Cerulean Hidden Tear), line up both Godskins, and cast. The beam melts their shared health bar.

  7. If one wakes up, throw another Sleep Pot. Keep them asleep as much as possible. Focus on one at a time. The Apostle is faster and more aggressive, so many players kill him first. The Noble’s rolling attack is annoying, but you can hide behind pillars.

  8. When one dies, immediately switch to the other. The dead one respawns after about 10–15 seconds. If you can kill the second one before the first respawns, you win. If not, put the respawned one back to sleep and keep chipping away at the shared health bar.

  9. Repeat the sleep-and-burst cycle until the health bar is empty. Don’t get greedy—two or three hits, then back off and reassess.

  10. After the fight, you receive the Remembrance of the Godskin Duo. You can exchange it at Finger Reader Enia in Roundtable Hold for the Godskin Peeler or Godskin Apostle Hood. Rest at the Dragon Temple Transept site of grace, which appears after the boss room.

Tips and Strategies

Sleep is the core of this cheese. Godskin Duo have low sleep resistance, and Sleep Pots have high buildup. Two pots will usually put one to sleep for about 10 seconds. You can also use St. Trina’s Sword, which inflicts sleep with each hit, or Sleep Arrows if you’re a bow user.

Mimic Tear is your best friend. Give it Sleep Pots and a strong weapon. It copies your items and uses them, effectively doubling your cheese. Black Knife Tiche is another excellent summon—she deals percentage-based damage and dodges well.

Use the pillars. The arena has several thick pillars that block the Noble’s rolling attack and the Apostle’s black flame projectiles. Circle around them to separate the two.

Buff before entering. Golden Vow, Flame, Grant Me Strength, and a defensive talisman like Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman will keep you alive.

Status effects work wonders. Bleed, Scarlet Rot, and Frost are all effective. Rivers of Blood or a bleed-infused weapon can shred their health bar. Rotten Breath or Ekzykes’s Decay can rot them while you sleep them.

If you’re a mage, Comet Azur with the Cerulean Hidden Tear is a classic cheese. Put both to sleep, drink your physick, and cast. It can delete 80% of their health bar in one beam.

For faith builds, Blasphemous Blade is incredible. Taker’s Flames hits both Godskins, heals you, and does fire damage. Ancient Dragon Lightning Strike also works if you can aim it.

Don’t forget to use the Dragon Temple site of grace to reset if you fail. You can also summon co-op players—bring a friend with Comet Azur or a bleed build.

Common Mistakes

The biggest mistake is trying to fight both Godskins head-on without sleep. You’ll get overwhelmed by the Apostle’s fast combos and the Noble’s rolling.

Not using Mimic Tear or summons. This fight is designed for two, so even the odds.

Forgetting to craft Sleep Pots. You can’t buy them, so gather materials in advance.

Waking them up with area attacks. If you use a wide-sweeping attack, you might hit the sleeping one and wake it. Try to focus one at a time.

Ignoring the respawn mechanic. When one dies, don’t relax—the other will respawn soon. Keep up the pressure.

Not using the pillars. They are your best defense against the Noble’s roll.

Not buffing. Buffs make a huge difference in this fight.

Using the wrong damage type. Godskins are resistant to holy damage, so avoid sacred weapons. Bleed, frost, and fire are better.

Not upgrading your weapon. At this point, you should have a +20 regular or +9 somber weapon.

Panicking when one respawns. Stay calm, throw a Sleep Pot, and reset the rhythm.

Trying to kill the Noble first. The Apostle is easier to burst down and removes the most aggressive threat.

Not using the Recusant Bernahl summon. If you completed his questline, he’s a free ally.

FAQ (3 Q&A)

Q: Can I cheese Godskin Duo without Sleep Pots? A: Yes. The most popular alternative is Mimic Tear plus a bleed build (Rivers of Blood or dual bleed weapons). Another is Comet Azur with the Cerulean Hidden Tear. But Sleep Pots are the most reliable and trivialize the fight.

Q: What is the best summon for Godskin Duo? A: Mimic Tear is the best because it copies your build, including Sleep Pots and weapon arts. Black Knife Tiche is a close second for her high damage and dodging. Recusant Bernahl can be summoned if you’ve progressed his questline at Volcano Manor.

Q: Is there a way to skip Godskin Duo? A: No legitimate way. The fight is mandatory to reach Maliketh, the Black Blade, and the rest of Crumbling Farum Azula. However, you can summon co-op players, or use the sleep cheese to make it a cakewalk.