How to Beat Astel, Stars of Darkness in Elden Ring
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How to Beat Astel, Stars of Darkness in Elden Ring
Stars of Darkness vs the Original Astel
Astel, Stars of Darkness is a straight difficulty upgrade of the first Astel encounter — same strategies, same safe zone, same teleport counter, but with substantially more damage and health. Players who struggled with the original will likely find this one more demanding, but those who mastered the under-body positioning will find it familiar enough to handle with proper preparation. The Consecrated Snowfield itself is one of the game’s most difficult overworld areas, so arriving here means you are already deep into endgame content — treat Stars of Darkness as a capstone challenge for that region rather than a progression gate, since it is entirely optional. The Bastard’s Stars flail from his Remembrance is a unique Arcane-scaling weapon worth the effort if you run that build.
FAQ
⚡ Quick Answer
How to Beat Astel, Stars of Darkness
Use the exact same strategy as the first Astel — stay directly under his body near his back legs and attack his underside. Stars of Darkness hits significantly harder and has more health than the original, but his attack patterns are identical. The teleport grab is still his most dangerous move — sprint away the instant he vanishes.
1
Find him in the Yelough Anix Tunnel. Astel, Stars of Darkness is found at the end of the Yelough Anix Tunnel in the Consecrated Snowfield. Enter the tunnel from the southern section of the snowfield and progress through to the fog gate at the far end. This is an entirely optional boss — not required for any ending.
2
Position under his body immediately on entry. Sprint directly underneath Astel the moment you enter the fog gate. From this position beneath his torso his claw swipes, beam attacks, and most abilities miss entirely. The entire fight is played from this safe zone — never stand at range against this boss.
3
Attack his head whenever it lowers. Astel periodically lowers his head to the ground for bite attacks and other animations — these are your primary damage windows. Land 2–3 charged R2 hits directly on his head, then reposition back under his body before his next move. Head hits deal significantly more damage than body hits.
4
Handle the teleport grab by sprinting. When Astel vanishes, sprint immediately in any direction rather than rolling. He reappears above your previous position and slams down. The grab has tight tracking on roll frames but cannot catch a sprinting player who covers enough distance. After he lands, sprint back underneath him and resume attacking.
5
Dodge the gravitational AoE by sprinting sideways. Astel raises his head and creates a dark vortex that pulls you in before exploding. As soon as the vortex appears, sprint hard sideways away from the pull — you can outrun it on foot, and Torrent makes this trivially easy. After the explosion, sprint back underneath to resume damage.
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Higher damage and health: Stars of Darkness has roughly 40% more health than the first Astel and deals significantly more damage per hit — attacks that were manageable on the first version can now one-shot players at moderate Vigor. Arrive at Soul Level 110+ with +22 or higher weapons for a comfortable fight.
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Same weaknesses apply: like the original Astel, Stars of Darkness is weak to Scarlet Rot. Apply it with Rot Pots or Rotten Breath — two applications deal approximately 20% of his total health passively. A high Arcane build can apply Rot multiple times in a single fight, trivialising his inflated health pool.
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Use Torrent throughout: Torrent is allowed in this fight and is highly recommended — his speed makes the gravitational vortex effortless to escape and the teleport grab easier to outrun. Mounted players can also reposition under his body faster after each teleport, reducing the time spent outside the safe zone.
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Spirit summons work well: any spirit summon splits Astel’s attention and provides free damage windows. The Mimic Tear is particularly effective since it mirrors your positioning instincts and tends to stay under the body naturally, surviving longer than summons that fight at range.
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Reward — Remembrance of the Naturalborn: Stars of Darkness drops the same Remembrance as the first Astel — the Remembrance of the Naturalborn. If you have already used the first Astel’s Remembrance, duplicate this one at a Wandering Mausoleum to obtain both the Waves of Darkness sorcery and the Bastard’s Stars flail from a single run.
Where is Astel, Stars of Darkness in Elden Ring?
Astel, Stars of Darkness is found at the end of the Yelough Anix Tunnel in the Consecrated Snowfield. The tunnel entrance is in the southern part of the snowfield. Progress through the tunnel and defeat the boss at the far end to complete the area.
What is the difference between Astel Naturalborn and Stars of Darkness?
Astel, Stars of Darkness has approximately 40% more health, deals significantly higher damage, and is found in a harder area of the game. Both have identical attack patterns and the same safe-zone strategy applies to both. Stars of Darkness is the harder optional version of the same boss encountered during Ranni’s questline.
Is Astel, Stars of Darkness required to beat Elden Ring?
No — Astel, Stars of Darkness is entirely optional and not required for any ending. It is a late-game challenge boss in the Consecrated Snowfield that rewards the Remembrance of the Naturalborn, which can be exchanged for the Bastard’s Stars flail or the Waves of Darkness sorcery.
Can you use Torrent against Astel, Stars of Darkness?
Yes — Torrent is allowed in the Astel, Stars of Darkness arena. Using Torrent is strongly recommended as his horse speed makes escaping the gravitational vortex and teleport grab much easier than on foot, and the increased mobility helps you stay underneath his body consistently throughout the fight.