How to beat the Stonedigger Troll in Elden Ring?

Located in the Limgrave Tunnels, the Stonedigger Troll is one of the optional bosses in Elden Ring. Similar to the enemies located in these tunnels, the boss has hardened skin, making most attacks bounce off of it. This can be subverted by two handing a weapon or using projectiles like arrows or magic. The boss has many area of effect (AoE) attacks, slamming into the ground repeatedly, but the arena is big enough to find a safe place to get to. The bigger it is, the harder it will fall.

How to beat the Stonedigger Troll in Limgrave Tunnels

The path to the boss has many Smithing Stones on the way to it, making it easy to upgrade weapons before facing it. There are also many Glintstone Scraps, consumable items that consume FP to deal magic damage. These can be used to great effectiveness against Stonedigger Troll as these attacks will not bounce off and can be used at a distance. Repeatedly attacking the legs of the boss can cause it to fall down. If its head is in the open, players can get to its head to deliver a critical hit for a lot of damage. The boss often falls into the environment, however, and attacking the head will cause a weapon to bounce off regardless of whether it is two-handed or not. The legs are the best option, unless the head is close enough for that strong critical.

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Stomp And Sweep

The most common attack that Stonedigger Troll performs is a basic stomp, following up this attack with a sweeping swing. The telegraph for this move has the boss lifting its leg off the ground, stomping into the ground. The range of this attack is larger than it appears but players can avoid it by rolling through the attack as it goes off or by rolling towards the other leg.

Immediately after the stomp, the boss will perform a sweeping attack with its club. This attack will track the player, often turning around and attacking toward's the direction the player is. The sweep requires a well-timed roll or being directly behind the Troll or its leg after the stomp to avoid taking damage. The boss can perform this attack several times in a row and the best time to get damage in is after the initial stomp if the player is behind the boss, or after the sweep if the player wants to play it safe.

Three Hit Combo

Stonedigger Troll can perform a hand sweep before the stomp and sweep move. This is the best time to get damage in for ranged players. The telegraph for the hand sweep involves the boss extending its arm out before slicing through in a cleaving motion. Rolling past the hand sweep and getting some distance will ensure that the boss is stuck in its three-hit animation while the player gets damage from afar. For melee players, the best moment to attack can be after the hand sweep, provided that they are standing by the opposite leg that the stomp will come from. The combo is safe to heal on so if players dodge the initial attack, they can roll and sprint away and heal, summon their Spirits, replenish their FP, or use a consumable like Grease.

Related: How to beat the Guardian Golem in Elden Ring

Slam Tantrum

After raising its club, the boss will repeatedly slam into the ground, dealing damage to anything in a moderately sized radius. The telegraph for this can be seen before it raises its weapon as the boss will crouch down slightly before throwing its tantrum. This will usually result in four slams in quick succession, followed by a delayed fifth slam that has a large radius and will attempt to track the player. The fifth slam will have the club stuck in the ground and the Troll will deal damage upon retrieving its weapon. There is a lot of time to react to the boss raising its weapon in the air and running toward Stonedigger Troll and rolling past it is the safest way of avoiding getting hit. The final slam will turn around in the direction of the player, but if there is enough distance, it shouldn't hit. Ranged players can get a lot of damage if they roll past it before the tantrum begins.

Single Slam

Stonedigger Troll will do a single slam with its club if the player is in front of it. The hitbox of the attack itself is similar to the fifth slam during its tantrum combo. It is very slow and players can avoid getting hit entirely by simply running in the opposite direction of it. Going through the legs of the boss and continuing to run is another safe opportunity to heal as well as any other things the player may need to do. Another slam can occur at the end of its stomp and sweep attack. This occurs more frequently in the second half of the fight, once the boss is under 50 percent HP. This extension of the combo also tracks the player, potentially catching them off guard if they were already used to attack immediately after the sweep attack.

How to Two Hand Weapons

With most attacks bouncing off this enemy, it is important to understand how to two-hand a weapon. Two handing a weapon will make sure players can attack without their attacks bouncing off. Using weapon arts are an additional useful way of dealing damage without two handing as they will not bounce off either.

To two-hand a weapon, players just need to hold their interact button along with the light attack of their preferred weapon they want to two hand.

• PlayStation 4/5 - Triangle + R1/L1 or R2/L2
• Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S - Y + RB/LB or RT/LT
• PC - E + LMB/RMB

For more Elden Ring guides, check out How to beat the Cemetery Shade in Elden Ring? on Pro Game Guides.