Elden Ring DLC: How to beat Romina, Saint of the Bud, in Shadow of the Erdtree

In the northern jungles of the Land of Shadow, you'll find many a monstrous foe lying in wait. 

Shadow of the Erdtree is a huge expansion, giving Elden Ring players an entirely new map to piece together, with new weapons to gather and bosses to overcome. One of these horrific bosses is Romina, Saint of the Bud, a creature with insect and arachnid features guarding an old church. You'll have to best this beast before you're able to continue on in your adventure, but the fight won't be easy. 

I've gathered the information you need to get ahead and take down this many-legged entity. Here's my boss guide on how to beat Romina, Saint of the Bud.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Standard Edition

Miquella's mysteries continue as Tarnished players head to the Land of Shadow, a mysterious realm filled with new monsters and powerful magic. This expansion is launching over two years after the release of the original game, bringing monstrous bosses to fight and special weapons to obtain.

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Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Romina, Saint of the Bud: General Tips

Located at the Church of the Bud in the overgrown jungle ruins of Rauh, Romina, Saint of the Bud isn't quite the most difficult opponent this expansion has to offer, but that doesn't mean she's a pushover. On the contrary, if you somehow manage to reach her without being properly prepared and taking out several other threats along the way, then you're in for some big trouble. 

With the power of Scarlet Rot and a centipede-scorpion hybrid body, Romina, Saint of the Bud makes for an intimidating first impression. Below, I've gathered the most important general preparation tips you should keep in mind before taking her on. Considering she's at least a chunk of the way into the expansion, none of this should be difficult to do.

• Make sure you've got plenty of Scadutree fragment upgrades and Revered Spirit Ash Blessing upgrades: By this point, you really should have a lot of these expansion-specific upgrades. These ensure your damage output isn't neutured and allow you to avoid getting one-hit killed by basic boss attacks. I beat Romina, Saint of the Bud with a level 10 Scadutree blessing and level 5 Revered Spirit Ash blessing.
• Dryleaf Dane is available as a summon: Right outside the fog wall at the entrance to the church, you can find a summon sign for Dryleaf Dane, the NPC who teaches you martial arts. While his damage output isn't overly spectacular, Dane does a fantastic job dividing Romina's attention during the fight, which is a massive help during a few particularly dangerous attacks. As such, I'd say it's worth bringing him in for the fight.
• Beware, as Romina inflicts Scarlet Rot: The dreaded Scarlet Rot affliction makes a gnarly return here, with Romina inflicting it through a variety of attacks. Try to keep a healthy stockpile of Preserving Boluses on hand in order to quickly neutralize any build-up.
• Romina is vulnerable to Frost: Consider using a Cold weapon or magic inflict Frostbite, as Romina is vulnerable to it. Regular attacks will allow you to frequently build up Frostbite and take out large chunks of Romina's health, especially if you are using the Mimic Tear. In the unlikely event you don't have any Cold weapons or magic, defeating the Putrescent Knight in Shadow of the Erdtree will grant the Remembrance of Putrescence, which can be used to unlock the Vortex of Putrescence sorcery or Putrescence Cleaver weapon, both of which inflict Frost.
• Bring Mimic Tear: Since Romina is vulnerable to Frost, the best Spirit Ash summon you can bring along for the battle is Mimic Tear equipped with a Cold weapon.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Romina, Saint of the Bud: Boss Guide

If you're prepared, then it's time to actually fight this boss. Below are some important tips to keep in mind when taking on Romina, Saint of the Bud.

• Watch out for her leap attack: This attack is slow and clearly telegraphed, as Romina jumps up into the air and holds still for a single moment before slamming down on you. If you don't dodge it however, it'll do absolutely massive damage when it connects.  It'll also build up a large chunk of Scarlet Rot, which is generally considered something to avoid. 
• Her coil attacks do moderate physical damage, but can be blocked or dodged: Romina's centipede-like body will lash out at you, doing chunks of damage if it connects. Fortunately, you can easily dodge these or block them. I recommend blocking if possible, as the stamina damage isn't so bad as to be insurmountable as long as you're careful.
• Her sword strikes can be blocked, but you should try dodging: Similarly, her sword attacks can also be blocked or dodged. Unlike the coil strikes, you should try dodging if possible, as her sword attacks build up Scarlet Rot on impact. 
• Watch out for her rolls: Romina will roll around the churchyard arena from time to time, dealing large chunks of physical damage and staggering you, so dodge or block.
• Don't get grabbed: Romina will sometimes rear back a coil horizontally and lash out, trying to grab you. If you are grabbed at anything below 100% health, you're likely dead, as she then stabs you with her scorpion stinger, which delivers a massive blow of damage and a huge amount of Scarlet Rot build-up.
• After losing just over one-third of her health, she gains a deadly new move: After taking roughly 35% damage or so, Romina will rarely use a new move where she floats up into the air, raining down purple butterflies all around her. You need to immediately get away from these butterflies, as they will glow purple and inflict massive Scarlet Rot build up on you. If you are in the middle of them when they go off, this is usually enough to inflict the status on you instantly, so don't get hit!

Just keep exploring

Even after beating Romina, Saint of the Bud, there's much to do and find across Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Players are still having fun finding secrets, deciphering cryptic pieces of the story, and laughing at their misfortunes when getting utterly trounced by some terrible foe. 

In our review of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, my colleague Brendan Lowry writes that "It's everything you love about Elden Ring, but amplified, and with none of the design issues that detracted from the base game's excellence. Not only does it rekindle the joy of discovery in this incredible world, but it elevates it to new heights."

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4, meaning one of the best Xbox games and best PC games is now even better.