Elden Ring DLC: Metyr, Mother of Fingers location, weakness, and how to beat in Shadow of the Erdtree

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Several of the major boss fights in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC are tucked away in some pretty unlikely places, and that includes Metyr, Mother of Fingers — a bizarre amalgamation of gnarled fingers that looks like it'd be right at home at the end of a Bloodborne level. Indeed, it's one of the strangest beings players will encounter in the Land of Shadow, but many may end up missing this battle entirely due to its secret location.

While Metyr isn't too difficult — many of her moves are simple, and her overall moveset isn't very diverse — she has a few attacks that are both very deadly and very difficult to dodge. With that said, she does have a noticeably low health pool, and is also susceptible to a handful of different status effect afflictions.

Not sure where Metyr is, or are struggling to defeat her? In the in-depth guide below, I go over everything you need to know about finding and fighting her, including where she is, how to reach her, some general tips on preparing for the bout, and a complete rundown of her entire moveset.

Metyr, Mother of Fingers quest and how to get to

You can't reach the Finger Ruins of Miyr without first doing Count Ymir's questline first, which involves sounding a bell at the Finger Ruins of Rhia and then the Finger Ruins of Dheo. (Image credit: Fextralife)

Before you can actually fight this twisted finger monstrosity, you'll first need to find it. Thankfully, it's not hard to reach where it is once you know actually know what to do.

Metyr, Mother of Fingers is located in a hidden area called the Finger Ruins of Miyr beneath the Cathedral of Manus Metyr in eastern Scadu Altus. Note that in order to actually access this area, you'll first need to complete the questline of Count Ymir — he's the one sitting on the large throne in the center of the building.

Ymir will ask you to find two different hallowed ruins and sound a bell at them, giving you a map you can compare to your own to help figure out where they are. The ruins he's referring to are two other Finger Ruins locations in the Land of Shadow; the first is the Finger Ruins of Rhia at the easternmost point of the Cerulean Coast, and the second is the Finger Ruins of Dheo to the southeast of the Hinterlands region (both are pictured above in an Elden Ring DLC interactive map). Some important things to note are that the bells in these ruins are at their center points, and also that you'll need to speak to Ymir each time you sound one to progress his quest.

Once Ymir gives you a map for the third Finger Ruins he wants you to find, you'll likely notice it shows a picture of the Cathedral of Manus Metyr; reload the area, and he'll be gone. From here, all you have to do is walk up to his throne and interact with it to open the way to the Finger Ruins of Miyr. Once you come down the ladder, you'll be able to start the Metyr, Mother of Fingers boss fight by sounding the bell at the end of the path.

Metyr, Mother of Fingers weakness and tips

The Frostbite status effect is exceptional against Metyr, as is Bleed. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Before starting the fight with Metyr, Mother of Fingers proper, prepare for it with some of these general tips and suggestions.

• As always, you may want to come back after you've collected more Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes if you're having a very hard time with this boss. While it doesn't have a lot of health, it does hit like an absolute truck; these upgrade materials will help lessen the impact of its blows on you and your spirit summons.
• Mimic Tear and Lhutel the Headless are both some of the best Spirit Ashes to use here. The value of a tanky clone of you is obvious, but Lhutel is also a strong choice since she uses a greatshield to protect herself and often teleports to dodge attacks between spear throws that take aggro off you.
• I don't recommend summoning more than one other player for this fight. The big advantage you have in this bout is that Metyr has a fairly low HP pool compared to other bosses, but summoning a full group will make her noticeably tankier, and since Phase 2 has several moves that are awkward to avoid, you want to minimize the amount of time the fight takes.
• Metyr is weak to both Bleed and Frostbite, so try to apply these status effects if you can. This can be done with weapons or Ashes of War that inflict them innately, infused weapons, spells, consumables, and throwables.
• Metyr deals both Physical and Magic damage, so get resistances for these damage types if you want to improve survivability. Talismans like the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman and Spelldrake Talisman, consumables such as Boiled Crab and Spellproof Dried Liver, and spells like Barrier of Gold and Black Flame's Protection are all great ways to do this.
• The Silver Mirrorshield can help you survive some of the boss' tricky Magic attacks, as it blocks 89% of incoming Magic damage (100% when buffed with Scholar's Shield). You'll find it in the Apostate Derelict church in northern Consecrated Snowfield.
• Having a good ranged Ash of War on your weapon or another way to attack from afar is a good idea for this fight. This is because many of the boss' attacks in Phase 2 will see her leave melee range for several seconds. Consider using spells, Ashes of War like Ice Spear or Spectral Lance, or bows — whatever works best with your build, really.
• Metyr isn't hard to stance break with weapons and Ashes of War good at staggering, but she recovers extremely quickly, so I recommend simply hitting her body when she staggers instead of trying to go for a critical hit. Some free damage is better than none at all if you try to rush over to her head's crit spot, but fail to get there before she gets back up.

Boss guide: How to beat Metyr, Mother of Fingers

When Metyr raises its Fingercreeper digits into the air like this, sprint away; they're about to crawl towards you, and you can't dodge through all the hits. (Image credit: Windows Central)

• Metyr will almost always begin the fight by charging, then firing a Magic laser from her finger-like head at you. The laser shoots a short moment after the charged energy concentrates in the center of her head; use this to help time your dodge when the projectile sails towards you.
• Metyr may also shoot a sweeping laser from her head that moves right to left. The hitbox on this is a bit bigger than you'd think it would be due to small explosions the laser leaves behind, so the best way to dodge it is to roll to the right through the laser as it sweeps past.
• In Phase 1, Metyr often uses simple attacks that involve her trying to slam you with her head and body. These are extremely telegraphed and easy to dodge, so make sure you're rolling through them and towards her to get a few hits in each time she uses them.
• Metyr's arm attacks, however, are a little trickier, and she has three different variations of them she can use:
  • If she lifts one arm high into the air: She will use that arm to slam you while lurching forward. Easiest to dodge by rolling towards her as the slam lands. This is the simplest of these arm attacks, and the best to punish with damage.
  • If she lifts both arms high into the air: She will first try to smash you with a pair of quick, consecutive slams — one with her left arm, followed by one with her right — then use both arms to rapidly smash you three times. Dodge backwards for the first two slams, then roll forward as she performs the final three. 
  • If she spreads her arms out: She'll claw at you with her right hand, followed by her left. These swipes can be avoided by rolling in any direction, though the best method is to dodge into the direction each swipe is coming from; this ensures you won't be clipped by any lingering hitboxes.
• The boss may also lift its head, gather Magic energy, and then slam it into the ground, creating a cone of damage indicators that show where follow-up blasts are about to happen. You can stand in the zones between these indicators — the safe spots get bigger the farther you are from the boss — to stay safe.
• Metyr has two ways she can attack using the Fingercreeper digits on the front and side of her body:
  • If the fingers lift into the air: She's about to use them to try and slam you, then crawl towards you. This attack is both lethal and impossible to iframe entirely with dodges, so you'll need to sprint away. Strength builds can also utilize greatshields to block the fingers, though this will drain a significant amount of stamina.
  • If the fingers curl up: Metyr will quickly use the fingers to flick you. Far less deadly than the first attack, but still dangerous nonetheless. Roll into the fingers as they flick to avoid damage, then punish with damage.

Metyr, Mother of Fingers Phase 2

This laser is...a lot. Do your best to sprint away from it and roll through the beam if you have to. (Image credit: Windows Central)

At around 50% health, Metyr will begin levitating in the air, creating a damaging field of Magic around her as energy builds in her "tail," then explodes — just sprint away when you see this start happening (roll the explosion to be safe) and note that there's now a large yellow and purple orb by her tail. This signals the start of Phase 2, in which Metyr gains a few very powerful attacks and upgrades one from the first phase.

• Metyr's Magic laser snipe from Phase 1 now shoots three times rapidly in Phase 2 so be aware of that. To avoid damage, dodge left or right as you did before, but do so several times, and try and dodge the first shot a little early so you have time to recover and dodge again for the next two.
• Metyr may occasonally open its chest cavity and spawn a handful of Fingercreeper enemies, so watch out for them, and kill them as soon as you're able. They can and will attack you while you're fighting Metyr herself, making the fight considerably harder.
• If Metyr leaps into the air and begins to spin, she's about to launch herself at you and try to run you over as she slides past. This move deals very heavy damage and is extremely difficult and inconsistent to roll, so just sprint away from her as fast as you can as soon as you see her preparing this move. If you have to dodge, roll through her right as she's about to hit you to maximize protection from your iframes.
  • A greatshield can be used to block this, but in my experience, they've proven to be inconsistent and you may still take damage. This is likely because the spinning fingers can clip you around your shield.
• The boss may also stand on her legs and raise her arms as her tail orb glows, creating Magic bubbles in front of her that rise out of the ground and explode after several seconds. The best thing to do here is to sprint forwards and past the bubbles to her side, where you can get several hits in as the bubbles burst.
• The final new attack Metyr can do sees her levitate high into the air, surround the area immediately around her in a damaging field of Magic, and then channel a colossal orb with her tail that shoots a massive laser that spins around the arena (she can change its direction). I've found that the best way to avoid damage here is to sprint away from the laser as much as you can, then bravely roll through it as it sweeps you. Taking damage from it is guaranteed to put you at critical health, so use your Flask of Crimson Tears immediately after getting up

That's the fight, and it's certainly an odd one — probably my least favorite of the DLC, as I don't like how awkward and janky Phase 2's big new attacks are. Still, as long as you're able to stay alive between them, you shouldn't have too much trouble taking Metyr out thanks to her small HP bar. Once she's dead, you'll get the Remembrance of the Mother of Fingers, and can head back up to the Cathedral of Manus Metyr for an interesting conclusion to Count Ymir's questline.

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The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is finally here, and it makes one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of all time even better. It's out now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and Windows PC for $39.99.