Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon

Physical is the clean answer in both phases. Slash and pierce hit hardest; strike is average. Jump attacks and upgraded physical weapons beat glintstone trades here.

Magic is heavily resisted. Pure sorcery still works with enough upgrade and charged casts, but it is slower than a physical weapon with the same investment — especially in phase 2.

Fire, lightning and holy only lose a little in phase 1 and a bit more in phase 2. Fine as secondary damage; not a reason to rebuild the kit.

Bleed, frost, poison and scarlet rot all build. Sleep and madness do nothing. Bleed stays useful into phase 2; the other statuses take longer to proc once she shifts arenas.

Aim for level 40–50 with a finished early-to-mid weapon upgrade path. Get Vigor into the mid-20s before you treat phase 2 comets as optional.

Default to physical slash or pierce. Leave holy- or magic-first kits behind unless you have no better upgrade.

Fill HP flasks first. Keep an FP flask if you will cast weapon skills, pots, or a few sorceries on bubble-break windows.

Magic resist from armor, a boiled crab, or Magic Fortification softens phase 2 beams. Not required, but it saves flasks while you learn the patterns.

Rest at Debate Parlor, clear Moongrum or decide to run past him, and pick a spirit ash before the elevator.

Rennala floats in a golden sphere and takes no damage until the bubble breaks. The real targets are Juvenile Scholars — especially the one currently singing.

The singing scholar shows a golden aura, throws purple books, and gets louder as you close. One hit is enough to stop the song; you do not need the kill. After three disrupted singers the sphere drops and Rennala falls.

While she is down, scholars freeze and you get a free damage window. Take a charged heavy string or jump attacks, then leave before the golden explosion that restores the bubble.

Scholars hide behind the bookcase ring. Check the outer aisle if you cannot spot the singer in the open center. Watch chandelier warning circles in the gaps — standing under them drops a fire chandelier.

She periodically rebirths fresh scholars from above. Do not clear the whole room every cycle; only hunt singers and use the downed windows to chunk her bar.

At phase 1 HP 0 a cutscene plays (Ranni’s voice). You load onto an open moonlit water plane with Rennala at a full 4,097 HP bar — this is a second fight, not a short finish.

She opens with glintstone casts: pebbles, cometshards, Star Shower, Shattering Crystal, Comet Azur beams, and Rennala’s Full Moon. Staff spins punish players who hug her without watching the twirl.

Below about 60% HP she starts summoning: Bloodhound Knight, three wolves, a fire-breathing dragon, or a troll knight. Each summon drops a damaging circle on cast and despawns after a few seconds.

When the circle appears, leave first — do not finish a charged heavy through the summon. Kite the spirit or ignore it if Rennala is already recovering from a big spell, then reclose on her.

She is much more evasive than phase 1. Take one or two hits after a finished Full Moon, Comet Azur, or summon despawn; long light strings are how melee dies here.

Phase 1 is a hunt, not a duel. Sprint the library for the golden singer, tap them, rotate to the next, then dump jump attacks into Rennala on the break. Reset before the explosion.

In phase 2 hold mid-range on the water: close enough to punish spell finishers, far enough to see Comet Azur and Full Moon startups. Hugging her legs the whole fight eats staff twirls.

Default loop: bait or dodge a cast → one jump attack or two lights → disengage. Save charged heavies for Full Moon explosions you already cleared and for post-summon windows.

Critical hits work in phase 2 once posture breaks. Jump attacks and charged heavies after safe recoveries build that pressure; she cannot be parried.

Lead with a physical or bleed/frost sidearm; keep sorceries as backup. She shrugs off most glintstone damage, so a pure staff plan is the slow clear — use spells for safe chip, not as your only damage.

Phase 1: never spend FP on the golden bubble. Let a spirit ash peel scholars, snipe singers with pebbles or a quick bolt, then save big casts for the downed window after the third disrupt. Leave before the re-bubble explosion.

In phase 2 hold mid-to-long range on the open water, slightly off her center line. Strafe Full Moon and Comet Azur; do not plant your feet to finish a charged Comet while she tracks you.

Cast after Star Shower lands, after Full Moon detonates, after a summon fades, and when Comet Azur ends. Stop immediately if a summon circle starts under you or she begins another beam.

When FP is dry, swap to the sidearm for jump attacks on those same openings. A plain thrusting sword or slash weapon at the recommended upgrade level beats empty-staff panic more often than one more shrugged-off glintstone volley.

Easiest honest clear: a durable spirit ash for both phases, physical jump attacks on every bubble break, and patience in phase 2 while summons expire.

Bleed or frost from range still builds if melee feels bad. Apply on the downed window or on spell recovery, then back off — sleep and madness do nothing.

Phase 1 can be slowed safely by never killing scholars you do not need; only tap singers and use the freeze window. Greeding extra scholar kills just spawns replacements.

If you only need the Great Rune later, you can leave Raya Lucaria and come back after Altus or Caelid gear — but rebirth and respec stay unavailable until you defeat her.

Rebirth lets you move spent attribute levels around while keeping your overall level — the game’s respec.

Cosmetics changes face, hair, and body the same way the Roundtable Hold mirror does.

Both options stay on Rennala after the fight for the rest of the playthrough (she briefly hides during part of Sellen’s quest).

Rebirth consumes one Larval Tear when you confirm changed attributes. Back out without confirming and the tear is not spent.

You can rebirth as many times as you have Larval Tears. Tears are limited per journey — spend them when a build swap is real.

Cosmetics does not cost a Larval Tear.

Rebirth changes stats. Move points between Vigor, Mind, Endurance, and damage attributes. Costs a Larval Tear when you confirm.

Cosmetics changes looks only — same as the Roundtable Hold mirror. No tear, no stat change.

New face or hair only → Cosmetics. Wrong build → Rebirth.

No hard cap beyond how many Larval Tears you still hold.

Tears come from set world drops, enemies, and shops — limited respec currency, not an infinite dump.

Spend a tear only when the new build is real; Cosmetics never costs a tear if you only need a new look.