BEWARE OF UNMARKED SPOILERS! Godfrey serves a significant role in the main storyline and background. Several item descriptions and the revelations surrounding his boss fight are integral to his identity and important twists to the main storyline. Due to these, even trope names may spoil several implications about The Lands Between as a whole. You have been warned.

Godfrey, First Elden Lord (formerly Hoarah Loux, Warrior)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/godfrey_4.jpg

"Alas, I am returned! To be granted audience once more. Upon my name as Godfrey, the First Elden Lord!"

^{Click here to see him as Hoarah Loux, Warrior}

Voiced by: Edward Rowe

"Long and hard didst thou fight, Tarnished warrior, spurned by the grace of gold. Be assured, the Elden Ring resteth close at hand."

Also known as the Lord of the Battlefield and Chieftain of the Badlands. Originally known as Hoarah Loux, Godfrey was Queen Marika's first king consort who fathered several demigods with her and fought the empire's ancient wars against the Giants, Dragons, and Storm King during the earliest days of the Age of the Erdtree. He lost the Erdtree's Grace at some point before Radagon rose as his successor, becoming the very first Tarnished.

Given the important revelations which come with the character's introduction during the game, Godfrey is a Walking Spoiler, so all spoilers are unmarked.

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A-G

The Ace: Widely regarded as one of the greatest warriors to ever live, to the point Radahn desires to be like him instead of his own father, Radagon. And unlike the other few candidates for that title in the setting, Godfrey was not born a god; he became that strong on his own.
Action Dad: Godfrey has three sons with Queen Marika (that we know of) and is one of the most powerful characters in the series, as his reputation, influence, and his boss battle demonstrate.
Affably Evil: Godfrey is a brutal, bloodthirsty warmonger responsible for a truckload of suffering, but when you finally meet the guy he's shown giving his son a tender farewell, and following that he treats the Tarnished with impeccable politeness. Not even death can break his composure, as he commends the player for besting him in his final breaths.
Allegorical Character: Godfrey represents the inherent savagery of humanity and the "survival of the fittest" power structures of many premodern civilizations that were transformed as said civilizations became more complex. He's a battle-hungry barbarian warlord who is merciless to his enemies and has no higher goals other than slaughter and glory. His bloodlust was so unbridled that he had to physically transform himself by grafting a supernatural lion to his body to rein it in. He values personal strength above all else and believes it to be the only relevant factor to who should rule, a fact reiterated on the description of his gear.^note When civilization advanced into the current era, he lost favor and was eventually replaced by Radagon, who while also a great warrior is as notable for being a scholar and who achieved his greatest "conquest" with diplomacy rather than violence. Adding to this is that his companion Serosh is the king of beasts, once-wild creatures granted intelligence by the Greater Will, and he has to kill his companion to revert to his natural state of viciousness.
Ambiguously Related:
- To you, the Tarnished. Godfrey was the first Tarnished alongside his army, and a few times in the game (most notably in Margit/Morgott complimenting the Tarnished that 'warrior blood must truly run in [their] veins.") it's indicated that the player Tarnished is a descendant of Godfrey or a descendant of one of his warriors. If Godfrey himself knows the answer to this, he doesn't particularly care to mention it when meeting the Tarnished.
- To Nepheli Loux. They both have the same last names and both obviously hail from the same tribe of the Badlands, though whether Nepheli is a descendant of his or even a direct (estranged) daughter, or 'Loux' is simply an identification of the whole tribe, is unknown. Interestingly if her questline has been followed to completion Nepheli can join the Tarnished for the fight with Godfrey, the only NPC Summon that can unless you follow the Frenzied Flame ending.
Ambiguous Situation: When the Player Tarnished encounters Godfrey at the end of the game, it's revealed that he can still see the light of Grace and it's pointing towards the Player. Does this imply that he and Marika were simply using the Tarnished to clear a path to the Erdtree and then discard them so that Godfrey can become Elden Lord once again? Or does it imply the opposite; that the light of Grace isn't actually pointing at the Tarnished and is merely pointing away from the Erdtree, implying that Godfrey is not meant to become Elden Lord? The fact that he can still see the light of Grace yet doesn't revive after death muddles this issue even further.
Animal Motifs: Lions. His animal companion is a huge and old-looking white lion, and his hair resembles a lion's mane. Lions are associated with power and regality, and were also a symbol of warrior heroism, fitting for a barbarian king. Also, the social hierarchy in a pride of lions is matriarchal, which perfectly reflects Godfrey's status as Elden Lord; while he ruled over the Lands Between, he did so with Marika being his direct superior since she is a god.
Anti-Villain: Godfrey was one of the key individuals who began the Age of the Erdtree, directly responsible for the extermination of Fire Giants and the bloody conquest of the Storm Lord's domain (even personally slaying "the lone hero fighting for vengeance" against him at the Siege of Castle Morne). However, he was also said to be an honorable and fair ruler, going as far as to suppress his own bloodlust to carry himself as a proper Lord. Furthermore, while he allowed his sons Morgott and Mohg to be raised in a sewer, he also apparently ensured they had decent education (judging by their competence in various fields) and in his sole on-screen interaction with one of them, treats Morgott with immense tenderness. He is also very honorable and even courteous in his interactions with the player Tarnished, being one of the very few foes who treats them as an equal and fellow warrior. In fact, the only antagonistic trait he displays once he shows up is his goal: reclaim his throne as the First Elden Lord, which goes against the Tarnished's. Even then should he be defeated, Godfrey takes his defeat with grace and merriment at the Tarnished's success.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: As the First Elden Lord and the tribal warlord of the Badlands, Godfrey commands immense authority, and is quite possibility the greatest warrior to have walked the earth. This also applies to his beliefs regarding people in power, as he states to the Tarnished should he kill them in his second phase: "a crown is warranted by strength." Godfrey sees personal prowess in combat as the only relevant factor in deciding who should rule the Lands Between, though downplayed as he does have certain values regarding how a Lord should conduct themselves, to the point of suppressing his own bloodlust for his kingship. He's also not a hypocrite about it, complimenting the Tarnished if they manage to kill him.
Ax-Crazy: There's a reason he has a Restraining Bolt - without it, his bloodlust is downright nightmarish, and the fight becomes more like battling a wild animal than a human being. He's not completely mindless, as his Graceful Loser quote after his defeat illustrates, but he's a long way from conventional sanity, to the point where it's implied to have played a role in getting him and the Tarnished exiled in the first place.
Back from the Dead: Hoarah Loux met his end long before the Shattering, with the game's very opening scene showing his corpse and Serosh hung up on display somewhere. He was brought back to life like the rest of the Tarnished's kind after the Shattering, but he technically gained that title long before his death, during his exile; see The Reveal below.
Baritone of Strength: Speaks in a deep, rich voice with dignified, authoritative cadence befitting his station as First Elden Lord. When he Turns Red he adopts a much gruffer, snarling tone.
Barbarian Longhair: He kept his blonde hair long and unkempt, almost like a lion's mane.
Barbarian Hero: He fits the archetype very well; a powerful Chieftain from the badlands who is covered in kingly, but still Barbarian-esque armor and armed with a powerful magical axe. He is also an honorable but absolutely brutal Might Makes Right Lord.
Barbaric Battleaxe: He wields a massive double-headed axe that had one head broken off during a battle. As his ideology states that the strongest rule, it is pretty telling that he uses this massive war-torn weapon. And that's just in Phase 1. In Phase 2, he discards his axe and most of his armour to fight you with only his bare hands. It doesn't get much more barbaric than that.
Bare-Fisted Monk: As Hoarah Loux, he'll fight barehanded, with nothing but kicks, swipes, stomps, and flying powerbombs.
The Berserker: In the first phase, he seems to be channeling Tranquil Fury by attacking the player with vicious, but controlled brute force via his greataxe swings. However, it's not until he shatters his weapon he really starts channeling this trope, becoming a raging fury of death, with erratic swings of his limbs, screams which might as well be a beast's roar, and being so angry to the point one of his kill animations is to rip apart the player with his bare hands.
BFS: His personal weapon is a golden greataxe that is about as large as him, with its right side shattered, which is said to have happened during a massive battle during the "Long March" of the Tarnished outside of Lands Between.
Blood Knight: So much so Serosh was actually there to keep his bloodlust in check when he became lord. Once Godfrey slays him, he lets his blood boil rampantly. His lion insignia is also notably on the murals and floors in all of the colosseums, which were retained in the fiefs of Godrick and Radahn even as the practice of ritual combat was supposed to have died out under his successor, Radagon.
Blood-Splattered Warrior: After killing Serosh, Hoarah Loux spends the remainder of the fight absolutely drenched in the lion spirit's blood.
Bling of War: Wears a set of ornate golden armor and a blue cape while splitting his enemies with a fancy golden axe.
Boss Tease: You fight a golden phantom of him long, long before you encounter him in the flesh, and the phantom's moveset is lifted from his first phase in its entirey.
Chekhov's Gunman: Twofold.
- Regarding his identity as Godfrey, various items and spells mention the First Elden Lord, his exploits during the War against the Giants and the mystery of his exile. Then he shows up barring the path to the Elden Throne, wishing to reclaim his Lordship.
- Regarding his identity as Hoarah Loux, by the time the player has reached Ashen Capital, Hoarah is the only important Tarnished mentioned in the opening who remains unaccounted for. It's when the First Elden Lord himself sheds his armor and Serosh he reveals he is Hoarah Loux.
Clipped-Wing Angel: Played with. His second phase is in certain ways actually weaker than his first: many of his attacks have less range, his resistance to physical damage decreases due to him shedding his armor, and his grabs don't do quite as much damage as his first phase's four to six hit combos, as each grab requires a certain amount of wind-up (usually more than the combo would take) to do about the same amount of damage as two or three hits from his axe. He also triggers this phase once his health reaches below 45%, so a skilled player may actually beat the second phase faster than they did the first. However, he trades defense and consistent damage for a massive increase in speed, being able to easily dart across the entire arena and thus apply constant pressure on the player, greater single burst damage, as his ground slams do more damage in this phase and can be chained to kill players in seconds, and unpredictability, as he has many variations to his grabs, each requiring different dodge windows, that can chain from his ferocious swipe combos. Couple this with the fact that all his grabs are impossible to block, and the result is something brutally brief—either you end up victorious, or you're taking a trip back to your last site of grace.
Commonality Connection: His super move where he sticks his fists into the ground, "charges", and then pulls them out accompanied by an explosion and tons of rock shooting into the air in a localized area is highly similar to one of Beast Clergyman Gurranq's attacks, except more powerful. Unsurprising, since his regent and counselor Serosh has the title of Lord of Beasts, and some of his other moves (like the one where he makes spiky rocks shoot into the air by stomping) resemble the stone-manipulating Beast Incantations.
Crucified Hero Shot: When he (and Serosh) died as Hoarah Loux, his strung-up corpse in the opening cinematic is a dead ringer to Jesus. Ironically, his wife (who was the person behind his banishment) is also currently tortured and imprisoned in the exact same pose.
David vs. Goliath: Though Godfrey himself is massive compared to the player Tarnished, the first Elden Lord is still minuscule compared to his foes in the War against the Giants. Judging by the size of the Fire Giant and the colossal humanoid skeletons sitting around the world, Godfrey had his work cut out for him.
Deity of Human Origin: He was once the mortal chieftain of a barbarian tribe before ascending to demigod status as the First Elden Lord. Even after becoming Tarnished and cast-out from his throne, he appears to retain all of the power granted to him by his ascension.
Discard and Draw: Slaying Serosh and unleashing his repressed savagery results in him trading his battle axe and armor for Super-Speed and super powered wrestling moves; his attacks do less damage overall with less reach, and his defense also decreases, but he becomes unpredictable due to his awkward grab timings and is capable of quickly killing you in turn with his high burst damage, and his shockwave moves have longer reach.
Due to the Dead: His boss cutscene shows him cradling Morgott's corpse as it fades into wisps of light, and lamenting it's been too long.
Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: After felling the Stormlord and killing all the Fire Giants, the "sparkles in his eyes" were said to dim, due to having slaughtered his Worthy Opponent. This was likely also the sign that marked him becoming Tarnished.
Early-Bird Cameo: Twice. Hoarah Loux, his second phase, appears in the intro cutscene as one of the famed Tarnished (as a corpse for that matter). A golden phantom of him also appears as a mid-area boss during the player's first visit to Leyndell; presumably, it is him watching over the capital.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: While a brutal conqueror who ruthlessly slew whatever foe Marika sent him after, Godfrey judges others on strength of arms rather then their "purity" in the Golden Order's eyes. The Crucible Knights, despite their use and worship of heretical magic, were his personal troop, he eventually came to regret wiping out the Fire Giants after they proved to be such Worthy Opponents, and right before his own boss fight he pays due respect to Morgott (who defended Leyndell to his last breath) in spite of his Omenhood.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While he didn't appear to oppose Marika's awful treatment of him, Godfrey is shown to have genuinely loved Morgott, attempting to protect him from the player in Leyndell, and gently cradling him in his arms as he dies.
The Exile: The very first Tarnished, who apparently lost the blessing of Erdtree's grace after felling his last Worthy Opponent. After being exiled, it was said he took his kinsfolk and founded a powerful Barbarian Tribe across the sea, in the "badlands". He returns near the end of the game, when a clear path into the Erdtree is made.
Fantasy Counterpart Myth: A famed Barbarian Hero warrior who possesses great strength, wit and agility, an affiliation with lions in the form of his (in this case living) cloak, familiar and general appearance, is a Deity of Human Origin who was elevated into godhood after a series of brutal trials, famously slew the greatest of the Giants, and goes into a berserker state during his boss fight complete with classic wrestling moves that allowed him to take down every monster in his path to uniting the Lands Between? He's Hercules in all but name. He also shares traits with the Norse god Frey: he takes his name (which literally means "God (of) Peace"), and surprisingly, Frey's aspects as a god of peace and prosperity, as after the constant wars Godfrey was expected to rule over an age of prosperity and peace (at least, before he got exiled). Frey was also the god destined to fight and die against Surtr, king of the Fire Giants, while Godfrey took the lead against the Fire Giants and slaughtered them all.
Fatal Flaw: His love of battle. Godfrey was a brutal warrior, to the point that he had to basically graft a beast to himself in order to control the desire for battle, and act in a manner befitting a proper Lord. Exactly why Marika took away his Grace is unknown, but there are implications it was because he was too obsessed with battles to fit into the society created after Marika asserted control over the Lands Between. Regardless of why he was exiled, his military campaigns were characterized by brutality and mercilessness.
Fights Like a Normal: The only supernatural ability he displays is creating glowing shockwaves by striking the ground; he otherwise relies solely on skill at arms and his vast Super-Strength.
Five-Second Foreshadowing: Of the fact Godfrey and Hoarah Loux are one and the same; in the introductory cutscene the first time you challenge him there is a wide shot showing the two of you at the same time, and there is a tether of Grace originating from Godfrey and pointing towards the player, showing Godfrey is Tarnished just like you.
Flowery Elizabethan English: He speaks like this, a trait shared only by a few other characters in the game. It seems to be an indication of how old he is, being the first Elden Lord, and a deliberate affect as part of his act as a proper Lord. He still uses it even as Hourah Loux, Warrior.
Foil: To his descendant Godrick. Both are Lords, but while Godrick was born sickly and had to use power which wasn't his own to become a threat via grafting, Godfrey was already immensely powerful on his own and Serosh was only there to hold him back from going all out. This becomes apparent in their second phases, where Godrick has to graft a dragon's head to his arm for a power boost but Godfrey simply kills Serosh to unleash his true power.
Four-Star Badass: He lead Marika's armies during the empire's brutal period of expansion early in the Age of the Erdtree, and as far as we see his martial accomplishments are pretty much unrivalled. He conquered more or less the entire continent for his queen, wiping the dreaded Fire Giants out almost to a man and breaking the power of the dragons. Godfrey was at the forefront of all these fights, earning the title "Lord of the Battlefield". He was such a god-tier badass that Radahn spent his whole life trying to follow in Godfrey's footsteps rather than his own birth father's. His achievements apparently didn't end when he left his throne behind; the Long March of the Tarnished he led is implied to be a saga in its own right, with him leading his exiled army to victory in countless brutal battles.
"He led the War against the Giants. Faced the Storm Lord, alone. And then, there came a moment. When his last worthy enemy fell. And it was then, as the story is told, that the hue of Lord Godfrey's eyes faded."
Frontline General: Godfrey was the strongest fighter in his army and valued personal combat above all else, so it's no surprise he invariably led from the front. He killed the mysterious Storm Lord in single combat, deciding the conquest of Limgrave, and at the Siege of Castle Morne he slew the vengeful hero who wielded the Grafted Greatsword in a duel.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Like all Tarnished who can still see the guidance of Grace; Godfrey is supposed to possess Resurrective Immortality, yet he appears to die permanently at the end of his boss fight.
The Good King: While his wife was clearly the one calling the shots, Godfrey's rule was said have been just and fair. His successor, Radagon, is quite consistently always in his shadow, with his every action typically compared negatively with the beloved warrior-king by various characters.
Godzilla Threshold: Killing Serosh and unleashing his inner savagery is a last resort he does not undertake lightly; not only does he not do so until you've already depleted 1/2 of his health, the opening cinematic shows that he didn't do it even when he was killed the first time.
Graceful Loser: He takes his defeat rather well.
Godfrey: Brave Tarnished. Thy strength befits a crown.
The Grappler: Unlike other bosses, who tend to only have one, highly telegraphed grab, Hoarah Loux has four grabs, each of which requires different timings to dodge, and he'll use these moves very frequently. Additionally, two of these grabs have very similar telegraphing, meaning he can switch between them to bait you into dodging at the wrong time.
Guardian Entity: Godfrey is accompanied by a spectral leonine entity called Serosh. At the beginning of the second phase, Serosh assumes a physical form to fight the Tarnished in Godfrey's stead, only for him to kill it and "transform" into Hoarah Loux.

H-Z

Have a Nice Death:
As Godfrey: Tarnished Warrior. 'Twas nobly fought.
As Hoarah Loux: A crown is warranted with strength!
Hero of Another Story: Like his wife, he is a living legend with likely countless tales of his own. How he began as a chief of a tribe, how he became the First Elden Lord, the wars he waged in Marika's name, the Long March of the Tarnished he led outside of Lands Between, the wars he waged out there, up until his death under completely unknown circumstances. After his revival some time after the Shattering began, even his return trip to the Lands Between might have been a legendary journey of its own.
Hidden Depths: While he's a Barbarian Hero with a Might Makes Right mentality, Godfrey was knowledgable in statecraft and his rule was said to be honorable.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He absolutely dwarfs the already inhumanly-tall Marika, being nearly four feet taller and thrice as wide.
Humble Hero: Implied with Godrey's true persona Hoarah Loux. He introduces himself simply as "warrior." No lofty titles like Warrior King or Strongest Man, not even Chieftan of the Badlands. Just a very brief job description.
Inexplicably Awesome: Just why Godfrey is so ludicrously strong is never elaborated on. One might be tempted to write it off as a product of the Super-Empowering he received upon claiming the title of Elden Lord, but lore details imply that this impossible strength was the entire reason Hoarah Loux caught Marika's eye in the first place. It also appears to be a trait unique to him, as another member of the same clan, Nepheli Loux, never displays anything close to Godfrey's level of physical ability (although she is at least tough enough to serve as a useful NPC summon in the battle against him).
Large and in Charge: Even by demigod standards, Godfrey stands out for being 13 feet tall◊ (the third tallest after Radahn and Mohg, and he'd be a little taller than Mohg without the latter's horns) and his incredibly broad build, only surpassed by Radahn's implicitly unnatural one. It's not clear how he got so huge, as he was born a normal man (and Nepheli shows the Loux clan aren't just all giants), but it's to be an effect of the Super-Empowering he was given upon becoming Lord.
Late to the Tragedy: He returns to the Lands Between too late to stop the war, protect his wife, or save his children. The throne of Elden Lord is all that remains.
Lightning Bruiser: Exaggerated. Not only he is by far one of the strongest people in the Lands Between, he's also blisteringly fast for someone his size due to moving with the relative speed of a human-sized athlete. And that's even before he returns to his old identity as Hoarah Loux, Warrior...
Like Father, Unlike Son: Of his known demigod children and descendants, only three of them became genuinely wicked.
- Mohg is a powerful blood mage and Evil Overlord whose evil matches his grotesque appearance. Unlike Godfrey, who loved his wife despite his exile and believed in earning power through strength, Mohg made a deal with an Outer God to help him gain dominion over the Lands Between. Mohg also lusted after his half-brother Miquella, whose Empyrean status gave him a legitimate right to the throne, and tried turning him into a god so he can get the power and authority that comes with being a divine consort.
- Godrick, one of Godfrey's descendants, is a despicable weakling of a demigod who is infamous In-Universe for being a Dirty Coward, and is the tyrant of Stormveil who earned his title as "the Grafted" by grafting as many body parts he could onto himself to gain power. Ironically, Godrick idolized him and wanted to live up to his ancestor's great legacy... he just used extremely horrific means to try do so.
- Godefroy is also another descendant of Godfrey. Like Godrick, he also turned to grafting, but was imprisoned for it after his capture by Dragon Knight Kristoff's hands.
Manly Man: Easily the manliest of the demigods, and likely one of the manliest characters in Fromsoft's entire history, rivalled only by General Radahn and Lord Isshin. Not only is he a barbarian king and mighty warrior who attained demigodhood through strength alone, he was also a wise and fair ruler and loving father to his children. Also, that spirit lion you were expecting to join him in battle? That was put there to hold him back, and when he gets serious he rips it apart with his bare hands and starts attacking you unarmed, shirtless, and drenched in its blood. And he is more dangerous like that than he was fully armored and wielding a gigantic axe. And despite being an utterly merciless adversary, he's a genuinely honorable fighter who views you as a Worthy Opponent.
Meaningful Name:
- And a rather ironic one too: Godfrey in Germanic means "God (of) Peace", and the 'Frey' part in particular comes from the Norse god of fertility, prosperity, and peace. While this may seem contradictory to his barbaric, Blood Knight personality, it's important to remember that 'Godfrey' is a persona that he created so he could rule over an age of peace and prosperity of the Golden Order, thus forcing himself to be a 'god of peace'. Deepening the connection: Frey is the god who is destined to fight (and die at the hand of) Surtr, King of the Fire Giants, during Ragnarok, and in-lore Godfrey was the one to lead the war against the Fire Giants, whom he and his army would decimate to the last. Then again, technically the best way to make lasting peace with another race is to exterminate them.
- His real name. The first syllable starts with an h, the third starts with an l. The same applies to the names Heracles and Hercules, whom Hoarah Loux is obviously based on.
Might Makes Right: Godfrey believes strength is the fundamental factor that determines a ruler. If the player Tarnished can defeat him, then they are truly worthy to become Elden Lord. Notably, Godfrey treats the Tarnished with respect and relinquishes the crown in his passing moments even if the Tarnished desires to rule over a horrifying land where everyone suffers (if they side with the Dung Eater) or destroy everything and let chaos take the world (if they become the Lord of Frenzied Flame).
Mirror Character: To the player Tarnished. He is a determined warrior, seeking ever stronger foes. Dead at the start of the game, resurrected by the same grace which had once spurned and rejected him. While he is a former Elden Lord and the very first Tarnished, and you are just a Tarnished of no renown (and likely one of the last to be revived), your grace given quest is the same. While most Tarnished eventually lose sight of the guidance of grace pointing you towards the next boss on your journey, you can see the very same rays emanating from Godfrey's body towards you. All Tarnished in the game except Gideon, you, and Godfrey had lost the drive to seriously become Elden Lord, and even Gideon loses it at the very last steps. In the end the only two Tarnished who could bring their given quest to the conclusion are Godfrey and you, and you must battle to see which one will be truly worthy of the crown.
Monster Progenitor: In addition to having being the first Demigod as Elden Lord, Godfrey was the first person to lose the grace of gold and become Tarnished, also making him one to you.
Muscles Are Meaningful: Godfrey is inhumanly muscular and so veiny that he looks like he began hitting the gym in his crib, and is strong enough to rip craters out of the ground with his bare hands.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: Heavily implied by his intro cutscene. You stumble upon him after he's evidently just reached the Elden Throne and discovered Morgott's body. Before he acknowledges you, he takes a moment to mourn how long it's been since he's seen his son, in a tone that implies some degree of pride in him despite his being born an Omen.
"It's been a long while, Morgott."
Noble Demon: Godfrey is a bloodthirsty Warlord and Marika's first and primary tool of conquest, waging countless brutal wars that took no quarter, and having such an insatiable bloodlust that he needed to graft a spectral being to himself to contain it. However, he is still among the most honorable characters in the game, being one of the very few to compliment the Tarnished should Godfrey kill them and even taking his defeat with grace.
Noodle Incident:
- The circumstances behind Godfrey's banishment are vague at best, with only spoken echoes of Queen Marika providing any context to the matter.
- Like all Tarnished, Hoarah Loux was dead before being revived by a shard of Grace and called back to the Lands Between. Yet who and/or what managed to slay him is never elaborated on.
Not So Stoic: The one time you see him display an emotion other than honorable stoicism or berserker rage is when he tenderly cradles Morgott's body as it dissolves into grace, lamenting the time that's passed since they've seen each other.
Nothing Personal: Assuming he knew that the Tarnished killed his son, his philosophy regarding strength allows him to compartmentalize his sorrow over Morgott’s death separately from his battle with the player who slew him. In the battle to rule the Lands Between, the protagonist proved mightier than his son, that’s all there was to it, so there’s no room for grudges regarding such fair competition.
Outliving One's Offspring: Godfrey is shown cradling his son Morgott when you meet him. With Godwyn dead before the game starts and you potentially killing Mohg, Godfrey potentially outlives all his known children.
Papa Wolf: A hidden condition reveals Godfrey's first boss battle is triggered by attacking Margit in Stormveil, indicating he is projecting him in an attempt to protect his son.
The Paragon: Is viewed as such by warriors, Godfrey is worshiped as the apex warrior of apex warriors.
Recurring Boss: You fight him as a golden shade spirit before confronting him in person. The shade only has about half of his first phase's move set (lacking the largest Shockwave Stomp moves and the fissure explosion combo) and none of his second phase moves, and only has about 30% of his true form's health, making it a pretty disposable mid-level boss. Though the final phase of his second fight as Hoarah Loux arguably counts as a separate boss altogether since it shares zero moves with the shade or his own first phase.
Red Baron: The description for Radahn's armor calls him the Lord of the Battlefield, while as Hoarah Loux he was known as the Chieftain of the Badlands. It is however intentionally subverted in his fight: rather than attaching a grandiose title for his second phase like the other demigod bosses, he is only "Hoarah Loux, Warrior."
Restraining Bolt: The description for the Godfrey Icon states Serosh suppresses his bloodlust, as he vowed to conduct himself as a lord rather than a mere barbarian. Once the Tarnished gets him down to half health, he slays Serosh with his bare hands in order to unleash his bloodlust once again and fight as the raging barbarian Hoarah Loux, fighting barehanded with no shirt but putting up much more of a fight than before.
The Reveal: According to spoken echoes of Queen Marika, Godfrey and his fellow warriors were divested of the Erdtree's Grace and became Tarnished by Queen Marika's decree, because she wanted them to wage wars in a land far away from the Lands Between. Furthermore, Marika's intentions with Godfrey and his warriors seem to involve returning their Grace after their deaths, so they can return and rise back in the Lands Between, wage war again, brandish the Elden Ring, and "grow strong in the face of death".
Sacrificial Lion: A very literal version. Serosh, as revealed in item descriptions, is not merely an extension of Godfrey but in fact an entirely sapient and independent being in his own right, the king of the beasts, Godfrey's regent, and counselor to his children. Godfrey gorily kills him with his bare hands to prevent him from holding back his base savagery, representing his reversion back to the bloodthirsty Hoarah Loux.
Shared Signature Move: He shares a similar move to his descendants, Godefroy and Godrick, in the form of winding up a massive, earth-shattering overhead slam with his axe (and in his second phase, just doing a massive Shockwave Stomp) which requires lifting up one leg in the air, sumo-style. Notably, both he and his descendants share this move with the Fire Giant, last of a race Godfrey and his armies drove to near extinction.
Shockwave Stomp: Godfrey possesses several varieties of the move. One consists in him stomping the ground with his feet to create a shockwave in a triangle in front of him. He can also do it with an axe, charging the ground with energy in a line both in front and behind him. He can also follow a Ground Pound with several shockwaves, charging the ground with energy in a circle around him before unleashing it.
Shoot the Dog: He mangles Serosh to death so he can fight as himself. The lion offered assistance but Godfrey gambled on his unleashed brutality instead.
Skyward Scream:
- Upon transitioning into the second phase of his boss fight, Godfrey throws his head back and lets out a terrifying roar. He can do it again when fighting and the scream is powerful enough to knock the Tarnished down should they stand too close.
- Godfrey's companion Serosh, meanwhile roars to the sky as he is witness to Morgott's final moments in Godfrey's arms. Given that the beast and the Elden Lord have been effectively the same individual for ages, even experiencing their first deaths as one, it's likely Serosh was also present throughout Morgott's life as an extension of his loving father, and is expressing the full anguish Godfrey must be enduring behind his stoic demeanor.
Sleeves Are for Wimps: Godfrey wears an ornate armor and clothes underneath, but he leaves his muscles exposed and unprotected, which showcases his great physical strength.
Simple, yet Awesome: In contrast to all the earthshaking mystical powers wielded by the other Demigods, Godfrey's specialty is just being really, really, really strong.
Strong and Skilled: Alongside his inhuman physical strength, Godfrey is shown to be highly skilled with his Axe, and was known as the greatest warrior to ever set foot on the Lands Between.
Super-Scream: He lets out a mighty, booming roar after killing Serosh. He can use this roar as an attack in his second phase, not harming the player but still notably strong enough to knock them back even if they're blocking, allowing Hoarah Loux a chance to follow-up with his more devastating attacks.
Super-Strength: To such a level the rest of the demigods look like weaklings by comparison, Godfrey can do more damage to the Tarnished with his bare hands then most bosses can with high-level magic. He rips out huge chunks of the arena as part of his fight, sending dozens of stones flying, and several of his grabs involve punting the Tarnished far into the air as if he was throwing a baseball.
Took a Level in Badass: The entire point of him becoming a Tarnished was to further cultivate his already massive strength. In Marika's words: "wage war and grow strong in the face of death."
Transformation Is a Free Action: It takes him a decent amount of time to rip Serosh off of himself in order to power himself up as Hoarah Loux, and the player can only stand there and watch as he does it.
Turns Red: Almost literally. Like most late-game bosses, Godfrey becomes more powerful and aggressive at half-health, but in his case, rather than pulling out new powers or undergoing some transformation, he decides to just stop fucking around and give you a real fight. Thus, he kills his Restraining Bolt Serosh and totally stops holding back, proceeding to show you how he became "Lord of the Battlefield" while drenched in Serosh's gore and blood.
Undying Loyalty: Remains devoted to Marika even after she stripped him of everything he had and exiled him to die. When she revives him and his warriors and calls them back to the Lands Between, he does so without hesitation.
The Unfought: Not him, but his familiar Serosh. After completing the first phase, Serosh begins to turn corporeal, implying he will join the fight, but Godfrey proceeds to kill him. It turns out Serosh was something of a limiter for Godfrey, and his death means Godfrey can unleash his full brutality, changing his fighting style.
Universally Beloved Leader: Godfrey was a brutal warlord who honestly didn't care for the Golden Order's tenants regarding "purity", instead having a Might Makes Right mentality. But his rule was said to be a just one. Even when he became Tarnished, many look upon his time as Elden Lord fondly, with few, if any, saying anything remotely negative about it.
Unknown Rival: While plenty of information about Godfrey has come to light for the Tarnished before he shows up he was always framed as a historical figure, no longer directly relevant. Until the fight there was no reason for the Tarnished to think he was actively pursuing the same goal.
Villain Respect: How much of a villain he is is rather up in the air but he is certainly an antagonist. Despite this he treats the Tarnished with the deep respect they deserve having defeated everything else in their way to the Elden Ring.
Virtuous Character Copy: Of Lord Gwyn, for a given definition of "virtuous" as Godfrey is no saint. Gwyn and Godfrey are the first Lords of their kingdoms. But while Gwyn is an authoritarian patriarch who commands solely as the top God-Emperor, Godfrey was subservient to his wife and eventually had his authority taken away. Both of them killed a primeval species to make way for their own civilizations; but Gwyn was consumed by his hatred of dragons and never regretted his choice, compared to Godfrey, who saw the Fire Giants and their king as Worthy Opponent of the highest caliber, and fell into despair after helping Marika with their genocide. Gwyn was terrified of humanity and took many steps to limit their power, whilst Godfrey is a Deity of Human Origin who has nothing but respect for the human player character. Finally, whilst Gwyn was an Abusive Parent who mistreated his son Gwyndolin for being born with a scandalous deformity, Godfrey was a Good Parent who sincerely loved and cherished his own despite being born an Omen.
Walking Shirtless Scene: He sheds his armor and shirt on the second phase. This doesn't make him any easier to harm, or defeat. He was also shirtless during his first death before being revived by a Sign of Grace, as depicted in the intro cinematic.
Walking Spoiler: His second reappearance as a boss gives away who he originally was — a figure closely tied to the history of the Tarnished kind as well as Lands Between as a whole — further compounded by how he is the only notable roadblock after the burning of the Erdtree, the game's Point of No Return.
The Worf Effect: Widely considered the best warrior to ever live and by far the most powerful (former) mortal in the Lands Between... and it's implied that, when cast out of the Lands Between, he and his army of Tarnished fought an unknown opponent in the Long March that managed to put enough of a fight to break his signature axe. Later, he would die and get hung up and crucified onto a tree by, yet again, an unknown enemy, before being revived by Grace and returned to the Lands Between. Of course, he was still restrained by Serosh at that point, but the fact that this enemy managed to be trouble for an ex-Elden Lord and his army of veteran Giant-slayers that had never known defeat speaks volumes of how harsh the Badlands are.
World's Best Warrior: Widely regarded as the greatest warrior of his age, and still has a strong claim to the title after his return, rivaled only by Radahn, Malenia, and Maliketh. Beginning as a mere mortal chieftain, he rose to the status of Elden Lord through his overwhelming strength and military competence. As Elden Lord, he dueled countless fire giants, dragons, and the Stormlord, coming out the victor in all these conflicts, to the point where the lack of worthy opponents left to sate his lust for battle partially contributed to his loss of grace. While he lacks Malenia's completely unrivalled sword skill and speed, Radahn's prodigious talent as a battlemage and enchanted equipment, or Maliketh's insane agility and possession of the Rune of Death, his simple raw strength stands out from the rest of the Demigods and is all the more notable for lacking any other supernatural qualities.
World's Strongest Man: While Godfrey is an incredibly skilled warrior as his Axe Combos show, his greatest attribute is by far his sheer overwhelming strength, his every blow cratering the ground, creating shockwaves and eruptions. Notably, unlike other powerhouses, Godfrey does not appear to make use sorcery or incantations; his feats are the result of simple strength. His floor-pulling lava shockwave attack in his second phase is quite possibly the most destructive attack in the game that's not done by a Kaiju, creating a massive explosion and sending up tons of boulders within an area of dozens of meters. However, he takes quite a while to do it.
Worthy Opponent:
- He and Malenia are the only bosses who show genuine respect towards the Tarnished Player Character. It's not unwarranted, given at this point, he's the only thing standing between the Tarnished and the Elden Ring.
(Defeating the player, phase 1)': Tarnished warrior. 'Twas nobly fought.
(Defeated): Brave Tarnished... thy strength befits a crown.
- More tragically, his items outright spell out that Godfrey lost his Grace and became the first Tarnished the moment his conquests were over — Once there was nothing left in the known world to throw his greatest efforts at anymore, the light faded from his eyes and he became melancholic — and pliable to Marika's plans.
Wrecked Weapon: One good look at Godfrey's axe will tell an astute Tarnished that it used to be double-headed, but one head broke partially off at some point and he seemingly just kept using it or had what was left of the blade either reforged or shapen into a thick curved back spike. Given the amount of punishment he puts the axe through by splitting the earth, it must have taken a titanic effort to ever actually break it. Its original form isn't even available in the shop, which gives you the axe in its current state as well, though his golden shade counterpart depicting him prior to his exile does have (a projection of) the complete version.
Wrestler in All of Us: Once the player gets Godfrey to his second phase, he'll ditch his axe and start fighting barehanded with a particular fondness for elbow drops, clothelines, flying powerbombs, axe kicks that cause Shockwaves and rounding out his Bloodborne-like flurry combo with a chokeslam.

Characters / Elden Ring: Godfrey

Godfrey, First Elden Lord (formerly Hoarah Loux, Warrior)

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Characters / Elden Ring: Godfrey

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Godfrey, First Elden Lord (formerly Hoarah Loux, Warrior)

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