So you need a checklist for Elden Ring bosses. Here's the deal.
I've been running around the Lands Between since 2022 and somewhere around boss number twelve I realized I was going to forget which demigods I'd already stomped. A properly formatted Vintage Elden Ring Boss Checklist is honestly the only thing that keeps you from backtracking or wondering if you missed a major encounter. The term itself isn't some official software. It's a community-driven format — typically a printable or spreadsheet-style tracker that groups bosses by region, marks legacy dungeons separately, and sometimes includes optional mini-bosses that actual in-game maps don't flag. You'll find them on GitHub, Google Sheets, or as .txt files people share on forums. There's no single "the" version. There are good ones and the ones someone made in an afternoon and abandoned.
Vintage Elden Ring Boss Checklist
The best versions I've used break things into four sections: story bosses, open-world bosses, optional demigods, and dungeon lords. The old ones that predate the 1.0 patch tend to be slightly out of sync with later balance changes, but the structure survives because it works for route planning. My standard approach is simple. Grab a sheet that lists bosses in order of first possible encounter, not story order. Story order will send you to Limgrave, then Liurnia, then back to Limgrave for two optional bosses, and suddenly your run looks like a mess. Region-first ordering is what lets you plan a logical loop through the map. I also flag which bosses can be skipped entirely and which ones block progression. That second detail matters more than most people admit.
What actually goes on the list
A complete tracker usually includes roughly eighty-five to one hundred named encounters depending on how thorough it is. If your source claims a smaller number, it's probably leaving out the minor shardbearers or optional arena fights. Check whether it includes Margit, Godrick, Rennala, Radahn, Rykard, Mohg, Morgott, Fire Giant, Maliketh, Maliketh optional form, Godfrey, Radagon, and the final boss. If those are missing, the file is incomplete. Also check the optional bosses section. Names like Dragonlord Placidusax, Lichdragon Fortissax, Malenia, and Maliketh's Death Lord should appear under optional in any well-organized vintage tracker. Some trackers include field bosses, which are the encounters you trigger just by walking into a location. Others separate them from named bosses. I prefer a single combined list with a footnote for field-only fights, because you still want to remember which areas you cleared before moving on. Missing a placement like the Academy Glinted Credor mini-bosses isn't a big deal mechanically, but it makes retrospective planning impossible.
Get the Full Details
Where to find them and what to watch for
Search terms like "Elden Ring boss tracker spreadsheet" or "Elden Ring boss checklist vintage" will surface the relevant files. The older community repositories tend to be archived now, but the links usually still resolve. If you find a .csv file, open it in Sheets or Excel first. If it opens as garbled text, it's encoded in a way that Excel doesn't read cleanly. Switch to Sheets or change the delimiter manually. I've spent twenty minutes reformatting files that could have been fixed with one click if I'd just opened them the other way around. Be careful with any checklist that claims to be updated for all patches. A lot of these files went untouched after June 2022. The boss locations didn't change much, but some item names, rune costs, and even boss names got remapped. If you're using it as a quick reference while playing, minor name drift is annoying. If you're using it for speedrun routing, the drift can actually break your route unless you account for it.
A realistic problem I ran into
Last year I tried to use an older PDF-style checklist that grouped bosses by "expected level." The file was fine until I hit the area where it listed several bosses at level 70 to 90 in Liurnia. One of those entries was Misbegotten Warrior, which in practice you can encounter as early as level 30 depending on route. The other was the Red Wolf of the Village, which is optional and easily skipped. The file treated them both as mandatory, which threw off my pacing. I stopped following the suggested order and switched to a region-based tracker. That reduced my prep work from about forty minutes of rerouting to almost nothing. The workaround was straightforward. I took the problematic PDF, exported it to CSV, and removed the level-suggested column entirely. Then I rebuilt the sort by region. Took about ten minutes. That exercise taught me not to trust any vintage checklist that includes expected level or recommended character level sections unless it clearly notes when it was last edited.
Pitfalls that bite people regularly
First, do not assume every boss in the game is on a public checklist. Some optional encounters are genuinely obscure. The checklist format relies on community consensus, so rare fights sometimes get dropped. Second, these files don't update boss health pools or damage numbers. If you're using it to gauge difficulty or plan rune farming, cross-reference with the current patch notes. Third, the most common error I see is people treating a checklist as a completion metric instead of a route planner. A checklist tracks what you can verify. It does not track what you choose to ignore. Both are valid playstyles, and the tracker should reflect that. Also worth noting: some trackers include optional spellboss encounters, which are specific NPC summon fights and not traditional boss battles. If you're hunting a pure boss count, those will inflate your numbers. Decide what category you care about before you start tracking. Otherwise you'll end up with a mess of mixed definitions that makes future reference useless.
How to use one without wasting time
Here is the practical routine I stick with. Before entering a new major area, open the tracker, mark every boss you can see on the mini-map, and note which ones require a key item or story progress to access. Then run through the area in any order you like, checking off bosses as you complete them. After finishing the area, update the sheet and move on. This process takes roughly three to five minutes per area. Skipping the update step means you lose context the next time you return, and the whole point of a checklist collapses if you never actually check anything off. If you want a faster version, print a small card with just the boss names and tick boxes. Keep it on your desk while you play. Digital trackers are convenient for editing, but physical ones reduce friction when you're between fights and don't want to switch apps. I use both. The physical card for quick notes during a session, the digital sheet for longer-term tracking across multiple playthroughs.
When a checklist won't help you
A boss tracker is useless if your goal is to optimize build choices or understand mechanics. It tells you what exists, not how to beat it. For that, you need separate resources. It also won't track optional upgrades, spirit ashes, or weapon locations. Those are separate categories that some checklists include, but most don't. If you need those, look for an expanded tracker rather than assuming a standard boss list covers everything. There are also cases where a tracker can actually hurt your run. If you follow a checklist rigidly, you may miss context clues in the game world that would otherwise guide you toward the next boss. Elden Ring's world design intentionally scatters hints. A purely sequential tracker flattens that design. Use it as a reference, not a script.
The version I actually keep
Right now I use a Google Sheets file with columns for boss name, region, optional flag, area accessed, and notes. The notes column is where I log anything useful like shortcut exits, summoning restrictions, or runeword drop locations. It's not elegant. It's functional. I've been maintaining it since the game launched and it's probably the most reliable thing I own for this title. The vintage versions are fine for a first pass, but the maintenance is what makes a tracker actually useful over time. If you're starting fresh, pick a recent community sheet, strip out anything that doesn't match your playstyle, and add columns for your own notes. Don't overcomplicate it. A checklist with seven or eight columns is plenty. Anything more starts competing with your actual gameplay time. There's no official download I can hand you because these files live in scattered repositories and forums. Search the usual community spots, verify the edit date, and open it in a spreadsheet app before committing to it. That's the entire process in plain terms. Track the bosses, keep it organized, and don't treat it like a Bible. It's a tool. Use it accordingly.
