Death Counter: How to Count Deaths in a Boss Fight

To count deaths in a boss fight, keep a tally somewhere you can add to without pausing for long: a pen and paper next to the controller, a tally counter app, a !deaths chat command if you stream, or a one-tap death counter on your watch. Most hard games, Elden Ring included, never show you the number, so whatever you pick is the only record there will be.

The quick answer: for a single boss tonight, paper or any free tally app is enough. If you stream, a chatbot command puts the count in front of chat. If you want the count kept per boss, carried over to tomorrow and tied to the moment you won, use an app built for boss attempts. BossBeat, which we make, does that from Apple Watch and adds your heart rate to every fight.

Four ways to keep a death counter

Method	Adding a death	Per boss?	Survives to tomorrow?	Cost
Paper tally	Pick up the pen	If you write the boss name	If you keep the paper	Free
Tally counter app	Unlock the phone, tap	One counter per boss, by hand	Yes	Free options exist
Chatbot !deaths command	Type in chat, or let a mod do it	Only with a counter per boss	Yes, in the bot	Free bot
Boss attempt app on your watch	One tap on the wrist	Yes, automatically	Yes, attempts carry over	Free core, optional Premium

1. A paper tally

The honest default. Write the boss name at the top, add a stroke after every death, and cross through every fifth. It costs nothing, it never needs charging, and there is something satisfying about a page of gates when the boss finally falls. The weak spots: it is easy to forget a stroke in the middle of a bad run, and a sheet of paper does not tell you when the 30th attempt happened or how long the whole thing took.

2. A tally counter app

Any tally counter turns your phone into a clicker. Two well-reviewed free ones:

• Count That Now says all its features are free, with unlimited named counters, haptic feedback, optional click sounds and an option to keep the screen on, which helps when the phone sits face-up on the desk.
• Counter+ puts several counters on one screen and keeps a history log of every change that you can export, handy if you want one counter per boss in a playthrough.

There are also boss-specific counters. Boss Fight Counter & Tracker on the App Store, for example, logs attempts and victories per boss with progress for each one. The friction with all phone counters is the same: the phone has to be unlocked and in reach, and you take a hand off the controller to tap.

3. A !deaths command for streamers

If you stream, the usual death counter lives in chat. Both StreamElements and Nightbot have a $(count) variable that goes up by one each time a command runs. StreamElements' own documentation uses deaths as the example:

1. In chat, add the command: !command add !deaths $(channel.display_name) has died $(count) times this stream!
2. Each time you die, you or a moderator types !deaths.
3. The bot replies with the new total, so chat can watch it climb.

It is great for an audience and free. It is one running number per command, though: a count for the whole stream rather than per boss, unless you set up a separate command for each fight.

4. A death counter on your wrist

The last option is an app built around boss attempts, where adding a death is one tap from a watch or the Lock Screen and the count is filed under the boss automatically. That removes the two problems the others share: you never have to reach for the phone, and you never have to work out afterwards which strokes belonged to which fight.

What the death count is actually good for

A number on its own is a trophy. Kept per boss and per session, it starts telling you things:

• Whether you are learning. If attempts 1 to 20 all died in the first phase and 21 onward reach phase two, you are improving even if it does not feel like it.
• When to stop for the night. A run of fast deaths late in a session is usually tiredness, not the boss. Many players find the fight goes better after a break.
• Bragging rights, fairly. "First try" and "attempt 112" are both good stories, as long as the number is real.

Counting deaths with BossBeat

We built BossBeat for option 4. Start a session, tap Boss Fight! when the fight begins, and every death is one tap, Death +1, on your Apple Watch, the Dynamic Island or the Lock Screen. A boss you have not beaten keeps its attempt count until next time, so the Rematch picks up where you left off. When it falls, the boss becomes a card with the attempt count, the time it took and, with an Apple Watch, your peak heart rate and the BPM at the killing blow.

BossBeat also keeps a simple game log (Playing, Beaten, Wishlist, Shelved) with playtime per game. Recording, recaps, cards, sharing and widgets are free, with no account and no ads. No watch? Timer Mode keeps the deaths and the time, just without the heartbeat. If you want the heart rate side explained, see how to track your heart rate while gaming.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a death counter app for iPhone?

Yes, of two kinds. General tally counters such as Count That Now and Counter+ count anything, deaths included, and keep a running number per counter. Boss-specific apps such as Boss Fight Counter & Tracker and BossBeat log attempts per boss and mark the victory. BossBeat also counts from Apple Watch, the Lock Screen or the Dynamic Island, so you do not have to unlock your phone mid-fight.

Does Elden Ring have a death counter?

Not one it shows you. Like other FromSoftware games, Elden Ring does not display a running death count on screen, so players who want the number keep it themselves: a tally on paper, a counter app, or a chat command if they stream.

How do streamers count deaths on stream?

Usually with a chatbot command. StreamElements and Nightbot both have a $(count) variable: a command such as !deaths adds one each time it is used and posts the new total in chat. StreamElements' own documentation uses a death counter as its example. The count lives in chat; it is not tied to a specific boss unless you make a separate counter for each one.

Is BossBeat free?

BossBeat is free to download, and recording, the death counter, session recaps, boss cards, sharing, widgets and export are free with no session limit. BossBeat Premium, a weekly, monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime unlock, adds Player Type, Year in Beats, Head to Head, haptic replay, video soundtracks and iCloud Sync. Heart rate needs an Apple Watch; Timer Mode counts deaths without one.

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Related: How to Track Your Heart Rate While Gaming, and more for players in Games. Questions? Email us.