Besides all the extremely difficult bosses that come our way in Elden Ring DLC, we also have dungeons to contend with. One such dungeon boss in Elden Ring is the Death Knight, a terrible metallic foe that can take you to God. If you’re someone to defeat him or the more like him then keep reading as we show you how to defeat the Death Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.
Death Knight Location in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Reaching the Elden Ring Death Knight requires finishing one of the dungeons in the Shadow Realm. The dungeon is named Fog Ruins Catacombs and lies through a path on the left of the Castle Front Site of Grace. It is hidden in a fog-covered jungle right after you defeat the small enemies with long crescent blades and a habit of poisoning you.
Once you enter the dungeon, you must traverse it to find the Elden Ring boss, Death Knight. Here’s a complete walkthrough to reach the boss. We have divided your Death Knight location guide in two parts. Keep reading to learn how to find this Elden Ring boss.
Fog Ruins Catacombs Death Knight Boss-Room Walkthrough Part 1
- Start after you get off the first main ladder. Head straight and take out one of the stone Gargoyles jumping at you. Take an immediate left and wait before you enter.
- Move slightly outside the arch to trigger the ceiling trap. Once that triggers, dash to an opening on the left and wait for the trap to drop. When it starts going up, quickly run to the end of the hallway. Kill the stone gargoyle, and continue to the next room.
- Once you reach the next room, you’ll see an enemy performing magic from the bridge. Quickly run under the bridge and bait the gargoyle hiding in the right corner to come towards you under the arch. Kill it and promptly run to the next room. Watch for a Gargoyle shooting a fireball from the top ledge. Ignore it and quickly take the left arch.
- Before jumping down, remember that the large square room has a ceiling trap. I suggest wearing medium armor if you are running around with light armor. From my experience, there wasn’t any choice but to get hit by the ceiling. Quickly jump down after triggering the trap and move to the elevator into the next room.
That finishes the first half of the dungeon. After this, you’ll cross a Stake of Marika. So even if you die after this point, you can spawn at the Stake and try again.
Fog Ruins Catacombs Death Knight Boss-Room Walkthrough Part 2
- After you cross the Stake of Marika, you’ll enter a larger room with three Gargoyles waiting for you in this room. One should be on the left, the other roaming the hallway, and the last should be right on the left of the stairs. Take them out and dash till you reach the arch at the end. Take a left and enter the arch to get another large hallway.
- Before you enter, this entire hallway has a ceiling trap. So, trigger it first and keep moving through the left openings. Be mindful of the second left opening, as its floor is broken.
- Once you reach the third opening, trigger the trap. Run towards the arch opposite this opening and wait under it. The following room also has a ceiling trap, so trigger it and run across when it starts going up.
Take the elevator at the end of the room, and you’ve reached the Death Knight boss room in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree! From here, it is all about fighting the boss, and since you’ve crossed a Stake of Marika, you don’t have to worry about respawning at the entrance.
Death Knight Weaknesses in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Now, Death Knight comes with an easy set of weaknesses that make him a pretty doable boss fight. Like most bosses in Elden Ring, please use them to eradicate Death Knight. Here are a few I’ve noticed:
- Weakness to physical blunt damage: Like most bosses, Death Knight is fragile to physical blunt damage. You can use any strength-based weapon on him, which will usually break his poise without any problem. However, this only counts for heavy and colossal swords, not the standard ones. Standard strength weapons will do the usual damage but won’t break their poise. So, use a standard blunt weapon while fighting him.
- Weakness to Bleed: Like many bosses, Death Knight in Elden Ring is weak to bleed damage and bleed build-up. If you run something like a Twin Reduvia, Bloodhound’s Fang, or River’s of Blood, you’ll be better off taking out Death Knight from Bleed build-up.
How to Beat Death Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Now that we know how to track this boss and his weaknesses, we must fight Death Knight. Like most dungeon bosses, Death Knight in Elden Ring will not be a hassle. Instead, the boss will be a skill-check to see how patient you are and how well you dodge attacks. Here are some tips:
- Use a combination of Damage Negation and Lightning Resistance Crystal Tear: Death Knight is a heavy hitter who uses lightning and physical damage on the players. Hence, a combination of damage negation and lightning resistance should be used when preparing a Flask of Wondrous Physick.
- Wear Lighting Resistant Armor: Since most armor can reduce physical damage, consider wearing armor that also reduces lightning damage. This will allow you to stick to the boss fight longer.
- Keep an eye on the dash slash: Death Knight has an attack where he will dash in immediately and attack you with lightning-based strikes from the axe. The best way to avoid this is to roll sideways once he is near you.
- Avoid getting grabbed: Death Knight also does this unique dash grab, where he will dash at you suddenly, grabbing you and taking away your health while healing himself. He’ll blast a gust of air around him before performing this attack, giving you a cue. When he dashes, dodge sideways to avoid.
- Be mindful of the spinning lightning slashes: Death Knight also performs a special attack, spinning his blade in lightning toward you. He does it in two phases. When he’s turning for the first time, roll towards him, going behind him. Rolling towards him gives you invincibility frames, allowing you to stay safe. When he spins again, dodge away twice from him.
- Careful of the lightning: Death Knight performs a unique Lightning Spear skill where he shoots the central spear while a smaller spear shoots from behind him. When he does that, dodge sideways. Similarly, near the end of his health in my game, he did a lightning slash, which spread lightning through the ground. Dodging allowed me to stay safe.
If you keep all of these in mind, you’ll see that the Death Knight has been vanquished easily, giving you rewards.
Elden Ring Death Knight Boss Fight Rewards
Defeating Death Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree rewards you with one of the brand-new medallion Talisman in-game. Named Crimson Amber Medallion +3, it increases your health from your standard vitality to something better. It isn’t by much, but any margin is better than nothing.
We’ve featured this medallion in best Erdtree talismans for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Additionally, you’ll get Death Knight’s Twin Axes, which he uses to beat you up, and 1,1,0000 runes to level up and use this weapon.
And that is how you track down Death Knight and beat him up in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Let me know your experience fighting this boss in the comments below.
