Gladius, Beast of Night, is the first Night Lord in Elden Ring Nightreign, and you must defeat it before you can fight the other Night Lords in the game. Gladius is part of the Tricephalos expedition and gatekeeps most of Nightreign’s content. The boss is highly aggressive and is among the hardest Night Lords in the game. If you are stuck and cannot defeat it, then here’s how to beat Gladius, Beast of Night, in Elden Ring Nightreign.
Gladius Beast of Night Weakness and Move Set
First, let’s examine Gladius, Beast of Night’s weaknesses and move sets. This will help you better prepare for the fight against it.
- Weakness: Holy
- Chained Sword Attack: Gladius will use his chained sword to perform wide sweeping strikes. Its sword also circles behind him, so prepare to dodge even if it is not targeting you.
- Fireball: Gladius can occasionally shoot fireballs from its mount.
- Split up: Gladius will split up into three wolves for some time. Damaging any wolf also reduces the main health of the boss.
- Bite Grab: When below 50% HP, Gladius can perform a bite attack with its mouth. All three of its mouths will shine purple, and it will attempt to grab all three party members in one swoop. Getting grabbed may mean instant death for characters with small HP bars.
- Flame Sword Explosion: Gladius grabs his flaming sword in his middle mouth, charges up the weapon, and deals a frontal fire blast with a long range. This attack can instantly kill you if your character has a small HP bar. During one of my attempts, this attack instantly killed our entire party, so be ready to dodge it.
Best Nightfarers for Defeating Gladius Beast of Night
- Raider
- Iron Eye
- Wylder
- Executor
Raider and Iron Eye are the hands-down best characters to fight Gladius, Beast of Night. Raider’s massive health and immunity to knockback while using his skill make it much easier for him to tank Gladius’ erratic attacks. Raider’s Ultimate can also be a trump card to get a safe spot for a revive or defend against any of the incoming attacks.
Iron Eye is simply a solid character for all scenarios. His expertise with the bow allows him to consistently damage Gladius from afar without causing much damage. Iron Eye’s Ultimate is also a trump card that you can use to stun lock Gladius out of an attack.
Other than that, Wylder is always a good choice for any boss due to his versatility in combat. Executor, on the other hand, can be extremely hard to use. But if you can deflect perfectly with the executor, Gladius will be as easy as pie to deal with. This Nightfarer’s Ultimate is also good for dealing damage and reviving allies.
How to Prepare for Gladius in Elden Ring Nightreign
That said, here are the best tips to prepare for Gladius, Beast of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign.
- Get a Holy weapon: Target ruins and camps with Holy markings to have an increased chance of getting a Holy weapon. Using a Holy weapon against Gladius can make it much easier.
- Use Relics that boost Holy Damage: Some relic attributes can add additional Holy Damage to your attacks, which can be very useful against Gladius. If you have a relic that applies Holy affinity to the starter weapon, equip that as well in case you don’t find a holy weapon in Limveld.
- Reach Level 12: Your level target should be at least 12 after the first two days. Anything below that, and the boss fight can become extremely hard. Check out how to level up fast in Elden Ring Nightreign for some help.
- Make sure to get 7 Flask Charges for this fight, which means you must visit three churches in Limveld. Learn how to get more flasks in Elden Ring Nightreign here.
- Grab Necessary Items: Don’t forget to grab boiled crabs or Exalted Flesh to increase your damage negation and attack before the fight. Warming Stones are also very useful as they give you extra healing.
- Upgrade your Weapon: If you don’t get a good Epic or higher tier weapon, make sure to upgrade the weapon you have equipped using the Smithing Table.
How to Beat Gladius, Beast of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign
With everything said and done, here are some tips you can follow to defeat Gladius, Beast of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign:
- Take a cautious approach and don’t rush the boss. It will come at you anyway, so just time your damage and then deal your attacks.
- Try taking aggro if you are a Guardian or Raider, freeing your allies to deal damage from behind.
- Save your Ultimate to stun Gladius or revive allies when needed.
- If your team has a Duchess, time your Ultimate with her Restage to deal a big chunk of damage.
- Don’t stand near each other, as that only allows Gladius to take down all of you in one swoop.
- When Gladius splits up, don’t let them gank up against one of your allies. Take aggro of each wolf and split them up. Unless you want to deal AoE damage with your Ultimate. In that case, it is better to bring them together.
- Use Raider’s Skill whenever you are stuck in a bad position and cannot dodge an attack. The skill massively decreases the damage taken and stops you from getting knocked back.
So, that’s everything you need to do in order to defeat Gladius, Beast of Night, in Elden Ring Nightreign. Have more doubts? Ask us in the comment section below.
