Commander Gauis is a boar-mounted boss whom you’ll face off near the back gates of the Shadow Keep castle in the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Though he is an optional boss, his strength and extensive arsenal of attacks rivals even some of the main story bosses.
The fast-paced nature of this battle makes it slightly difficult to master. That is why we will help you with this guide to learn everything from his attacks to how to counter them and how to take Commander Gaius down in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Fighting Commander Gaius
Beating Commander Gaius is no easy take, especially without knowing what you are getting yourself into. Once you know what you are up against and how to counter him, you’ll be able to formulate a strategy and take him down with ease. Here is what you need to know.
Moveset
Following are the attacks in Commander Gaius’s arsenal:
- Wild Boar Rush: The attack is as simple as its name. Commander Gaius will charge at you with his boar and moments before contact, the boar will tilt his forward to try and head slam you.
- Counter: Depending on the distance the boss is from you, roll to either side to avoid the attack. If the Boar is particularly close and you can time it right, roll forward. This allows you to avoid taking any damage, considering your timing was spot on.
- Wild Swing: Commander Gaius will slightly lean to either side and do a sword combo that includes two swings followed by a stab.
- Counter: Roll back a few times to get out of his range then roll towards the boss right after the last stab because it takes a few seconds for the Commander to recover. This gives you a chance to land a couple of hits.
- Wild Kick: This attack only comes if you hang out around the Boar’s back for too long. It will do a kick with its hind legs to try and shrug you off.
- Counter: You almost cannot avoid it if you are in the range. The best way is to get out from behind the Boar before the attack comes. You can move around and then go back again to kind of reset the window.
- Hoof Stomp: The Boar will raise its front legs into the air and then slam back down with full force after a few moments.
- Counter: Run towards its back immediately its legs go up in the air. Commander Gaius is vulnerable during this time and you can even break his stance to land a critical hit.
- Head Slam: If you are standing near its head for long, the Boar will slam its head towards you and Commander Gaius will follow it up with a sword attack.
- Counter: Roll in the opposite direction of the Head Slam. Look out for the follow-up sword attacks and roll accordingly to avoid all of them.
- Force of Gravity: Commander Gaius will stand at one spot, charge his body with purple lightning, and after a few seconds release all of that energy. He will send out a wave of Gravity that will deal damage upon contact and also push you back if you are in the radius.
- Counter: As soon as you see the boss stationary and charging up, run back as far away as possible. That’s the only way to avoid the attack.
- Gravity Strike: This is a toned-down version of the Force of Gravity attack. That’s when it will only charge up its sword and then shoot out a beam of energy towards you. It can explode upon contact and it also explodes automatically after traveling a short distance.
- Counter: Roll to either side to avoid the beam of Gravity.
- Gravity Plunge: This attack only comes during the second phase of the battle. The boss will jump high up into the air and then spin quickly while charging up. Then after a few seconds, it will shoot its body towards the ground slamming with full force. This creates an AoE that deals damage to anyone in the area.
- Counter: You need to run or roll forward if you want to avoid but if you run too early before Gaius catapults itself toward you, it can change direction. Roll forward only when it starts coming towards you like a missile.
- Gravity Dash: This attack is similar to Gravity Pluge. The only difference is that the boss won’t charge up before coming down so the damage will only be physical and there will be no AoE damage.
- Counter: You can counter this by timing your roll perfectly with the boss coming down. Roll forward exactly when the descent starts.
- Gravity Pull: The Commander can summon three black holes. Each one will pull you towards it and then explode when you are close.
- Counter: Run as far away from the black holes as possible. You can use Torrents to make things easier and quicker. If you are even in the range of one of them, you will lose a lot of HP.
Weakness
Commander Gaius is weak only against Holy Attacks.
Holy Attacks are the quickest way to deal with Commander Gaius. Golden Ordergreat Sword, Gargoyle’s Blackblade, Beastclaw Greathammer, and Winged Scythe are some of the best options to use against this boss.
Strategy
With all the information, let’s put together a plan about how you can exactly take down Commander Gaius.
Phase 1
As soon as you are past the fog gate, Commander Gaius will charge towards you and the best way to avoid that attack is to roll forward, towards the boss, at the very last moment. You will roll into the body of the boar and won’t take any damage from the attack.
The first phase is all about physical, close-range attacks. We suggest that you stay close to the boss, preferably to the right side, which is also the offside. Because of that, every time the Commander wants to attack you with his weapon, he will either have to turn around completely or will have to try and attack you from his opposite hand.
This restricts the effective range and allows you to sneak in a couple of hits. You can’t parry his attacks, also we don’t suggest it. If you manage to break his stance, you can land one critical attack and another simple attack before he is back on his feet.
If you are on the side where he holds his weapon, the best to dodge the weapon combo is to constantly roll towards Commander Gaius. If you notice, there is a tiny pocket between his weapon and his body that he is not able to reach without having to readjust his position.
After every longer combo, he takes time to recoup his stamina. Look for the opportunity and make sure you put that to good use and deal a significant amount of damage.
If you are using a melee-focused build, stay close to the body of the boar because the window to hit the boss is small. If you have to travel from a distance, there is a good chance that you will miss it. If you are using mostly ranged attacks only then maintaining a safe distance is recommended.
Phase 2
Once you have whittled Commander Gaius’s health down to 50%, the second phase will start. The most obvious giveaway is that the boss will start glowing purple and will start using gravity attacks.
He will always use Gravity Plunge at the start of the second phase. Make sure you stand at the same spot during the time he is charging so he the lock focus. Run away only when he starts to come down.
That way you will be able to pinpoint his location where he will land and run back as soon as he hits the ground because he takes time to recover from this heavy attack.
Gravity Attacks might prove to be a bit troublesome at the start but once you are able to nail the time of your dodge, it’s all cheese from there. Besides the Gravity Attacks, most of the attacks you saw during the first phase will also be in the second phase.
You shouldn’t have a problem dealing with them. The gist of it is that, stay close during physical attacks and only run away when there is a big attack. Keep attacking consistently and you will turn Commander Gaius into ashes within no time.
How to Cheese Commander Gaius
If your primary focus is just finishing the game or you just want to speedrun through the story, it is best you not get stuck on a single boss for too long. If you truly want the Elden Ring experience we do suggest you actually take your time with Commander Gaius.
As soon as you get past the fog gate, mount on Torrent and run to the right. Make sure the wild boar is following you in that direction. Once you are sure the boss is right behind you, run in the opposite direction take a left along the building, and stand behind the pillar (as shown in the photo).
If you do it correctly, Commander Gaius should be stuck on the other side of the wall and none of its physical attacks will affect you anymore. Now it’s time for the second part of the trick. Walk right up against the wall and start spamming an AoE spell of your choice.
Boss’s attacks won’t reach you but your attacks will deal damage. Continue to do so until its health drops down to 50%. That’s when the second phase will start and the boss will start using the Gravity Attacks.
All you have to do is mount on Torrent, run a lap around the map, preferably to the right of the fog gate, where you went initially, and run back to the same spot. Rinse and repeat and Commander Gaius will go down in no time.
Rewards For Defeating Commander Gaius
Putting down the Wild Boar and Commander Gaius in the Elden Ring DLC will reward you with the following items:
- 1x Remembrance of the Wild Boar Rider
- 230,000x Runes