Dragonkin Soldier of Noskstella and its variant bosses are fought multiple times in Elden Ring. It is quite intimidating but not a particularly hard boss. How to defeat the boss? What is the boss weak to? What strategies can you use to beat it? Are there ways to cheese the boss? All will be answered in this ultimate boss guide to beating Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella in Elden Ring.
Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella is a humongous humanoid and dragon amalgamation. You need to keep your health topped off at all times since many of his attacks can one-shot you. Staying close to its crotch area is the safest place for melee builds. Ranged magic users will have a field day by maintaining distance from the boss.
Let’s take a look at the best strategies and builds that can help us easily defeat the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella in Elden Ring.
Is Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella Optional?
Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella is entirely an optional boss in Elden Ring.
Strategies for Defeating Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella
Below are some strategies for defeating the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella boss in Elden Ring. The build you selected will determine the approach you should go for. We will cover the basic melee/magic caster strategies here:
Melee Strategy
The Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella generally one-shots you with most of his attacks if you don’t have enough vigor. So make sure if you’re having trouble with this fight, you increase your vigor first and return. Having about 20 or so will prevent you from being one-shotted. Also, make sure your health is never below 90 percent.
Melee builds will find it best to move in near the legs of the boss and start flailing about. When you see the boss going for some attack, bring up your shield and most of the damage will be blocked. Having Barricade Shield skill will be even more beneficial.
If you don’t prefer a shield, you have to time your dodges perfectly. It can be very difficult to do since the timing of his attacks is completely random and when you’re so close to his body, it’s hard to tell exactly what attack he’s about to perform.
Staying close to his ankles is the best course of action. He will turn around every now and then so keep circling back to the right spot. The two attacks that can shake things up a bit are the two-handed slams and deep slams. These attacks have AOE so get out as soon as you see him raise his hands.
In the second phase, the boss will sprout wings and will add huge jumping and lightning attacks. Most of them can be dodged easily.
He will use his wings to fly into the air and create distance from you as well. Make sure to dodge the lightning projectiles and the occasional dive bomb and make your way back to him.
Many of the projectiles can be outrun to the sides. Keep closing the distance and opt for a shield as it will make things much more manageable. Keep your HP topped up at all times. His attacks are easily readable but they hit hard.
Magic/Faith Strategy
Even as a Magic build, you should bring a shield with Barricade Shield to the fight. Generally, you would like to keep a medium to long distance from the boss and fire your preferred spell. Lightning spells should be avoided.
The arena is huge, giving you ample room to strafe around. He moves slowly, and very few of his attacks can close distance. Maintain this spread and let loose your ranged spells. He has a charge attack that can get you at times so be on the lookout for a roar right before the charge.
Night Maiden’s Mist can be deployed where he stands. The lingering effect of the spell, the boss’s lack of movement, and his huge hitbox will deal a lot of accumulative damage.
You can also opt for INT and FAI scaling weapons to replicate the melee strategy as well. Use it in tandem with the Mist mentioned before for consistent damage output.
The second phase will be troublesome owing to his newly added ranged attacks, However, these attacks have long animations giving you abundant time to lob some of your own spells before moving out of the way.
What is Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella Weak To?
Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella is weak to the following damage types:
- Weak Spot – Head
- Slash Damage
What is Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella Strong Against?
Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella is strong or resistant to the following damage types:
- Strong
- Lightning
- Frostbite
- Immune
- Sleep
- Madness
Can You Parry Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella?
Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella can not be parried. It can be stance broken and afterward critical strike.
Can You Cheese Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella?
You can cheese the boss fight against Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella by standing in the right spot throughout the fight.
As you enter the arena, quickly run to the back of the boss and place yourself behind his right knee (as seen in the picture above). Stay in this spot and start using your melee attacks on the knee. If you place yourself correctly, the boss will try to move around, and his leg will sweep you with it. Do not lock on to the boss.
Adjust the camera every now and then so that you can keep yourself in the view behind the knee. The boss will constantly try to get to you and essentially spin around in place. Take this time to keep attacking him and soon it will go down.
Sometimes you will be ejected from this spot due to his movement or the camera movement. Move back into the crevice between the knee and continue your onslaught.
Another way of cheesing him is to summon your most powerful spirit and start casting the Rotten Breath dragon spell. The boss will stay distracted by the summon while the Rotten Breath will annihilate his health.
The way Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella drops down into the arena along with his ginormous stature will be quite terrifying. Nonetheless, he still is an uncomplicated boss.
His attacks, though hard-hitting, are easy to read and his HP isn’t too massive. The Lake of Scarlet Rot version of this boss is much more challenging in my opinion.