Death Knight is a boss you’ll stumble upon in the dungeons of the Elden Ring DLC. This is an optional boss you will face at the end of Scropion River Catacombs and Fog Rift Catacombs. The Death Knight is your typical Knight-Style boss with a few extra tricks.
Just so you won’t be surprised by any of these hidden tricks, we have compiled all of the information about beating the Death Knight in this nifty guide to help you on your adventures.
Fighting the Death Knight
Before the final showdown, there are some things that you should know about the Death Knights. There are two variations of this boss both of which are found at the end of their respective dungeons or catacombs.
While they are inherently the same boss there are still some key differences that make dealing with each one a different process. Throughout the guide, we will be sure to highlight all the ways both of the Death Knights are different.
Moveset
For both variations of the Death Knight, the moveset is largely the same with the exception of one or two attacks. Here is what you should expect during your battle with either of the Knights:
One Knight (Scorpion River Catacomb) uses a single long axe and the other one uses a shorter double axe (Fog Rift Catacomb), their attacks are slightly different but the basic idea behind each subsequent move remains the same.
- Axe Spin: The Death Knight will pull back his weapon behind him, charge it with lightning, and then dash towards you while spinning it.
- Counter: There is a fixed travel distance for this attack so you can roll back multiple times to avoid getting hit.
- Axe Swing: The boss will swing his weapon from left to right (in a cross-movement for double axes) multiple times.
- Counter: Rolling backward is your best bet against axe swing.
- 3-Swing Combo: As the name suggests, it is a 3-step combo that starts with two consecutive quick swings with the weapon that is followed up by a delayed more powerful swing.
- Counter: Dodge and roll towards the back left twice and then roll forward when he is halfway through his delayed swing to close the gap and do a counterattack.
- Deadly Dash: This attack mostly occurs when the Death Knight is around 60% HP. He will go into a lower stance, gather lightning energy, and then dash towards you. He will attempt to grab you. If he manages to get a hold of you, he will fly in the air along with you, stab you multiple times, and steal your HP to fill his health back up to full.
- Counter: Since you are already expecting this attack at around 60% HP, use the pillars in the arena as you cover or dodge to either side to avoid getting caught.
- Simple Dash: Sometimes if the Death Knight is getting hammered with attacks from you, he will either lightning dash through you to get behind you and sneak an attack from there, or he will dash backward to get some breathing room.
- Counter: The move itself isn’t the problem, it’s the follow-up that does damage. Usually, the dash is followed up with one of his normal attacks. You already know how to counter them. There is just the added element of surprise that you have to adjust to.
- Lightning Bolt (Fog Rift Catacombs): This attack is only used by the Death Knight in the Fog Rift Catacombs. As soon as you enter the arena, the boss will summon multiple bolts of lightning around him and launch them towards you.
- Counter: You will have to roll to the side multiple times to avoid all of the bolts. You can also use the pillars as cover. If you are in medium to close range, you can time your rolls perfectly and roll forward to get close and land a few hits.
- Lightning Rings (Fog Rift Catacombs): The Knight will bring back his double axe, charge it with energy, and then swing it into the ground to send out a shockwave.
- Counter: Rollback multiple times to avoid getting hit.
- Jump Swing (Scorpion River Catacombs): You will most likely be greeted with this attack by the Death Knight in the Scorpion River Catacombs. The boss will charge his long axe and then jump into the air only to come falling on top of you with his axe.
- Counter: Roll forward at the exact moment, the boss is at the highest point of his jump. This way you can get up behind him and do a heavy attack.
Weakness
Both of the Death Knights are weak against Holy Attacks.
If you are looking for some great weapons that deal Holy damage then here are a few good options:
- Halo Scythe
- Nagakiba
- Gargoyle’s Greatsword
If you are looking for some other good weapons then we recommend some heavier weapons such as great swords or hammers. Both serve equally well against the Death Knights as they deal more overall damage in a single blow.
Strategy
Here is how you should go about the battle against each of the Death Knights in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Scorpion River Catacombs
The major difference between both of the Death Knights as you should know by now is their weapon. The one in Scorpion River Catacombs wields a single axe with a longer grip. As soon as you enter the arena, summon your Mimic. This will really help you in your battle.
Death Knight’s combos can be interrupted by heavy attacks. You can also break his stance and get a chance to land a critical hit.
You will be welcomed by his Jump Swing attack. As soon as he jumps in the air, run to either side to avoid taking a hit. There are pillars throughout the arena that you should utilize to your advantage. The most common attack you should see is the 3-Swing Combo.
Roll back for the first two parts of the combo then do a roll forward with a bit of delay. This gives you a chance to get behind the Death Knight. Do a heavy attack for a chance to break his stance. If you manage to do so, you can land a critical attack and deal a significant amount of damage.
This isn’t the only way you can break his stance. Hit him continuously with heavy attack even between his combos. This will not only stop him from completing the combo but also could make him vulnerable to a critical hit.
This should be the case for the first quarter of the battle. As soon as his health drops to about 60%, he will try his Deadly Dash attack. This is the attack that can change the entire course of the battle. It is really important that you avoid this attack.
In our experience, he only used the Deadly Dash once but that doesn’t mean he won’t try again. From this point onwards, you should see an increase in his dash attacks. He will be using his Jump Swing more often as well.
You should keep an eye on your stamina because if you deplete it in a critical moment, you leave yourself open and can take a lot of damage with a single hit. All of the other attacks are well-telegraphed. Keep dodging and get behind the Death Knight every chance you get. The Knight will fall within no time.
Fog Rift Catacombs
The fight against the Death Knight in the Fog Rift Catacomb will have a slightly different dynamic. This variation of the Death Knight uses a lot more ranged attacks; Lightenings Bolts and Lightning Rings.
Soon after entering the arena, the Death Knight will chuck six lightning bolts toward you. Running to either side will do just fine to avoid this attack. From there, it is a matter of getting close. Once you get close, the fight is pretty much the same as the one with the Knight in Scorpion River.
He will use the same three-part combo with a delayed final attack but the only difference will be that this will be done use two smaller axes. You can adapt to this change easily within a few moments. Use the same roll forward and get behind him mechanic to deal massive blows.
Once again, watch out for the Deadly Dash that comes after 40% of his health is depleted. If you are at a distance, he will use two variations of Lightning Bolts. One is where he will summon two bolts, one in each hand, and launch them towards you. The other is where he will raise his hands and summon six bolts around his body and shoot them towards you.
Rolling left of right at the right moment will suffice against either of these variations. The final attack you need to watch out for is the AoE Lightning Shockwave. If you see both of his axes charging up above his head, get ready to roll back a couple of times. Once you are out of the AoE, you won’t take any damage.
Keep the attacks consistent and you should be able to bring the knight to his knees with relative ease.
How to Cheese Death Knight
There is an easier way to deal with the Death Knight in the Elden Ring DLC. For this method, we will need the following items:
- Blasphemous Blade
- Golden Vow
- Axe Talisman
- Fire Scorpion Charm
This method works for both Death Knights (Scropion Rivers & Fog Rift Catacombs)
Once you have these items, here is what you need to do. As soon as you enter the arena, use Golden Vow to instantly boost your fire damage. Then the next thing you will need is to summon your mimic. This is an important step.
Make sure to use pillars as covers throughout the battle. Keep dodging until the Death Knight is distracted by your Mimic. Start spamming the Taker’s Flame skill of your Blade. You can also hide behind a pillar while doing so.
This skill is going to melt off the HP really quickly. If your build is optimized for faith attacks then it makes it all the more easy. Since you can interrupt Death Knight’s combos with such attacks, proper timing won’t give your opponent a chance to react and pretty soon there will be nothing left of him.
Rewards For Defeating Death Knight
You will get a chance to take down the Death Knight Twice in one playthrough. Both of the Death Knights, along with their distinct weapons, drop different rewards. Here is what you will net from each battle:
Scorpion Catacombs
The Death Knight found in the Scropion River Catacombs in Shadow of the Erdtree will drop the following rewards:
- 130,000x Runes
- 1x Death Knight’s Longhaft Axe
- 1x Cerulean Amber Medallion +3
Fog Rift Catacombs
The Death Knight found in the Scropion River Catacombs in Shadow of the Erdtree will drop the following rewards:
- 110,000x Runes
- 1x Death Knight’s Twin Axes
- 1x Crimson Amber Medallion
Regardless of the Death Knight, you are up against, if you are going in prepared, they won’t stand a chance. Godspeed, Tarnished!