Elden Ring has accustomed us to rather weak secondary dungeon bosses, and this often remains true in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. But some painful surprises also await you, with the Knight of the Black Jail, and especially, the Death Knight, aka the immortal electric lawnmower.
Preparations
- You can reach level 4 or even 5 of Blessings of the Shadow Realm by searching the first area well to find the Splinters of the Occult Tree. This will help you greatly in this fight. You can also come back later with a higher level.
- A spirit summon will also help you, Mimic is always a safe bet that will make the fight much more accessible.
- This boss’s damage is mostly physical and lightning type. Talismans and buffs that can reduce this damage will significantly help you survive. The Dragon Shield, the Lightning Dragon Talisman +2 or even +3 and the Reinforced Opaline in the Vial of Miraculous Salvation.
Strategy
The fight starts off pretty brutally, since the Death Knight has long combos of two-weapon attacks that are quite difficult to dodge. You’ll have to get used to it in the DLC, Rellana and other bosses await you. He also has two formidable ranged techniques:
- Dragon Lightning Spear : An overpowered version of the Lightning Lance, which throws 6 projectiles after the initial lance. Afterwards, the Death Knight will throw two lances in a row, for a total of 14 projectiles. Luckily, you can dodge them quite easily when you know they’re coming. The boss only uses it at range, in melee, you won’t see this spell often normally. The pillars in the room can also block them.
- Vortex charge : Probably the most fearsome and frustrating attack of this boss. He rushes at you at high speed, before chaining several circular attacks, then a vertical attack triggering a shockwave. You will take damage, even while dodging the attack. Later, this attack will become electric, and even more fearsome. The easiest way is tododge forward, or even perform a forward diagonalin order to force the boss to end up behind you. His blows will then land in the air, or he will interrupt his combo.
After having rreduces boss life to 75% approximately, he will get angry, which will trigger a small shockwave around him, his cape will also inflate with gray miasma. He will then charge at you at very high speed to grab you. If he hits you, he will drain a huge amount of life from you, which will heal him completely. Although it is rare, he can use this ability multiple times per fight, which significantly reduces your chances of victory. There are at least 2 ways to avoid this:
Perform a side dodge immediately after her animation ends. She comes extremely fast, unless you have super reflexes, it will probably be too late after that. You can counterattack afterwards.
A better alternative is to attack the boss during his animation. This is obviously not always possible depending on the distance, your weapon, and the actions you are taking. But this super attack can be interrupted quite easily. If you pressure the boss when his health is around 75-80%, you have a good chance of blocking him.
The Death Knight has a few extra attacks, such as a big lightning attack. But they are rarer, and they pose a much lower threat overall. Avoid walking through electric puddles.
This boss’s stance isn’t too difficult to break, if your weapon is suited to this type of gameplay. By critically hitting him, then dealing a charged attack when he gets back up, you can seriously damage him.
Awards
The boss will drop his Twin Death Knight Axes for you, as well as the Crimson Amber Medallion Talisman +3. This is a massive life gain, you’ll need it.
Incidentally, a second death knight awaits you in the Black Light Catacombs, in the Ruins of Rauh to the north. But he uses a longaxe rather than twin axes. He also leaves his weapon, as well as a Cerulean Amber Medallion +3.
