Blackgaol Knight is one of the new Great Enemy Bosses that you will face in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. He can be found in the Western Nameless Mausoleum and will be one of the biggest challenges that you face after entering the Land of Shadow.
He is an optional boss, so you can take him on whenever you want. However, what makes him feel like an insurmountable hurdle is the amount of damage that he deals and the incredible poise that he has.
The Blackgaol Knight will frequently switch between a Greatsword and a Crossbow, making the fight equally difficult for both melee and mage builds.
But when defeated the boss will drop, 70,000 Runes, Greatsword of Solitude, Helm of Solitude, Armor of Solitude, Gauntlets of Solitude, and Greaves of Solitude.
Blackgaol Knight boss fight overview
Location:
- Western Nameless Mausoleum
Optional:
- Yes
Summons:
- No summons allowed.
Boss Drops:
- 70,000 Runes
- Greatsword of Solitude
- Helm of Solitude
- Armor of Solitude
- Gauntlets of Solitude
- Greaves of Solitude
If you are looking to take on the Blackgaol Knife as soon as you drop into FromSoftware’s latest DLC then you are likely going to struggle a lot. The boss has a lot of poise which makes him pretty hard to stagger and you will find it challenging to open him up to a Riposte.
He switches between a Greatsword and a Crossbow as well, so even if you are keeping your distance from him, his volley of fire arrows can one-shot you if you are not dodging away in time.
While he can be parried, the timing is a bit tight, and the sheer damage that he can do this early on will completely demolish your HP bar.
Where to find the Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?
You will find the boss in the Western Nameless Mausoleum. To get to the location you will need to head west from the Scorched Ruins Site of Grace. You will eventually find its entrance marked with 2 lit fires on both sides.
There will also be a Stake of Marika there to help you with the respawn. So just make your way down the steps and interact with the fog wall to start the encounter.
Blackgaol Knight movesets and counters in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
The Blackgaol Knight doesn’t have multiple phases to the fight. He also has a very limited amount of movesets up his sleeve, however, he can combo into them and catch you off-guard.
Here are all of his abilities that you can expect in the fight:
Arrow Barrage
- Move: The boss will go for Arrow Barrage when there is a fair amount of distance between you. He will switch to the crossbow and fire a volley of 10 arrows. There is a sound queue and an animation that occurs when he switches, and if caught, you can be one shot.
- Counter: Get in close and hit him which will make him switch back to the Greatsword before firing a single shot. Alternatively, you can run to the sides to avoid all of the arrows. You can also block it with a shield, just make sure you have one with very high defense stats and poise.
Overhead Slash
- Move: The boss will arch his back to swing his Greatsword and then go in for an overhead slash dealing a significant amount of damage.
- Counter: You can either use a shield to block it or dodge by rolling to the sides.
Jump Slash
- Move: He will jump into the air and slash down onto the ground where you are standing.
- Counter: It has a long recovery period, so just roll to the side and then punish him.
Greatsword Stab
- Move: This is a follow-up stab that he does if you are staggered. The Blackgaol Knight will often use this attack to finish you off if you are below 40% HP.
- Counter: Make sure to dodge his combos. Even if you are hit by the initial string, dodge away from the follow-ups so that you are not staggered to death.
Quick Slash
- Move: He will swing his Greatsword from side to side in a 3-step attack. He will then finish it with an Overhead Slash.
- Counter: Always dodge away from the string. If you are hit by atleast 2 of these attacks, you are likely going to get one shot.
Spirit Slash
- Move: The Blackgaol Knight will raise the Geatsowrd with both hands and then charge a spirit attack. After a second he will bring it down, releasing the energy infront. The move tracks, and even if you run behind him, he can instantly rotate face you and release the slash.
- Counter: You can use a shield, or dodge right after the slash comes out to avoid the attack.
Wide Slash
- Move: The Wide Slash can catch you off-guard as the Blackgaol Knight will randomly weave this move in during a combo string. He will slam his weapon onto the ground and then quickly turn and dash forward to slash at you.
- Counter: Roll backward and then roll back in to punish the long recovery that he has on the attack.
How to beat Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Here are a few things that you can do to make the Blackgaol Knight encounter a bit more manageable in Shadow of the Erdtree.
General Tips for beating the Blackgaol Knight:
- Close in on him as soon as the fight starts. The boss will usually open with an Arrow barrage, so run to him and get some hits in to make him switch to his Greatsword.
- Use a hit-and-run strategy. Most of his attacks have a high recovery period, and you will be able to punish them. So bait his attacks, dodge them, and then get some hits in when he is recovering.
- Increase your defense as much as possible for the fight. Equipping the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, eating a Boiled Crab, and using the Opaline Hardtear in your Wondrous Physick will help you tank more hits.
- You can come back later to the fight after receiving Scadutree Blessing levels 1 and 2 to have an easier time.
Melee build tips for Blackgaol Knight
For a traditional melee build the best strategy will be to bait his attacks and then punish him during recovery. Hitting and running will be the safest bet, however, make sure not to create too much distance as the boss can just stand there and spam his Arrow Barrage.
You can use a shield to block most of the hits, however, it’s advised to dodge the heavier combos.
Make sure you have a lot of poise as well if you are using heavier weapons. You will rarely be able to stagger the Blackgaol Knight and it’s important to make sure that he is not able to stagger you when you are swinging your weapon.
Alternatively, you can use the guard-counter strategy if you have enough poise and a weapon that has good stagger potential. Use a 100% physical block shield and turtle behind it. Every time the knight’s hit bounces off of our shield, use a counter-attack.
Just make sure that you are managing your stamina well. Use a Curved Sword Talisman to increase the damage of guard-counters.
Ranged build tips for Blackgaol Knight
Mages are going to struggle a lot in the fight. The Knight rarely gives any breathing room and will often roll through most spells you throw at him.
So incantations and spells that have a long wind-up will be punished. You will need to stick to spells that have a shorter cast time and do not let you remain vulnerable for long.
Additionally, one cheese strategy that we tried is to spam Maliketh’s Black Blade incantation. The move gets a lot of super armor and poise in the middle of the cast animation. We further increased the poise with heavier armor and used the Godfrey Icon Talisman to increase the charge damage of the incantation.
The second part of the Black Blade staggers Blackgaol Knight. Additionally, with the max HP debuff, the Knight will not be able to recover much health after using a flask when you bring him down to 50% HP.
You can further increase the damage of Maliketh’s Black Blade by using the Fire Scorpion Charm and the Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear in your Wondrous Physick.
