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How To Prepare For The Blackgaol Knight
Blackgaol Knight Attacks And Combos
How To Defeat The Blackgaol Knight
As you begin your adventure in Elden Ring's official DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, you might come across a nameless mausoleum holding a dangerous opponent. The Blackgaol Knight, nameless but not without skill, is set to humble greedy players excited to encounter one of the nearest bosses to the DLC's starting line.
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Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree - Shadow Realm Blessing, Explained
Shadow of the Erdtree introduces a new level system to assist you during your journey in the Realm of Shadow.
However, many players will struggle to defeat a boss meant to teach you that the enemies of this DLC are no laughing matter. Whatever ease you may have experienced or tricks you might have concocted will be quickly humbled by this expansion's bosses. If you want to win, you'll have to "get good." And maybe also use this guide.
How To Prepare For The Blackgaol Knight
The Blackgaol Knight is located on the western side of the Gravesite Plain. You can view it clearly from the Sites of Grace in the central area around the Scorched Ruins, thanks to the many surrounding stone archways in the west.
You'll know you're close when you can see the friendly blue worms sticking out from the ground.
Beware the Grave Birds sitting up top on the archways. You can run past them if you like, but don't let them catch you unawares.
Before venturing to the Western Nameless Mausoleum, we recommend making these precautionary assurances:
- Try finding a Scardurtree Fragment or two.
- Prepare a percentage-based damage mechanic (such as Bleed or Black Flame) via weapon, spells, or otherwise.
- Upgrade your weapons as much as possible.
- Try bringing a Wondrous Physick with a damage-negation buff, such as the
Opaline Bubbletear . - Bring Boiled Prawn .
Opaline BubbletearAdditionally, you'll want to ensure that you are not fat-rolling with a Heavy loadout, as one of the knight's attacks will require sprinting to avoid catastrophic damage.
If you are just beginning your Shadow of the Erdtree adventure, a Scardurtree Fragment is an item that will bolster your damage output and resistance.
You can find them scattered across the Gravesite Plain and beyond.
Blackgaol Knight Attacks And Combos
The Blackgaol Knight has two weapons that he can wield with either one hand or both. This means that he has three separate movesets.
Most importantly, there are two key attacks that only appear when the knight is wielding a weapon with both hands:
- The Repeating Fan Fire attack only appears when the knight is wielding the crossbow with two hands.
- The Solitary Moon Slash weapon-art combo can only be performed when the knight is wielding his greatsword with two hands.
For a full combo-list and their counters, refer to the chart below.
Weapon | Wielding Type | Attack Name | Attack Description | Suggested Counter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Two-Handed | Repeating Fan Fire | The knight loads his crossbow and steadies himself before firing several rounds of bolts in a fanning pattern that follows the player. These shots explode on impact. | Once you hear the sound of a loaded crossbow or see the knight holding himself steady with the crossbow in both hands, begin sprinting in one direction. Do not pause or attempt to roll. Ideally, continue running while slowly closing the distance to prepare to counter with an attack of your own at the end. | |
One-Handed | Single Shot | The knight fires a single rapid shot with the crossbow. | This is typically a fast-shot that appears only when the knight is holding the crossbow with one hand. It is difficult to avoid due to its speed but can be avoided by a simple left or right dodge. | |
Two-Handed | Solitary Moon Slash Attack And Combo | The knight holds his greatsword over his head as light gathers around the blade. He then releases it in a quick vertical slash that crosses great distances. This attack can end here or combo into the next attack. It can only be done while the knight is wielding the Greatsword with both hands. | Roll to the left or right. Do not roll forward, but rolling back is acceptable (though not optimal). | |
The knight then crouches and holds his sword aside as he takes a few steps forward and then releases a weapon-art attack in a spiraling motion that can cross a small distance. | Avoid rolling forward, as his forward steps at the beginning of this follow-up attack can cause problems with tripping or staggering the player and leave them wide open to punishment from the weapon art. Instead, rolling left or right will avoid this attack while leaving an opening for a follow-up from the player. This final move can be narrowly parried. | |||
Appears In One-Handed Or Two-Handed | Dashing Spin Slice | The knight dashes forward and slices in a counterclockwise spin maneuovre. | Roll forward to the knight's backside. This move can also be effectively parried. | |
Overhead Swing | The knight holds his sword over his head and brings it down in a chopping maneuovre. There is a variation of this attack in both hands that is much faster but follows the same principle. | Roll left or right. | ||
Jump Attack | Holding the sword over his shoulders horizontally, the knight jumps into the air and after brings his sword down in a vertical downward chop. The one-handed slice is more diagonal than the two-handed variation, cutting from the player's left to the right. This variation also covers less forward distance than the other. | Roll left or forward. Can be parried (window is narrow). | ||
Slicing Combo | The knight performs a broken set of combos that can be interrupted at any point. The full combo includes first a horizontal swipe from the player's left to the right, a returning horizontal slice in the opposite direction, and a third, final slice from the player's right in a forward diagonal. This combo can chain into other attacks, so be cautious. | Roll left, roll right, and roll forward. Potential opening for backstab; tread carefully for possible bleeds into other combos. If possible, parry final slicing attack. | ||
N/A | Dodge | The Blackgoal Knight has a dodging mechanic as with any Tarnished-based enemy model. | Attempt to avoid long-distance combat with single-hit or focused attacks. | |
Repeating Crossbowread more
How To Defeat The Blackgaol Knight
19,000~ (With Flask) | |
Weaknesses | Bloodloss |
Parryable? | Yes |
Backstab? | Yes |
Staggerable? | Yes |
Special Notes | Blackgaol Knight has a single healing flask that can be used at any point past midway in the fight. |
Blackgaol Knight is a simple but effective boss with several attacking moves that punish players who might try to use the old tried-and-true strategies from the base game.
This is most apparent in his large sweeping attacks and ability to turn on a dime, punishing players who try to fish for backstabs.
He punishes so often, in fact, that it is unlikely that you will see more than one backstab in a run.
It is not recommended to run Critical Hit builds against Blackgaol Knight, as this has been tested by our staff and deemed mostly unreliable.
The best strategy for Blackgaol Knight is to be patient. His quick moveset, despite his weapon's size, means that you can easily find yourself becoming overly greedy.
His damage output, especially at the start of the game, means that even a single attack can be devastating.
If you're having issues with his damage output and can't stand his attacks, we recommend chewing on the Boiled Prawn item.
This can help negate a significant portion of his damage. Additionally, you can mix special Wondrous Physicks to lower his damage even further or wear talismans such as the 
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman .
As you run into the room, the Blackgaol Knight will always favor his Repeating Fan Fire attack. However, if you rush in and close the distance, he will swap away from his crossbow and forgo that attack.
You do not want him to stop his crossbow attack.
Instead, rush in, but only halfway into the room, and wait for him to prepare to fire. When he begins, sprint to the left or right and close the distance slowly so that you can attack right as he finishes.
This Repeating Fire Fan attack is the best attack for creating openings, so never jeopardize it by getting too close when he prepares to fire.
His most dangerous attack is easily his weapon-art, Solitary Moon Slash.
The most important things to note about this attack are:
- It is only ever done when wielding in two-hands, so we do not recommend healing often (if ever) when he is two-handing his sword as healing will likely be punished by this attack.
- It sometimes turns into a combo attack, triggered especially if the player is close. You can lower the frequency of the full combo by keeping your distance.
- If you are in melee-range at the time of the combo-trigger, you can be tripped by the knight and forced to stagger. If this happens, you cannot dodge out of the remainder of the combo.
With all this in mind, learning how to effectively dodge this attack chain will be the determiner of success for your run.
With his two main attacks handled, the rest of Blackgaol Knight's fight depends on the player understanding these factors:
- Blackgaol Knight is aggressive. Do not attempt healing until there is distance between you and he has either finished or whiffed a combo attack.
- Blackgaol Knight is quicker than you think. Never underestimate the time he'll take in closing distance.
- His most often whiffed attack is his jump attack. You can roll under it. But beware that:
- The knight can chain attacks quicker and more effectively when he is wielding his sword with both hands. The safest time for distance attacks or healing is when he is one-handing.
- Several attacks can stagger the knight. However, he recovers quickly, so don't get too greedy.
Additionally, the knight has a single healing flask that will replenish his health bar by 25 percent (roughly).
He will attempt to use it at least one other time, giving you a large opening to punish.
Once all his big openings have been accounted for, you'll find your way to victory eventually.
If you find yourself struggling against him, remember that there is no shame in returning later. Grab a few bolstering items to increase your strength in this new realm, or visit our favorite Boiled Prawn vendor, Blackguard Big Boggart.
Should you overcome the knight, you'll receive his armor set (including the
Armor of Solitude) and the 
Greatsword of Solitude .
Next
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree - Every Nameless Mausoleum Location
Here is how you can find every Nameless Mausoleum in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.
