How to beat Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Blackgaol Knight is an early boss in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. A tough welcome to the Land of Shadow. While this human opponent only has a few moves, finding an opening to attack takes patience and good planning. It’s worth the effort, though, as he drops one of the best armor sets for Shadow of the Erdtree’s opening hours.

Our Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree guide covers how to beat the Blackgaol Knight, including its weaknesses and the best ways to prepare yourself for the DLC’s first big challenge.

Blackgaol Knight location in Elden Ring DLC

The Blackgaol Knight lives in the Western Gravesite Mausoleum at the western end of Gravesite Plain. If you start from the Scorched Ruins Site of Grace and head due west, you’ll pass through a field of weird little worm guys — harmless, unless you attack them (don’t attack them) — and then end up in front of the mausoleum.

The area is accessible as soon as you enter the Land of Shadow, so if you’re after a nice new set of armor and feel up to a challenge, don’t hesitate to visit here first.

Blackgaol Knight weaknesses and how to prepare

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

As far as I could tell across a dozen battles, the Blackgaol Knight resists all status ailments. He won’t bleed or suffer from rot, poison, or frostbite, so don’t waste your items and time trying to inflict special effects on him.

What he is prone to, however, is interruption from strikes with heavy weapons. Those include greatswords, along with:

• Hammers
• Colossal weapons
• Great katana
• Greataxes

A hit from a weapon in any of those categories will interrupt one of his in-progress attacks give you enough space to back away and avoid his follow-up strike. The method is a little tedious, but it’s the safest way to finish the fight.

My ideal choice for this fight is Bloodhound’s Fang, thanks to its excellent built-in skill, Bloodhound’s Finesse. Bloodhound’s Finesse sees you dash forward in a brief moment of invincibility and deliver a strike, before leaping backward. If you execute the skill right as the Blackgaol Knight delivers a horizontal or overhead strike, you’ll deal damage and retreat out of his reach. You can follow up with a strong attack if you’re feeling particularly brave, or just repeat the method until the knight falls.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

If you’re a magic user, it’s definitely worth pulling out a magic weapon and leaving the spells aside. Gravity spells such as Rock Sling will eventually break the Blackgaol Knight’s poise, but he moves too quickly for sorcery and incantations to be safe options. The Darkmoon Greatsword, Onyx Lord’s Greatsword, Death’s Poker, and Royal Greatsword from Blaidd’s quest are solid choices for intelligence builds, and faith builds can make good use of the Golden Order Greatsword or Blasphemous Blade.

Whatever weapon you choose, make sure it’s upgraded to at least its +6 form or higher. Go find some Bell Bearings for the Maiden Husks in Roundtable Hold if you don’t have enough Smithing Stones.

This fight doesn’t allow spirit summons, so don’t worry about which one to take with you.

How to beat Blackgaol Knight in Elden Ring DLC

Like most human enemies, the Blackgaol Knight has one phase and one set of attacks that changes very little as the battle progresses. His most common combo is an overhead strike with his sword, followed by a horizontal slash. Roll sideways to avoid the former and backward to get away from the latter. You could also roll forward and hit him from behind if you’re really quick.

You can interrupt either of these attacks with a strike of your own, and while he won’t remain staggered for more than a second, it’s enough to hit him one more time and retreat before he’s back in action. I don’t recommend jumping attacks or Ashes of War skills with long animations, as these just leave you vulnerable to attack before you can even pull them off.

The Knight will occasionally run at you and perform a jump attack of his own. Dodge out of the way, and attack him in turn while he recovers.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

If you’re too far away, the Knight will equip a crossbow and fire a single bolt, followed half a second later by a stream of bolts. There’s a random chance he might use exploding flame bolts as well, which you, naturally, don’t want to get hit by. His aim follows you around the room, but you can just sprint sideways to avoid getting hit. You can interrupt this attack if you strike him before he starts firing, and you can also make your way toward him as you avoid the bolts for a chance to hit him right as he finishes firing.

The Knight’s deadliest combo is his weapon’s unique skill. He’ll raise his sword and emit a vertical arc of moonlight; if you’re close enough, he’ll quickly follow up with a strong horizontal sword slash that might knock you down. A sideways dodge gets you safely away from the moonbeam, and another or a forward roll should keep the follow-up from harming you. That second strike has a wider reach, so it might take some practice to get the timing right.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

If that skill is giving you trouble, your best bet for avoiding it is maintaining a bit of distance – enough to keep him from using his skill’s follow-up attack, but not so far that he just spams his crossbow shots. I found he’ll come to you n most cases,, so you can just attack, retreat, and repeat. Either way, the Knight is open to attack right before and right after using his skill, so it’s a good chance to rush in and get a hit or two in before the cycle starts again.

Once the Blackgaol Knight’s health reaches roughly the halfway point, he’ll drink from a Flask of Crimson Tears and restore a small portion of his HP. Nothing changes after this point, though, so just keep at it until the mausoleum becomes his shade’s permanent resting place.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Victory against the Blackgaol Knight earns you the Greatsword of Solitude — complete with the same moon arc skill and follow-up slash the Knight used — and his armor: a set of heavy equipment that, if you have the stats to manage the load, goes a long way toward keeping you safe in the Land of Shadow.

Looking for more Shadow of the Erdtree guides? Check out our guides on new Elden Ring DLC weapons, armor, bosses, map fragments, sites of grace, and talismans. We’ve also got location guides on where to find Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes, and an interactive Elden Ring DLC map.