Putrescent Knight is a tough boss in Elden Ring, but with some handy tips, you'll get the upper hand, easily.
The new Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, introduces a host of new challenges. One of the, the Putrescent Knight, is particularly nasty. If you've been struggling with this one, you're in the right place.
Located at the end of the Stone Coffin Fissure dungeon, he is near the Fissure Depths Site of Grace.
Putrescent Knight Tips
Here are some general facts about the boss to know, if you want to just have some information to prepare better:
- Inflicts Frostbite on the player
- Can't be parried
- Weak to Holy damage and Scarlet Rot
- Has particularly high Slash and Pierce resistance, with some Standard and Magic as well
- Immune to Poison, Hemorrage, Frostbite, Sleep, and Madness
Putrescent Knight Fight Strategy
If you're melee, you want to be right up against him. Dodge into his initial attacks to avoid damage; he will do a multi-part charging move with his horse. Whenever you have some distance, he will throw his axe like a boomerang; avoid the returning hit as well. He has several overhead attacks (which usually happen twice) and then sweeping attacks. You can roll through them all to then get a few hits in.
For phase 2, you will want to jump a few times over the flames on the ground. Avoid these by moving back, and then jumping forward as the waves go, and then moving back a bit again, and jumping forward.
He will have another ring of flame attack that spawns further out, but goes in closer; you'll have to move back while jumping to avoid it.
The fight is generally a little easier if you have some ranged attacks, especially magic, because there are many opportunities to strike him in between the waves.
Also, if you want to a lot more damage to him, equip the Sacred Relic Sword, which is a great sword imbued with holy power. It will make the fight a ton easier.
Putrescent Knight Video Guide
If you prefer to watch how it's done, Fextralife posted an excellent video guide on dealing with the Putrescent Knight boss. Remember to stay on the defensive and whittle the boss with 1-2 strikes rather than going in. He deals massive damage with tons of sweeping attacks, so you should be mindful of those at all times. That goes for most bosses of course, but this particular one can't be staggered anyway, so brute force won't work.
Looking to have better audio in Elden Ring? Check out our Elden Ring audio settings guide to get better enjoyment of the game.