Shadow of the Erdtree: How to beat Putrescent Knight? Elden Ring guide, walkthrough
Putrescent Knight is one of the main, but also optional bosses in the Shadow of the Erdtree add-on for the Elden Ring game. On this page of the guide we have described how to fight him and what rewards you will receive for defeating him.
Last update: 27 June 2024
Putrescent Knight is one of the bosses in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. You will face him in the Stone Coffin Fissure dungeon in the Cerulean Coast, an optional area in the south of the map - we have described how to reach it on a separate page of the guide. He is one of the main bosses of the expansion, but you don't have to defeat him to continue the main story. On this page of the guide, we described how to fight the boss and what rewards you will receive for defeating him.
Reward for defeating
For defeating the boss, you will receive 220,000 runes and Remembrance of Putrescence.
Putrescent Knight in a nutshell
- The boss's attacks are predictable, but he is very mobile - it will be difficult for you to find safe opportunities to attack.
- One-handed sickle combinations consist of one to three slashes.
- Two-handed sickle combinations most often consist of two attacks.
- When the boss jumps off the horse, he will charge three times in a row. After the first two charges, watch out for the charging horse - after the third charge, you will have the opportunity to attack.
- If you move away from the boss, he will throw the sickle at you. After throwing it, he will perform one melee attack if you are close - dodge towards him and you will be able to attack.
- In the second phase, the boss gains the ability to spit black goo, which turns into fire when it hits the ground. You can jump over the fire - jump in the direction from which the fire is coming.
- You can avoid the series of fiery waves by jumping once towards the boss, standing still waiting for him to spit towards you, then jumping over two waves one after the other.
How to defeat Putrescent Knight?
Putrescent Knight rides a horse and wields a huge sickle. The boss's attacks are very predictable, consisting of sickle slashes and occasional kicks with the horse's hooves. The problem is the boss's mobility, because after most combos he moves away from you or is so far away that your weapon can't reach him. So you have to be patient and look for safe opportunities to attack - the fight may last quite a long time. Ranged attacks will be very useful here - e.g. throwable weapons, ranged ashes of war or various spells.
All of the boss's melee attacks deal only physical damage, so they can be fully blocked with a shield that has 100% reduction of physical damage. The boss usually attacks by galloping towards you, performing several one-handed swings with his sickle. These combos usually consist of three slashes.
Slightly less often, the boss will grab the sickle in both hands and hit you with it from above. These combos sometimes consist of one hit, but more often of two - dodging the second hit towards the boss will allow you to damage him before he moves away.
Occasionally the boss will jump off his horse - be very careful. The knight will perform several attacks and then move away, sending his horse at you. The boss repeats this combo three times. The third combo does not end with the horse's attack - right after the knight's attack, you have a moment to attack the boss.
When the boss moves away from you, he can throw the sickle at you. Right after the throw, he will perform one attack if you are within his range - you can dodge towards the boss, which will give you a moment to attack.
The second phase of the fight begins when the boss drops to half health. The only difference is a few new fire attacks - the knight gains the ability to spit black goo, which turns into fire when it touches the ground. This fire moves towards you, but since it is only on the ground, you can jump over it. Don't jump while standing still - jump in the direction from which the flames are coming.
The boss has three variations of fire attacks. They are:
- A quick wave of fire towards you - jump over it by jumping towards the boss.
- Circle of fire - the flames circle the boss and get closer to him, so they will hit you in the back. Unlock the camera from the knight to watch for approaching flames, or jump back as soon as the goo hits the ground.
- Pile of goo - the boss floats into the air on a huge pillar of goo and starts spitting in all directions. Don't move sideways, but move a little away from the enemy - jump over the first wave of fire heading towards you, wait a moment until the boss aims at you again, then jump over the second wave, then jump over the third wave.