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Putrescent Knight arena in Elden Ring.
Screenshot by The Escapist.
Category:
Guides

How to Beat Putrescent Knight in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Frozen bones.
Image of Dan Wenerowicz
Dan Wenerowicz
|

Published: Jun 23, 2024 07:49 pm

The Putrescent Knight marks the end of the Stone Coffin Fissure in Elden Ring and it’s another tough fight to add to the list in the DLC. This guide will help you defeat the bony horseman so you can get to the next optional quest in Shadow of the Erdtree.

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How to Defeat the Putrescent Knight in Elden Ring

The Putrescent Knight in Elden Ring.
Screenshot by The Escapist.

Bleed damage is going to be the best counter to the Putrescent Knight during the fight. You may be able to get away with fire damage, or even Messmer’s Flames, but I would stick with Blood Grease at the very least. Weapons like the Bloodhound’s Fang are great here. If you can’t deal any bleed damage, though, you can still dish out some decent damage as long as you know the attacks are headed your way. The boss has an erratic set of animations and the arena gets tougher to navigate as the fight goes on.

In phase one, the Putrescent Knight relies on charge attacks from its equally bony horse. Sometimes they attack together and other times the horse acts as a secondary enemy. As long as you can dodge the aggressive swipes from the knight and the charges from the horse, phase one isn’t too difficult. Get as much damage in as you can before the next phase starts.

Tips to Beat the Putrescent Knight:

  • Utilize bleed damage against the boss.
  • Bring Thawfrost Boluses to alleviate frostbite.
  • Play defensively against the melee combos and horse charges.
  • Watch for the frozen flame explosions and sword tosses.
  • Don’t spam long combos.

Related: How to Get to the Darklight Catacombs in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

The second phase brings the frozen flames into the mix. Along with the throwing strike that the knight uses, it’s easy to get punished whether you create space or play with aggression. After a few combos, the boss will essentially explode with frozen flames that engulf the arena and linger. I recommend having some boluses ready to go in case you get a full frostbite status. Then you can get back to pummeling him and the horse.

It’s worth noting that you can also get the Velvet Sword of St Trina in this area, which comes with the Mists of Eternal Sleep weapon skill. In addition to that, you’ll be able to start the Thiollier and St Trina questline after beating the Putrescent Knight.

Elden Ring is available now on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.

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Image of Dan Wenerowicz
Dan Wenerowicz
Dan Wenerowicz is a Staff Writer at The Escapist, where he helps lead the team's guides coverage of FPS and action games such as Call of Duty, Elden Ring, Diablo 4, and Black Myth: Wukong. He has a Bachelor's in Writing and has worked as a video game journalist for four years, having written and edited for such prominent outlets as Prima Games, Screen Rant, Sportskeeda, GINX TV, and Gfinity. His work has been read by millions of people, and his expertise has helped them better understand and complete video games.