It is vitally important to prepare before facing the Putrescent Knight, in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, one of the new legendary bosses. This means grabbing the right gear, the right summons, and focusing on the best strategy to help you succeed. Additionally, since this boss will be split into two large foes, learning how to dodge its combos will also take some time. In general, facing the Putrescent Knight with patience will lead you to the best course of action.

This might not be the boss you want to fight first, so make sure to know where to go when starting Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. The Putrescent Knight, specifically, is a gut-wrenching skeletal humanoid monster riding an equally terrifying skeletal-looking horse. They fight together and separate, which makes this battle more tricky. However, if you're able to pay attention to where they both go, you'll have an easier time fighting them.

Characters wielding the Star-Lined Sword in Elden Ring
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Where to Find the Putrescent Knight?

Leap Into This Fight

Part of the Map in Elden Ring where the Putrescent Knight resides

To the south of the Realm of Shadow, at the tip of the Cerulean Coast, lies Elden Ring's Putrescent Knight. Hidden within the Stone Coffin Fissure, your character will need to plunge into the depths of the chasm to face off with the dangerous legend. Thankfully, when reaching the bottom, you will not cause fall damage, so feel free to leap without fear.

To access this area you will need to shatter Miquella's Great Rune to dispel the seal blocking the way.

Putrescent Knight's Attacks & Combos

Keep Your Eyes Open For These Moves

The Putrescent Knight summons blue flames that will attack your character in Elden Ring

The Putrescent Knight will follow several combos and attack sequences through your fight in a random order. They are generally easy to spot and will be in the same pattern when striking at you continuously.

Telegraphed Attacks

Descriptions to Watch Out For

Forward Cleave Slashes
  • Close-range slashes from the Knight on and off the horse that you will need to dodge.

Cleaver Slam
  • The Knight will lunge at your character with his cleaver after several slashes. He will become immobile for a few seconds after, so this is a great time to hit him if the horse is not lunging at you.

Horse Lunge
  • The Knight jumps off the horse to attack you while the horse lunges at the character in succession. There is no easy counter to this other than dodging.

AoE Blue Flames
  • The Knight and the Horse will grow in size with the surrounding sludge and cast Blue Flames that do serious damage. Jump over them to avoid getting hit.
  • The Knight and Horse will attack you in direct line of sight with a single column of Blue Flames.
Character riding a horse Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC with the Inventory Settings in Display Menu
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Strategies to Beat the Putrescent Knight

Take Your Time

A very good breakdown of the timely boss fight can be watched on YouTuber Shirrako's channel, where he has many near-death experiences. There are several strategies that one can use when facing the Putrescent Knight in the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree​​​​​​ DLC.

  • Use weapons with Holy damage since the Putrescent Knight is weak to this.
  • Use weapons with Bleed damage, such as the new Beast Claws weapon introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree.
  • Summoning Thiollier to distract the knight while you lunge your attacks at it.
  • Constantly dodging until you see a clear opening to strike.

The most important thing overall is to take your time with the fight and attack when the opportunities present themselves.

Video Credit: YouTube/Shirrako

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Tag Page Cover Art