In this Elden Ring Nightreign boss guide, you’ll get helpful tips on how to defeat the Nightlord Endbosses in each Expedition. It’s highly recommended to play the game in co-op, as the bosses are significantly more difficult when playing solo.
Your team composition should ideally consist of Executor + Raider + Ironeye.
- Executor – for players who prefer an aggressive playstyle and are good at dodging.
- Raider – to boost the team’s attack power with his totem ultimate ability.
- Ironeye – great for reviving teammates from a distance and attacking safely from afar.
In this setup, the main damage dealers are the Executor and the Raider, as both classes can become extremely powerful. Of course, you’re free to try other character combinations, but we found this team composition worked best and we did half the bosses first try with this setup. To find the best class for your playstyle also check our Character Classes Guide.
Expedition 1: Tricephalos – Gladius, Beast of Night
Elemental Weakness: Holy
Gladius, the Beast of Night is the first boss you’ll face, and he’s here to test your agility. While not the hardest boss in the game, he can still be quite challenging if you’re not careful. Using armaments that inflict Blood Loos or Holy works well against him.
The boss fight is split into two phases:
Phase 1:
Gladius fights alone and deals most of his damage with a move called Chained Sword Slam. When he uses it, pay close attention to the chain. As soon as it swings above his head and starts to slow down, you can dodge into the chain to avoid the damage.
If you’re playing as the Executor, you can deal massive damage thanks to the Blood Loss effect. This makes the fight significantly faster (other classes can draw random relics from the Small Jar Bazar to get one with “Starting Armament inflicts Blood Loss”, can back up & restore save until you draw such a relic). With good damage output, you can finish this fight in under 5 minutes.
Phase 2:
Once Gladius enters phase two, he splits into three versions of himself. Here, it’s crucial to know who has the aggro. You’ll see a red circle around the player being targeted, all three Gladius clones will attack that person. The rest of the team should focus on dealing damage during this time.
This is also a great moment to use your Ultimate ability to stun the boss and quickly bring him to phase three.
Phase 3: After the clone phase, Gladius returns to his solo form, but now with new attacks:
- Explosive Plunge
- Wave of Fire
Both are fire-based attacks. The trick? Roll into the attack to avoid taking damage.
The key tactic here is for everyone to stay as close to the boss as possible. This way, you won’t waste time chasing him around the arena, and you’ll keep up the pressure.
Expedition 2: Gaping Jaw – Adel, Baron of Night
Elemental Weakness: Poison, Frostbite, Sleep
Adel, Baron of Night is the second boss you’ll encounter and definitely one of the tougher ones early on. He introduces a new mechanic that can be tricky at first, especially if you’re not prepared. Players should have a mix of Poison and Frost ailments on their weapons.
Adel is a two-phase boss, and things start to heat up once he drops below 50% health.
Phase 1:
In this phase, Adel isn’t too aggressive yet, but you still need to stay sharp. His most dangerous move is called Crushing Maw. You can tell it’s coming when he opens his mouth wide and charges toward you, trying to eat you. Dodge to the left or right to avoid it — never backward or forward.
Be very careful not to get caught by this attack. If Adel eats you, he powers up his next set of attacks for a short time, making him way more dangerous. He also throws Toxin Pools, which will poison you if they land. Keep moving and dodge them to stay safe. Overall, phase one is manageable if you stay mobile and don’t get grabbed.
Phase 2:
This is where the real challenge begins. Adel becomes much more aggressive, and his attacks hit harder. He starts the phase with a huge lightning AoE, marked by a glowing purple field. As soon as you see it, use Surge Sprint to quickly get away from the center.
During this phase, Adel stomps around wildly and covers the arena in lightning strikes. You’ll need to:
- Jump over the lightning pulses on the ground
- Or dodge into the areas without a purple aura
When Adel starts to roar, he’s about to perform his deadly Diving Jams, a series of crushing slam attacks. You can interrupt this by using your Ultimate ability, which stuns him and prevents the move. Poison weapons are very effective in the second phase. Poison not only deals damage over time, but it also disrupts some of Adel’s stronger abilities, including reducing the chance of him using his bite attacks. This gives your team breathing room and helps control the flow of the fight. The most important thing throughout the entire fight is to avoid his AoE attacks, especially in phase two. They deal massive damage and can easily turn the tide against you if you’re not careful.
Expedition 3: Sentient Pest – Gnoster, Wisdom of Night
Elemental Weakness: Fire
Gnoster, Wisdom of Night is a two-phase boss who uses a mix of poison and magic, making both phases tricky if you’re not paying attention. With the right strategy, though, this fight becomes much more manageable, especially in co-op.
Phase 1:
In this phase, Gnoster is split into two creatures: a moth and an ant-like beast. The team should split up to handle both targets effectively. In co-op, Ironeye plays a key role here. Equip a relic that adds fire damage to your starting weapon. Ideally, the whole team should do the same. Fire damage is especially effective in this fight.
- Ironeye should focus on the moth from a distance. The moth casts tracking magic spells that follow you, so you’ll need to keep dodging and hope you don’t get hit.
- The rest of the team should target the ant creature, which uses stomping attacks. Melee players need to watch its patterns carefully and attack when it’s safe.
After enough damage, the ant becomes petrified (turns to stone). When this happens, everyone should immediately back off, because the moth will unleash large AoE magic attacks that can deal heavy damage.
Phase 2:
At around 50% HP, phase two begins. The moth mounts the ant, and they now attack together with combined abilities:
- Tracking magic spells
- Poison clouds
- Ant stomps
In this phase, it’s crucial that everyone stays close to the boss, ideally underneath or near the front. Staying close reduces the chance of the moth launching ranged magic attacks, which are harder to avoid. The most dangerous moments come when the moth flies off the ant to prepare its ultimate attack. When you see this, use your Ultimate ability to stun her and cancel the attack. If the moth lands on the ground afterward, ignore the ant temporarily and focus all your damage on the moth. This is your best opportunity to burn through the remaining HP quickly.
Expedition 4: Augur – Maris, Fathom of Night
Elemental Weakness: Lightning
Maris has two attacks that can instantly wipe your entire team if you’re not prepared. With proper timing, positioning, and weapon choice, you can handle this encounter without much trouble. All players should have lightning ailment on their weapons.
Phase 1:
In the first phase, Maris floats across the arena and mainly attacks with wave bursts and jellyfish projectiles. The jellyfish are simple enough to dodge with steady movement, but the waves require a bit more focus. To dodge the waves correctly, watch their shape. If the wave is jumping or arched, you should dodge through it. If the wave is flat, you can either jump over it or sidestep. Learning the difference early helps avoid a lot of damage. Don’t dodge backwards when attacked by waves as you’re likely to get hit by the splash. You can also try running sideways when you see the boss preparing its wave attacks. During this phase, Maris moves around constantly, making you chase her across the arena. Ranged characters have the advantage here, but melee players should stay patient and take safe openings. It’s highly recommended to equip lightning damage on your starting weapon, especially for Ironeye, since Maris is vulnerable to it.
Phase 2:
Once Maris drops below 50% health, she becomes more aggressive, and tentacles start spawning around the arena. These will occasionally strike at you, adding pressure while you’re dodging waves and projectiles. The most dangerous part of the fight happens when Maris suddenly descends to the arena floor and begins charging a sleep aura. This is the setup for a one-hit AoE attack that can kill the entire team. To interrupt it, you must either attack her with lightning damage or hit her with an Ultimate ability to stun her. If successful, she becomes vulnerable, giving your team a chance to deal heavy damage. Later in the phase, Maris will fly upward and summon two large glowing drops above the arena. This is her second team-wipe instakill. As soon as you see the drops appear high up in the air, run as far away as possible. The impact area is huge and will instantly kill anyone too close. The drops will float down from the sky very slowly so are easy to recognize.
Aside from those two mechanics, the rest of the phase is similar to the first. Stick with your lightning loadout, stay mobile, and always keep an eye on Maris’s movements. If you manage to handle her instant-kill phases correctly, the rest of the fight becomes much more manageable.
Expedition 5: Equilibrious Beast – Libra, Creature of Night
Elemental Weakness: Madness, Holy, Fire
Libra, Creature of Night, is a boss with only one phase, but that doesn’t mean the fight is simple. It’s a fast-paced and aggressive battle where staying alert is key. Libra is weak to Fire and Holy damage, so make sure to equip a relic that grants your starting weapon one of these damage types.
The boss fight begins only after you speak with the Merchant inside the boss arena. While the Merchant offers buffs, they always come at a cost, so it’s generally better to skip them unless you’re confident you can handle the trade-off.
Key Mechanics:
- Libra creates golden circles on the ground. Standing inside them will cause Madness buildup, which can eventually lead to instant death. Always stay outside of these circles whenever possible. Always watch Libra’s hand, when it’s casting a spell, stop attacking and get ready to dodge sideways to evade the glowing ground circles.
- The boss casts tracking magic attacks. These are fairly easy to dodge with well-timed movement, and you should always look for opportunities to counterattack right after avoiding them.
Libra has two signature abilities, both of which can be interrupted using an Ultimate:
The first attack starts when Libra sits in the golden circle and begins channeling power. During this time, spectral shields appear around the arena. These shields absorb nearly all damage, and if not destroyed quickly, Libra will gain a temporary defense buff.
- Ironeye is particularly useful here, since he can reach and destroy the higher-positioned shields from range. Other characters can only deal with them effectively if they use their Ultimates.
- In the second dangerous mechanic, Libra summons another golden circle, which causes a massive AoE Madness attack. To survive this, you need to collect golden shards that appear randomly across the arena. You’ll need around 10 shards to gain full Madness resistance. The shards only stay on the ground for a few seconds but will also heal you slightly upon pickup. If you’re a high enough level and found any buffs that give madness resistance, you may be able to survive a full madness buildup.
Keep someone in your team with their Ultimate ready at all times. This ensures that you can always interrupt one of Libra’s lethal moves. Aside from the two signature attacks, the fight isn’t particularly difficult. As long as you watch Libra’s Hands and get ready to dodge the golden circles, collect the shards, and avoid standing in dangerous areas, Libra can be taken down quickly. The combination of Holy or Fire damage, constant mobility, and a well-timed Ultimate is the key to success here.
Expedition 6: Darkdrift Knight – Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow
Elemental Weakness: Lightning, Blood Loss
Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow is a massive Taurus-like boss who may look intimidating, but he is arguably one of the easiest bosses in the entire game. While the fight consists of two phases, neither presents much of a threat, especially if you come prepared. Equipping a weapon that inflicts Blood Loss will turn this encounter into a near-joke. Fulghor is highly vulnerable to damage over time, and if you keep up the pressure, he’ll rarely get a chance to retaliate.
Phase 1:
In the first phase, Fulghor only uses basic melee attacks with his large weapon. These strikes are slow and easy to predict, allowing you to stay close and deal continuous damage. As long as you dodge his swings and stay behind or to the side, you’ll be safe for most of the fight. Blood Loss damage will quickly chip away at his health, and with proper timing, he’ll be staggered frequently. This phase is all about keeping up the pressure, the closer you are, the less chance he has to act.
Phase 2:
Once Fulghor reaches 50% health, he begins channeling lightning to enhance his attacks. He becomes more aggressive and starts using small lightning AoEs on the ground after certain moves. These are easy to dodge if you stay mobile and don’t get greedy with your attacks. Despite his increase in speed and aggression, his patterns remain simple. Just watch the ground for glowing lightning zones and reposition as needed. With Blood Loss weapons this phase will barely last a minute. He simply doesn’t have the tools to outlast high burst damage and sustained bleed effects.
Expedition 7: Fissure in the Fog – Caligo, Miasma of Night
Elemental Weakness: Fire, Blood Loss
Caligo, Miasma of Night is a frost-based dragon that looks more threatening than it is. With the right setup, this boss can be absolutely shredded. Fire and Blood Loss are Caligo’s main weaknesses, making him extremely vulnerable to aggressive teamplay. The best character for this fight is the Executor, who excels as a damage dealer and can melt Caligo down in record time. Make sure every team member equips a starting relic that adds Fire or Blood Loss damage to their weapon, it makes a massive difference.
Phase 1:
The fight begins with Caligo in a relatively calm state. He uses basic claw swipes and frost breath, but these are easy to dodge. If the whole team stacks Fire and Blood Loss, Caligo will be repeatedly stunned and unable to even perform most of his attacks. If executed well, you might barely even see any offensive moves from him during this phase. Stick close, stay aggressive, and rotate Ultimates to keep up the pressure.
Phase 2:
Once Caligo’s health drops to about 50%, the fight ramps up. He becomes more mobile and starts using AoE frost attacks that can freeze you in place. Frozen players are extremely vulnerable and can easily die if hit again, so dodging these AoEs is crucial. Caligo will sometimes summon a frost mist, filling the arena with cold air. The best strategy is to move directly underneath the boss and attack him aggressively. This prevents him from repositioning and launching more dangerous patterns. Watch out for his dive bomb, which is his strongest single attack. If you’re caught while frozen or mid-animation, it can easily knock you out. But again, if your team is applying heavy Blood Loss and Fire damage, you may interrupt his dive before it even happens.
Caligo may look like a powerhouse, but with the right setup, especially the combination with Fire, and Blood Loss, the fight becomes much shorter. Stay aggressive, stay close, and never give him the chance to fully enter his frost phase.
Expedition 8: Night Aspect – The Shape of Night / Heolstor the Nightlord
Elemental Weakness: Holy
The Shape of Night & Heolstor, the Nightlord are the final boss of the game and the ultimate test of your skill. The Night Aspect Expedition is unlocked after having cleared all other 7 Expeditions. However, a friend who already unlocked it can invite you at any time, so it’s possible to beat him as your first boss and unlock the ending before finishing any other expedition. He is arguably the hardest boss in the game, and he has two full health bars. After defeating his first phase, he transforms into a new form with more health that is significantly more aggressive.
Phase 1:
The first phase of the fight is deceptively manageable. Heolstor uses mostly melee-based combos, giving you a chance to learn his attack patterns. Each swing and lunge in this phase is a preview of what’s to come, study them closely. The key here is not to waste any healing flasks or ultimates. You won’t recover them when the second phase begins, and you’ll desperately need them later. Focus on dodging his basic combos and only attack when you know you’re safe. Staying close to Heolstor can help, as many of his attacks have longer wind-ups when you’re in melee range. Make sure your team composition is well-balanced. If you’re in co-op mode, an Ironeye is essential for reviving from a distance, while a Raider becomes vital for boosting team damage in Phase 2. An Executor is good to deal heavy damage. Also, have each team member equip a different elemental relic, Holy is especially useful to slightly weaken Heolstor’s defense. As long as you remain calm and patient, this phase should go smoothly. Once his first health bar is depleted, he transforms into his second phase with a new health bar.
Phase 2:
In the second phase, Heolstor absorbs elemental powers, gaining a new element every time he loses 25% of his remaining health. Though his core moves stay the same, each attack now leaves behind dangerous AoE damage zones, depending on the element he’s channeling. You need to dodge through his attacks, not away from them. Backward dodges will almost always land you in an elemental AoE zone and can result in instant death. Forward or sideways dodging is the safest way to avoid both the attack and the lingering effect it leaves behind. When Heolstor reaches 75%, 50%, and 25% health, he flies into the air, charging a powerful one-hit kill attack. As soon as he takes off, run to the edge of the arena, far away from the center where the attack lands. Surviving this lets you safely regroup and deal heavy damage while he recovers. This cycle repeats with each new element. Though the arena grows more chaotic, the pattern stays the same: recognize the shift, avoid the AoE, and punish him during his cooldown windows.
Hold your Raider’s ultimate for after an elemental shift, it gives your team both protection and damage output at the most critical moment. The Ironeye should always be ready to revive downed allies with his ultimate, especially after the one-hit phases. If you manage your positioning, cooldowns, and composure, Heolstor’s second phase becomes a dance of precision and timing. The fight looks overwhelming at first, but once you understand his rhythm, you’ll find windows to strike and recover. Stay calm. Stay together. Learn the tells.
After beating the 8th boss, each player will enter their own instance of the Roundtable Hold. There you must talk to an NPC sitting at the cliffside to trigger the final cutscene, which will finish the story. You can still replay all expeditions afterward at any time. Finishing the 8th boss unlocks the final outfits at the dresser, and the final Vessels at the Small Jar Bazar. After this you have officially completed the game and the story is finished. You can still clean up character stories by interacting with the Journal in the Roundtable Hold.
