Found near the Gatehouse Site of Grace, the Crucible Knight can be accessed at the nearby Evergaol marker, where you’ll be transported to a new arena to face off against the boss. While you can take on the Crucible Knight on your own, we’d advise using some co-operation for the tough fight ahead, or even a a spirit ash summon to help you on your way to slaying the boss. On this page: Looking for some direction? Our what to do first in Elden Ring, Elden Ring walkthrough, Site of Grace locations and main bosses in order pages can help. Preparing for this fight can be a lot different, depending on whether you’re good at parrying or not. If you feel confident in your parry abilities, kit yourself out with a shield, because the Crucible Knight is one boss that’s incredibly vulnerable to being parried. No worries if you’re not a dab hand at the parry though, because simply dodging this boss’ attacks is a viable option. A general rule for the boss fight is to always roll into the Knight’s attacks, instead of away from them, so you can follow up the roll with a quick slash attack of your own. Another rule is that the more you chip away at Crucible Knight’s health, the more chain attacks you’ll see. For example, the boss typically pulls off one or two slashes at once near the beginning of the fight, but this number increases to four or five attacks in a row. Generally, if the Knight’s attack ends with his sword on the floor in front of him, you’re good to strike him, but if his sword finished a swing behind him, be prepared to dodge again. When the Crucible Knight races forward with his shield, be prepared to dodge into the boss at the last possible second. This is a shield-based attack that’ll fling you up in the air and leave you on the ground for a few seconds should you get hit by it, and this is one attack you seriously want to avoid. If the boss raises his leg up, with or without his shield equipped, you want to be mid-dodge by the time his foot hits the ground. This is an area-of-effect shockwave attack, and it’s also the beginning of a four-hit combo, meaning it’s deadly if you get caught out by this first strike. At roughly half health, the Crucible Knight sprouts wings and a tail. Dealing wit the former is pretty simple, as the Crucible Knight will periodically rise up into the air, before screaming down at you in a line. Simply dodge roll to either side of the boss when he’s merely a few feet from you to avoid this attack entirely. As for the tail, things are a little more complicated. The Crucible Knight will now chain a tail whip onto most of its regular combos and attacks, meaning there’s one more dodge you need to pull off at the end of the majority of combos. Remembering this is paramount, because it can stun you and leave you open to another attack from the Knight. If you see the Knight whip its tail around while stood a good distance from you, be prepared to dodge roll. While the smaller tail whip simple goes out to the standard range, there’s actually a far bigger tail whip that follows this attack up, stretching over roughly half the entire arena. Once you have settled on a starting class and starting Keepsake item, you should first work out how to level up, how to respec and use Ashes of War. Need some direction from there? Our Elden Ring walkthrough and Elden Ring boss order can help with where to go next, but we also recommend hunting down Golden Seeds, Sacred Tears, Crystal Tears, Talismans and some of our best weapon and best armor choices. If you are approaching the end game, we can help with the Volcano Manor quest and Rykard, Haligtree Secret Medallion locations, solving the Ordina, Liturgical Town puzzle, the Millicent quest, Commander Niall, Morgott, Godskin Duo, Maliketh and Malenia. With the Knight dead, it’s time to head back up to the open world of Elden Ring and continue your journey to become an Elden Lord.
