How to Defeat the Death Knights in Elden Ring Nightreign?

Death Knights in Elden Ring Nightreign

The Death Knights are one of the main challenges introduced in The Forsaken Hollows DLC. You face them during the Dreglord expedition on Night One, and the fight is designed to pressure you with multiple enemies rather than a single powerful boss.

Winning this encounter depends on controlling the arena, reacting to telegraphed attacks, and using your class tools at the right time.

How to Start the Death Knights Encounter in Elden Ring Nightreign?

1. Unlocking the DLC Content

The Death Knights only appear if you own and have installed The Forsaken Hollows DLC. Once the expansion is active, you can face them during the Dreglord Night One expedition.

2. Where the Death Knights Appear

During Night One, the fight unfolds in three escalating phases:

  1. A wave of shield-bearing knights
  2. A solo Death Knight
  3. All three Death Knights together

The pacing is intentional: the game tests how well you can clear adds, manage space, and avoid panic before the real fight begins.

3. Recommended Level

Most players will want to be Level 7 before taking on this encounter. The fight is doable earlier, but expect a much harsher punish window.

How to Defeat the Death Knights in Elden Ring Nightreign?

1. Watch for Lightning Cues

Right before a Knight of Death attacks, they are about to perform a lightning-infused attack. When you see lightning, it means you have to sidestep to dodge. Just like the lightning attacks, the normal attacks have no visual cue, but are easily avoidable. This means you should be prioritizing lightning attacks, and attempting to perfectly time dodge rolls is usually not the way to go.

2. Control the Arena Before Focusing the Boss

In the initial phase, the Deaths already have some Knights added. You need to remove these to make the fight easier. When you leave these knights up, the fight becomes way more chaotic because of the spears and melee attack combos.

Try to remove the Knights first to give yourself more space to breathe. This fight gets a lot more manageable when you have the extra space.

3. Use Scholar’s Ultimate Effectively

Scholar is undoubtedly the strongest class for this fight. His Ultimate links together the enemies, and as a resul,t the damage is distributed among all the victims.

If you wait until all three Death Knights are in the arena to unleash the Ultimate, you can finish the entire fight in no time.

Synchronizing with your teammates and using your Ultimates simultaneously can help to drain a considerable part of their HP before the fight gets tedious.

4. Stagger the Knights with Heavy Attacks

Despite their size, the Death Knights can be staggered faster than expected. Using jumping heavy attacks or two-handed strikes builds posture damage quickly. When one Knight is staggered, you get an opening for a critical hit.

This is especially helpful when one Knight charges forward alone, as you can burst that one down before the rest arrive. Stagger pressure also reduces how much time you spend dealing with all three Knights at once.

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Soumyajyoti Chakraborty

Soumyajyoti Chakraborty

Author

Soumyajyoti Chakraborty is a sports journalist who writes about football, cricket, gaming, and esports. He has worked with Sportskeeda, MancSports, and other platforms, covering everything from football clubs and match analysis to the latest games and esports events. His writing focuses on clear insights, detailed reporting, and stories that connect fans with the world of sports.

Last updated: 08.12.2025
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