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The Putrescent Knight is an optional boss hidden in the depths ofElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Stone Fissure Coffin. Comprising a malformed, cleaver-wielding skeleton and horse duo, the Putrescent Knight relentlessly gallops across the large battlefield, always hot on your tail and giving you no moment of peace.
While the Putrescent Knight, like many of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC bosses, is no pushover, proper preparation will always mess them up. Learning its attack patterns, knowing when to punish it, and exploiting its weaknesses will go a long way in defeating it.
How To Find The Putrescent Knight
The Putrescent Knight is found at thebottom of the Stone Fissure Coffin. However, the entrance to this location is blocked by agolden seal, which can only be unlocked whenMiquella breaks his Great Rune. This can be done by approaching theShadow Keepor theCathedral of Manus Metyr.
At the same time,Thiollier catches wind of St. Trina’s dwellingin the Stone Fissure Coffin. Deeply infatuated with the enigmatic figure, he wastes no time and makes for the massive fissure at the southernmost part of the map.
Following Thiollier into the Stone Coffin Fissure, you will eventually reach theSite of Grace, Fissure Depths. Walk a short distance south tojump into a seemingly bottomless pit. You will land without taking any fall damage in a large field, and the boss battle with the Putrescent Knight will immediately commence.
If you’ve followedThiollier’s side quest, his summon sign will be found right next to where you land in the boss arena.
Putrescent Knight Boss Preparations
Before you even dare face the Putrescent Knight, ensure you’vecollected enough Scadutree Fragmentsto achieve alevel eight blessing. This will make the boss fight comfortably challenging, allowing you to withstand hits, deal respectable damage, and maintain the joy factor of the encounter.
Additionally, if you’re using Spirit Summons like theMimic TearorDivine Bird Warrior Ornis, alevel six Revered Spirit Blessingwill help them stand their ground and hopefully survive till the end.
Not being able to summon Torrent to even out the playing field, however, makes matters worse. ThePutrescent on horseback will relentlessly chase youthroughout the boss arena, and neither melee nor mage users will have a great time dealing with it, as it can quickly close distances.
But there’s one thing the Putrescent Knight is absurdly weak to:Holy damage.
TheCoded Sword, in this regard, can trivialize the boss fight. It dealspure Holy damagethatscales entirely off Faithand has a decent reach that can be extended with the Unblockable Blade Weapon Skill. With the proper build, you can see up to upwards of1,000 damagewith each hit at80 Faith.
A good alternative weapon would be theGolden Epitaph. This holy straight sword doesn’t scale as highly with Faith, but itsLast Rites Skillweapon skill allows it to deal 100 percent more damage to undead creatures. This bonus appears to apply to the Putrescent Knight as well.
For this boss, you shouldprioritize offensive Talismansover defensive ones. While most of the Putrescent Knight’s attacks can be avoided, its aggressiveness means you won’t have many chances to strike. When you do, however, maximize your damage output by leveraging Talismans like theShard of Alexanderand theSacred Scorpion Charm.
How To Beat The Putrescent Knight
Sticking close to the Putrescent Knightis key to success against this boss. While you will have no room to breathe,most of its attacks can easily be avoidedwith dodge rolls, and after each combo sequence, you will have an opportunity to punish him with an attack or two (with a light weapon).
Putrescent Knight Attack Pattern
The Putrescent Knight is aone-phase bossfight, and getting struck by its cleaver causesFrostbite to build up. However, once you’ve chipped approximatelyone-third of its health pool, it will unleash abarrage of Frostbite-causing magic.
Throughout the fight, it will repeatedly use the moves listed below to an annoying degree, of which we have provided a detailed overview and how to counter them.
Counter
Spinning Knight Combo
It willjump off its horsein an attempt to strike you with its cleaver. The boss will then execute aspin attack three timesin a row, and thehorse will chargeat you diagonally at the start of the last two spins.
The initial slam can easily be avoided byrolling into the boss. Afterward, you can get afree hitbefore he does the spinning combo. Then,each time the duo approachesyou, roll into them to avoid getting hit.
Swinging Cleaver Combo
Theboss swings its cleavereitheronceorthrice in a row. If it is athree-hit combo, the final swing can either be aforehandor abackhand strike.
A basic combo withslight delays in betweencan easily be dodged with well-timed rolls.
Cleaver Boomerang
The Putrescent Knight gains some distance andthrows its Cleaver like a boomerangtwice in a row.
Simply dodge into the incoming cleavers, butsteer clear of the return trajectory.
Double Cleaver Chop
A two-hit combo that sees the Putrescent Knight doingtwo overhead slams.
Dodge as soon as the cleaver is about to hit the ground. This move is sometimes afollow-up to the cleaver swings, so think twice before hitting it during the combo transition.
Ghostflame Barrage
The Putrescent Knight will start doing this after you hit theone-third threshold. It will create apile of putrescencethatunleashes three waves of Frostbite-inflicting flames.
The most consistent way to avoid the encroaching purple flame is tojump through it.
Ghostflame Ring
The Putrescent Knightspews putrescence, forming a ring of flamesthat converge back at it.
To properly counter it,face the fire ring and jump at the appropriate moment.
Ghostflame Surge
A follow-up to the flame barrage, where theflame travels in a straight path.
Dodge to the sides or jump across the incoming wave of fire to avoid it, andbeprepared to face his sequence of cleaver swings.
That’s about everything the Putrescent Knight has in store for you. As for healing,save your flasks for when you really need them, though it can help to tank a fatal strike. The end of the spinning knight combo or the start of the flame barrage are your best bets for a quick sip, though. So, time it right, and you’ll be back in the fight without missing a beat.
What To Do With The Remembrance Of Putrescence
Defeating the Putrescent Knight earns you theRemembrance of Putrescencealong with220,000 Runes at NG. While you can consume the boss remembrance for an extra30,000 Runes, you will want to hold off from doing that, as you can exchange it with Enia for thePutrescence Cleaveror theVortex of Putrescence.
Unfortunately, neither the Putrescence Cleaver Greataxe nor the new Death Sorcery Vortex of Putrescence are all that impressive, given theirsteep requirements.
To properly wield the Putrescence Cleaver, you will need to have at least28 Strength, 10 Dexterity, and 15 Arcane, while the Vortex of Putrescence requires32 Intelligence and 26 Faithto channel.
The silver lining, though? Defeating the Putrescent Knight grants you anaudience withSt. Trina, who, if you drink her sleeping nectar four times, will shareintriguing lore aboutMiquella.
