Finally, the last of Elden Ring Nightreign’s Everdark Sovereign bosses has arrived, and we’re heading back to where we started with a brand new fight against the first of the Nightlords, Tricephalos (Gladius, Beast of Night). The original fight against the three-headed dog is seen as a cakewalk by many players at this point, but Everdark Tricephalos is here to provide a new challenge.
As a result, we’ve detailed Everdark Tricephalos’ weaknesses, moveset, and some tips for countering the beast on this page; here’s exactly how to beat Everdark Tricephalos in Elden Ring Nightreign.
How to beat Everdark Tricephalos in Elden Ring Nightreign
As is always the case when embarking on an Expedition against a new or enhanced Nightlord in Elden Ring Nightreign, there are a few things to bear in mind while exploring Limveld that may help with your final night. As a result, we’ve listed some tips below and items to look out for that’ll help with defeating Everdark Tricephalos.
- The fight begins with Tricephalos’ second phase, where he is split into three separate dogs, before later transitioning into a new, third phase.
- Tricephalos remains weak to Holy damage. Look out for Holy weapons and anything that boosts your Holy damage.
- Tricephalos deals Physical and Fire damage, so anything that boosts your Physical Damage Negation or Affinity Negation is worth grabbing. He also deals a ridiculous amount of damage this time around, so getting your hand on Damage Negation passives is especially important this time around.
- Aim for Level 13+ and try to upgrade your weapon to +2. While this isn’t completely necessary, as we’ve no doubt all had lucky runs that have seen us beat Nightlords at lower levels and so forth, the enhanced version of Tricephalos is very tough and you’ll want every last ounce of attack power and HP you can get your hands on. Visiting the castle on Day 2 or using Shifting Earth events such as Rotted Woods or The Crater can help with earning Runes and/or fully upgrading weapons.
For help with the first phase of this fight, which is the second phase of Tricephalos’ original fight, take a look at our guide on how to beat the original Tricephalos.
Overall, you want to take the aggro of one dog each while chipping away at them between attacks, but be careful of Tricephalos’ roars; this sees all three dogs target a single player who’ll then have to dodge like their life depends on it (because it does, I guess) while other players attempt to take the dog’s attention from them.
Everdark Tricephalos moveset and counters
At approximately 70% health remaining, Everdark Tricephalos will stand still, gain a fiery glow and merge into a single three-headed dog again. This is him entering the second phase (or third, depending on how you look at it) of this fight. This phase appears to start with the same combo attack every time, which sees him dash at players and slash at them with his sword, twice in a row, before concluding by swing his sword around him.
You’ll also want to watch out for his sword swings producing multiple exploding fissures on the floor of the arena, which we mention below. He does this often, it spans a huge area of the arena, and you’ll want to ultimately master dodging it to avoid these fissures depleting most of your healthbar.
Once this initial combo is over with, old and new attacks you need to look out for (and how to counter them) are as follows:
- Bite Attacks – Tricephalos will bite players if you’re in melee range. Dodge in either direction to avoid these, and remember to keep to his side or behind him where possible during this fight.
- Fire Breath – Tricephalos will breathe fire directly at players. Dodge to either side of this as he attacks.
- Grab Attack – If you see Tricephalos’ head begin to glow purple, he’s gearing up for a grab attack which sees him gnaw away at a player. Avoid this at all costs, or if caught, get your fellow Nightfarers to make the most of it by using this opportunity to dish out some successive attacks.
- Sword Swing – Ol’ trusty. Tricephalos will swing the sword chained to his back around the arena, usually twice in a row (but sometimes he will swap the second swipe for a bite). You’ll see him prepare the sword before swinging it, so you can dodge through it, or you can simply run away and avoid its range. The sword is imbued with fire this time around.
- Sweeping Fissures – Tricephalos will perform sweeping sword attacks that create fissures on the floor of the arena that explode after a short delay. Avoid these by making sure you’re not standing on them, and when you can’t avoid them, you’ll need to dodge. Good luck with that!
- Sword Slam – Tricephalos’ sword will be flung into the air and begin to glow with flames before being plunged into the ground, causing a huge AoE blast that deals a significant amount of damage. Prepare to dodge as his sword contacts the ground.
- Attack Buffs – Tricephalos can temporarily buff himself during this fight. We’re not 100% sure what causes him to do this, but keep an eye on any buffs shown on his HP bar. Once buffed, it’ll last approximately 10-15s, and you’ll want to be extra cautious as to not get attacked by him while this buff is active.
- Wave of Fire – Tricephalos continues to use his fire wave attack from his original fight, but this attack is sometimes a little more delayed than what you might be used to. He’ll plunge his sword – glowing with flames – into the ground before spinning with it and unleashing a wave of fire from it. This time, rather than doing a single spin with his sword before unleashing his fire wave, he’ll now do two to three spins before sending the wave out. Dodge through – or the side of – the wave of flames.
When Tricephalos then reaches approximately 40% health remaining, the beast will split into three separate dogs again and enter the third phase of this fight. This is where things get really tough, with each of the dogs being a lot more powerful than they were at the beginning of the fight.
Just like the dashing combo used by Tricephalos as he entered his second phase, all three of the dogs will perform dash attacks to begin with. As Tricephalos separates, the three separate dogs – as balls of fire – will dash at players. Prepare to dodge to the side or through them as they come at you. They’ll be in their dog form once the charge is finished.
The three dogs will then continue to use their usual attacks, biting at you regularly, but the main dog – that’s the one with the sword chained to his back – will have a new attack to look out for.
- Explosive Wave of Fire – Tricephalos can unleash a wave of fire that explodes. Think of this as similar to the Wave of Fire attack from Tricephalos’ second phase, but capable of exploding upon impact and thus, dealing more damage. Create some distance between you both and prepare to dodge as he unleashes the explosive wave.
Sooner or later, Tricephalos will merge into a single three-headed dog again and moves from the second phase of this fight – such as head slams, bites, and fiery breath – will continue, and it’s on you and your allies to wrap up the fight before he separates again. Good luck!
For more on Elden Ring Nightreign, take a look at our guide to all randomly occurring map events, as well as how to beat Everdark Augur.