Elden Ring Nightreign’s Darkdrift Knight boss is one of the game’s most challenging Nightlord encounters, surpassed only by the Night Aspect. One of the biggest obstacles dealing with the Darkdrift Knight is how fast he moves. It’s almost impossible to gauge what attack he’s about to use until he uses it. On the bright side, the right approach to nearly all of the Darkdrift Knight’s attacks is dodging forward, so with solid timing – which takes practice, admittedly – you should be in good shape.
Our Elden Ring Nightreign Darkdrift Knight guide breaks down the Darkdrift Knight’s attacks, how to counter them, and who to bring to this fight.
Elden Ring Nightreign Darkdrift Knight boss guide
Fulghor, Darkdrift Knight attacks and counters
Fulghor’s attacks are swift and devastating if you dodge at the wrong moment, and he has a wider variety of moves compared to most of Nightreign’s bosses. Also unlike most of Nightreign’s other bosses, he also has a proper second phase during which he starts using several new attacks instead of just one at a faster pace.
Sweeping lance strikes
- Fulghor delivers a wide, horizontal slash with his lance. He may do this suddenly or after a prolonged wind-up animation where he draws his right arm (left, if you’re looking at him) back. He may follow this with a second, faster strike or a lunge attack
- Dodge forward. Evading sideways puts you at risk of getting hit anyway and dodging backward puts you in range of a follow-up attack
Lance thrust
- Fulghor lunges forward with his lance
- Dodge forward or sideways. Forward is usually the easiest, since there’s not much time between Fulghor’s starting attack animation and the attack itself to decide which move he’s going to use, and dodging forward is almost always the right answer regardless of the attack
Shockwave
- Fulghor sweeps his lance across the ground and creates a shockwave of sand and air that deals heavy damage and may knock you down. He may use one or more additional shockwave attacks immediately after the first one
- Dodge – you guessed it! – forward
Horsey pounce
- Fulghor lunged forward and slams the ground with his front hooves
- Dodge forward. You’ll be well out of the way and positioned favorably for attacking a few times before Fulghor recovers
Horsey prance
- Fulghor does a little prancing walk, stomping his hooves into the ground and creating little shockwaves
- Back away. The range of these shockwaves is very short
Holy stampede
- Fulghor glows with holy light for a moment, creates a small explosion directly around himself, and takes off at a gallop. He rushes back and runs you over, then dashes off and does it again. After the second time, he’ll stop, slam his hooves into the ground, and cause it to erupt with holy energy
- Fulghor may take off at a run without stopping to glow, though this typically happens during the fight’s second phase
- Back away from Fulghor while he’s glowing, and try to keep the camera locked on him when he runs off. Dodge or sprint sideways to avoid getting trampled. Sprint out of the eruption area or dodge right before the explosion to avoid taking damage from the last part
Lances of light
- Fulghor glows with holy light and summons spectral lances that burst from
- The ground glows yellow before the lances appear, so just try to stay out of the pools of light while this attack is ongoing
Darkdrift Knight phase two attacks
Once you drop Fulghor’s HP to the halfway mark, he sprouts a new Night-tainted arm and starts using a handful of new attacks.
Leaping ground slap
- Fulghor leaps into the air and crashes down, slamming his Night-hand into the ground and creating a broad shockwave
- Dodge forward at the moment of impact to avoid getting caught in the wave
Lance and hand combo
- This attack has several variations. Fulghor swipes horizontally with his Night-arm. Sometimes, he only does it once, though he may chain several swipes. He might also throw in some lance attacks, alternating between hand and lance. The longest combos end with him slamming the hand into the ground, causing the same effect as when he leaps into the air and slaps the ground
- Speed and the busy-ness of the attacks’ visual effects make it hard to time dodges effectively with this attack, but the same logic applies here as with all the other attacks. Try to evade forward each time, so you don’t get caught in a follow-up attack when you’re coming out of the dodge animation
Hand swoosh
- Fulghor extends his Night-arm and makes a broad sweeping motion several times with his hand. The range is exceptionally long with this attack
- At the risk of being repetitive, dodge forward. Dodging backward just puts you in range of his next swoosh
It’s also worth noting that another rationale for dodging forward is that Fulghor tends to use the shockwave attack when you’re just out of reach of his lance, and that’s more likely to be the case if you evade away from him.
Fulghor, Darkdrift Knight weaknesses
Fulghor’s primary weakness is lightning, and Nightreign includes a nifty little lightning-based ailment that wasn’t in standard Elden Ring. After attacking with lightning magic or infused weapons for long enough, Fulghor suffers from a burst of damage and becomes immobilized for a few seconds. While there’s no guarantee you’ll end up with a lightning weapon during your expedition, it’s absolutely worth checking out any spot with a lightning icon during the first two days.
This isn’t technically a weakness, but when Fulghor pauses and glows with light, he’s vulnerable to a character’s ultimate art that hits a specific location, such as the Wylder’s, Guardian’s, Ironeye’s, and Raider’s. It’s a good idea to save them for those moments when the Darkdrift Knight is actually standing still so you don’t end up missing and wasting the charge.
Best party combinations for Fulghor, Darkdrift Knight
The safe option for taking on Nightreign’s bosses is typically using two ranged characters and one melee character, but Fulghor’s tendency to randomly target a distant ally with his shockwave attack means that’s not always a combination that will work for you. Someone’s always going to be in danger of attack, so regardless of which class you pick, you’ll need to pay close attention to what Fulghor is doing and be ready to dodge to safety.
A tanky Guardian – always a risk, given how random the chance of finding stamina buffs is – or a skilled Executor who can guard or parry the Darkdrift Knight’s attacks make good choices, though a party of Wylders is a tough one to beat as well. Their high mobility and exceptionally powerful ultimate make them uniquely suited for this battle.
Three ranged characters positioned at different points so one attack can’t hit more than one of them is another strong combination. While the Recluse is often tricky to work with, lightning Incantations tend to be more common drops compared to other, rarer spells. An Ironeye with lightning grease or a lightning weapon can also exploit Fulghor’s weakness effectively.
Aside from the Guardian, the only character you definitely want to avoid using for this fight is the Revenant. Her summons aren’t agile or sturdy enough to be much use, and unless you get lucky with your Incantation drops, there’s a high chance she won’t be able to contribute much damage either.
For more on Elden Ring Nightreign, take a look at our tips and tricks for successful runs, how to unlock skins for your Nightfarers, and our list of all the Nightlords ranked.