Elden Ring Nightreign boasts eight different Nightlords for players to defeat, with each boss providing a unique spectacle and having different counters. The last of the bosses – excluding the final boss, and if you’re fighting them in chronological order – is the epic dragon that is Caligo, who’s also known as Fissure in the Fog.
Caligo, ultimately, is another dragon boss, and if you’ve taken down the likes of Dragonlord Placidusax or Bayle The Dread in Elden Ring already, you’re likely well aware of what to expect from this type of fight. That said, Caligo is undeniably tough and has some devastating AoE attacks, but there are a few ways to make this fight significantly easier. Trivial, even!
To help you out with that, here’s exactly how to beat Caligo, Fissure in the Fog in Elden Ring Nightreign.
How to beat Fissure in the Fog in Elden Ring Nightreign
Before embarking on an Expedition to defeat Fissure in the Fog in Nightreign, there are a few things to be aware of as you explore Limveld and collect gear, such as exactly what status ailments to look out for and which Nightfarers are best for countering the enormous dragon.
Here are some things to take not of before tackling Fissure in the Fog:
- Caligo is weak to Fire, so look out for Fire weapons or equip a Relic that adds Fire to your starting weapon. Wylder’s Ultimate, if Fire can be added to it via Relics, is also good for this.
- Caligo is resistant to Frostbite and Sleep damage. However, Poison, Rot, and Bleed ailments are viable against him, so you can consider those as well as Fire.
- Caligo dishes out Physical and Frostbite damage. Lots of it. Look out for items that boost your resistance to Physical Damage and status ailments.
- If you can afford to trigger a Shifting Earth event, the Mountaintops is great for this particular fight, as the area reward improves your resistance to Frostbite, and boosts your attack power when Frostbite is in the vicinity. This is ideal for use against the Frostbite-inflicting Caligo!
- You can use any Nightfarer for this fight, but someone who can keep up with Caligo – who is often moving around the arena – will do well here. Examples include the agile Duchess, Wylder and his grapple hook, or even Ironeye’s ranged attacks.
First things first, while Caligo can easily be tackled without the use of any specific Shifting Earth events, happening to have the Mountaintops active when going up against him will make the fight a hell of a lot easier. This is because of two things: the area reward, and the rewards dropped by bosses in this area.
The area reward is a passive effect that not only boosts your resistance to Frostbite significantly – which is great given Caligo inflicts a lot of Frostbite – but it also boosts your attack power if Frostbite is in the vicinity, which it almost constantly is during Caligo’s fight. Secondly, the drops from bosses in this area – trolls, dragons, and demi-humans – are guaranteed to have at least one passive effect that correlates to either Frostbite or dragons. These are to aid with taking down the awful Ice Dragons in the Mountaintops (which you should do!) but also come in great use when fighting against Caligo.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about Caligo’s attacks and how to counter them.
Fissure in the Fog attacks and counters in Nightreign
It’s no news at this point that Caligo will dish out lots of Frostbite damage during his fight in Nightreign. One thing to note before going into this fight is that many of Caligo’s Frostbite attacks will also temporarily leave spiky shards of ice in the ground. You’ll want to avoid these until they dissipate.
- Freezing Breath: Caligo will breath Frostbite in front of him, scattering it across the arena. It’s easy enough to get beneath him and attack his legs while he does this, but be careful of him then using this attack again while you are beneath him, as the Frostbite will then reach you. He’ll use this attack repeatedly but switch it up slightly: sometimes he’ll breathe in a single direction, sometimes he’ll breathe while moving his head from left to right slowly, and sometimes he’ll fly around while breathing Frostbite down on the arena. Steer clear of these clouds of Frostbite as best you can until they fade away.
- Tail Slam: This attack sees Caligo charge his tail with Frostbite before smashing his tail down players, scattering Frostbite in the area. Once you see his tail rise, prepare to dodge to either side of it. Ideally, run from it and create a little distance to avoid being inflicted with more Frostbite.
- Tail Swipe: Caligo will swipe at players with his tail, and will sometimes perform this attack twice in quick succession. You can dodge through these swipes if you’re prepared for them, and if he gears up for a second swipe, run in the opposite direction the swipe appears to be headed in (or again, dodge through the swipe and attack his legs).
- Claws: Caligo will swipe at players with the claws of his front legs if they are in front of him. Ideally stay beneath or behind him during this fight, but you can dodge away from these swipes.
- Lunge Attack: Caligo will fly into the sky before ultimately lunging at and attacking a player. Try to run past Caligo as he lunges to avoid the attack entirely.
- Ice Sky/Explosion: During the fight, Caligo will disappear into the sky and summon a blinding fog. This means that one of two things is happening. If you can hear a cracking noise, it means the sky above you is being frozen, and will soon crash down around the arena. I recommend running to the edge of the arena as quickly as you can to avoid this. If you can’t hear a cracking noise and can instead see stone pillars in the distance, you want to run and position yourself behind one of these pillars as Caligo is about to unleash an ice explosion of air through the arena. These stone pillars will protect you from the worst of it if you can reach them in time. Confident players can actually attempt to track Caligo down during this and attack him, using the likes of Ultimates or consumables to negate any damage from the explosion/falling sky.
Once Caligo’s HP reaches approximately 50%, he enters his second phase, in which he’ll begin using some new attacks alongside his existing ones.
- Freezing Roar: This attack appears to signal the beginning of Caligo’s second phase. He’ll unleash a huge roar while imbuing his entire body with Frost, inflicting Frostbite on those around him. Stand back until this roar attack is over with.
- Explosive Rocks: As well as generally breathing Frostbite all over the place, Caligo’s breath attacks during his second phase can leave glowing spectral rocks behind that explode after a short delay. Keep an eye out for these and steer clear of them until they have exploded.
- Ice Rain: Caligo can conjure and send a bunch of projectile rocks at players. These have a wide range and there’s lots of them, but they don’t track you, so they’re easy to weave in-and-out of or dodge. This attack can be used while Caligo is standing still or airborne, but to help identify that he’s about to do this attack, look out for him spreading all four of his wings widely.
For more on Nightreign, take a look at how to defeat the final boss, The Night Aspect, as well as how the Everdark Sovereign game mode works.