Skip to main content

How to beat Commander Niall in Elden Ring

How to take down the challenging optional encounter.

Commander Niall is an optional Elden Ring boss who can be found in Castle Sol at Mountaintops of the Giants.

You must defeat him if you’re looking to get one half of the Haligtree Secret Medallion in order to access a secret late-game area, which is essential to completing both Latenna and Millicent’s questlines.

On this page:

Elden Ring Side Quests For Dummies: Side Quests You Need to doWatch on YouTube

How to prepare for Commander Niall

Not only is he a very hard-hitting human opponent with high defence, but he also summons two spectral knights at the start of the fight.

It’s then highly recommended that you summon a spirit ash of your own (you can summon other players too but be aware that this raises the defence of Niall and his lackeys, which doesn’t happen with spirits).

Commander Niall is very similar to another optional boss, Commander O’Neill in Caelid’s Swamp of Aeonia, who you have to fight to progress Millicent’s quest.

Both attack with a halberd with huge range that can inflict elemental damage and status ailments and both summon other enemies into battle.

If you’ve fought O’Neill earlier then you’ll know what to expect, except there’s no option for you to get the jump on him first.

Besides physically strong attacks, Niall’s attacks can deal both lightning damage and frostbite.

If you’re to prioritise, frostbite is what you have to watch out for as it not only deals extra damage when the status gauge has been filled, it then temporarily lowers your damage absorption and stamina recovery.

Frost resistance is measured by the robustness stat. Equipping the Stalwart Horn Charm Talisman or consuming the Flask of Wondrous Physick mixed with Speckled Hardtear will help improve robustness, while you can also consume Thawfrost Boluses to alleviate frost buildup.

As a human enemy, Niall is weak to bleed damage so weapons like Bloodhound’s Fang will be very useful for this fight.

The Mimic Tear will be very helpful in this fight but so will spirit ashes that can make very good tanks like Lhutel the Headless or Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff, who both bear great shields.

Since you’re outnumbered to begin with, spirit ashes that summon multiple spirits like the Greatshield Soldiers can also even the score.

While Niall is found near the top of Castle Sol, you should activate the lift near the boss entrance so that you can reach him from the Site of Grace at the main gate.

This may seem counterintuitive, but the Site of Grace at the midpoint has more annoying enemies en route who will follow you all the way to the boss fog, and they still poke through during the boss fight, which risks distracting your summoned spirit(s).

Commander Niall tips: how to beat Commander Niall

If you’ve already fought Commander O’Neill in Caelid, you should have an idea what to expect, though you’re in a smaller arena and don’t have the element of surprise.

Niall immediately summons two spectral knights to his side, one wielding two blades in each arm similar to Banished Knight Oleg, while the other is equipped with a sword and shield.

Take this moment to summon your own spirit as well and then focus on the knights. We recommend getting rid of the dual-wielding knight first as he’ll go down quicker.

The other knight may take longer on account of his shield, and he even has his own frost-based attacks, but it’ll be alleviated if your spirit takes him head on leaving his back exposed to your attacks.

Niall shouldn’t be much of a threat at this stage but when both knights are gone, then he’ll properly ramp up to his second phase.

You can also trigger this phase just by attacking him to begin with, at which point his knights will just die, but it’s better to get them out of the way first.

While he is a big tanky boss with wide-ranging swings and thrusts, it’s possible to parry him and you can knock his poise with repeat attacks to stun him for a critical riposte.

Getting the chance to attack Niall is, however, a challenge due to the wide range of his halberd, while he can also take to the air to avoid your attacks.

More annoyingly, you have to contend with a blizzard whirlwind area of effect (AOE) he builds up around him, meaning you can’t approach him without being inflicted with frost build-up.

Sometimes, this blizzard covers almost the entire arena giving you little space to work with. Ranged or magic casters will have some advantage here by attacking outside of this AOE range, such as with the Sword of Night and Flame’s night comet.

His hard-hitting attacks mean that if he’s focusing on your spirit they will not survive the fight for very long, but you should take any opportunity for them to aggro him, but beware that even the swing of his halberd can catch you even if you’re not approaching him head-on.

Keeping your distance will not do though as when he leaps in the air he’ll home in on you or another ally, with a short pause before crashing to the ground and releasing a lightning shockwave on impact, though this can be evaded with a well-timed dodge-roll.

If you’re thinking of casting a spell while he’s built up a frost whirlwind around him, then you also have to watch out as he can follow by charging forward then uppercutting you with his halberd, which you can also dodge-roll away from.

When he’s not using frost-based attacks he can also infuse his leg prosthetic with lightning and then stomp on the ground to unleash a large AOE lightning attack, which can also be dodged with the right timing.

Perhaps the most devastating move Niall has is a charge-up that sucks up the wind around him and then fires off three whirlwinds of frost at you, before following up by charging at you from around the side for a devastating halberd uppercut.

If you manage to dodge the end of it, however, this will tire him out and leave him wide open for a good amount of time for you to just lay into him.

Commander Niall reward

Once Commander Niall is defeated you’ll be rewarded with 90,000 runes as well as Veteran’s Prosthesis, a fist weapon with lightning damage.

More importantly, the path will be open for you to retrieve the left half of the Haligtree Secret Medallion, required to take the secret path to reach the Consecrated Snowfield and Miquella’s Haligtree.

Whether you decide to make your way back to the Grand Lift of Rold to do so or continue back on the story critical path, you’re near the end of the game at this point - so you’re in for a tough time wherever you go.

Good luck!

Continue to next boss: Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella


Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com