Elden Ring Nightreign: How To Beat Adel, Baron of Night

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  • Recommended Team Composition

  • Weaknesses And Preparation

After conquering my first Nightlord, I’m now on a mission to overthrow the rest! Much like myself, you might tackle them in sequence and encounter the enigmatic Adel, Knight of Darkness, during the Gaping Jaw Expedition. Trust me, he’s not one to underestimate!

To me, Adel stands out as one of the most challenging and irritating Nightlords in the game. He possesses an incredibly aggressive attack style and powerful attacks that can often result in a single-hit knockout at average levels. If your dodge timing isn’t well-practiced, I wish you luck in withstanding his onslaught.

Great news, gamers! Today, I’m sharing a battle plan for taking down that formidable foe we’ve been facing. It’ll cover everything you need to know from team setup, its vulnerabilities, move-by-move strategies, and how to use your team effectively when squaring off against it. Let’s conquer together!

Recommended Team Composition

Although you have the freedom to select your preferred team member for this task, having an optimally balanced team could greatly enhance our success. Here’s the composition I chose after consulting with my team before we embarked on our journey. Nevertheless, similar to one of my colleagues, you can use Recluse in this scenario without any concerns.

  • Wylder: A good Wylder player can keep Adel’s aggro while providing a solid close-range DPS with the right equipment. Additionally, busting out his ultimate ability to stagger bosses feels like such a trick card move; what’s there not to love?
  • Ironeye: It’s one of my favourite classes in the game, with both of its main abilities providing I-frames in their animations. Most importantly, you can chip away at the boss from a safe distance, at least until his second phase, where he can absolutely destroy you. The Weakening mark skill is also great for applying momentary stuns on the boss.
  • Duchess: The biggest opportunist, with the only hindrance being her low HP. Her unique evasions are great for dodging Adel’s vicious attacks, and she can get some quick strikes in during the short damage windows here. Most importantly, her ultimate ability can be a life-saver to disengage from combat and revive her two fallen teammates.

The Guardian is another great choice as it effectively absorbs nearby attacks due to its gameplay style, and it has the ability to resurrect downed teammates using its ultimate skill.

Weaknesses And Preparation

If you aim to conquer this incredibly formidable foe without exerting too much effort, it’s crucial that you immerse yourself fully in the planning for an optimal performance during the initial and subsequent days of the journey. Gather all the resources, practice, and skills you can muster for this challenging encounter.

For optimal performance, we suggest a skill level ranging from 12 to 13+. Higher proficiency means a greater advantage in defending yourself against its assaults.

Adel’s major vulnerability lies in the status effect known as Poison, which can be caused by items like grease or weapons such as the Serpent’s Bow, especially effective on Ironeye. However, if you’re wielding an armament that can accumulate and apply Frostbite, that could also be a strong choice to temper this monster’s hostility.

To discuss defensive strategies, it’s worth mentioning an unconventional approach: carrying cooked crab or shrimp could offer temporary protection against damage. However, for a more permanent solution throughout your journey, you might want to collect the damage negation boons from defeating Field Bosses. If your luck is as impressive as mine, you’ll have a great chance of obtaining these boosts!

How To Defeat Adel, Baron Of Night

To conquer this battle effectively, it’s crucial to comprehend that it differs significantly from the usual boss fights found in other Soulsborne games where brute force or cheese tactics might work. For your squad to prevail, focus and master its attack rhythm is essential.

Here’s exactly what I’ve prepared for you in advance: the primary assaults by Adel, the Knight of Darkness. Keep in mind that the boss has a tendency to alter or introduce variations in these attacks, such as executing his biting attack consecutively up to three times.

Moveset Description
Double/Triple Bite A basic attack where Adel will lunge and try to bite at you with its monstrous mouth. It can be easily evaded, but if caught in every bite, it’ll strip you of your health in a heartbeat.
Dragging Maw One of its signature attacks and one of the deadliest ones. Adel will drag its mouth straight at you on the ground, and if caught, it’ll grab you and bite you whilst filling up the blood loss meter. This attack changes up slightly in the second phase, but both variations can be promptly evaded.
Ground Headbash Adel will smash its head on the ground at anyone at close range. This attack can be repeated by him twice in a row, but regardless, they’re easily telegraphed and can be dodged as soon as he slams his head to the floor.
Toxin Pools This attack will only come into play if you manage to inflict the prison status ailment on Adel. It will spew out this toxic slime at you and, if caught in it, it’ll rapidly build up poison for your character.
Roaring Tantrum If you’ve played Monster Hunter, you might get some PTSD here. Adel will shriek two times, stunning any players in the vicinity and then momentarily target a player in your squad. This is one of the most critical attacks in its arsenal because Adel will proceed to charge at you with two running strikes, followed by an instantaneous version of the Dragging Maw bite to grab you.
Lightning Phase Transition Whilst transitioning into his second phase, Adel will charge up and unleash a massive AOE Lightning pulse. Run as far away as possible and dodge the incoming lightning strikes once he’s finished up his transformation.
Diving Jaws Adel will likely follow up on this attack after his phase transition. This is one of the trickiest moves to dodge since the initial dive is easy to telegraph, but those lightning strike tremors on the ground right after the dive may require some practice to timely evade.
Triple Headbash Those lightning ground strikes I mentioned? Yeah, those come into play again, and with this attack, Adel will bash his head three times in a row, causing electric AOE strikes to hit the ground. The timing to dodge is approximately a split second when they’re about to hit the ground, at least in my experience.

First Phase

Prior to delving into specifics, it’s essential to note that the outcome could take one of two paths based on your chosen Nightfarer; a combatant primarily relying on melee will often function as the primary damage inflictor and may need to evade powerful close-range attacks, particularly those rapid purple lightning strikes.

As a ranged character, I may think I’m safely dealing damage from afar, but in reality, I’m not entirely secure. In Adel’s frenzied state or due to his overactive AI in general, I might find myself as the main target. It would be wise to make some practice attempts during my initial runs on the Gaping Jaw expedition to stay prepared.

In the initial stage, you might find it less daunting as Adel’s powerful attacks, enhanced by his lightning transformation, aren’t fully activated yet. Therefore, make an effort to familiarize yourself with his biting attacks and notably, the animation for his Dragging Maw grab move – a particularly irritating attack from his repertoire.

It would be optimal to position your team members at a distance for maximum efficiency. My buddy and I found success by having him consistently play Adel as Wylder, while two ranged characters took turns attacking from opposite ends. For those playing Ironeye, make sure to utilize the Marking Shot skill to obtain invincibility frames during some of the enemy’s riskier moves.

Second Phase

Let me emphasize that this part of the game is incredibly challenging due to Adel’s unyielding assaults leaving no room for respite. If your team struggles during this phase, don’t worry too much about it.

This section of the game is extremely tough because Adel doesn’t give you a moment’s rest with his relentless attacks. Don’t be alarmed if your squad falters here.

One reason I advised learning and perfecting the initial attack techniques is that if you can repeatedly apply poison in the early stages and progress without using any Crimson Flasks for healing, it significantly increases your chances of surviving the second phase.

In your strategy, if you’re playing a character like Ironeye or Duchess, aim to draw his attention so he targets you. You’ll find it simpler to dodge his Rage Outburst maneuver because both of your characters have invincibility frames built into their skill sets. This will give your teammates more opportunities to navigate this encounter successfully.

Lightning strikes are tough to dodge, which is why I recommend having a character close at hand along with two others who can attack from afar. It’s chaotic, but if you play smart, exploit the poison status effect, and enter the fight well-defended, it’s one of the most satisfying battles for wearing down enemies.

In the Gaping Jaw expedition, vanquishing Adel, the Knight of Darkness, will grant you a Trace of Night and the Night of the Baron relic, plus an extra reward: if it’s your second victory over a Nightlord, you’ll unlock the Dresser in the Roundtable Hold and have the chance to update your Nightfarers with fresh attire.

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2025-05-30 17:25