How to defeat Gladius, Beast of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign

Elden Ring Nightreign is finally here, bringing tons of new challenges and adventures. One of the first formidable enemies is Gladius, the Beast of Night, also known as the Tricephalos. Facing this beast is a rite of passage, as it marks your transition from being a novice to a strong adventurer who is ready for more challenges.

On that note, here's a complete guide to defeating Gladius, Beast of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign.

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How to beat Gladius, Beast of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign

Gladius/Tricephalos is the first major boss you’ll face in the game. This three-headed beast wields a chained sword and breathes fire, testing your skills and teamwork right from the start. Gladius is not only a basic boss fight but also a great lesson in survival and coordination in this co-op game.

Understanding the attack pattern

Gladius, Beast of Night (Image via FromSoftware)

This boss fight is split into two phases, each having different attack patterns and things to note. One common thing in both is that timing is everything.

Phase one

The beast stays as a single three-headed monster, mixing melee and fire-based attacks. It swings a chained sword in wide arcs, slams it vertically for high damage, and occasionally breathes fire out of nowhere, which is quite hard to read in the first attempt. One of the most dangerous moves is a grab attack that can be identified by a purple glow around its jaws.

At this stage, the key is positioning. Staying close reduces the chance of getting hit by wide sword swings, while staying mobile helps you avoid the fire breath or grab attempts, so you must figure out the right time to reposition.

Phase two

At roughly 75% HP, Gladius splits into three separate entities, each representing one of the heads. Only one keeps the sword, but all are aggressive and use area-of-effect attacks. The battlefield will become chaotic during this phase, but keeping calm and focusing on teamwork is essential.

Each entity has lower health than the original form, but they attack simultaneously. If you focus fire on the sword-wielder first, the remaining heads become easier to defeat. Ensure your teammates are spread out to avoid group-wide damage from a single attack.

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How to defeat the boss

To win this boss fight, you need good preparation and strategy:

Team setup

The ideal team includes a tank for distraction, a ranged DPS for dealing steady damage, and a support class for healing or buffs. This balanced composition allows you to survive longer.

Attack strategy

In phase one, have the tank stay close and maintain Gladius's attention while DPS flanks or attacks from range. In the meantime, support can also attack sometimes, but mostly focuses on enhancing the teammates.

When phase two begins, each player should try to attack the sword-wielder together from close range while dodging the other two. Then, they should pick a head to distract.

Preparation tips

Here are some important tips to prepare for this boss fight:

• Use Holy-infused weapons, as the Gladius is weak to holy damage.
• Equip fire resistance gear or talismans to reduce fire breath damage.
• Be at least level 13 to avoid dying in one shot from the heavier attacks.
• Make sure to bring stamina-boosting consumables, as you need to dodge a lot.

Positioning tips

Here are some tips to plan the positioning while fighting the Tricephalos:

• As mentioned before, avoid clustering with teammates to prevent being hit by AoE attacks.
• Dodge into the fire breath rather than away to get through it faster.
• Either backpedal or roll sideways the moment you see a purple glow to avoid the grab attack.

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That's everything you need to know to defeat Gladius, Beast of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign. The boss might be early-game, but it demands great awareness and could take multiple attempts to defeat if you are new to soulslike games.

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