How To Defeat Commander Niall - Elden Ring Boss Gameplay Guide

How To Defeat Commander Niall - Elden Ring Gameplay Guide
Commander Niall stand in between players and half of the Haligtree Medallion. This is a fight that you must do if you want to make progress towards Malenia, and a lot of players struggle with Commander Niall because his move set and his special summons.
The Golden Order has been broken. Rise, Tarnished, and be guided by grace to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between.
In the Lands Between ruled by Queen Marika the Eternal, the Elden Ring, the source of the Erdtree, has been shattered.
Marika's offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden Ring known as the Great Runes, and the mad taint of their newfound strength triggered a war: The Shattering. A war that meant abandonment by the Greater Will.
And now the guidance of grace will be brought to the Tarnished who were spurned by the grace of gold and exiled from the Lands Between. Ye dead who yet live, your grace long lost, follow the path to the Lands Between beyond the foggy sea to stand before the Elden Ring.
And become the Elden Lord.
Elden Ring is an action role-playing game played in a third-person perspective with gameplay focusing on combat and exploration; it features elements similar to those found in other games developed by FromSoftware, such as the Souls series, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki explained that players start with a linear opening but eventually progress to freely explore the Lands Between, including its six main areas, as well as castles, fortresses, and catacombs scattered throughout the open world map. These main areas are interconnected through a central hub that players can access later in the game's progression-similar to Firelink Shrine from Dark Souls-and are explorable using the character's mount as the main mode of transport, although a fast travel system is an available option. Throughout the game, players encounter non-player characters (NPCs) and enemies alike, including the demigods who rule each main area and serves as the game's main bosses.
Combat in Elden Ring relies heavily on character-building elements found in previous Souls games and related intellectual properties, such as calculated and close-ranged melee-based combat with the use of skills, magic abilities, as well as blocking and dodging mechanics. Elden Ring introduces mounted combat and a stealth system, the latter being a core gameplay element from Sekiro; these features are expected to encourage players in strategizing their combat approach with each unique enemy they encounter. The game makes use of a player character stamina bar after being absent from Sekiro, although its overall influence over combat was reduced compared to previous FromSoftware games that utilized it. Unlike in Sekiro, resurrection mechanics after in-game death are not available; however, some elements were added to ensure players' progression within the game.
Miyazaki stated that the customization in Elden Ring would be richer, as players are able to discover different skills through their exploration of the map instead of unlocking skill trees as in Sekiro and differing from the pre-fixed weapon skills of FromSoftware's previous games. These skills are interchangeable with a large variety of weapons which, alongside equipment, magic abilities, and items players can craft using materials found within the world, can be used to customize the player character.[4][6] The game also features summoning mechanics, where players can summon a large variety of collectible spirits hidden throughout the game's world map, including previously defeated enemies, as allies to assist them in battle. Similar to the Souls series, the game's multiplayer allows other players to be summoned for cooperative play.
#eldenring
Thanks for watching How To Defeat Commander Niall - Elden Ring Gameplay Guide!

[@Elgarnan1]

I remember watching your stream awhile back when you fought him you were determined to hit the parry on his charge attack. People in chat said it was impossible but you entered Chad territory when you finally hit and made them speechless.

[@theJOSHfeed]

Hahaha what a time it was. PARRY SCIENCE.

[@yy1365]

Lol😂

[@mamoun316]

@@theJOSHfeed how do it become the small thing that thing that you parry with

[@flockofbeans9153]

Honestly his summons are the hardest part of the fight Edit: Apparently opinions don't exist anymore

[@themasquerader101]

For real. The one with two swords is the real boss 😅

[@GhostOfLittleAge]

It’s not hard to fight the summons just have to upgrade your weapons or memorize their attacks and dodge it

[@flockofbeans9153]

@@GhostOfLittleAge thanks!

[@michealharrison3502]

@@GhostOfLittleAge like we haven’t heard that before bud

[@BurningSorrows]

Nah not really, maybe it’s just me since I’m a heavy tank build. I easily destroy them in seconds with my great sword. Only thing is I struggle with the commander dude.

[@user-ls4wm9jj1v]

Why does he move around you at the speed of an elderly woman but rushes me like an nfl linebacker while defeating the knights?

[@theJOSHfeed]

Are you using any type of projectiles like arrows or spells or ashes of war? That definitely sets off enemies in a different way. Even then, sometimes they just rush hard.

[@darkmage4648]

Same. Nial has no chill when he fights me.

[@guillaumehudon2555]

That is one of the best guide on how to kill this dude without bewitching branch nice guide, well spoken and explained

[@JayJoeVid4EVER]

For anyone that’s watching this in the future. DONT BE AGGRESSIVE ON PHASE TWO. Wait until he comes ramming towards you, dodge, land damage, dodge, rinse and repeat until he’s done. Then run away, wait for him to either ram or stomp. Dodge, hit, dodge, hit.

[@swissidol8403]

yeah when you actually take the time to learn his attacks he’s probably one of the most boring fights lmao. way too much waiting.

[@shadoraeveon9312]

@@JayJoeVid4EVER was about to say the same thing, I had to chip away his health after baiting his ram and lightning kick, it was the only thing that worked for me. Took a while but I didn’t even really take damage. The aoe attacks he has is insane, you literally can’t be aggressive he does so much damage

[@abow4608]

I tried killing both guards then fight nail but I couldn't kill him for an hour but then I tried killing 1 of the guard and leaving the shielded guard and I beat it in 3th attempt if you struggle in phase 2 use this strat

[@tweek9756]

This boss sucks, whoever had the idea to add him needs to be fired. What a waste of sperm

[@arncj18]

maybe your right, after stomp i always dodge, dodge, hit. Which is wrongElden is purely Rhythm, it's best quality and worst at the same time. cause for a Pro what is left other than defeating bosses naked with no weapon only left hand Seal. For some reason my initial read on him was after stomp, dodge, count 1-2, count 1-2 than hit. But today i noticed i can hit after first dodge.

[@WTFDSDT]

Very useful guide, I think one of the tricky parts about Nial is his AOE ice attacks he does after a really tempting punish opening, but going up against him again and again, i never quite realized i was falling for the bait, and there was a better, more conservative window to take.

[@SwayRod836]

My strategy is to bring your own army: The Greatshield Soldiers.

[@gagegronley4866]

Dude, parrying that charge attack is amazing. Took him out after just parrying to death, thank you for this!🙏

[@grayson_live]

Thanks so much, I'm stuck on him and was getting frustrated. I'll probably have to study a bit more but this is my first souls type of game and it's a ton of fun.

[@Fishg4mes]

Underrated boss mechanics explanation and showcase. Thanks for making this video!

[@mrsh2083]

Horrible boss design, has 2 main moves, does ridiculous damage and has ridiculous health, has very little openings at all and is very hard to the avenge strength user

[@Vaultdorr]

So I actually defeated him by first killing the sword guy, then attacking Niall. Before you kill both small guys Niall is much easier and the shield guy is very slow and easy to ignore. Eventually he will transition into phase 2 anyway, but then the shield guy just disappears. Doing it this way, I got him down to ~60% before his, harder, phase 2 starts.

[@Druunken_Sensei]

Thanks! I did this and beat him first try! I actually found his first phase much more challenging before I did this method.

[@richardkohl8599]

I still can't believe that the Lunge is parryable.

[@spuppet4582]

The bullshit thing about this boss is he combos his attack that you dont get to hit back even if you dodge right. at 2:28 he uses a stab which is pretty easy to dodge but then follows up with an aoe hit around him. at 3:14 his lightning kick which you dodge forward to avoid only for him to either a stab or a back of his spear hit to prevent you from fighting back.. you deal shit damage to him while his hits do 2/3 of your health per hit.

[@andrewg3196]

Such an unbelievably horrible fucking boss without parry, magic, or summons. Just nonstop aoe spam trash garbage. I came here to see how to fight him without that stuff and it seems the answer is don't.

[@AleksanderAaronHansen]

I killed him with black knife "blade of death" skill and a lot of dodging, if anyone is struggling its worth a shot, feels way safer since you can keep your distance all the time

[@Miracle010181]

Another boss you've helped to beat. Thank you for giving me hope that i can beat the game!

[@BenSmith-cl3bi]

Lvl 90 warrior here I use sword dance with my keen dual scimitars then I retired one of mine for a buckler and waited till naill would do the jumping attack I dodge and then Parry his standard. Repeat 10 times to win

[@J4N-TU4N]

This is the most helpful and best guide I’ve seen on commander niall

[@johnd327]

Great video, your tactic of taking on the right one first then the left let me take him down on my second try. Took out the Knights one at a time, popped my Mimic who took all of the aggro and wailed on him from behind. Thanks so much.

[@cgnomazoid]

Attacking the right guy with the 2 swords is super important- was struggling for an hour and tried that and won immediately. Thanks for the guide!

[@arncj18]

true he is the first one charging at you , i 2 shot each of them, but struggle with the boss last drops of health

[@sto1o]

Was struggling, found uour video and i beat him first try with parrying. Thanks

[@bahasalma3368]

Parry works sooo good, thanks so much 👍🏾

[@dominique.gonzalez622]

Omg you saved me from just giving up😂thank you for the tips man I've never played a souls game in my life elden is my first. Im up to this part of the map only level 104 and i didnt even know you could parry🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️this entire time

[@theJOSHfeed]

I'm glad I could help!

[@themasquerader101]

Bro I feel you but I'm only at 95 😂 Maybe I need to level up a bit. I came back to him before taking on Godskin due for the runes but he's pretty annoying.

[@Sad._971]

I finally beat commander Niall here is a cheese kill Rykard first and on his rememberance buy the sword upgrade it get broken fire tear for your flask bottle and get mimic tear then just kill him bonus for runes and fireballs or you can do it the hard way parry him

[@ColinBurkeMusic]

He is sooo fucking hard. I'm at level 100, have a +9 dragon greatclaw, +21 broadsword with golden slam, +9 crystal sword, +20 sword with bloody slash and a shield. I also have the talisman which ups my carrying weight so my armor is BEEFED. My NPCs I summon are also +5. I can hardly ever get even halfway through the guy. The frostbite is so hard to get around. I had some immunity boosts and boluses- but it's a catch 22, because you can only create more bewitching branches (other than the 6 in the world), and more frostbite boluses from items you get IN the consecrated snowfield...which you need to beat Naill to Reach. It makes me so angry. But I do love how challenging and complicated elden ring is. I could easily see myself putting 1000 hours into this game. I'm 120hrs into it now- and this is just my first play through with my first character type. But PLEASE help. I'm getting wrecked. My HP, Stamina are off the charts, I have a stamina talisman too, AND a lightning protection talisman. Like just...wtf. I know I clearly need to get better with certain combat strategies- I'm used to overpowering knights and getting clever with bosses though- but again the frostbite is impossible. Any recommendations? I just beat Radahn without any NPCs...so I have some skill, and I have 4 runes, I have access to the mountaintops of the giants.

[@dandreboode7685]

This boss was difficult for me when I first played elden ring as a high DEX character even with good upgrades and good enough stats just couldn't seem to get it, my 2nd playthrough I went straight unga bunga all strength with a fully upgraded grafted blade and he was pretty easy to beat even with his knight summons. I think there's a huge difference in each bosses difficulty since release, when it first came out some were either extremely easy to beat and others were just unnecessarily hard, after playing through the game after it's had updates each boss feels rather balanced but still very challenging but doable nonetheless

[@theJOSHfeed]

Most of the bosses haven't been changed since release though. What you're experiencing as far as this goes is a matter of your own skill increasing and how different builds work. For example, the strength attribute gives you physical damage resistance which means you'll need to heal less often and can mitigate larger amounts of damage without trying. Every attribute has multiple things it applies, definitely worth looking into!

[@dandreboode7685]

@@theJOSHfeed they've all been tweaked a bit including most of not all gear used by tarnished, I've played every fromt soft game and came to elden ring pretty ready all bosses were challenging but too easy and could either be cheesed or by using at the time META gear for instance bleed would just destroy bosses easily. So I'm just saying the gear and maybe some resistances have been upped or nerfed. Went through ever play style mage melee etc each one was easy at the start of release. Coming back to elden ring now after it's updates and stuff I've noticed bosses are either less or more challenging than before. Where as at release I could blow through everything without much effort.

[@theJOSHfeed]

The only major changes to bosses were for duo and trio boss fights. Outside of hitbox changes and other small stuff, nothing else major has been done. The difficulty otherwise remains the same.

[@Lumieditz]

Thank you bro omg if I didn’t go for those summons first like that I would’ve never beat that boss 😭

[@Mafja006]

Awesome guide. My problem is that Niall is coming at me while trying to kill his summons🥲

[@theJOSHfeed]

Unfortunately he does that. Best thing to do is to rush in and try to kill one extremely fast as they spawn, or lure them both away from Niall so you can focus on them.

[@markporraz7826]

Be sure to kill the aggressive knight first. I have a strength build so two hits then he's KO. After that the second knight is easier to lure away from the boss.

[@Hades99-in1ro]

I was trying for 6 hours until in found this video thanks you mAn

[@Great_tusk]

If he didn’t have two guys and didn’t instantly kîll me with frostbite this fight would have been easy

[@toshirokigai]

ive been trying to fight him for 2 hours only to realise that he isnt even required for the weapon i want, i hate myself

[@turnerstoyotas7704]

Bros battle IQ is impressive i’m focusing on Intelligence/faith stats the sword of night and flame +10 actually does numbers on niall but im having a tough time with those knights

[@mrbabyhugh]

So George based Aegon on Niall Mor, the high king of Ireland who held 9 hostages to keep his realm in check.

[@ImperfectBoss]

Very good

[@theJOSHfeed]

Thank you! I appreciate it

[@pokeoc4869]

Dude you are the best guide ever you saved my keyboard some abuse💀

[@JustCasualGame]

Thanks for the video man today i killed this boss thankyou so much this video is veryhelpful for me

[@MadaoAU]

i usually use summon wolves to disctract the boss, after this i realised it was useless. I was getting filtered for like 3 weeks before bed on this one i couldnt even land a hit. The moment i saw the parries somehow i got him oneshot. Probably just got lucky, but we take those

[@Zuemagt]

bewitching branch perfectly counters him lol

[@beanie5507]

thanks alot for this, although I couldn't successfully parry his attacks I was able to block it and not take nearly as much damage.

[@tronvoichoi2269]

Yes. Just parry it. Sound we need practice alot but no. I killed it in 3 times tried. Remember when he jump into sky and slam down with lightning feet. Roll it and after that he will normal attack. We can parry it easy. If not success that damage not too much. And i just run around wait for that move.

[@vincehernando9574]

Man, you make it look like it’s easy 😢😢

[@TheDevilsAccountant]

Im stuck on this right now.

[@plantthief6231]

Best guid ever I was struggling for a few hours on him watched this video killed him first try

[@fatpug327]

Yo I was so pissed at this boss until you said I could parry that move. Smoked him immediately right after after I parried every single rush attack.

[@hardcoore_gyt9254]

Bro this guy was hard I didn’t even know I got the Madelein from him I just wanted his Runes. Yet he literally beat my ass so badly I had to switch console generations.

[@prettyl3oyflow619]

I like how he showed everything. Most KZbinrs would just edit out the already explained footage. W video

[@daspotjoel]

Spammed arrows to win. Then a few dodges and slashes from my uchigatana. Killed him in two tries, but they were long fights.

[@natebayne]

Very nice guide … tho it kills me when I struggle with something and then watch a video where people are like oh this dude? … pfffft

[@ultimate_bohemian3867]

My strat to remove his buddies out of the picture is to wham the 2 Sword Knight with 3 shots from the Blasphemous Blade. Then the Banished Knighjt with Shield. Easily removed. After which, things become hairy with his Jumping Peg Leg attack.

[@joshgeorge341]

best streamer for elden ring

[@stavronikiforos91pap]

I can’t believe I beat Radhan and Astel and I stuck to this guy

[@ghgxltz2410]

Hey I was looking for some new weapons and was wondering if you could make a video on how to obtain the weapons you’re using here?

[@tweeshrew]

Every time he jumps in the air i try to dodge but it one shots me anyway

[@KrissFliss]

Niall still attacks me when I even never hit him.

[@astro7893]

My issue is the annoying aoe attacks hindering me from damaging him

[@Gshellshock]

Elden ring bosses are crap. Most of the fights you just wait for the combos to end, while running around the arena.

[@Pokey_Puni_]

The banished knights are my only complaint on this fight, legit at times trying to get one becomes impossible. Actual BS moments before fighting Niall himself. 🙄

[@KookieKooker]

First time playing elden ring and this is probably my favorite boss fight so far. Felt really satisfying to beat him imo

[@greed6is6good]

You make it look so easy 😅😅😅

[@86Smally]

Dude you can stop the two summons appearing in this fight by killing the things hanging from the rafters before the fight itself

[@theJOSHfeed]

That isn't true whatsoever. You can't stop him from summoning the banished knights, you can only fight them or use a bewitching branch on them. You can stop the summons BEFORE you enter Niall's boss room by killing those things before they detect you, but not the ones IN the boss room.

[@johnny2598]

GG, after 20 attempts i defeated him with Mimic Tear and Rotten Breath.

[@akuji979]

how come he doesnt jump you with his 2 summons, he always gangs up on me 3v1

[@tweek9756]

TF u have it on the easiest mode or some? When I attack him he non stop spams moves

[@ileiad]

3:45 You know what they say, third time's the charm.

[@spdagreat]

Mimic tear and blasphemous blade make easy work of him and his minions

[@chefroxstarr9467]

What armor are you wearing in all these videos? You're character looks awesome bro.

[@verboseessays]

its the raging wolf set. you get it later in the game

[@yacinebenzine541]

You get it by completing volcano Manor invitations

[@mmm51396]

thanks you earned a like

[@MrJTFlynn21]

“You can use the bewitching plant to help you” spends 2200 runes just to have the knights get one shot lol. Great help

[@theJOSHfeed]

It's better than them ganging up on you. :)

[@professiggitways]

My favourite boss in the base game ngl

[@ImperfectBoss]

I use bewitching branch

[@vrtico3949]

When I fought him he healed himself after my summon died

[@gavinlangley8411]

Could I borrow some of your skill for the fight? It works so much better than my overpowering zerg approach.

[@monster33061]

First time playing elden ring and this guy killed more than 500 times

[@stevenesbitt3528]

Beat him sixth go, was hard but I think I was a bit op tbh

[@HakarisInfiniteVoid]

They mini patched this. They spawn and move in way faster now.

[@patrickharrison1202]

I beat the fire giant and many bosses. But i cant beat this guy at level 109..

[@josejaimes420]

What level are you here and can you post your stats/ build

[@keshavthakur6981]

thnx buddy

[@atomic_chill8418]

All I had to hear was that he's parryable. Thanks. :)

[@slavisapetrovic]

Took me 9 tries but got him with gut strength build

[@magnuskorse1498]

How do you deal so much dmg to him ? my attacks do absolutely nothing to him

[@euryeth]

Thx

[@reyesautomotive4507]

I deafeted all 3 of them with with the azur

[@8ballmuntantteam58]

I tried doing this

[@chefroxstarr9467]

How'd it work out for you?

[@itsdarkvortex8276]

Bruh what weapons are you using

[@1xincoo]

Scavengers curved sword and shamshir sword

[@eltehe1000]

Nice❤

[@collapsiblechair9112]

no advice on how much vigour you need, nor what level to have your weapon, or even what level to be before attempting this fight. The worst enemy of any boss in Elden Ring is the camera. Nice showcase of your skill but, for me at least, not a lot of help

[@theJOSHfeed]

None of that is relevant, you can beat the game at any level and any stats. The point is to discuss the moves and how to counteract them.

[@AnotherWorld_DeepRest]

Anyone help me with the regen speed, please? His hp regen is so fast. Anyone knows his build? Like armor weapon and talisman?

[@Noizy-Edits]

sooo theres only one moment i can attack... deleting elden ring

[@METALADIX]

This games difficulty comes only from BS damage numbers. If bosses had less health and did less damage then it would be more enjoyable to those of us that dont have insane skill levels.

[@awesomeFrost]

"Just parry him or use summons lmao" Nah.

[@hiddenone8004]

Got it first try after this lmao

[@Egg.1280]

Bro im lev 160 +10 river of blood and still can defeat him 😭😭😭

[@mcfriedchicken1972]

@@Egg.1280 did you do it lol

[@Egg.1280]

@@mcfriedchicken1972 YES after like 3 ddays and change my build 12 times did it with lev 25+ nag. and level 200

[@jeacks100]

best

[@seedoubleu6336]

parrying does literally nothing

[@bylike7167]

what weapons are those

[@1xincoo]

@@bylike7167 the scavengers curved sword and shamshir sword

[@Blade4Life76]

Just cheese him with the torrent jump off cliff. Easier than getting rage with this awful boss design in such a small area.

[@brody1562]

skill issue

[@toasty00000]

@@brody1562 🤡

[@itsame7491]

The best way I found was to jump off a cliff

[@mindofmorons4268]

I can’t parry it

[@JustADadGaming]

I did it! Most useful tips to me were taking down summons right away and punishing him when he got worn out after charged attack! Thanks for this guide, you made it feel possible. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXOxg4ihZZmof7csi=u3fyzH8aiTbw2-3h

[@tobi8693]

westermann