Elden Ring Nightreign has introduced a new, enhanced Nightlord for players to challenge as part of its live-service: Everdark Sovereign game mode, which reintroduces existing Nightlords with tough third phases. This time around, players must try and defeat the Everdark Sovereign Darkdrift Knight, and he’s a formidable opponent.
If you thought the Everdark Sovereign Gaping Jaws fight was troublesome, you’ve really got your work cut out for you here with the highly-mobile, hard-hitting centaur on your tail. To help you out, however, here’s how to beat the Everdark Sovereign Darkdrift Knight in Elden Ring Nightreign.
How to beat Everdark Darkdrift Knight in Elden Ring Nightreign
The Everdark Sovereign version of Darkdrift Knight (also known as Fulghor, Champion of Night) is abominable in Elden Ring Nightreign. He was already one of the game’s toughest Nightlords as it is, but his new enhanced fight pushes things to the limit.
That said, anyone who’s faced the final boss of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC should be well-prepared for this boss and the amount of Holy Damage he can deal, and will no doubt find this fight a walk in the park in comparison to the DLC’s conclusion.
To challenge this boss, open your Expeditions menu via the Roundtable and select the purple version of Darkdrift Knight from the very bottom of the Target list (shown above). If he is not available for you, this means you must defeat the original version of the Darkdrift Knight first before his Everdark version will become available.
Here are some things to note before setting off on this Expedition:
- The fight begins with Fulghor’s second phase, so expect that huge tentacle arm of his from the get-go. Once he reaches approximately 50% HP, he’ll then go into a new, third phase.
- Fulghor’s primary weakness is Lightning. This means you want to keep an eye out for any Lightning affinity weapons or Incantations, and any passive effects that boost your Lightning attack power.
- Fulghor is resistant to Holy and Madness, so don’t bother bringing those damage types along with you. If you can’t find Lightning, he is susceptible to ailments such as Poison, Scarlet Rot, Frost, and Bleed.
- Fulghor is highly mobile, so use Nightfarer’s who can keep up with him. I particularly like Wylder and his grapple hook for this fight, as well as Raider and his preference for Colossal weapons. Ironeye is also always great for stance damage, and generally as a ranged attacker who can do consistent damage from a distance.
- Look for traits and passives that boost your Physical Damage Negation and Holy Damage Negation. These are Fulghor’s main damage types, especially Holy, so anything that protects you from them goes a long way.
- Aim for Level 13 at minimum. Everdark Fulghor is exceptionally tough, so you want yourself and your party to be appropriately tough. This means carefully selecting POI’s to clear in Limveld so you can try and reach Level 13 at minimum, and ensuring you have strong gear.
- Upgrade your equipment. Blue rarity weapons are fine and can get you through some tough fights, but in this instance, you want to grab a Smithing Stone 2 and ensure your primary weapon is purple-rarity, if you don’t happen to find a Legendary Armament. Every little helps with these Everdark fights.
- Use consumables. Warming Stones, Boiled Crabs, and so forth can always help out in a pinch, especially if you have a Relic that allows your items to confer effects to allies so everyone in your team can benefit. There’s no excuse for your Item Pouches to be empty when consumables are found everywhere!
As mentioned, this fight begins with Darkdrift Knight’s second phase, so his moveset during this portion of the fight shouldn’t be surprising to you. If you need a refresher however, check out our Darkdrift Knight boss guide for his original fight, which details his moveset.
Once Fulghor enters his third phase at around 50% HP, there isn’t any grand transition like the previous Everdark Sovereign Gaping Jaws fight. Instead, his gruesome arm disappears (thank God), and he begins to make use of his twinblade spear, occasionally using it as a bow (which is just unfair if you ask me).
He’ll also continue to use attacks from his previous phase – such as conjuring glowing fissures in the ground that you need to avoid – which hit harder than before, while utilising some new attacks that we explain below.
Ranged attacks to look out for during Fulghor’s third phase and how to counter them are as follows:
- Single Shot (Bow): You can typically tell when Fulghor is firing off a ranged attack once you know what to look out for; he holds his twinblade in front of him while one end of it glows with a cross as he aims. If you manage to recognise it in time, you can easily dodge out of his arrow’s path or run behind him.
- Rain of Arrows (Bow): Fulghor can use his bow to fire off clouds that produce a rain of arrows (much like the Ash of War you may have seen on various bows in Limveld or Elden Ring). There will be multiples of these that crash around the arena, following players and dealing Holy Damage. You’ll want to run away and avoid their path, as getting stuck in one can easily down a player.
Fulghor’s melee attacks using his twinblade are a little harder to get used to, though both of the most devastating attacks see him hold the weapon above his head:
- AoE Sweep Attack: If Fulghor stands on his hind legs with his twinblade in the air, prepare for some large AoE slashes, which you can dodge through or run from depending on whether you’re playing a melee or ranged character.
- Sweeping Combo: If Fulghor begins to spin his twinblade above his head, he will charge at his target unleashing a combo of sweep attacks that have very long reach. The best thing to do here, if playing in melee, is to dodge through the attacks, but be aware that these combos often conclude with Fulghor performing an AoE ground slam. Again, you can dodge this.
There are other sweeping attacks he’ll perform with his twinblade. Think of his weapon as similar to the popular DLC weapon, the Euporia, which can do a very fun spinning attack that inflicts Holy Damage. Fulghor’s weapon doesn’t quite spin, but he will slash in all kinds of directions with it; these attacks can be dodged through once you get used to Fulghor’s timing (which is fast!), while ranged players can play safely from afar for the most part.
Another important attack to look out for that you can’t miss – seeing as it’s one of the few times this boss gives you a temporary break – is when Fulghor launches himself into the sky and begins to glow gold. His bow will be out, and he’ll be targeting one player with a single shot (and this single shot is much worse then the standard bow attack mentioned above).
You want to get as far away as possible from whoever and wherever Fulghor is targeting, as this arrow he fires not only deals damage, but triggers an explosion upon landing that can quickly wipe out your whole team.
This impressive YouTube video from ONGBAL showcases a no-hit run against the Everdark Sovereign Darkdrift Knight that takes the player just under three minutes. It is exemplary gameplay that’s very fun to watch, and will also give you a vivid idea of what moves to expect from Fulghor this time around.
Once you successfully manage to defeat the Everdark Sovereign Darkdrift Knight, well done! You’ll receive 25 Sovereign Sigils as a reward, which can be spent on skins, Relics, and triggering Shifting Earth events at the Collector Signboard in the Hold. Any subsequent successful runs will only reward you with five Sovereign Sigils.
For more help with Elden Ring Nightreign, take a look at all of our tips and tricks for successful runs. Additionally, here’s our guide on all map events and what they do, and how to beat the Night Aspect if you’re yet to do that.