Elden Ring doesn’t hold back when it comes to bosses, especially in the latter half of the game. There are a variety of incredibly challenging encounters for you to tackle as you push towards the finale of your adventure, but one in particular ranks among the game’s hardest. Commander Niall of Castle Sol stands between you and one of the pieces of the Haligtree Medallion you’ll need to access an important optional area, making him a top priority for completionists and those seeking a true test of mettle.
Why Commander Niall is so hard
Much like his Caelid counterpart Commander O’Neil, Commander Niall summons additional enemies to fight you. However, Commander Niall’s two knight summons are even more aggressive and take quite a few hits to take down. And because the fight takes place in a very cramped arena, you have limited space for getting away to heal, especially with Commander Niall also tracking you with large, sweeping attacks.
While Commander Niall can be beaten with enough patience, adept movement, and clever positioning, there’s no denying that the fight can feel frustratingly RNG-based at times. If you’re wanting to turn the odds in your favor, we have a trick that can help you give this boss a taste of his own medicine.
Use Bewitching Branches on Commander Niall’s summons
The consumable item Bewitching Branch can be used to charm Commander Niall’s spectral knights, which will make them begin attacking their master. By doing this, you’ll free up a lot of room for your own movement while also benefiting from their additional damage. Even better, having them fighting on your side doesn’t negate your ability to summon Spirit Ashes–the Mimic Tear is an especially useful option.
With the knights now on your side and your Spirit Ash of choice wailing away, too, you’ll be able to focus all of your attention on doing as much damage as possible to Commander Niall. Due to his wide-sweeping attacks, it’s not a bad idea to hang back and use ranged attacks like sorcery, incantations, arrows, or throwing knives to help your allies drop his health. If you’re staying back this way, you’ll primarily just need to keep an eye out for his jumping lightning kick and roll at the right moment before backing away again.
How to get Bewitching Branches
There are a few methods of obtaining Bewitching Branches. For starters, five of them can be purchased for 1,600 runes each from the Nomadic Merchant near Bellum Church in Liurnia of the Lakes. But if those aren’t enough or you’re just looking to build up a collection for further use, you’ll need to craft them.
Bewitching Branch
To craft Bewitching Branches, you’ll need the Fevor’s Cookbook [3], which is given to you by Gideon Ofnir in Roundtable Hold after you’ve visited Mohgwyn’s Dynasty Mausoleum for the first time. Once you’ve scored the cookbook, each Bewitching Branch you want to craft will require Sacramental Bud x1 and Miquella’s Lily x1.
Sacramental Bud can be found in a variety of locations, but it’s most notably scattered generously around the Church of the Plague in eastern Caelid. Sadly, it doesn’t appear to respawn like most crafting materials, so don’t expect an endless supply.
Miquella’s Lily can be found hidden away in multiple areas throughout the Lands Between, but like Sacramental Bud, this crafting material doesn’t respawn upon resting. Because of its extreme rarity and limited supply, your best bet is to farm Miquella’s Lily from the regular Soldier enemies found in Leyndell, Capital City.
Source: Gamespot
