Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos, also known as Gladius, Beast of the Night, is the high difficulty version of the Tricephalos boss fight from Elden Ring Nightreign. This is quite possibly one of the most difficult bosses in the game, as the damage output from its attacks is higher than anything that FromSoftware has released so far.
The good part about the boss is that it only has one health pool, which makes it easy to prepare. However, it comes with brand new moves, a higher health pool, and higher resistances. This means you have to bring out your best if you’re looking to claim victory against yet another Everdark Sovereign boss.
How To Defeat Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos (Gladius) in Elden Ring Nightreign
The key to defeating Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos in Elden Ring Nightreign is Holy attacks. Similar to the base version of the boss, the Everdark Sovereign version is also weak to Holy. As such, make sure to hit all the Holy camps during the first two days of the expedition and pick up at least one weapon for the element. If you get unlucky with Holy, you can also use Bleed and Poison, both of which are good against the boss. However, unlike Everdark Sovereign Fissure in the Fog, Gladius is immune to Fire, so don’t even think of picking up any weapon with that element.
You’ll also have to ensure that you’re meeting the level cap before fighting the Everdark Sovereign version of Gladius, Beast of the Night. Level 15 is the maximum you can reach, and there are multiple ways you can hit it before the end of the second day. Ideally, you would want to clear the castle, a few smaller bosses, and Evergaols on the first day. On the second day, you would want to hit the Shifting Earth Event and take on the bigger bosses, which will get you to level 15.
Health is quite important against this Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos, since there is one move that one-shots you every time. Additionally, the boss loves to chain its attacks, so if your health is low and you get hit even once, the chances are you’ll end up dead. As such, make sure to pick up health boosts even if you’re playing as the mage class. You should also ensure that you hit the Churches of Marika on the first two days and fill up on healing flasks, so that you can sustain yourself during the fight.
Finally, Noklateo, the Shrouded City, is the best Shifting Earth Event to go for when fighting Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos, similar to the Everdark Sovereign Equilibrious Beast boss fight. This is because there are a number of bosses that will give you a lot of runes, and they also drop several high-tier loot. You’ll have a very high chance of accessing weapons like Carian Regal Sceptre and Rivers of Blood if you defeat the bosses in this Event. Additionally, you get access to a special power after defeating the Naturalborn of the Void boss, which grants you a second life upon defeat.
Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos (Gladius) Movelist in Elden Ring Nightreign
Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos (Gladius) comes with a variety of new movesets, some of which can one-shot you. When starting the fight, it will split into three right away, which is similar to the base form itself. However, after you have taken down about 30% of its health, the boss gets aggressive and starts bombarding you with its new moves.
| Movelist | Description | How to Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Fiery Chains | The boss will spin a massive sword attached to a chain. This entire chain, including the sword, will be clothed in fire. So if you get hit by it, you’ll take a lot of damage. | The chain is easy to counter since you can always run away or dodge. While the chain hits hard, the spin is quite slow. So you can judge it and dodge it before you get hit. |
| Fiery Flip | The boss will jump in the air and land, while releasing a blast of fire in front of you. | The blast arrives very fast, but you can side dodge it if you’re quick. |
| Fiery Dash | This move is exclusive to when the boss splits itself into three. Each of the parts will dash towards the players while engulfed in fire. Once the boss dashes, it leaves behind a trail of fire that also deals damage. | You can side dodge it, as there is no other way to counter it. The dash is easy to predict, since it has a long startup. The boss will stop momentarily before it dashes, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. |
| Triple Fire Blast | Gladius will drag its sword on the ground and release fire in the form of a triangle three times in quick succession. | While the blast arrives in a triangle, there are gaps in between the blasts that serve as safe zones. You can easily dodge into the safe zones to survive this attack. |
| Mega Fire Nuke | Tricephalos will breathe fire from its mouth and release waves of fire all across the battlefield. Then it will spin its chain and crash it on the ground, releasing a devastating nuke with a massive area of impact. | The moment it starts breathing fire, you know the nuke is incoming. Walk away from the boss, and you’ll survive the first part of the attack. The waves of fire are visible on the ground, and there will be safe zones for you to stand. Finally, when the nuke arrives, you can stand far away and dodge right before the chain hits the ground. |
While Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos doesn’t have a second health pool, unlike Everdark Sovereign Augur, the moment the former hits about 50 percent health, the fight becomes extremely chaotic. The Fiery Flip is a one-shot attack, even when you’re playing something like the Wylder or Raider. The Mega Fire Nuke is also one-shot, especially if you don’t run away from Tricephalos at the very beginning. However, this fight is all about patience and understanding when the right moment is to attack and when you should retreat.
Recommended Characters To Fight Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos (Gladius) in Elden Ring Nightreign
When it comes to fighting any Everdark Sovereign Boss, the usual recommendation is to pick up something that you’re comfortable with. However, in the case of Everdark Sovereign Gladius, that idea doesn’t work, as you should go for characters with a high health pool. If you are looking to play a mage class, keep it for a second or third run, when you’re comfortable with the fight. The characters we used in our run were:
- Executor
- Wylder
- Raider
As it’s understandable, both Wylder and Raider have high health pools, which makes it easy to survive the attacks from Everdark Sovereign Gladius. Additionally, it’s also easy to find Holy weapons when playing a melee class, which comes in handy against the boss. Make no mistake, as the boss will still one-shot you with some of its moves. However, the chances of surviving and getting a successful run are higher when you have a higher health pool.
As for Executor, the reason why it’s so good is because of its ultimate ability, where it turns into a beast with a high health pool. This comes in handy to revive allies or simply tank attacks from the boss. Additionally, if you can pick up something like Rivers of Blood on Executor, that makes the boss a lot easier.
Recommended Build To Fight Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos (Gladius) in Elden Ring Nightreign
When it comes to getting the right build, Holy weapons are quite good against Everdark Sovereign Tricephalos. If you can’t find Holy weapons, Bleed and Poison weapons also work very well, especially if you’re playing a Dexterity character like Executor. This is because you need swift attacks to proc Bleed or Poison, which is easy with a Dexterity character.
| Build Elements | What We Used | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Level | 15 | 15 |
| Weapons | Rivers of Blood | Any Holy Weapon, especially the Sacred Relic Sword |
| Relics and Talisman | HP Boost, Stamina Boost, Fire Resistance | Same as the previous column |
HP boosts are mandatory against this boss, but a Stamina boost is also quite vital. You’ll spend a lot of time dodging, so running out of Stamina in the middle of the fight can lead to sure death. Any buff that gives you Fire Resistance is also quite good since it helps you tank attacks. Finally, if you find FP boosts, pick them up, as you’ll need them to spam your weapon’s special attack. Make sure to pick up Starlight Shards, as they give you FP when you run out in Elden Ring Nightreign.
