Elden Ring: How to beat Cemetery Shade? Elden Ring guide, walkthrough
On this page of the Elden Ring guide you will learn how to defeat the boss in the Liurnia of the Lakes region located in the Black Knife Catacombs. We are talking about the Cemetery Shade.
Last update: 05 March 2024
This page of the guide to Elden Ring contains tips on how to fight the boss located in Liurnia of the Lakes, namely in the Black Knife Catacombs. This boss is called Cemetery Shade. You will learn how to fight the boss and which attacks you need to watch out for. This is an optional boss - you don't need to defeat him to complete the game.
To reach the boss, you need to go to the Black Knife Catacombs located in the northeastern part of Liurnia of the Lakes. A good way to find the catacombs might be to start your journey from a site of grace called the Ruined Labyrinth and head northeast. The door to the Black Knife Catacombs is guarded by a strong opponent, but you don't have to defeat him to go through the door. Inside, you have to find a lever that will open the passage to the boss fight arena. Keep in mind that you may encounter a second boss in these catacombs, but he doesn't stand on the path to Cemetery Shade.
Reward for defeating
Defeating the Cemetery Shade will give you Twinsage Sorcerer Ashes.
General tips
- In combat, you can use the help of spirits that will attract the enemy's attention. This type of help may turn out to be particularly useful as the enemy will fight alongside three skeletons.
- The Cemetery Shade can trap you in an immobilizing trap that will freeze you in place for a moment. This can be especially dangerous if you haven't got rid of the skeletons first.
- The fight will become much easier if you start with getting rid of the skeletons. Remember, however, that the fallen skeletons get back up. You have to hit them once when they try to pull themselves together.
- Cemetery Shade's attacks build up the Hemorrhage status very quickly. That is why it is a good idea to wear something with a high stamina stat and have Stanching Boluses on hand.
- The boss teleports very often to shorten the distance to you. He also does this in between attacks.
Melee build - how to fight?
Start the boss fight against Cemetery Shade by defeating the skeletons. Two of them attack with a sword, the third, a bit more distant, shoots with long-range weapons. This makes the fight very chaotic, especially since the boss often teleports. Skeletons are also quite fast, they will literally tailgate you. Remember to eliminate fallen skeletons with a finishing blow when they try to get up again.
Naturally, you still need to watch out for the boss when eliminating the skeletons. One of the main opponent's attacks - when green matter is swirling over his head - will trap you. You will then be exposed to skeleton attacks for a while, and the Cemetery Shade will hit you with a whole combo. You can easily dodge this attack when the Cemetery Shade fires a green projectile.
Fighting the boss alone is much easier. He doesn't have a very extensive range of moves. Most often, he performs a combo in which he makes a forward thrust with his blades between teleportations - sometimes he then proceeds to a 6-hit combo, which ends with hitting the ground. Keep your distance in such case.
If you keep the boss at a medium distance, Cemetery Shade will seem to be waiting for your move. However, if you move away, he will shorten the distance with a few teleports and start attacking. Therefore, it is best to move away from him a bit after performing a few hits, to also have time to heal, if necessary.