Black Knife Assassins are Bosses in Elden Ring. This Elden Ring Black Knife Assassin Guide features boss locations, tips, strategies and videos on how to defeat the Black Knife Assassins easily, as well as boss stats and lore for the Black Knife Assassins.

The Black Knife Assassins are relentless and agile dark figures that become more fearsome and deadly the deeper you venture into The Lands Between. They were responsible for the event known as the Night of the Black Knives, where they assassinated Godwyn the Golden with daggers imbued with a fragment of the Rune of Death stolen from Maliketh, the Black Blade. These assassins are a group of women who are said to be Numen with close connections to Queen Marika.

These are optional bosses as players don't have to defeat them to advance in Elden Ring. Despite being quick and hard hitters, the Black Knife Assassins are easily staggered and having Spirit Ashes to distract them can help significantly. The variant in the Sage's Cave is invisible, though there are multiple methods available to pinpoint her location during the fight, the easiest of which is using the Sentry's Torch. Black Knife Assassins drop the Assassin's Crimson Dagger, Assassin's Cerulean Dagger, Black Knifeprint, Concealing Veil, or Black Knife depending on which assassin was defeated.

Bosses are unique and challenging Enemies that can be encountered all over the Lands Between. They can drop unique Spirit AshesWeaponsSpells, and other various Items.

Lesser Black Knife Assassin is the normal enemy form of this boss. Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader is another variant of this boss.

 

 The assassins that carried out the deeds of the Night of the Black Knives were all women, and rumored to be Numen who had close ties with Marika herself. 

Elden Ring Black Knife Assassin Location

Black Knife Assassin can be found in:

 

Black Knife Assassin Combat information

Negations (or Absorptions)

The negation numbers are the % of your damage that gets blocked. For example, if a negation is 60, 40% of that damage by that type will go through and 60% will be negated. Bigger number = less damage. A negation of 100 means no damage goes through, and a negation of -100 mean the enemy takes 2x damage from that source. 0 means damage goes pretty much as is.

 

Elden Ring Black Knife Assassin Boss Guide

Black Knife Assassin Fight Strategy

The Best Tips for Black Knife Assassin:

MELEE USERS

The Assassin can be easily staggered, and the Lone Wolves Ashes can distract her, deal a lot of damage, and leave openings to land some free hits. Otherwise, use a fast weapon to keep her staggered so she can't attack you back. They also have rather low health, so it's often worthwhile to trade damage and just plan to outlast her.

The safest way to attack her is to wait for her Helmsplitter and use her recovery time to set up a backstab. You can also try parrying her, but it's not recommended as her attacks are fast and hard to predict and she tends to move around a lot.

MAGIC AND RANGED USERS

Intelligence: Keep your distance and use ranged attacks. You can use Spirit Ashes to distracted her, or just roll and run away to keep distance between you. Carian Slicer is a fast melee spell that deals high damage for its cost, and can be cast repeatedly to possibly stunlock the boss. Magic Glintblade (Prisoner) can be used over Pebble to counter her ability to dodge projectiles.

Faith: Same strategy as stated above. Catch Flame can be used the same as way as Carian Slicer, as it deals rather high damage for its speed. Flame Sling could be useful, but her tendency to dodge could make the spell less useful.

Black Knife Assassin Attacks & Counters

Attack Description Counter
Quick Slash parry icon 40pxSlashes her dagger in various directions, often twirling around as well Blocking can cause her to ricochet and break her out of her combo. Otherwise, dodge away and wait out the rest of the combo. This attacks is also parriable at the point when her dagger is raised above her shoulder.
Lunging Stab parry icon 40pxStabs her dagger straight ahead, either overhand or underhand Blocking can cause her to ricochet and break her out of her combo. Otherwise, dodge away and wait out the rest of the combo.
Feint Attack parry icon 40pxLeaps forward with one fake counterclockwise slash followed by the real clockwise slash The first slash isn't real and can't hurt you (but also can't be parried). Wait until after it's done to dodge away or you'll get caught be the real slash.  Alternatively, parry after the initial slash and as her body twists and her blade comes near to ground to her left.
Spinning Retreat parry icon 40pxSpins clockwise followed by a clockwise slash, then jumps to her left Roll to your left to get distance from her and allow her to finish her combo
Blade-Dragging Sweep parry icon 40pxPlunges her knife into the ground and pivots around it, followed by a clockwise slash Run a short distance away when you see her dagger enter the ground, then land a hit/backstab once the attack is finished.  Alternatively, parry her towards the end of the animation as the blade comes to the ground on her left and the final set of sparkes fly.
Helmsplitter Jumps in the air before slamming her dagger into the ground Roll as she starts her descent. Take advantage of the long recovery time to get in a few hits or line up a backstab.
Lunging Grab Lifts her left hand above her shoulder then lunges forward. If it hits, she stabs the player in the back for massive damage Either roll towards her raised arm or stagger her as soon as you notice her lifting her hand. If you dodge successfully, this is a great opportunity to get in an attack
Decoy Lunge parry icon 40pxLunges low to her right and raising her dagger high above her shoulder, sweeps the dagger across to her left before performing a back-handed slash from low on the ground, sending sparkes flying. Run away, or parry her when her dagger is to her left, just before she drags it on the ground with sparks flying.
Slashing Blade of Death spell parry icon 40pxCharges her dagger with red flame and fire a horizontal arc of flame at you. If it hits, continuously drains your health for a time. Usually used when the player is some distance away. Roll into the projectile as it approaches, or roll to either side.  Alternative, use a shield with the Carian Retalian Ash of War equipped to parry the projectile for some extra damage.
Jumping Blade of Death Charges her dagger with red flame, leaps into the air then unleashes a series of Death-imbued slashes at you. If it hits, it is likely to one-shoot you.  It will also continuously drains your health for a time. Usually used when the player is some distance away. Run away from her as far as possible, then dodge at the last moment in case you are caught on the edge of the Blades of Death.  The hit box of this attack extends some distance forward as well as behind her.

parry icon 40px: Attack can be parried     spell parry icon 40px: Attack can be spell parried

Black Knife Assassin (Standard) Combo Chart

black knife assassin standard combo chart


BLACK KNIFE ASSASSIN

DEATHTOUCHED CATACOMBS

black knife assassin limgrave 2
Drops runes currency elden ring wiki guide 181,600
Assassin's Crimson Dagger
HP 1,668

Elden Ring Black Knife Assassin Boss (Deathtouched Catacombs)

  • Optional boss
  • Closest Site of Grace: Deathtouched Catacombs
  • Multiplayer allowed for this boss
  • You can summon Spirit Ashes for this boss

Black Knife Assassin Combat Information

  • Health: 1,668 HP
  • Defense: 101.3
  • Drops runes currency elden ring wiki guide 18 1,600, Assassin's Crimson Dagger
  • This assassin has only half of her health and can be easily killed by attacking aggressively and trading damage
  • This assassin has much more limited combos, moves much more slowly, and can't do the Blade of Death or Helmsplitter attacks. It mainly serves as a taste of what's to come.

Resistances

The resistance numbers are the buildup amount to trigger it. For example, if a resistance is 100 you must deal 100 points of the given buildup to trigger it. Note that these go down over time, and increase each time the effect procs. The values after the "/"s indicate the increased resistances after each successive proc.

  NG NG+ NG+2 NG+3 NG+4 NG+5 NG+6 NG+7
HP 1,668 5,207 5,727 5,988 6,248 6,769 7,029 7,289
Defense 101 117 120 123 129 134 140 152
runes currency elden ring wiki guide 18Runes 1,600 8,000 8,800 9,000 9,600 9,800 10,000 10,200

Resistances

poison status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxPoison Immune
scarlet rot status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxScarlet Rot Immune
hemorrhage status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxHemorrhage Immune
frostbite status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxFrostbite 310 / 408 / 698 / 1155 339 / 437 / 727 / 1184 344 / 442 / 732 / 1189 349 / 447 / 737 / 1194 354 / 452 / 742 / 1199 359 / 457 / 747 / 1204 364 / 462 / 752 / 1209 369 / 467 / 757 / 1214
sleep status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxSleep Immune
madness status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxMadness Immune

Black Knife Assassin (Deathtouched Catacombs) Combo Chart

black knife assassin deathtouched catacomb combo chart


BLACK KNIFE ASSASSIN

BLACK KNIFE CATACOMBS

__image__
Drops runes currency elden ring wiki guide 181,600
Assassin's Cerulean Dagger
Black Knifeprint
HP 3,312

Elden Ring Black Knife Assassin Boss (Black Knife Catacombs)

Elden Ring Black Knife Assassin Location

  • Black Knife Catacombs: In the room with the guillotines, wait for one to fall to the floor then climb on top of it and ride it up. Walk off it to the platform with a skeleton archer and follow the hallway through the door as far as it goes. In the last room, attack the wall opposite the door to reveal the path to this boss.

Black Knife Assassin Combat information

Resistances

The resistance numbers are the buildup amount to trigger it. For example, if a resistance is 100 you must deal 100 points of the given buildup to trigger it. Note that these go down over time, and increase each time the effect procs. The values after the "/"s indicate the increased resistances after each successive proc.

  NG NG+ NG+2 NG+3 NG+4 NG+5 NG+6 NG+7
HP 3,312 6,112 6,723 7,028 7,334 7,945 8,251 8,556
Defense 107 117 120 123 129 135 141 153
runes currency elden ring wiki guide 18Runes 4,200 16,800 18,480 18,900 20,160 20,580 21,000 21,420

Resistances

poison status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxPoison Immune
scarlet rot status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxScarlet Rot Immune
hemorrhage status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxHemorrhage Immune
frostbite status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxFrostbite 324 / 422 / 712 / 1169 351 / 449 / 739 / 1196 356 / 454 / 744 / 1201 361 / 459 / 749 / 1206 366 / 464 / 754 / 1211 372 / 470 / 760 / 1217 377 / 475 / 765 / 1222 382 / 480 / 770 / 1227
sleep status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxSleep Immune
madness status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxMadness Immune

BLACK KNIFE ASSASSIN

SAGE'S CAVE

__image__
Drops runes currency elden ring wiki guide 189,000
Concealing Veil
HP 3,928

Elden Ring Black Knife Assassin Boss (Sage's Cave)

  • Optional boss
  • Closest Site of Grace: Sage's Cave
  • Multiplayer allowed for this boss
  • You can summon Spirit Ashes for this boss

Black Knife Assassin Combat information

  • Health: 3,928 HP
  • Defense: 110.6
  • This assassin can't do the Blade of Death attack
  • Drops runes currency elden ring wiki guide 189,000

Resistances

The resistance numbers are the buildup amount to trigger it. For example, if a resistance is 100 you must deal 100 points of the given buildup to trigger it. Note that these go down over time, and increase each time the effect procs. The values after the "/"s indicate the increased resistances after each successive proc.

Additional Fight Strategy

This assassin is invisible, but can be revealed by carrying Sentry's Torch. Summoned spirits are also unaffected by her invisibility and can be used to poinpoint her location, as can the flames left on the ground by Bear Witness!.

If you don't have access to the strategies above, she can still be defeated by looking for the dust clouds and water deformations she leaves behind as she moves around. When she charges you (again look for the dust clouds/water deformations), always stand your ground and time your attacks to land just before she reaches you. She will either be hit by your initial attacks or she will dodge by jumping backwards before immediately charging directly at you again, in which case simply attack again. She almost never retreats from this second charge so as long as you time your attacks correctly, damage is all but guaranteed. Each time she is hit, she will almost always retreat before charging at you again after a brief period of time. She will sometimes aggro on you continuously, it is best to avoid these by dodging away as much as possible until she loses aggro and charges you again. 

  NG NG+ NG+2 NG+3 NG+4 NG+5 NG+6 NG+7
HP 3,929 5,812 6,393 6,683 6,974 7,555 7,846 8,136
Defense 110 118 120 123 129 135 141 153
runes currency elden ring wiki guide 18Runes 9,000 27,000 29,700 30,375 32,400 33,075 33,750 34,425

Resistances

poison status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxPoison Immune
scarlet rot status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxScarlet Rot Immune
hemorrhage status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxHemorrhage Immune
frostbite status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxFrostbite 329 / 427 / 717 / 1174 355 / 453 / 743 / 1200 360 / 458 / 748 / 1205 365 / 463 / 753 / 1210 370 / 468 / 758 / 1215 376 / 474 / 764 / 1221 381 / 479 / 769 / 1226 386 / 484 / 774 / 1231
sleep status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxSleep Immune
madness status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxMadness Immune

Black Knife Assassin (Sage's Cave) Combo Chart

black knife assassin sages cave combo chart


BLACK KNIFE ASSASSIN

SAINTED HERO'S GRAVE

assassin1
Drops runes currency elden ring wiki guide 1810,800
Black Knife
HP 5,412

Elden Ring Black Knife Assassin Boss (Sainted Hero's Grave)

  • Optional field boss
  • Closest Site of Grace: Sainted Hero's Grave
  • Multiplayer allowed for this boss
  • You can summon Spirit Ashes for this boss
  • You can ride Torrent for this boss

Black Knife Assassin Combat information

  • Health: 5,412 HP
  • Defense: 113.3
  • Poise: 80
  • You can sneak up on this assassin for a backstab critical.
  • Drops runes currency elden ring wiki guide 1810,800, Black Knife
  • Beware of her Leaping Blade attack, as it will not only knock you off your horse and leave you vulnerable, but she will follow up with a critical hit and deal massive damage.

Resistances

The resistance numbers are the buildup amount to trigger it. For example, if a resistance is 100 you must deal 100 points of the given buildup to trigger it. Note that these go down over time, and increase each time the effect procs. The values after the "/"s indicate the increased resistances after each successive proc.

Additional Attacks & Counters

Attack Description Counter
Leaping Blade + Critical Hit If you're on horseback, she may jump and use Blade of Death to knock you off Torrent, then land a critical hit while you're prone. Avoid the attack by either dismounting or running perpendicular to the projectile.
  NG NG+ NG+2 NG+3 NG+4 NG+5 NG+6 NG+7
HP 5,413 7,016 7,717 8,068 8,419 9,120 9,471 9,822
Defense 113 118 121 124 130 135 141 153
runes currency elden ring wiki guide 18Runes 10,800 32,400 35,640 36,450 38,880 39,690 40,500 41,310

Resistances

poison status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxPoison Immune
scarlet rot status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxScarlet Rot Immune
hemorrhage status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxHemorrhage Immune
frostbite status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxFrostbite 334 / 432 / 722 / 1179 359 / 457 / 747 / 1204 364 / 462 / 752 / 1209 369 / 467 / 757 / 1214 375 / 473 / 763 / 1220 380 / 478 / 768 / 1225 385 / 483 / 773 / 1230 391 / 489 / 779 / 1236
sleep status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxSleep Immune
madness status effect elden ring wiki guide 25pxMadness Immune

Black Knife Assassin Image Gallery

lesser black knife assassin 1 elden ring wiki guide black knife assassin 2 elden ring wiki guide black knife assassin 3 elden ring wiki guide black knife assassin 4 elden ring wiki guide

 

Elden Ring Bosses
Abductor Virgins  ♦  Adan, Thief of Fire  ♦  Alabaster Lord  ♦  Alecto Black Knife Ringleader  ♦  Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader  ♦  Ancestor Spirit  ♦  Ancient Dragon Lansseax  ♦  Ancient Hero of Zamor  ♦  Astel Naturalborn of the Void  ♦  Astel, Stars of Darkness  ♦  Battlemage Hugues  ♦  Beast Clergyman  ♦  Beastman of Farum Azula  ♦  Bell Bearing Hunter  ♦  Black Blade Kindred  ♦  Bloodhound Knight  ♦  Bloodhound Knight Darriwil  ♦  Borealis the Freezing Fog  ♦  Cemetery Shade  ♦  Cleanrot Knight  ♦  Commander Niall  ♦  Commander O'Neil  ♦  Crucible Knight  ♦  Crucible Knight and Misbegotten Warrior  ♦  Crucible Knight Ordovis  ♦  Crucible Knight Siluria  ♦  Crystalians  ♦  Death Rite Bird  ♦  Deathbird  ♦  Decaying Ekzykes  ♦  Demi-Human Chief  ♦  Demi-Human Queen Gilika  ♦  Demi-Human Queen Maggie  ♦  Demi-Human Queen Margot  ♦  Draconic Tree Sentinel  ♦  Dragonkin Soldier  ♦  Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella  ♦  Dragonlord Placidusax  ♦  Elden Beast  ♦  Elemer of the Briar  ♦  Erdtree Avatar  ♦  Esgar, Priest of Blood  ♦  Fallingstar Beast  ♦  Fell Twins  ♦  Fia's champions  ♦  Fire Giant  ♦  Flying Dragon Agheel  ♦  Flying Dragon Greyll  ♦  Frenzied Duelist  ♦  Glintstone Dragon Adula  ♦  Glintstone Dragon Smarag  ♦  God-Devouring Serpent  ♦  Godefroy the Grafted  ♦  Godfrey the Grafted  ♦  Godfrey, First Elden Lord  ♦  Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade)  ♦  Godrick the Grafted  ♦  Godskin Apostle  ♦  Godskin Apostle & Godskin Noble  ♦  Godskin Apostle (Caelid)  ♦  Godskin Apostle and Godskin Noble  ♦  Godskin Duo  ♦  Godskin Noble  ♦  Grafted Scion  ♦  Great Wyrm Theodorix  ♦  Guardian Golem  ♦  Hoarah Loux, Warrior  ♦  Kindfred of Rot  ♦  Kindred of Rot  ♦  Leonine Misbegotten  ♦  Lichdragon Fortissax  ♦  Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree  ♦  Mad Pumpkin Head  ♦  Magma Wyrm  ♦  Magma Wyrm Makar  ♦  Malenia Blade of Miquella  ♦  Maliketh, the Black Blade  ♦  Margit, The Fell Omen  ♦  Mimic Tear  ♦  Miranda the Blighted Bloom  ♦  Misbegotten Crusader  ♦  Misbegotten Warrior  ♦  Mohg, Lord of Blood  ♦  Mohg, the Omen  ♦  Morgott the Omen King  ♦  Necromancer Garris  ♦  Night's Cavalry  ♦  Nox Swordstress & Nox Priest  ♦  Omenkiller  ♦  Omenkiller and Miranda, the Blighted Bloom  ♦  Onyx Lord  ♦  Perfumer Tricia  ♦  Putrid Crystalians  ♦  Putrid Grave Warden Duelist  ♦  Putrid Tree Spirit  ♦  Radagon of the Golden Order  ♦  Red Wolf of Radagon  ♦  Red Wolf of the Champion  ♦  Regal Ancestor Spirit  ♦  Roundtable Knight Vyke  ♦  Royal Knight Loretta  ♦  Royal Revenant  ♦  Runebear  ♦  Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy  ♦  Scaly Misbegotten  ♦  Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing (Boss)  ♦  Soldier of Godrick  ♦  Spirit-Caller Snail  ♦  Starscourge Radahn  ♦  Stonedigger Troll  ♦  Tibia Mariner  ♦  Tree Sentinel  ♦  Ulcerated Tree Spirit  ♦  Valiant Gargoyle  ♦  Wormface

 




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    • Anonymous

      Lone wolves are so good against all of these if the summoning is available. They just constantly stun lock and are super aggressive and catch them out when they try and back step dodge. They can't be grabbed and stabbed like your mimic tear either.

      • Anonymous

        For the invisible one - skeletons summon help a lot if you don't have access to any tools that reveal him. Since the boss doesn't have AOE attack, he rarely kills them during revive animation. Look at where skeletons are facing, stand behind them and attack as soon as assassin becomes visible during his attack animation on skeletons. If both of skeletons die, keep running in circles until they revive - ez fight

        • Anonymous

          Alecto destroyed me a dozen times before I used Carian Piercer. Knocked her down every hit. Died several times to the assassins in Ordina until I remembered what I did in Alecto's fight.

          • Anonymous

            The coolest and most interesting field bosses out there, I love how smooth the stab looks and how agile they are, even though their attacks and the grab are amusingly easy to dodge.

            • Anonymous

              Carian Greatsword makes this boss a joke. The magic glintblade suggestion in the article is terrible advice. The black knife assassin is constantly dodge rolling so very very few hits actually land. The Carian Greatsword spell, on the other hand, can basically keep the boss unable to attack and even stagger for a critical. The loop is basically cast carian greatsword, black knife assassin gets hit, then rolls. By the time they stand up, your next cast of carian greatsword will be landing. Repeat.

              • Anonymous

                I feel like the only way to effectively defeat these guys is using a claw type weapon.
                It, aside from the regularly well-timed roll dodge is the only weapon type that offers such mobility, dodge efficiency and counter-attack speed.
                I love fighting these bosses (or enemy type) specifically for that reason, the fight feels so fulfilling with claw weapons lmao
                It's almost like they were designed to be fought with them, every other boss is "run in with colossal sword and R1 spam"

                • Anonymous

                  Another boss with infinite stamina and constantly disengages if you just look into their direction. ****ing horrendous

                  • Anonymous

                    Would somebody care to explain why tf are they immune to everything but frost? Makes no sense, lorewise or gameplay wise

                    • Anonymous

                      The one in sainted heroe's grave is easy to cheese if you have ranged attacks. You can run past her and open the door. Bait her in and send the elevator down. She doesnt seem to be able to fall in the hole, so you can just hide on the other side of the hole and shoot stuff at her.

                      • Anonymous

                        I wanted to get revenge on the assassin outside of the Queen's Bedchamber Grace for making the runup to is so much more annoying. But they're immune to poison so I guess I'll do that later

                        • Anonymous

                          Why Elden Ring bosses are so fast? If the game had a quick aggressive combate like Bloodborne or Sekiro it would make sense but Elden Ring combat is almost the same as DS3... it just doesn't feel right (I'm not saying fast bosses are impossible but...).

                          • Anonymous

                            Correction: The closest site of grace to the black knife assassin boss at the sainted hero's grave is actually Rampartside Path. You cannot access the sainted hero's grave site of grace until you kill the black knife assassin.

                            • Just used Cold Sheild of the Guilty +5 with Shield Bash Ashes and beat the tar out of the Black Knife Catacombs Assassin using that and my Winged Scythe. Used 1 HP and 1 FP flask.

                              • Anonymous

                                So.. I just had one of the assassins at the Liturgical Town grab me within 1 second of jumping up to the roof I was on despite me hitting it within that time frame, after 5 seconds I'm able to finally stand up, and she immediately grabs me again during my roll away (1,600+ damage in full crucible). I'm considering uninstalling until they rebalance this game, I was never this disappointed during DS2, as sloppy as that game was. There's really no excuse.

                                • Anonymous

                                  Worst part about these, especially the later variants, isn't their invisibility or input read dodges, but the fact they hyper armor while teleport grabbing you from 15 feet away and immediately begins comboing after they just got a free 900 HP withdrawal.

                                  • Anonymous

                                    The one in the black knife catacombs (where she is in a chapel-like small area, was quite the trouble for my pure-caster mage, but i managed to get her somehow using a carian knight shield + often spamming rock sling - we died at the same time, so it might be not the best tactic

                                    • Anonymous

                                      I love how fromsoft's solution to players wanting to fight this boss on horse back is to just have it jump out of melee range and then launch a hitscan speed projectile right into your face. Totally doesn't make this boss even more annoying.

                                      • Anonymous

                                        Only Alecto is the most challenging one but only if you dont know what your doing. Even her can be outsmarted...heck the one waiting at the entrance of sainted hero drops a sonewhat very effective weapon to fight Alecto with. And those 100% cloaking ones can be easily countered with sentry torch makong the fight somewhat trivial and micro-boss-ish like.

                                        • Anonymous

                                          The Black Knife Assassin outside Sainted Hero's Grave will run up and deliver a riposte attack if it knocks you off your horse. Certainly surprised me when I fell victim to it the first time.
                                          — Courh the Explorer

                                          • Anonymous

                                            These guys are easy-ish if you have a halberd since you can push them away which makes them back off. The boss hike in catacombs is absolute trash though

                                            • Anonymous

                                              This enemy design doesn't get enough hate. Behind royal revenant these are the second least fun thing to fight in elden ring. Infinite mobility with unreasonable tankiness, free escapes, and a dot that lowers your max hp. At least you can get one for yourself.

                                              • Anonymous

                                                If you're having trouble you can poise break them by rolling into them with any of the elmer armor pieces in most of their animations, doesn't always work in your favor though.

                                                • Anonymous

                                                  Equip a rapier. Spam R1. You win. Rapiers are so cheap on stamina, fast and long range that assassins start to look like old ladies. The only attacks they have that have any chance of touching you are the jumping attack and the flame attack. Any black knife assassin that's been pissing you off lately is outright useless if you have a range advantage. Turn the tables and be the one doling out 28 stab wounds and Destined Death.

                                                  • Anonymous

                                                    Equip a rapier. Spam R1. You win. Rapiers are so cheap on stamina, fast and long range that assassins start to look like old ladies. The only attacks they have that have any chance of touching you are the jumping attack and the flame attack. Any black knife assassin that's been pissing you off lately is outright useless if you have a range advantage. Turn the tables and be the one doling out 28 stab wounds and Destined Death.

                                                    • Anonymous

                                                      my method for hitting them consistently is to focus on predicting their dash and spin slash. when they end a combo by attacking and dashing away it leaves a window where you can catch them with a jump attack. their thrust attack is almost always followed up with a spin that you can jump over and counter

                                                      • Anonymous

                                                        For the invisible one I ran from dry plce to dry plce, then I can see her running towards me in the water. But once she’s on land with me then she can dash around and I don’t know where she is

                                                        • The one in Sage's Cave (invisible) can be countered very easily by using the Grafted Dragon's weapon art. It does a huge aoe that leaves fire on the ground for a time. Not only will it knock this guy on his ass and let you pound him, but if you miss, the flames it leaves on the ground will stagger the guy if he walks into them, and make him visible momentarily.

                                                          • Anonymous

                                                            sainted hero's grave is a complete joke, 1 hit every time even with mimic i dont understand my character doesnt get up and get finished?

                                                            • Anonymous

                                                              Hate the Ordina ones for one reason. Their grab has way more range than the visual. You can be 3-4 feet out of the end of their grabs range and once they whiff it they snap teleporting to you regardless. Seriously obnoxious.

                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                Why in the name of the lord our father does one defend the sainted hero's grave in altus? She's got zero business being there.

                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                  Thank god I got that Sentry’s Torch earlier than usual. Ordina was slightly less of a pain now that I could see those bastards.

                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                    Now, I fought a lot of black knives before the invisible one, so I have to ask: what was it like for you folks that met them as your very first Black Knife?

                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                      Just golden parried the one guarding the hero's grave to death with a +0 reduvia, it has been both the best and worst experience of my entire life

                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                        Wait, you can't use spirit ashes for black knife catacombs? Are you sure?? oh I am not going to like this...

                                                                        • Used my summon and let him kill it while I aggro'd and dodged it or played bait :D ... was out of all hp and fp pots in the end and was at the mercy of my summon... but W in the end!

                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                            Lore wise, I'm kinda shooked that at one point they tried to kill Ranni and her consorts. Like, why kill the lady that made them their blades? Did they figure out Radagon's identity and thought his children made the list?

                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                              Here lies a lowly tarnished of no renown.
                                                                              Cause of death: 28 stab wounds.
                                                                              Last words: "But I pressed do... "
                                                                              Will be missed by no one in particular.

                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                I found one near the Queen’s Bedchamber in Leyndell. Scared the hell out of me. Didn’t seem to drop anything either.

                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                  How do I stop this invisible piece of horseshit instantly stabbing me to death? Don't have access to the torch yet

                                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                                    Missing the location for the black knife assassin in Lyndell. There’s one guarding the entrance to the queens bed chamber.

                                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                                      So, one of these guys in Ordina managed to grab me after I literally depleted ALL of his healthbar, stabbed me in the neck and died the moment afer.

                                                                                      Oh, what am I saying!? This game is totally fair and balanced! I just had to giet gewed)))

                                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                                        I was unprepared when I ran into the Invisible Black Knife Assassin but spirit summons are still able to target her, magic archer lady Latenna was able to easily track her and constantly give away the bosses location with her homing arrows.

                                                                                        • Anonymous

                                                                                          Fun fact: all black knives from the night of the black knives are accounted for in the game: the 4 listed on this page as bosses, Alecto in the evergoal, Tiche's ashes, and the black knife assassin that patrols Ordina's evergoal. 7 assassins like the 7 depicted in the artwork for the Night of the Black Knives.

                                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                                            You can cheese the one that's guarding the sainted hero's grave by aggroing him and flee the fight on your horse. Then he moves back to where he was and then starts walking away from his spot, then sneak up behind him for backstab and run away again rinse and repeat. Be careful when running away from him after backstab as he will sometimes use a projectile attack on you which, if hit, will immediately dismount you. Run towards the cliff on the left of the grave site to find immediate cover against it.

                                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                                              So I just used Latenna the albinauric ash not upgraded in the deathtouch fight and the Boss stayed at the other end of the room. It dodges when she fired, but not when the arrows were hitting.

                                                                                              The ash Solo'd the boss fight while I was laughing afk.... it didn't even cross the room to reach me.

                                                                                              Would folks let me know if this is repeatable or just a one off broken AI?

                                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                                Anyone else wonder why all the Black Knife Assassins have no heads or faces? If it was a mask made of the same material as their capes, then it'd simply be translucent and we'd still see their faces underneath. Just one of those odd details that I don't think is ever explained.

                                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                                  For the invisible assassin, If you run a faith build, you can summon a tanky spirit (even unupgraded) instead of going all the way to the Hermit Shack to buy the torch. The spirit will lock onto the boss anyway, and you can heal/buff them. When the boss takes damage, you can see it & briefly lock on to get some of your own hits in as well.

                                                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                                                    As a dagger user, the one outside of Sainted Hero's Grave was actually fun. Aside from the grab attack (1Shot), it was a very even fight. She glided faster, but my attacks had less delay; we were basically dancing. I often roll dodged and hit her between her attacks, only flinching her every 2-3 hits (she definitely has poise, it's probably just so low it doesn't matter to anything larger than a dagger).
                                                                                                    Also, Rejection incantation will knock her down every single time, no matter what animation she is in, opening her up for a few hits. The fact that it can be charged means you can hold it once you see her bends down to leap/dash, and only release it once she gets close; the timing isn't any more difficult than a roll dodge.

                                                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                                                      Used Margit's Shackle outside the fog wall at the Deathtouched one just before going in and they were knocked to half health. Don't know if it's a glitch or it works on the rest.

                                                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                                                        What about the ones in the consecrated snowfield. It would be nice to use a weapon art, or two hand my weapon but someone on the dev team decided that I had to have a torch equipped otherwise they remain completely invisible.

                                                                                                        • Anonymous

                                                                                                          This is artificial difficulty at its finest, in the form of overly complex attack animations with unnecessary flourish. One of his moves straight up has him swing THROUGH you, dealing no damage, so the followup can hit you. This is to bait out parries even though you would normally have parried the swing that connected with you.

                                                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                                                            For my wizard friends struggling in the Black Knife Catacombs you need to alternate between a spell that can stagger and a spell that can be cast quickly. Preferably Ancient Death Rancor and Glintstone Icecrag. Cast the former when she's far away or recovering from her dive attack and while she's getting staggered you can start casting glintstone ice crag to rack up damage and frostbite. Can also use it to give yourself enough time to heal.

                                                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                                                              Fought the invisible one in Sage's cave with Engvall, she completely ignored him even when I hadn't attacked the entire fight (He did 1/3 of her health by himself) and would just try to backstab me. Happens everytime.

                                                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                                                Summons can target the invisible assassins so use your Lone Wolves to surround her and attack while she's in the middle of the pack for easy damage. Be careful of getting caught in her swings at the wolves.

                                                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                                                  To any ranged player who's struggling with the Black Knife in Leyndell near Queen's Chamber, run directly into the Queen's Chamber and then climb onto the backrest of the Queen's throne. She won't be able to pathfind her way towards you and you can freely use spells or bow/darts at her as freely as you want. The only thing you need to avoid is her ranged weapon art which can easily be avoided ontop the Queen's throne.

                                                                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                                                                    Players have limited stamina, this enemy, despite leaping, running and attacking nonstop, does not. Unfair? Maybe. A challenge? Yes. Enjoyable? Not really. Like many fights in Elden Ring winning is more of a relief than a triumph.

                                                                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                                                                      what a bullsh*t boss fight, this game is just full of cheap tricks instead of innovative challenges, definitely no 10/10 and certainly not the best in the series.

                                                                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                                                                        Died a lot the one in black knife catacombs, even tried a great shield, was useless. A colossal sword works wonders. Switched to grafted greatsword and played tennis with her body, can stagger her through every attack. First try with that weapon!

                                                                                                                        • Anonymous

                                                                                                                          The Assassin in the Sage's Cave can remain stealthed not only when it's merely 2 feet away, but as it attacks, as well. Proof, again, of how completely unfairly bosses are designed. The torch that can reveal it is sold by a merchant you probably won't even get to until WEEKs later and even when you do, I'm willing to bet there's not a clue, anywhere, that that specific torch will be useful against that specific boss. Because the game also does an excellent job of almost never telling you any clear and useful hints about what you can do with certain items. The developers really do want you to literally read their minds.

                                                                                                                          So, the best weapon against it is the "Lone Wolf" wolf pack, which is possibly one of the best and most useful Ashes, aside from the Stormhawk Deehn. Most of the bosses would be nigh impossible without summons to occupy their attention (or divide it, when it's a duo against you). And when you do defeat the Assassin, the Concealing Veil talisman is PREDICTABLY a watered down version of its stealth ability that DOESN'T EVEN WORK IN PvE! So to add further insult, to a stupidly unfair boss designs, you cannot even make use of its ability. Because why would the game reward you in any meaningful and useful way, ever?

                                                                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                                                                            Even if you hit the invisible one with debuffs like Frostbite or Blackflame it will still have massive iframes while invisible meaning you can only usually hit it after it hits you. I tried prempetively hitting it via this method , even with a large range hoarfrost, and didn't hit it once in about 20 casts. Dragonbreath hit it, though, when it is walking from far away and not targeted due to the large AoE so it doesn't dodge. The moment you use the torch to reveal it thouhg those iframes vanish. Either use a summon to solo it for you or get the torch. It being invisible is just to hide the fact that you are hitting it but it has rigged iframes to make it artificially harder and "imposing" for an otherwise joke boss.

                                                                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                                                                              I never had much issue with them, but giving them poise on their grabby stabby move is just stupid. Also there's no way they only have 154 frost resist lol.

                                                                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                                                                I have died multiple times in a row to a few bosses in this game but after the 5th time of getting insta shanked by this POS in the catacombs i found that hell is real and its master is an assassin.

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