The latest edition in From Software’s SoulsBorne series, Elden Ring, unarguably lives up to the legacy of exceptionally tough boss encounters the series is famous for.
When you are tired of getting beat up by main story bosses, you can head out into Elden Ring’s vast open world and try your luck against its myriad of optional bosses. This guide covers a recurring boss known as the Onyx Lord.
Elden Ring Onyx Lord Overview
Onyx Lords are a race of tall ancient humanoids with a considerable influence over gravity magic. While they look pretty similar to Alabaster Lord bosses, their patterns are different from each other.
Health bar
The Onyx Lords generally have about 5000 HP.
Weapons and damage
Onyx Lords carry a special greatsword, which they use for melee attacks such as slashes. On top of that, they possess several gravity spells like Gravity Pulls and Meteorite attacks in their arsenal to attack from afar.
Onyx Lord Movesets:
Onyx Lord fights can get relatively easier when you know what is coming next. Let’s discuss the moveset and counters required to beat this boss.
- Meteorite: The Onyx Lord forcefully plunges his greatsword into the ground, creating a small minor shockwave in a radius around him. Above him appears a black hole, releasing several meteorites towards his target.
These meteors explode as they hit the ground, leaving behind a burning effect that lasts for a few seconds. As his HP depletes, he starts spewing meteorites more rapidly.
As far as his deadly plunges are concerned, you can easily dodge those to get behind him. Try to maintain some distance to dodge the incoming meteors.
- Gravity Orb: The Onyx Lord generates an orb of void over his left hand and launches it at the target. This attack can also be used at close range as a swipe. The move has good tracking so you will need to either dodge to the side or through the orb. The melee variant is relatively quick, so be on your guard.
- Slice and Dice: The Onyx Lord slashes his sword upward after a diagonal dash. The boss then follows the attack with a downward dash in the opposite direction. To counter this, dodge towards his right shoulder through the first slash and get behind him to land some hits. Ranged players will have to avoid the second slash diagonally towards the right.
- Gravity Well: The boss creates a gravity well that pulls the player straight towards it, and you have to roll away from him or flee.
Onyx Lord Locations:
The Onyx Lord appears at two locations as a boss while also appearing as a non-boss enemy elsewhere. You can encounter Onyx Lords at;
- Liurnia of the Lakes: This variant of Onyx Lord can be found imprisoned in the Royal Grave Evergaol in the Liurnia of the Lakes region. After you have cleared Caria Manor, move out of the boss room and to the east while looping around the north end of the manor.
- Sealed Tunnel: The second Onyx Lord can be found at the end of the Sealed Tunnel, located in the Altus Plateau. You will have to roll into/attack several illusory walls to reach the boss area.
- Yelough Aniz Tunnel: This non-boss Onyx Lord can be found in the Yelough Aniz Tunnel, located west of the Consecrated Snowfield.
Pre-fight Preparations
To beat this boss, make these pre-fight preparations to strengthen your arsenal and increase your chances of emerging victorious.
Equip a sturdy shield
Carry a sturdy shield like the Barricade Shield to the fight. The Onyx Lord moves slowly, making him a prime target for guard counters. These counters serve as an excellent strategy to stagger and land some critical hits.
Use two-handed weapons
Staggering, the boss can interrupt his moves and make the fight much easier. The Onyx Lord has relatively low poise, making interrupting his attacks quite easy. Strong two-handed attacks and jumping attacks should conveniently stagger him. Two-handed heavy weapons or weapons that would allow you to perform jump attacks will be helpful in this fight.
Prepare in advance to take advantage of his weaknesses
The Onyx Lord is vulnerable to Poison, Bleed, and Scarlet Rot. So, use weapons or spells with one or more of those attributes.
Be choosy with your spells
Spells like Rotten Breath or Swarm of Flies can prove extremely useful against this boss.
Fighting Strategy
Trying to defeat any boss in Elden Ring without a proper fighting strategy is difficult. Fret not. We have this part covered for you as well.
Melee Strategy
Avoid the center of the Arena
The Onyx Lord does not have a lot of moves in its arsenal, but some of his attacks can do massive damage. You need to avoid his meteorite attack at all costs. For this purpose, it is advised to engage him near the edges of the Arena. The center, at times, has an uneven terrain that could result in you getting hit by his attacks. The meteorite attack can even inflict splash damage by hitting the ground near you if the area is uneven. So, you will have to avoid it at all times.
Learn and counter his patterns
The boss has a minimal move set, so learning and adapting to his attack patterns will not be complex. The Meteorite attack, for instance, has a reasonably long animation, so you should use that time to get behind him and land a few hits. The Meteors will not hit you at melee range.
You can dodge through the first slash and counter it by moving towards the right to get behind him.
Move Counterclockwise
His melee attacks can be dodged and countered by keeping your movement counter-clockwise. In this way, you can get behind him and land a hit or two whenever you see a gap.
Ranged Strategy
Recognize his attack patterns
Ranged players should have a relatively easier time identifying the boss’ attack patterns as they can stay out of range for most attacks. The meteors in its Meteorite attack, for instance, travel slowly.
The first slash of the slice and dice can not hit you, but you still need to dodge diagonally to counter his second slash. You can evade almost all of his attacks by timing your dodge correctly, all while landing hits on the boss using your spells. The added advantage of distance should help you a great deal.
Use spells that inflict Scarlet Rot, Bleed, or Poison damage
Using the correct spells is always important for Elden Ring bosses. Spells that inflict Bleed or Scarlet Rot damage should help you have an easier time in this fight. You can always use a simple Glintstone Shard spell to add a few hits immediately after countering his attacks.
Rewards
Here is what you get after beating different variants of Onyx Lord.
- Liurnia of the Lakes: 3,600 Runes.
- Sealed Tunnel: 16,000 Runes and the Onyx Lord’s Greatsword.
With that, you now know everything to overcome the Onyx Lord and the challenges it brings. Good luck!
