Elden Ring Crucible Knight boss fight: how to beat the Crucible Knight

Want tips on how to defeat the Crucible Knight in Elden Ring? The ominous Crucible Knight of the Stormhill Evergaol is a powerful, armour-clad warrior wielding a greatsword and shield, who seems to take it as a personal affront whenever you attempt to heal in front of it. It's an early stumbling block for many new Elden Ring players, and once you've fought it once or twice, it's easy to see why.

Below we'll walk you through how to beat the Crucible Knight in Elden Ring, covering five useful, practical tips to bear in mind when facing off against this powerful early-game boss.

Elden Ring Crucible Knight boss fight walkthrough

The Crucible Knight strikes an intimidating figure in Elden Ring at any stage of the game. The earliest you can encounter it is in the Stormhill Evergaol near the outskirts of Stormveil Castle in Limgrave, though you can also find other Crucible Knights elsewhere in the Lands Between, including Stormveil Castle itself if you know where to look (check out our Elden Ring boss locations guide for help finding it).

Don't let its early accessibility fool you though: the Crucible Knight is a strong contender for the toughest boss in the entire early-game of Elden Ring, with its high health, devastating sword-strikes, and relentless combos. Use the below tips to give yourself the best chance of defeating this powerful foe. You can also check out footage of my fight against the Crucible Knight below.

Crucible Knight boss fight video walkthrough:

How to beat Crucible Knight: top tips for success

Here are our top tips for succeeding in your fight against the Crucible Knight:

1. Don't take the Crucible Knight on too early
2. Back way off before healing
3. Attack just once or twice before retreating
4. Watch out for the two tail attacks
5. A parry goes a long way

1. Don't take on the Crucible Knight too early

The Crucible Knight is one of the very toughest bosses you can encounter in all of Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula. It's aggressive, powerful, and dangerous even for higher-level players. Much like the Ulcerated Tree Spirit, if you try to beat the Crucible Knight the moment you're released upon Limgrave, then you should probably prepare to spend the next few hours dying.

I'd recommend coming back to the Crucible Knight once you've beaten pretty much every other boss in Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula. That'll give you a much better chance of defeating it without too many attempts.

2. Back way off before healing

One big trick up the Crucible Knight's sleeve is the way it reacts to your attempts to heal. The instant you press that heal button, it is programmed to use its longest-reach attack to close the distance and punish you for it.

Mid-range is not safe enough - you basically need to be on the other side of the Evergaol from the Crucible Knight in order to safely heal. Another good moment to heal is the moment the Crucible Knight uses its first holy attack. This marks the transition from its first and second phase, and it immediately follows this up with a flying attack, giving you time to heal up before that attack lands.

3. Attack just once or twice before retreating

The Crucible Knight likes to string together lots of attacks. Its attack patterns are quite short, but it moves so swiftly from one attack pattern to the next, it can sometimes seem like it never stops attacking.

Because of this, you need to play this fight more patiently than most. Don't get greedy with your attacks; you probably only have time for two (or just one if you're using a heavier weapon) before the Crucible Knight recovers and strikes again.

4. Watch out for the two tail attacks

In the Crucible Knight's second phase, it grows wings and a lizard tail which it can use at a moment's notice. The wings aren't a problem - that move has a massive wind-up and is easily dodged. The issue is that tail.

The Crucible Knight likes to supplement its attacks with a tail swipe, which is designed to give you even less of a window of opportunity to attack it. It can be easily dodged through, however. Its other tail attack is a double-spin attack. The first spin is fairly close-range, but the second spin covers most of the arena, so get ready to dodge. If you're not in melee range and you see the tail appear, it will be the double-spin attack, so get ready to dodge.

5. A parry goes a long way

If you're comfortable with your parry timings, then parrying is a great way to upset the Crucible Knight's rhythm. Its one weakness is that its individual strikes are fairly slow and straightforward, so it is actually easier to parry than a lot of bosses.

Get the occasional parry in and you'll be able to deliver a chunk of damage for free, shortening the fight considerably.

That wraps up this walkthrough of the Crucible Knight boss fight in Elden Ring. If you want more general help on where to go and what to do in this gigantic and unforgiving world, look no further than our Elden Ring walkthrough. You can also take a look at our guides on how to beat the other major bosses of Limgrave: Margit and Godrick.