Despite how open the Shadowland is right from the start, there are a few locations that will most likely lead players to their first boss encounter when they start exploring Shadow of Erdtree. Among those early bosses that the player can easily get to know Elden RingThe DLC entry is Blackgaol Knight, an NPC-type boss that quickly sets the new locale's difficulty bar.
Hidden away in one of the Nameless Mausoleums, Knight Blackgaol is a spirit clad in the armor of Solitude and wielding the Greatsword of Solitude. In fact, Solitude's gear has taken a more central part of the boss's identity as a recent one Elden Ring the patch renamed the character to Knight of the Solitary Prison.
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Armor of Solitude reinforces the Blackgal Knight
As one of the earliest bosses hidden in the Shadow of ErdtreeBlackgaol Knight eases the difficulty of the DLC for players with standard NPC-style combat that utilizes equipment unique to the new content. However, while the core moveset is familiar, Greatsword of Solitude mixes up the archetype's usual attributes enough to catch players off guard. This is mainly due to the Ashes of War, which comes with a Greatsword of Solitude that can deliver a devastating vacuum cut from a distance and a follow-up attack that is able to jump almost the entire distance of the arena.
In addition to the expanded moveset from the Ash of War Greatsword of Solitude, Blackgaol Knight also gains a small amount of balance when wielding the weapon in two hands. This means that the boss can rely on his poise to deal damage from at least a couple of attacks and punish greedy players even when facing colossal weapons. This is a unique feature that helps showcase one of the Elden Ringstronger builds that have also received major upgrades thanks to the new mechanics added Shadow of Erdtree.
Blackgaol Knight rewards by strengthening the player
Armor is a tricky subject in FromSoftware titles, Elden Ring included, as stats such as poise have since been reworked from game to game Dark souls. However, while the exact balance benefits were difficult to quantify for most builds, the crude protection offered by heavier armor can be the difference between surviving an endless boss combo or being instantly sent back to the nearest place of grace. In the case of the new DLC armor, the boon from Scadutra's blessings found in the Shadow of Erdtree helps not only to improve the player's damage, but also to increase the damage reduction efficiency of each piece of equipment.
For this reason, running the DLC from Wandering in the Nameless Mausoleum of the Blackhole Knight can be a great advantage for players who Shadow of Erdtree try for the first time. Although the boss is certainly harder to defeat than some NPCs in the base experience Elden RingBlackgoal Knight still falls under many of the attributes of the archetype; his AI can be manipulated for a relatively easy win. As a result, players get their hands on powerful ranged weapons, as well as a set of armor that works in tandem with Skadutra Fragment Hunting to help fill the difficulty gap between Shadow of Erdtree and base game.
With a huge map and lots of new equipment to find Shadow of Erdtreeplayers can be spoiled for choice when deciding how to approach DLC. However, FromSoftware is still useful to leave an impressive starter kit just a short drive from the start Shadow of Erdtree. To top it all off, players can interact with a unique boss that immediately changes the norm for NPCs right at the start of new content.