Nightreign Bosses: All Nightlords, Weaknesses and Order

Elden Ring Nightreign has 10 Nightlord expeditions: 8 in the base game, ending with Heolstor in Night Aspect, plus the Balancers and the Dreglord from The Forsaken Hollows DLC. You must beat Gladius (Tricephalos) first, four different wins unlock Night Aspect, and DLC owners unlock the Balancers and then the Dreglord. The game is on app version 1.03.2 with regulation 1.03.5. This guide lists every Nightlord with its weakness, a suggested order, tips for each fight, and how Everdark Sovereigns and Deep of Night change them.

Checked against Bandai Namco's Nightreign patch notes 1.03.2 and Hotfix 1.03.5 on November 12, 2026.

The official weakness for each Nightlord is shown on the expedition select screen. The extra damage values come from community wiki tables based on player testing; where the wikis disagree, this guide uses only the type both agree on.

What are all the Nightlords in Nightreign?

Each expedition is named after its Nightlord, and each has one headline weakness worth building around.

Expedition	Nightlord	Best damage	Avoid
Tricephalos	Gladius, Beast of Night	Holy (takes 35% more)	Fire (resisted)
Gaping Jaw	Adel, Baron of Night	Poison status, anti-dragon	Lightning, Bleed
Sentient Pest	Gnoster, Wisdom of Night	Fire; Strike on the scorpion	None notable
Augur	Maris, Fathom of Night	Lightning	Fire; immune to Poison, Bleed and Sleep
Equilibrious Beast	Libra, Creature of Night	Holy, Fire (listed weakness: Madness)	Magic
Darkdrift Knight	Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow	Lightning	Holy
Fissure in the Fog	Caligo, Miasma of Night	Fire, some Strike	Lightning, Holy, Magic
Night Aspect	Heolstor the Nightlord	Holy (both phases)	Poison, Bleed, Frost (immune)
Balancers (DLC)	Weapon-Bequeathed Harmonia	Sleep, Holy	Madness (immune)
Dreglord (DLC)	Traitorous Straghess	Holy, Fire	Lightning; Madness (immune)

Holy covers the most Nightlords, so a Holy weapon or incantation is never wasted. Grab weapons with the right affinity on Day 1 and 2; the beginner guide explains how to route a run.

What order should you fight the Nightlords in?

Start with Tricephalos because it is required, then pick the easier fights to reach four wins and unlock Night Aspect. A good path for new teams:

1. Tricephalos (Gladius). Required first. Unlocks six more expeditions and drops the Old Pocketwatch for Duchess.
2. Augur (Maris). Press rankings call it one of the easiest; ranged teams melt it.
3. Gaping Jaw (Adel). Poison makes it far more manageable.
4. Sentient Pest (Gnoster). Your fourth win, which opens Night Aspect.
5. Fissure in the Fog, Equilibrious Beast and Darkdrift Knight. The hardest base fights in most rankings, with Fulghor often rated the hardest of all.
6. Night Aspect (Heolstor). The final boss of the base game.
7. Balancers, then Dreglord. DLC owners unlock Balancers after beating two Nightlords including Gladius, unlocking Scholar and Undertaker, and visiting the chapel behind the Small Jar Bazaar. Dreglord appears after you clear Balancers.

Pick your Nightfarer for the fight as well as your weapon. The Nightfarer tier list covers which characters handle ranged bosses and big groups best.

How do you beat each base-game Nightlord?

Learn one mechanic per boss: the split for Gladius, the grab for Adel, the parasite for Gnoster, the jellyfish for Maris, meditation for Libra, the spear stab for Fulghor and the ice disk for Caligo.

Gladius, Beast of Night (Tricephalos)

Holy damage both hurts it and lowers its damage and armor for a while. After the first split it becomes three hounds that can target all three players or lock onto one, shown by a red marker. Holy staggers the split form easily, and the spinning sword attack is the big threat to dodge.

Adel, Baron of Night (Gaping Jaw)

Poison is the answer: a poisoned Adel stops to vomit sludge and leaves itself open. It counts as a lesser dragon, so anti-dragon attacks can knock it out of its grab, which causes Bleed and gives Adel an attack buff if it finishes. In the second phase it becomes electrified and creates lightning fissures you can jump over, and poison no longer interrupts it.

Gnoster, Wisdom of Night (Sentient Pest)

A moth and a scorpion called Faurtis share one health bar. Poisoned players get a parasite that hatches on the scorpion's roar; have a teammate hit you or use a Neutralizing Bolus to remove it. When Faurtis hardens, it takes about 90% less damage and stops attacking, so switch to the moth. At 50% HP they fuse, and Faurtis charges three times before a cone shockwave.

Maris, Fathom of Night (Augur)

Maris floats out of melee reach, so bring a bow or ranged spells. Killing the flying jellyfish damages Maris, which makes area attacks valuable, and Executor's Beast roar can clear several at once.

Libra, Creature of Night (Equilibrious Beast)

Watch his hand: a yellow sigil on the ground explodes when he clenches his fist. When he meditates, break it by attacking the floating sigils or running through them; finishing meditation gives him a gold-coated buff. If anyone succumbs to Madness, Libra gets stronger, and yellow gems from his Madness attacks reduce your buildup. Libra also offers deals, such as a flask charge for 10% max HP.

Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow (Darkdrift Knight)

One or two Lightning hits during his holy spear stab wind-up stagger him. Roll toward him on Giant Leap and Flying Lunge rather than away. In phase two a beast arm grows from his missing left arm and he gains a tail attack, which you dodge against the sweep direction.

Caligo, Miasma of Night (Fissure in the Fog)

For the ice disk overhead, run far away or right up to Caligo, where there is a safe zone. Hide behind ice pillars during the frigid wind burst. Enough Fire damage staggers her and lowers her defense for 30 seconds. At 50% health she takes flight and drops ice on each pass.

How do you beat Heolstor and the DLC Nightlords?

Spoiler warning: this section covers the final boss of the base game and both DLC Nightlords, including their later phases.

Heolstor the Nightlord (Night Aspect)

The fight opens with The Shape of Night, which is weak to Holy, Fire and Slash. The second form, Heolstor the Nightlord, is weak to Holy, Lightning and Pierce, and only Holy staggers it, so bring Holy for both. He can be parried, with three parries setting up a critical hit, and he is immune to Poison, Bleed, Frostbite and Madness. In the final phase he flies up and slams the ground with explosive fissures; run to find gaps or stay close and roll late. Beating him gives the Primordial Nightlord's Rune and is required for the Wylder, Ironeye, Recluse and Undertaker remembrances. Patch 1.02 added an option to skip straight to the ending cutscene after this fight.

Weapon-Bequeathed Harmonia (Balancers)

Seven Balancers armed with spears, halberds or hammers fight separately at first. The last one standing is crowned, every fallen Balancer returns, and from then on they share one health bar; if the crowned one dies, another is crowned. Their Sleep resistance is very low, so Sleep can take some out of the fight, but any hit wakes them. One parry opens a riposte. Scholar's Communion, which shares 20% of damage between linked enemies, fits this fight well.

Traitorous Straghess (Dreglord)

Phase one is slow; stand behind him, where most melee swings miss. Phase two adds Scarlet Rot spells and Putrid Corpses, which you should clear as you pass. In phase three he revives at full health as Pure Impulse Straghess, faster and erratic, and later adds Pillars of Flesh and Flesh Eruption. Rot immunity from the Rotted Woods is lost at the start of phase three, and Frostbite kills on Putrid Corpses stop their rot pools.

How should you prepare for a Nightlord fight?

Use the two days to stack advantages for the specific target. The map often offers buffs that line up with a Nightlord's gimmick.

• Caligo: completing the Mountaintop Shifting Earth grants an anti-dragon attack buff and less frostbite buildup.
• Maris: Days 1 and 2 of the Augur expedition have extra sleep camps; their crates hold Stimulating Boluses. Beating Maris in the Augur raid makes your flasks restore FP for the rest of the run.
• Gnoster: carry Neutralizing Boluses to clear the parasite before it hatches.
• Libra: the ailment resistance deal (+150 resistances for 10% stamina) helps against constant Madness buildup, and the weapon deal (lose two levels) suits characters at level 14 or 15.
• Straghess: Rotted Woods rot immunity helps in phases one and two only.

What are Everdark Sovereigns and Deep of Night bosses?

Everdark Sovereigns are stronger versions of Nightlords you have already beaten, with better relics and Sovereign Sigils as rewards. Every Nightlord except Heolstor and Straghess has one, including an Everdark Balancers fight. They are online-only, but you can take them on alone.

Deep of Night, the ranked mode, picks the Nightlord for you and makes Everdark versions more likely at higher depths. Patch 1.03.2 lowered the attack of some enemies at the Blacksmith Village and cut the hail damage in the Fissure in the Fog raid. Since a December 17, 2025 update, DLC bosses such as the Balancers and Dreglord can appear in Deep of Night, but only when every player owns the DLC. Patch history is in the updates section.

Related guides

• Nightreign best class: Nightfarer tier list and unlocks
• Elden Ring Nightreign beginner guide: how a run works
• Elden Ring Nightreign hub