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Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtreeis filled with difficult bosses, but few can bring as many headaches as Commander Gaius can. If you’re unfamiliar with this boss fight, his fast movement on his armored boar can feel overwhelming at first.
But once you get used to the battle,this optional bossis a fairly straightforward fight. Outside of a few moves, his telegraphs are fairly obvious, and his attacks come in long chains that have a simple beginning and end. If you’ve been having trouble with this battle, here’s what strategies you should use tobeat Commander Gaius inElden Ring.
Updated Jul 16, 2025, by Chris Ng:Now that patch 1.12.3 has moved Commander Gaius further away from the fog door, Elden Ring players now have more breathing room to buff themselves and summon spirits to help out during the battle. Parts of this guide have been updated to reflect that change, and more discussion about ranged options that can be used to exploit Commander Gaius' weakness to holy have also been added.
Commander Gaius Location In Elden Ring
Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, Commander Gaius is located right next to theShadow Keep, Back Gate Site of Grace. Getting there can bea convoluted adventurein its own right, but players will ultimately want to reach the Storehouse Loft Site of Grace. From there, there will be a lift you can use to take you down to where the Back Gate Site of Grace is located.
The door to Commander Gaius is the northeast archway that appears to lead to the outside of the Shadow Keep.
How To Beat Commander Gaius In Elden Ring
Once you walk through that archway, the boss fight against Gaius will begin. Unfortunately for every Tarnished to grace his arena, Gaius will always start with the same dreaded attack every time you walk through his boss door.
Commander Gaius Charge
After patch 1.12.3, Commander Gaius will now start much further away when you walk into his arena. This gives you more time to set up buffs and summons, but once he gets close enough, he’ll start to charge at you on his boar.
Commander Gaius' charge is a devastating physical attack that can one-shot Tarnished with low armor or low Vigor if it successfully lands. It’s a pain to dodge it at first, but there are three strategies you can use to get around this attack.
The easiest strategy to avoid this attack is towalk into the arena and immediately run to the left. Look behind you, and there should be a nook in the Shadow Keep’s wall you can use to prevent Gaius from hitting you. This is a great way for you to also just unload spells onto this boss as long as they’re capable of hitting him through the wall.
The second strategy to get around this attack is tosprint directly at Gaius and dodge through the charge at the very last second. While it sounds simple, the timing is fairly strict with medium weight dodges. ensure to keep an eye on the boar’s nose, and use that to figure out when to properly time your dodge. If all else fails, you can throw on theAsh of War: Bloodhound’s Stepand make this dodge much easier to pull off at the cost of a little FP.
Finally, if all else fails, you can equip either theVerdigris Greatshieldor theFingerprint Stone Shield, castScholar’s Shieldto increase its guarding ability, and equip theGreatshield Talisman, which will allow you block through Commander Gaius' charge without breaking a sweat.
Phase 1 Moveset
Now that the charge has been dealt with, we can move on to the rest of Gaius' moveset. Here are some important moves to make note of and know how to dodge them:
How To Dodge
Charged Gravity Lance
Gaius will briefly charge his lance with gravity magic before striking at the player and launching a projectile.
Wait for Gaius to start moving his lance toward you, then input dodge.
Gravity Rocks
Gaius will use gravity magic to lift some rocks and throw them at the player.
Dodge forward as the projectiles are heading toward you.
Back Kick
Gaius' Boar will tense for a moment then kick out with its hind legs.
This attack can be done as an input read if the player attacks Gaius from behind.
Dodge to the left or right just before the attack comes out.
Gaius Three Hit Combo
Gaius will wind up andswing his lance at the player. He’ll then wind up again and swing one more time. Gaius will then wind up for one final stab at the player.
Dodge forward or toward the direction of the lance swing after Gaius is done winding up. Be careful with the final stab because he’ll wind up for a long time.
Gaius and Boar Three Hit Combo
Gaius will wind up and swing with his lance once. His boar will then wind up and lunge its head at you. The boar will then rear up on its hind legs, pause, and stomp downward at the player.
Dodge toward the lance swing, then wait for the boar to finish winding up before dodging toward its head smash.
When the boar rears up, dodge just before the boar smashes downward.
Head Slam
Gaius' Boar will briefly wind up its head before slamming into the ground. It will then pause and slam its head into the ground again.
Dodge to the left or right when you see the wind up. This attack can come out fast, so if you got hit by the first slam, prepare to dodge the second one.
Body Slam
Gaius rides toward the player’s left side for a long period of time before body slamming the Tarnished.
Start looking for this move when Gaius rides around to your left for too long without attacking. Press dodge when you see him wind up.
Wild Swings
Gaius and his boar will wind up for a long time before his boar will swing out at the player, followed by Gaius attacking immediately afterward. The Boar will swing its head at the player again, followed by Gaius attacking with his lance.
The boar will then slam its head into the ground and immediately flick its head at the player, and Gaius will finish the combo off by slamming down with his lance.
Wait until the Boar’s head starts accelerating at you, then dodge toward the head. Wait for a moment as the Boar winds up its next attack and dodge toward the head again when the head is accelerating toward you.
Next, dodge toward the boar’s head slam, then dodge toward the player’s left side since that’s where the head flick will start. After that, immediately dodge forward to avoid Gaius' slam.
Charge
Gaius' Boar will rear up for a quick moment before charging at the player. It’s very similar to the first charge at the beginning of the fight.
Dodge through this attack the same way you did at the beginning of the fight if you’re far away.
If this move starts up close, you can dodge to the left or right, and the attack will miss. If this move is done after a large stomp, stay to the left or right, and it’ll miss.
Phase 2 Moveset
When you get Gaius to about half health, he’llcharge himself up with gravity magicbefore exploding in an AoE around him. This move deals a lot of damage if you get hit by it, but if you dodge forward to avoid the explosion’s hitbox, you’ll get a long window to attack.
Here are the attacks to be on the lookout for in phase 2:
Gravity Drill
Gaius Floats into the air, charges gravity magic around him, then crashes into the ground toward the player.
This attack will always be done immediately after the transition into phase 2, and it can also be done anytime after that.
This attack is deceptively fast toward the end of its animation, so make sure to dodge earlier than you’d expect. Try timing your dodge shortly after the gravity magic swirling around Gaius changes colors.
Black Hole
Gaius charges gravity magic into his lance then fires black holes at the player.
The projectile will stay around after it lands and releases three pulses. Each pulse will deal damage and pull the player toward the projectile. After the third pulse, the projectile explodes.
Time your dodges through each wave, then stay away from the center when it explodes.
A majority of Commander Gaius' attacks are purely physical, even after his transition into phase 2. This means that a shield with 100% physical resistance will prevent you from taking any damage if you block his attacks. The attacks that aren’t purely physical have to be charged with gravity magic first and are telegraphed enough to make dodging an easy task.
For magic users, if you use the corner method and get him stuck, you can use large AoE spells likeBloodboon Ritual Skillto hit him through the wall until he dies.
If you need further distractions, the Greatshield Soldier Ashes will take him a long time to tear through, making them the perfect distraction while you cast spells or swing your weapon into him.
Additionally, Commander Gaius isweak to holy damage. This means you can take Sacred infusions on all of your weapons to deal bonus damage to him. You can also take holy damage incantations likeDiscus of LightorMultilayered Ring of Lightto deal a large amount of damage to him from a safe range.
Best Strategies Against Commander Gaius In Elden Ring
Melee Builds
After you dodge the initial charge at the start of the fight,keep your shield up and be ready to dodge each of Gaius' long attack chains. Dodging most of Commander Gaius' fast attacks will give you enough time to fit in a light attack. For his longer attack chains, like his three hit combos or wild swings, you’ll have a much larger window to squeeze in more attacks after a successful dodge. Just be patient with your dodging timings and aim to dodge when the attack is accelerating toward you. Your shield is insurance for situations where you didn’t react to his faster attacks in time.
Additionally, be careful with how you position yourself against this boss. If you are directly behind him and get too greedy with your attacks,his boar will kick backward and hit you. However,this can be used to your advantage. If your dodge would put you behind the boss, aim to finish your dodge in a spot where you’re not directly behind him. Then, do a single light attack, and wait. If the boar kicks out and you’ve positioned yourself correctly, the kick should whiff and give you a large window to fit in an attack. Even if you’re not perfectly positioned, a single light attack can give you time to dodge the kick when you see it start up. If the kick missed, you’re now directly beside Commander Gaius, which may make Gaius swipe at you with his lance. This will give you an opportunity tododge directly behind him again and restart this loop.
Duringhis transition into phase 2, you candodge through the explosionfor a good window to fit in more attacks. After that, the strategy remains generally the same, but be aware of times when he shoots a black hole at you. Move away from the black hole, dodge the three waves trying to pull you in, and maneuver Gaius away from the projectile as best as you can.
Ranged Builds
When you get into the arena, use your spirit summons and set up all the buffs you need before he reaches you. After that, head to the left and look for a part of the Shadow Keep’s wall you can hide behind. Gaius will get caught on that ledge and will be unable to hit you for a short time while he’s charging at you. If you needed more time to set up more buffs, this spot will give you the opportunity toset up Spirit summonsand hopefully get him trapped in the nearby corner by the room entrance.
Once that happens, start using large AoE magic or Ashes Of War that can hit around the corner. Having a means to replenish FP like theCerulean Hidden Tearwill also make this process much easier.
If Gaius breaks off from the corner or wall,lure him toward your summonsso you can get in more shots wherever possible. If Gaius charges at you, either stick close to the corner for you to run behind again, dodge through it, or hop onto Torrent and run away from him.
Otherwise, if Gaius finds a way out of the corner and away from your summons, you’ll want to use fast, holy damage incantations like Discus of Light between Commander Gaius attacks to get in as much damage as you’re able to. Whenever Gaius uses a long-winded attack like his wild swings with his boar, you can fit in a longer but stronger incantation like Multilayered Rings of Light after his attack string ends.
Reward For Defeating Commander Gaius In Elden Ring
After defeating Commander Gaius, you’ll getRemembrance of the Wild Boar Riderand a new area to explore. In this area, you’ll find theSharpshot Talisman,Gaius’s Greaves, and 5xScadutree Fragment.
