Summary
The various Black Knife Assassins acrossElden Ringstand as some of the most difficult and unpredictable enemies that can be found in the lands between. However, while thefinal Black Knife Assassin Alectomight be among the hardest fights in the entire game, even the earliest and easiest can be a learning experience for new players struggling to get their bearings on the difficulty of other bosses.
With developer FromSoftware being known for designing extremely difficult combat, it isn’t uncommon for players new toElden Ringto be quickly overwhelmed by the speed at which enemies and bosses string together combos. This doesn’t make Black Knife Assassins too different from someone like a Margit or other fast-paced bosses, but mastering these quick enemies can be the first step towards learning how to conquer the Lands Between.
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A Quick-Paced Fight to Overwhelm New Players
Rapid Fire Enemy Vs Deliberately Slow Players
The first thing that players may notice when going up against the Black Knife Assassins is how quickly they can move from combo to combo, especially when compared to the lack of speed for most player attacks. This often results in players being overwhelmed by the speed of the boss, as it starts to feel like there’s no way to make up for this major difference in the pace of attacks. However, as players learnhow to beat the most aggressive Black Knife Assassins, it can quickly become clear that the difference in pace can easily be overcome with some steady patience.
An Onslaught of Charges, Effects, and Grabs
To simply call out the Black Knife Assassin’s moveset as including a handful of quick and powerful attacks only really paints half the picture. Getting into the specifically dangerous moves, all Black Knife Assassins have access to a lunging attack that can cover most distances, as well as a powerful grab attack with a very similar telegraph, and several ways to deal a unique status effect. Each of these can easily kill a player, especially those who aren’t aware of how some ofElden Ring’s unique status effectswork, such as the health-draining destined death Black Knife Assassins have access to.
Making Every Attack Count
It may seem counterintuitive for players to slow down their own pace to fend off an enemy as quick and aggressive as the Black Knife Assassin. However, taking the fight second by second and pulling away from the instinct to attempt to match the boss' speed is the key to success, by waiting through the flurry of attacks for the best opportunity to retaliate. Sometimes this means delivering massive damage withFromSoftware’s iconic backstabs, or simply getting another powerful attack in at a time. The result is a slow, methodic fight that counters the Black Knife Assassin’s speed with patience in a war of attrition.
How Elden Ring Teaches Players to Defeat Brutal Bosses
Patience is Key to Learning Elden Ring’s Bosses
As FromSoftware has continued to push forward with the developer’s iconic style of games fromKing’s FieldtoDark Soulsand beyond, every new title has pushed players the master different qualities of the Souls-like genre. While this has led toBloodborne’s focus on player aggression toSekiro’s defensive and reflexive combat, the new perspective needed for success inElden Ringmight be best described as patience. That is to say thatElden Ringpunishes players for greedy aggression, to incentivize players to take their time and get comfortable with an enemy’s moveset before pushing faster reflexes.
The Black Knife Assassin’s Speed Forces Patience
It is this focus on patience that dictates the ways that many bosses have been designed, with many attacks having elongated telegraphs that have to be memorized rather than reacted to. However, even theearliest Black Knife Assassinmanages to push for the same patience without using delays too frequently. Instead, these bosses are sped up so intensely that they will naturally punish aggression that isn’t focused on the minor openings between attacks like the jumping slam.
Elden Ring
WHERE TO PLAY
ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to date. Hidetaka Miyazaki - President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls.George R.R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
