Highlights

  • Demi-Human Swordsman Onze brings a new level of aggression and magical attacks, elevating the enemy type in Elden Ring's new DLC.
  • Onze's speed challenges players with dexterity builds, relying on long combos instead of single strong attacks for quick victories.
  • Onze is a showcase for fast-paced combat, demonstrating the power of quicker weapons and high-speed builds in Elden Ring's DLC.

The release of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring has flooded the Lands Between, or more specifically the Land of Shadow, with a whole host of new bosses. These include completely original designs, as well as an evolution on previous archetypes, such as Demi-Human Swordsman Onze, who greatly elevates an enemy type that had previously peaked at bosses like Demi-Human Queen Gilika.

In the case of Onze, this takes the form of an aggressive boss that caps off one of the first dungeons that players will likely run into on their way through the new Elden Ring DLC. What makes this boss so memorable not only comes from the swordsmanship on display from the aptly named Onze, but also from the addition of magically empowered attacks that can close any gap between the player and the boss.

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Divine Beast 2
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Demi-Human Swordsman Onze is a Credit to The Enemy Type

Onze's Aggression is Elevated Right Out of the Gate

One of the first things that players will notice when stepping into the fight against Onze is the fact that the boss is aggressively ready to break any distance as quickly as possible. This usually starts with a jumping attack with his Star-Lined Sword, one of Elden Ring's incredible looking new weapons that players can pick up from a later boss fight. What makes Onze special, however, is that while players can draw magical effects from his weapon, the boss-wielded version is much faster and can travel much farther with a single swing.

On a first encounter, Onze's opening attack can even come off as almost a little cheap, as the boss can sometimes prime the strike as the player is walking through Elden Ring's glimmering, golden fog gate to challenge him. That being said, as long as players can recognize the tell right away, it isn't too difficult to dodge the first attack and then start an offensive of their own. Of course, once the pace of the fight has been set, Onze isn't exactly willing to let up at any point, as he is quickly ready to follow up that first strike with a number of combos that all whip out at lightning speeds and keep the players on their toes from frame one.

Onze's Speed is a Showcase for Dexterity Builds

At first glance, Onze's damage might not immediately appear to measure up to some of the other bosses found throughout the Land of Shadow, at least not when measuring each individual hit. Instead, this boss succeeds best by stringing together long combos with enough individual hits stacked together to quickly drain even an endgame character down in seconds. This even comes complete with Onze's own version of Malenia's legendary Waterfowl Dance. Many players might quickly recognize this as the key to most dexterity builds in Elden Ring that offer quick, powerful combos, rather than single, strong attacks at a time.

Considering how many high-speed weapons have been added with the launch of Shadow of the Erdtree, like the Beast Claw, it is clear that FromSoftware is working hard to showcase these faster builds. In that case, there are no better places to showcase the power of quicker weapons than by introducing a new boss that pushes this combat style with hyper-aggression. If a boss like Onze can absolutely destroy a player in seconds with a quick string of attacks, then it bodes well for players looking to gain that power for themselves. To that degree, Onze can be a strong showcase for the powerful builds made available in Elden Ring's DLC, especially when combined with the Demi-Human Swordsman ashes that come as a reward for finally winning the fast-paced fight.