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Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree is 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 and give you little time to recover or summon your spirit ashes.
Elden Ring: Hardest Side Quests To Complete
Elden Ring is home to a variety of unique side quests, but not all of them are easy to complete. Here are the hardest ones available in the game.
But once you get used to the fight, this optional boss is a fairly simple fight. Outside of a few attacks, 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 taking down this pair, here's what strategies you should use to conquer this boss fight.
Location
Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, Commander Gaius is located right next to the Shadow Keep, Back Gate Site of Grace. Getting there can be a convoluted adventure in 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.
Boss Guide
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
Commander Gaius will charge directly at the player from the other side of the arena. If this attack hits the player, it will deal a large amount of physical damage and potentially one-shot the player in some circumstances. There are two strategies you can use to dodge this attack.
The easiest strategy to avoid this attack is to walk 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 this corner to prevent Gaius from hitting you. This is also the best way to give yourself time to get your buffs setup and summon your spirits to help you.
The second strategy to get around this attack is to sprint 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. Make sure 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 the 
Ash of War: Bloodhound's Step and make this dodge much easier to pull off at the cost of a little FP.
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:
Attack | Description | 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 then swing 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 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, then 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 player. | 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
When you get Gaius to about half health, he'll charge himself up with gravity magic before 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:
Attack | Description | How To Dodge |
|---|---|---|
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 can be done anytime after that. | This attack is deceptively fast toward the end of its attack 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. |
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: Best Boss & Area Order
Finding the best progression route and boss order in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree can be tricky, and here is how players can make things easier.
Recommended Equipment Against Commander Gaius
- Bring a shield with 100% physical resistance like the
Brass Shield- The Carian Thrusting Shield can also be useful in this fight because of its 90% physical resistance and ability to block and attack at the same time
- If you're using the wall corner strategy, bring a large magic spell that can hit Gaius through the wall
Greatshield Soldier Ashes is a recommended summon - Deflecting Hardtear with a shield will allow you to break his poise faster and even block through his charge
A majority of Commander Gaius' attacks are purely physical, even after his transition into phase 2. This means 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 like Bloodboon Ritual Skill to 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.
Best Strategies Against Commander Gaius
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 spol 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 to dodge directly behind him again and restart this loop.
During his transition into phase 2, you can dodge through the explosion for 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, head to the left and look for a part of the Shadow Keep's wall you can hide behind. Gaius will get caught onto that ledge and will be unable to hit you for a short while while he's charging at you. This spot will give you time to set up Spirit summons and 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 the 
Cerulean Hidden Tear will also make this process much easier.
If Gaius breaks off from the corner or wall, lure him toward your summons so 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.
Reward For Defeating Commander Gaius
After defeating Commander Gaius, you'll get 
Remembrance of the Wild Boar Rider and a new area to explore. In this area, you'll find the Sharpshot Talisman , 
Gaius's Greaves , and 5x Scadutree Fragment .
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Base Game
- Elden Ring
- Platform
- PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- June 21, 2024
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment , FromSoftware
