How to beat Commander Gaius in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Commander Gaius is one of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree’s mounted bosses. Here’s how you can take down the rider and their loyal armored companion.

As Elden Ring is open world, FromSoftware lets players use a horse named Torrent to navigate the world map. Torrent can even be used in some boss battles, like against Ancient Dragon Senessax, as it lets you quickly close the gap when rushing to slay your enemy.

However, some bosses come with their own mounts, such as Commander Gauius, who fights atop a massive boar. Luckily, that big piggie he’s riding on gives him some weaknesses that you can exploit.

Commander Gaius is an optional boss battle in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. You also can’t access him until later in the game, so don’t worry about having to face him too early.

Commander Gaius location

Commander Gaius is found at the back of the Shadow Keep dungeon. The exact location is noted on the map below. The closest Site of Grace is Shadow Keep Back Gate. But there are a lot of steps to follow before you can reach it.

• First, head to the Moorth Ruins, which are southeast from the Shadow Keep.
• In the Moorth Ruins, there is a hole in the ground that leads to an underground area. There are three Perfumers guarding this region, which you can fight or avoid at your leisure.
• Follow the path around until you find a ladder. Climb up to reach Bonny Village and unlock its Site of Grace.
• Use Torrent to jump over the nearby gap where the bridge has been cut, then cross the next bridge and unlock the Bridge Leading to the Village Site of Grace.
• Ride north until you find the Church District Highroad Site of Grace.
• Ride even further north until you see a gap in the cliff face. Enter and you’ll eventually reach the Church District Entrance Site of Grace.
• You’re now in a flooded area. Leap from house to house and keep avoiding enemies, as you follow the path deeper into the Shadow Keep. You’ll eventually reach the Specimen Storehouse area, where you’ll unlock the Storehouse, Back Section Site of Grace.
• From the Site of Grace, head west until you find a ladder.
• Follow this path and keep an eye out for a hole in the wall.
• Go through the hole and follow the path until you reach the Storehouse, Loft Site of Grace.
• Walk gingerly across the beams and keep following the path. If you reach an area with a lift that descends into a dead end, go back up, as you need to keep following the path.
• You’ll eventually reach a wooden lift that will take you to the bottom of the castle, where you’ll find the Shadow Keep, Back Gate Site of Grace.
• Commander Gaius is found in the area beyond.

How to beat Commander Gaius

Phase 1

The Commander Gaius battle takes place in a massive boss arena, one where you’re free to use Torrent. This gives you a lot of movement space, but bear in mind that your enemy is mounted and can cover a lot of ground, which includes damaging charge attacks.

As Commander Gaius starts far away, you’ll have time to summon a Spirit Ash or use an item. Just be ready to dodge, as he’ll soon barrel down on you.

Commander Gaius is mounted, which means he can move incredibly fast in a straight line. However, he’s not as fast at spinning around, like some of the other bosses in the DLC, and his mount makes him a huge target.

In melee combat, Commander Gaius uses a mixture of sword swipes and kicks/headbutts from his boar. These are strong but are slow and well-telegraphed, so they’re all easy to dodge.

The problem is that he augments some of these attacks with gravity magic. You’ll recognize this whenever purple energy starts crackling around his body. Not only does gravity magic leave a painful AoE behind when used, which you need to roll through, but it also comes with some damaging ranged attacks.

Commander Gaius’ massive hurtbox is his weakness. Your best option is to use a summon to draw aggro and then strike him in the back before raising a shield or backstepping out of the range of the boar’s counter. This first phase is extremely simple: just be ready to double-dodge when his attacks are purple.

Phase 2

Once you knock this boss to 50% health, he’ll pull a Super Saiyan and shroud himself with purple energy. Commander Gaius will use a Radahn-style meteor attack, where he jumps into the air and crashes down, which can be hard to sightread, as he vanishes out of sight. Not only do you have to be ready to dodge as soon as he drops, but keep dodging, as the attack sends a multi-stage gravity shockwave after it.

During Phase 2, Commander Gaius will throw out multi-part gravity blasts, but these can easily be dodged. You just have to be more careful about how many attacks you commit to. He can also throw out a damaging single ball of gravity magic, but this is highly telegraphed.

Your tactics should remain the same – stick to his boar’s backside, get a few hits in, and rush back. His aggression isn’t as oppressive as someone like Messmer the Impaler, so it’s easy to manage. The fact that you have a lot of room and the use of Torrent means you can safely back off for healing potions if needed.

NPC allies

There are no NPC ally summons available for the Commander Gaius boss battle. However, you can summon Spirit Ashes during the fight.

Commander Gaius rewards

Defeating Commander Gaius will earn you the following:

• 230,000 Runes
• Remembrance of the Wild Boar Rider

The Remembrance of the Wild Boar Rider can be traded at the Roundtable Hold for the Sword Lance weapon or the Blades of Stone Sorcery.

Commander Gaius weaknesses

Commander Gaius is also extremely weak to fire or frost damage. Commander Gaius has a comparatively large hitbox and slow response time compared to other bosses in Elden Ring.

As such, he’s extremely susceptible to frost, poison, and scarlet rot, as you have lots of opportunities to get multiple strikes in before he counters. This tactic is beneficial with the Mimic Tear summon.

Jumping into Shadow of the Erdtree? Check out what we thought of the expansion after spending many hours exploring the Shadow Lands. If you’re struggling to find a specific foe, we’ve got every Shadow of the Erdtree boss’ location in one handy list.