How to beat Commander Gaius in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (2024)

Commander Gaius is one tough customer in Elden Ring’s Shadow of Erdtree DLC, riding atop a massive boar who can slam and kick you, which is to say nothing of the actual humanoid boss’ himself. Commander Gaius can be located around the back of the Shadow Keep area in the Elden Ring DLC.

Our Elden Ring DLC guide covers not only how to beat Commander Gaius in Shadow of the Erdtree, but will also reveal the boss’ weaknesses, and how to prepare for the encounter.

Commander Gaius location in Elden Ring DLC

Commander Gaius is found immediately to the back of Shadow Keep. Although it’s an optional boss, this effectively means you need to make it through Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, and Messmer the Impaler to even begin searching for the boss.

Spirit Summons are available in this fight, as is multiplayer summoning, if you’re starting out from the Back Gate Site of Grace within Shadow Keep itself.

Commander Gaius weaknesses and how to prepare

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Commander Gaius is mainly weak to one thing: Bleed. You can build up Bleed damage on the boss with a quick few hits, so for this boss fight, I’d highly recommend the Bloodhound’s Fang from the base game as one weapon of choice.

As you’ll quickly find out, Commander Gaius hits hard with some magic damage. It’s actually not elemental damage — it’s gravity magic — so any armor that gives you bonus protection in the Magic category is going to work really well for you here.

How to beat Commander Gaius in Elden Ring DLC

Staying close to Commander Gaius is critical for this boss fight, especially if you’re a melee user. Typically, you want to dodge-roll through the boss’ attacks, instead of steering clear of him — this lets him wind up his charge attack, which is by far and away one of the more annoying attacks of any boss I’ve encountered in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Commander Gaius boss fight phase 1

Speaking of, let’s say you do encounter the charge attack, where Commander Gaius and his boor steam full pelt at you. For this, you need to dodge roll-through the boss, and also make sure you avoid not only the outstretched weapon but also the two legs of the boar itself.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

To that end, staying near Commander Gaius is your best bet, but this does mean you’ll see combo attacks. The boss has one five-hit combo attack, a combination of swings from Gaius’ spear and headbutts from the boar. Your best bet here is to dodge-roll sideways through the attacks. (Thankfully there’s a pretty decent rhythm to the attacks that you can really lock in on.)

If you’re standing behind the boar, keep in mind that it will kick its hind legs at you. This attack is actually pretty difficult to dodge, since there’s barely any warning it’s coming. If the boss doesn’t attack for at least a second, keep in mind that this move is what’s probably coming.

Commander Gaius boss fight phase 2

You’ll know you’re in Commander Gaius’ second phase when the boss starts emitting purple lightning. This isn’t actually lightning, but rather gravity-based attacks. In short, a lot of Commander Gaius’ regular attacks, like the charge one, are now going to be souped-up with gravity magic, which means they hit a whole lot harder.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Commander Gaius will leap into the air for one of two attacks. If he doesn’t rise too far off the ground, this means he’s about to perform the charging attack we mentioned previously. Hold your nerve, don’t dodge too early, and you can roll through the attack in the same way right before it hits you.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

If Commander Gaius rises up high into the air, he’s about to whirl around and come slamming back down onto the ground near you. Again, you really need to hold your nerve with this one — there’s a slight delay when he’s roughly halfway toward the ground that can trick you into dodge-rolling early if you’re not expecting it.

Another key attack to watch out for is when an orb appears between the boar’s horns. This is a gravity orb, and it’s going to send out four pulses that can damage you as it gradually grows bigger. Try and steer well clear of the orb, which thankfully doesn’t move once it’s placed down.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

When Commander Gaius is dead, you’ll be rewarded with 230,000 runes, and the Remembrance of the Boar Rider. Take the latter item to the Finger Reader in the Roundtable Hold to activate it, and turn it into a weapon.

For more Elden Ring DLC bosses, see our guides on all Remembrance bosses and learn how to duplicate Remembrances. Need to power up? We’ve got location guides on where to find Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes, and an interactive Elden Ring DLC map.