Evergaols are locations that house bosses in the overworld. One of the earlier evergaols that the player is likely to come across is in southern Limgrave near the Bridge of Sacrifice, called the Forlorn Hound Evergaol, which will see players coming blade to blade with the Bloodhound Knight Darriwil. His quick strikes and his relentless offense can make him a bit of a challenge for players, so allow me to provide some advice when taking on this boss fight. This guide will provide tips on how to defeat Bloodhound Knight Darriwil in Elden Ring.
How To Defeat Bloodhound Knight Darriwil In Elden Ring
There are three essential points that players must understand to know how to defeat Bloodhound Knight Darriwil: he is quick and aggressive, he has low poise, and you don’t need to do the battle alone. Let’s begin with that first one; you are going to struggle to keep the Knight away from you. Even if you can create some distance between yourself and the boss, his quick Bloodhound’s Step, a move that sees him turn invisible briefly and dashing towards the player, allows him to get close to you quickly. For range builds, this will be a bit of a challenge, and it might be best to switch to a melee build for this encounter. Besides the Bloodhound’s Step ability, Darriwil has a move where he drags his claw along the ground as he moves towards you. The attack launches I’m into the air and is followed up with a downward thrust. This move is perfect for punishing if you see it coming. Dodge away from the claws and then dodge through the thrust, thus allowing you to use his recovery from the thrust for some hits.
The other combo move that Darriwil will use a lot is a three-hit string that sees him doing a swipe before doing a delayed follow-up with another swipe and quick overhead. This delay is what is catching a lot of players, so simply be aware of this and take a pause before you dodge the other parts of his string of moves. This is another chance for the player to get some damage in. Don’t get too far away; if you do get out of range during his delay, he can cancel his move into another one, messing with your expectations and causing you to get caught off guard. These moves can be parried, so if you feel confident with your shield, you can riposte these moves and get some big damage. Darriwil’s low poise means that he can be staggered for more massive damage, but players might struggle to get enough consecutive hits in to stagger him due to his speed. This is where a helpful friend comes in handy.
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Finally, even with all these tips at your disposal, it is also essential to know that you can get some help for this encounter. Other Evergaols don’t allow you to use your Ash Spirits to help, and the Forlorn Hound is no different, but Darriwil is related to the side quest for the NPC Blaidd the Half-Wolf. If you meet with Ranni’s trusted ally before going to Bloodhound Knight Darriwil’s fight, you will be able to summon the Half-Wolf. Due to Blaidd’s giant sword and Darriwil’s low poise, you can quickly stagger the Bloodhound Knight over and over, giving you openings to do significant damage. With these tips and a little help from Blaidd, the traitorous Bloodhound Knight Darriwil should be easily defeated in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.
