How to beat the Grave Warden Duelist in Elden Ring

The Grave Warden Duelist is one of many bosses you can find in Elden Ring. There are a handful of required bosses you’ll need to find and multiple optional ones you can choose to defeat during your journey in the Lands Between. This guide covers how to beat the Grave Warden Duelist in Elden Ring.

You can find the Grave Warden Duelist in the Murkwater Catacombs dungeon. It’s to the north of the Murkwater Cave, which you can find in the ravine to the north of Dragon-burnt Ruins.

How to beat Grave Warden Duelist

The Grave Warden Duelist will be waiting for you at the back of the Murkwater Catacombs. The boss features two large hammers and has a chain attached to one of them to perform large area-sweeping attacks and pulls during the encounter.

The Duelist will use a series of hammer strikes that begin with the right hammer left hammer and then smashes them down to the ground. He can use the first two attacks, followed by two quicker attacks. Finally, if the Duelist turns the right hammer around, it will smash into the ground and perform a dragging strike. During these attacks, you can get around the Duelist to complete a backstab or hit it with several smaller, quick attacks to chip away at its health.

Another series of attacks you’ll want to watch out for is when the Duelist begins to use the hammer chain. When doing so, the Duelist will perform large AoE attacks that stretch out well beyond its standard melee attack reach, performing an attack around it and then smashing that hammer down on the ground, followed by a leap and a heavy slam. You’re better off diving away from this point and using ranged attacks or waiting for it to close the distance between you.

The Duelist may also forgo using the hammers at all and attack to grab you. If grabbed, you’ll be held up into the air and thrown in front of the Duelist. You can dodge this attack and potentially get a backstab against them.

Every so often during the battle, the Duelist may enter a rage, increasing its overall damage. You’ll notice t by a red aura around it. We recommend staying away from the Duelist while this effect is happening and keeping your distance, waiting for it to fade. The Duelist can perform this move several times during an encounter.

If you’re having trouble with this battle, you can reach out to a friend online to help you, or you can summon your spirits to assist you during this fight.