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How To Defeat Adel, One Of Nightreign's Ugliest Bosses

It's hard to even tell it's a dragon at times, not that it matters since it'll be dead soon

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Adel runs across the sand dunes.
Screenshot: FromSoftware / George Yang / Kotaku

There are some pretty difficult bosses in Elden Ring Nightreign, including the Nightlords who you’ll have to face at the end of the third day. Some are harder than others, but they all can be overcome with the right preparation and strategy.

During the mission, Gaping Jaw, the Nightlord you’ll face is Adel, Baron of Night. This massively ugly dragon has a corrupted body and unhinged jaw that’ll tear anything it can get its teeth on. It’s one hell of an aggressive monster, so be ready.

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Preparation

Unlike some Nightlords, Adel isn’t weak to any particular element. But it is susceptible to status effects, including Poison, Frostbite, and Sleep. During your run, look out for buildings that have a green icon, indicating that the bosses there could potentially drop weapons that deal poison damage. Another way to obtain poison damage is equipping a relic that grants it to your starting weapon.

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As for Frostbite, Recluse is a helpful class for one of your teammates to play as, because she can unleash a magic cocktail with Magic/Lightning/Holy residues that deals damage and accumulates Frostbite. Adel is very active and likes to trounce around a lot, so close-range melee characters might have a hard time keeping up. Long-range attackers like Ironeye are instrumental in applying constant damage and pressure.

Read More: A Beginner’s Guide To Mastering Wylder In Nightreign

If you’re going to have a melee character, Wylder is the best choice as he can close the distance with his Shot Claw and deal damage.

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Strategies for fighting Adel

Always avoid Adel’s jaws. Try to attack it from the side and behind, and not directly in front of it. When inflicted with enough poison damage, Adel will double over and be open to attacks. However, the poison will spew all around it, so make sure not to step in it as you continue to attack Adel.

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Lightning eminates from Adel as it issues an attack.
Screenshot: FromSoftware / George Yang / Kotaku

During its first phase, one of Adel’s most powerful attacks is when it opens its jaws wide open with a purple effect on the ends. Here, Adel will try to scoop you up and crunch you to death. This temporarily immobilizes whoever gets caught in it. However, your teammates can attack Adel while it’s busy chewing, freeing them.

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It’s best to avoid this attack in the first place, as it buffs Adel’s damage too. It can catch multiple people at once, so make sure to spread out.

Adel will also let out two roars. While the roars themselves won’t do any damage, this is a signal that Adel is about to go on a rampage. It’ll try to rush you down three times, trying to grab you with its jaws.

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This monster also has two other very dangerous attacks. Adel will surround the air with a crackling purple aura and unleash a powerful AOE (area-of-effect) attack. Your best option here is to simply run away as far as you can. Right after this attack finishes, Adel will summon a few lightning strikes onto the field, but these are easy to avoid as you can move out of the way.

Adel glows with energy as lightning crackles around it.
Screenshot: FromSoftware / George Yang / Kotaku
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The last attack to look out for is when Adel flies into the air, getting ready to crash down. Not only do you have to avoid Adel’s jaws as it dives, but the follow-up attack is equally as brutal. Shockwaves will erupt. There’s a bit of delay as you can see the fissures in the ground, so be sure to dodge away from them before the shockwaves happen.

Adel is considered one of the harder Nightlords, and team composition seems to be the most important factor here out of all of the Nightlord battles. With enough preparation and coordination, it will eventually go down.

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