Stuck on Margit or some other Elden Ring boss whose name starts with George R.R. Martin’s name initials? The good news is that Elden Ring always offers alternatives or detours. Just leave those demigods to wallow in their superiority complex and come back stronger after seeking out some of the lesser bosses. The game has plenty of these and the most accessible of them are in Evergaols.RELATED: Elden Ring: The Biggest Fixes The Game NeedsThese are essentially prisons in the Elden Ring overworld that house some challenging yet manageable bosses. Evergaols are also scattered throughout the open-world map and are conspicuous enough. With that said, some players might want to be a bit cautious with the boss prisons they bust open since even some Evergaol bosses are pretty tough. So here’s a difficulty hierarchy so the Tarnished know which to prioritize or avoid.Updated April 30, 2022, by Sid Natividad: Elden Ring Evergaols provide a great opportunity for players to practice how to fight bosses solo. Each Evergaol houses a boss that’s a different but similar version of the ones from the Legacy dungeons or open-world areas. Thus, Elden Ring Evergaols are also a good way for players to have some kind of a “rematch” with certain enemies and bosses. Some of these Elden Ring Evergaols contain the easiest bosses Elden Ring has on offer, while others are downright torture. So, to alleviate some hardships, more details on how to find these Evergaols have been added.
10 Bloodhound Knight Darriwil - Forlorn Hound Evergaol
Weakness: Stagger and poise-breaking weapons, ranged attacks
Bloodhound Knight Darriwil is another pushover Evergaol boss who’s meant to be fought pretty early in the game. He and his prison are associated with Blaidd’s short quest as he’s being tracked down by the Wolf-Man and is supposedly hiding in the Forlorn Hound Evergaol.
RELATED: Awesome Side Quests Hidden In Elden Ring
If players proceed to this Evergaol through Blaidd’s quest, they can even summon him for assistance. But even that’s not necessary as Darriwil doesn’t have too much HP and his attacks are easily dodged. He does have some dangerous moves here and there thanks to the Bloodhound Fang sword but that’s easily avoided. As a reward, he drops the said sword which is one of the most powerful weapons in the game.
How to find the boss
Forlorn Hound Evergaol is located just south of Agheel Lake South, on top of a small hill. Blaidd can be available as a summon if players talked to him first in the Mistwood Ruins.
9 Adan, Thief Of Fire - Malefactor’s Evergaol
Weakness: Stagger and punish opportunity when he heals
Adan, Thief of Fire is one of the earliest Evergaol bosses players will face and he’s not too challenging. He’s slow and his weapon has a short-range. As per his theme as a boss, he casts some fire Incantations or spells but even those are slow enough to be trivialized.
With how relaxed he is in the fight, players can easily sneak in some frequent backstabs. This makes Adan easily abusable and one of the least imposing Evergaol bosses in the game. To offset this a bit, he has a healing Flask.
How to find the boss
Malefactor’s Evergaol is just on the cliff overlooking Liurnia Lake Shore. Players can get there through a jump pad.
8 Bols, Carian Knight - Cuckoo’s Evergaol
Weakness: Slow attacks that are easy to dodge
Bols, Carian Knight is actually just a troll who can perform some magic spells. Anyone who’s had their fair share of run-ins with trolls in the overworld shouldn’t have any problem bringing this big boy down. For melee characters, it’s a cakewalk since all they have to do is dance around Bols’ feet, hacking away at his HP.
RELATED: Awesome Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do In Elden Ring
Ranged characters might have a bit of trouble since Bols can conjure up some phalanx sword Sorceries which are tricky to roll through but his sluggishness and lack of armor make him an easy fight regardless.
How to find the boss
Cuckoo’s Evergaol is located on the western bank of the lake in Liurnia of the Lakes. It’s not too hidden and easily accessible.
7 Ancient Hero Of Zamor - Weeping Evergaol
Weakness: Fire, Lightning, and Magic attacks
It’s rare for Evergaol bosses to have some interesting mechanics that players can learn or derive from, so the Ancient Hero of Zamor is a bit special for introducing Frost. This boss also has good reactions to player inputs; any ranged character might have a difficult time hitting since it dodges.
Meanwhile, melee characters have to deal with the deceptive curved sword hitboxes. The real danger lies in the boss’s ice breath ability, which has a surprisingly long range and can inflict Frostbite fast. Come phase two, he’ll be raining down Frostbites on players and closing the gap in a blink of an eye with a noticeable increase in aggression.
How to find the boss
The Weeping Evergaol is due northeast from the Fourth Church of Marika in the western portion of the Weeping Peninsula.
6 Alabaster Lord - Royal Grave Evergaol
Weakness: Stagger and physical attacks
Like other large bosses of Evergaols, the Alabaster Lord is slow. In fact, he even just walks around the arena menacingly, patiently waiting for players to come close. His HP is also manageable and the large hitboxes mean it’s easy to squeeze in several hits after a dodge.
RELATED: Elden Ring: The Best Colossal Weapons, Ranked
Where the peril lies is in his gravity spell attacks. He can shoot projectiles at the player, which can catch aggressive ones off-guard. His ace, however, is a sword plunge that deals area damage around him and happens quite fast. After this, he’ll open up a portal and unleash some gravity balls at the player, though dodging those is a cakewalk.
How to find the boss
The Royal Grave Evergaol is to the east of Caria Manor. Players will have to go through Loretta, the boss in Caria Manor to access the area surrounding the fortified mansion.
5 Battlemage Hugues - Sellia Evergaol
Weakness: Physical and Holy attacks, all condition effects
Battlemage Hugues is also another straightforward battle that doesn’t require much caution. This caster has a large club that can easily stagger the players but the good part about fighting him in melee is that he won’t cast his ranged spells too much, as those are troublesome.
Players will have to watch out for melee sorcery that can end the fight prematurely. That would be the Gavel of Haima Sorcery, which deals deceptively huge amounts of damage in an area (which makes dodging tricky). Luckily, it’s easy to stagger and interrupt Hugues casting with large weapons.
How to find the boss
Getting to Sellia Evergaol is a little complicated. First, players will have to access the Dragonbarrow area in Caelid. From the Dragonbarrow West Site of Grace, they’ll need to head east and then down south once they’ve reached the pillar which used to house the area’s map.
4 Godefroy The Grafted - Golden Lineage Evergaol
Weakness: Physical attacks
Godefroy the Grafted, as his name implies, is somewhat related to Godrick the Grafted, who’s one of the shardbearers and the main boss of Stormveil Castle. This boss is a cheap clone of the Godrick boss fight except there’s no phase two at 50 percent HP since there’s no dragon head to rip off in his prison.
RELATED: Elden Ring: Great Spells For Multiplayer
So anyone who already had a lot of practice whittling down Godrick’s first phase shouldn’t have an issue with this fight. Still, it can be tricky for some players since Godefroy still hits hard and heavy. He’s also somewhat aggressive and frequently unleashes an area attack around him.
How to find the boss
Starting from the Erdtree-Gazing Hill, players should head east a bit into the ravine and then keep heading south through the camp and the bridge-tunnel. The Golden Lineage Evergaol is just past the bridge-tunnel.
3 Roundtable Knight Vyke - Lord Contender’s Evergaol
Weakness: Stagger and ranged attacks
Some Evergaol bosses are mere pushovers and are really no different from NPC invaders. Festering Fingerprint Vyke is one of those. Despite the troublesome name, he doesn’t exactly inspire fear with his appearance since he’s a regular-sized enemy.
Also, his HP pool isn’t even that robust. He really is just invader-tier (and even appears as an actual invader in some places), meaning players don’t even have to be careful fighting this Evergaol boss. Despite the ease, Vyke rewards players appropriately with an armor set and a nice Incantation.
How to find the boss
Lord Contender’s Evergaol is just northeast of the Whiteridge Road Site of Grace. It’s on a cliff facing to the south.
2 Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader - Ringleader’s Evergaol
Weakness: Physical attacks, Frostbite
Alecto, Black Knight Ringleader is where the Evergaol bosses start becoming trickier. She’s a Black Knight Assassin and those can be a pain to fight, especially for players who don’t have a certain torch that reveals invisible enemies.
Thankfully, Alecto doesn’t really utilize stealth the same way her colleagues do. Her HP pool is a bit large but Alecto is easily staggered and doesn’t have too many threatening attacks save for a weapon skill that’s easy enough to avoid.
How to find the boss
To get to Ringleader’s Evergaol, players need to have unlocked the Moonlight Altar. The Evergaol is on the northwesternmost tip of the plateau that houses the Moonlight Altar area. Just follow the road that heads northwest from the Moonlight Altar Site of Grace.
1 Crucible Knight - Stormhill Evergaol
Weakness: None
Speaking of aggression, none of the other Evergaol bosses can match the Crucible Knight. Don’t be fooled by the Stormhill location, this boss should not have been placed in a starting area as the first Evergaol. Crucible Knights are the toughest knight enemies in the game.
This particular one in the Stormhill Evergaol is hyper-aggressive, has seemingly infinite poise, and will not let anyone within a few feet of him drink from a flask. His HP is also crushingly high and his damage goes through the roof. Phase two? Forget about conserving HP, his tail ensures that all player attacks become lopsided HP trades that can often result in player deaths. Later on, he comes back with a friend so players have to fight two of him. Lovely.
How to find the boss
Stormhill Evergaol is just southeast of Stormhill Shack (the place where Roderika was resting). It’s near a cliff edge facing southeast.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE: Elden Ring: Best Armor Sets For Melee Builds
