How to beat the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella in Elden Ring

The Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella in Elden Ring is a boss in Nokstella, Eternal City, guarding a very old throne room.

He’s a formidable presence, but ultimately not that difficult if you stay alert and don’t afford him any easy openings. This Elden Ring boss is best fought in close quarters, and if you give him too much range, you’ll end up paying for it dearly.

So to take him down swiftly, follow our step-by-step guide on how to beat the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella in Elden Ring.

How to beat the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella in Elden Ring

Here’s how to beat the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella in Elden Ring through each phase of this tricky boss battle.

Phase One

When you’re up close and personal with the Dragonkin Soldier, he will use his hands a lot to swat you back and forth. His arms are quite long due to his enormous size, so trying to dodge these swipes will end up draining a lot of your stamina if you’re not careful. Don’t overestimate the distance he’s able to reach.

A good approach is to wait until he strikes forward with his left arm, as he sometimes falls forwards onto the ground and needs a moment to recover here. Seize this opportunity.

That said, it’s actually better to roll close to him when he strikes at you. Try and get to his legs and stay there.

Dodge when he slashes underneath him, but you’ll find he won’t know what to do when you’re on his back all the time.

Chop at his feet, roll, keep hitting, roll. With a bit of luck, you will decimate his health bar very quickly using this method, and he won’t have time to enter his second phase.

Phase Two

If you do find yourself facing the Dragonkin Soldier’s second phase, he’ll begin by charging up an electric attack, and releasing his excess power with a shockwave that throws you back. This is just the first of his new bag of tricks.

From now on, he can strike you from above with his lightning fist and fill a frost meter. Avoid this at all costs, as this isn’t something you want to be on the receiving end of.

You’ll also see he’s now gained wings, and he’ll use them repeatedly for short bursts and attacks:

• He will swoop towards you from the air. Dodge at the last moment and you have the best chance of counterattacking here, as several seconds will pass before he’s back at full power again.
• He will also throw lightning bolts at the ground and energises the ground around your character, which also deals frost damage. Sometimes he does this four times in a row and rushes you through the entire arena.

During this phase, try to attack him diagonally from the side so that his punch doesn’t hit you. Keep trying to get close to him to nibble away the last part of his health bar.

Your rewards for beating this boss are 12,000 runes and the Frozen Lightning Spear incantation.

Once the boss fight is over, you’ll be able to activate the Site of Grace ‘Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella’, and under a giant skeleton nearby you’ll also come across an ornate metal chest. It contains 1x Great Ghost Glovewort, which can you use for upgrading your Elite Spirit Ashes.

Your next destination is the Ainsel River Main region. If that’s not where you’re headed next in Elden Ring, then check out our pages listing all Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone locations and all Swordstone Key locations instead.