If you’re trying to acquire the Black Knife Tiche and need some help defeating the boss that holds this spirit summon, we’ve got you covered with this guide where we’ll show you how to defeat Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader in Elden Ring and talk about the rewards he drops.
Elden Ring Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader Location
Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader, is located at the Ringleader’s Evergaol. This location can be found on the western side of Liurnia of the Lakes. You’ll find her near the Moonlight Altar Site of Grace.
An important thing to keep in mind before you go ahead and fight Alecto is that she is an optional boss.
This means that you don’t need to defeat her to be able to progress with the story of Elden Ring. The boss is there for players who want some good loot and are up for a challenge.
Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader Recommended Level and Weaknesses
The recommended level for fighting Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader is at least 60.
Do not use poison, scarlet rot, or hemorrhage against Alecto as she is immune to all of these effects. Frost and Physical damage are your best bet against Alecto.
Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader Attacks and Counters
The most important thing that you need to learn and understand before you start a boss fight is the boss’s moveset.
Therefore, before we dive into the different strategies you can use for this boss fight, let’s take a look at the attack patterns of Alecto and how you can counter each attack.
Helmsplitter
Alecto jumps into the air and comes crashing down, ending her attack with an overhead slash with her knife.
This is Alecto’s easiest attack to dodge, and it can even be punished. First, dodge it by running away from the impact area of the attack as she leaps into the air. You can then punish the attack by striking at her or casting spells while she’s still completing the attack animation.
However, this can be risky as Alecto is very quick. So make sure to only strike at her once or twice.
Imbued Helmsplitter
Alecto enchants her knife with a dark flame and then performs the Helmsplitter attack. Only this time, her knife explodes on impact, releasing energy that deals great damage and inflicts a status effect that deals damage over time.
This version of Helmsplitter has a longer range than the normal one. You’ll have to roll further away from Alecto to dodge the attack.
You also need to watch out for the energy that she releases at the end of the attack. If you dodge it successfully, you can punish her just like you can with the normal Helmsplitter attack.
Backstab
Alecto lunges straight towards you and tries to grab you. If she gets a hold of you, she’ll stab you in the back and deal great damage.
The animation speed of this attack is very fast, so it practically comes out of nowhere. So, you need to keep your distance from Alecto so she doesn’t catch you off-guard.
And even if you’re at a distance from her, you might need to roll away to dodge this attack due to its great range.
Spinning Knife Attack
Alecto spins around and slashes with her knife as she does so. She then ends the attack with two more strikes with her knife.
As Alecto is spinning around, she’ll cover some distance, so you need to stay away from her and roll to dodge the attack.
Projectile Attack
Alecto fires a projectile from her blade, which travels in a straight line. If it hits you, it will not only deal high damage but also apply a damage over time debuff.
Luckily, the projectile moves slowly compared to the rest of her attacks. So all you need to do to avoid it is to dodge sideways.
Leg Sweep
Alecto shoves her knife into the ground and uses it as a support to perform a sweep attack. She then ends the attack with a big slash with her knife.
This attack also covers a lot of ground, so you’ll need to keep your distance from her and then dodge away as she performs it. This attack is also punishable due to its long animation.
Lunging Knife Attack
Alecto moves to the side, seemingly to dodge, but follows it up with a lunge forward and a subsequent stab with her knife.
You’ll need to roll to the side and then roll back to dodge this attack.
How to Defeat Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader in Elden Ring
Now that you understand the attack patterns of Alecto, it’s time to go over the different strategies you can use to take down Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader in Elden Ring.
An important thing to note about this boss fight is that you cannot use Spirit Ashes during the fight. It’ll just be you and Alecto on the battlefield.
Melee Strategy
Alecto’s biggest strength in this fight is her speed. Due to how fast she is, you’ll have very few opportunities to punish her attacks.
In this fight, you cannot block any of Alecto’s attacks. The only thing you can do is roll away to dodge them. Because of that, you must maintain your distance from Alecto throughout the fight.
If you get up close to Alecto, dodging her attacks will be extremely difficult due to how fast she performs them. If you keep your distance from her, dodging her attacks will become significantly easier.
Even though it’s her biggest strength, Alecto’s speed can also become her greatest weakness. This is because Alecto’s speed makes her prone to being staggered.
But to do so, you’ll need a very powerful heavy weapon with a high chance of staggering enemies. When you pick out the heavy weapon you want to use for the fight, coat it with Freezing Grease. Freezing Grease will allow you to deal Frost damage to Alecto, which she is weak to.
And you can combo that with the Ash of War: Hoarfrost Stomp. This will allow you to keep her poise low and deal Frost damage, which will synergize well with your heavy weapon.
You’ll want to punish the two attacks of hers: the basic Helmsplitter attack and the Leg Sweep attack. These two attacks have the longest animations, so they’re the ones that you can easily punish if you’re skillful enough.
This fight is all about patience. If you keep yourself calm and collected and follow this strategy, this fight will become very easy for you.
Ranged Strategy
If you want to fight Alecto using ranged attacks, the spells that you need to have in this fight are Terra Magicus and Comet Azur.
As soon as the fight starts, cast Terra Magicus and Comet Azur quickly afterward. These spells will instantly knock Alecto down, and they’ll keep her down if you continue casting them.
This will allow you to deal a crazy amount of damage right off the bat, making the remaining portion of the fight a lot easier.
When she eventually interrupts your spell, immediately get far away from her and maintain your distance at all times. The spells you’ll want to cast now have the homing ability.
Due to Alecto’s great speed, she’ll be able to dodge your spells easily. This is why the homing spells are so important in this fight, as you can cast them, and they’ll connect with Alecto no matter what.
These spells won’t deal significant damage, but they’ll lower her poise and eventually stagger her. You can then cast your most powerful spells to deal the real damage.
Adula’s Moonblade is an excellent spell due to its Frost damage and ability to stagger. This is the spell you should be casting on Alecto whenever you have an opening.
You should also bring defensive spells to this fight for your protection. The best defensive spells, in this case, are Zamor Ice Storm and Freezing Mist. Not only will it protect you, but they’ll also deal further Frost damage to Alecto.
Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader Drops
Once you defeat Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader, you will be awarded 80,000 Runes and the Black Knife Tiche Ashes Spirit Summon. It is one of the best spirit summons in the game because of how agile it is and can deal excellent damage.
How to Cheese Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader
This final strategy is for those struggling to defeat Alecto and are looking for an easy way out. There is currently an exploit in Elden Ring that you can use to break the AI of Alecto.
When the fight starts, immediately hop on the rock that is present to the left of Alecto. For some reason, Alecto cannot reach you while you are on this rock.
This means that you’ll be completely safe throughout the boss fight. However, she can potentially land on the rock after performing the Helmsplitter attack. When that happens, roll away and when she leaves the rock, get back on top of it.
Now, all you need to do is attack Alecto using ranged weapons, magic, or melee weapons with long-range. Keep attacking her, and she’ll be defeated in no time. Just make sure not to fall through the hole behind the rock, or you’ll fall out of the map.
