Elden Ring has a list of many bosses you will have to defeat in order to either move on with your quest or find rare loot or an armor set. Most fights in Elden Ring are difficult but the fight against Commander O’Neil is rather easy.
The fight with Commander O’Neil is optional and completing it will help you start Millicent’s questline. This quest, when completed, will give you Miquella’s Needle.
Commander O’Neil is a slow-moving boss but if you are not careful around him, the fight can be a pain to finish. For the fight, you will need to have at least a level 13 or above weapon because he has quite a lot of health.
After defeating Commander O’Neil, you will receive 12,000 Runes, an Unalloyed Golden Needle, and Commander’s Standard Halberd.
We will now discuss where the fight will be, what to expect in the fight, how to summon the spirit, and how you can defeat Commander O’Neil in Elden Ring.
Commander O’Neil location in Elden Ring
Commander O’Neil is located in the Heart of the Swamp of Aeonia, Caelid. This area is filled with Scarlet Rot.
The Site of Grace closest to Commander O’Neil is the Inner Aeonia Site of Grace. The location of Inner Aeonia is shown on the map. The location of the fight is shown in green on the map.
To get to this Site of Grace and the fight without dealing any damage from the rot, you can use the road moving around the swamp and reach the Southern Aeonia Swamp Bank Site of Grace.
The road can is the same one that passes through the Stormhill Shack and Warmasters Shack. You can then move north towards the Sellia Gateway and look for a shack to your left. Sellia Gateway is indicated in yellow on the map above. The shack is indicated in red on the map.
The shack is located on the bank next to the road. In between the shack and the Gate that you entered, you will find a dinosaur that will attack you.
When you reach the shack you will find Sage Gowry. Talk to him and he will ask for the Unalloyed Golden Needle. You can find this Needle as a dropped item from Commander O’Neil.
Now move directly to the Inner Aeonia Site of Grace without getting hurt. After discovering the site of grace, move south. After passing through the large tree, you can find Commander O’Neil in the arena.
How to defeat Commander O’Neil in Elden Ring
Commander O’Neil has two main abilities that players will have to deal with. The first is the boss summoning headless knights and Archers to aid him during the fight. The other is his spin attacks which he combines with Scarlet Rot.
If trapped, you’re good as dead. There are two types of these spin attacks and they both vary in the area of effect around him.
The first type is the Rotting Winds which he will use a lot of times during combat. When you are in the wind or get hit by the spin attack, you will have Scarlet Rot on you which will chip away at your health quickly.
The second type is the Rotting Whirlwind which has a larger area but Commander O’Neil will use this attack rarely. He takes about 4 seconds to initiate the red winds so this attack is easily avoidable on torrent as well as on foot.
When you first start the battle, Commander O’Neil will summon 3 Exile Archers and 3 Exile Knights. These foes will need to be dealt with before you engage with Commander O’Neil.
They don’t have much health but he will buff their health and attack damage. If they are defeated as soon as they spawn, he will not summon them again until his health reaches about 40%.
At about 40% health, Commander O’Neil will summon 3 axe-wielding Exile soldiers. These have about the same health as the one before but they deal a lot more damage. you should also deal with them before coming up to Commander O’Neil again.
Commander O’Neil can be easily defeated by charging up to him on Torrent, landing a few strikes, and then pulling away. This will require a lot of patience because he has a lot of health.
You can also defeat him on foot by either parrying his heavy swings which will give you a small window to land a couple of hits or just dodge his attack combos and wait for him to rest before attacking him.
If you have a Range or Magic-based build, you can hop on to Torrent and keep a safe distance while dealing damage from afar. Commander O’Neil will not dodge your arrows or magic spells and he will only follow you slowly.
From the talk you had with Sage Gowry, you can summon Polyanna to fight alongside you. Before summoning her in this fight, you will have to defeat her beforehand. The NPC can be found when near the Inner Aeonia Site of Grace and before the fight.
You can also summon Spirit Ashes such as Mimic Tear or the Marionette Soldiers which will hold off Commander O’Neil and you can deal with him from a safe distance or you could use them as a distraction.
