Gladius Dark Damage Build: Conquering the Everdark Sovereign Trice in Elden Ring

 

Introduction to the Everdark Sovereign Trice

The Everdark Sovereign Trice, also known as the enhanced version of Gladius, Beast of Night, is one of Elden Ring’s most challenging and dynamic boss battles. With its ability to split into multiple forms and unleash devastating dark and fire-based attacks, this fight demands precision, strategy, and the perfect setup to overcome. In this guide, we'll delve into the Gladius dark damage build to help you dominate the Trice, whether you’re playing solo or with a duo.

The key to this build’s effectiveness lies in optimizing dark damage, which synergizes perfectly with the Trice's weaknesses. We'll explore the Gladius dark damage build in depth, covering gear, relics, and strategies to ensure that you approach the battle with everything you need to succeed.

Understanding the Gladius Dark Damage Build

When it comes to facing the Everdark Sovereign Trice, a build that focuses on dark damage is incredibly powerful. While this boss has a high resistance to physical attacks, it is particularly vulnerable to holy-infused and dark-elemental weapons. As a result, focusing on dark damage will allow you to consistently hit the boss where it hurts.

Key Components of the Build

For this build, we'll focus on the following elements:

• Weapons with Dark Damage: Equip a weapon or two that deal dark damage. The Gladius itself is an excellent choice if you're focusing on the Trice's weak points.

• Relics That Buff Dark and Physical Damage: Relics that enhance your attack power, especially those that focus on dark or affinity damage, will provide the necessary edge.

• Special Abilities: Utilize weapons with the best Ashes of War that focus on dark elements. These will deal bonus damage and break the boss’s poise, allowing for more critical hits.

• High Stamina & Health: Since you'll be in close range for much of the fight, maintaining good stamina regeneration and high health is key.

With that said, here’s a breakdown of how to apply these principles during the battle.

Phase 1: The First Encounter with Trice

When you enter the boss fight, Gladius will appear in his first phase as a single entity, initially fighting like a standard wolf-beast. The challenge, however, is that Trice is highly mobile and quick, especially with its AoE flame attacks. In this phase, using the Gladius dark damage build effectively means exploiting the boss's tendency to perform a lot of fire-based AoE damage.

Setting Up for the First Phase

• Aggro Management: If you're playing in a duo, it’s best to take turns managing the aggro. This strategy minimizes the risk of being overwhelmed by the boss’s attacks. Let your partner take the aggro while you use your dark damage-enhanced L2 attacks to break Trice's poise and inflict maximum damage.

• Weapon Choice: Focus on colossal weapons like the Envoy's Longhorn (which is heavily recommended in the build) to break Trice’s poise. The L2 Ash of War on this weapon can deal upwards of 1,200 damage when fully upgraded, which will allow you to stagger the boss more frequently.

• Timing Your Attacks: Watch for the moments when Trice prepares to use its fire breath or charge attacks. These attacks leave the boss open for counterattacks. At this moment, you want to unleash dark-infused heavy attacks on the boss’s side, avoiding the mouth, as this part of its body can deal significant damage if you're too close.

Solo Strategy for the First Phase

If you're facing the Everdark Sovereign Trice alone, your approach will need to be more methodical. With Raider or Wilder as your class choice, you’ll have some great special abilities to help manage the fight.

• Raider’s Tactics: In solo, I recommend playing as Raider. This class has the tools to deal with the Trice’s high-damage attacks and gives you a solid defensive stance. Use Raider's defensive ability to tank some of the damage, but don’t be afraid to use evade rolls when necessary. Break its poise as much as possible with your heavy weapon.

• Wilder’s Utility: Wilder’s abilities are particularly useful for summoning spirits to assist with aggro management. Their damage isn’t always massive, but it’s enough to draw some attention away from you. Be sure to use your ultimate skills to stagger Trice and keep its health from regenerating too quickly.

Phase 2: Trice’s Transformation

Once Trice has lost about a third of its health, it will enter the second phase, where it morphs into three wolves, each with its own special set of attacks. The difficulty of this phase lies in managing the multi-target environment, especially if you’re playing solo.

The boss will often target one player with a red circle, meaning that you’ll be overwhelmed by all three wolves at once if you don’t manage your positioning carefully.

Tips for Solo Play in Phase 2

• Positioning: In solo, the key is to keep as much distance between the wolves as possible. Try to isolate the individual wolves so that only one engages you at a time. This requires constant movement and positioning, but it’s absolutely essential for sustained survival.

• Aggro Switching: If you’re playing with a partner, make sure to constantly switch aggro. Let one player tank the incoming attacks, while the other deals dark damage and works on breaking poise. This strategy keeps the wolves from ganging up on one player, which is almost always fatal.

Duo Play in Phase 2

• Use Totem Stella: Both of you should utilize Totem Stella at key moments. The stunning effect of this ability is incredibly useful, especially when Trice is about to unleash a devastating fire nuke. Interrupting the animation allows you to avoid massive damage and create openings for more attacks.

• Damage Optimization: While it’s easy to get caught up in dodging and evading, don’t forget to keep hitting. Colossal weapons are perfect for this because they have the damage to break Trice’s stance even when you’re under pressure.

Phase 3: The Final Push

When Trice reaches its final stage, things get even more chaotic. The boss will split again into three wolves, each launching coordinated attacks. Additionally, it will attempt to merge into one giant beast capable of unleashing a devastating AoE explosion.

Solo Strategy for Phase 3

• Stay Aggressive but Smart: You want to stay aggressive in this phase, but don’t go all-in. Use your dark-infused weapons to keep breaking Trice’s poise, but be ready to evade at a moment’s notice.

• Break Its Stance: Prioritize getting in as many stance-breaking hits as you can. A staggered Trice in this phase is vulnerable and can’t perform its AoE attacks.

Duo Strategy for Phase 3

• Final Aggro Swap: In this phase, it’s crucial that both players swap aggro frequently to avoid being overwhelmed by Trice’s fire breath and chain attacks. One player can focus on hitting the left or right side, as the boss’s weak points are located there.

• Use Dark Damage to the Fullest: The more dark-infused damage you can dish out, the better. Colossal holy weapons will work here, too, but remember: dark is especially effective in breaking Trice’s resistance.

Tips and Tricks for the Gladius Dark Damage Build

• Affinity Buffs: Make sure to equip relics that increase your dark damage affinity and attack power. This is especially crucial for the solo run, where any advantage you can get will make the difference.

• Stamina and Health: In both solo and duo modes, stamina and health buffs are paramount. The Trice’s AoE and fire attacks will drain you fast, so try to keep your health at maximum and manage your stamina effectively.

• Timing Is Everything: If you want to beat Trice without getting caught by its devastating attacks, timing your evade rolls and counterattacks will be essential. Patience is the key in this fight.

Conclusion

Defeating the Everdark Sovereign Trice in Elden Ring is no small feat, but with the Gladius dark damage build, you’ll have a powerful set of tools at your disposal to bring this beast down. Whether you’re facing it alone or with a friend, using the right strategy, weapons, and relics will ensure your success.

Remember, timing, positioning, and constant aggression are the keys to winning this fight. Good luck, and may your dark-infused weapons strike true!

FAQ for Gladius Dark Damage Build: Conquering the Everdark Sovereign Trice in Elden Ring

1. What is the best weapon for the Gladius dark damage build?
For the Gladius dark damage build, we recommend using colossal weapons like the Envoy’s Longhorn or other dark-infused greatswords. These weapons provide high damage output and are excellent for breaking Trice’s poise.

2. How do I effectively manage aggro in a duo fight?
In duo fights, take turns managing aggro. One player should tank the boss while the other deals damage. Use abilities like Totem Stella to interrupt Trice’s most dangerous attacks, such as the fire nuke.

3. What’s the best strategy for solo players?
In solo play, focus on dodging to manage the multi-target environment of the wolves. Keep the boss at one side of the area, and use dark-infused colossal weapons to break its poise and stagger the boss.

4. What relics should I use for the Gladius dark damage build?
Equip relics that boost dark damage affinity, physical attack power, and stamina recovery. These buffs help you deal more damage and maintain better stamina during the fight.

5. When does Trice enter the final phase?
Trice enters its final phase when it reaches about 25% of its health. In this phase, it will split into three wolves again and unleash even more devastating fire-based attacks and AoE damage.

6. How can I deal with the AoE attacks in Phase 2 and 3?
The key to surviving Trice’s AoE attacks is staying mobile. Use i-frames during your attacks to avoid damage and Totem Stella to stagger Trice when it's about to perform its AoE nuke.

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