Elden Ring Commander O'Neil Boss Guide

This guide explains how to reach and defeat Commander O’Neil in Elden Ring – attack types, boss mechanics, strategy and tips!

How to get to Commander O’Neil

Commander O’Neil is located on an island towards the middle of the scarlet swamp Aeonia in Caelid.

You can traverse through the swamp without building up Scarlet Rot so long as you are on your horse. I do not recommend traveling from the west bank of the swamp because there is an NPC invader named Millicent that will cause the game to dismount you as soon as you enter her spawn range which is slightly to the south of the Street of Sages ruins.

Commander O’Neil Mechanics and Strategy

This segment of the guide will explain all of the special attacks and moves of the boss and give you tips and recommendations on how to deal with them. If you like to, you can also check out the video walkthrough featured below. It’s from the perspective of a Spell Caster class archetype (Astrologer).

Ashes Summons

The Commander will summon his own spirit Ashes twice during the fight: once right at the beginning and again when he has around 30% HP remaining. Since O’Neil only summons Ashes twice, it’s best to defeat them immediately so you don’t have to worry about them for most of the fight. The enemies themselves seem to be the same soldiers you fight in Stormveil Castle.

Both sets of enemies spawn somewhat close together, so they are vulnerable to AoE attacks. As an Astrologer, I was able to deal with them by using Glintstone Arc. If you don’t have access to some sort of AoE, you might want to summon your own Ashes to distract them or ride around on your horse to defeat them quickly.

The first set of enemies are a mix of melee and ranged soldiers. The melee enemies wield swords while the ranged wield crossbows. They don’t have too much health, about the same as any other standard soldier enemies. I didn’t think to do it in the video, but it would be best to ignore the melee enemies and run over to the ranged adds and hit all 5 of them with your AoE attack.

The second set of enemies are 3 stronger melee soldiers that spawn in roughly the same spot as the melee soldiers did in the first round. All 3 of these soldiers use the Crescent Moon Axe. If you have a strong AoE attack, position yourself such that you’ll be able to hit all 3 of them with it. For example, with the Glintstone Arc, I wanted to stand a bit far away from them so they’d all have to come together in a line. If you have an AoE that’s centered around you, it might be better to run over to them so they kind of surround you.

O’Neil himself is fairly vulnerable while he’s summoning the enemies too, but I think it’s better to use that time to position yourself properly to deal with the Ashes and have a full stamina bar. Commander O’Neil walks pretty slowly, but you might only barely have enough time to defeat them before he gets into range to hit you and the fewer attacks he gets off, the better.

Scarlet Rot Cyclone

The boss will occasionally create a red cyclone that will cause you to build Scarlet Rot if you stand in it.

If you’re in melee range, you have to run out. The animation is quite long, so if you have any ranged attacks, it’s a great time to use those. If your build is fully focused on melee, you might want to craft some pots and throw them during this attack. Once the cyclone ends, he’ll sometimes finish it off with a huge swipe of his halberd that has longer range than the cyclone itself.

Make sure to dodge back so you don’t get hit by the blade or Scarlet Rot.

Halberd Swipe

Sometimes, the boss will swipe with his halberd even without the cyclone. I’m pointing out this attack in particular because it has quite a long range.

The only way it’s not safe to dodge is to your left because that’s the direction he’ll be swinging to.

Halberd Pick

O’Neil’s more common long-range halberd attack is one where he picks at you with the tip of the weapon. It’s super long range, so it’s probably more obnoxious to deal with as a ranged player than it might be for melee players.

Just like with the swipe, you can dodge in any direction but to your left. The best direction is probably diagonally forward and to your right so he has to turn to hit you with his longer-range attacks since you’ll be where those attacks start out.

Other Attacks and Melee Challenges

Commander O’Neil has some filler swings that he tends to use when you’re close to him that he mixes together in various ways. Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear direction to dodge in since it varies by swing. Sometimes he does swing from left to right.

This fight seems like it’s supposed to be challenging for a melee build since he does quite a lot that’s really dangerous at close range, which forces you away from him where he might surprise you with a long-range attack.

His safest spot is probably behind him, but be prepared to back away as soon as he starts the Scarlet Rot Cyclone. Thankfully, he moves very slowly, so if you need to heal, just sprint super far away from him and you should be fine.

It may also be worthwhile to just try fighting him on a horse, periodically going in for stronger attacks as opposed to trying to stay there. I’m not sure how well that will work because I didn’t need to do it as a spellcaster.

What rewards you get for defeating Commander O’Neil

Defeating Commander O’Neil gives you 12,000 Runes, the Commander’s Standard (his halberd), and Unalloyed Golden Needle.

The Commander’s Standard is a halberd with a unique skill ” Rallying Standard” that you cannot replace. It’s a boss weapon loot drop and can only be upgraded with Somber Smithing Stones.

Commander’s Standard requires 24 Strength and 14 Dexterity. Below you can see the stats of the weapon.

The Unalloyed Golden Needle must be brought to Old Sage Gowry, the guy in red robes near Sellia, for repair before it can be brought to Millicent at the Church of the Plague.

We have a full guide showing you how to unlock and explore Sellia, Town of Sorcery in Caelid. Don’t miss out on all important items and useful look in this area!

Sellia, Town of Sorcery Torch Puzzle and Item Locations Guide

You can also take a look at our tips for how to defeat Bosses in Elden Ring. This is a comprehensive collection of tips to help you beat any boss in the game.

We’ve also got a full and very detailed walkthrough for Millicent’s quest. Its ending also gives us insight into George R.R. Martin’s contributions to Elden Ring.