Elden Ring: How To Beat Commander O’Neil

Confronting Commander O’Neil represents a critical milestone in Millicent’s extensive questline, offering substantial long-term benefits for dedicated players. While this encounter follows a more predictable pattern than many of Elden Ring’s complex boss battles, underestimating his capabilities can lead to rapid defeat, especially for under-leveled adventurers.

This strategic engagement demands careful preparation and execution, as O’Neil commands both personal combat prowess and the ability to enhance his summoned forces. Success here unlocks progression in one of the game’s most rewarding narrative threads.

For comprehensive guidance on Elden Ring’s expansive world, consult our Complete Guide covering essential mechanics and progression systems.

Veterans of FromSoftware’s signature toxic environments will immediately recognize the Aeonian Swamp’s dangers. Commander O’Neil occupies the Heart of Aeonia, positioned centrally within this hazardous zone. Reaching him safely requires careful route planning rather than direct traversal.

Avoid the fatal mistake of charging directly through the swamp from the western approach. This route triggers an invasion by Millicent, who will aggressively attack and likely knock you into the poisonous waters, resulting in almost certain death. Instead, employ the strategic northern circumnavigation path.

Follow the swamp’s northern perimeter to locate the Sellia Under-Stair site of grace. From this secure position, travel southwest to discover Inner Aeonia grace, situated just north of the boss arena. This approach provides safe passage while establishing optimal positioning for the upcoming confrontation.

Strategic positioning at Inner Aeonia provides optimal boss fight access and quick respawn capability.

From Inner Aeonia, continue southwest around the Heart of Aeonia’s perimeter. You’ll encounter a secure landing featuring both a Stake of Marika and summoning pool effigy. This location serves as your primary engagement point, enabling efficient player summons and rapid re-engagement following defeat.

When initiating the encounter, O’Neil immediately summons four spectral soldiers armed with crossbows. Your initial response should be swift and decisive: mount Torrent without delay and systematically eliminate these ranged threats while evading the commander’s attacks.

O’Neil’s deliberate movement speed creates strategic opportunities. Lure him toward one arena edge, then utilize Torrent’s speed to rapidly reposition and dispatch his reinforcements. This divide-and-conquer approach proves highly effective against his tactical formation.

Time becomes your critical resource during this phase. O’Neil possesses the ability to significantly enhance his minions’ combat capabilities, boosting both their offensive power and defensive resilience. If these buffs activate, the encounter difficulty escalates dramatically, potentially overwhelming unprepared combatants.

For optimal weapon selection against this specific encounter, reference our detailed Weapons Unlock guide for damage type recommendations.

Advanced players should focus on interrupting O’Neil’s buff casting animations. These provide brief vulnerability windows where aggressive attacks can prevent his minions from receiving combat enhancements. Mastering this timing significantly reduces encounter difficulty.

Common strategic errors include underestimating the crossbow soldiers’ collective damage output and failing to manage arena positioning effectively. Many players fall victim to focusing exclusively on O’Neil while his reinforcements gradually overwhelm them from multiple angles.

Optimal character builds for this encounter emphasize mobility and burst damage. Classes specializing in swift strikes and evasion techniques, as detailed in our Class Guide, typically achieve superior results against this particular enemy composition.

Equipment preparation should include resistance to rot buildup and tools for managing multiple targets simultaneously. Area-of-effect abilities prove particularly valuable for controlling the battlefield and neutralizing grouped enemies efficiently.

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