Returning Elden Ring veterans are being humbled by an early Shadow of the Erdtree boss that drops some of the best armor in the game, if you can beat the big brute

An early-game Elden Ring boss in the new Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is absolutely decimating returning players.

Be warned: very minor spoilers for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree follow!

Players can stumble upon the Shadow of the Erdtree Blackgaol Knight quite early, an entirely optional boss defending the Western Nameless Mausoleum. That the new boss is optional matters not to players who are being slaughtered en masse by the Blackgaol Knight - he's incredibly tough, dammit. 

Take a look at some of the reactions on Twitter from veteran players who have stumbled upon the Blackgaol Knight to their detriment. It's not pretty stuff - the early Shadow of the Erdtree boss is effectively reminding veteran Elden Ring players that they're in an entirely different land now. 

Blackgaol Knight is so tough that I've seen players with level 60 Vigor, the soft cap for Vigor in Elden Ring, claim that they're being killed in just two hits by the optional boss. For those unfamiliar, a "soft cap" refers to the point at which putting new skill points into a category provides diminishing returns, so it's the point at which most veteran Elden Ring players simply leave Vigor alone for good.

There are also skilled Elden Ring players on Reddit harping on about how tough the Blackgaol Knight is. In all fairness to the player below, a level 146 Tarnished absolutely isn't too low a level to be venturing into Shadow of the Erdtree, in my humble opinion, but they quickly found out that it's not enough to topple the Blackgaol Knight with ease.

Is level 146 too low of a level? I’m doing like 0 damage to this blackgoal knight from r/Eldenring

One of the things that's keeping players plugging away against the Blackgaol Knight is the fact that the boss offers one of the best Elden Ring armor sets in the entire RPG. The Solitude Armor set is a supreme outfit for heavier builds, and the Greatsword of Solitude is similarly nothing to sniff at, dishing out some heavy-hitting attacks with each swing. 

If you're looking for a helping hand in beating any bosses, or not sure who you should take on, our list of Shadow of the Erdtree main bosses in order can help.