Gravelord Nito

Description

Gravelord Nito, First of the Dead, is one of the four beings who found the Souls of Lords within the flame. He administers the death of all life, and offered much of the energy of his own soul to death itself. He, along with the other Lords (Gwyn, The Witch of Izalith and Seath the Scaleless) waged war against the Dragons, unleashing a miasma of death and disease upon them. When the Age of Fire began, he ventured deep underground.

He acts as a god of death and disease, and is the master of the Gravelord Servant covenant. The player can join this covenant by interacting with Nito, but killing him (which is mandatory) will not break the covenant.

Location

Tomb of the Giants
After the Pinwheel Servant area.

Playthrough HP Souls
First 4,317 60,000
NG+ 7,076 120,000
NG+6 8,845 150,000

Drops

Notes

  • He is the only covenant master that must die in order to finish the playthrough. Killing him doesn't break the Gravelord Servant covenant, but you can't upgrade its level until the next playthrough.
  • Gravelord Nito cannot be harmed when you access him by using the catacombs' coffin next to the titanite demon. However, you can find the Paladin Set and your bloodstain (if you died while fighting him) and can still join the Gravelord Servant covenant provided he was not killed.

Attack Patterns

  • Slam - Raises his weapon above his head, then slams down in front of him.
  • Horizontal Swing - Swings his sword horizontally, does not connect at extreme close range.
  • Miasma - Curls up and begins to glow, then after a brief time releases a shockwave that deals high damage and will at the very least stagger you.
  • Grab - Raises his hand and attempts to grab you dealing high damage, alternating shoulder buttons will reduce duration and damage.
  • Gravelord Sword - Screams and raises his sword, then thrusts it into the ground to summon a single Gravelord Sword from beneath you causing knockup and heavy Toxic status.

Strategies

Upon entering the area you will be attacked by three Skeletons, a Divine weapon is recommended for killing them so they do not interfere with your fight. Additionally there are three Giant Skeletons at the other end of the arena that will not engage unless you approach them, these can be ignored as long as you don't venture too far. Any remaining at the end of the fight will permanently die as you kill Nito.

The recommended approach is to kill the three skeletons and wait for Nito to come to you, then fight him in the small area you landed in. You should still be able to run far enough to escape his miasma without pulling the three Giant Skeletons.

An alternative, if you don't have better rings to use, is to equip the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring AND the Ring of Fog which will prevent any skeletons from attacking you as long as you don't get too close. This does reduce your effective arena in which to duel Nito however.
Occasionally with this method, Nito becomes unable to escape the ring of skeletons around him, and will constantly walk into them, unable to reach you. This allows you to position yourself close enough that the skeletons won't notice you while still able to shoot arrows or spells at him, and the only attack he is able to use is Gravelord Sword. Provided enough healing items are present, and enough arrows or spells, it is incredibly simple to take him down.

For NG plus, if you have havels shield and a heavy weapon, you can stand in front of him, let him attack and be able to withstand his hits. This will make him kill his own servants and allow you to hit him a few times before he attacks again and before his servants come back alive. Rinse and repeat. This is recommended for tank characters though. Be sure to have quite a few high healing items(20 estus fully upgraded, divine blessing, humanity, Elizabeth's mushroom, etc.)

Dodging and Blocking

  • With high poise (such as using Havel's Set or Iron Flesh) most of his attacks will have no effect with the exception of his grab and miasma attacks, which should be avoided. His Gravelord Sword attack will still knock you up but he will not use it once you are up against him. You can watch a video here.
  • For medium builds, a shield with high magic resist is recommended to block his miasma. Poise will assist with blocking his sword attacks, and his grab needs to be avoided. Staying right up against him should prevent you from being staggered if you are hit.
  • Light builds should have little trouble rolling or even side stepping all his attacks except the Gravelord Sword and miasma.

The Gravelord Sword is easy to roll through if you can see Nito's hand, otherwise you'll need to time it according to the sound (which is hard) or simply sprint (which is inconsistent) and hope that he misses.

If timed correctly, Nito's shockwave can be cancelled while drinking an Estus Flask. Try this as a last resort if he has you pinned against a wall, otherwise it can easily be run from. The visual extends further than the actual area of effect so don't be worried if you're caught at the edge.

Melee

Being in melee range will cause Nito to primarily use his sword attacks, with an occasional grab and miasma. Avoid getting tied into long attack animations to give you time to react and try to stay behind him. Note that being right up against him will cause most of his attacks to miss or do very little damage.

To gain cumulative damage, Quelaag's Furysword deals good fire damage with fast attacks.

Ranged

Nito moves very slowly so when using ranged attacks you only need to worry about his miasma, Gravelord Sword, and running into the Giant Skeletons.

Pyromancy is also an option to consider, preferably Great Combustion, as being in medium range will put you at high risk of his sword attacks.

The Great Lightning Spear miracle is very effective and on NG should require about ten uses to kill him. Having a few casts of Lightning Spear in reserve is recommended should any further damage be required. Sorceries are all very effective but visiting The Duke's Archives first is recommended.

Bugs

It is possible to have Nito throw you into the rock formations in the center of the room, right in front of where you drop down. While hard to do, it will cause you to stay in a falling animation and performing the plunge attack. Every time he moves near you, he will take damage and can be staggered. You can still die here but his attacks seem to do less damage. You will have to save and quit after killing him to get out of the position.

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