You've seen them. Those towering, terrifying silhouettes in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC that move with a grace no creature that size should have. The Black Knights are basically the "Vibe Check" of Messmer’s army. They look like they crawled out of a heavy metal album cover from 1984, dripping in gold-etched black iron and smelling of—well, according to the item descriptions, a "rotten odor." Gross. But hey, in Elden Ring, looking cool is half the battle.
Getting your hands on the black knight armor isn't as straightforward as just picking it up off a corpse in a scripted location. It's a grind. A real, soul-crushing, "why has he dropped his sixth smithing stone and no pants" kind of grind.
Where to Find the Black Knight Armor (The Easy Way)
If you're looking for the full set, don't bother wandering aimlessly through the Scadu Altus. You need a dedicated farming spot. Most people head straight to Castle Ensis. It's the most logical place because the grace is right there, and the Knight is literally begging to be backstabbed.
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Go to the Castle Ensis Checkpoint site of grace. If you turn around and head back toward the entrance, there’s a lone Black Knight patrolling the path. He’s relatively easy to bait. Honestly, if you have a colossal weapon, just pancaking him with a jump attack usually does the trick.
- The Scadu Altus West Method: This one is actually faster if you're on a PC or console with quick load times. North of the Scadu Altus West grace, there's a mounted Black Knight. Knocking him off his horse leads to a guaranteed critical hit. It's a ten-second loop.
- The Shadow Keep Plaza: If you’re feeling masochistic, the Main Gate Plaza in Shadow Keep has several of these guys. It’s a target-rich environment, but you’re much more likely to get swarmed and lose your runes.
The drop rate is roughly 3% per piece. That’s low. If you aren't using the Silver Scarab talisman or popping a Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot, you're going to be there for an hour. Minimum. I’ve seen people go 40 kills without a single drop. It’s RNG at its finest.
Why Everyone Wants This Set
Aside from the fact that it looks incredible, the black knight armor occupies a very specific niche in the weight-to-protection ratio. It’s categorized as heavy armor, but it doesn't feel like you're wearing a literal mountain.
The total weight of the set is 32.7. For comparison, the standard Knight Set you buy at the Roundtable Hold is about 25.3. You’re trading a bit of mobility for significantly better Holy damage negation and a Poise stat of 60.
Why does 60 Poise matter? In Elden Ring, 51 is the "magic number" for PvE. It lets you take a hit from most standard enemies without flinching. 60 gives you that extra cushion against faster, multi-hit attacks that would otherwise stun-lock you into oblivion. Plus, the Holy resistance is a godsend for some of the DLC’s late-game bosses who love to spam golden rays of death.
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The Stats (At a Glance)
- Physical Negation: 28.5
- Holy Negation: 22.7 (This is the standout stat)
- Robustness: 150 (Great for resisting Frostbite and Bleed)
- Total Weight: 32.7
The Lore: Why are they "Black" Knights?
Kinda confusingly, these aren't the same as the Black Knights from Dark Souls. Those guys were charred by the First Flame. These guys are Messmer’s elite.
The lore suggests they were originally Marika’s personal force. Their leader, Commander Andreas, was actually a big deal. He and his son Hugh were masters of the Crucible—that primal, chaotic energy that preceded the Erdtree. If you look closely at the armor, you’ll see the golden engravings are actually Scadutree motifs.
Here’s the kicker: Andreas eventually betrayed Messmer. He found out a "haunting secret" about the Impaler—basically that Messmer has a giant snake living inside him—and decided he didn't want to play for that team anymore. Messmer threw him in a hole for it. When you wear this armor, you’re basically wearing the uniform of a disgraced, exiled army that’s been slaughtering people in the shadow lands for centuries.
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Don't Forget the Weapons
While you’re farming the black knight armor, you might notice they carry some pretty sweet hardware. These aren't random drops; they come from specific NPCs.
- Black Steel Greathammer: Guaranteed drop from the knight in the Church of Consolation (southeast Gravesite Plain). It has a unique guard counter that creates a holy shockwave. It's basically a Paladin's dream.
- Black Steel Twinblade: This one is held by a knight in the camp north of the Church of the Crusade. It scales incredibly well with Faith if you slap a Sacred infusion on it.
- Black Steel Greatshield: You get this from Black Knight Garrew at Fog Rift Fort. It has 100% physical negation and very high Holy negation.
Is it Worth the Grind?
Honestly, yeah. Most of the armor in the DLC is either weirdly "fleshy" or just cloth. Finding a solid, traditional knight set that doesn't look like a rusted bucket is rare. The black knight armor fits that "Dark Paladin" aesthetic perfectly.
If you’re struggling to get it to drop, respec into Arcane. Go to Rennala, pump your Discovery stat to 200+, and you’ll get the full set in 15 minutes. You can always switch back afterward. It beats killing the same guy at Castle Ensis 100 times while listening to a podcast.
To maximize your chances, make sure you have the Silver Scarab equipped. It’s found in the Hidden Path to the Haligtree (base game). If you combine that with a Silver Horn Tender (the DLC version of the fowl foot), your discovery stat will skyrocket. Start at the Castle Ensis Checkpoint, kill the knight, rest, and repeat. If he doesn't drop a piece within 10 tries, restart your game—sometimes the RNG feels like it gets "stuck."
Once you have the set, try pairing the chest piece with the Oathseeker Knight Helm. The gold accents match almost perfectly, and it gives you a slightly more "noble" look if you're tired of the tattered cape on the standard Black Knight helm.
Next Steps: Head to the Church of Consolation first to grab the Greathammer so you have a heavy-hitter for farming. Then, travel to the Castle Ensis Checkpoint and focus on the lone knight until the chest piece drops; it’s the hardest part of the set to get.