Once you’ve taken down the first Nightlord in Elden Ring Nightreign, you can jump into the other Expeditions in whatever order you want. A lot of players are getting stuck on the Sentient Pest Expedition because Gnoster, Wisdom of Night, keeps wiping their squads with its magic-heavy attacks at the end.
Gnoster isn’t the toughest boss in Nightreign, but this pesky moth can shred unprepared groups if you don’t pick up the right gear in the first two days of the Expedition. Even with weapons and items that hit Gnoster’s weak spots, the fight tests your patience with a barrage of magical projectiles and a super aggressive melee brute protecting the moth the whole time. This guide has everything you need to beat Gnoster and clear the Sentient Pest Expedition in Elden Ring Nightreign.
How to Beat Gnoster, Wisdom of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign
The Sentient Pest Expedition’s description drops some early clues about how to tackle Gnoster. You’re dealing with two enemies in the final fight: a moth and “living shears.” They share one health bar, so your team can split them up to make things easier in the first phase. The description also mentions poison and “a parasite that cannot be removed alone,” which hints at a key mechanic in the fight.
Despite the spooky setup, the boss fight against Gnoster, Wisdom of Night, is pretty manageable once you know what’s coming. The moth sticks to ranged magic attacks, while the shears come at you with aggressive melee swings. They start off separate, but in the second phase, they team up, so you need to be ready for both attack styles. Here’s what you need to keep in mind when prepping for the Sentient Pest boss fight in Elden Ring Nightreign.
Best Characters for Beating Gnoster
You can take down Gnoster with any of the game’s eight Nightfarers, but ranged damage is a must for this fight. The moth spends most of its time in the air, so arrows or magic are your best bet. Ironeye and Recluse are the top picks for the Sentient Pest Expedition, and it’s smart to have one player pick a tanky melee character like Raider to keep the shears busy while the ranged players focus on the moth.
Gnoster, Wisdom of Night Weaknesses
Gnoster takes extra damage from fire. Want an easier win? Light that bug up. That’s why Ironeye and Recluse shine here—Recluse can grab staves with strong fire spells, and Ironeye can find weapons like the Harp Bow with built-in fire damage. The Relic from beating Tricephalos in the first Expedition also adds fire damage to your starting weapon, which cuts down on gear hunting stress.
To get ready, hit up every point of interest with a flame icon during the first two days of the Expedition. Check the map’s detailed info to see exactly what gear is at each spot. Pick a weapon you like, head to a village to boost it with a Smithing Stone, then farm Runes to level up and hunt for items with passives that fit your build.
Gnoster is also easy to stagger, especially in the first phase. Bring a Greatbow, and you can knock the moth out of the sky a few times before it switches to phase two.
Phase One
In the first phase, the moth flies around, firing magical projectiles at your group while the shears go after anyone nearby with slow, heavy attacks. Ranged players should hammer the moth with arrows or spells (fire ones if you’ve got them). Melee players should pull the shears away from the group. This phase lasts until Gnoster’s health drops to about 60%.
If you’re the one distracting the shears, grab items during the Expedition that make enemies more likely to target you.
The moth isn’t too scary in this phase. Its main attack shoots three pairs of orbs at one Nightfarer, with a slight delay between the second and third pair. You can dodge-roll through them, but pause a second before dodging the last pair to avoid getting hit by the delay. The moth also has a big area-of-effect attack where magic bolts rain down from above. Sprinting away and rolling usually keeps you safe.
Like other Nightreign Nightlords, the moth has a grab attack that can one-shot most players if their health isn’t beefed up. If you see the moth weaving side to side, get ready to dodge. The moth’s poison attack is another thing to watch. It’ll spread purple poison clouds across the arena. If your poison meter fills up, a parasite pops up on your head—yep, that’s the “cannot be removed alone” part. Your teammates need to smack it off you.
The shears are simpler in this phase. They’ve got a roar like the Grafted Scion from Elden Ring that hits hard if you’re too close, so be ready to bolt. Otherwise, they’ll try to bite anyone in front of them or slam their legs for an area attack. Watch for their digging move—they’ll burrow underground and pop up somewhere else, so track the sand to see where they’re going. They’ll also harden their skin sometimes, giving you a window to focus on the moth.
Phase Two
In the second phase, the moth lands on the shears, and they combine into one enemy. Good news: you only have to track one target now. Bad news: they get some nasty new attacks. The moth will fire off powerful light beams that target Nightfarers directly. Sprint like crazy to dodge these, but don’t crash into your teammates. Getting hit by one usually means you’re done.
Gnoster will also mark a random Nightfarer with a red dot. The shears will chase that player while the moth shoots blue orbs all over the arena. These orbs can hit anyone, not just the targeted player, so stay alert. To dodge, sprint to the side of the shears and roll if any orbs come your way. The attack ends with the shears slamming the ground in a big area attack, so everyone should keep their distance.
From here, Gnoster just cycles through its attacks until the fight ends. Watch for poison clouds, save teammates from parasites, and don’t let the shears catch you while you’re dodging the moth’s projectiles. With the right gear, your team should wrap this up fairly quickly.
Elden Ring Nightreign Sentient Pest Rewards
Beating Gnoster, Wisdom of Night, and finishing the Sentient Pest Expedition gets you a Trace of Night, some Murk, and some strong Relics. You need Tears of Night to move forward in Elden Ring Nightreign’s main story, and Murk lets you buy items at the Small Jar Bazaar or unlock new skins at the Roundtable Hold.
The Relics are the real prize. Besides some random drops, you’ll get Night of the Wise, Gnoster’s special Relic, which is a guaranteed drop for clearing the Expedition. It boosts your Maximum FP, adds poison damage to your starting weapon, and increases your attack power when poison or rot are nearby. It’s perfect for Recluse because of the FP boost, but the other perks make it useful against certain bosses in other Nightreign Expeditions.
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