The Ultimate Guide: Best Spirit Ashes for Commander O’Neil in Elden Ring

The best spirit ash to use against Commander O’Neil in Elden Ring is without a doubt the Mimic Tear Ash. Its ability to summon a copy of your character, wielding the same weapons and spells, allows it to effectively distract O’Neil, deal significant damage, and synergize with your own playstyle. This provides a major advantage in a fight that can be challenging due to O’Neil’s large area-of-effect attacks and summoning of spectral soldiers.

Understanding the Commander O’Neil Encounter

Before diving into spirit ash specifics, let’s dissect why Commander O’Neil is a tough opponent and how spirit ashes can help. O’Neil is found in the Aeonia Swamp in Caelid, guarding the path to the Inner Aeonia site of grace and access to Millicent’s questline. He’s notorious for:

• Rot Infliction: His spear attacks, particularly his sweeping attacks, quickly build up the Scarlet Rot status effect, which deals devastating damage over time.
• Area-of-Effect Attacks: He frequently performs wide sweeps with his spear, covering a large area and making close-quarters combat risky.
• Summoning Allies: He regularly summons spectral soldiers, adding to the chaos and pressure in the fight.

Therefore, the ideal spirit ash should possess the following qualities:

• High Survivability: Able to withstand O’Neil’s powerful attacks and the rot buildup.
• Good Damage Output: Contributing meaningfully to depleting O’Neil’s health bar.
• Distraction Capability: Drawing O’Neil’s attention away from the player.

Why Mimic Tear Dominates

The Mimic Tear Ash excels in all these areas. When summoned, it creates a clone of your character with your current equipped gear. Here’s why it’s the top choice:

• Mirrors Your Build: The Mimic Tear effectively doubles your damage output. If you’re wielding a powerful weapon or utilizing strong spells, the Mimic Tear can replicate that, turning the tide of battle.
• Adaptable AI: The Mimic Tear intelligently utilizes your equipped items and spells, applying buffs, dodging attacks, and dealing damage. It’s far more adaptable than many other spirit ashes, allowing for effective synergy.
• High Health Pool: The Mimic Tear has a significant health pool, allowing it to withstand a good amount of damage from O’Neil and his spectral allies.
• Excellent Distraction: With two targets on the field, O’Neil will be forced to divide his attention, creating openings for you to attack and heal.

How to Optimize the Mimic Tear:

• Equip your strongest weapon and relevant buffs before summoning the Mimic Tear. What you have equipped is what your Mimic Tear will utilize.
• Consider reducing your equipment load. The Mimic Tear’s mobility is affected by your equip load at the time of summoning. Lighter equip load leads to more agile Mimic Tear.
• Use healing spells or items to keep the Mimic Tear alive, prolonging its effectiveness.

Other Viable Spirit Ash Options

While the Mimic Tear is the best, other spirit ashes can also be effective against Commander O’Neil, especially if you don’t have the Mimic Tear or prefer a different playstyle.

• Black Knife Tiche: A strong offensive spirit ash with high mobility and health. Black Knife Tiche deals percentage-based health damage and dodges attacks effectively. Its Black Blade weapon also reduces the target’s maximum HP and prevents healing.
• Lhutel the Headless: A tanky spirit ash with good defensive capabilities and the ability to teleport, making it difficult for O’Neil to pin down. Lhutel can draw aggro effectively and provides a good distraction.
• Kristoff, Stormcaller Knight: A resilient spirit ash with high poise and the ability to use lightning incantations. Kristoff can withstand a lot of damage and provides ranged support.
• Oleg: A dual-wielding spirit ash that deals significant stagger damage. Oleg can interrupt O’Neil’s attacks and provides a good offensive presence.

Considerations for Alternative Spirit Ashes:

• Level: Ensure the spirit ash is appropriately leveled to increase its health and damage output.
• Playstyle: Choose a spirit ash that complements your own playstyle. If you prefer to stay at range, a ranged spirit ash like Azula Beastman might be a better choice. If you prefer to be aggressive, a spirit ash like Oleg could be more suitable.
• Scarlet Rot Resistance: Consider spirit ashes with inherent resistance to Scarlet Rot or the ability to cleanse it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Where do I find the Mimic Tear Ash?

The Mimic Tear Ash is found in Nokron, Eternal City, specifically in the Night’s Sacred Ground area after defeating Radahn, Festival of War. You’ll need to use a Stonesword Key to access the area where it’s located.

2. How do I upgrade my Spirit Ashes?

Spirit Ashes are upgraded by talking to Roderika at the Roundtable Hold after completing a portion of her questline. She’ll ask Master Hewg to help her become a spirit tuner. You’ll then use Grave Glovewort and Ghost Glovewort to upgrade them.

3. What are Grave Glovewort and Ghost Glovewort used for?

Grave Glovewort is used to upgrade standard spirit ashes, while Ghost Glovewort is used to upgrade legendary spirit ashes. These materials can be found throughout the game, primarily in catacombs and graveyards.

4. Is Commander O’Neil weak to any particular damage type?

Commander O’Neil is generally resistant to most damage types, but he is slightly weaker to Fire and Physical damage, especially Strike damage.

5. What level should my character be before fighting Commander O’Neil?

It’s recommended to be around level 60-70 before tackling Commander O’Neil. This will give you sufficient health, stamina, and damage output to survive the encounter.

6. How do I cure Scarlet Rot?

You can cure Scarlet Rot using items like Preserving Boluses or by casting the Flame, Cleanse Me incantation.

7. What are some good weapons to use against Commander O’Neil?

Weapons that deal high Physical or Fire damage are effective. Greatswords, Colossal Weapons, and weapons with fire-based Ashes of War can be particularly useful. Some popular choices include the Bloodhound’s Fang, the Greatsword, and weapons infused with the Flame Art affinity.

8. How do I acquire Black Knife Tiche?

Black Knife Tiche is obtained by defeating Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader at the Ringleader’s Evergaol in Liurnia of the Lakes.

9. Can I summon spirit ashes in every boss fight?

No, you can only summon spirit ashes in areas where the spirit calling bell icon is visible on the left side of the screen. This icon indicates that summoning is allowed in that location.

10. What stats should I focus on for a build that uses the Mimic Tear?

Focus on the stats that complement your chosen weapon and playstyle. Typically, this includes Vigor for health, Endurance for stamina and equip load, and Strength or Dexterity depending on your weapon. If you’re using spells, invest in Intelligence or Faith, along with Mind for FP.

11. Does the Mimic Tear have the same Flask usage as me?

Yes, the Mimic Tear uses its own Flasks during the fight. It can use both Crimson Tears for healing and Cerulean Tears for FP restoration. The number of Flasks it has available is determined by the number you have equipped when you summon it.

12. Can I respec my stats in Elden Ring?

Yes, you can respec your stats by using a Larval Tear after defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon at the Academy of Raya Lucaria.

13. What are some tips for avoiding Scarlet Rot?

• Dodge effectively: Avoid getting hit by O’Neil’s attacks to minimize rot buildup.
• Increase Robustness: Robustness is a stat that increases your resistance to status effects. You can increase your Robustness by equipping armor with high Robustness or by using talismans like the Immunizing Horn Charm.
• Use the Flame, Cleanse Me incantation: This incantation can quickly cleanse Scarlet Rot.

14. Is Commander Niall harder than Commander O’Neil?

Generally, Commander Niall, located in Castle Sol, is considered more challenging than Commander O’Neil. Niall has a wider array of attacks, including powerful lightning strikes, and summons more powerful spectral knights.

15. Can I use the same spirit ashes for other bosses?

Absolutely! Many of the spirit ashes mentioned here are effective against a variety of bosses in Elden Ring. Experiment with different spirit ashes to find what works best for each encounter and your playstyle. Mimic Tear, Black Knife Tiche, and Lhutel the Headless are universally useful spirit ashes.

By understanding Commander O’Neil’s attack patterns, choosing the right spirit ash, and optimizing your character build, you can overcome this challenging encounter and progress further in Elden Ring. Good luck, Tarnished!