(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

The Centipede Demon, the creep-crawly mass of heads and appendages from Dark Souls, makes a triumphant return in Elden Ring Nightreign with a slightly updated move set.

During his Elden Ring Nightreign preview, Austin fought the nostalgic demon and left with some tips to share for when you face off against it when the full game comes out May 30. The lucky few Nightreign network test players who were able to get into a stable session have also noticed a few differences that demonstrate how old Souls bosses have been adjusted for the new game. Here’s a useful video reference from Shirrako:

The Centipede Demon’s moves from Dark Souls are back, so if you’ve fought it before, you’ll generally know what you’re up against. That said, it feels a bit faster overall and there are some notable tricks up its many, many sleeves.

The Centipede Demon now leaps higher and its sweeping attacks will track you more aggressively. Whacking away at the boss’s ankles isn’t as easy as it used to be, either, as stomp and fire attacks seem to more reliably hit you when you’re directly underneath. That said, this is still a comparatively easy boss – there’s a reason it’s only an early fight in Nightreign.

The biggest change to the Centipede Demon is that its detached head-arms will squirm around and bite more aggressively. They feel like a more substantial annoyance. Make sure you deal with these things quickly – you’ll probably lop off some limbs inadvertently during the fight, and anecdotally the boss also appears to spawn them on its own – but watch out for the main demon’s fireball attack, which hits hard and seems much bigger now. It must have been training for this rematch.

Luckily, you can stagger the boss and critical hit its head, so keep up the offensive and you should beat it in no time. And you’ll thankfully fight it in a field in Nightreign, not hugging a wall by a pool of lava, so you don’t need to watch where you step. Alas, there’s no ring drop from the main severed arm anymore, though.

Players also get some new moves in Nightreign. You can riposte with a bow equipped, for one. Well, more specifically, it’s the arrow you’ll use, but if you happen to stagger the Centipede Demon with a bow out, don’t bother switching weapons. Just run up to it and pull a Legolas.