How to defeat Adan, Thief of Fire in Elden Ring

Imprisoned in the Malefactors Evergaol on the southern coast of Liurnia of the Lakes, Adan, Thief of Fire, holds one of the flashiest spells in Elden Ring: Flame of the Fell God. As an NPC boss, Adan deals an unreasonable amount of damage with all of his attacks, and if either his Flame of the Fell God or O, Flame! spells connect, you’re in for some pain.

Adan doesn’t have phases in the traditional Elden Ring sense, but swaps between two styles of fighting: magic and melee. If you’re at middle-range or farther from him, he’ll frequently cast Flame of the Fell God.

Avoiding the spell is pretty easy. Let it come to you and when it flashes brighter orange alongside a unique audio cue, wait about two seconds, then roll away. The explosion is somewhat delayed following the sound and flash, and the AoE is larger than you’d expect.

The other spell to watch out for is Adan’s use of O, Flame! He’ll only use it when you’re right up in his face, and the fireball he creates with a snap of his fingers reaches out four or five feet in front of him and to his sides. If he catches you with the first use, he will almost always follow it up with a second cast, so roll backward as fast as you can. If you’re fighting him at level 40, a standard level for Liurnia, O, Flame! is liable to chunk your health by 60% or more.

Adan will rush you down with a Flail equipped with the Wild Strikes Ash of War when he isn’t casting magic at you. As with his other attacks, the damage is far beyond what an NPC of his level should be capable of, and even higher-level characters will take 30% of their health bar in a single swing. Flails have trash range, thankfully, so you can either out-space his swings and punish the whiffs or wait for him to start casting again. Punishing his melee attacks is probably safer overall, but he can quickly swap between Flail and O, Flame!, so watch out for that.

For defeating Adan, you’ll receive the Flame of the Fell God Incantation, which requires 41 Faith to cast. It’s not great in PvP, but with the proper setup, including the Giant’s Seal casting tool, it can do some serious damage.