Adan, Thief of Fire is a chunky fire mage that makes you feel as though Elden Ring is trolling you throughout the entire fight. While he is not overly difficult, he fights like a cheap player and can prove difficult at first. Adan Thief of Fire can be found in the Malefactor’s Evergaol, similar to the Crucible Knight and Ancient Hero of Zamor.
Reaching Malefactor’s Evergaol
The Malefactor Evergaol location is very close to the Lake-Facing Cliffs Site of Grace. If you teleport to that Site of Grace, you can take the road down the cliff that leads you past an enemy camp full of warriors.
Once you are past the camp you will be led into Liurnia of the Lakes. There will be a merchant selling Astrologer gear next to the Site of Grace. If you look up at the cliff next to the site of grace you will see an item on the cliff, The Sacrificial Branch. If you Skyrim your way up the side of the cliff, you will get the branch, and a bit more trudging will get you to the Malefactor Evergaol.
If you do not care about the item and have no desire to frustratingly trial and error your way up the cliffs, there is another way. Ride Torrent around the same mountain cliffs and make a left turn you will see a wind vortex. Have Torrent jump into the vortex to ride it safely to Malefactor Evergaol.
The center of the stone ruin will be glowing purple and you can enter into the Evergaol to begin your fight with Adan. The fire thief fights like a cheap multiplayer spammer and you will see that soon enough. He only has one strategy with a few different combos to go along with it.
How to Beat Adan, Thief of Fire in Elden Ring
First, Adan will always use his spell Flame of the Fell God to conjure a massive fireball that will track you for a bit then explode. If you insist on staying away from him, he will conjure several of them and then proceed to rush you. This will force you to either retreat or attempt to confront him and risk having the fireball explode on you. Getting hit with the fireball is a death sentence, especially as a low-level player.
If you get too close to Adan, he will begin to use the Catch Flame spell to blast you away. He also fights with a morning star which he will use to deal some unequal damage. Some of his basic strikes will barely hurt you while some of his heavy strikes will get close to finishing you in one blow.
His two combo is a double light swing followed by a lunging heavy strike and a combo where he light attacks in front of him around 8 times before ending with a heavy attack. Finally, to top it all off, Adan has a healing flask and will use it at around 40% health unless you prevent him from drinking it. This is difficult to do as he will usually conjure a fireball for protection and then heal himself.
Defeating Adan Thief of Fire with Melee
Adan, Thief of Fire is annoying but defeating him can be fairly simple if you play patiently. The good thing about this fight is that the boss is easily stunned. Most attacks will stun him out of his own and will allow you to get off plenty of good combos. That said, if Adan has cast the fireball you will need to retreat away from him as it will explode, potentially instakilling you.
The most effective strategy is to start with attacking Adan relentlessly when he first spawns. Because he is easily stunned, you will most likely be able to knock most of his health down. From here, play on the defensive. Run away from his fireball and do not linger too close in order to avoid the Catch Flame spell.
The ideal time to strike is when Adan begins his long-winded morning star combo. Get close to him to trigger his heavy strike and back up to avoid it. (You DO NOT need to dodge roll it as it is easily telegraphed). Once he does that, begin a barrage of attacks and when he recovers fall back. Rinse and repeat this to victory.
Defeating Adan Thief of Fire with Magic
Adan is very good at dodging long-ranged magic and he can opt-out of most attacks, so trying to catch him off guard won’t work. With that said, the best strategy is to use his own spell against him, Catch Flame. Despite being a fire mage, Adan is still very weak to fire magic. At the start of the battle, blast him continuously with the spell. He will not be fast enough to escape and you will be able to do tons of damage until you run out of magic. It is even possible to simply win the fight this way as the spell will continuously stun him until your stop spamming the spell.
If Adan gets away, fall back and repeat the above strategy. If you want to use long-ranged magic, the best way to make sure it lands is to wait for him to use his Fell God spell. It is less likely for him to opt-out of using that spell than any of his other attacks.
No matter what strategy you use, note that it is best to remember that being patient will win the fight. Do not put yourself in danger in order to rush Adan when he tries to heal. It is best just to let him use the one flask and whittle him back down.
Once felled, the fire mage will leave behind the Flame of the Fell God. This new spell will give you the ability to conjure the large flame bomb which Adan used against you the entire boss fight. It is an incredibly formidable spell that can only be wielded by Tarnished with a high Faith skill.
Elden Ring is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
