Found at several locations in the Lands Between, this boss has a higher than average HP pool as well as a well rounded moveset able to reach you at close, medium and longer range.
General Tips
Physical damage is more effective than elemental, and the boss is especially resistant to Holy and Fire damage.
The boss will cast Black Flame at you if you try to heal while he’s idle, so you need to wait for him to be in an attack animation to heal.
Mounted Strategy
While on Torrent, this fight should be a free win if you can be patient. All you need to do is ride just close enough for the boss to begin an attack, then ride away. While the attack is finishing up (but before it’s totally done) start riding back towards the boss and attack him once or twice. Repeat this the entire fight.
When the boss does his Black Flame attack, you can sprint and ride diagonally towards him to dodge the spell and get some damage in as well.
During Phase 2, you’ll need to ride very far away to avoid his stretchy attacks and the Black Flame Whirlwind, but otherwise the strategy remains the same. If you manage to get far enough to the side, you can ride past his Stretchy Windmill Slashes and start attacking him as he un-stretches.
Melee Strategy
The melee strategy is very similar to the mounted one, but instead of sprinting in, you will have to roll through the Black Flame and the Stretchy Windmill Slashes to then start attacking the boss. While being on foot will make it harder to dodge the boss’s attacks and you will have fewer opportunities to safely attack him, sprinting in front of the boss to bait his Black Flame, Stretchy Windmill Slashes and Leaping Strike attacks will still be a reliable strategy to defeat him.
Ranged Strategy
The way to approach this fight as a ranged character is pretty standard — use spirit ashes to tank for you while you sling spells, and then wait for openings to safely throw a spell or two. The Black Flame Whirlwind and the Leaping Strike will be the safest moments to attack from range, as long as you start casting fast enough once the boss initiates his attack, and you’re at a safe distance from him.
However, considering how big this boss’s HP pool is, it’s not unlikely that you will have to resort to using melee attacks to finish him off. If you run out of FP, make sure to follow the Melee Strategy.
Moveset
Phase 1
Black Flame – The boss summons a black flame and tosses it at you — this move is often done as a reaction to the player healing, or if the player gets far enough away.
Pommel Bash – The boss raises his weapon over his left shoulder, then bashes his target with the handle of his weapon.
Double Slash – The boss twirls his weapon once in his hand, then slashes horizontally from (your) left to right — he quickly brings the weapon around and repeats this attack.
Twirling Slash – The boss twirls his weapon behind his back, then slashes diagonally from (your) left to right.
Thrust/Pull – The boss stabs forward, then after a brief delay, yanks his weapon back towards him.
Triple Slash – The boss holds his weapon low by his side, then brings it up diagonally — after a brief delay, he spins it in his hand and then spins around twice, slashing horizontally at his target each time.
Leaping Strike – The boss jumps a short height and spins around, then brings his weapon down vertically.
Windmill Slashes – The boss sinuously weaves his weapon in front of him, then begins spinning it rapidly in a circle while walking towards his target. When it stops spinning, he does a downward slash.
Phase 2
Phase 2 begins when the boss is around 50% HP — he crosses his arms across his chest and floats into the air, then bursts alight with dark flame, doing damage in a circle around him. All of the Phase one moves remain.
Stretchy Windmill Slashes – An attack identical to the Windmill Slashes, except that the boss begins to stretch vertically as he winds it up, and then stretches towards his target once his weapon begins to spin.
Double Stretch – The boss stretches vertically and holds his weapon high, then slams it down. He then drags himself forward on his elbows and stretches forward, slashing horizontally with his weapon. The second part of the attack starts slow, but the swing itself is deceptively fast.
Flaming Stretch – The boss stretches vertically as his weapon glows with black flame. He then does two sweeping horizontal attacks from (his) right to left, with the second one coming much further out than the first.
Black Flame Whirlwind – The boss does a few fancy little moves, spinning his weapon, and it begins to glow with black flame. He holds the weapon aloft and a circle of black flame begins to form around the boss — after it finishes forming, the boss stops swinging his weapon and then brings it downwards, damaging everything within the circle of flames.
Unabashed FromSoftware fanboy still learning to take his time with games (and everything else, really). The time he doesn't spend on games is spent on music, books, or occasionally going outside.
14000
