Dark Souls - Gravelord Nito boss strategy

How to tackle Gravelord Nito in Dark Souls.

Guide by Sayem Ahmed Contributor

Updated on 19 Oct 2018

Gravelord Nito is the boss fight after exploring Tomb of the Giants in Dark Souls.

If you're looking for more help, our Dark Souls walkthrough and guide can help with all other areas of the game, including the dreaded Taurus Demon, Capra Demon, Ornstein and Smough bosses.

Gravelord Nito boss strategy

This is your first of the four Lord Bosses, so be sure to have your items fully equipped and repaired to take this one on. Immediately upon entering, you will be charged by several skeletons, if you have a divine weapon- use it, as they will not come back later on in the fight. Then, Nito will awake and start lurching towards you.

We would recommend to go full-tank for this fight in order to just hit through most of his attacks. That means equipping Havel's Set for this fight if you want to tank through most of Nito's hits. Upon entering and dealing with the 3 skeletons, Nito will attack with the gravelord sword and summon it underneath you, watch out for the tell here, which is a scream- so for this one maybe disable the music.

Then, Nito will also have a Slam attack, which can also deal some nasty damage. Equip a 100% Physical shield and get some high poise armour to defend through it, as it also leaves him quite open for a counterattack, where you want to two-hand your weapon for a bit of extra damage. The best place to fight him is actually where you landed, so stay in this open area as it allows you to get away from one of Nito's most devastating attacks- the Miasma.

The tell for the Miasma is that he will retract into a ball- as soon as you see him starting to charge this attack up, be sure to run away and defend while facing him in order to block it. Stay to the edge and rush back in, as the blast will have gotten rid of any Skeletons on the way. However, you also want to be aware of another devastating attack from Nito - the grab.

Nito will grab you after raising his hand, doing immense damage. You want to try to dodge or get out of the way as soon as you see him lift his hand. In addition to this, you want to mash the shoulder buttons as he grabs you in order to get out of the grab a bit sooner.

Be sure to have pretty much every healing item you have equipped for this fight, Nito has a ton of HP, and is able to counterattack very quickly. That means you will want to equip any Divine Blessings you have, in addition to any Humanity. Remember, any "hard" humanity you have will also restore your health when you use it, though it does take a little longer than an Estus Flask or Divine Blessing.

Back to the fight-Nito will also get a slashing attack that deals a fair bit of damage- if you have a light roll or can tank through it you should have no problem. Once you know them, Nito's attacks are easily manageable. Where an issue could arise is DPS.

If you're looking for more help, our Dark Souls walkthrough and guide can help with all other areas of the game, including the dreaded Taurus Demon, Capra Demon, Ornstein and Smough bosses. Meanwhile, we have explainers on how to access DLC Artorias of the Abyss, the best gift and best class in Dark Souls, Dark Souls' best weapons, Dark Souls Covenants, Dark Souls Estus Flasks locations, Dark Souls Titanite Slab locations and NPC quests including Lautrec of Carim.

He's got a ton of health, meaning that you might have to fight a little bit differently than you're used to. You will be wanting to two-hand your weapon at any possible opportunity when you know you're not facing immediate attack to do a healthy bit of extra damage. If you have Great Magic Weapon equipped with a catalyst, you will also be able to buff your attacks even further. Use all these tactics to make this long fight end a bit sooner.

Once he's down, head to the top corner where he spawned to light a bonfire and warp straight outta there!