Dark Souls - Knight Artorias boss strategy
How to tackle Knight Artorias in Dark Souls.
Knight Artorias is a boss in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC in Dark Souls after exploring Royal Wood.
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.
How to prepare for Knight Artorias
Before heading into the fight with Knight Artorias, ensure that you have armour equipped that will allow you to do the quickest roll possible, as Artorias is a notoriously difficult Boss Fight to read.
Additionally, you may want to equip a weapon that allows you to dip in and out, like a curved sword such as the Falchion or the Uchigatana. Additionally, ensure that you have some sort of weapon buff before you roll into this fight.
Elizabeth sells Gold Pine Resin, if you want to enchant to Lightning. Also, to ensure that you have consistent stamina regen, use a Royal Blossom from Chester in addition to the Grass Crest shield to ensure that you always have stamina to roll or run out of the way of Artorias' Relentless attacks.
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.
Knight Artorias boss strategy
Knight Artorias is one of the most difficult bosses in Dark Souls, so we will break down his attacks before you head into the fog gate, so you know what's coming for you. The first attack that you want to be aware of is his charging dark attack, where he will scream, and a purple aura will surround Artorias. You have two options during this boss fight.
Either you can rush in and attempt to stop him from casting this attack by interrupting him, and staggering him, or you will have to deal with an area of effect explosion and Artorias receives a buff to his attacks, making him even more deadly.
Artorias has a ranged Sludge Attack, which you do not want to get caught by, and can come out as you try to chase him down. As you approach him, Artorias may lunge at you, if you are at a distance, and you will need to roll towards his unarmed hand in order to dodge this one.
This is often followed up by his Somersault Slash, which can be repeated upto three times, and easily kill you if you dodge at the wrong moment, or in the wrong direction. Do not attempt to roll through this one, as Artorias will be able to catch it and leave you dead.
To dodge this, roll immediately to the right before he lands. This is where the Stamina management comes in handy. Do not take any risks when facing him.
Artorias has a crouching leap attack that will close distance and deal area of effect damage. To dodge this, try to run towards him or roll towards him to make him miss. The next attack is a jumping slash, which will be performed as a follow up if you land behind him.
That wraps it up in terms of Artorias' attacks. As you might be able to tell, your shield won't really be handy for this fight, as blocking his attacks will quickly drain your stamina and kill you.
Again, we recommend two-handing and using the Grass Crest Shield in order to buff your stamina during this fight. After, you will be able to go back to your normal build. You want the fast roll in order to get the most amount of invincibility frames during your rolling attacks.
Another good strategy for this boss fight is to hug the hand that is not equipping his sword. All you really need to do while attacking him here is to watch out for the sludge attack, which can easily ruin the run. Keep any divine blessings and Humanity Stocked in case you need a full-heal