Dark Souls - Taurus Demon boss strategy
How to beat the Taurus Demon in Dark Souls.
Taurus Demon is an early-game boss you'll encounter as you explore Undead Burg.
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.
Taurus Demon boss strategy
This boss is weak to Fire and Lighting, so bust out your Fireballs, Firebombs and Gold Pine Resin we got beforehand. After entering the fog gate, immediately head right and up the ladder and kill the two undead bowmen. Then, head down to trigger the fight.
Ensure you have all of your items equipped and at full health- you may need it for this one. After it appears, immediately run back towards the ladder and let the Taurus Demon follow you. Then, you will be able to make it all the way up the ramparts and perform a devastating plunging attack. Do be aware that if you linger at the top of the rampart for too long, Taurus will jump up and knock you right back down.
In terms of fight patterns, Taurus has 3 basic moves when you fight him on the ground. Do be aware however, that if you do a plunging attack, you can set yourself up to be trapped between its legs. The Taurus is hard to tell, meaning that it's difficult to accurately pattern which move is going to come next. As a precaution, if fighting him on the ground, then ensure you stick to his behind. Only then will you really be safe from its attacks.
Do also be aware of blocking in this area, the multiple drops off the side of the bridge are incredibly hazardous, and we've fallen victim to them more than a few times. Try to run in between its legs to dodge, and make sure you've got the Heater Shield from the item vendor equipped in order to get a 100% physical block against its 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.
Remember that Gold Pine Resin from using the Residence Key? This is your ticket to dealing a huge amount of damage to Taurus Demon. Use the item, and then climb up the ladder to do a plunging attack that will take off around a third of is health. Rinse and repeat this, and you will have it down in no time.
However, if you are choosing to fight it on the ground. Taurus' three Moves are a quick slash to the side, a piercing attack down and a jumping attack to close distance. Be wary of casting Fireball or using items from far away, as it can easily spell your doom.
However, if you manage to land the Black Firebombs that we picked up earlier on Taurus, then you may find this to be a pretty short fight.
In short, you will want to avoid being up-close to Taurus as possible. The best strategy here is to use the Gold Pine Resin and loop the jumping attack until it dies. If not, you may have difficulty fighting it on the narrow bridge, which is less than ideal, since even if you are able to block the Taurus' attacks, it can still stunlock you if you do not have high enough endurance.
Always keep it near to where you entered the boss arena, then you will have the most options available to you if you want to kill it even quicker. Again, due to the size of this one we would again recommend not locking on if you want to deal with the camera being a little finicky due to the tight space of the arena, this will again allow you to move freely and also dodge and weave through its legs effectively.
Once you kill the Taurus, you will manage to get a Humanity, Homeward Bone, and if you're lucky like us, a Demon Greataxe. There is still more Undead Burg to explore.