Old Demon King Dark Souls III Guide

The demon mostly uses fire-related attacks, so you should equip yourself with items that provide protection from that element. Red Bug Pellets will prove to be useful as well since they increase the fire resistance. The boss is vulnerable to cold damage, so ice spells and effects will your best choice.

Club attack has very long reach - get close to the boss or very far away.

Old Demon King hits slowly but his attacks are very powerful. Most of all try to run around the enemy constantly and hit his tail - attacks performed with this body parts are least frequent. When near the legs you must especially watch out for the demon to jump - after that he shoots fire underneath himself. Whenever you notice the boss to rise, run to safe distance. Another dangerous attack of his is quickly moving to the back and casting fireballs. The boss will want to have you in front of him, so when he moves away you must react with immediate dodge. The club is a powerful tool of his as well - the enemy will first roll it on the ground and quickly after he will crush the player. Even if you avoid the first hit, immediately dodge before waiting for the character to get up - being crushed is even more lethal.

Attacks with area of effect are enemy's stronger weapon.

From a distance you must watch out for flames and lava that can move around the standing boss. In addition to that, during the second phase of the battle (about 50% of health) the boss will start burning and will gain more deadly attacks. Watch out for fire waves (hitting the ground with the club will inform you about this attack) and, even more deadly, a rain of bullets (the boss is standing for a moment without moving). Remember that the arena is large and you can hide behind rocks in order to avoid this area attacks.

Attacking the tail from behind is the fastest way of dealing with the boss.

In case of fighting as a character that uses mostly melee weapon you must be patient. The boss has a predetermined attack way - usually after one, two attacks that are easy to avoid he uses an area attack or he quickly falls back in order to throw a fireball that is also hard to avoid. Because of that, you should move away after two, three attacks - this will allow you to deal damage while avoiding the strongest attacks. If you are fighting from distance, you can most of the time escape from the enemy and attack whenever there is an opening. In that case the enemy won't be able to hurt you much.

Note: Watch for the end of the battle - when boss' health bar get closes to the end he will temporarily become "stunned". When that happens you must quickly run towards him and immediately finish the battle or he will perform a lethal area attack.

You can summon two helpers for the battle simultaneously.

If you have trouble with defeating the opponent remember that you can call backup or return here later (the boss is optional). If you decide to fight, hit the enemy two-three times and quickly fall back outside the reach of the area of effect of enemy's attacks.

Reward: Soul of the Old Demon King, 20 000 souls

Location: Smouldering Lake