Gamer--freakz

Manus, Father Of The Abyss
HP: 6666
Skills: Hand Swing, Hand Smash, Backhand Grab, Pole Jumper*, Madness Combo*,  Dark Hail*, Dark Storm*, Dark Chaser*
Souls: 60000


Difficulty: 5/5
Times died on 1st playthrough: I lost count



All right, its time to cover the final boss there is left to cover in "Dark Souls". Who can it be other than Manus, the Father Of The Abyss, the final Souls Lord...the obscene, overpowered form of the Fugitive Pigmy? This guy is a freaking boss, known by many players around the world as the hardest boss in "Souls" history, and I must say, this guy really pushes you to the limits. Artorias was the hardest boss to me, but Manus easily takes 2nd prize. His huge variety of attacks make for an incredibly challenging opponent. You will really need to be on your wits for this one, or you'll truly be plunged into the abyss...the abyss of defeat. He is the boss of the Chasm Of The Abyss.





He has a lot of really varied attacks, most of which will most definitely catch you off guard and cost you your life for the first few attempts. The problem is that making a simple mistake can mean the end, that's how deadly Manus is. He's a little more on the agile side, but nowhere near as fast as Artorias, and he's A LOT bigger to boot. That means you won't be missing attacks. At least that's something going on for you. Be sure not to get too greedy for hits or estus flasks, because that might be his opening to finish you off, especially during the later stages of the fight.



Hand Swing - He swings his deformed arm in an arc shape. Easily his weakest attack. Block or roll away. Does moderate damage. 

Hand Smash - He lifts his hand and smashes it on top of you after a short delay. Does massive damage and stamina upon blocking, its advised to dodge this by rolling to the side.

Backhand Grab - He grabs you if you're behind him and slams you onto the ground, dealing damage and leaving you open for another attack. Roll away, or simply don't stand behind him.

Pole Jumper* - Think Playful Trickster of Fizz from League Of Legends. Manus Jumps on his staff and lands on top of you for some good damage. Roll away...though this one is hard to predict.

Madness Combo* - He roars and then does a freaking six hit combo that is bound to kill you if you're in range. This is one is a doozy, just stay away and you'll be okay, but if you're in range, there's little to no way to dodge it, you're screwed. It cannot be blocked.

Dark Hail* - He shoots dark orbs in a cone direction in front of him. Each orb deals minor damage, but if you eat all of it you're most certainly dead. The cast time for this is almost instant, so you need to be on your toes to dodge this.

Dark Storm* - He shoots dark orbs in the sky that come raining down on you. The least worrying of his spells, but it still has a high chance of killing you if you just stand there like an idiot. Roll away like your life depends on it!

Dark Chaser* - This one gets me most of the time. He shoots dark orbs away that home in on your direction. Run to him AS FAST AS YOU CAN to avoid this completely, or just dodge at the right time. Note that I've only successfully dodged this shit once or twice in my entire life.



Okay, so you'll need to pick your poison. If you're going melee, he's going to be a nightmare if you're using a slow weapon. Not so much if you have a weapon of decent speed. If you're going ranged, make sure its magic or miracles, bows are going to be a little bit difficult unless you have Sif aggroing him all the time...but this strategy is meant for soloing him. No matter what way you're going to kill him, I highly recommend the pyromancy Power Within, especially for this one.


His hand attacks are pretty easy to deal with, but you should still be careful of them. Hand Swing has massive range, but doesn't hit as hard. It can be blocked and easily dodged as well, just make sure you roll backwards. Hand Smash isn't so bad as well, though this one hits harder, and isn't so easy to block. Just sidestep to avoid it completely. His Backhand grab is something you won't see too much unless you stand behind him a lot. But if you DO see it, just be sure to roll away.

That's a bold strategy.

Now then, lets move to some of his more difficult attacks to deal with. Occasionally, he'll use Pole Jumper, in which he'll jump on his pole and land on top of you, doing massive damage. You'll need to roll away, but in that sense, he uses this move so fast that dodging it in time may seem a bit difficult. Do note though, Manus is quite inaccurate with this move, and you may be able to get out unscathed without having to do anything at times, so hope that it comes to that. Alternatively, when you see him jump, you can try sprinting to the other side of his body.


Next is Madness combo, a ridiculous six hit attack that will most definitely kill you if you even try to tank it. This is one pretty simple to avoid, just stay away as he rampages on the spot. He is open to ranged attacks while doing this, but you must always be prepared to dodge away when he decides to plunge you with that last hit of his combo. Alternatively, its nice to note that if you got hit by a previous attack and were knocked down and he decides to use THIS move, you'll have no time to get away and are most likely screwed. If that ever happens, blame luck dude.

You dead yet?

If you drop him to half health, things get serious. He'll start to use hexes, all of which are stupidly powerful. Dark Hail will almost instantly kill you if you tank more than half of the orbs he shoots, and its ridiculously fast. Rolling away like a mad man helps, but chances are that you're too slow. Blocking it is a stupid idea unless your shield is really really resistant to magic. He can also cast Dark Storm, which sends many dark orbs raining on top of your head from the skies. Once again, roll away like a madman will solve your problems, as long as you don't roll blindly.


His final attack is Dark Chaser, which sends orbs from all directions coming right at you. One, you can choose to be rambo and try to dodge it by rolling underneath the gaps of the orbs. It works, but your timing must be incredibly precise. Otherwise, you can do what I do, which is to sprint RIGHT IN FRONT of Manus, you'll break the tracking of the orbs. But for this to work you'll need to be in front of his face all the time, which is really something you don't need.

Good job punk, you beat the game.

Beating him is going to be quite the feat, and if you do manage to beat him, then all I can say is...great job! You've killed every boss in the game, now its only appropriate for me to congratulate you for beating the game and myself for doing this series, "Dark Souls Boss Profiles" for so damn long (my Asylum Demon Post was back in 2011...wtf)! Now then, its time to move on to "Dark Souls II"...I'll see you then...


PEACE OUT MOTHAFUCKA!