Dragonrider
HP: 3170
Skills: Halberd Strikes, Halberd Slam
Souls: 12000
Difficulty: 1/5
Deaths: 0
Before you proceed any further...you should head back into "Heide's Tower Of Flame" to do some leveling up. There, you'll run into a lot of powerful knight enemies that grant a hefty amount of souls per kill. Traverse further inward and take the first junction to the right, follow it to the end to find a pretty intimidating foe awaiting you at the end of the fog gate. Meet the Dragonrider, apparently one of the weakest bosses in the game...he should have been the first one. Anyways, don't expect much of a challenge.
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| All right...who died to this guy? |
As long as you keep the platforms raised, this guy is a COMPLETE pushover. He is slow, his attacks are sluggish, and you have a lot of room to move around and just avoid him. He is very predictable, even on your first try, and its almost impossible to lose to him unless you screw up big time. There are a lot of openings, just bide your time and go in for a few strikes every time he swings his weapon. You'll have him in no time.
Halberd Strikes - Simple swings that do moderate damage. These are easily blockable, and rolling away is also an option if you wish.
Halberd Slam - Just a vertical slam downward with his weapon. Does a little bit more damage than his simple swings, but its easier to dodge.
There's not much strategy to fighting. As long as you have platforms raised up, you cannot go wrong. You have a lot of room to maneuver around him and simply just walk out of his attacks. There's simply nothing much to say here, just wait for him to swing, go in and hit him, back off, rinse and repeat. He does the same damn things for the entire match, just that when he is about to die, he swings more times in rapid succession, even though its nothing you can't block.
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| Nice try bud, but you'll never hit anyone with those attacks. |
Just repeat the same pattern of hitting him and then backing off every time he readies another attack. Its almost certain that none of his attacks can hit you unless you're standing still on purpose. Even then, you can block each and every one of his attacks with ease. He might take a few hits, but he'll go down soon enough for a very, VERY easy 12000 souls. Well earned friend.
But wait! It's not quite over yet! There's another boss in "Heide's Tower Of Flame"!
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Old Dragonslayer
HP: 2880
Skills: Spear Combos, Spear Thrust*, Gliding Spear, Aerial Spear, Dark Spear*, Dark Butt Slam*
Souls: 20000
Difficulty: 2.5/5
Deaths: 5
Remember the junction where I told you to turn right for the boss fight versus Dragonrider? This time, turn left, and go all the way, facing more knight enemies. Eventually you'll come across a lever which grants you access to a bridge and eventually bringing you to the "Cathedral Of Blue". Of course, not everything is as it seems in this grand chapel, because upon entering, you're immediately faced with a boss...a familiar one at that. The Old Dragonslayer certainly strikes us as a familiar resemblance to someone we've fought before...but surely there's a lot more to this than I can ever think of. He's the boss and the only enemy in the
Cathedral Of Blue".
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| Okay bro, why don't you just chill? |
In a few ways, The Old Dragonslayer's attacks can be quite easy to see coming if you're fought him countless times back in Lordran. Fortunately, he's roughly the same boss that we've fought so long ago, but with a few changes. For one, Smough isn't with him, so no ridiculous 2v1 scenarios anymore. Secondly, he no longer fights with lightning, but instead, he calls forth the powers of the abyss. With this in mind however, fighting him in his current state is a lot easier than it was fighting him alongside Smough in the first "Dark Souls". Now then, let's see what he's got.
Spear Combos - A variety of spear attack combinations, most of them opening up with a simple spear stab, then following up with something else. Easily blocked, side stepped, or rolled.
Spear Thrust* - One of his old signature moves, he stabs you hard with the spear, then thrusts upwards, lifting you into the air and shocking you for massive, massive damage. Roll away.
Gliding Spear - Another one of his old moves. He charges at you from afar and strikes you hard with one good spear attack. Roll away or block.
Aerial Spear - Another old school attack. He jumps towards you and then quickly attacks you while his is still midair. Just block or roll away.
Dark Spear* - A re-imagining of his old Lightning spear move, except this time it shoots dark projectiles. These do quite a lot of it damage if it stacks up, so roll away rapidly to dodge.
Dark Butt Slam* - A dark version of his infamous Electric Butt Slam. This one still does a lot of damage, even when blocked, so just rapidly roll backwards to avoid this dastardly move.
While he is but a shell of his former self, The Old Dragonslayer can still pack a punch. You will still die if you don't adapt to his attacks, and he WILL kill you if you make mistakes. While he uses a lot of his old moves his overall battle style is rather different this time round so you'll need fight with your wits up. Luckily for us, he is VERY melee based and will constantly try to rush you down with the same few attacks, so as long as you stay close, you've got plenty of chances to look for openings and strike him hard.
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| Well....nice try. |
First off are his spear combos. These will always open up with a straightforward stab attack, followed by different types of other attacks. He can follow up with spear swipes, a slam, another thrust, or everything together. Still, blocking these should be no issue with a decent shield, but if he decides to chain everything together it may leave you open for another attack because of the stamina lost. Its most recommended for you to stick to his left side (with his empty arm), as it gives you a lot of room to kite and dodge his spear combos with ease. Every time he finishes one combo, feel free to go in for a few strikes.
The spear thrust is an old favorite of his. It functions the same as before, and it still does ridiculous damage. In "Dark Souls II", he gains a sudden burst of increased defense when performing this move, meaning that if you decide to hit him here, you won't be doing as much. You should still be hitting him though, since lesser damage is still better than no damage. Just be sure to roll away when you see him wind up for a spear thrust.
Ironically, you shouldn't try to distance yourself from the Old Dragonslayer for the course of the entire fight, because it opens him up for more dangerous attacks for you to deal with. Gliding spear is yet again another one of his old moves, and just like before, you can't underestimate this. Having the ability to gap close to you from halfway across the battlefield still works in his favor, and it can nab you while you're potting up....so be careful. Dark spear is just a dark version of lightning spear, he shoots multiples of it so you better spam that roll button, because getting hit by multiple versions of that can be deadly.
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| Its not over until its over! |
Finally we have the dark butt slam, a dark version of the old electric butt slam that used to kill everyone. The bad news is that this still does a lot of damage, but its also true that you can avoid it the same way you used to avoid electric butt slam. Rolling away will net you out of its range, and if you're lucky, you can get in a few hits as well.
That's all for the Old Dragonslayer. Killing him nets you 20000 souls, a real hefty amount for such an early game boss, and it gives you some well deserved levels for preparation against The Pursuer. Let's hope this is the last we see of Ornstein....or is it?
Peace, more to come.
