Dragonriders
HP: 3670 (Halberd)
HP: 1470 (Bow)
Skills: Halberd Strike, Halberd Slam, Arrow Shot*
Souls: 26000
Difficulty: 2/5
Deaths: 1
So, after beating the 4 soul lords, we've come a long, LONG way. You'll be travelling into Drangleic Castle, which is filled with traps, mazes and evil creatures galore. It sure is a tough journey to get to the King, and to make things worst, the first post soul lord boss you are bombarded with is not particularly a very fun one to face. Make no mistake, its not difficult, just creatively boring and bankrupt. Right after you talk to Nashandra she pushes you forward, and you'll run into an old enemy...only this time, he has backup.
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| Oh, so now you decide to fight as a pair? |
Things are different from when you last faced the single, lone Dragonrider. The double Dragonrider combo can be devastating to new players who don't know how to fight against multiple bosses at once, but for most "Souls" veterans, these guys aren't too much of a problem. The problem with these guys is that one of them will attack from afar while the other one will brawl with you up front. Having to dodge ranged attacks and duel against a single Dragonrider can prove to be quite difficult without camera control, but with the right tricks, you'll definitely have this fight in the bag.
Halberd Strike - The same attack as the first Dragonrider you fought so long ago. Can be used in conjunction with Halberd Slam.
Halberd Slam - The same attack as the first Dragonrider you fought so long ago. Can be used in conjunction with Halberd Strike.
Arrow Shot* - The Bow wielding Dragonrider snipes you with a straightforward projectile, dealing moderate damage and causing a knockback effect. Can be blocked or dodged but its hard to keep an eye on this attack most of the time.
These guys don't fight fair so its okay to exploit them. The bow wielding Dragonrider has a lot lesser health than the Halberd one, so once you get that sodding son of a bitch down from his sniping spot, you can easily destroy him. One Dragonrider resides on the ground, its the Halberd one, the other one is high above on a vantage point, trying to snipe you. If you play their game and try to kill the Halberd Dragonrider before trying to do anything about the Bow wielding one, you can get overwhelmed. So what so we do? We take care of the pussy that's standing up there first.
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| Not that big of a deal now that you're alone, huh? |
First things first, the moment the battle starts, locate the ranged Dragonrider up above, run towards the pillar where he's standing on top of. Now, you'll aggro the Halberd Dragonrider towards you. Make him swing at you, with the pillar behind you, now, dodge the strike. The Dragonrider's attack will strike at the pillar, causing it to crumble, making the other fella fall down from his perch. Without the advantage of a high point, he's just a sitting duck on the ground trying to shoot you without any form of defense. As he's trying to aim the bow at you, you can burst him down with rapid strikes at him, he only has 1470 HP, he falls quickly.
With the ranged Dragonrider out of the way things become easy as hell as you attempt to solo the other Dragonrider. HOWEVER, if you failed to burst down the Bow user and get yourself cornered, it IS still a 2 vs 1, so you'll need to wait for the Halberd Dragonrider to attack, then sprint pass him to attack the Bow Dragonrider. If you somehow delay killing him long enough, the Bow Dragonrider will put away his bow and draw his own Halberd, then you'll just be fighting 2 regular Dragonriders. If you get to this point, its just a simple matter of stalling, waiting for both Dragonriders to attack before getting in a blow or two of your own. Its NOT too hard, though if you play too defensively you can get overwhelmed, so look for openings and strike back, its not that hard. Remember that one Dragonrider is a lot more frail than the other, take him out first for an easier time.
After you beat these guys you get 26000 souls. Your journey in castle is not over yet, and there'll be another passage of the castle awaiting to challenge you. And of course, more bosses to come.
