Seath The Scaleless is one of the most frustrating bosses in Dark Souls Remastered. You’ll face him twice, and both times, the encounter will take everything you got. Nevertheless, you have to beat this boss to progress the plot; thus, you better prepare for this punishing boss fight. In this guide, we will go over strategies and some tips and tricks to stand your ground against this behemoth dragon.
Fighting Seath The Scaleless in Dark Souls Remastered
You’ll initially come face to face with Seath The Scaleless while exploring The Duke’s Archives. You are destined to lose this encounter since any damage you deal will be recovered right away. It turns out that there is a Primordial Crystal that protects this boss from dying. Long story short, you are killed during this faceoff and continue to progress the main quest.
Soon, your journey will take you to the Crystal Cave. At the end of the cave, you’ll enter a giant room where a cutscene will trigger, where you’ll see your character approaching a crystal, only for Seath to fly in and initiate the second and real boss encounter.
Oddly enough, this time, too, your attacks will not affect him. When you destroy the aforementioned crystal, his protection spell breaks and the actual boss fight begins.
Seath is by far the most challenging boss I faced in Dark Sous Remastered. Attacking him is incredibly hard since his erratic tail attacks and crystal beams make it nearly impossible to stand near him and attack. It is a battle of attrition where you have to constantly run back and forth to attack and dodge his attacks. Not to mention, he is resistant to most damage types.
The more annoying bit is the crystals that pop out of his beam attacks. These things not only hit continuously while they are active but also build up Curse. Even if you manage to learn his every move, the continuous reaction to his attacks might get you eventually, and his attacks are not forgiving at all.
The key to success is to keep up the pressure, stay patient, and have lightning-fast reflexes.
Here are some things to consider when facing Seath The Scaleless in Dark Souls Remastered:
- He is weak to Fire and Lightning damage.
- He is immune to Poison, Toxic, and Bleed.
- None of his attacks can be parried, neither can he be backstabbed nor critical striked.
- Carry some Purging Stone to curse the curse caused by his crystal breath attacks.
- When you face him for the first time in The Duke’s Archives, equip the Ring of Sacrifice or Rare Ring of Sacrifice to protect from losing your souls, losing humanity, and getting cursed.
- Curse-resistant armors, like the Paladin Set, the Dingy Set, and the Antiquated Set, are preferred for the fight.
- Cursebite Ring comes in handy during this fight, too.
- During the second encounter, lure Seath near the crystal first before you destroy it. If you destroy it quickly when he’s near the arena entrance, chances are he’ll remain stationary there, and his tails will clip through the wall, making it incredibly difficult to attack him.
- Seath can destroy the crystal with his attack, too.
- Pyromancers will fare better against the boss due to his weakness to fire while staying out of range of his attacks.
- Speed is of utmost importance here. Try to wear light armor to increase sprint and rolling speed.
- Stamina-boosting equipment/items like Cloranthy Ring or the Grass Crest Shield are beneficial during this fight.
- You’ll receive a weapon from severing his tail (more on this below). Just note that only attacking the tip of his tail counts towards cutting it.
- His belly is his somewhat weak point, where he receives a tad bit of extra damage.
Boss Strategy
The first and most critical step when facing Seath the Scaleless in Dark Souls Remastered is to destroy the Primordial Crystal. Seath’s health regenerates unless this crystal is shattered, making it impossible to defeat him otherwise. Do note that you will have to destroy the crystal again each time you die.
Melee builds will find the safest spot to be the tip of Seath’s left tail (your right side) and toward his front. Attacking from this position can lock him into predictable attack patterns, minimizing the risk of damage. Stay near the tail’s tip and attack. If Seath tries to turn to face you, simply move back to the tail tip. If he performs his Crystal AOE, it will hit behind you and likely leave you unharmed.
The tail’s movement can occasionally push you into his crystals, so equip gear with high curse resistance to mitigate this risk. The damage you deal from this spot might not be out of this world, but staying consistent will allow you to safely chip away at Seath’s health. Use this method if you are not considering severing his tail for the special weapon.
Positioning is everything in this fight. Staying off to either side of Seath makes the encounter much more manageable. You’ll avoid the brunt of his beam attacks, which are devastating in their range and area of effect, and his slapping and tail attacks will have a harder time reaching you.
Whenever you see Seath lunges down to attack, dodge, or block, then reposition to one of his sides. If he goes for frontal attacks, run to his side and retaliate.
For long-range builds, Seath has only one specific attack to deal with you: his Linear Beam attack. Use this to your advantage. Keep your distance and bait him into firing the beam, and while he’s casting, rush in and attack his vulnerable body (or his belly). Retreat to reset the pattern and repeat.
Seath takes extra damage when hit in his belly. Aim for his belly to maximize your damage output whenever you see an opportunity to attack from the front or center.
As said before, it is all about learning his moveset and being quick on your feat for his incoming attacks. Keep
Moveset
Seath The Scaleless in Dark Souls Remastered has the following attacks and how you should react to them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
| Tail Attacks | If you stay close to him, he will perform one of two tail-based attacks. One where he raises his tails and starts slamming them randomly on the ground. The other is after the initial slam, he sweeps his tails. | Back off and out of range of this attack.Don’t try to block it. |
| Massive Slaps | He uses one of his hands to perform a huge horizontal swipe at your location. | Only block with high stability shield. Or roll towards the incoming swipe. |
| Close-Range Beam Swipe | When standing near him, he performs a horizontal beam attack from his mouth close to his body, moving from left to right. | Turn around and start running out of range of this attack. |
| Mid-Range Beam Swipe | It is the same as the close-range version but a little farther away from his body. | Either run towards him to attack him while he is busy firing off the beam or back off out of the beam’s radius. |
| Linear Beam | While targeting you, he faces the ground under him and starts firing off a beam from his base, moving toward the other end of the arena in a straight line. | Quickly pick a side and start running to get out of the beam’s path.You could sprint to the boss to get in a few hits if you are fast enough. |
| Crystal Burst | All his beam attacks will result in crystals bursting out of the ground. These things hit like a truck, deal continuous damage until they disappear, and cause Curse build-up. | Staying away from them is the only strategy. |
| Crystal AOE | He tucks in his head and arms, charges up, and lets out a loud roar, which causes a massive crystal eruption that travels farther across the entire arena. | When you see him charge up, turn around and run to the other end of the arena. |
Rewards for Defeating Seath The Scaleless
Here are all the things you receive from beating Seath The Scaleless in Dark Souls Remastered:
- 60,000 Souls
- 1x Humanity
- Bequeathed Lord Soul Shard: Used to kindle the Lordvessel in the Firelink Shrine.
- If you sever his rear tail, you’ll immediately receive the legendary Moonlight Greatsword.
How to Cut Seath’s Tail in Dark Souls Remastered?
Start by keeping your equipment load under 25%. This ensures you have the agility to dodge attacks and move swiftly. Your next task is to lure Seath as close as possible to the Primordial Crystal. A great tactic is to draw him towards one of the walls. This way, when he unleashes his beam attack, you’ll have plenty of room to maneuver to his other side.
Once Seath is close, he’ll pause and begin charging his breath attack. As soon as you see this, immediately sprint behind him. His beam will destroy the crystal, temporarily stunning him.
Now’s your moment! Without locking onto Seath, target the tip of his back tail and strike with a two-handed weapon or high-damage spells. Precision matters here; focus on the tip, as it’s the only part that can be severed.
The best weapons for this are Katanas, Straight swords, Greatswords, and Ultra Greatswords. Optimal spells include Great Combustion and Wrath of the Gods.
Execute this pattern:
- Slash the tip once or twice.
- Retreat to a safe distance.
- Provoke Seath to attack with his crystal breath.
- Circle back to his tail and repeat.
Do this right, and soon, the Moonlight Greatsword will be yours for the taking.
Seath the Scaleless can be the most annoying boss you fight in Dark Sous Remastered however I have seen him being beaten very quickly enough times too. It’s just a matter of knowing what to do and when to do it. His attacks are predictable, but any mistake will cost you your life. Regardless, you have to beat him to rekindle the Lordvessel, so there are no two ways to this boss fight.