Dragonslayer Armour is a terrorizing sight to behold but is rather manageable if you are aware of his repertoire. How to defeat the boss? What he is weak to? What strategies can you use to beat it? All will be answered in this ultimate guide to beating Dragonslayer Armour in Dark Souls 3.
Dragonslayer Armour has an electrified great axe in one arm and a huge shield in the other. He uses them both to attack the player with a deadly outcome. His shield will also make it hard to fight him head-on since he used it to protect him quite a lot. You can summon Eygon of Carim and/or Sirris of the Sunless Realms NPC to aid you in this fight.
Let’s take a detailed look at some of the best combat strategies and tips for defeating The Dragonslayer Armour in Dark Souls 3.
Is Dragonslayer Armour Optional?
The Dragonslayer Armour is not an optional boss. He must be defeated to gain access to the Grand Archives.
Strategies for Defeating Dragonslayer Armour
Here are some strategies for defeating Dragonslayer Armour you can use depending on the build you opted for in Dark Souls 3:
Melee Strategy
The boss’s shield is more dangerous and harder to predict than his other weapon. You need to be vigilant with your openings and dodgings but don’t worry as most of his attacks will not insta-kill you.
As soon as you enter the arena, let the boss perform his jumping attack and wait for him to execute an axe combo. Roll through this initial attack and wait for the opening after the combo to deal damage to him.
Be on the lookout for his infrequent shield bash attack after the combo as it can punish unsuspecting players.
Your main strategy as a melee user is to let him perform his attack combo and only go in to strike after he reuses the previously mentioned axe combo.
Look for quick openings in between each combo and land a few hits. Every so often, he will hold his axe up for a long-winded sweeping attack, which you should exploit.
Most of his attacks can be dodged by rolling to his right and quickly making your way behind him to deal damage.
The second phase will trigger the butterflies in the arena to start shooting projectiles at you. These can be easily dodged and generally are not as harmful. If you are already rolling enough to dodge the boss’s attacks, you won’t even have to be bothered by these projectiles.
Magic/Pyromancy Strategy
Magic builds will find this boss harder to beat since he likes to rush the player giving you little time to cast powerful spells. Thus, opting for quick-firing spells like Great Heavy Soul Arrow is recommended.
Equip the best staff at your disposal and upgrade it as far as you can. Additionally, you can equip the Great Magic Shield spell to use blocking more as opposed to rolling erratically.
Use the fountain in the arena as your safe haven during the fight. Run around the fountain and bait the boss to perform his attacks. Seeing these openings, unleash your Soul Arrows at the boss and keep repeating this process, Slowly and steadily, you will chip away at his health.
There is nothing to it in this strategy. Staying in the open arena will make it harder for you to cast spells, so the fountain is the right place to counter that.
The same strategy can be applied to pyromancers. Do not use Dark spells since the boss is resistant to them. Fire spells and the Chaos Bed Vestiges will deal better damage. Abusing the fountain or dodging his attacks correctly will give you ample time to cast your spells.
His recovery time after each attack is relatively longer, and sorcerers and pyromancers alike should exploit it thoroughly. The transition between phases will also provide an opportunity to cast spells at him.
If you have the Pestilent Mist spell then the boss can be cheesed around the fountain. Simply cast the mist and run around the fountain. The boss will slowly lose his health by circling into the mist trap. Keep repeating this and dodge any attacks coming your way, and soon the boss will be defeated.
What is Dragonslayer Armour Weak To?
Dragonslayer Armour is weak to the following damage types:
- Frost
- Strike Damage
- Wolf Knight’s Greatsword
- Farron Greatsword
What is Dragonslayer Armour Resistant / Immune to?
Dragonslayer Armour is resistant and immune to the following damage types:
Resistant to:
- Lightning
- Dark
- Slash Damage
Immune to:
- Poison
- Toxic
- Bleed
Can You Parry Dragonslayer Armour?
The Dragonslayer Armour can be parried. However, it cannot be riposted, and thus you will have to depend on normal attacks.
Can You Cheese Dragonslayer Armour?
This real cheesing strategy against this boss is only applicable if you are playing online. For offline players, please refer to the Pestilent Mist strategy discussed in the Magic/Pyromancy strategy section of the guide.
Walk up to the fog gate and use the Cracked Red Eye Orb. Once you do so, you will have to wait until it says invading another world.
As soon as you see this message, walk through the boss fog gate and into the boss arena triggering the fight. The game will then teleport you to the other player’s world.
Once you are here, use the Black Separation Crystal to return to your world again. On return, you will notice that you will be outside of the arena yet the boss’s health bar will be visible and the boss fight will be active. You can even see the boss’s axe phasing through the fog as he will be trying to reach you.
This is where the true cheesing begins. The boss will try to hit you through the fog if you are close to the gate. Take this time to walk up to the fog and cast the Pestilent Mist spell.
The mist will slowly eat away the boss’s health without him posing any threat to you. As soon as the mist expires, carefully back to the fog and cast it again. The boss can hit you through the fog, so be cautious.
Keep repeating this, and the boss will go down easily without you having to even face him.
The Dragonslayer Armour is an intimidating boss, but you can handle him with little practice. Continuously rolling through his attacks will benefit you a lot, and moving in to attack while he is recovering from his moves is the solution for any build, essentially.
Second-phase projectiles can still kill you even if the boss has died so quickly start healing as soon as the boss is finished.