Dark Sun Gwyndolin is an optional boss in Dark Souls Remastered, hidden behind some very convoluted steps. It is not the most demanding boss in the game, but there is a gimmick that will get annoying quickly. We’ll go over how you can unlock this secret boss fight and what strategies you can employ to make this fight far more bearable.
How to Reach Dark Sun Gwyndolin?
To unlock the Dark Sun Gwyndolin boss fight in Dark Souls Remastered, you have to follow one of two paths:
You must explore The Catacombs to get your hands on the Darkmoon Seance Ring. Bring the ring to the Darkmoon Tomb in Anor Londo and wear it in front of the statue of Gwyn next to the Darkmoon Tomb bonfire. As a result, the statue will disappear, revealing a set of descending stairs with a fog gate at the bottom.
As you approach the gate, Gwyndolin will warn you not to enter the Tomb of Gwyn. After his warning, you can join the Blade of the Darkmoon Covenant by “Kneeling” inside the candle-lined circle in front of the gate or enter the fog gate to initiate the boss fight.
OR
If you don’t have the ring, you must visit Gwynevere in Anor Londo first. Attack her, she will vanish, and the time of day will transition to night, revealing she was just an illusion created by Dark Sun Gwyndolin. All the enemies will also disappear after this event, so you won’t be troubled for the most part.
From here, you must backtrack to the moving spiral staircase in front of the Cathedral. You only need to watch out for three enemies along the way, including the Fire Keeper of Anor Londo. Take them out and interact with the staircase lever to turn it towards the Darkmoon Tomb bonfire with the Gwyn statue. As you reach the bonfire, you’ll see the statue is gone, and your way to the boss is open. Enter the fog gate to begin the boss battle.
Fighting Dark Sun Gwyndolin in Dark Souls Remastered
As you step through the gate, a cutscene will trigger. The hallway before you stretches impossibly, transforming into an endless corridor. From the far end of this surreal passage, Dark Sun Gwyndolin emerges.
The battle takes place in this seemingly infinite hallway, with Gwyndolin always keeping his distance. From where he stands, he unleashes a relentless barrage of magic spells and arrows, forcing you to dodge, be quick on your feet, and use the pillars dotted across the entire hallway to take cover. He does have a minimal number of attacks, so learning his moveset isn’t a big deal.
Each time you close the gap, Gwyndolin teleports even farther down the corridor, maintaining a constant cat-and-mouse chase.
Melee builds will have difficulty keeping the pressure up because of all the quick teleports. It will require dodging his attacks, beelining towards him, and dealing some damage before he poofs away again.
Ranged builds will fare better, but reacting to his hard-hitting projectiles still requires a lot of quick thinking.
You need to keep up with Gwyndolin’s arena and his constant teleportation gimmicks to make a difference; otherwise, you’ll run out of stamina and get shot to an early grave.
Here are some things to consider when going up against Dark Sun Gwyndolin in Dark Souls Remastered:
- He is weak to Fire damage.
- He is more susceptible to Bleed, and you can Poison/Toxic him, too.
- Occult weapons will deal bonus damage to the boss. Having an Occult affinity weapon on you is recommended.
- A few unique weapons will exploit his occult weakness: Dark Hand, Priscilla’s Dagger, and Velka’s Rapier.
- He deals significant magic damage, so we advise using magic-resistant equipment, like armor, Crest Shield, and rings.
- Great Magic Barrier miracle will stop his magic attacks from annihilating you.
- Fighting Dark Sun Gwyndolin is considered a Sin, and you’ll be kicked out of the Blade of the Darkmoon covenant, and the Lady of the Darkling becomes hostile, too. You can leave the fight and ask for absolution from Oswald of Carim to reverse all these consequences.
- The hallway is, in fact, finite. If you stretch the fight long enough, you’ll reach the end, and Gwyndolin will have nowhere to run, making this fight incredibly easy. However, reaching this point requires a lot of chasing, so it is not recommended at all.
- Equipping light armor is advised to boost rolling speeds and increase stamina recovery to quickly keep up with the boss’s teleporting shenanigans.
Boss Strategy
Gwyndolin’s constant teleportation will influence your strategy. Depending on your build, there are a couple of ways to approach this fight.
Gwyndolin teleports the moment you get too close, so timing your attacks is critical. The best window is when Gwyndolin fires his arrows. You’ll have a few extra moments to strike as he lowers down after this attack. Be cautious not to overcommit; you’ll have no stamina to react to his other attacks as he reappears.
The hallway pillars are your best friends since they can block Gwyndolin’s attacks minus the beam attack. Take cover for the Homing Projectile Spell especially, and dodge away when he goes for the beam attack. The arrow volley attack is the best time to leave the cover and weave your way towards the boss. This fight becomes significantly easier once you master dodging. Instead of relying solely on hiding, zigzag through the hallway to close the gap more quickly.
Time your attacks to exploit Gwyndolin’s recovery windows, like after arrow volleys or during his teleport animation.
If you still can’t land a hit but persistently chase the boss, you’ll eventually reach the end of the hallway, where Gwyndolin can no longer teleport away. However, he will continue to attack, so stay alert and prepare to dodge. Try to circle behind him; this positioning causes many of his attacks to miss entirely.
Melee builds can use low-level heavy weapons, especially their charged heavy attacks, to deal a good chunk of damage before he teleport away. Faster weapons must be upgraded a bit to make a good impact, but their lower stamina requirement means you could still attack after sprinting to the boss.
Ranged builds can use the Greatbow to stand six pillars away from the boss and fire away. Chances are the boss won’t even react to this approach. Poison arrows are even better (more on this in the cheese section below).
Magic builds can also benefit from a few spells; however, you need to be closer to the boss. Cast Homing Soulmass right as you exit the pillar cover for it to successfully land as you advance. Dark Bead will track the boss when you are near him while staggering him, and if they all land on him, they will deal exceptional damage. You can even cast them in quick succession.
Pyromancers can use the melee tactic of weaving through the arrow volley and use the Great Combustion spell at point blank to deal insane damage. Other pyromancies will work, too, since he is weak to fire damage.
Adapt to his teleportation and barrage of projectiles, and you’ll be done with this fight before you know it, especially considering the boss has few defenses and a small overall HP.
Moveset
Dark Sun Gwyndolin in Dark Souls Remastered uses these attacks and how you should counter them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
| Arrow Volley | He rises and shoots multiple arrows in rapid succession at you.He can chain this attack many times in some instances. | You can block all the arrows with any decent shield. Or you can hide behind a pillar until they are over. If you are quick enough, you could run towards the boss while zigzagging, and they will miss you entirely. A good strategy is to close the distance to the boss. |
| Homing Projectile Spell | He winds his catalyst and sends forth multiple orbs that will track you. If all of them hit you, you could die. | Roll right before they reach you. Magic-resistant shields can block the projectiles. Hiding behind the pillars is the safest strategy. |
| Beam Attack | He charges his catalyst and fires a quick linear blue beam towards you. The attack will pass through the pillars. | Magic-resistant shields will tank the beam, but it’s safer to dodge it to the side right before it hits you. |
Rewards for Defeating Dark Sun Gwyndolin
Beating Dark Sun Gwyndolin will unlock the following rewards in Dark Souls Remastered:
- 40,000 Souls
- Soul of Gwyndolin – Use this soul to craft either of two items:
- You can EITHER craft the Darkmoon Bow if you ascend a 10+ bow.
- OR you can craft the Tin Darkmoon Catalyst if you ascend any catalyst (upgraded not necessary)
- The room after the boss houses the Brass Armor Set and the Sunlight Blade miracle.
- The boss’s armor set will also become purchasable from Domhnall of Zena:
- Crown of the Dark Sun
- Moonlight Robe
- Moonlight Gloves
- Moonlight Waistcloth
How to Cheese Dark Sun Gwyndolin in Dark Souls Remastered?
You’ll need a bow for this cheese, preferably the Longbow/Greatbow or something better, equipped with the Hawk Ring to increase your range. Poison Arrows are necessary, too, so stock up on them, too (999 preferably).
When you enter the arena, move between the second pair of pillars to trigger Gwyndolin’s first teleportation. Stay here and don’t move. When he reappears down the hall, you’ll notice he will not attack you since you are out of his range.
From here, you need to take out your bow and use manual aim to target above him so that your arrows hit him as they fall. Adjust your aim until your arrows are landing on him consistently. You’ll need to fire a few (7 to 8) Poison Arrows to apply the effect, wait for it to eat away his HP, and reapply it as it wears off.
You’ll see that Dark Sun Gwyndolin won’t budge or react when you do this. With enough time and arrows, the boss will wither away without you worrying about reacting to any of his attacks.
Dark Sun Gwyndolin is just another Dark Souls Remastered boss with a bothersome gimmick. Nevertheless, once you get the hang of this mechanic, there are many ways to put down this freak. It is by no means a demanding boss, but don’t take this lightly, as he can make quick work of you using his rather short repertoire of attacks.