You’ll come across the Demon Firesage in Dark Souls Remastered’s Demon Ruins. You’ll unlock him only after you have placed the Lord Vessel on the Firelink Altar. He is a familiar boss that you must have faced a couple of times by this point in the game, thus making him highly predictable. Nevertheless, he packs quite a punch.
In this guide, we will go over Demon Firesage’s moeveset and what strategies to use when going up against him.
Fighting Demon Firesage in Dark Souls Remastered
The Demon Firesage is a fiery reskin of the Asylum Demon and Stray Demon. He’s a big-bellied demon with a staff that he uses as a giant bludgeoning weapon.
There is nothing new in this fight you haven’t already witnessed from your previous run-ins with his other demonic brethren. And although he is literally blazing, don’t be fooled by his looks; none of his attacks deal fire damage.
He does, however, use his colossal weapon to club you to death. His swings are mighty and will destroy your HP if you take a hit. Even if you use a shield, your stamina will get decimated. He also uses a few AoE attacks, notably magic explosions that might catch you off guard if you are unprepared.
Still, you’ll emerge victorious with some quick leg work and consistently attacking the boss.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when going up against Demon Firesage in Dark Souls Remastered:
- He is weak to Slash Damage, so Katanas and Curved Swords are better suited for this fight.
- He is also weak to Lightning. Carry a lightning weapon or use a Gold Pine Resin to buff your weapon with lightning temporarily.
- He is more susceptible to Bleed but can Poisoned and Toxic.
- Black Knight weapons deal bonus damage to demons.
- Casting the Vow of Silence miracle on him will prevent him from using his AoE attacks.
- Be careful not to get tangled in the roots in the corner of the arena while blindly backing off. Or you can use it to trap the boss (more on this in the cheese section).
Boss Strategy
Facing the Demon Firesage in Dark Souls Remastered is a lot like battling the Stray Demon, so the same strategies will serve you well here. However, the Firesage brings its own quirks to the fight.
The Demon Firesage will be stationed at the opposite end as you enter the arena. Brace yourself because he’s likely to lead with his Lunging Overhead Slam. This move is tricky; it lands just a fraction later than expected and has excellent tracking. The key here is timing; don’t roll too early, or you’ll take the hit.
The best spot to position yourself during this fight is almost directly behind him. From here, most of his attacks will miss, except the AoE attacks. If you notice him winding up for this or his butt slam, retreat a bit to avoid the damage. Once the danger passes, jump right back into action.
That said, watch out for his Overhead Smash. While you can block them, they’ll drain a significant chunk of your stamina.
If you’re feeling bold, try to stick to his belly. More often than not, he’ll respond with a butt slam, which leaves him wide open for a counterattack. Take full advantage of this window to land several hits. However, don’t get too comfortable; you’ll need to react quickly if he opts for a different move.
When blocking, remember this crucial detail: his explosion attacks don’t originate from his body but from the center of the explosion. To block effectively, face the direction of the blast, not the Firesage himself. This nuance becomes especially important when he uses his Horizontal Swing Explosion while you’re in front of him; you may have to turn your back to him to block correctly.
His attacks are slow but devastating. Avoid getting locked into long attack animations, and always leave yourself enough time to either dodge out of range or raise your shield.
If you’re not relying on blocking, switch to two-handing your weapon for extra damage. Blocking won’t offer much protection for those not using a heavy shield anyway. Instead, equip the Grass Crest Shield on your back for its stamina regeneration buff.
Due to the arena’s layout, a ranged battle against the Demon Firesage can be perilous. His Lunging Overhead Slam and AoE explosions are particularly lethal to lighter builds, and they cover a wide area, leaving little room to maneuver.
If you’re set on using ranged attacks, do so from close range while positioned behind him. He’s slow enough to allow most attacks to connect while giving you ample time to dodge his follow-up moves.
Moveset
Demon Firesage in Dark Souls Remastered has the following attacks and how you should react to them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
| Horizontal Swing | He performs a regular but hard-hitting horizontal swing of his staff over the ground.He can chain it multiple times. | It can be blocked with a sturdy shield. Or roll into the swing, and the iframes will protect you. The attack will miss if you are standing near his stomach. |
| Overhead Smash | He raises his staff and slams it into the ground in front. Has a surprising amount of reach. | It can be blocked or just dodge to the side right before it lands.The attack will miss if you are standing near his stomach. |
| Lunging Overhead Slam | He raises his staff and quickly propels toward you, followed by an Overhead Smash. | It can be blocked with a shield. Roll to the side as he approaches you. Or walk forward towards the charge, and his attack will go over your head. |
| Butt Slam (AoE) | He’ll go airborne vertically and slam down on his bottom in the spot, causing a small radius of damage. | When you see him fly, turn around and run to escape the AoE zone. Exploit the long recovery to run in and put in some damage. |
| Horizontal Swing Explosion | He’ll swing his staff father up above the ground; this will cause an explosion right in front of him. | Either turn around and run out of range of the explosion. Or, sprint towards the boss’s behind and start whaling on it. The explosion only affects the area in front. |
| Exploding Staff Impale | He’ll turn his staff upside down, raise it, and stab it into the ground in front. This will cause an explosion. | As soon as you see him turn his staff, start backing off from the explosion radius. Quickly return to attack and utilize the recovery window. |
Rewards for Defeating Demon Firesage
Demon Firesage will drop the following rewards once defeated in Dark Souls Remastered:
- 20,000 Souls
- 1x Humanity
- Demon’s Catalyst weapon
How to Cheese Demon Firesage in Dark Souls Remastered?
You’ll use the arena’s overgrowth to your advantage in this Demon Firesage cheese strategy. You’ll only need a bow and as many arrows as you can carry or AoE spells.
As you enter the arena, dodge his initial attack and stick to the right wall. Slowly move forward while hugging the wall, and soon, a bunch of smaller roots will stop you from progressing. Roll through these roots to break them with a bigger root that can’t be destroyed.
Stand behind this root and lure the boss in. When he reaches you, retreat while hugging the same wall. Stay in the corner of the wall while backing, and if you do this right, the boss will get stuck on the initial root. He will continue to attack, but none of them will reach you.
At this point, he is a sitting duck, so take out your bow, manually aim, and continue to fire arrows at him. It’s harder to aim when casting a spell, and you might end up hitting the roots more than him, so bow/arrow is more reliable.
It will take a while to whittle away his HP but you’ll kill him without a scratch.
If you have already bested Asylum Demon and Stray Demon in Dark Souls Remastered, Demon Firesage will give you no trouble. His lack of new attacks and slow speed make him incredibly easy to deal with. Take him out quickly and move on to other bosses in the game that are original and bring more to the table than this rehashed freak.