You’ll encounter the Great Grey Wolf Sif in Dark Souls Remastered as you approach a giant sword in the middle of a graveyard in Darkroot Garden. This good boy is here guarding his master’s last resting place, but your ambitions will pit you against him. This is not the most challenging boss fight in DS Remastered, but it is one of the more emotional ones if you know the lore behind it.
Although I don’t want to hurt this loyal beast, my hand is forced by From Software. So, with a heavy heart, I’ll guide you through this boss fight and try to put him down as painlessly as possible.
Fighting Great Grey Wolf Sif in Dark Souls Remastered
As you approach the colossal sword in the middle of the cemetery in Darkroot Garden, a cutscene will trigger where Sif, an enormous wolf, can be seen standing atop the gravestone behind. He’ll pull the sword out, leap into the arena, and prepare to punish you for attempting to desecrate his master’s grave.
Sif has no special attacks, multiple complex phases, or tricks up his sleeve. He wields a sword in his mouth and has only a selection of melee attacks. Don’t expect him to use any spells or ultimate attacks. It’s a melee duel against a good boy. He does like to use his bestial speed, but even that’s manageable.
Things will turn even more depressing when his HP reaches a critical point. He’ll start limping and whimpering. His agility and attack speed will drop considerably, and he will periodically stumble while standing his ground. Even his attacks will deal lesser damage.
Don’t drag this fight any longer. Put him down and end his suffering!
Here are some tips to keep in mind when going up against Great Grey Wolf Sif in Dark Souls Remastered:
- He is weaker to Fire. Although Magic and Lightning work just as well.
- It’s hard, but you can apply Bleed, Poison, and Toxic.
- His underbelly is the perfect spot to rush toward and resume attacking continually.
- A good 100% physical damage shield will make this trivial since you can block most of his attacks.
- Despite using a sword, the boss’s attacks can’t be parried.
Boss Strategy
Sif’s attacks are surprisingly easy to block. The best approach is to bring a sturdy shield, hold it up, and approach the boss. This way, you can block any incoming attacks easily while watching his next move. Your goal is to get underneath him. If blocking isn’t your style, you can dodge instead. The trick to dodging is to roll through the attacks and get under the wolf.
Once you’re under, you’re in a safe spot, as he cannot reach you with attacks from this position. Throughout the fight, when you find an opening, focus on getting underneath Sif’s body and target the legs. This is your prime spot for dealing damage. If and when Sif retreats, follow closely and stay under him at all times.
If you’re looking for a slower but safer option, focus on landing one or two hits at the end of his attack combos. Study his moveset and recognize safe openings. For example, the final Overhead Slam in Sif’s Triple Hit Combo creates an excellent window for retaliation if you’re positioned close enough.
Spells like Combustion, Great Chaos Fireball, Soul Spear, or Dark Bead can be highly effective for magic builds. To maximize your advantage, stay outside the range of Sif’s sword while keeping your lock-on active.
Focus on casting when Sif creates distance, such as after a backward leap, the Retreating Slash, or during a swing animation. The Double Horizontal Swing, in particular, provides one of the best opportunities to unleash long-range spells.
Moveset
Great Grey Wolf Sif in Dark Souls Remastered uses these attacks and how you should counter them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
| Lunging Slash | Sif will dash towards you and swing his sword from right to left. After this attack, if he shifts his sword to the left, then prepare for a following Overhead Slam. | A shield can block it. Roll into the swing, and the I-frames will protect you. |
| Overhead Slam | He lifts his sword straight up and performs a vertical slam. It is usually used at the end of the Lunging Slash or the Triple Hit Combo. | Blockable by a shield. Dodge to the side before it lands. This attack has bad tracking, so you can quickly move in and land some hits. |
| Triple Hit Combo | He swings his sword from right to left, then left to right, and ends it with an Overhead Slam. | The whole combo can be blocked, although it will drain your stamina. Block the first two hits, then dodge toward the boss as the Overhead Slam is about to hit and put in some damage. |
| 360-Degree Sweep | Siff will hold his sword pointed in front, then swing it 360 degrees. When limping, he’ll swing it slowly and not in a full circle | Back up when you see the sword switch and wait for the attack to finish, then use the long recovery window to move in and strike. |
| Retreating Slash | He’ll swing his sword while jumping backward. | It can be blocked. Or roll into the swing. |
| Uppercut | Sif will rear his head downward and perform an upward vertical slash. | It can be blocked but consumes a ton of stamina. Dodge to the side as it’s about to hit. The boss will be near you after this attack, so it’s a good time to land a few hits. |
| Horizontal Swing | He rears his head slightly and performs a standard sword swing from side to side. The attack comes out much slower when he is limping. | It can be blocked easily. Or when you see him rear his head, roll underneath him, and attack while he’s busy recovering. |
| Double Horizontal Swing | Same as above, but used twice from the other side. While limping, he’ll fall and struggle to get up when performing the second swing. | Both swings can be blocked without worrying about stamina. You can roll under the swings with no consequence. When he falls, it’s a free retaliation window as he writhes helplessly. |
Rewards for Defeating Great Grey Wolf Sif
Putting down Great Grey Wolf Sif will unlock the following rewards in Dark Souls Remastered:
- 40,000 souls
- 1x Humanity
- 1x Homeward Bone
- Hornet Ring – It is right behind the gravestone next to the impaled greatsword. You can grab it without triggering the boss fight.
- Covenant of Artorias – A ring used to enter the Abyss to fight the Four Kings Boss.
- Soul of Sif – This great soul can be transformed into either of these equipment:
- If you ascend a +10 broken straight sword or straight sword hilt weapon, the soul will become the Greatsword of Artorias.
- If you ascend a +10 great sword weapon, the soul will become the Greatsword of Artorias (Cursed).
- If you ascend a +10 shield, the soul will become the Greatshield of Artorias.
How to Cheese Great Grey Wolf Sif in Dark Souls Remastered?
Cheesing Great Grey Wolf Sif is incredibly easy. You don’t have to face him or even enter the arena to take him out. You need to do the following things to exploit this cheese:
- Equip a Longbow.
- Equip the Hawk Ring to extend your archery range.
- Carry as many Poison Arrows as you can.
- You must initiate the Sif boss fight and then either die or quit out. This will spawn the boss in the arena and put up the fog gate before the cemetery.
Once you’ve done the above steps, approach the fog gate, but DO NOT ENTER. Instead, turn to the left of the entrance towards the broken platform (marked in the picture above). You need to jump on this platform. It may take a few tries and some repositioning to reach here.
Once on the platform, push toward the highest point next to the broken wall on the right. You can see Sif inside the arena while climbing. When on top, manually aim your bow and target Sif. Your aim will be obscured by some leaves, but they won’t block your attacks.
At this point, start firing Poison Arrows at the boss. You’ll see his health bar take a hit with each arrow. Keep firing until you apply poison and let it eat away his HP. You can continue to fire regular arrows at him or wait and reapply poison once it wears out.
Soon, Sif’s health will dwindle away, and he’ll die!
You can meet the younger Great Grey Wolf Sif right before facing Manus in Dark Souls Remastered’s DLC area. You must save him from a few enemies, and he’ll become a summon for the Manus boss fight. You can witness what a good boy this wolf is during this encounter.
Additionally, if you saved Sif before and summoned him in Manus’s battle, facing him in Darkroot Garden afterward will trigger an alternate cutscene. During the new cutscene, Sif will recognize you, and your character will try to pet him, only for Sif to snap out and take up arms against you. A nice little emotional detail added by FromSoft to an already disheartening encounter.