Gwyn Lord Of Cinder is the final boss of the base Dark Souls Remastered. Although Gwyn is a formidable boss, many others in this game could easily crush him under their foot. Nevertheless, he does pose a considerable threat to warrant a boss guide.
Here, we will cover everything related to the Lord of Cinder. From his attacks to the strategy to use to beat him and even a clever little cheese to remove all challenge from this fight.
Fighting Gwyn Lord Of Cinder in Dark Souls Remastered
As you enter the Kiln of the First Flame at the end of the game, you’ll see Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, rushing towards you, ready to fight. There are no cutscene introductions here, and it’s instantly down to business.
Lord Gwyn wears royal armor and wields a fiery great sword in his right hand. He is a hollowed-out husk of his former self when you face him, but even so, he is not to be taken lightly.
Although he doesn’t have a ton of attacks, his speed is what gets you. He’ll use his sword with extreme ferocity, giving you little time to breathe. He has long combos that hit hard and deal fire damage. He’ll quickly close the distance with a single dashing attack whenever you move away from him.
Many of his attacks, including a lethal grab attack, are designed to one or two-shot you if you aren’t careful. You just have to stay on your toes and react to his limited moves. However, he has one major flaw that could quickly end his reign if you know what you are doing (more on this later).
Here are some things to keep in mind when going up against Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder in Dark Souls Remastered:
- He is weak to all physical damage types (Regular, Strike, Slash, and Thrust).
- He is also weak to Magic and Fire damage.
- He is highly resistant to Lightning damage, so avoid it at all costs.
- You’ll deal extra damage if you are using an Occult weapon.
- He is immune to Poison, Toxic, and Bleed.
- Fire-resistant shields (Black Knight Shield) and armor are recommended for this fight.
- Most of Gwyn’s sword melee attacks are parryable. If you get the timing right, this fight becomes trivial.
- After every parry, you can riposte (critical strike) him.
- The arena has many obstacles that you can use to give yourself time to breathe, heal, and buff up.
- If you have saved Solaire of Astora in Lost Izalith, he can be summoned to aid you in this fight.
Boss Strategy
To make things easy against Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder, start by equipping the Hornet Ring and the Black Knight Shield. Walk up to him calmly, and as he swings his sword from the right, be ready to parry and riposte.
This should prompt him to regain his footing and attempt the same attack again, giving you a chance for an parry again. With the right weapon, it should only take around 15 hits to bring him down! If you’re looking to speed things up even more, consider equipping the Red Tearstone Ring and buffing your weapon with fire or magic, while keeping an eye out to avoid his other attacks.
This strategy is one of the simplest and most effective, as Gwyn tends to favor the same move repeatedly. With a bit of practice, you can get through this fight without taking any damage!
Dodging all of his attacks can be quite tricky, given how quickly he swings his sword. A smart combination of dodging and blocking is your best bet.
The Black Knight Shield shines in this battle, providing great poise and fire resistance. If you’re using a lighter build, you can utilize Havel’s Ring to equip it without sacrificing your movement. The Cloranthy Ring is also a fantastic choice, as it enhances stamina regeneration, allowing you to maintain your shield effectively. Just remember to drop your guard briefly between his attacks to keep your stamina in good shape.
If you’re able, going for a medium or heavy build can be advantageous. Dodging won’t offer you many counterattack opportunities, and Gwyn can quickly drain your stamina with his relentless hits. For newer players especially, blocking is often more dependable and effective.
A heavy build with high Vitality, paired with Iron Flesh or Flash Sweat, can withstand his hits without staggering too much. This way, you can wield a heavy two-handed weapon to keep him staggered, giving you precious moments to heal when necessary.
The Ring of Steel Protection and the Flame Stoneplate Ring both offer excellent defense against Gwyn’s attacks. If you can only choose one, think about how you’re most likely to get hit.
If grabs are your main concern, opt for fire defense; otherwise, physical defense will help against his sword strikes. If your gear is lacking in one area, go for whichever ring boosts your lower stat.
Lastly, don’t forget that Flash Sweat can help reduce fire damage.
Moveset
Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder has the following moveset and how you are supposed to react to each of his attacks in Dark Souls Remastered:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
| Lunging Thrust | When you are at a distance or using the Estus Flask, he’ll lunge towards you and pokes his sword forward. | It can be blocked by a shield. Or, roll to the side as his sword’s about to reach you. It is hard, but you can parry this attack. |
| Leaping Slash | He’ll jump towards you while slashing his sword horizontally. | This attack can be parried if you time it right. Or, you can roll right into the slash. |
| Leaping Slam | He’ll jump towards you and try to land an overhead sword slam. | Roll to the side before he lands. Hard to land, but you can parry this attack. |
| 4-Hit Combo | This is his most used combo, and very fast. He’ll quickly swing his sword diagonally, then horizontally, then diagonally again, and end with another horizontal slash. He can interrupt this combo with a quick sword thrust. | It is best to block the first swing and quickly parry the subsequent horizontal slash. |
| Heavy Two-Handed Combo | He’ll two-hand his sword and perform a powerful delayed horizontal slash followed by two more quick, mighty hits. | The whole chain can be parried, so try to do it on the first strike. The first two attacks can be rolled through with ease; you can parry or block the last hit. |
| Kick | When you continue to block his attacks, he’ll use a spartan kick to stun you. If it hits, he’ll quickly chain it with the Grab attack. | Avoid blocking for more extended periods. Roll away as he’s about to kick. |
| Grab Attack | He’ll raise his empty hand and swing it forward in an attempt to grab you. If it’s successful, he’ll grab you, lift you up, and blast you away with fire. It deals massive damage. | Roll to the left side when you see him preparing his other hand. Or you can walk/roll back, too. You can’t release yourself early by mashing buttons. DO NOT try to parry this attack; it’s not possible. |
| Dashing Double Slash | He’ll dash towards you and perform quick double sword slashes. | It can be parried with the right timing. |
Rewards for Defeating Gwyn Lord Of Cinder
Beating Gwyn, Lord of Cinder will drop the following rewards for you in Dark Souls Remastered:
- 70,000 Souls
- In NG+, you can purchase Gwyn’s armor, the Set of the Great Lord, from Domhnall of Zena.
- Soul of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder – You can use this soul to unlock either of two items:
- If you ascend any +10 Greatsword using this soul, you’ll receive the Great Lord Greatsword.
- You need to first gather 10 Sunlight Medals and offer them to the Sunlight Altar to increase your Warrior of Sunlight Covenant rank. Then, offer the Soul of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, to the altar to receive the Sunlight Spear miracle.
How to Cheese Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder in Dark Souls Remastered?
There is a way to exploit the arena’s geometry to cheese Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder. You need a ranged option for this cheese. Most preferably, a bow and as many arrows as you can carry; however, ranged pyromancies and sorceries will work, too. He is resistant to faith-based miracles, so avoid them.
Enter the arena and start running towards the back right corner (location marked on the picture above).
Once you reach this spot, turn towards the sandy rock on the right and jump over it.
Doing it correctly will push you inside the divet on the top. Gwyn can’t reach this location and will continue to run towards the rock, swinging his weapon blindly. You can take out your bow and start shooting arrows at him or cast spells at him.
Warning: Some of his attacks, like sword thrusts, can still hit you. You must be a little careful while at this vantage point.
Chances are you can kill him from this spot, but sometimes Gwyn can push himself over the rock and into the divet. This is where things get dangerous since there is no place to go, and he can make quick work of you.
At this point, you need to start rolling into him or towards the arena. The game will glitch and send you flying to the arena while Gwyn stays in that spot. Try not to go in front of where you climbed the rock, and Gwyn won’t be able to free himself from this “prison.”
Now, take out your bow again and finish the job. This is a bit finicky to pull off but very easy to repeat once you get the hang of it.
Gwyn Lord of Cinder throws you off kilter with his relentless attacks in Dark Souls Remastered. However, you’ll quickly realize this boss only has a few predictable moves, and the fact that you can parry him will completely flip the battle in your favor. It is sad to see the final boss be this easy in a game like this, but they have Manus, Father of the Abyss, to make up for their lackluster last encounter.