Manus, Father of the Abyss, stands at the top of our most difficult bosses in Dark Souls Remastered. This is the final boss of the Artorias of the Abyss DLC, and FromSoftware really likes to show their most sadistic nature in their DLC. This boss doesn’t have the most unique attacks, but his ferocity and damage output are unmatched, totally different from what you have faced up till now.
In this guide, we will reveal all of Manus’s attacks and how you should react to them, discuss strategies and tips to face him appropriately, and, at the end, there is a way to cheese him dirty if you are done with his unfair antics.
Fighting Manus Father Of The Abyss in Dark Souls Remastered
As you enter through the boss’s fog gate, a cutscene will trigger where your character is seen standing on a ledge looking into the abyss. Everything starts rumbling, and soon after, a giant hand emerges from beneath and drags you into the dark.
After you wake up, you’ll see Manus, Father of the Abyss, slowly and menacingly crawling towards you, and the fight begins.
Manus has been corrupted by the Abyss and transformed into a bipedal giant monster. He has horns growing all over his head and backside with multiple red eyes dotted all over, has a long tail, a giant left arm that’s engulfed in shadowy effect, and a massive club-like weapon in his right hand.
This boss has an unrelenting speed to his attacks by using his feet to constantly move and reposition before attacking. He uses his mutated left arm to slam, swipe, and extend it further to catch you off-guard. He also uses his weapon to whack you, too. He can end your life with only a few hits if you aren’t careful.
His weapon becomes a catalyst as his HP dwindles to the 50% mark. He uses it to cast lethal dark sorcery that is almost impossible to dodge. He’ll also continue to punish you with his regular attacks during this phase.
You must match his speed with careful planning and only attack when he gives you the chance. This fight has no room for error, so take your time and learn his moves.
Here are some things to keep in mind when going up against Manus, Father of the Abyss in Dark Souls Remastered:
- He is somewhat weak to Fire Damage. He is weaker to all physical damage types (Regular, Strike, Slash, and Thrust).
- He is immune to Bleed, Poison, and Toxic.
- The Silver Pendant can deflect all of Manus’s dark magic attacks.
- You’ll want to bump your Stamina regeneration with Cloranthy Ring and Green Blossom.
- Only a sturdy shield with good stability is recommended for the fight to block his stamina-draining attacks. It gets significantly easier if you equip such a shield.
- His spell and physical attacks deal magic damage, so wearing magic-resistant armor is advised.
- If you have died multiple times during this fight, make sure to repair your weapon/shield as his attacks chip away at their durability considerably.
- If you freed him before, you can summon Sif to help you in this fight. His summon sign will be inside the arena.
Boss Strategy
Before facing Manus, consume a Green Blossom or equip the Cloranthy Ring for better stamina regeneration speed. The best strategy is to stay close and block his attacks with a shield. The best shield for this purpose is the Greatshield of Artorias or Havel’s Greatshield. Other shields with 100% physical damage reduction are fine, too.
With enough points invested in Endurance, you can tank his hits with the shield and still have some stamina left over to put in a hit or two. Strike back with a medium-speed weapon (heavy, slow weapons are discouraged) after his attacks or wait for his powerful moves when he has a brief recovery.
You need to time your blocks as well. If the starting attack of his combo chain hits, you’ll be staggered and take the brunt of the entire chain. Stop the initial hit and you’ll survive the rest.
Manus’ leap attack is tough to dodge at close range because it hits behind your character. This attack is easier to avoid from a distance.
Observe Manus closely; his area glows before casting Dark spells. Anticipate the spell type based on his animation: move right/left to dodge Dark Magic Wave, back away from Dark Magic Shower, or get closer for Dark Orb AoE Implosion.
Another tactic is to keep your distance until he leaps, then counterattack, but dodging Dark Circle is challenging this way. Raise your shield before an attack and recover afterward.
Lightweight characters can dodge most attacks using invincibility frames, but some, like his frenzy attack, are too quick to dodge completely. In these cases, retreat quickly.
You can attack Manus during specific moments:
- When he opens his hand for a horizontal slam, strike his body after blocking nearby. Beware of another horizontal hit following this.
- 2. After a leap attack that slams down, you can strike Manus’ hand by circling right and shielding.
- 3. Following a smacking combo (3 fast smacks, one Ground Smash, one Leap after his scream), back off while shielding to avoid stamina loss; strike his fist when safe.
- 4. If he raises a free hand and dark whirlwind forms, back away and block. Attack once if you have half stamina or twice if full.
Stay close while circling Manus with your shield up to memorize his moves. Lock on to him to prevent disengagement during his movements.
Manus Father Of The Abyss Moveset
Manus, Father Of The Abyss has the following moveset and how you are supposed to react to each of his attacks in Dark Souls Remastered:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
| Short Arm Slam | When you are near him, he’ll raise his empty arm and slam it on you. | It can be blocked with a shield. Or you can dodge to the side as it’s about to land. |
| Long Arm Slam | When you are farther away, he’ll lift his shadowy arm, it will start to convulse then stretches it far and slams the ground. | It can be blocked by a sturdy shield. Or you can roll to the side before the arm hits the ground. |
| Back Attack | When you are at his back, he’ll swipe his shadowy arm behind him. | It can be blocked easily. Or you roll to the left into the swipe and it will miss you. |
| Uppercut | He lowers his shadowy arm and does a deadly uppercut that will send you flying if it connects properly. | It can be blocked by a shield. Or you can roll to the left side only and it will blow past you. Good time to hit him once. |
| Swipe Attack | When you are at medium range, he’ll rear his shadowy arm and then swipe it horizontally over the ground from right to left. | It can be blocked by a shield. Or you can roll towards the incoming hand, and the I-frames will save you. |
| Triple Arm Combo | He’ll swing his shadowy arm three times, each with a slight delay. | Avoid blocking all three attacks; your stamina will deplete, and you’ll remove damage while stunned. You can easily dodge this combo by rolling to the left before each swipe reaches you. |
| Club Slam | He’ll quickly raise his weapon and slam it down on you. Usually followed by a Short Slam. | You can block the initial hit and dodge to the side for the next slam. Or dodge to the left for both slams. |
| Leaping Slam | He jumps towards you, rears his weapon over his head mid-air, and proceeds to slam it where you stand. | Dodge to the side right before he lands. |
| Frenzy Mode | He’ll shriek, followed by a six-hit combo consisting of four arm swipes and two overhead slams. | Do not attempt to tank the entire chain. Block one or two initial hits then watch from where the attack is coming and roll towards it. |
| Dark Magic Phase Attacks 50% HP | ||
| Dark Magic Wave | He’ll pull his weapon towards his left side and charge it with black magic. He’ll then swing the catalyst and fire a cone of dark magic projectiles. | It can be dodged if you are close to the boss when he’s casting it. The best defense is using the Silver Pendant as the projectiles reach you. |
| Dark Magic Shower | He’ll cast a spell that spawns multiple dark magic orbs in the air. These orbs will rain down after some delay and have slight tracking. | Only fast rolling’s I-frames can dodge the orbs as they land. The better way to counter is to use the Silver Pendant as the orb reaches you. This will pause the orb mid-air, giving you some time to roll away. |
| Dark Orb AoE Implosion | He’ll slam the top of his weapon into the ground, which sends dark orbs out and surrounds the entire arena. These orbs will then travel back to Manus, hitting you along the way at rapid speed. | If you get in close to him as he begins casting, only then can you protect yourself. Otherwise, using the Silver Pendant is the only way to counter this. |
Rewards for Defeating Manus Father Of The Abyss
Putting an end to Manus, Father of the Abyss will reward you with the following goodies in Dark Souls Remastered:
- 60,000 Souls
- 10x Humanity
- Soul of Manus – You can trade this item in different ways to get unique rewards:
- If you ascend any Catalyst using this soul at the Giant Blacksmith in Anor Londo, you’ll receive the Manus Catalyst.
- If you trade it with Snuggly, you’ll receive the Pursuers sorcery.
How to Cheese Manus Father Of The Abyss in Dark Souls Remastered?
There is a way to cheese Manus, Father of the Abyss, without even entering the arena. Before we dive into the cheese, here are some things you need:
- A bow, preferably with 50 Range. Don’t use any greatbows like Dragonslayer since they won’t aim low.
- Hawk Ring. It can be found inside a chest, right behind the Giant Blacksmith in Anor Londo.
- As many arrows as you can carry.
- To expedite this cheese you can do the following:
- Carry the Feather Arrows for extra damage.
- Equip the Red Tearstone Ring for damage buff. However, you need to activate its effect by receiving damage. For that, you’ll need the next item.
- Wear the Symbol of Avarice headpiece. This will drain your HP and activate the Red Tearstone Ring damage buff. Remove it once the effect is active.
With the setup done, approach the boss’s fog gate. Make sure to kill any enemies in the vicinity for uninterrupted cheese. Right in front of the gate is a hole in the ground, looking over the abyss. Stand on the other side of the hole with the fog gate in front of you.
If you position your camera down and look closely, you can spot Manus’s red eyes in the dark.
Manually aim the bow, but as you’ll notice, it can’t be aimed downwards. So, while manual aiming, position your aim at the area above the boss. Then, exit out of the manual aim and lower your camera straight down.
From here, it’s all about firing in the dark and figuring out how to land the arrows on the boss. Adjust your character, bow, camera, and firing height, and soon you’ll land on the boss. You can see his health go down, as indicated by a small HP bar.
Now, all you need to do is keep firing until he’s dead. It is a long process, but the above buffing method will make things go faster. Soon, he’ll succumb to his wounds and die. You’ll get the victory screen and the rewards.
The only finicky bit is the aiming, but that sure beats the hell you must go through when facing Manus mano e mano.
Manus, Father of the Abyss, is by far the most demanding boss in Dark Souls Remastered. He is the bane of existence for many players. It took me multiple runs just to start understanding his patterns and slowly chip away at his HP until I came out triumphant. Patience is the key here! Don’t overcommit, and soon, you’ll send him to the Abyss once and for all.