The Sanctuary Guardian is the first boss of the Dark Souls Remastered DLC, Artorias of the Abyss. This boss stands amongst the most demanding bosses in the game owing to his many attacks and untamed speed. Players who are used to the base game’s relatively slow combat will have difficulty adjusting to this chimera.
In this guide, we will reveal all of Sanctuary Guardian’s attacks, go over strategies to keep up with his speed, and present tips that will help you in this fight.
Fighting Sanctuary Guardian in Dark Souls Remastered
As you enter the fog gate, you’ll see a hybrid beast gunning towards you, ready to maul. The Sanctuary Guardian is an amalgamation of various animals, and each part is purpose-built to stop anyone from entering the place it’s sworn to protect.
His face and front legs resemble a lion, which he uses to scratch and bite you. He has enormous goat horns to ram you. His hind legs are that of a goat, which he uses to jump around and kick you hard. He has a scorpion stinger tail that he uses to poison with each swipe. And finally, he has two sets of bird wings to mix flight into his attack repertoire, and fire wing gusts at you. On top of all this, he also shoots lightning from his mouth.
And to boot, he has incredible agility, making it incredibly hard to pin him down and consistently land attacks. He loves to retreat and reset the fight!
The Sanctuary Guardian is the right trailer for the horror movie that is this DLC. He showcases the bump in difficulty you could expect coming your way; the only way is to adapt or die.
Here are some things to consider when facing Sanctuary Guardian in Dark Souls Remastered:
- He is weaker to Fire damage.
- He is weak to all physical damage, i.e., S Regular, Strike, Slash, and Thrust. Better to face this boss as a melee build.
- He has very high resistance to Magic and Lightning damage. Avoid these damage types when facing the boss.
- He is more susceptible to Bleed. He can be Poisoned and Toxic, but applying will require much effort.
- His lightning attacks will spread out over the water from where they land. Try to stay clear of this AoE effect.
- Stamina regen items like Grass Crest Shield will help you keep up with the boss’s acrobatic nature.
- Long-reaching weapons like halberds are more likely to cut his tail.
- Equip lightning-resistant armor or shield, like the Eagle Shield, to mitigate his elemental attacks.
- Cutting his tail will prevent him from using any of his Poison-based attacks.
Boss Strategy
This fight against Sanctuary Guardian becomes significantly more manageable with the lock-off. I advise lowering your equipment load to under 25% for maximum speed and lowering stamina costs from dodging and fast-rolling. Choose a quick, long-reach weapon that consumes little stamina, like the Great Scythe. Two-hand your weapon and ignore the shield.
Upon entering the arena, run straight to the boss while it roars. Once you’re a few steps away, turn away from the boss without adjusting the camera or locking on. The goal is to wait for the boss to attack while you move slowly away and keep the boss in view. You don’t even need to sprint to evade his melee combos.
The real threat comes from his lightning attacks, which can be avoided by sprinting and dodging. However, these attacks will occur less frequently since you’ll be close to the boss.
The safest moments to strike the boss are right after the Wing Flap attack. Attack once or twice, and don’t over-commit. Another opening is right after his Ramming attacks, and you can even sever his tail with one or two two-handed heavy swings. If you manage to cut the tail, feel free to land another blow while the beast recovers.
To dodge the Wing Flap wind, roll sideways and then sprint in, finishing with a running attack. To evade the Ram, roll to the side and return to where the boss lands, focusing on its tail.
These two moments provide the best chances to hit the boss with minimal risk of retaliation, provided you only strike once or twice and swiftly return to a safe distance in front of it. The less aggressive your attacks, the more predictable the boss becomes, reducing the chance of unexpected tail Attacks. If you need to heal, use these same two openings to consume flasks.
Moveset
Sanctuary Guardian has the following moveset and how you are supposed to react to each of his attacks in Dark Souls Remastered:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
| Combo Attacks | There are three combinations of this: 1) He’ll swipe his claws twice. 2) He’ll headbutt twice. 3) He’ll claw swipe first, then headbutt twice, then end with another claw swipe. Four hits in total. | Keep moving backward, and it won’t hurt you. His attacks won’t hit if you are standing underneath the boss. It can be blocked. |
| Ground Pound | He’ll stand on his hind legs and slam his front claws into the ground. | It can be blocked. You can back off as he stands, then attack once the attack is over. |
| Ram | He’ll run towards you and lower his head, then perform a massive headbutt that will send you flying. | Dodge to the side at the last second before the headbutt connects. You can attack his tail after this attack since it’ll be near the ground. |
| Flying Ram | He’ll go airborne, then swoops down toward you with a headbutt charge. | Dodge to the side right before he charges at you. Another good opportunity to attack his tail. |
| Lunge | He goes airborne for a second and quickly tries to land on you. | Dodge to the side as he’s about to land. |
| Wing Flap | He stands up and flaps his wings while descending. It will send a gust of water and wind in a straight line in front. This attack does no HP damage; however, it drains all your stamina if you block it. If it connects, he’ll follow it up with a Charging Headbutt. | Roll to the side before he launches the attack. It is better to take the hit rather than block the wind, get stuck with no stamina, and get rammed. |
| Charged Lightning Bolt | He lowers his head, charges lightning in his mouth, and fires a giant bolt towards you at great speed. | Dodge to the side right before it gets near, or it will track you slightly. The bolt has an AoE effect over the water, so continue moving so as not to get electrocuted. |
| Quick Lightning Bolts | It has the same wind up animation as the Charged Lightning Bolt but he shoots out four smaller bolts in quick succession. | Pick a side and start running until he’s done shooting. The bolts have an AoE effect over the water, so continue moving so as not to get electrocuted. |
| Strafing Lightning Bolt | He’ll circle strafe you while airborne and shoots a huge lightning bolt directly towards you. | Dodge right before the bolt hits. Continue moving away to get out of the bolt’s AoE. |
| Flying Lightning Bomb | He’ll fly straight over you and fires a big lightning bolt as he’s about to land on the other side. | Dodge backward as the boss passes over your head, and the bolt will miss you. Be careful of the Lightning AoE. |
| Tail Swipe | He’ll swing his scorpion tail from your right to left. Causes Poison build-up. Usually performed when you are either behind him or on his side. | Back away out of the swipe’s range. Or roll into the swipe and the I-frames will protect you. |
| 360-Degree Spin | He’ll jump and swipe his tail 360 degrees. It Causes Poison build-up. Usually performed when you are either behind him or on his side. | Back away as soon as you see him jump. Or roll towards the spin. |
| Donkey Kick | When you are behind him, he’ll quickly try to kick you with his hind legs. | It can be blocked. Roll to the side before it hits. |
Rewards for Defeating Sanctuary Guardian
You’ll get the following rewards for beating the Sanctuary Guardian in Dark Souls Remastered:
- 30,000 Souls
- 1x Humanity
- Guardian Soul – Consume it to gain 12,000 Souls. Or you can feed it to Frampt and receive 10,000 Souls.
- If you cut his tail, you’ll receive the Guardian Tail whip.
- However, if you can’t cut his tail to receive the whip before he’s dead, you can return to this location after defeating Artorias the Abysswalker to face the two newly spawned lesser Sanctuary Guardians and cut their tail to get the whip. You can do this by shooting arrows at one of the enemy’s tails from the safety of the tunnel.
Don’t underestimate the Sanctuary Guardian as another beastial boss in Dark Souls Remastered. He is the true representation of the challenges ahead. This boss one-shotted me countless times before I bested him. There are no two ways of fighting him; you have to get good or go home.