Dragonrider is one of the easier bosses in Dark Souls 2. This will be a very standard knight fight for you but if its still proving to be troublesome then this guide is going to be perfect for you. Let’s look at how you can swiftly defeat the Dragonrider in Dark Souls 2.
If you’ve read our previous boss guides, you’ll know that we also mention any potential cheese strategy for such bosses as well as their rewards. So, let’s get into all that!
Fighting Dragonrider in Dark Souls 2
The Dragonrider is a standard and surprisingly simple giant knight boss in Dark Souls 2. He has a limited and very predictable moveset. There is nothing fancy and/or special about this fight so don’t worry.
He carries a giant halberd as his weapon and a huge shield to protect himself. None of these things are wielded with any sort of ferocity. He takes his sweet time to attack and turtle up. You’ll see his attacks coming a mile away thus reacting to them is just as simple.
The only real danger in this fight is pitfalls that circle the outer edge of the arena. You are more likely to fall to your death than be clobbered by the big loaf. Furthermore, you can even remove this pitfall if you chose by pulling two levers before the boss.
As the boss’s health goes down, he will start chaining more attacks with his regular moveset. Again, these are just typical halberd swings and slams which you already have encountered.
Here are some tips and tricks to consider when facing Dragonrider in Darks Souls 2:
- You can expand and remove the edge pits of the arena where you fight Dragonrider by interacting with two levers found before the boss fight.
- The first lever is beside the second sword-wielding giant Knight.
- The second lever is by the Knight immediately after the group of three, on the right-hand side.
- The boss is weak to Slash damage type.
- He is also susceptible to Lightning and Fire damage.
- His attacks can be parried.
- Leaving the pitfalls open will unlock a way to cheese the boss and kill him instantly. More on this in the cheese section below.
- There are three summons available for this fight; Masterless Glencour, Pilgrim Bellclaire, and Bashful Ray.
Boss Strategy
The whole strategy to beating Dragonrider in Dark Souls 2 is circle stratfing then attack then strafe then attack. Rinse and repeat leads to defeat!
For his frontal attacks like the poke and overhead slams, you can simply stay on his sides and completely avoid them. Continue to attack him while he is busy with these kinds of attacks.
For the wider swiping attacks either revert to blocking or dodging into the attacks to position yourself near him. Take advantage of the windows in between these attacks to lay some punishment on him.
Ideally, the best place to be is his backside. He doesn’t have any attacks that could reach you behind him. Sticking to his butt like glue and spamming the attack button will drop this boss down before you know it.
If you want, you can circle around him, let him attack and use the recovery window to deal some damage. His attacks are highly telegraphed and learning them won’t take that long. All in all, this is not a fight you should worry about.
Moveset
These are all of Dragonrider’s attacks in Dark Souls 2 and how you must react to them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Poke | Points first and thrusts his halberd straight in front. Adds a horizontal slash follow-up when his health is lowered. | Dodge to the side or parry it. |
| Dual Horizontal Slashes | Rears his weapon and goes on to perform two consecutive horizontal slashes. Adds a follow-up overhead slam when health is lowered. | Dodge twice in the direction of the incoming slash or block with shield. |
| Overhead Slam | Pulls his halberd back and performs a straight overhead slam in front after some delay. Adds a diagonal uppercut follow-up when HP is low. | Move to side and let the attack miss you completely or dodge before it lands. |
| Wide Swipe | Raises his halberd then goes for a wide and extended spinning swipe. Adds another swipe when HP is low. | Dodge into the swipe to ignore the attack. |
| Shield Bash | When you continue blocking, the boss will bash his shield to break your guard. It will drain all of you stamina. | Do not keep blocking for long durations. Or you can use it to bait this attack and dodge away to get some hits in. |
How to Cheese Dragonrider in Dark Souls 2
In order to cheese Dragonrider in Dark Souls 2, you better have not pulled those levers and covered those pits in the arena. You need the pits for the cheese to work. The cheese itself is insanely simple.
As soon as you enter the arena, the boss will start moving towards you. Stay at the entrance and don’t move. Let the boss come to the outer rim of the arena, to the platform connecting to the circle. To make it more precise, let the boss take 7 steps towards you.
As soon as his foot hits the rim, run through the boss and move to the middle of the circle. The boss willl always go for a thrust attack and this will push him over the edge, instantly killing the boss. That it! He’s Dead!
You don’t even have to fight the boss with this stinky cheese. Just remember to not activate the levers and you are good to go.
Rewards for Defeating the Dragonrider
You’ll receive the following rewards for beating Dragonrider in Dark Souls 2:
- 12,000 Souls
- Dragonrider Soul
The Dragonrider in Dark Souls 2 is essentially a normal mob, maybe a mini-boss, who got a promotion but wasn’t equipped to handle the job. Fighting this guy is embarrassingly uncomplicated. You would expect FromSoft to come up with something better but I guess they got lazy in Dragonrider’s case.