The Old Dragonslayer is a blast from the past boss in Dark Souls 2. Do not let nostalgia get to you for this boss is no slouch. This Dragon Slayer Ornstein’s imitation goes toe to toe with his earlier rendition and you are in a world of hurt if you rely on your muscle memory since this dude has some new tricks up his sleeve.
Let us help you remove these goggles and finally put an end to the Old Dragonslayer in Dark Souls 2.
Fighting Old Dragonslayer in Dark Souls 2
The Old Dragonslayer is a washed-out Dragon Slayer Ornstein. His appearance and moveset are somewhat the same as Ornstein’s, which could be good or bad.
Recalling the last time you faced him will help you out since he has a very similar moveset to his older version. However, there are a few new things added to his repertoire that might catch you off guard.
The Old Dragonslayer is an aggressive boss who likes to use his speed and agility to constantly reposition and use this far-reaching spear to jab you. Although, his regular attacks are pretty simple and a little bit of practice will put you up to speed in this regard.
The newness lies in him using Dark energy instead of lightning like before. He has a couple of new attacks like an AOE explosion and dark projectiles that might take some time to get used to.
All in all, this fight is pretty straightforward once you understand his spear attacks. The dark energy attacks are the ones to be careful of.
Here are some tips and tricks to consider when facing Old Dragonslayer in Darks Souls 2:
- The boss is resistant to only Dark elemental damage. Other elements will work just fine against him.
- His attacks can be parried.
- You can summon Masterless Glencour to aid you in this battle. However, his summon sign is near Dragonrider’s arena.
- Equipping Lightning and/or Dark resistant armor and shield will prove beneficial in this fight.
Boss Strategy
The strategy to beating Old Dragonslayer in Dark Souls 2 can be summed up in a single sentence; MOVE/DODGE TO THE RIGHT FTW!
Almost all of Old Dragonslayer’s attacks are either front-facing thrusts or slams, minus the occasional horizontal slashes. These attacks always come from the left side so a few steps to the right will ensure they completely miss you. His attack range is pretty limited and circle-strafing to the right will exploit it to high hell.
You can use this movement to try and stick close to him. Dealing damage in between his attacks will slowly trickle away his HP.
For the pesky slashes, we advise you to put your shield up while walking to the sides. It will help tank all those stray horizontal slashes that might end up hitting you. Blocking shouldn’t be relied upon cause his attacks will eat up too much stamina to sustain this strategy.
If you can get behind him then things get even more merrier. You can really lay into him from here since none of his attacks will reach his backside. The only thing you need to watch out for are his AOE attacks and when he repositions.
His attacks have long recoveries too. Exploiting these windows will lead to a swift defeat.
To sum it up is an equation, Shield up > Circle around boss > Attack > Rinse and Repeat.
Moveset
These are all of Old Dragonslayer’s attacks in Dark Souls 2 and how you must react to them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Thrust | Crouches and thrusts himself toward you with his spear poking out | Dodge to the side or Block |
| Leaping Thrust | Jumps in the air and delivers a forward spear thrust | Dodge to the side or Block |
| Dual Slashes | Performs two consecutive horizontal slashes with his spear | Put your shield up or roll into the incoming slash |
| Long Combo | Thrust his spear forward then performs 2 to 3 horizontal slashes | Dodge the thrust and bring up your shield to block the rest of the combo. Best to block one slash and dodge away out of range to save stamina |
| Thrust to Uppercut | Thrusts his spear and then performs a spear uppercut | Dodge the thrust to the side and keep moving in the direction to ignore the uppercut |
| Skewer | Dual-hands his spear and lunges toward you. If this attack hits, he will skewer you with the spear and throw you back down. | You cannot block this attack. Dodge to the side at any cost or else this can one-shot you |
| Dark AOE Slam | Charges up dark energy then jumps straight up landing with an dark AOE explosion | Backoff as soon as you see him channel the dark energy |
| Spear Projectiles | His spear will glow with dark energy. He then slams it into the ground releasing several dark projectiles that home in on you | Back off to ignore the spear slam. Now dodge the projectiles before they hit you. You can absorb them if you have a good dark-resistant shield. |
Rewards for Defeating the Old Dragonslayer
Here are all the things you get for taking out the Old Dragonslayer in Dark Souls 2:
- 20,000 Souls
- Old Dragonslayer Soul
- Old Leo Ring
The Old Dragonslayer in Dark Souls 2 does attempt to carry Ornstein’s torch with pride from the OG Dark Souls. However, he forgets that he is nothing without his chungus friend Smough and thus this boss fight has nothing fancy going for it. Must be some weak dragons who got slayed by this fool!