The Artorias of the Abyss DLC in Dark Souls is an addon that you either want to play or you don’t. It all depends on how much raging you want to handle. This DLC has many new areas to explore with a total of 5 new bosses that are a lot harder than most of the bosses in the main game.
One of them is considered to be one of the hardest bosses in all of Dark Souls games. Most people don’t know how to access this DLC because it is not an easy task to open up the portal to the first area.
There are specific steps that you must follow to finally get to it and it is not like the game explains each one. SPOILER WARNING to anyone who wants to figure out how to access the DLC alone.
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How to access the DLC
Step 1 – The first thing you are going to want to do is to go to Duke’s Archives and head up the first elevator. You will then see a Crystal Golem up on the right-hand side of the room. When you kill him, he will drop a Broken Pendant which you need later on to open up the portal to Oolacile.
You will also have to have the Lord Vessel placed down so you can fast travel back to the other areas once you reach the DLC world.
Step 2 – After you do those things, you are going to go to the Darkroot Basin and reach the bottom of the area where there is a giant lake. There are a couple of ways to reach this area but you will know you are there because a giant Hydra is spitting green liquid at you.
You are then going to want to take your time and cut off each of its heads until you finally kill it. Once that is done you are ready for the nest part.
Step 3 – After you kill the Hydra, walk through the water on the left side and follow the wall. You will eventually come upon a cave with a small amount of water in it. In this cave is a Golden Golem and you must fight it.
If the Golden Golem is not in the cave when you get there, then fast travel back to the Bonfire and try again. You will eventually find it. Once you kill it, the Dusk of Oolacile will be freed from the Golem and ask you to help save their world.
Step 4 – All you have to do is accept the quest and she will disappear, and a portal will open up at the end of the cave. All you have to do to start the DLC is to walk over to the portal and go inside. You will then be grabbed by a giant arm and pulled inside to begin your long journey through a very hard part of the game.
The Bosses
There are a total of five different bosses that come with the expansion, but I am adding Great Grey Wolf Sif, even though he is in the base game because he is in the DLC as an NPC. These bosses are considered harder than all the other bosses in the game and can be very challenging to defeat.
This ultimately makes for a great DLC and some amazing fights. After you finally beat this DLC, you will have a sense of accomplishment because of everything you had to go through.
Great Grey Wolf Sif – A very large wolf who resides in a serene graveyard, across the river from the Darkroot Garden. It can also be reached by climbing up the ladder close to where you defeated the Hydra in the Darkroot Basin. According to lore, Sif was Artorias the Abysswalker’s pet.
When Artorias was swallowed by the Abyss, he threw up his Greatshield to protect Sif. Now, he guards his fallen comrade’s grave and ring to ensure what happened to Artorias does not happen to anyone else.
Sanctuary Guardian – The white-winged lion sanctuary watchkeeper, who dreaded the spread of the Abyss. The Guardian exhibited traits of several animals other than lions, suggesting that it was no ordinary beast, but rather closer to the beings known as Demons.
The Sanctuary Guardian is a huge manticore guarding the entry to Oolacile Sanctuary. It’s a powerful creature that functions as the first boss of the DLC area and a hint for what’s to come.
Knight Artorias – He was one of the four knights of Gwyn and was given the Wolf Ring, which let him wield a Greatsword. He then discovered the art of abysswalking which let him try to defeat any enemies that were in the Abyss.
He then was defeated by the many creatures of the Abyss and gave Sif his Greatshield to protect him. Even though he was good, he succumbed to the Abyss and it took him over. He is now one of the hardest bosses in Dark Souls according to many people.
Black Dragon Kalameet – He is one of the strongest dragons still alive, and is encountered by the player several times before he can finally be defeated. The only way to actually fight him is to get attacked by him and then go speak to Hawkeye Gough after the Artorias of the Abyss boss arena.
He will then shoot down Kalameet so you can fight him on the ground. Once you climb down the ladder into the valley, he will be waiting for you to fight him.
Manus, Father of the Abyss – He is the final boss of the DLC and is considered probably in the top 3 hardest bosses in the series. While something of a demon in appearance when encountered by the player, Manus was in fact once human.
He became the Father of the Abyss when his humanity went wild, but it is not known what caused this. According to both Marvelous Chester and Hawkeye Gough, an unidentified Primordial Serpent urged the citizens of Oolacile to go delving in the dark of the Abyss, where they awoke this primordial man.
The number of new weapons and armor sets
There are a total of 11 new unique weapons that you can collect throughout the DLC, and they are all worth getting. They are also not just melee, there are magic weapons too if you have a magic build. Everything you need is right in front of you, you just have to go and find each weapon.
Even if you beat the DLC, you can still go through and find all the weapons that you want to. There are also 5 new armor sets for you to collect and they are all also unique to the DLC. There are also a couple of hats you can get that don’t have a set that comes with them.
Ultimately, everything that you get in the DLC is worth it because it is unique and easy to use. There are also countless numbers of other items that you can find like rings and souls. Each item you find will give you something that you can use later on.
The new worlds and enemies
There are a total of 7 new Bonfire locations that take you through a new world that is different from any place you have seen in the series before. If you light every Bonfire, you will be able to fast travel to anyone of them if you have the Lord Vessel placed down.
Not only are there new worlds to explore, but there are also new enemies to fight and they all have different moves and weapons. Not counting the bosses, there are 7 new enemies that you will fight throughout the DLC and they are paired up with many you have fought before.
You will have to learn how to fight the new ones with the ones you have already fought as well. Make sure you take it slow so you don’t die as much, not saying you won’t die at all because if it is your first time playing, you will.
Is it worth your time?
It is up to the person to determine whether or not they want to play the DLC because it can be very challenging and not a lot of people can complete it all the way through.
It is definitely worth playing because it gives you as a Dark Souls player something else that is different but still has the feel that you ultimately love.
Everything that adds something new to anything as long as it is good is definitely worth your time so I think if you want more Dark Souls, then play the DLC because it is amazing. It automatically comes with Dark Souls Remastered, but if you have the original version, you are going to have to buy it separately.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the DLC is actually a really good addon to the game because of all the content it adds. It is just up to the player whether or not they want to take the time and play it. It is worth your time because of all the bosses that are remembered in it.
I am not a huge fan of Dark Souls 2 because of the sheer amount of bosses that I don’t remember. Dark Souls 1 is the opposite. I remember every one of them and the DLC definitely adds something new to the table. It is worth a try at least.