Dark Souls 2 Walkthrough for all Bosses

Here you’ll find the final instalment to this Dark Souls 2 bosses walkthrough. Take on bosses, both new and optional, to prepare yourself for the final battle against evil queen Nashandra. Summon your strength and stamina, you’re going to need it to tick off this list.


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19. Defeating The Rotten

Your next Dark Souls 2 boss battle is against The Rotten, his name due to the fact he is a sizeable undead. Yummy. Although unpleasant, this also reveals a weakness; use fire against The Rotten to strike most powerfully. You’ll need to be very agile in this fight as The Rotten doesn’t give you much space, keeping close to you the whole time. Keeping in mind his potentially one hit kill attack, for which he grabs you, this won’t be an easy feat. The Rotten’s other moves vary from magic, which he uses in later stages, to sweeping and slashing motions with his blade and finally poisonous vomit. When trying to avoid all of this, you must watch out for fire pits in the arena.

20. Defeating the Looking Glass Knight
If your character can wield magic or lightning, these will be great advantages in your fight against the Looking Glass Knight. This Drangleic Castle boss is capable of using melee attacks and magic, by staying close to him you can provoke him to keep using melee attacks and avoid the spells. When taking this approach, make sure you have a strong shield with you too. In this boss battle you won’t just have to take on the Looking Glass Knight, he also summons a phantom by slamming his shield down and drawing one from it. The best time to strike is as soon as you see the phantom; it needs a little time to stand up, giving you a great chance to knock its health down. When a phantom is summoned, concentrate on defeating it before continuing your fight with the boss, but try to be aware of him too as he might cast a spell when you’re otherwise distracted.

21. Defeating the Demon of Song
To strike this boss, you need to be close to it because the Demon of Song has two stances and only one can actually be attacked. This gives you an advantage too, the Demon of Song returns to his closed stance after each attack, so the onslaught isn’t so intense. However from the closed stance the Demon of Song will charge at you if you are ‘too’ far away, your only option here is to dodge the move but it’s his fastest move so you’ll have to be quick too. When available for attack, the Demon of Song will rise and then slam on top of you, causing you a lot of pain. This move cannot be blocked and if you roll at the last moment he will follow you. To avoid it, retreat as much as possible when the Demon of Song starts to rise up. If you manage to dodge the attack you are then able to strike back about three times. By standing too close to this boss you’ll cause him to jump and slam fast, once again you’re only option is dodging the move. The Demon of Song has a fatal move, if he grabs you it’s over. As with the other moves, the key is dodging not blocking which then leads to a chance to fight back.

22. Defeating the Velstadt
As with other large characters in the game, this knight fights with wide sweeping attacks. But Velstadt also casts a spell on himself, which is when the battle really progresses. While Velstadt is casting a spell you can attack him well, but the spell increases the knight’s power and defences. After this boss has cast the spell he doesn’t change tactics, it will just be more important that you dodge his advances and strike back when possible.

23. Defeating the Guardian Dragon
Towards the end of Aldias Keep you’ll face the Guardian Dragon of Dark Souls 2. Being a dragon, this boss has the ability to breathe fire at you from the ground, air or a wall. Scary, huh? Your advantage is that the Guardian Dragon is fixed to his position when firing on the ground, so avoid the blaze and come in from a different angle to attack. As a general guide, getting far away from the dragon when he starts this attack is the best way to avoid it, the flames only cover about a third of the space so there is plenty of room to get away. Other than his fire the Guardian Dragon uses basic moves like biting, swinging his tail and swiping his claws, if you stay close the dragon’s accuracy is poor – just don’t stand by his face where he can bite.

24. Defeating the Ancient Dragon
Despite optional, the Ancient Dragon is challenge atop the Dragon Shrine. This boss attacks from both the ground and the air. When on the ground, it is best to remain under the Ancient Dragon’s head and evade his attacks. He will breathe fire at you and when this happens run outside until the flames are out. While the Ancient Dragon is airborne, stay underneath or behind him to avoid damage.

25. Defeating the Giant Lord
Back in the memory of a fallen giant you’ll come across and battle the next boss, the Giant Lord. When taking on this opponent dodging is everything as his attacks are too powerful to block. Staying near the Giant Lord’s feet avoids most of his attempts, but he will try to stamp on your so be ready to dart out of the way. Even circling the Giant Lord’s feet won’t totally protect you from his club, but as he is generally quite slow you should have time to anticipate the move and avoid it.

26. Defeating the Throne Defender & Watcher
The penultimate boss battle of Dark Souls 2 is against an enemy duo situated near the final boss. They are your final hurdle before defeating the last boss. Therefore you should expect this to be a tricky battle. But there are ways you can make it easier for yourself. Firstly, characters are able to summon NPC phantoms here which will even the odds of the fight. Your approach to the battle is also very important, once you kill one of the knights the other will try to resurrect it after 30 seconds, hence undoing your hard work. Prevent this from happening by weakening both of the knights and delivering the final blasts fast to both bosses. This may be a challenge because although they mainly use melee attacks, which you can avoid or block, sometimes they will cast spells; but by doing so they apply resin to their swords and make the strikes more dangerous. To overcome the bosses try to poison them as both are weak to it.

27. Defeating the final Boss in Dark Souls 2 - Nashandra
Finally, the last boss of the game. It’s time to face the queen. She will primarily use three attacks. The first are orbs which curse you if you get too close. Nashandra also employs close combat by attacking with her scythe and her final move is a long-distance beam. As long as you’re mindful, the orbs should not become a major issue. They can be destroyed by attacking them with a weapon; just don’t let them build up all around you. Dealing with Nashandra’s scythe is simply a matter of blocking or avoiding, if this style suits you stay close to the boss to encourage such attacks. Finally the beams Nashandra fires across the arena can also be handled by avoidance. The additional advantage you can employ is summoning NPCs, make sure you check before you pass through the fog door. As the final boss of Dark Souls 2, don’t expect Nashandra to be a walk in the park, but with this guide you should have no trouble taking down the wretched queen.

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