Dark Souls 3 - Lothric Castle and Dragonslayer Armour
How to kill Dragonslayer Armour, along with a step-by-step walkthrough for making it through the Lothric Castle section of Dark Souls 3.
From the chapel bonfire, head up the ladder and into the area ahead to find a priest and a knight. The priest will start to buff the knight as you enter, and he'll heal him during the fight, so it's a good idea to run across and interrupt him, then take him out of commission first to make the knight a little easier to tackle.
Collect the souls from the altar and then take the stairs up - another priest and a couple of knights will be in your way, so once again deal with the priest first. Try and bring the fight back down the stairs rather than fighting at the top as there's another knight and priest ahead, and if you get too close they'll join in.
Carry on the passage into the room ahead and light the bonfire. The arch opposite will take you back to the previous boss fight area, so take the other exit up the small flight of steps into another room, loot the chest, and step onto the balcony.
The area ahead is packed full of skeletons and zombies, and they've had a bit of an upgrade since we met them last. The larger ones may be able to one-shot you, so try to avoid getting mobbed - head up slowly and try to draw individual enemies out if you can.
There are a few items scattered around on the lower extremities, but the path generally just continues in a slow clockwise ascent against the tide of enemies. Eventually, it'll level out and you'll find another bonfire.
Light it and then head up the steps towards the sleeping dragon. As you approach the stone bridge, a second one will show up, so back off to avoid the blast damage and let them fight it out.
When the coast is clear, move into the building ahead to face more knights and priests, and as before, deal with the priests as early as possible to avoid the fight dragging out. Head up the stairs and follow them round to the left until you're back outside.
In an alcove to your left is an elevator that opens a shortcut to an earlier bonfire, so take a ride down and back up to activate it, and then head across to the fog gate to face the last Lord of Cinder.
How to kill Dragonslayer Armour
This guy is big and moves slowly, but his attacks are fast and brutal. In the first phase, his overhead slam is likely to be the biggest problem, and if you get caught by it it can mean the fight ends there and then - but it takes him a while to wind up, so as soon as you see him raising his weapon above his head, start backing away.
As with most of these fights, dash in for a couple of attacks while he recovers and then retreat to a safe distance. If you're using a shield with 100% physical resistance and a high stability rating, then many of regular attacks can be blocked, but his shield charge is best avoided as it consumes a lot of your stamina when it connects.
When he hits 50% health, not only does he start dealing more damage with his attack, you'll also need to start watching out for a few additional problems. First, projectile attacks from the strange apparitions floating in the distance make an appearance; while they don't do a great deal of damage, they can stagger you and leave you open to the boss.
Second, his weapon can now damage the railings on the bridge, so you have the added peril that you can be knocked off to your doom.
Finally, he has a new blast attack. If you see him two-handing his weapon and moving towards you, retreat as far and as quickly as you can, as he'll suddenly rush and throw a burst of air at you, dealing a massive amount of damage.
Once he's dead, light the bonfire and head back to Firelink.
- Our walkthrough continues with a step-by-step guide to completing Dark Souls 3's Smouldering Lake and the Old Demon King sections.
- You can find the rest of our Dark Souls 3 guide from the first page of this article.