I have had a real tough time with the Old Dragonslayer in Dark Souls 2, I must have died at least a hundred times. I think it would be beneficial if I shared my strategy with everyone on how I managed to defeat him.
Getting There
From Majula you want to take the tunnel behind the Cat lady’s house, it should lead down into the sewers. From there it is a straight forward path, just make sure to flip the switch off to the left when you reach the flood gate. After passing the flood gate you should find yourself at Heides Tower Of Flame.
Heides Tower Of Flame has a ton of giant knights, be careful these guys will wreck you very quickly. Fighting the knights who have a sword and shield are a lot easier than fighting the ones with the great sword. Make sure you circle around to the left (clockwise) when fighting the shield knights, keep your distance when he swings a second time, you can get hit by his backhand swing. After the second swing you want to close in on him and wail on his back. Rinse and repeat.
For the great sword knights, I don’t have any fool-proof mechanics to survive. I still die on them from time to time. But you want to circle to the left of them, dodge to the left when he swings, but be ready to doge a second time. Watch out for his super slam, that move has killed me more times than I care to remember.
The Cathedral Of Blue
From Heides Tower Of Flame you have to fight a total of nine giant knights to reach the Old Dragonslayer. You will meet them in this order:
Shield Knight x 1
After defeating this knight, make sure you take an immediate right, there will be some stairs that lead to a bonfire.
Great sword Knight x 1
There is a body to the right, hanging over the railing. Loot him after you defeat the knight.
Shield Knight x 1
This knight is guarding a switch, once you kill him the switch will open. The switch is one of two that opens a path to another boss. Make sure to turn around and check the body behind the doorway.
Great sword Knight x 1, Shield Knight x 2
This is the hardest combination to defeat while getting to the Old Dragonslayer. You’ll meet them in a large circular room, once you aggro them the great sword knight will start walking towards you. The other two shield knights will stay back until you defeat the first knight, and once you defeat him they will both start heading towards you. As mêlée this is a nightmare, if you have any firebombs, throwing knives or any ranged attacks save them for these two.
After killing the trio of knights you can activate the second switch, which will open another boss fight. In the circular room you want to take a left, going right leads to another great sword knight and a different boss. After taking a left you’ll notice the next set of enemies.
Great sword Knight x 1, Shield Knight x 1
When you aggro these enemies the great sword knight will pursue you first, and only after killing him will the shield knight begin to chase you. Before going up the stairs make sure to take a left down the steps, there is another body with an item. Just don’t fall off.
Shield Knight x 1
This is the last knight before the Old Dragonslayer, he guards the switch that lowers the drawbridge. Kill him and then activate the switch. At end of the drawbridge there will be a chest and a body, loot them both and then go through the mist.
The Old Dragonslayer
Upon entering the room you will see the Old Dragonslayer on the other side, he will dash across the room and try to stab you. Make sure you dodge to the right the second you see him move, otherwise you will lose about half your health. After you recover you want to constantly circle clockwise around him, make sure you are really close to him too, otherwise he will spam his dash attack.
Most of the Old Dragonslayer’s attacks are with his pike, but he does cast some dark magic attacks on occasion. He will most certainly always do his dark slam attack every fight. When you see a cloud of lightning and darkness surround him you want to back away as quickly as possible, at least a solid ten feet.
If you need to heal then using your Estus Flask would be ideal during this attack, but make sure you are out of the blast radius first.
For his other dark magic attack he will shoot three balls of magic at you, but this attack is extremely rare and I have only seen it twice. Sadly, I don’t know how to rightfully avoid the attack, I assume a simple dodge would do the trick.
The Old Dragonslayer has a devastating two hit combo that will kill you if you get hit by both attacks. He will thrust his pike forward and then do an upwards sweeping attack. Don’t dodge the first thrust, doing so will make the second attack hit you for 75% of your health. You can either take the hit, or block it. I highly suggest you block the first thrust and try to parry the second. If you are not good at parrying, then block both attacks, you will run out of stamina but you wont be left open for another attack.
He will also jump up and slam his pike down, simply dodging to the left will prevent this attack from hitting you. You can parry just about every attack he does, including the dashing thrust attack but I highly recommend you dodge it. Parrying will save you from a hit, but it wont daze the Old Dragonslayer, so be ready to dodge. He also has a four hit combo attack that is painfully hard to avoid, but if you are circling around him clockwise you’ll be ok, keep your shield up for safety.
Lightning and magic weapons are the Old Dragonslayers weakness, so if you have any lightning or magic resins then now is the time to use them.
The Old Dragonslayer is definitely one of the hardest bosses I have fought so far, just because how quickly he can kill you. Just remember to circle around him clockwise and you’ll be ok. After defeating the Old Dragonslayer you will get 20,000 souls, a helm and a ring. Defeating this boss will also open access to another bonfire, two chests and the blue sentinels covenant. Best of luck!
