At long last, Dark Souls 3 is finally available in stores around the globe, bringing a new string of challenges and monstrosities for the Dark Souls community to overcome. Of course, while many fans take pride in carving through each new entry in the series, figuring out the weaknesses of each boss and discovering all the secrets hidden throughout the game, many people need a bit of help to make it through each new Dark Souls release. So we’re putting together guides to help you get through the game’s toughest encounters.
Today, we’ll teach you how to take down the Curse-rotted Greatwood, one of the largest bosses you’ll encounter during the Dark Souls 3 campaign. When you enter the Greatwood’s lair, you’ll find the giant tree surrounded by worshippers from Undead Settlement. Before you engage the boss, spend a couple of minutes picking these enemies off one by one, working your way from the right side of the battlefield to the left.
Once you’re ready, move closer to the Curse-rotted Greatwood until the warped tree rises from its slumber and begins moving towards the player. Retreat to a healthy distance and let the boss’s first attack wipe out any smaller enemies still lingering on the battlefield. Sometimes you’ll need to be patient and wait for a second or third attack to get the job done.
Once the battlefield is clear, focus your attention on the pustules growing in the Curse-rotted Greatwood’s groin region. Stick close to the Greatwood, using the gap between its knees and the ground to avoid damage when it rotates, and continue to strike the pustules until they break. At this point, back up a bit because the the Greatwood will slam the ground hard enough to break it, dropping both of you down into a new area and killing any remaining enemies on the battlefield.
Positioning becomes much more important in the second phase of the fight. The Curse-rotted Greatwood sprouts a third arm that you’ll want to avoid by staying to either side, or directly behind, the boss. A new grouping of pustules will spawn below the arm, which must eventually be dealt with, but we recommend starting with some peripheral spots first. Start with the pustule on the boss’ left hand, which will stun it briefly when popped. While the Greatwood is motionless, switch focus to the groin pustules again and destroy them as quickly as possible. Standing close should keep you out of range of the boss’ grab attack; however, you’ll still need to avoid strikes from the new arm.
Breaking the groin pustules will stun the boss again, giving you time to break the pustule on its left thigh. At this point, rotate around to the back of the boss and concentrate all of your attention on the pustule cluster growing on its lower back. Destroying that grouping should be enough to remove the last bits of life from the boss’ health meter.
In case there was any doubt, the Curse-rotted Greatwood is far from the most difficult boss the player will encounter during their time with Dark Souls 3. That said, this boss fight is substantially more difficult than the Iundex Gundyr or Vordt of Boreal Valley encounters. So keep that in mind if you find yourself struggling to get the kill, and don’t get discouraged if the Curse-rotted Greatwood takes a few more attempts to defeat.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more Dark Souls 3 coverage throughout 2016 and for however long FromSoftware supports Dark Souls 3 in the months following launch.
