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 Crystal Sage, one of the first fights that’s going to be tough for the slow-moving heavy armor/sword-and-board crowd. The Sage moves around its lair more than any of the bosses we’ve encountered thus far, forcing you to expend a fair amount of energy just to put yourself back in attacking range. And the second phase requires even better endurance management than the first.
When you enter the Crystal Sage’s lair, immediately make a beeline for the boss. Keep an eye on the sage and watch for incoming magic that must be dodged. Most of the projectile attacks will fly past you without dealing any damage but the Sage has a ground-based attack that hits everything in a straight line. Once you get close, unload on the boss, leaving yourself just enough endurance to roll away if the Sage switches to physical attacks.
After taking a bit of damage, the Crystal Sage will sink into the ground, disappearing for a few moments. When this happens, head towards the center of the battlefield, that way you don’t have to run too far to the Sage’s new location. Once the boss reappears, charge forward again, dodging any incoming magic, and slash away some more. Continue this process until you’ve removed about half of Crystal Sage’s health, triggering the second phase of the fight.
The second phase of the fight against the Crystal Sage will test the patience of many players. Now, when the Sage disappears and reappears, it will be joined by several copies, each of which will repeatedly cast a spell at the player. It’s important that you dodge as many of these incoming spells as possible, locate the Sage casting dark magic and charge it as quickly and safely as possible. Hopefully, you’ll still have a few Estus flasks left to use because it’s difficult to emerge from this portion of the fight unscathed. If you do need to heal, try to put a wall between yourself and the Sages. Like the first phase of the fight, you’ll probably have to repeat this pattern a few times but it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes (total) to defeat the game’s fourth boss.
The Crystal Sage isn’t the hardest encounter you’ll find in Dark Souls 3. But it’s not exactly the easiest fight in the game, either. Learning how to find a safe path through all of the incoming magic can be patience-trying; the sort of thing that some people need to take a break from before they finally get it right. So keep that in mind if you find yourself struggling to get the kill and don’t get discouraged if the Crystal Sage 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.
