Dark Souls is known for difficult boss battles. One of the easier ones was still challenging for MeinMMO author Christoph Waldboth – this had nothing to do with skill.
The bosses from the first Dark Souls from 2011 are legendary. The duo Ornstein and Smough, for example, has instilled fear in many players and was also my first major hurdle in the world of Souls games.
Since I have overcome them, I love the series and also the other titles from FromSoftware, such as Elden Ring. However, no other game has managed to engage me emotionally like this one. In the case of Dark Souls, this is due to a boss that is not too difficult from a gameplay perspective. Instead, its story is quite sad, which complicates the fight for moral reasons.
If you are looking for help with Souls games, you will find it on MeinMMO: Here are 6 tips for new players
A boss that makes you feel sorry
Which boss is being talked about? The one in question is Sif, the large, gray wolf. He waits in the area of the Darkroot Garden at the grave of his master, Artorias.
The wolf protects the final resting place with a sword in his mouth. His lore is touching. Many years ago, Sif accompanied his master Artorias when he tried to protect the city of Oolacile from the evil forces of the abyss.
However, the two were overwhelmed by the hostile power, and Artorias was overcome by corruption. Before that, he built a protective wall around his wolf, so nothing would happen to him. After Artorias’ death, Sif returned to his grave, where he meets the player of Dark Souls in the present.
How does the fight go? As the wolf sees the grave as threatened, he confronts us players, and a boss fight ensues. Sif fights with his gigantic sword, which he carries in his mouth. He is quite nimble and likes to jump around the arena, in the center of which Artorias’ grave rises into the night sky.
The fight was not particularly difficult for me even on the first playthrough. Sif’s attacks are easy to recognize, and I could dodge them well. I diminished his health bar without major issues. However, something happened at about the halfway point that I did not expect.
Sif started limping. His animations immediately made it clear that the wolf was suffering from injuries from the fight and was becoming weaker. The more I hit him, the worse it got.
Then I began to feel sorry for Sif. Suddenly, I didn’t want to defeat the boss anymore. The sight of the limping wolf touched me, and combined with his lore, everything in me rebelled against continuing the fight.
Ultimately, I reluctantly defeated Sif and also grabbed his boss soul along with the “Covenant of Artorias” ring. You need that later to face another boss, the “Four Kings.”
The DLC makes up for many things
This was not, however, the last encounter between Sif and me. In the DLC “Artorias of the Abyss,” which takes place in the past, you meet the wolf behind the magical protective wall that his master had erected earlier.
If you save Sif at this point, he helps as a phantom in the following battle against Manus, one of the hardest bosses in the entire game. This at least calmed my guilty conscience a bit, as I could help Sif, and we could fight together against an even stronger opponent.
Still, I hesitate, with each new playthrough, to enter the Darkroot Garden and Sif’s arena. Because I know it will be emotional again. That he is one of the mandatory bosses of Dark Souls and has to be defeated on the way to the end does not make the matter any easier. Currently, FromSoftware is causing a stir again: Elden Ring surprises everyone with a spin-off, a mix of rogue-like and battle royale – fans are excited
