Dark Souls III Boss Guide: How to Beat the Abyss Watchers

When the fight against the Abyss Watchers begins, it seems like a simple battle against a slightly tougher enemy. The Watcher will attack you with a greatsword, and this can be easily dealt with by either blocking with a shield, or rolling. His moves are fairly easy to read. He has a string of 5-hit combos, so be sure to wait them out before going in for your attack. He doesn’t have a lot of poise either, so your attacks will stagger him pretty easily.

As you wear down his health, other Abyss Watchers will start waking from the dead, one by one. Here’s where the fight gets a little tricky. When the first clone spawns, both the boss and the clone will target you. I suggest dodging their attacks and waiting for the second clone to spawn. Once the second one spawns, the second clone will either fight the first clone or the boss himself. If he engages the boss, take this opportunity to finish off the first clone. If he engages the first clone, those two will likely finish each other off, so you can focus on the boss as per normal. It’s also good to note that you can backstab the Abyss Watcher. If the boss ever gets distracted by the other clones, this will give you openings for some backstabs. Do take note that clones will continuously spawn during this phase of the fight.

Once you’ve taken the boss’s health down to zero, don’t celebrate just yet; the second phase of the fight is about to start. After a sweet cutscene where the main boss absorbs the essence of all the fallen Abyss Watchers, it’s time to get serious. Unless you’ve got a good fire and physical resist shield, I suggest putting away your shield and two-handing your weapon instead; blocking with the shield isn’t going to do much for you unless it has high fire defense. Instead, rely on your rolls and i-frames to dodge the attacks.

In this phase of the fight, the Watcher’s sword gains fire abilities, and he’ll perform thrusting dashes towards you if you’re far away. Take note that this will also leave a trail of fire in his wake, so be careful not to get caught in them. His attack combos will also unleash short bursts of fire around him, so make sure to dodge away and to the side, and wait for the fire to dissipate before attacking. Your best window for attacking will come when the Watcher leaps up and slams his sword into the ground. This will leave him open for just a second, and is also a great chance for getting backstabs.

The key to winning this fight is to just be patient and not get greedy with your hits in the second phase. The hardest part of the fight is being able to dodge roll successfully without getting hit, so make sure to time your dodges just as the attacks are about to land. Getting caught in one of his devastating combos will put you very near death.