If there's one thing that has always distinguished the Souls saga, it's the high epic rate of its boss fights. With Dark Souls Remastered, many players have approached the From Software series for the first time, getting acquainted with a level of challenge that's always challenging and with the famous "You're Dead" screenshot. Although experience and trial and error are the only real weapon against the various enemies we encounter, certain bosses remain challenging to defeat. For this very reason, this "first chapter" of guides is intended to show you how to defeat the most difficult bosses in the game, suggesting the best approach and the best equipment. Let's start with one of the most difficult fights in the game: the one against Ornstein and Smough.
Dark Souls Remastered: How to take down Ornstein and Smough
Let's start by clarifying an important aspect: if a lot of bosses in Dark Souls are difficult only at the first few bars of the game, then they are simple in the New Game+, it's not the case with Ornstein and Smough. Fighting against this "strange couple" will always be challenging, and any loss of attention will be punished with the maximum possible penalty: the game over. Precisely for this reason, you must immediately realize what is your most obvious disadvantage: the numerical inferiority. Although this is not the first boss fight against more than one enemy simultaneously, it is certainly the most difficult.
Ornstein and Smough have different and, in many ways, almost complementary characteristics. If the former makes speed his strong point, Smough will be able to finish with a single blow of his hammer. The ideal would be to face these two bosses in the company of another player; otherwise, you can always evoke Solaire, through his sign, right next to the fog. However, you should know that without the right support, the good Solaire will soon be put out of action. For this very reason, your first objective will be the most obvious: to re-establish numerical parity.
Ornstein and Smough: Who to defeat first?
As many may have realized, it will not be easy to defeat even one of these bosses. If Ornstein can reach you, with his shots, in virtually any corner of the stage, Smough will be ready to crush you with his mighty hammer. However, if you have to choose, our advice is to take Ornstein out first. The motivations are simple: with his speed, Lord Gwyn's knight will always be on your tail, never giving you peace; Smough, on the other hand, being much slower, will be able to "pull your breath" when necessary. All this without taking into account that Smough's "final form" is much less difficult than that of his "colleague". To get the result, try to snap the two bosses apart and start attacking Ornstein.
If you decide to follow this strategy, equip a weapon that possesses the fire attribute, which is Ornstein's only weakness. Hit him with this weapon, being careful to dodge his attacks (or parry them when possible) until you defeat him, always keeping Smough's actions under control. Once Ornstein is down, Smough will approach and absorb his powers, instantly recovering all his life, electrifying his weapon and acquiring a new attack: the Electric Crash. After performing technique, Smough will be vulnerable for a few seconds, and that's when you'll have to attack him. Be careful that this burly boss, in his final form, will be able to eliminate you with a single well-aimed shot.
Kill Smough first and leave Ornstein last.
If you decide to leave Ornstein last, you are probably looking for a higher challenge coefficient. Not only will you have to defeat Smough with Ornstein's constant concern about the sinkings, but the final form of Gwyn's knight will make the fight even more difficult. In any case, Smough is weak on electricity, which is why you prefer a weapon with this attribute and attack him when the time is right, when he has performed his "aerial techniques". Once Smough is defeated, Ornstein will absorb his powers, becoming bigger, faster, with new and more powerful attacks, and diminishing his weakness to fire.
As you may have easily imagined, this is going to be a very difficult fight. Equip yourself with fast weapons so that you can dodge his techniques. If you have it, equip the Ring with the Dark Wood Emblem, which will improve your rolling. Try never to run out of Stamina, because it will mean certain death. The advice we have to give you, in case you have a humanity equal to or greater than 10, is to target Ornstein with the Balls of Fire, which, should they hit him, would inflict a great deal of damage.
Whatever your choice, always keep the latter in mind:
- concentrate only on one boss at a time, because once defeated, the other will regain all health;
- According to the above, never try to kill Ornstein and Smough at the same time;
- use the columns as shelter from some attacks, but remember they can be destroyed;
Rewards and other guides on Dark Souls Remastered.
Once Ornstein and Smough are defeated, you will receive 30,000 souls as a reward. If you decide to defeat Smough last, you will get the following items:
- Lion's Ring (from Ornstein);
- Smough's ring;
- Smough's armor (purchased from Domhnall);
If you defeated Ornstein last, you will have access to the following items:
- Soul of Ornstein;
- Ornstein armor (available from Domhnall);
