Dark Souls 3 boss guide - how to defeat every top tier enemy

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Take down every Dark Souls 3 boss with our complete walkthrough guide

Curse-Rotted Greatwood (Optional) 

The Undead Settlement is full of baddies, but you’ll have to beat one giant monster before you can leave that place behind. That monster is enormous Curse-Rotted Greatwood. You don’t have to defeat it, but you won’t be able to infuse Boss Souls into your weapons without doing so.

You should take out as many villagers as you can before focusing on the Greatwood, as they’ll just make things more complicated. When you turn towards the boss itself, look for the white pustules dangling from its bark: these are its weak point. As you attack, you’ll notice you don’t do much damage – until a pustule bursts, taking a chunk out of the Greatwood’s life bar.

When that life bar drops to about 75%, the Greatwood will break through the ground, sending you tumbling down into a different arena. Both here and above ground, the boss uses the same attacks. It may smash its base into the ground, spin, belly flop, or slam its fists down. In all cases, the Greatwood rears up for the attack, so you should have plenty of time to dodge away.

One thing changes once the fight moves underground: the Greatwood will sprout a pale, gangly extra arm. He can attack with this too, but it also serves as another weak point. If you’ve already burst the sacs on his bark, turn your attention to the arm. Keep an eye on the boss (and any villagers hanging around), and you’ll be able to chop this tree down.

Jump to Boss:

Iudex Gundyr
Vordt of the Boreal Valley
Curse-Rotted Greatwood (Optional)
Crystal Sage
Abyss Watchers
Deacons of the Deep
High Lord Wolnir
Old Demon King (Optional)
Pontiff Sulyvahn
Yhorm the Giant
Aldrich, Devourer of Gods
Dancer of the Boreal Valley
Oceiros, the Consumed King (Optional)
Champion Gundyr (Optional)
Dragonslayer Armour
Lothric, Younger Prince
Ancient Wyvern (Optional)
Nameless King (Optional)
Soul of Cinder

Tony Wilson
Freelance Writer

Tony lives in Maryland, where he writes about those good old-fashioned video games for GamesRadar+. His words have also appeared on GameSpot and G4, but he currently works for Framework Video, and runs Dungeons and Dragons streams.