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

Crystal Sage 

If you were expecting a witch in the woods, you found it. Lording over the Road of Sacrifices is the Crystal Sage.

The Crystal Sage casts many of the same spells you can learn yourself, so avoiding them isn’t tough. The large homing crystal moves slowly, so simply keep moving to avoid it. The Sage may also cast faster-moving magic arrows and bursts, and you’ll need to roll to avoid either of these. The boss arena itself is littered with pillars, so you can always hang behind these if you need cover. However, many spells can be avoided if you simply stay close to the Sage. After enough damage, she’ll teleport away, creating crystals along the ground; stay clear of these.

When her health hits 50%, the Sage will spawn clones of herself. These go down with just one hit, so quickly take them out and focus on your real target. She’ll create more with each teleportation.

The Crystal Sage does heavy magic damage, but only if you aren’t moving fast enough to avoid her spells. Don’t get too greedy with your attacks, and you’ll be OK.

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

Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.