Dark Souls - Iron Golem boss strategy

Iron Golem is the boss battle you'll encounter after exploring Sen's Fortress in Dark Souls.

If you're looking for more help, our Dark Souls walkthrough and guide can help with all other areas of the game, including the dreaded Taurus Demon, Capra Demon, Ornstein and Smough bosses.

Iron Golem boss strategy

There is a bit of a trick to defeating the Iron Golem. If you're human, you can summon Black Iron Tarkus, whose summon sign is in the building to the right of the Fog Gate. He can reliably solo the entire fight for you. If not, then the Golem is easier than you think. The Golem has a few principal moves, and we will be going to go through them step by step.

In terms of blocking- you're going to want to two hand your weapon for this one, as blocking can easily send you flying off of the edge of the arena if you are not careful.

With the Golem's Attacks having a fairly obvious windup, be sure to use your roll and dodge out of the way of any attacks. If you absolutely must defend instead, then we would actually recommend that you have a 100% Physical Shield Equipped.

The first attack that the Iron Golem will often use is a slash upwards, this actually can travel forwards a fair bit, so ensure you defend well. From there, It will also have a stomping attack, so be sure to dodge well as it can deal some pretty serious damage.

The most deadly attack from the Iron Golem is definitely the grab, which can send you flying across the map and to your death. So, be sure to dodge this one, as it definitely caused an upset as we were writing this guide.

Back to the Golem- it has some forward swipes which can be pretty deadly and knock you off the stage, so we would recommend staying central, just to ensure that you encounter little to no issues along the way.

The biggest liability in this fight is the lock-on with the camera, it's actually easier to be aware of where you're standing and where to roll if you do not lock on to the enemy. It sounds a little bit mad, but that's really the easiest way to do it. If you stay locked on to the Iron Golem, then you will find yourself disoriented, and fighting the camera for most of the fight instead.

The Golem's openings are obvious, and whether you have a slow or fast weapon, you should have very little trouble fighting it- just be aware of any followup attacks that the Golem might use against you, as this could spell trouble due to the area that it is in. Once again, if you're having trouble, we'd recommend summoning in Tarkus to come and finish the job for you.

Tarkus can easily tank the Golem, and you can also chip away at it while he is absorbing most of the hits, he can fall off of the stage just as easily as you can, however- so do be aware that it might happen, if you're that unlucky.

If you're looking for more help, our Dark Souls walkthrough and guide can help with all other areas of the game, including the dreaded Taurus Demon, Capra Demon, Ornstein and Smough bosses. Meanwhile, we have explainers on how to access DLC Artorias of the Abyss, the best gift and best class in Dark Souls, Dark Souls' best weapons, Dark Souls Covenants, Dark Souls Estus Flasks locations, Dark Souls Titanite Slab locations and NPC quests including Lautrec of Carim.

So, poke at the Golem while it is distracted by Tarkus, and you should have very little trouble at all, soloing this fight can be difficult due to the area, but with a summon taking the aggro and dealing some big hits on this boss, it can become a bit of a breeze.

You can stagger the Iron Golem by repeatedly attacking its legs. Of course, this is easier to do with a summon, or if you have a weapon that can stunlock easily like a greatsword, you will be able to stagger and trip the Iron Golem over, leaving it open for a bigger assault.

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