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

Iudex Gundyr 

You’ll start your journey in the Cemetery of Ash. But before you can reach Firelink Shrine, you’ll have to face Dark Souls 3’s first boss, Iudex Gundyr.

Iudex Gundyr begins the battle by attacking with his halberd. He’ll use single sweeping attacks and a fast-moving combo in the area directly in front of him. For both of these, simply dodge backward. He may also slice vertically, or jump toward you. Your best bet for these is to roll to the side. A successful dodge will put you in a perfect position to chip away at his health.

Once that drops to 50%, he’ll sprout a dark mass all across his body. This doesn’t change his attack strategy much, but it does greatly increase the reach of his attacks. Be extra careful with your dodges during this stage.

Iudex Gundyr is exactly what his half-Latin, half-Germanic name implies: a test of battle. He’s your first real challenge, but if you’re wise to his attacks, he won’t be much of one.

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

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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.