Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Old Iron King - Smelter Demon boss battle

The return of an old foe from the Iron Keep. Let's sending him back to hell.

Boss Battle: Smelter Demon

Reward: Smelter Demon Soul

You'll recognise the Smelter Demon as you fought him during Dark Souls 2, at the end of the Iron Keep section.

This means you should already know how to fight him, as he fights exactly the same manner. The differences are that he's covered in magic instead of flames and he has much more health to deal with. Make sure you have armour and a shield equipped that uses magic defense. You're going to take some magic hits regardless of your defensive choices, so be prepared.

If you have helpers they should attack the demon while you hit it from the back or with ranged attacks. The helpers aren't likely to last long, so make the most of them before they die.

During the first part of the fight the Smelter Demon will bend over slightly. That's your cue to move as he's powering up magic which will burst out and damage everything in a short radius. Get out the way or at least have your shield in place to defned.

after that initial attack you'll take magic damage in small doses just by being close to the Smelter Demon. He also sticks his sword into his torso charging it with magic so that any blocks you throw ill take magic damage.

This battle is a slog mainly down to the fact the Smelter Demon has an upgraded health bar. You'll have to gradually chip away at his health - that's why summoning helpers is useful.

If you're using ranged attacks that are inflicting less than 200 damage, if one of the helpers dies, move in for close-ranged attacks. If you can't inflict at least 200 damage per hit, more than likely the boss will have at least 40 percent of his health left by the time both helpers die. Now you need to dodge his attacks so you have time to get in as many hits as you can before he readies another.

The Smelter Demon fights with a standard two swing combo that ends with a more powerful third
attack in the form of a ground or jumping strike. Sometimes after the jumping strike the Demon will
pause in a kneeling animation. This indicates another magic attack, so move away if you can. Once the Smelter Demon is fully powered, the magic burst will have more range.

Once the Smelter Demon is eventually down you'll find a Pharros Mask to the left of the lift. Use the lift to take you to the floor above and drop to the floor below on exit, then go to the next lift which returns you to Blume Tower.