Dark Souls 3 boss: how to beat Crystal Sage
Our third boss is not interested in jokes about exorcism.
Dark Souls 3 boss: how to beat Crystal Sage
This battle’s not so tough if you have decent magic protection and can roll out of the way of projectiles reliably. Like all magic users, the boss is weak to tank types getting up close and personal to interrupt attacks, relying on distance to gain time to cast powerful spells.
The Crystal Sage has several magical attacks. One is a standard but oversized and powerful soul dart. Another fires a barrage of soul darts when it gets close. The Sage also sends seeking mines at you. Then there’s a very deadly chain of crystals that shoots out of the ground in a straight line, and crystals also burst from the ground when the sage teleports – which it will do after you hit it a few times.
The battle has two phases. The first phase is just a matter of getting close to the sage without taking damage and giving him a paddling. When he teleports, close the distance before he can shower you with spells and fill the arena with hazards.
In the second phase, clones of the boss will appear around the arena. You can identify them by their blue spells, as opposed to the Sage’s purple – or if you can’t see colour, well, the clones die after one hit. It’s safest to take down all the clones before going after the boss again, as they'll all hit you pretty hard.
There's nothing else to this battle but if you're not doing enough damage with your favourite weapon try to introduce some lightning to the mix; the vendors in Firelink Shrine can help you out with the appropriate consumable. Lightning absolutely eats the Sage's health.
For those of you who prefer ranged and magic attacks, you're in for a bit of a struggle: this fight is not for you. Luckily From Software thought of this: from the entrance to the arena, run right and look for a ramping path. Climb to the top and tuck yourself in among some rocks. You can use ranged attacks on the boss from here. If all else fails, go human at Crucifixion Woods and summon assistance - look for a nice big tank to keep the sage's attention off you.
When it’s down, you receive the Soul of a Crystal Sage and can activate the Crystal Sage bonfire.