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Dragonslayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough are some of the hardest bosses you’ll encounter in Dark Souls. They are two of the most formidable bosses in the game. Not only do you have to fight both of them at the same time, but the difficulty ramps up by phase two, and the rewards you earn depend on whoever you kill last.
Related: Dark Souls 3: How To Defeat The High Wall Of Lothric Dragon
They are a complex pair and can prove quite the challenge, but by following our handy tips, making sure you’re geared up well, and paying attention to their move patterns, you’ll be able to beat Ornstein and Smough with minimal issues. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, either — Solaire’s brilliantly shining summon sign is waiting to be clicked on if you need it.
Pre-Battle Tips
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One of the most important things you’re going to want to do is to kindle the closest bonfire, so you don’t have to walk so far back in the event you have to try again. The best bonfire to go for is after the stairs shortcut, where you have to do a bit of a fiddly jump over the stairs, and there will be a room on the left with Solaire in it.
The bonfire can be found in the room shown in the image below.
Additional Healing
We recommend that you go and defeat Pinwheel first. It's a significantly easier fight, and defeating Pinwheel allows you to further kindle the bonfire up to 20 Estus Flask charges. This will be really helpful for your upcoming fight with Ornstein and Smough.
You can find Pinwheel at the very bottom of the Catacombs, shortly after you have located the Blacksmith Vamos. He is in a chamber behind a fog wall that is being patrolled by an army of wheel skeletons.
If you are struggling with the fight, you can call on an ally to help you out. Solaire can be summoned from just outside the boss room, or you can even summon a friend with a White Sign Soapstone. However, keep in mind that doing this will make the fight harder as the bosses will have 50 percent more health.
When it comes to weapons and buffs for this fight, avoid lightning. Although it works against Smough in phase one, it is not worth the damage reduction you'll receive when you fight Ornstein. Fire is incredibly effective against both of them, so this is a solid choice to use.
Boost Your Fire Power
If you have a Chaos Flame Ember or a Large Flame Ember, consider using them to upgrade a powerful weapon with fire damage to do extra damage to both bosses. You can do this by talking to Blacksmith Vamos.
You can also use Charcoal Pine Resin, which gives an additional 80 Fire Damage to your right-hand weapon for 60 seconds. Be sure to bring a few of these if you can.
We do not recommend using an ascended weapon that you would have just unlocked from Anor Londo for this fight, as it will take away any Titanite Shard stats that you previously had on your weapon. Instead, use the most upgraded weapon that you have.
Phase One: Ornstein And Smough
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Ornstein's Attacks | Smough's Attacks |
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Ornstein will swing his weapon up to four times. When this happens, you can attack him between his swings, or go and attack Smough. It is an easy move to block. | Smough will lift his hammer above his head and slam it into the ground. It's a very slow attack, so you'll have plenty of time to evade it by rolling to the side/strafing away. It has a slow recovery time, so afterward is the perfect window of opportunity for you to attack. Be careful, as this attack can hit through broken pillars. |
Ornstein jumps into the air and slams his spear in front of him. This attack can go through pillars but can be avoided by rolling to the side. It does go quite far in front of him though, so be careful. | Smough jumps into the air and slams his hammer down in front of him. Try to get behind him or back away to avoid this. |
Ornstein hurls a lightning bolt, which deals devastating damage. This attack has a long cast time, so it's the perfect time to get damage in on Ornstein or Smough. However, the lightning bolt tracks you, so be prepared to dodge it with a quick roll to the side or get behind a pillar to block it. | Smough will swing his hammer from one side to the other before hitting the ground. Try to stay behind him or out of hit range to avoid this. |
Ornstein stabs with a lightning bolt. If you are too close, he will hit you with it and slam you into the ground. If you are out of range, he will instead stab the lightning bolt into the ground, so keep your distance. | Smough will swing his hammer and hit the ground, before reversing direction and repeating this action. This is a rare attack, but a very dangerous one. Don't try to block or tank this. You can avoid damage by staying close to Smough, where you can deal some damage of your own. |
Ornstein will slide across the room toward you and stab you. He will kneel into a pouncing stance when he prepares for this, so get ready to roll out of the way. If he happens to slide into an obstacle, he will continue to track you for his attack. | Smough will drop his hammer on you and then charge towards you. If you get caught by this attack, you will get damaged by the hammer, the charge, and then sometimes an additional swing of his hammer. It's an incredibly dangerous attack, so avoid it by staying behind a pillar. However, the final hammer swing can still potentially hit you through the pillar. |
Smough will leap into the air and slam his rear into the ground. Stay out of range to avoid taking damage from Smough landing on you, or from the hammer in his hands. This attack has a long recovery time, giving you a chance to get some damage in. |
Phase one of the Ornstein and Smough fight can arguably be the easiest part, despite facing two enemies at the same time. To ensure you have as little trouble with this phase as possible, circle around the pillars, or wait until they split up and take them on one by one. Ornstein is incredibly fast, so to handle this you need to make sure you are able to fast roll, otherwise, it can be incredibly difficult to avoid his attacks. It’s also important to be able to sprint when Smough does his ground pound attack, as you want to avoid getting hit by that at all costs.
Ranged Attacks
Soul Spears and Dark Beads work very well against both Ornstein and Smough, allowing you to deal damage while keeping your distance.
Depending on the rewards you're aiming for, you need to plan out which of these bosses you'll be killing first/last. Be sure to choose wisely.
If You Kill Ornstein First You Get: |
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If You Kill Smough First You Get: |
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Another thing to note is that after you have killed your first boss, the next phase begins with the remaining boss becoming much stronger and having all of their health restored.
The remaining boss will spawn at the far end of the cathedral, so it's best not to kill your first target there or the all-new and improved boss will spawn on top of you.
Phase Two: Super Ornstein
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With Smough out of the way, Ornstein will now become powered-up and use some of Smough’s abilities.
In addition to his attacks from the first phase, there is a range of new moves to look out for. It's best to stay up close and personal with him, not only will this help you avoid damage from most attacks, but he won't do his slide and stab move from the first phase unless you are too far away.
New attacks to look out for in this phase include a downward stab, where, if this hits you, has a chance of doing even more damage as he will follow up with a second attack if your guard is broken.
Super Ornstein will also swing his spear from side to side, and because of his height, this gives you the opportunity to go under his legs and damage him.
Watch out for when he leaps into the air, as he'll sweep his weapon in front of him in a wide radius and cause a lot of damage if he hits you.
To avoid taking damage, stay under Ornstein at all times. This will help you avoid most of his attacks in phase two.
Ornstein has a big AoE attack where he will leap into the air before landing and creating a huge electrical current around him. When you see him begin to jump, sprint, or roll away, as the current does a significant amount of damage. If Ornstein lands on you, it's likely you'll be insta-killed.
Ornstein's ultimate attack is his lightning impale, and it's the most unpredictable move, so watch out for when he charges his spear and then thrusts it at you. It is incredibly hard to avoid, but try to roll away or underneath him while he charges the attack. Should you be impaled by this attack, it will do a significant amount of damage as he skewers you with his weapon, hits you with a lightning bolt, and then throws you to the floor. Ouch. During this attack, he is invulnerable to damage.
Timing is everything in this fight. Especially for lightning spears and ground pounds.
Once you have completed the fight, you will have earned the Soul of Ornstein. This will allow you to create the Dragonslayer Spear, or you can consume it to gain 10,000 souls, or 8,000 souls if you feed it to Frampt. He will also drop the Leo Ring, which raises counter-attack damage with thrust attacks.
Phase Two: Super Smough
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If you opted to kill Ornstein first, you'll be facing off against Super Smough in the second phase.
He likes to use a lightning-charged hammer smash to flatten you, but you can evade this attack by rolling to one side. He also does an electrified hammer sweep in a wide radius in either direction, similar to his attack in phase one, so stay out of range for this.
Smough will leap into the air, slamming his electrified hammer down in front of him. To avoid taking damage from this, roll to the side or use a pillar as cover.
Smough's electric butt slam is an incredibly dangerous move and one he likes to use frequently. He will leap into the air and draw in particles to create static, before slamming down on the ground. This attack has a large radius, so your best option is to run as far away as possible. Getting hit by this will likely one-shot you.
Smough's most dangerous attack is his new trample charge, which is now electrified. This attack is hard to block, so your best bet is to sprint far away or hide behind a pillar.
The good news is that Smough can be staggered, so if you are able to do this with your melee attacks, this will give you a great opportunity to get in some extra damage.
As Smough has absorbed Ornstein's soul, lightning won't work anymore — use fire instead.
Once the fight is over, you’ll be given the Soul of Smough, which will then allow you to get Smough’s Hammer.
To get the armour of either Ornstein or Smough, head to Firelink Shrine and speak to Domhnall of Zena who will sell you whichever set you have unlocked for 27,000 souls. Remember, you can only get the armor set of the boss that you killed last.
Next: Dark Souls 3: How To Get The Armor Of Thorns
