Among the many bosses in Demon’s Souls, the Old Hero is definitely one of the most memorable. As a boss, it’s definitely more of a gimmick than anything, but it does make you rethink quite a few strategies that you’ll have employed up until this point in the game. In this guide, we’ll be outlining exactly how to best the boss and get past him with relative ease.
Important Information
The first thing that you need to know about this boss is that he’s blind. This is the gimmick that you’ll be contending with, and it’s not that easy. Every movement you make will telegraph your position. The boss can hear and sense you, so you’ll need to be quiet and light.
Wearing less armour, or just the Thief’s Armour Set, will bring your presence down dramatically. If the boss can’t hear you, he’ll walk around the arena attacking random areas. This makes him easy to get sneaky hits on. However, when you do attack him, he’ll move to attack the area the attack came from.
Use all of this knowledge to your advantage and don’t get caught out by an attack here.
Attacks and Strategies
The first attack to watch out for is the Sword Slash. This sees the boss pull up his massive curbed blade and smash it into the ground. You can easily dodge this to either side. (https://whatthefab.com/) Be aware that movement will give away your position though.
Next up is the Leaping Attack. This sees the boss leap forward and smash the sword he’s wielding into the ground. Again, roll to dodge this on either side. It’ll give away your position, but you’ll avoid taking any damage.
The Turn Smash is the sneakiest move in the bosses arsenal. He’ll shift behind himself from left to right and slash the sword as he goes. You should dodge to the right to get away from this attack. Be aware that the boss will probably come for you off the back of this as well.
Now we have the Upward Slash. It’s exactly what it sounds like. The boss will slash upwards from left to right. Dodge to the left to avoid getting hit by it, and then you might be able to get some attacks of your own in.
Finally, there’s the Sword Kneel. This is a powerful AoE attack that will deal huge amounts of damage. The boss only deals it when he’s about halfway through his health bar. If you see him kneel down, run back and get away from this attack.
Tips
The only tips we have for this boss are to keep an eye on how much you’re giving away your position. If the boss detects you, then he’ll come for you. You need to be as quiet as possible to avoid being hit by this enemy, or it’ll be the end of you.
Lore
The Old Hero was brought to life by the Old One as a towering hero. his massive sword was a source of pride that he slayed enemies with. It’s not known what happened to the hero to become blind or end up the way he is, but he now kills anyone who he comes across.
If you’re stuck on a boss in Demon’s Souls, check out our other guides for The Old Monk, Maneater, Fool’s Idol, Dragon God, Flamelurker, Old King Allant, Penetrator, Tower Knight, Phalanx, and Armored Spider.