When you are given advice on a boss in a Souls game, no one ever says how reliable that advice is. You see, some bosses can be definitely and consistently beaten a certain way. Some require a certain method but it is going to take a few goes to get right. And then there are some where the guidance seems solid, but there should be a list of caveats, addendums and warnings attached.
For example, the way I beat Darkbeast Paarl – with my distinct lack of skill – can be replicated. It is however, not necessarily going to be easy to replicate. This boss is a bouncing, trembling, pinballing, camera-shaking, chaos gremlin. The fight can go your way very quickly, but it can just as easily fall apart.
Preparation
It’s a small thing, but vital: carefully take your thumb off the lock-on button. Do not lock on in this fight. Don’t even bother. At all.
The way that Darkbeast Paarl bounces around the arena, over and around you, could easily cause motion sickness if you are locked on. More importantly, you’re not going to be swinging at anything that the lock-on locks on to. You are going to need to swing freely.
As started on the introductory page, I used the Hunter Axe throughout my first playthrough. I used it two-handed and swung for the fences. If you aren’t doing this, make sure you are using a weapon attack that swings horizontally. This helps connect with the spindly target of choice without locking on.
As with Blood-Starved Beast, Pungent Blood Cocktails do an amazing job of distracting DP. When you throw one of the floor, he will come over and stare at it for 10 seconds. I didn’t use this (because I didn’t realise how good they were) until I fought a tougher version of DP in the Chalice Dungeons, but I can tell you that they made that monstrous fight a lot easier.
I’m undecided if the NPC summon (found at the opposite end of the path leading into the arena) is truly worth it. He does create a good distraction, but DP’s attacks are such wide arcs that he’d often get both of us. This is also a fight you want to finish quickly; the extra health on the boss when you bring a friend is a problem. I’m not saying don’t bring him, but do try with and without.
Oh, and bring fire paper if you’ve got it.
Tactics
This is the first boss fight where aggression is key. You’ll be told Bloodborne has a more aggressive style than other Souls games, but caution is very often needed. Here, the more you can press the attack the better. Think about this as a battle where momentum is key – once you start winning, it becomes easier and easier to win.
The main danger area is the spot directly in front of Darkbeast Paarl. His main move is to sweep that area with his electric claws. I can’t parry or time attacks with any regular success, but I quickly learned that his swipes can be dived through instead of backpedalling. If you make it through, you are exactly where you want to be.
If you got knocked back, dodge and heal. If you got through but you’re injured, your actually okay to heal under him. If you got through unscathed: pick a leg, any leg.
Try to swing at the same leg when you’re under/around DP. You’re looking to break one limb. Don’t worry if you can’t, just swing for a leg; each weakened leg is a future problem for him.
With enough damage (which won’t take long if you’re swinging the axe in two hands) DP collapses and the lightning goes out. Keep hitting him! The head is probably a weakpoint, but if your at its side or rump, just keep swinging. If you’re swinging wide, you might accidentally clip and uninjured limb, which helps you further.
The video above is playthrough 1. It’s my 7th or 8th try, and I’m struggling. Just healing and getting hit. But, when I take out that first leg, the fight gets significantly easier.
When the lightning goes out, that obviously means his attacks are weakened. No AoE blast for the time being. It also means you have new opportunities for attack. DP will pause occasionally and sit back, charging up. This is not an attack, he’s just charging. Take some swings at him for free, preferably on an injured limb. You might break him again before he finishes charging, and he’ll collapse again.
As long as you dodge in and take out that first limb, it becomes easier to break the next limb, and the next.
The video below is my second playthrough. I’m still making hilarious mistakes, but the fight is half the length for a reason – I did not let up on those legs.
Now, if I’d have used Pungent Cocktails, he would have turned and stared at where I’d thrown it, and just let me hit limb number one, and the fight would have been even shorter.
Phases
If there is a second phase, its not obvious. The main thing is to not let him charge up again. It looks like it takes more than one charge-up for him to be back to normal, and it’s very possible to stop that from happening.
Watch Out For
All attacks, even the big leap, can be dodge into apart from the big lighting blast. It’s well telegraphed, but the radius is appallingly large, so you need to get moving quickly. Hold sprint and get gone.
You can, and I have, rolled through the blast to avoid damage, but I could not tell you what the timing is. If you start running a bit late, add a few rolls near the end just to make sure.
If you are feeling really confident, you could keep swinging instead. If you take a leg out, you stop the blast. Risky but awesome if it pays off, and of course that’s the last time he will try that for a while.
In Other Words
- Bull rush the big electric doggy. Roll through the attacks.
- Once under or beside DP, swing for a leg.
- Once he falls, keep swinging. Hopefully catch a second leg.
- Repeat, aiming for a different leg this time.
- Run and roll away if he uses the AoE.
- Cocktails and NPC friends aren’t a bad idea.
Remember that this guy is optional too. It’s worth it, because you can buy new things in the shop afterwards (bolt paper!), but he’s not a boss that leads to another area and another boss (so he’s not really in your way).
You can always come back and beat him up later. There will be (trying not to spoil anything) a time where the fight is not available, but that’s temporary. He will come back.
Keep on Hunting!
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Gamer Peak 