The Darklurker (闇潜み, Yamihisomi) is an optional boss in Dark Souls II.
General information[]
The Darklurker can be fought only through the Pilgrims of Dark covenant. The player will be transported to its arena once all beacons in the Dark Chasm of Old are lit and all three dungeons have been cleared. In order to access this boss, one must simply clear a chasm as normal once all of the conditions are met. This may be jarring, as the player may end up fighting it unprepared upon lighting the third beacon and clearing the third chasm.
It appears as a four-armed angelic humanoid, with its face completely obscured by a hood. Its lower arms are constantly folded across its chest.
Strategy[]
The Darklurker is weak to Lightning and has moderate Fire and Magic resistance. It's extremely resistant to Dark damage. A high elemental defense, especially against Fire and Dark, is very effective, as the Darklurker deals no physical damage. A shield with overall high elemental defenses and stability, such as the Rebel's Greatshield, can greatly reduce damage taken from many of its attacks.
Once the Darklurker's health drops below 60%, it will attempt to make a copy of itself, telegraphed by it creating a bright light and folding its wings around itself. During this phase, it can be staggered to postpone the split. An effective spell to use during this phase would be an area-of-effect pyromancy spell, such as Flame Swathe or Chaos Storm, as both of the Darklurkers will take massive fire damage if they are caught in the blast.
The Darklurker is also susceptible to Profound Still, making this fight exponentially easier. The boss will limit itself to charging the player with its Dark melee attack and will sometimes attempt to use long range attacks to no avail.
Attacks[]
Dark Sword: The Darklurker raises its left hand to its right shoulder, materializing a white energy blade that it will then swing at the player. Has a relatively long delay compared to melee attacks by most other enemies, so be prepared to roll later rather than earlier to avoid. This attack deals Dark damage and can swing up to two times in a row. The swings can also be followed up with a stab.
Laser Beam: The Darklurker flaps its wings and floats above the arena, firing off a bright, slow-moving beam of Dark after a short delay. Has some tracking and can deal tremendous damage if it hits, but cannot hit targets that are directly below it. While it is best to keep moving to avoid the beam, the Darklurker is vulnerable to ranged attacks and spells while firing the beam.
Dark Spear: Raises its left arm into the air to point straight up, then fires a Dark bolt that resembles a Soul Spear. Has relatively poor tracking and can be easily dodged by rolling, but has a very small delay and can catch unprepared players by surprise.
Dark Meteor: The Darklurker will raise its right arm and point upward. A black portal will appear above the Darklurker and another will appear somewhere else in the arena. The Darklurker will send a dark orb into the portal above it, which will then emerge from the other portal and fly toward the player, exploding in a moderate sized area of effect. Has moderate homing, so jumping on top of rolling may be necessary to avoid.
Fire Balls: Raises all four arms into the air, creating a large orange orb above it, then launches three fireballs from it after a delay. Has no tracking and can be avoided by running to the side.
Explosion: The Darklurker gathers its arms together and leans backward. It then creates an explosion in a wide area around it, dealing heavy damage. The area is somewhat wider in front of it.
Split: When the Darklurker reaches around 60% health, it will cross all of its arms around itself, fold its wings in, and a purple cloud will appear around it and focus in. The Darklurker will then split into two; it is vulnerable to attacks during and shortly after this spell. Both share the boss's HP and must be fought at once as the fight goes on. The copy is identical to the original, and both can use any of the Darklurker's attacks and spells at any time. Note that while this move can be stopped through staggering, the time window for doing so is extremely small as the move only takes about two to three seconds.
Defenses[]
| Physical Defenses | |||
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|
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| 635 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Elemental Defenses | |||
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| 30% | 30% | 15% | 70% |
| Resistances | |||
|
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Can be Backstabbed | Can be Parried |
| 100% | 100% | No | No |
(Stats are from Param Studio and are not estimated)
Strike/Slash/Thrust defense are applied on top of Physical Defense.
Drops[]
| Item |  Darklurker Soul |
| Drop Rate | Guaranteed |
Notes[]
- When dealing the final blow to this boss, be careful as either copy can sometimes get a final Dark Sword or Explosion attack off just before fading away, despite having zero HP.
Gallery[]
