Giant Clams, also known as Man-Eater Shells, are enemies in Dark Souls.
Location
Description
They have the appearance of giant clams with red spikes sticking out of their upper valve. Their mouths are littered with bluish skulls that seem crystallized.
While not particularly powerful, Giant Clams have plenty of attacks performed in quick succession that can knock the player on the floor, effectively stun-locking the player to death. This becomes much more evident when they attack in groups.
Enemy Information
Health and Souls
Location | Health | Souls | ||
NG | NG+ | NG | NG+ | |
Ash Lake | 795 | ??? | 200 | 400 |
Crystal Cave | 740 | 1,161 | 1,000 | 2,000 |
Characteristics
Respawn | Yes |
---|---|
Backstab | No |
Damage Types | Regular / Strike / Thrust |
Abilities | Grab attack quickly depletes worn equipment durability. |
Attacks
Attack | Damage | Attack Type | Status Effect | Parryable | Tracking | Attack Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quick Kick | 389 | Thrust | - | No | Neither | Fast |
Headbutt | 533 | Strike | - | No | Neither | Medium |
Head Swing* | 485 | Strike | - | No | Both | Medium |
Munch** | 614 | Regular | - | No | Neither | Slow |
Charging Launch | 614 | Strike | - | No | Neither | Slow |
- Can also be used twice in succession. **Extremely powerful grab attack.
Defenses
Location | Physical Defenses | Elemental Defenses | Resistances | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ash Lake | 382 | 191 | 478 | 382 | 344 | 268 | 306 | D | D | S |
Crystal Cave | 420 | 210 | 525 | 420 | 378 | 294 | 336 | D | D | S |
These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.
Drops
Item | Purging Stone |
Twinkling Titanite |
Twinkling Titanite |
Drop Rate | 10% | 30% (Ash Lake) |
20% (Crystal Cave) |
Notes
- Giant Clams are an easy source of Twinkling Titanite, an otherwise expensive upgrade material. They can be farmed in Ash Lake and the Crystal Cave, where they can be respawned repeatedly.
Trivia
- These creatures are not some sort of joke as it seem because, thinking about their dwelling in Seath's lair and looking at the items they drop, their role is made more clear. These monsters are possibly bred to be a source of Purging Stones just like oysters are bred to make pearls: knowing how crystals, souls and the curse's effect are interwined, it's possible to recognize in the crystallized skulls that are inside them the last step of the unhallowed process that broke down a living being to create a Purging Stone.
- Shooting an arrow into its mouth will briefly stun it.
- In the Crystal Cave, when encountering Seath the Scaleless for the first time, the fog wall is not present. This allows the Clams the chance to enter the room that houses the boss fight, if the player tries to run past them. Seath's attacks can harm them, but they will still only attack the player, making the fight a fair bit more challenging.