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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
Regular Defense Strike Defense Slash Defense Thrust Defense Magic Defense Fire Defense Lightning Defense Poison Toxic Bleed
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 Item Purging Stone
Purging Stone
Item Twinkling Titanite
Twinkling Titanite
Item Twinkling Titanite
Twinkling Titanite
Drop Rate 10% 30%
(Ash Lake)
20%
(Crystal Cave)

Notes

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.
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