Gwyn, Lord of Cinder is the final boss in Dark Souls and one of the original lords who vanquished the Dragons.
Location
Lord Gwyn can be found in the Kiln of the First Flame as the final boss of the game.
Summoning
It is possible to summon Solaire of Astora to help in the fight if he survived in Lost Izalith. His summon sign can be found at the top of the staircase from Gwyn. Since the Kiln of the First Flame is a PvP hotspot, it can also be quite easy to find player summon signs if online.
Lore
Age of Fire
Gwyn fighting the Dragons
At the dawn of the Age of Fire, Gwyn discovered a Lord Soul, and thus, became Lord of Sunlight, along with Gravelord Nito and the Witch of Izalith.[1][2]They allied with Seath the Scaleless and amassed an army, and with their power, challenged the Everlasting Dragons for dominion of the World. His mighty bolts peeled apart their ancient scales and they were ultimately vanquished.[3]
When the flames began to fade, Gwyn left Anor Londo and traveled to the Kiln of the First Flame, to link the First Flame, thus, prolonging the Age of Fire.[4][5] When he left, he divided his power among his children,[6] and granted parts of his Lord Soul to the Four Kings, as well as Seath.[1]
Gwyn succeeded in linking the fire, but was burned in the process, being reduced from the Lord of Sunlight to the Lord of Cinder, although his soul still remained powerful.[5]
Army
Much of Gwyn's army of Silver Knights accompanied him to Link the Fire. When the flame was kindled it transformed those present into Black Knights, the disembodied spirits that roam Lordran. The remaining Silver Knights guard Anor Londo.[7][4]
He formed the Four Knights of Gwyn; Dragonslayer Ornstein, captain of the guard[8]; Hawkeye Gough, commander of the Dragonslayers[9]; Lord's Blade Ciaran, the assassin[10] and the legendary Knight, Artorias the Abysswalker.[11]
Gwyn's friend, Havel the Rock, was a general over his own warriors, which were presumably part of Gwyn's army.[12]
Family
Gwyn is the nephew of Allfather Lloyd and father of Dark Sun Gwyndolin[13] and Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight.[14] He also had another, unknown son, who was a god of war and inherited the sunlight as his firstborn, but acted foolishly, and was promptly stripped of his deitic status.[15]
Notes
Unlike every other boss in Dark Souls, Gwyn can actually be parried.
Boss Information
Attacks
Dashing Thrust
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Attack Type | Parryable | Tracking | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 550 | 0 | 258 | 0 | Regular / Fire | Yes | Both | Medium |
Used by Gwyn while he's dashing. Although it is one of his "linear" attacks, it is possible he may switch to a slashing combo midway. It is also one of his best attacks in terms of tracking the player.
Quad Slash Combo[note 1]
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Attack Type | Parryable | Tracking | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | 0 | 250 | 0 | Regular / Fire | Yes | Both | Medium |
Arguably Gwyn's most powerful attack, due to its superb speed and tracking. It begins with an angled slash, then a horziontal one, another angled and finally a horizontal slash again. The horizontal slashes have excellent tracking, however the angled ones can be sidestepped if the player moves early enough.
Kick
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Attack Type | Parryable | Tracking | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Strike | No | Neither | Medium |
Rarely used, however, it causes a large drain of stamina if it connects while blocking.
Slash and Thrust[note 1]
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Attack Type | Parryable | Tracking | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 388 | 0 | 250 | 0 | Regular / Fire | Yes | Neither | Medium |
Occasionally Gwyn will interrupt his normal slash combo with a quick thrust afterwards. If it hits, the player will be stunned, leaving them open for further combos.
Slashing Upper Combo[note 1]
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Attack Type | Parryable | Tracking | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 550 | 0 | 250 | 0 | Regular / Fire | Yes | Neither | Medium |
Starts with a powerful horizontal slash, which causes a large drain of stamina, followed by two more hits. The last attack can be dodged, however.
Massive Slash
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Attack Type | Parryable | Tracking | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 488 | 0 | 250 | 0 | Regular / Fire | Yes | Neither | Medium |
A charged slash used by Gwyn to break the player's guard.
Instant Dash/Double Slash[note 1]
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Attack Type | Parryable | Tracking | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 550 | 0 | 250 | 0 | Regular / Fire | Yes | Neither | Medium |
A very fast attack, which comes out of Gwyn's instant dash. Glides towards the player, before slashing twice.
Choke Explosion Finisher
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Attack Type | Parryable | Tracking | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 0 | 638 | 0 | Fire / Regular | No | Neither | Medium |
An unblockable grab attack, which deals the most damage. It has a high hitbox, so it is possible to roll under it to avoid it. After knocking the player back, Gwyn will follow up with a jumping slash or dashing slash.
Defenses
| Physical Defenses | Elemental Defenses | Resistances | |||||||
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| 354 | 354 | 354 | 354 | 267 | 249 | 1770 | S | S | A |
These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.
Drops
| Item |  Soul of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder |
| Drop Rate | Guaranteed |
Gwyn's armor, the Great Lord Set, can be purchased from Domhnall of Zena during the next playthrough.
Gallery
Relevant Videos
Dark Souls (OST) - Gwyn, Lord of Cinder - Soundtrack
Footnotes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bequeathed Lord Soul Shard descriptions.
- ↑ Lord Soul descriptions.
- ↑ Opening narration.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Black Knight Set descriptions.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Soul of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder description.
- ↑ Great Lord Greatsword description.
- ↑ Silver Knight Set descriptions.
- ↑ Ornstein's Set descriptions.
- ↑ Gough's Set descriptions.
- ↑ Lord's Blade Set descriptions.
- ↑ Set of Artorias descriptions.
- ↑ Havel's Ring description.
- ↑ Moonlight Set descriptions.
- ↑ Ring of the Sun Princess description.
- ↑ Ring of the Sun's Firstborn description.