Kirk, Knight of Thorns

Kirk, Knight of Thorns is a character in Dark Souls.

Location

Kirk is an invader that can assault the player three times in a playthrough: first, at the Basilisks in the Depths; again at the Demon Ruins at the edge right after the lava produced by Ceaseless Discharge(only invades after placing the Lordvessel), and lastly in Lost Izalith next to the Bed of Chaos.

As with all other Black Phantoms, Kirk only spawns if the player has reversed his or her hollowing.

Plot

Kirk invades the player in the above-mentioned places. He has no dialogue whatsoever and does not contribute to the story at all, probably being present only to give the players a taste of PvP experience.

Lore

Kirk is part of the Darkwraith covenant and is known for his murderous tendencies.^[1]

Other sources state that Kirk is actually a Chaos Servant, and is invading other worlds to gather Humanity so that he may offer them to Quelaag's Sister.^[2]

Strategy

Kirk is a standard melee fighter. When he rolls his armor deals minimal damage, but will stun low-poise players, so keeping a shield up makes fighting him considerably easier.

Kirk's damage output is unremarkable, making him good practice for parrying. However, his weapons do cause the bleeding effect. He also attacks fairly slowly, giving many opportunities for backstabs.

Kirk invades at very inconvenient places: in the first and third instances, he's likely to invade while the player already has their hands full fighting others, and in the second, he fights on the edge of a ledge, making it likely for the player to accidentally launch either him or themselves off. Keep these in mind when fighting him and plan accordingly.

Notes

The Thorns Set spawns in the Daughter of Chaos area in Quelaag's Domain if Kirk is defeated all three times, however his sword and shield are not definite drops, and may never be dropped for the player.

The locations at which Kirk invades are not a set order, it is contingent on which order player has chosen to visit while being in a non-hollowed state.