Crystal Sage |
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|---|---|---|
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Location |
| 2723 | 8000 | Road of Sacrifices |
| Drops | Soul of a Crystal Sage | |
| Defenses | ||
| Weak | Resistant | Immune |
 Physical Lightning Dark Fire Poison/Toxic Frost |
 Magic |
n/a |
Crystal Sage is a Boss in Dark Souls 3. This Dark Souls 3 Crystal Sage Guide features locations, strategies and videos on how to defeat Crystal Sage easily, as well as tips, weaknesses, trivia and lore notes for the Crystal Sage boss.
The Crystal Sage is a large humanoid covered in loose sorcerer's robes and wears a mage's hat big enough to cover their face. They mainly cast spells using a magical orb, but may attack players that get too close to them with their rapier. Players should be alert when approaching their arena as the boss fight starts as soon as they enter. After being brought down to a certain health threshold, the boss will start spawning clones that resemble themself very closely, save for the difference in the color of their magic.
Speed is key in this boss fight - knowing how to manage your Stamina can make fighting this boss easier. This boss is not optional and they must be defeated to proceed to the Cathedral of the Deep. Not to be confused with the mini-boss version located in the Grand Archives. You can summon Eygon of Carim after saving Irina of Carim to aid you in combat. His summon sign appears behind a pillar in the room immediately prior to the Crystal Sage fight. Note that if you purchase any dark miracles from Irina or defeat the Abyss Watchers, then his sign will not appear.
Bosses are unique and challenging Enemies that drop Boss Souls capable of being transformed into powerful Weapons, Spells, and Items for the player.
Dark Souls 3 Crystal Sage Location
Where to find the Crystal Sage in Dark Souls 3?
- Crucifixion Woods. Located to the left of the swamp, accessed by going into a dilapidated building, past a group of enemies and up several stairs. No fog wall is present, there will be a simply left turn into a large open area. A map is provided here.
Crystal Sage Drops
What do you get from defeating the Crystal Sage in Dark Souls 3?
- Souls: NG (8,000) | NG+ (40,000) | NG++ (44,000) | NG+3 (45,000) | NG+4 (48,000) | NG+5 (49,000) | NG+6 (50,000) | NG+7 (51,000)
- Co-Op Souls: NG (2,000) | NG++ (11,000) | NG+4 (11,250)
- Soul of a Crystal Sage
- Its hat can be bought from Shrine Handmaid after defeating it
Crystal Sage Notes & Tips
What should you know about fighting the Crystal Sage in Dark Souls 3?
- Attacks deal Magic Damage, Standard Damage and Thrust Damage.
- At medium/long distance attacks with various spells, at close uses Crystal Sage's Rapier. Rapier can be parried, which in case of success allows a riposte. Some spells can be spell-parried with the proper shield.
- Weak to Physical-type damages, Lightning Damage, Fire damage, Dark Damage, Poison, Toxic and Frostbite.
- Resistant only to Magic Damage.
- Teleports when damaged enough. Tends to prefer the corners and sides of the arena.
- In its second phase, creates Clones that use blue magic, different from the original's, which is purple. These clones only spawn after the Sage teleports and die in one hit.
Crystal Sage Stats
| Playthrough | NG | NG + | NG ++ | NG +3 | NG +4 | NG +5 | NG +6 | NG +7 |
| Health | 2723 | 6,431 | 7,054 | 7,375 | 7,696 | 8,337 | 8,658 | 8,978 |
| Defense | 104 | |||||||
Dark Souls 3 Crystal Sage Boss Guide & Strategies
DS3 Crystal Sage Video Strategies
Dark Souls 3 Crystal Sage Attacks
| First Phase | |
|---|---|
| Attack Name | Attack Description |
| Homing Crystal Soul Mass | Same as regular spell though easier to dodge considering the Sage's size |
| Soul Spear | Same as regular Soul Spear albeit slightly larger |
| Soul Rain | Summons a rain attack that can hit behind objects |
| Soul Crystal Mass | Summons a large, slow moving, homing soul mass to attack the player |
| White Dragon Breath | Shoots a laser at the ground that creates a long trail of damaging crystals |
| Ice Crystals | Protrude from the ground whenever the boss teleports |
| Rapier Combo | Sweeps its Rapier from side to side twice. Finishes the combo by reeling back, then thrusting the rapier through the player. If this connects, the player is lifted off the ground as crystals sprout along the length of the rapier, skewering the player and dealing high magic damage |
| Clones | At 50% Health, clones start being summoned. They can be distinguished by their blue magic, opposed to the true Sage's purple magic and will dissappear after one hit |
How to fight and beat Crystal Sage
Strategy 1 (Melee)
Since this boss can be staggered, rushing it is the best choice. Running, make sure to move around all projectiles it hurls at you while closing the distance. Once you've gotten to it, hit it as many times as you can, since you'll have a short time to deal any damage until it teleports.
Paying attention to both its Sword attacks, which are relatively subtle, and making sure to be close enough to it that it can't hit you with Homing Spells while staggered is thoroughly advisable. Even if you're using a weapon with good range or sweet spots, such as a Halberd.
Once it begins its second phase, quickly take out the Clone that spawns in the middle of the arena. Taking out the other ones can be done with either running attacks or Throwing Knives, the latter being more advisable. Making sure not to be hit while taking the clones out can be a bit hard, but can be done as long as you do not run out of stamina and keep running.
When there are no Clones, go for the Sage.
Extra tip: Keep your weapon buffed with Lightning Resins while it is teleporting to deal as much damage as you can.
Strategy 1.5 (Melee Rush)
Alternatively, you can try to predict where the Sage will teleport to (generally the opposite end of the arena) and rush it throughout the fight, ignoring the summons. The summons teleport along with the Sage so high damage output is preferable to cause very quick teleports, giving you time to heal and get ready to find the Sage on reappearance. When the Sage teleports with the summons and they all reappear, find the purple magic caster and rush it (this is the main boss, the summons cast blue magic).
Strategy 2 (Magic)
(NG) Casting Magic Shield on East-West Shield allows you to soak up a small portion of magic damage - while insignificant, this can help you to stay alive. Since the Crystal Sage is highly resilient to magic damage, you are advised to land as many melee blows as possible. During Phase 2, it is highly recommended to use an Ember to raise your maximum health.
(NG+ onward) Make sure you cast Crystal Magic Weapon before entering the fog gate, so you have maximum damage output on the Sage. In the first phase, proceed to rush the sage, preventing it from casting spells on you. Casting Great Magic Shield will enable you to block all of its magic attacks at no damage to you and you can easily recast it between teleports. In the second phase you can use Homing Crystal Soulmass (cast between teleports) to kill one or two of the illusions. Remember illusions shoot blue magic! Aim for the purple magic wielding one and you are golden.
Strategy 3 (Archery)
Make sure to have the maximum amount of arrows and a decently upgraded bow before the battle. In the first phase stand behind the left or central pillar to avoid most of the attacks. Mind the Soul Rain as it can still hit you. Be careful and watch your sides in the second phase as the Sage starts spawning clones.
Strategy 4 (Throwing Knife Spam)
Its second phase can be easily beat by using Throwing Knives to take out its clones before going for the real one.
Strategy 5 (Pyromancy)
At the start of the fight, run up to the boss and immediately use Sacred Flame when you have the chance. Keep spamming it even after you just use the spell until the boss's health is depleted. This also allows you to skip the 2nd phase completely.
Strategy 6 (Phase 2 skip)
Rush the Sage at the start of the fight, and hit it til it has around 60% HP left. It's very important that the HP does not get under 50%, because that will trigger phase 2, which will spawn the clones. Should this happen, just homeward bone or quit out, since the strategy is ruined, and it's not worth the risk of getting hit.
A melee attack will cause a slight stagger and interrupt it's current attack so rushing up and attacking should be relatively safe. At this point in the fight when the Sage has about 60% HP left, it should teleport under the ground and appear at another place.
As you did in the start of the fight, rush him down again to minimize the time it has to do attacks and get close to him. When you are close to the Sage it will try to hit you with melee attacks in the form of three swings with it's rapier. These can be parried, and afterwards the Sage can be Riposted. This riposte will cause huge amounts of damage and throw the Sage to the ground. When it get's up, you should have about 2-3 seconds to finish it off with the low amount of HP it has left, before it tries to teleport under the ground again and start phase 2. If you successfully follow these instructions, the Sage should die in phase 1, and phase 2 should be completely skipped, consequently making this boss fight easier and safer.
Completely skipping the second phase of the fight greatly reduces the chance of getting hit, or even worse - dying. No hit runners often use some variation of this strategy to minimize the risks when fighting this boss. The best thing with this strategy is that you don't need very much damage to successfully do it, although it is recommended to kill the Abyss Watchers, and even High Lord Wolnir, to be able to level up to an adequate level. Also get the Large Titanite Shards in the Smouldering Lake and reinforce your weapon to be on the safe side in terms of damage. It's animation when winding up it's rapier combo is easy to spot, and the Sage is easy to parry, so this strategy should be accessible to new players as well as veteran no hit runners. Tip when parrying the Sage - it's better to parry when it seems "too late" rather than too early since it winds up it's first swing for a counter-intuitively long time.
Crystal Sage Lore Theories
- The Crystal Sage on the Crucifixion Woods trained the Undead Legion of Farron to use magic. As a result there are now several "Farron" spells.
- The Crystal Sages are twins and are called "the preacher twins". The other twin is in the Grand Archives.
- Their favorite pupil was Daughter of Crystal Kriemhild.
- The item description on Sage's Crystal Staff reads that crystal spheres devour the will of their user. Perhaps this is why they are mad.
- The two sages were trained by Big Hat Logan, which is mentioned in the examine text for its hat. Their spells are reminiscent of his.
Crystal Sage Trivia
- Using the Blue Bug Pellet found right before the boss, near Orbeck of Vinheim, will help during this fight.
- It is possible to predict where the boss will approximately spawn after it disappears. These rules of thumb work most of the time but the boss seems to be patched somewhat more unpredictable lately: During phase one, if the boss casts teleport near the west wall, it will spawn near the opposite, east wall around an area where there are no crystals. If boss disappears in a corner, it will appear in the crystal free side of the opposite corner.
- During phase two with multiple clones, the real boss will again usually spawn at the opposite side of the arena, but this time around an area where there are multiple crystals.
- The mask worn by the Sage is reminescent of Bloodborne's Beak Mask.
- Bug - A potentially fight-ruining glitch sometimes occurs (in experience, while cooperating online) during the fight with the Sage in the Road of Sacrifices, which appears to result from hitting a clone shortly before it begins its warp animation. With sub-optimal connection, the game may not recognize the clone has been hit until they already have entered the animation, causing it to stagger, but not dissipate; while the others, including the true mage, teleport away. The clone then becomes inexplicably invincible and returns to fighting the players; the true mage or the other clones with it will not return, and due to the fact the main mage is required to trigger the warp animation the now invincible clone will never warp from the arena. This renders the fight unbeatable, forcing the player, should they not have a homeward bone, to willingly die to the invincible clone or use the dark sign in order to escape from the encounter. (You can also quit the game and reload in order to leave the boss fight.) (Version 1.04, PS4)
- Bug - There is a possible exploit, where the host is able to stand within the boss room without triggering the fight, yet completely isolating themselves away from any invaders. This happens because all phantoms have a permanent fog gate at the boss room, regardless of whether the fight has been initiated or not.
- The Sage can't teleport if he has Homing Crystal Soul Mass active. If you get close enough to him before they cast, one or two won't fire as long as you stay on the opposite side of that Soul Mass. Attack while circling around him for an easy kill.
Crystal Sage Gallery
AnonymousI still summoned Eygon of Carim, despite already beating Abyss Watchers
- Anonymous
I get why some builds hate him, but when I use a strength build, I have such fun. The arena, the crystal sage's look, the chaos during the second phase, and the transition music is just so great. I don't get why people don't like his music more.
- Anonymous
Here is a tip that isn't given anywhere on this wiki-
When you first get in the boss area, if you immediately go to your left you will see a large tree. If you stand next to the wall wedged against the tree, No matter if all clones and him are out and spamming from every direction, The only attack that may do minor damage is that purple rain attack he does,
So you can use the tree after everytime he disappears into the floor , To see where he is and to realign your surroundings.
You can even equip a bow while behind the tree and hold attack to get that bow ready, And at an opportune moment slide out, loose an arrow at a clone or him and slide back behind the tree.
The tree makes it easy mode.
I like to bring a 30:70 ratio of yellow : blue estus's for this fight with just the cheapest heal spell in slot as the damage you receive from purple rain is maybe 1 or 2 cast worth
- Anonymous
its either you have a dumb easy time with this boss or you suffer. no in between
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
If you're as annoyed by this guy as I am (especially in the later runs), there's an easy way to cheese him to death to the point of pretty much skipping the whole thing: just use Sacred Flame and combo it, doing it over and over again every time the sage tries to get up (that is, if you have any magical skills, as even though it has extremely low requirements (8/8), to make any decent damage, you need to be bit higher than that). I know that's not possible for the first fight, as you only get SF from Smouldering Lake, but for the one in the Grand Archives and for subsequent NG-runs, it will do the trick in just under a minute.
- Anonymous
For people having issues, bleed it to death. On my second playthrough, Kirk's barbed straightsword either infused with bleed, or use Carthus Rouge. That or any bleed weapon with a 50 or greater proc on it.
I seriously killed this thing before phase two, both here and its butt buddy in Dukes, I mean, Grand Archives.
Bleed it dry.
- Anonymous
Crystal sage gave me so much trouble on my first playthrough. It was very satisfying completely shut it down with the dark hand on my hollow run.
- Anonymous
this and the ancient wyvern are EASILY my least favorite bosses its so easy to die to some cheap bullsh*t in both fights regardless of which one it is
- Anonymous
If you use a spear then he will not disappear consistently in his second phase, which causes his summons to just beat you down with spells and is a pain in the ass. If you want to use a spear but have problems with him I would honestly recommend just swapping to the broadsword for this fight if you have the time/money to upgrade it. I have always found this boss to be one of the more difficult ones alongside Aldritch.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
hit him 3 times wait for him to appear back hit him 3 times again until half health clones spawn escape aoe spam make them disappear hit the main guy he disappears again do it over and over again until you kill him without realizing such an unfun fight
- Anonymous
If you’re on a second play through and can spare some of the 8 for int and fth, you can use Sacred Flame to trivialize the fight, as it’s one of the few grab attacks you can use against the sages, time it right and they can’t teleport away, every run I do right after my first cycle I immediately swap to this tactic
- Anonymous
Every time I've had to fight this one I've had to switch from my usual powerful primary weapon to a dagger. The fight still sucked. My latest play through, I wanted to be a monk. I ended up with the Dark Hand as my primary and let me tell you... OP. I finished the entire swamp off no trouble. I felt like a king after fisting both Giant Crabs to death. I was able to wipe this boss out in 14 seconds flat. No second phase AT ALL. No pause at 60% health. Just sweet success so overwhelming I'm still giddy about it.
- Anonymous
60 int, crown of dusk, magic clutch ring, bellowing dragoncrest ring, young dragon ring, red tearstone ring, morion blade, buffed sage's crystal staff = One shot at least 90% of people in pvp, even if they have 40 in vigor.
I must confess the magic strategy is really poor. if i look for a magic strategy, i want to use magic, not weapons...
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Wow, usually this is an easy boss, but in my last attempt, it felt like he had an answer for everything. The moment I got close, he didn't take time at all to swing his rapier and stun me, while throwing his spells constantly. Souls Rain when I was behind pillars. Soul Crystal Mass every time there wasn't one in the arena and White Dragon Breath when I'm moving out of cover.
- Anonymous
Just beat this boss at second try because this boss is too similar to pinwheel. Speed is the key and constantly looking around at second phase. Boss is too easy because it cant cast spell when youre whacking it
- Anonymous
Ahh beat him second try, just got really lucky with my guesswork in that second phase I guess. It's useful to sit in the middle of the arena when he goes underground so you can sprint to him wherever he pops up, just keep spinning your camera or keep your ears open for where he is. And for second phase, of course, he's the only one with a purple aura. The clones don't attack immediately so if you carve off enough of his HP quick enough they'll all go underground without even attacking you
- Anonymous
This fight can be a nightmare if you don't use the right strat. Here's what works best; get 3 Twinkling Titanite by buying the large leather shield and a prism stone from the Shrine Handmaiden. Go to the exit of Firelink, then turn left and go up the stairs right before the exit then go outside on the 2nd floor. Use the tree jump to get onto the roof. Look it up if you don't know what that is. Go around the roof, then take a right into the rafters where you'll see a nest. Stand on the nest and leave the Prism Stone and they will give you Twinkling Titanite. Then leave the large leather shield, another twinkling. Make sure to select leave, NOT DISCARD. Go back out the way you came onto the roof and turn right, drop off at the end and run between the gap to the back of Firelink where you'll see a Crystal Lizard. Boom, you have 3 Twinkling Titanite. Now you need the Irithyll Straight Sword. Upgrade it to +2. Now when you get to the boss arena, sprint up to her and nail her with as many R1's as you can. When she disappears, run back and find her when she re appears. I've found that she usually goes to the top left corner if you're facing looking out the boss arena door most often. Once you've hit her a few more times she will disappear again. Now sprint as fast as you can in the exact opposite corner of where she just was. You will get there as she starts coming up from the ground. Wail on her with more R1's and she will probably die right there. If not, run back to the opposite corner where she should pop up again. It is very possible to not take a single hit with this strat. It also helps if you wear the full Cleric set for good magic resistence. You get it from the graveyard where the giant throws spears in the Undead Settlement.
- Anonymous
first attempt i died having him at 1%hp....
and i had to try 7 more times ffs, this first attempt haunts me...
- Anonymous
Find you a girl that loves you as much as the sage loves that ball
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I’m by no means a good player but I beat this boss on about the 6 or 7th try by using Irithyll sword in two hands, running up to the boss and spamming light attack as soon as my stamina was full.
I did this when the clones spawned as well in phase two. I just ran to the nearest sage and attacked whether it was a clone or not. They die in one hit and don’t respawn so it makes the fight way easier if you do it this way.
Sometimes I died instantly and other times I barely got hit. It really was just RNG on which spell the sage got off. If you attack fast enough only the clones will get casts off.
Was a pretty easy fight, just have to be ultra aggressive and don’t spam your attacks until your stamina is full.
- Anonymous
Just killed this guy in NG as a sorceror by punching him to death with the Dark Hand. He never hit me and I took 60% off his health before he teleported for the first time. So satisfying.
- Anonymous
Just killed this guy in NG as a sorceror by punching him to death with the Dark Hand. He never hit me and I took 60% off his health before he teleported for the first time. So satisfying.
- Anonymous
"Hey, where'd you get that rapier?"
"Oh, this? I had to beat an old man to death to get a rapier that's only good for item discovery"
Somebody help me confirm; when the boss is teleporting and it spawns those crystals, if you run through them that's where the boss will appear.
- Anonymous
pinwheel is far superior then crystal sage based on the loot he drops, 15000 souls compared to 8000. and the loot, pinwheel can drop the mask of the father, one of the best helmets in the game, what does crystal sage drop? oh yes! A rubbish sword that increases item discovery or a sorcery with no use what so ever
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
This is the most deeply awful, disgusting fight that Fromsoft have ever made. They should be ashamed.
- Anonymous
Take advantage of the pillars and walls around the area, it can block a lot of spells and give you time to hea/recover stamina. Just watch out for projectiles coming from the sky.
- Anonymous
What zero poise does to a mf (jk guys poise doesn't even exist in ds3 lololol get trolled)
- Anonymous
Holy crap this mf will spam so many spells at you at once. Reminds me of the mage in a pvp gank squad.
- Anonymous
I would also like to add that the best and fastest way to kill the sage in NG+ just spam sacred flame the grab animation stun locks it from being able to escape
- Anonymous
Welcome to part 3 of how to beat the required bosses in ds3
I Recommend fighting this boss with a melee weapon, the crystal sage has higher magic resistance
Before the room with multiple hollows (right before boss fight) there is a small path to the left (assuming your facing the room). Head up the staircase to the sorcerer NPC and to the other side of the room on the broken staircase is a blue bug pellet (boosts magic resistance).
For melee: You can rush the crystal sage to avoid getting spammed with spells or bait out the floating magic attacks (the crystal sage can't teleport away while Soul mass is active, allowing you to deal a lot of damage).
When phase 2 starts the crystal sage with teleport away and clone itself.
The clones with blue magic are fake (you can use a throwing knife to kill the clones from a distance if you wish)
It might help to lock off for this fight if you struggle to dodge all of the magic coming at you
Pyromancy:
Pyromancy just got an upgrade because of the pyro tome located in the swamp, use fire orb as your main damage dealer and you can use fire surge to kill the clones if you wish (you could also just hit them with your fist)
Miracles:
Miracles builds aren't viable yet (without progressing into other areas and lightning spear is still terrible anyway)
Sorcery: I recommend using a melee weapon, or saving 12k souls any buying the dark hand from Yuria
You can also parry the crystal sage's melee attack allowing you to riposte for lots of damage (also you can usually get 2 parries before the crystal sage teleports).
- Anonymous
This boss will be hard for me because I am only using sorserys
- Anonymous
Crystal Sage becomes very strong in NG++. There are so many high damage projectiles coming from all directions that you can barely get a moment to think. It just spams everything non-stop. Multiple copies of the slow-moving homing crystal with barrages from above, clones on all sides, and crystal soul spears up the wazoo. This boss is a chump in NG, but a terror in NG++.
- Anonymous
28 Jul 2021;Agreed, a big coward cheaters. Stamina taking spells, unblockable white crystallize beam & teleporting + clone spell casters = 50% hp will be at least 4 - 8 spells prepares for player. Don't even gives take a break time or any healing actions whether they are miracles or item usage
- Anonymous
this son of a ***** goes from being one of the easiest bosses to straight up 1shotting me with 45 vigor in ng+.
- Anonymous
Vow of silence doesnt prevent teleport but clones dont appear
- Anonymous
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Someone in the comment section of Crystal Sage's OST said breaking the crystals that appear when the Sage teleports away reduces the number of clones that appear, can someone confirm this?
- Anonymous
Their lore is a fine example of having lore for the sake of referencing older ds games. Logan was in the Duke's Archive trying to find and learn crystal spell. He was all the while in the Duke's Archive from search for the crystal spell until he learned of it and went mad.... so how is it possible for Logan to teach this twin? Unless the twin also in the archive at that time, and just so nice they get to meet logan and learned the crystal spell from him in mere minutes between logan learning the crystal spell and went mad.
00:00 Logan finally learned the crystal spell
00:01 Logan teaches the twin crystal spell
00:02 Logan went mad
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
She isn’t that good of a wizard if she didn’t have the foresight to realise I can just predict where she will teleport to
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I need help with this lad on PS4. If someone wants to help a noob get through it, I'd be thankful
- Anonymous
I kinda hate whenever they use an enemy as a "boss" and then paste it somewhere else as a mob later. Pursuer was the only time it really worked.
- Anonymous
This guy really looks like Logan. Especially considering the massive hat and the crystal magic.
- Anonymous
Throwing knife can help you a lot in this fight, you can easily clear those illusions.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
The part about "Crystal Kriemhild" siring a daughter really ought to be removed sometime. It's been almost five years. Kriemhild's title is "Daughter of Crystal." Nothing in the game suggests she had a child.
- Anonymous
For a sorcerer build all you need is Furron Dart and Pestilence Mist, also enough estus to keep yourself healthy in case situations go wrong.
Just cast the mist spell up close to him and hide. He’ll take damage over time and all you have to avoid is the Crystal Rain spell he dose. Dodge able but high odds of being hit. Phase two just snipe his clones with the dart spell then repeat the first tactic. Mist and hide, he won’t teleport away.
- Anonymous
You know those crystals that appear from the ground whenever the sage vanishes? I've always wondered what on earth they're even there for. In my 40+ fights against sage I've never once had them hurt nor do literally anything to me. Are they seriously just decoration? It feels like a missed opportunity to make a rather boring aspect of the fight more interesting. Imagine if they were a bit more telegraphed but did damage to you? That'd be sick!
- Anonymous
The key is to focus on the purple mage all time. Then it's pinwheel all over again.
- Anonymous
Get rotten ghru spear in the other next map Farron Keep. It has a poison effect. Then cast magic weapon sorcery. Then poke Crystal sage to death. Phase two gotta poke all clones or clones will kill you. Make sure you equip chlorathy ring
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Facerolled him in NG.
He ****ed me all sorts of ways in NG+, mostly because I wasn’t taking the fight as seriously as I needed to.
If you’re reading this be wary and don’t mindlessly rush in during your second playthrough.
- Anonymous
Does the crystal sage on the crucifixion woods count as a trap?
- Anonymous
The Crystal Sage, along with Aldrich and Deacons, are three bosses where my best strategy is to simply rush them.
Shield on back, double hand weapon, and I just sprint and swing away. Dodge and repeat.
- Anonymous
Not gonna lie, this boss gave me a really hard time during my first playthrough, considering it was also my first Souls game, so I had no idea what I was doing. Somehow it helped me learn what I needed to upgrade and how I needed to level up.
- Anonymous
at sl1 ng+7 this is literally the hardest ****ing boss in the game for me
- Anonymous
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I literally just face rushed the RoS Sage with a sword and popped great combustion in his face while he was staggered. Just ignore the clones and dodge like a mad man in his face. His main body is usually in corners when he makes clones.
- Anonymous
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- Anonymous
A great strategy is to just stand directly in front of the Sage as soon as you can. He should only summon simple floating crystal orbs which can’t even touch you. Keep right in front of him and he’ll eventually try to attack you with his rapier. Parry and riposte, but do not attack again. He will teleport away if you do. Instead just stay standing there and he should just do his magic thing, until he tries to attack again. Parry and riposte again, and then just go full balls attacking him. I did this with a +3 bandit’s dagger and managed to kill him before he could even teleport. He is also weak to bleed so putting on a carthus rouge can help a lot
- Anonymous
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- Anonymous
Yes - he is really very weak to bleed. Take any bleed weapon (Bandit's Knife is great) and he will not survive to second phase. And: You do NOT need Bleed/Luck build for this (I did it with minimum Luck, but my knife was infused with blood gem and reinforced to +9)
- Anonymous
I think it's worth mentioning that he also seems really weak to bleed damage. I used +9 warden twinblades with a blood infusion on NG++ and by not giving him a second to breathe he was done before he could teleport for the second time.
- Anonymous
Worth mentioning is that at some point they patched Crystal Sage so that when he hits half health, he will *always* teleport, even if you have *only* attacked him with Pestilent Mist.
- Anonymous
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Can anyone tell me why the sage is using this Rapier as a Straight sword? I mean he just flails it like a mad man. A Rapier isn't supposed to be swung like a straight sword, it's to brittle and even we, the player, can't use it this way because it's a Thrusting Sword. I know he uses it when he tries to grab us but still.
- Anonymous
didn't realise the clones shot different coloured projectiles because I'm colourblind lmao. just ran around hitting all of them
- Anonymous
How easy is this boss? Let me put it this way. I was running a pure caster build and could not beat him for the life of me with magic. So in the end I took out an unupgraded knife (unupgraded since I put all my upgrades into my staff and talismans and knife since I had neither the strength nor dex to use most of the swords) and beat him to death with it. In the second phase ignore the clones and go for the real one. It staggers easily so he can don't anything. And when it realizes you're doing melee it'll disappear and take its clones with him.
- Anonymous
the way i killed the sage as mage is by using pestilent mist, since it doesn't count as you actually hitting the sage it wont teleport away and summon more clones in phase 2, just kill the ones already there, rush next to the sage, deploy the mist and take cover. also a great way to kill trap chests without triggering them
- Anonymous
For pure sorcerers (NG) : This can actually be a very difficult boss, especially if you decide to forgo all kinds of melee and focus merely on casting, like I did. The boss has high resilience to magic, and most of his spells are faster and more damaging than the player's. His high magic resistance will furthermore force the player to devote more estus flasks to Ashen, leaving them with less chances to heal. Being in NG, your main source of damage will naturally be Great Soul Arrow, which has a much faster casting rate than the otherwise stronger Great Heavy Soul Arrow. The reason behind this choice is that, like many bosses in DS3, speed is the main factor in your success, and in this case, you will be dueling with a faster and stronger peer, so speed is even more essential than before. Another damage source can be Pestilent Mist, but extreme care should be taken due to the spell's long casting time as well as any possible self-damage. Suggested rings include: Chloranthy Ring (stamina recovery), Sage Ring (faster casting rate), Young Dragon Ring (increased spell damage), and Covetous Silver Serpent Ring (bonus on gained souls). Now onto the fight itself. During phase one, you will need to keep spamming Great Soul Arrow as relentlessly as possible to keep the boss from summoning more Soul Crystal Masses. Chloranthy ring here ensures you can cast spells more quickly after your stamina depletes. Alternately, you can cast Pestilent Mist on him, but then you should stop attacking him further lest he teleports away. Keep as much distance as you possibly can without disabling the target lock. The problem with fighting this boss as a pure mage is that your spells are slow and weak while the boss keeps spamming Soul Crystal Mass, which prevents the player from casting while forcing them to hide behind the pillars. Your other source of concern is Soul Rain, which the boss uses to punish players who take cover behind the pillars. When you see him cast this - cued by a distinguishable chant - be ready to roll away several times, taking momentary cover behind the pillars from the Soul Crystal Masses. As you can see, this is a long, tedious and unbalanced trench warfare, made all the more complicated in phase two, when the boss starts cloning. Honestly, surviving phase two is a matter of pure luck and steel nerves. Being a glass non-canon (!), your only bet in phase two is to fire at the boss spawning closest to you, hoping it is the real one. If yes, he will teleport away after a few strikes. If not, prepare to take out the clones one by one. I've found that the set of stairs at the upper right corner of the arena can keep you safe from a lot of attacks FOR ONLY A FEW SECONDS. DO NOT stay there too long or you will be punished by Soul Rain. I should mention that I won the boss fight by help of Pestilent Mist (in both phases). While it is very slow and risky to cast, the spell in turn gives you much more freedom to dodge the many spells coming at your way without the need to stop and attack. One thing to note while casting Pestilent Mist against Crystal Sage: if you cast it on the boss, stop attacking him otherwise he will teleport away, wasting your Mist. Only attack him towards the end of the Mist. This way, you will get the most benefit from your Mist, and will trigger the least number of teleports. I hope that was helpful. Enjoy the boss fight :-D
- Anonymous
It turns out you can summon Eygon of Carim for this fight, but his summon sign disappears if you beat Abyss Watchers first
- Anonymous
Cheese-or-be-cheesed boss. Sacred flame stunlocks him, parryable as***** - or - stuns you with the first crystal meth and kills you with the second and a laser. Lit boss
- Anonymous
Seems to me like his attacks do far too much damage. It feels cheap to die in two hits before you even reach him. Conversely, he does go down as quickly as he can kill you, so at least it's a short fight whoever wins. Took me a few tries and some infuriating soul losses.
- Anonymous
Made extra hard when the player, as in I, can’t see the colour purple.. :/
- Anonymous
Nice throwback to DS1 and by that i mean P A R R Y THE SHT OUTTA THIS C@NT.
- Anonymous
the fact this dude is weak to literally everything but magic is just funny
Interestingly enough he's using an Estoc, not the Crystal Rapier...
- Anonymous
On my first playthrough, I died to every boss multiple times, yet I still managed to beat this guy on my first attempt. For some odd reason, on my third playthrough, I've beaten every boss on my first attempt, but I keep dying to this guy now lol. Funny how that happens
- Anonymous
A Blood Barbed Straight Sword+10 and 30 Luck makes this guy bleed out in every second hit.
Why don’t people like this boss? I see lots of people complaining about his second phase magic spam but like, you’re supposed to deal with the clones before you attack the main boss again, not just ignore them and head straight for the real sage. I did him with a sorcerer and despite his 80% magic resistance it wasn’t that hard because I took care of all the clones before I attacked the main boss again.
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