Dark Souls Player Uncovers Hidden Combat Secret After 14 Years

Dark Souls is one of my favourite games ever made, and I know many other gamers share the same opinion.

Despite its flaws, of which there are several, there’s just something about it that’s thoroughly magical. From Undead Burg to the Kiln Of The First Flame, it’s a true adventure from start to finish, and I hope to see it get a remake one day in the same vein as Demon's Souls (2020).

Dark Souls first launched in 2011 though and over a decade later, we’re still learning new stuff about it.

The discovery we’re talking about today relates to Great Wolf Sif, a boss fight you can find in Darkroot Basin and one that’s mandatory if you want to beat the game, as Sif guards a ring that’s required to enter a future boss arena.

Sif is an emotional fight for a number of reasons, primarily because she’s absolutely gorgeous and players often feel bad for slaying such a noble creature. Sif isn’t even evil like other bosses in the game, she’s just guarding her master Artorias’ grave.

One of Sif’s attacks hides a secret though, a mistake in the code that was seemingly fixed in the DLC expansion Artorias of the Abyss, as reported by GamesRadar.

Whilst doing some digging in the game, odder kingbore discovered that one of Sif’s attacks is coded wrong; it's the one where they leap into the air and strike you with their sword as they pass over your head. The attack often misses though. Sif lands on top of you and opens herself up to attack before usually initiating the same attack but in reverse, jumping away from the player.

Later on in the Artorias Of The Abyss expansion, you meet Sif again, but a smaller version, and if you free her from her binds, she’ll assist you in the final fight against Manus and unlock a special intro cutscene for her own fight if you haven’t met by the time you play the DLC. In the DLC fight, the jumping attacks seem to function properly, likely due to the developer realising their mistake and ensuring it’s not repeated in the DLC. As players we’d be pretty annoyed if our AI companion couldn’t physically hit the boss we’d enlisted it to help defeat.

You can find a full but brief run-down of this discovery on YouTube via Zullie The Witch’s channel, so if you want all the details explained go give it a watch.