Key Takeaway
Gwyndolin is in the Darkmoon Tomb of Anor Londo, accessed by rotating the tower in the middle of the giant bridge in Anor Londo. To access Gwyndolin’s boss room, you’ll first need to equip the Darkmoon Seance Ring or kill Gwynevere.
Dark Sun Gwyndolin is one of the hidden bosses in Dark Souls. You may not have the chance to meet this character if you only follow the game’s main progression route. If you defeat this boss, you’ll earn a trophy or achievement—as well as receive other rewards.
Table Of Contents
Where to Find Dark Sun Gwyndolin
You’ll find Gwyndolin in the Darkmoon Tomb in Anor Londo. To get to the Darkmoon Tomb, begin from the first Anor Londo bonfire. Exit the bonfire room, proceed forward, and onto the lift ahead. Take it down and proceed to the bridge beyond.
This is assuming you’ve already activated the bridge in this area. Otherwise, you’ll first have to traverse through the cathedral on the left.
Going back, head to the lever in the middle of the bridge and activate it. Push it forward so that the tower—the middle part of the bridge—descends.
Head down the spiral staircase and onto the bridge. Afterward, you’ll find a room with a bonfire in the middle. Rest at the bonfire for now. At the back of the room is a large statue of Gwyn and a corpse beside it that holds the Ring of the Sun’s Firstborn. The statue is what you’ll want to pay attention to.
There are two ways to get rid of the statue blocking your path, which we’ll discuss below. But first, here’s what happens when you dispel the illusion statue: doing so reveals a staircase that leads down to a fog gate. Before the fog gate, you can kneel and converse with Gwyndolin first, during which you can join the Blade of the Dark Moon covenant. However, when you enter the fog gate, you’ll turn Gwyndolin hostile and this Dark Souls boss fight will begin.
Dispel Statue Option #1: Wear the Darkmoon Seance Ring
If you wear the Darkmoon Seance Ring while standing before Gwyn’s statue, it will disappear, giving you access to the staircase behind it. You’ll find the Darkmoon Seance Ring while you’re making your way through the Catacombs.
Start from the second bonfire in the Catacombs. Head down and exit this room. If you haven’t yet, climb the ladder on the left and interact with the lever here to rotate the bridge ahead. With that done, cross the bridge and pass through the fog gate.
Head down and deal with the skeletons you come across at the bottom. There’s a wall here that looks breakable. You can destroy this with a simple strike.
Pass through the newly available door and drop down. There are a ton of skeletons here. Deal with them accordingly. There are also skeleton archers up above that will keep shooting arrows at you. Be mindful of them.
Proceed forward and into the corridor ahead. Be careful as you move forward here, as a giant skeleton will drop from the ceiling. There’s a coffin at the end of this path. Loot it to receive the Darkmoon Seance Ring.
Dispel Statue Option #2: Kill Gwynevere
Gwynevere is the giant woman you meet in the Chamber of the Princess in Anor Londo. Killing her in Dark Souls also gives you access to Gwyndolin’s boss room. You simply need to hit her with a spell or an arrow once to eliminate her.
Doing so will reveal that Gwynevere is merely a projection, created by Gwyndolin.
Once Gwyenevere is gone, you’ll immediately notice the change in scenery in Anor Londo. Whereas it used to be bathed in light, Anor Londo is now a dark city.
With that, exit the Chamber of the Princess, head down, and make your way to the Darkmoon Tomb. As you make your way down, you’ll be faced by two NPC knights in place of two giant Sentinels. Defeat them before moving forward.
When you arrive at the rotating tower, the Firekeeper who guards the Anor Londo bonfire will be here instead, waiting for you. Defeat her before finally making your way to the Darkmoon Tomb.
Wearing the Darkmoon Seance Ring Is Easier for Finding Gwyndolin
It’s recommended that you take the first option and use the Darkmoon Seance Ring to access Gwyndolin. When the illusion over Anor Londo is dispelled with the elimination of Gwynevere’s mirage, you will resurrect in the first bonfire of Anor Londo whenever you die. This makes the run back to Gwyndolin longer if you ever die during the boss fight.
How to Defeat Gwyndolin
Gwyndolin is mainly a magic user in Dark Souls. That said, it is recommended that you wear an armor set and equip a shield that has high magic resistance like the Painting Guardian Set and the Crest Shield.
The entire boss fight is set in an infinite corridor, a product of Gwyndolin’s illusionary magic. Throughout the fight, you’ll have to continuously approach Gwyndolin as you dodge or block his attacks—he thankfully only has three. However, each of them deals a lot of damage. Once you learn how to best avoid these attacks, this boss fight becomes trivial.
Magic Missile Barrage
Gwyndolin will often fire a volley of blue magic orbs towards you. You can block this with a high-stability shield or you can simply dodge away from them as they get nearer.
TipDarkmoon Arrow Volley
Gwyndolin will rise a bit off the ground before firing a volley of arrows at you. Like the previous attack, you can block the projectiles, dodge away from them, or use the pillars nearby as cover. For a more dynamic tactic, try zigzagging as you run toward Gwyndolin; serpentine sprinting helps you reach this slithering snake of a boss!
Magic Beam
This is Gwyndolin’s most powerful attack. His staff will glow blue and he’ll charge it up for a while before finally unleashing a stream of blue magic at you. This attack passes through pillars, which means you won’t be able to use them to avoid it. Similarly, shields can’t block this devastating energy beam. The best way to avoid this attack is to zigzag toward Gwendolin or dodge just before the beam hits you.
As soon as you get close to Gwyndolin, he’ll teleport away. Do your best to damage him as much as you can before he disappears. Better yet, aim to stagger him so that he stays in the same spot longer.
Once defeated, Gwyndolin drops the Soul of Gwyndolin and 40,000 Souls. After the fight, make your way to the end of the hallway and you’ll find three chests. Open two to receive the Brass Armor set and the Sunlight Blade spell. The third chest—mysteriously—is empty…
Gwyndolin isn’t one of the toughest bosses in Dark Souls. He isn’t even the toughest boss in Anor Londo. This honor belongs to Ornstein and Smough. That said, he’s still capable of killing you multiple times before you finally defeat him. Approach this boss with care. Good luck!
