Dark Souls: How to Beat the Taurus Demon

The Taurus Demon in Dark Souls is an intimidating-looking boss. It is massive, wields a large weapon, and it deals massive damage. Not to mention the fact that you fight this hulking monster in a narrow boss arena. Don’t worry, though. There are multiple ways to deal with it.

How to Beat the Taurus Demon in Dark Souls Video Guide

Best Strategies to Use Against the Taurus Demon

There are multiple ways to deal with the Taurus Demon. One of them is even so effective that it’s widely considered a “cheese” because of how it trivializes the entire encounter.

That being said, the Taurus Demon can still give you trouble if you’re not careful. Take note of these strategies and make use of the one you feel best suits your play style and skill level.

The Plunge Attack Strategy

When you enter the Taurus Demon’s arena, immediately make a hard right and climb the ladder. You’ll find two undead archers above this tower. Take them out as they can complicate things for you later on.

Once they are eliminated, head back down and proceed to cross the bridge. Keep your sights up while walking forward. The Taurus Demon will eventually jump down to the bridge from the tower ahead. As soon as you spot it, immediately turn around and run back towards the ladder and make your way up.

The Taurus Demon will chase you. If you’re fast enough, you’ll be able to make it to the top of the tower before it reaches its base.

Warning

If you’re not fast enough, the Taurus Demon can hit you while you’re climbing the ladder—which knocks you down and leaves you in a dangerous spot.

When it is positioned directly below you, hop down while pressing the attack button to perform a plunge attack. This will deal a ton of damage to the Taurus Demon.

Note

Remember to do this quickly. If you linger too long on top of the tower without doing anything, the Taurus Demon jumps up there to join you. You’ll also receive damage if he lands on you.

After attacking the Taurus Demon from above, run away to the other side of the bridge and have it follow you. Once you’re far enough from the tower, wait for the Taurus Demon to attack. Dodge towards the direction of where the tower is and make a run for it. Climb up again, and then do the same process.

Do this two to four times (depending on your weapon) and the Taurus Demon will perish.

Straightforward Combat

If you’re confident in your abilities, you can also choose to fight the Taurus Demon head-on. There are two items that can make this endeavor easier: Gold Pine Resin and Black Firebombs.

At this point in the game, you won’t be able to purchase Gold Pine Resin yet. However, you can pick up three of them from a chest that’s located behind the locked house to the right of a tower in the Undead Burg. The plaza where the house and the tower are is guarded by three undead enemies—one of them throws firebombs at you.

To enter this residence, you’ll need the Residence Key or the Master Key. The Master Key is a starting gift. If you didn’t choose this as your starting gift, you can purchase the Residence Key from the merchant in the Undead Burg.

The Black Firebombs are also starting gifts. However, if you didn’t choose this option, you can find five of them in a chest in Undead Burg. The chest is on the second floor of the first open residence you find past the bonfire.

With those items in your inventory, it’s time to face the Taurus Demon.

By using this strategy, you can maintain a fair distance from the Taurus Demon and throw all the Black Firebombs you have. If you manage to hit all five, the demon’s health should drop to about 25%, if not lower.

If you missed some of them, it’s time to put the Gold Pine Resins to good use.

The key here is knowing when to dodge and attack. For that, you need to familiarize yourself with the Taurus Demon’s attack patterns.

Taurus Demon Moveset

The Taurus Demon only has a few attacks. However, all of them deal a ton of damage. Here’s everything you need to know about them.

• Overhead Slam – The Taurus Demon will raise its axe over its head before slamming it to the ground. You can either move away from the Taurus Demon or run around it. Either way, this is a good opportunity to deal some damage.

Tip

With proper timing, you can also roll between the Taurus Demon’s legs while it’s winding up for its Overhead Slam.

• Horizontal Swing – The Taurus Demon will swing its axe horizontally at you. You can dodge this by dodging towards the demon’s arm where the swing originates from. Land a few hits of your own after dodging.
• Leaping Attack – The Taurus Demon will do this attack if you are standing far from it. It will first crouch down before leaping towards you. To avoid getting damaged, run toward the Taurus Demon as soon as it crouches and it will overshoot you, placing you right behind it when it lands. This is also a good opening to attack the demon.

Keep hitting the demon and don’t forget to use your Black Firebombs and Gold Pine Resins. If your timing is on point, you’ll make short work of it.

You can also choose to combine these two strategies and use the plunge attack at the beginning of the fight. Then, you can proceed to fight the Taurus Demon normally using only your weapons, your Gold Pine Resin, and your Black Firebombs.

Taurus Demon Rewards

When you defeat the Taurus Demon, you get the following items:

• 3,000 Souls
• 1 Humanity
• 1 Homeward Bone
• 1 Demon’s Greataxe (rare drop)

If you’re keen on receiving the Demon’s Greataxe and didn’t receive it from the Taurus Demon, you still have a chance of obtaining this weapon later on. There are multiple smaller variations of the Taurus Demon in the Demon Ruins. You can farm them for the weapon when you get there.

The difficulty of the Taurus Demon depends completely on how you approach this fight. Its “cheese” strategy makes it incredibly tame. However, when you fight it head-on, this boss can give you a run for your money. After all, that’s what FromSoftware’s Souls games are known for! Good luck putting down this beast.