How to defeat Chaos Witch Quelaag in Dark Souls: Remastered

Chaos Witch Quelaag is a mandatory boss in Dark Souls: Remastered that must be defeated to ring the second Bell Of Awakening. Located at the bottom of Blighttown – a dangerous home to many poison-based enemies – in Quelaag’s Domain, which is guarded by Barbarians. If you’re having trouble getting to Quelaag or defeating her, make sure to read our guide right here.

How To Reach Quelaag

Reaching Quelaag can be just as difficult as fighting her. To get to the boss, you’ll need to carefully descend through Blighttown, making use of the one bonfire located inside of a tunnel in the swamp at the bottom of Blighttown. To access it, descend to the bottom and take a right, following the poison and the spider enemies to the eventual tunnel, with the bonfire inside.

From the bonfire, you’ll have to reach the mound – known as Quelaag’s Domain – located at the far right of Blighttown. It’s covered in spider webs and dead trees, and it’s guarded by several boulder-throwing Barbarians.

The optimal route is to exit the tunnel, take a direct right and hug the wall to avoid the poison. Defeat the spider enemy ahead, and then take a left and run across the poison to the far wall.

Hug that wall and follow it towards the mound, keeping note of the two Barbarians you’ll need to avoid on the way. When you reach the large mound, run up and zigzag through the trees to avoid attacks from any of the Barbarians you may alerted.

There will be an opening at the top centre of the mound. Head inside the opening towards the fog door. There will be two non-hostile Egg Carriers at the door. Do not attack them. Killing them will release worms which are hard to attack and deal lots of damage as well as poison.

How To Defeat Quelaag In Dark Souls: Remastered

The half-woman, half-spider monster is a very tough boss fight, particularly if you’re ill-equipped. Quelaag deals a lot of fire damage and some attacks leave lava on the floor, which deals fire damage and staggers you, leaving you open for additional attacks.

Equip armour and a shield with high fire resistance – your best bet is likely the Crimson Set, which can be found in Blighttown and is easily accessible. If you have something that works better for you, equip that instead.

Now, Quelaag is resistant to fire but is very weak to lightning, so some Gold Pine Resin can be very helpful in this fight. You can also summon Maneater Mildred after defeating her around the tunnel just outside Quelaag’s fog door, or simply use the tunnel bonfire to summon other players – extra help will distract Quelaag and leave her open for some hits.

The best way to defeat Quelaag is by focusing on attacking her legs without getting stuck between them, leaving you open to attacks. Doing so will allow you to back away when she performs her more dangerous attacks, and give you a chance to telegraph her attacks.

Note that the spider head is Quelaag’s weak spot, but going for it will leave you open to attacks, and you’ll likely find it harder to telegraph her moveset. If you can get an attack in, try, but we suggest you focus on her sides.

Quelaag’s attacks include:

• Slashes: Quelaag will slash her sword from left to right and vice versa in front of the spider’s head. You can block or roll through these attacks to avoid them, or simply flank her sides
• Lava spew: Occasionally, Quelaag will sometimes encourage the spider to spit lava onto the floor in front of it, which will remain in the boss arena for a few seconds. Quelaag will pat the spider’s head, and it will regurgitate the lava. Stay away from the head and avoid the lava, but use this time to perform a few quick attacks at her side
• Fireballs: The spider may occasionally spit fireballs at you if you’re far from her. You can avoid this by sticking close to Quelaag or blocking the fireballs with your fireproof shield
• Stab: Quelaag can stab you with her sword, which can deal significant damage. The stab is usually performed immediately forward, so it can easily be dodged
• Charge jump: If you’re far away from Quelaag, she may perform a charged jump attack while the spider spews lava onto the ground. The attack can inflict heavy damage and may push you into the lava to stagger you and leave you open for an attack – this can quite easily kill you if you’re not careful
• Stomp: If you’re flanking her sides, Quelaag may stop her legs on either side. Avoid sticking too close to her legs as you can easily get stuck between them. You can avoid this simply by taking a few steps back when she begins stomping, and then follow up with an attack when she stops
• Explosion: Quelaag can sometimes collapse over the spider’s head, triggering a large explosion around her. When she immediately collapses, run back to avoid the explosion, as it can quickly kill you if not careful

If you take your time with the fight, Quelaag isn’t a difficult boss, but if you’re too aggressive and fail to learn her moveset. Remember to stick to her sides, and lure her away from any lava on the ground to prevent her from staggering you. Whenever Quelaag performs an attack with a long animation, use your Estus Flask to heal.

Once you’ve defeated Quelaag, you can proceed into her lair and ring the Second Bell Of Awakening to progress the story. There’s a bonfire through Quelaag’s lair, under the Bell Of Awakening in a new area known as Demon Ruins – light it but do not progress, you’ll return later.