Iron Golem

The  is a boss in Dark Souls.

Location
At the top of Sen's Fortress.

Description
Standing almost thrice the Chosen Undead's height, the Iron Golem is a shell of pure iron powered entirely by its Core. It carries with its left arm, a large axe that can release a deadly wind projectile. The right is used to either smash, or grab and hurl the enemy into the ground. Due to its size and weight, the golem has difficulty regaining balance, and falling would mean it has somehow been overpowered. It rests, dormant; waiting with its weapon held by both hands against its chest, where a circle depression is symbolic to its initial emptiness.

Lore
The Iron Golem is the guardian of Sen's Fortress, and slayer of countless heroes seeking Anor Londo. Its soul was created from the bone of an everlasting Dragon.

Summoning
It is possible to summon the White Phantom, Black Iron Tarkus to help in the fight. His summon sign can be found across the bridge past the fog door.

Strategies

 * Killing the firebomb throwing Giant, located on the very top of the fortress, before initiating the fight with the Iron Golem will prevent it from throwing firebombs at the player during the fight.
 * When first entering through the fog door, the Iron Golem will use its axe to project a current of air. This can be dodged.
 * Awareness of one's surrounding is key, as it is possible to fall off the edges of the platform.
 * For Sorcerers and ranged characters, this boss represents significantly less of a challenge. If the right spot is found, the Iron Golem will stop using its shockwave attacks and instead use melee attacks, all of which will be out of range.
 * If enough attacks are concentrated on one of its heels, the Golem will stumble onto one knee, rendering it completely defenseless and unable to attack for a time. When it stumbles, it is possible for it to fall off of the side of the arena to its death, however, the Core of an Iron Golem will not be lost.
 * The Golem's attack pattern is slow and predictable. Its most damaging attack at close range is its grab, which has ample telegraphing to be either sidestepped or rolled away from. The fact that there are cliffs on every side and the camera tends to swing upwards to show the face of the boss makes keeping track of one's location a bigger challenge than any of the boss's attacks.
 * If death occurs repeatedly due to falling, consider not using the target lock feature as the Golem is big enough to hit reliably without it. Also, be wary of trying to block the Golem's attacks as its attacks can cause considerable knock-back. This can easily result in falling over the edge of the arena.
 * Lightning based damage is very effective in fighting the Iron Golem.
 * Though summoning Black Iron Tarkus is a great help, he won't dodge the Golem's grab attack, and the Golem is invincible during the grab attack's animation.
 * A decent strategy for fighting the Iron Golem is to roll underneath its legs every time it attacks and then striking a few times at its heels. Repeating shouldn't open the player up to a large amount of damage overall, but usually just a few clips from its arms, axe or feet.

Axe Swing
From a distance, the Iron Golem will charge up a swing, and slash the air sending an air current at you. At close range, the Golem will swing his axe in a horizontal motion up to three times.

Multiple Stomp
The Iron Golem will stomp either three times in a row with his left foot, or two times in a row with his right foot.

Ground Punch
The Golem will slowly bring his hand up and then punch the ground in front with full force, as he prepares for this attack, quickly roll through his legs and then attack him as he hits the ground.

Axe Slam
The Iron Golem will slam his axe downwards with full force. It is not recommended to try and block this attack as it is extremely powerful and will knock the player back a fair bit if he/she manages to block it. Recommended tactic is to run away and avoid the attack.

Grab
The enemy will attempt to grab the player with his hand; the hitbox is located between his legs. If it connects, the Golem will smash the player into the floor, causing huge damage and possibly death.

Sweep
If the player is positioned behind the Iron Golem for too long, he will sweep his foot backwards in an effort to damage the player.

Scoop
The Golem will swing his axe towards the ground by his legs. Has a large hitbox and it can be difficult to try and roll through it.