Chaos Witch Quelaag

Chaos Witch Quelaag
Location	Quelaag's Domain
Drops	Soul of Quelaag Twin Humanities Homeward Bone
Health
NG	3,139
NG+	6,028
Souls
NG	20,000
NG+	60,000

Chaos Witch Quelaag is a boss in Dark Souls.

Description

Queelag is a daughter of the Witch of Izalith and, along with most of her family, failed to escape from the chaotic flame and was corrupted by it. Due to exposure to the flame, Quelaag and her sister mutated into spider-like creatures with their upper body being fused to the monsters' backs.

Lore

She is the Fair Lady's older sister. When their mother, the Witch of Izalith along with their other two sisters became the Bed of Chaos, she fled with her sister. Although their sanity is intact, their lower bodies became bound with demon spiders. When her sister became weakened and blind, Quelaag remained in Blighttown to protect her from anyone or anything that would try to harm her.

Strategy

A relatively easy way to beat this boss is to be human and summon Maneater Mildred, whose summon sign is right outside the Fog Door. Let Mildred distract Quelaag and stay away from her lava attack, as this is certain death. When away from her, pick off her health with ranged attacks, while Mildred tanks. This way Quelaag should be dead within a short period of time.

Fight can be cheated by using a bow after hiding between the stairs leading to second Bell of Awakening and a wall. Quelaag isn't able to reach the player here.

Location

Found in Quelaag's Domain in between Blighttown and Demon Ruins.

Notes

• Hitting her human body will stun her instantly.
• The Black Knight weapons will do extra damage against Quelaag.
• It is possible to summon Maneater Mildred for this battle provided she was defeated in Blighttown. Mildred has a large amount of health and can help distract the boss whilst the player attacks from a distance or heals.
• Should you need multiple tries to defeat Quelaag, you don't have to fight your way from the bottom bonfire to Quelaag's Domain every time. Instead, just rush there: From the bottom bonfire, run along the right hand side all the way until you get to the hill which holds the entrance to Quelaag's Domain, ignoring all enemies. (To avoid being slowed down in the swamp, just roll continuously, or - if you already have it - use the Rusted Iron Ring). When you have arrived at the hill, just run up to the entrance and enter the cave. Ignore the Egg Burdened inside the cave as well, just walk past them.
• Quelaag's name, according to Miyazaki himself, is pronounced "kwee-leg."
• Very rarely, Quelaag will actually jump at you from a considerable distance. If this connects, it can knock down the player regardless of poise and inflict massive damage.
  • Further, she can follow up with a lava attack, resulting in an almost guaranteed death to an already injured player.

Boss information

Attacks

Triple Fury Slash

				Attack Type	Status	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
180	0	367	0	Fire Slash	None	No	No	Medium

Quelaag will charge up briefly and swing her sword from bottom-left to top-right (from her perspective). Roll to the left (player's perspective) to dodge this attack easily.

Chaos Stab

				Attack Type	Status	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
108	0	432	0	Fire Physical	None	No	No	Slow

Quelaag will charge up for a longer time and stab with the sword, holding it out for a short duration. This attack homes in much more reliably than the slash and deals multiple hits.

Lava Surge

				Attack Type	Status	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
0	0	335	0	Fire	None	No	AoE	Medium

Quelaag can create lava pools in three ways:

• She may briefly fire globules that form small lava pools;
• She may stop to generate large amounts of lava in front of her over an extended duration, during which she is completely vulnerable to attacks;
• From a range, she may leap abruptly towards the player, firing lava

Leg Stomp

				Attack Type	Status	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
605	0	0	0	Physical	None	No	No	Slow

Quelaag will lift four of her legs and slam them back down. This attack can be performed from the left or right side, or directly in front of her. It has a very long startup and is easily dodged.

Fire Burst

				Attack Type	Status	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
0	0	691	0	Fire	None	No	AoE	Medium

Quelaag hugs her spider body and, after a roar, performs a deadly explosion. Quelaag will use this attack if the player gets very close to her body, such as beneath her legs.

Lava Spew

				Attack Type	Status	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
0	0	198	0	Fire	None	No	AoE	Medium

Quelaag will emit fire jets from her spider body.

Defenses

Physical Defenses				Elemental Defenses			Resistances
255	255	255	255	229	∞	205	S	S	C

These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.

Drops

Item	Soul of Quelaag
Drop Rate	Guaranteed

Removed content

Quelaag had dialogue removed from the final game:

Go back. Forbidden be, these parts. The realm of the creatures of chaos. They accept their banished fate. Go back. Lest the flames devour all, and the children of chaos feed upon your charred ashes. Those who defy the pact... Those who trespass Quelaag's domain... May you feel the depth of our wrath! Ahh, a precious new sacrifice! Forbidden be, these parts. The realm of the creatures of chaos. Go on, go on ahead... Welcome, bringer of meat. The children of chaos are hungry; give yourself to Quelaag's flame!

This indicates that Quelaag had a matriarchal status within the Chaos Servant covenant, along with or instead of her sister.

Trivia

• According to an interview with Miyazaki, Quelaag was inspired by the Crag Spider, a unit from the fantasy board game Dragon Pass. Dragon Pass received a Japanese release by Hobby Japan.
  • Another possible inspiration is Lolth the Spider-Queen, a half-spider demon goddess in Dungeons & Dragons canon. She is first encountered in the 1978 adventure module Vault of the Drow. Like Quelaag, Lolth rules over a subterranean domain.

Gallery

Concept art

Quelaag enters

Quelaag's face

Chaos Spider

Dying

Videos

Quelaag Intro

Chaos Witch Quelaag's boss intro

Music

Dark Souls OST - Chaos Witch Quelaag