Old Iron King

Old Iron King
Location	Iron Keep
Drops	Old Iron King Soul Old King Soul (NG+)
Health
NG	6,070
NG+	10,320
Souls
NG	48,000
NG+	96,000

The Old Iron King is a boss in Dark Souls II.

General Information

Located in Iron Keep, the Old Iron King is the final boss of this area who possesses one of the four great souls.

Summoning

Scholar of the First Sin

• Manhunter O'Harrah (her summon sign is just before the entrance to the boss battle in the room with the fire and spike wall traps).

Lore

The King of the ancient Alonne kingdom once ruled from the Iron Keep, an impenetrable fortress made out of solid iron. He was obsessed with creating an indomitable empire that would last for centuries, but his wishes of longevity and impregnability would eventually lead to his downfall as his beloved castle began to sink into the earth due to the immense weight of the structure. As the earth opened to swallow his castle, molten lava began to melt the walls, eventually consuming his kingdom. He was believed to have been killed by the Smelter Demon and his soul possessed by the great evil that lurked in the flames.

The Old Iron King began his days as a little-known and unestablished lord, with a lust for power and glory. He was approached by Sir Alonne, a great warrior from the east, who helped him forge a kingdom for himself from the old Kingdom of Venn. Doing so cost him what little resources he had, but in the process, he discovered an iron-producing miracle, which allowed him to freely shape and harness the powers of iron. At some point, the Old Iron Kingdom was afflicted by the Curse of the Undead. The Old Iron King imprisoned the undead in the Huntsman's Copse, torturing them and personally presiding over so-called "undead hunts." With this new power, the Old Iron King became extremely wealthy and powerful. At the height of his power, Sir Alonne left the king's service, but the king lacked not for servants. He entertained various craftsmen and savants from many lands, and while most were charlatans, many still brought innovations the Old Iron King appropriated for his army. He was also served by the pyromancer Eygil, who attempted to breathe life into fire itself. Eygil appears to have created the Smelter Demon which would eventually strike the Old Iron King down. As the king died and his kingdom sunk into fire and molten rock, he was possessed by the great evil that lurked below, and reborn as Icharous Earth.

Fight Overview

The fight is very simple and is similar to Ceaseless Discharge from the original Dark Souls. The only difference is that you cannot kill the Old Iron King with an easy trick. He is also susceptible to ranged attacks.The player has little room to maneuver and may walk off or be thrown off the edge into the lava. The boss gives the player many chances at healing and dealing out tons of damage. 

Strategy

All of the Old Iron King's attacks should be dodged since being hit by them can be very devastating and it is very possible that the player will be knocked into the lava.

There is a small area in the rightmost portion of the stage where one can go to avoid his sweeping flame breath if players are not too confident with rolling. An ally ranged character can also set up there if there is a summoned player to draw aggro. Be careful, though, as the structure does NOT block the beam that the Old Iron King fires from his right hand.

The best time to land high damage is when the boss slams his fist(s) into the ground and when he is using a flame attack. It is more difficult for pure melee players to hit the Old Iron King during a fire attack, but it is possible.

Players would do well to take their time with this boss. One should not attempt to rush the battle and waste stamina before it is needed.

Attacks

Swipe: Swipes one of his arms across the arena, sometimes followed up by an overhead slam or another swipe with the opposite arm. Can be avoided by rolling towards it.

Slam: Performs an overhead slam, sometimes done with 2 hands, sometimes followed by another slam or a swipe. Can be avoided by sprinting horizontally in relation to the boss or rolling away at the last second.

Lava Dive: The Old Iron King dives into the lava, launching some lava onto the arena. After a short time, he will reemerge from the lava in a different location from where he dived and launch more lava onto the arena.

Laser: Charges his right hand with a fiery glow and shoots out a laser beam. Clips through walls. Can be avoided by sprinting horizontally away or rolling with good timing.

Fiery overhead slam: Charges one or both hands with fire and then slams them down onto the arena, causing fire to erupt from his hand/s. Should be avoided by sprinting horizontally away as simply rolling may lead to players being hit with the fire.

Flame Breath: Shoots a line of fire out of his mouth. Can be rolled through.

Swiping Flames: Shoots flames out of mouth in a wide arc. Can be rolled through.

Roar: Lets out a roar that hits from medium range. Usually only done if players get extremely close.

Notes

• The Old Iron King is weak to Lightning based attacks.
• Magic based attacks seem to do normal damage.
• The Old Iron King is named Ichorous Earth by Sweet Shalquoir.
• By using a Bonfire Ascetic on the Iron Keep bonfire Eygil's Idol, Old Iron King can be respawned.

Bugs

• In the fight with the Old Iron King when evading the Old Iron King and you go behind the two walls to the right their is a possibliity that the Old iron Kings Laser will go through the 2 walls and hit you.

Drops

Item	Old Iron King Soul	Old King Soul
Drop Rate	Guaranteed	Guaranteed (NG+)

Gallery

Old Iron King concept art