Dark Souls Lore - Artorias

[@gingervampireFTW]

You opened up the equipment menu to change your weapon in the middle of a boss fight without dying. Very impressive.

[@SilverMont]

I'm quite a big fan of mid-battle equipment changes, especially in PvP, although it's tricky to pull off if people realise what'chu doing. I actually saw a video a while back of someone parry and swap to hornet ring and land the riposte, all in the time it took for the parry animation to play out. I was much impressed.

[@reapordeath]

Silver Mont I found your fight amusing. Not sure if you ever did fight artorias before this vid, but your not exactly great at combating him. Hits like a truck, swings like a luiville slugger and he is really aggressive. Blocking is bad idea unless you use a greatshield. My strategy was split between rolling and hitting him with ultra greatsword rolling attacks. Or crystal magic weapon pursuer and estoc. At least you did better than everyone I know

[@Koj4]

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." I fucking love this game.

[@tnishamonz2152]

Let's start a suspicious covenant to get all up in the abyss

[@bennemeth625]

There is nothing about that sentence that I don't love.

[@DoubleA2015]

Now, back to being ambiguously evil...

[@irocc]

"He's getting hiss abyss in my catacombs!"

[@sub0sandwich32]

Abyss' Asshole*

[@Nyctosuba]

You know, Artorias might just be dead when we fight him... It'd explain his broke-ass arm, and very strange moveset. He doesn't fight like a knight, he fights like a puppet trying to flail a giant sword around. Plus, Artorias uses abyss magic during the battle, and I doubt Artorias would have abyss magic, much less actually use it.

[@bennemeth625]

He probably just went insane from the corruption. It's the same thing that happened to the citizens of Oolicile.

[@Nyctosuba]

We know Thats what happens when Manus puts his Abyss in your Catacombs. ;))))

[@bennemeth625]

Xzener Guess he just couldn't fill his man cavern with his estus flask...

[@letvolir6490]

+Xzener ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@allthingsmtg9824]

I know this is late, but I like the theory that he might be possessed/ a puppet. because when he dies he kind of looks a tad bit like a puppet who's strings were cut. and the fighting style is definitely starting to look more and more like a puppet after thinking about it and watching him swing his greatsword

[@joshuaramirez6969]

Artorias The Abyss Walker sounds so badass

[@lordmoldybutt6361]

I find I can't access my abyss Walker dlc any more. It's weird the tear in reality won't appear. The golem appears but does not drop princess dusk. It's sad. I've made multiple different characters to the same dilemma. I'm not mad i can't access the $20 i can't use. I'm just sad the original dark souls is being treated this way.

[@chaoticstarfish3401]

@@lordmoldybutt6361 Did you find what the problem was?

[@tikrunikru2485]

Artorias was just a hero, who gave his life to repel the Abyss but, he fails

[@jeevinater5098]

Giant Dad I agree except i would also include that he seemed like a badass

[@tikrunikru2485]

Yup

[@slightlydisgruntled7438]

OnniRoope Vohlakari could totes kill ornstein

[@tikrunikru2485]

IDK :P

[@Metalgearfox2000]

john schroeder No, his armor and weapon suck.

[@bigdaddypetaki9269]

having to kill sif after that cutscene kills me :(

[@aldergodric4324]

Knowing the lore kills me even without cutscene

[@StrangeMachines1]

If only Sif could join us to kill Manus. I mean you can summon puppy Sif but if he would join as a giant and without fighting us. It would be awesome.

[@josepholiveira946]

If Dark Souls have a book someday telling the "complete story" of everything in the game. I will be pleased it the teories and facts that you exposed in this video be truth. Artorias is truly my favorite game character . Cheers !

[@Tracker947]

I looked it up. Artorias was left handed. And damn, that fight with Manus must've been brutal.

[@Tracker947]

True. The cover picture isn't really Artorias. Lore also states something along the lines of his arm being broken defending Sif. So He was almost certainly right handed. But that doesn't mean it's impossible that he was left handed. Most all of the story is left for us to interpret and find our own story based on what we find in the game. The developer guy who's name always escapes me was at least partly inspired to make this game because he didn't know English very well, but was exposed to a lot of western stories, left to fill in blanks with his own imagination. So, while I personally believe he was right handed, it doesn't honestly matter, and the fight was a brutal one either way.

[@Tracker947]

And I did post the first comment hastily. I just googled it real quick and made a post based on the first thing I read.

[@Tracker947]

Lmao.

[@ImASillyName]

Its theorised Artorias didnt even fight Manus, he couldnt get to him because of the humanity sprites.

[@Tracker947]

ImASillyName It is theorized. Personally I think that theory is BS. Nothing in the area except for Manus posed enough of a threat to break his arm.

[@joshuaramirez6969]

Artorias would fuck us up if he was his regular form.

[@theblackgloves512]

All of the bosses would fuck us up if they were in their prime.

[@gin9410]

+IamBogus imagine ornstein (real) and Artorias in full strength going against you in a 2v1 battle

[@theblackgloves512]

That would not be fun

[@ИванИванович-у4и2о]

Not even a player summon would help.

[@theblackgloves512]

Not even 2 summons would help. Not even the gods.

[@noahsturgis3633]

Artorias was a good man once, a hero...but even the best of men can be corrupted.

[@poundstone1000]

+Noah Sturgis Do you know, what the story behind him, that makes him being corrupted? I'm sorry, I didn't play DS series, so I dont know about it...

[@splinter1619]

+Achilles Tendon he got screwed by the abyss.

[@jimmyrussell5267]

We get it you like the Dark knight

[@noahsturgis3633]

jimmy russell What does the Dark Knight have to do with anything?

[@noahsturgis3633]

Danny St. Clair Very true.

[@MattyMatthew-m4o]

Has anyone considered, that Artorias might have been praised for things that he didn't do? That he wasn't that knight in shiny armor like everyone thought? Would explain Alvina getting so pissed about the topic of Artorias and his "legend". Maybe he gave in to the Abyss for some reason. He says in the cut dialogue "All of you, forgive me, for i have availed you nothing" Maybe he made a bond with the Abyss/Manus? His body for Manus to use to wander outside of the Abyss for the safety of his friends? Maybe he felt something for ciaran after all, and she felt Guilty for it and didn't leave his grave? Would make sense why it says "Knight Artorias" and the 2 swords from the Soul of sif have descriptions that correspond with each other: The True Sword stands for the legend, the cursed sword for the truth.

[@Metalgearfox2000]

Spade Wow that´s the best theory I have heard so far !

[@SighingDm]

On an interesting note Artorias was left handed, so when his corrupted shell fights you it's using his off hand.

[@gregsmw]

Excellion he broke his left arm when he defended sif from manus (+whatever else was with him we dont know how many or what kind of things artorias killed before he fell, it could be that manus was origionaly much much stronger and that what you fight is a severely weakened form from his fight with artorias)

[@ItsStillMudkip]

gregsmw in other words Artorias is the worlds biggest badass, far outshining yourself, only rivaled by Solair

[@10mimu]

Yeah, except we kill Gwyn, kill Artorias+Manus and eventually kill everyone. Chosen Undead is the most badass and megalomanically evil character.

[@lowtiershadowyt9008]

it his his main hand his left is his shield arm get it right

[@lemmeshur7438]

Sorry but this theory is incorrect artorias was always. Right handed

[@bluelense7]

"Take my weird-ass shield, puppy Sif. It will protect you from URBAN VIOLENCE!"

[@SilverMont]

Domestic violence!

[@TomMKW]

artorius is such a badass

[@HalfBloodBrony]

is it just me, or is artorias's unused arm during the fight against us broken? it seems like it flops around unnaturally like his elbow is complacently broken.

[@SilverMont]

+michael onorato So it seems to me

[@gildartsclive7080]

+michael onorato He lost that arm protecting Sif from the Abyss.

[@HalfBloodBrony]

i just didnt notice before, cause imidatly after my first succesful run of dark souls, i fully switched from xbox to playstation, so i dont get live anymore, so ive been trying to get my hands on a PS3 copy of dark souls, hoping to pick one up soon :P

[@camobranson09]

+michael onorato You can surmise that that was his "shield arm" and as such while fighting Manus and fighting alongside Sif. He left the shield to protect Sif after his arm broke but before the Abyss corrupted him.

[@LK-cp8re]

+michael onorato he's just modelled after Guts (or Gutts, or Guttsu, I guess you get who am I talking about anyway) inside of Berserk armor which grows into bones and stuff, but Gutts had lost his left arm during the events of Eclipse :) And Artorias' broken arm is pretty much explained here by him leaving his shield (he probably used to hold with his left hand) to protect Sif, thus leaving it unprotected. And if you look at the way the shield is damaged, it looks more like he got hit to his right part of the body, not his left arm, so I guess it's not like he got his arm "deeply scarred" first before leaving the (useless in the case if he got his arm damaged) shield to protect Sif + It wouldn't be really cool like leaving the shield to protect Sif only because he wasn't able to hold it himself, not cool of him at all :( PS: am I the only one to have "edit" button not working in these comments ?:(

[@luckyj.7951]

Sif is male. I am french canadian, (so the game is in french) and Sif is refered to as Le Grand Loup Gris. If Sif would have been a female, her name would be Sif La Grande Louve Grise.

[@SilverMont]

Lucky J. That's good logic - although it is from a localisation, which I know has gotten these things wrong in the past. Well, it's not even "wrong" it's more that it's not specified. Example, Rom in the German version is, I believe, referred to as "he" whereas Miyazaki calls it "she" etc. Still, it's interesting to consider!

[@Asango]

Lucky J. It's just a translation, the translator thought Sif is male, so he made Sif a male in french. I am pretty sure he didn't do any more research on if Sif is male or not.

[@dazmaster22]

My theory about who the "beasts of the abyss" is is that it was Manus. Manus was battling Artorias and noticed that Artorias was losing badly and was in a condition where he could be corrupted. Manus took hold of the opportunity and crippled Artorias (That is why his left arm flails, also his dominant arm, this can be told because on the English box art Artorias is depicted with his sword in left hand and shield in the right.). Artorias makes his way out and is so angered by his defeat at the hands of a dark being that he allows the abyss to take hold, making him go insane and attack anything he sees enter the arena. The "covenant" was merely Manus not outright killing Artorias.

[@Goldenkitten1]

Artorias is seriously the only member of Gwyns empire I felt no real negative emotions toward. Though I know Kaathe is manipulating you just as much as Frampt is and in the end there really isn't a good end to Dark Souls, and as DS2 proves in the end it hardly mattered, the cycle was everlasting (until that third ending was added, but that's not the point). But even though I knew going along with Kaathe was in no way a good thing I just couldn't bring myself to sacrifice myself to prolong the rule of a rogues gallery of assholes, manipulators, and the greedy. Pretty much everyone but Gwyn himself (and even him to an extent) were power hungry, just trying to hold on to power for as long as they could possibly manage no matter the cost, and more than willing to sacrifice you or as many souls as it took to accomplish that. Though I recognize some of that had to do with fear it also at the end of the day shows that as individuals most of Gwyns empire saw themselves above others, and even now as the world slowly dies they'd rather sacrifice countless beings just to hold on to that power for a few seconds longer rather than seek a solution (of course the state many of them are now that's rendered impossible, but with the possible exception of the Witches the rest of them dug themselves into their hole they're now in through selfish actions back when they could have tried a more rational approach). So, in the end even though I know I'm totally being Kaathes puppet I simply can't bring myself to aid or even feel for these people who long ago proved their own worth, or lack there-of. And that's where Artorias is the exception. I'm sure he had his pride, hell there are several signs of this. Regardless at the end of the day he still attempted to actually solve the problem. It was in vain of course but all the same, the simple fact he actually tried to find an answer to save EVERYONE while the others just readied their defenses and held on to whatever embers they could manage speaks highly of his character even if he had his vices (the cut dialogue mentioned really reinforces this positive image of him). After all no person is without their own sins, it's just a matter of whether those sins outweigh what good the person has tried to do, and in this case I don't think they have.

[@SilverMont]

Goldenkitten1 A lot of the "villains" in the Souls games, and in Dark Souls in particular, aren't really evil as much as all that. It's more that we are opposed to them. Nito, for example, whilst he's in charge of a covenant that "spreads misery" and the like, Nito himself doesn't do anything bad to us, and yet we still hop down and murder his ass. Seath is probably the only truly evil one off the top of my head, and that's likely because he's insane as well.

[@Goldenkitten1]

Silver Mont Well I'm not talking about their actions strictly toward your character (though, most of them are totally ready to make use of you to their own means) as much as I'm talking about what we know they've done as a whole. Like I mentioned the possible exception is the Witches who maybe did what they did for the good of all. Their actions against the encroaching dark could have been selfless so I do have mixed feelings toward them. But at the same time it's entirely possible they simply fought against it happening because they knew they'd lose their power (and lives) if it happened. And indeed if they took these actions with impure motives that may have been what allowed Chaos into their hearts during the ritual that resulted in the Bed of Chaos. Gwynevere ran away, Gwyndolin shut closed Anor Londo and rules over it with illusion and an iron fist ready to sacrifice whoever comes his/her/its way just to prolong the rule of the gods a bit longer, Nito doesn't take direct action against us but the lore makes it pretty clear he does enjoy death and slaughter (I figure he just doesn't take direct action against you because of the Gravelord Covenant?), and of course as you yourself mentioned Seath was probably just being evil the whole time till he went mad...and then was more evil. Even many of the minor bosses have lore that suggests even if they weren't "evil" they certainly weren't saints. About the only one I can make an argument for is Gwyn who willingly sacrificed himself to the flame. But how much of that was righteousness and how much of it was simply to prolong the rule of his heirs? Regardless I'll accept Gwyn may have had good intentions. But to me most of them were clearly selfish and harsh long before the Chose Undead showed up. Rather than banding together like rational individuals and perhaps utilizing their combined powers to come to a conclusion they instead separated themselves, focused on their own agendas, and in the end ran the world into the ground. Even then they won't accept their mistakes, still trying to hold on to every last second of power as evidenced by their manipulation of you. Of course I recognize that's just the Souls universe. There are no happy endings in Souls games and people are rarely rational. Regardless I find it hard to sympathize and aid a group whose own rule has defined them. Even if the Dark probably isn't any better.

[@jsgdk]

Silver Mont Smough is a pretty bad person, but its a world with alot of shades of gray, where the stakes are higher and more complicated then sadism vs compassion.

[@jsgdk]

Silver Mont Smough is a pretty bad person, but its a world with alot of shades of gray, where the stakes are higher and more complicated then sadism vs compassion.

[@DraconiusDragora]

Goldenkitten1 Well I have a theory of why the cycle continued from Dark Souls 1, and Dark Souls 2. And it involves Demon's Souls andBloodborne as well. Patches is one odd fellow which appears in all of the games, and he does about the same in all four games. But what if Patches is the Pygmy, he has a first flame in otherwords, which he could have used up to continue the cycle like Gwyn. Afterall when we sacrifice ourselves to kindle the flame, where Gwyn wasn't affected that much, but since Patches is a undead a pygmy like us, maybe he uses the dark souls to return himself to human form, where Gwyn could not, meaning he could continue the flame with the flame he took, prolonging the cycle. Lets just look at it a bit, Patches the Hyena, a merchant that is valuable, but is misguiding, lying and treacherous, never trust a Hyena after all. In Demon's Souls, he kicks you down with a maniacle laugh, he clearly is out after something, since he dislike fighting straight on (Considering he is pretty meager and easy to kill), in Dark Souls, he does the same in the Catacombs, saying a line which people hate "This is what I do! Don't judge me 'friend'." He is a graverobber, and he is still known as Patches the Hyena, note from Knight Lautrec of Carim "If there is ever a person who has rubbed my skin the wrong way, it is Patches the Hyena." Many of the npcs refer to Patches as simply "the hyena". In Dark Souls, he is less afraid of dying, but he still fears pain, and he is just much of a lying a-hole. In Dark Souls 2, he is absent, but there is referense to him just can't remember all of it, and in Bloodborne, he is a half-spider half human thing, he follows these hollows, watches them, but most of all he watches you as the player the "choosen" undead. Same in Bloodborne where we have the Hunters, which are human, some aflicted by the curse of blood, as the undead was aflicted by the curse of hollowing. The Cycle continued even after the flame burnt out, and Patches drastically changed, but it is still the same trusty old Patches which again kicks you when you least expect it. It is my theory, that he has a motivation to keep the curse going, why? For his own sake, he fears death, fears pain, and he fears being judged, he is a cowardly person, who will try to decieve rather than fight, he'd rather watch than be involved. I just find him to be too sane through all of this, and he always manages to pop his ugly head up somewhere.

[@flame7556]

Well there was a rumor going around that when artorias first went to the abyss he used the left hand for his sword meaning that that's when he was in his A game but when you fight him he uses his right hand since his left hand is broken meaning also that when u fight him your fighting the easy version of him which if you think about it its kinda badass since players tend to have trouble with him so think how much stronger he would be if he were in his A game plus he was without his shield meaning that he also doesn't much protection. I myself believe this

[@flurryous2]

.

[@bmombaerts]

Jeah but that is true for almost everything you fight in the game. Logan goes insane. (and since he is an inteligence based caster I assume that doesn't help in being in his A-game) Solaire is being used by the sunlight maggot. You don't even get to fight the witch, and her chaos daughters are semi-mutated. Nito had some problems in his ranks as Pinwheel betrays him, and 'steals some of his power' Now I doubt they mean just the rite of kindling. Also Nito is in a coma like state when you find him through the coffin in order to join his covenant. So it is likely Pinwheel dealt some serious damage to him(possibly some kind of curse) and when you fight him he is still recovering. Seath has gone insane and is technically speaking the strongest thing you fight until you smash his crystal. And gwynn litterally split his soul SEVERAL times, and then continue to use himself as fuel for the first flame for several hunderd years.... So considering this, it is pretty clear that most of the thing you fight aren't even close to their full power when they were at their peak Ornstein and smough seems to be the closest to their 'legend'

[@flame7556]

Brecht Mombaerts wow so were basically fighting like 10% of them..... makes sence tho

[@bmombaerts]

BlueFlare Jeah, well you never fight the witch, and it is never stated how strong seath is, he 'betrayed' his brethren. which is assumed to be that he took that special crystal away, which is what gave the dragons their true immortality : the fact that even if you bursted through their defenses, they would just heal it up. Seath took the crystal and stopped it from influencing the scales of his brothers. After the war he searched for a way to give himself the scales of immortality but wasn;t able to (it is assumed that pricilla might have been a result of these experiments), so then he searched for how to link the power of the crystal through different mean, which he decided would mean making the crystal fuse with living beings (crystal golem, crystal hollows etc...) and then he fused himself together with it so he could benefit from the crystal. I am guessing he also tried to create something which resulted into the butterflies. might have had something to do with his wings.

[@rodmorgan520]

So under what logic is this based off? I mean, which evidence do they have for him using his left hand in the abyss?

[@ZeilV2]

These Lore videos are fantastic. Earned my sub m8

[@SilverMont]

Thanks!

[@gaxper789]

Maybe gwyn asked artorias to make a covenant with the creatures of the abyss so then Artorias could "betray" them and finally end with the abyss things. But instead he failed and got corrupted by the darkness and stuff

[@Carzeyday]

What you fight is not Artorias. The cat, the falsehood she speaks of is not his deeds. It is his fall. He did not join the abyss. It took him by force. Hell, by the sound of It. He might of been a forest-hunter once. What am I getting at? Sif, has Artorias's true soul within Itself. If you think I'm wrong. If gywn can rip his own apart, why cant others? Only make sense to give your closest alley at the point power. Because, imagion If It actually ate not just his body but his soul. The thing you fight, is abyss filled corpse bouncing around, pretending to be a hero. I mean look how he fights, his moments are sitled like a puppet. But to the rest of this Which makes me think the lord gave him the ring. Not the abyss. But because Artorias's corpse was dancing because of the failing. Everyone assumed he became evil. Which is why the cat called It a fabrication. She knows. Well, that is my idea anyways.

[@SilverMont]

Carzeyday It does seem likely that he's dead or at least unconscious at the point we find him. He used to have dialogue, but removing that... well, seems to indicate as such

[@Carzeyday]

Silver Mont That and what Chester says.

[@therisenpride3976]

he sacrificed himself to save his sif when he realised manus was to much for him after defeating him corrupted his soul and made him pretty much serve him ?

[@discord7722]

Rise pride there are 2 Abby's but I can't tell which one he traveled through so I am confused

[@backlasher3741]

Notice the different weapons you can get. Getting the blades of artorias from Sif while getting the Abyssal blade from the corrupted armor? Also think of it like this, if you fight manus you can summon sif where he is normal size, but you mean Boss sif at artorias' grave.. GIANT SIZED. You know who else grew to such a size when they consumed the soul of a fallen ally? Orenstein and smough. Remember fighting artorias is in the past... Think of it like this, Sif escapes the abyss because of Artorias' great shield and finds his companion dead with Cirian praying. Regardless if you give Cirian the soul or not, don't you think sif Is the MOST LIKELY PERSON IN THE ENTIRE GAME to obtain his soul? And using it's power to defend his grave.

[@SilverMont]

I need to make a video about my top 10 or top 5 characters or something, because man is it hard to decide. From their design to (what we know) of their personality, to how they fight, there's so many things to consider! Artorias being a probable reference to Gutts in his Berserker armour definitely bumps him up for me.

[@cokeMONSTERps3]

kind of unrelated, but that last scene with sif gets me every time. Just the way we reach are hand out, and sif howls and ignores it. Then sulks to her sword knowing what she has to do. And the way the camera doesn't show her eyes. ;_;

[@simonmccutchen8147]

Cokemonster And sif remembers when you save them, making it harder for him and us :(

[@kyori75]

I think a lot of people are confused and mixed Manus and the Age of Dark together. No doubt the abyss is dark/black but the word dark here is the only thing same in the Age of Dark, both has the word Dark and thus they made many people believed that the Age of Dark is the Age of Manus. So by going with that analogy, the Age of Fire will be the Age of Witch of Izalith because the witch's lord soul enable to use fire, they have the same keyword 'fire'. Now that is wrong isn't it? The Age of Fire is not the Age of Witch of Izalith. So that will mean the Age of Dark is not the Age of Manus. The Age of Dark is just a descriptive term just as the Age of Fire is.

[@sideways5153]

I feel like the sword is an extension of the user's essence ("soul" isn't quite the right word in this context, is it?) because it went through a number of changes based on the condition of its owner. The original, the true greatsword, scales all of its stats evenly, as if it's power comes from the entirety of its users abilities. The cursed version loses this even spread, indicating a transition from wholeness to a specialization, like the abyss swallowed up a part of what Artorious used to be. Then upon his death the sword goes to Sif, and in her possession it grows to match her enormous size. Then the player character retrieves the sword from Sif, in the form of her soul, and can then rework another weapon into the sword, but this recreation isn't as large as the versions Sif or Artorious used. The sword shrinks to fit a human, though it's still large, so large that it is near the edge of what is physically possible to wield - an ultra greatsword. I think all of these show that the sword changes based on its wielder, and that any changes it goes through are caused by something changing in the user (although it sounds like that last assertion could succumb to circular logic)

[@errornotfound4004]

Him*

[@SilverMont]

Look at the other video in the description, and reference the source, because until then, the only information we have is that Miyazaki confirmed Bamco made the original cover art for the overseas version.

[@Pie_Smacker]

Artorias broke his arm defending Sif or whatever the giant wolf's name is with his shield, I'm guessing that's why he has no shield in the fight and his arm flops around

[@dazmaster22]

I also think the ring was originally worn by Astorias to show his pride and hatred of the dark wraiths but when he was corrupted, it too was corrupted, and in a cruel twist of fate, allows the wearer to traverse the abyss, that Artorias hated so, without ill affect. And Sif has the ring because Artorias gave it to him with the shield.

[@lenoirtnb4077]

he was looking for the sun in the abyss

[@mememaster3494]

PRAISE THE SUN!!! \[T]/

[@lenoirtnb4077]

PRAISE THE SUN!!!!! \(^_^)/

[@mohsenaamin8734]

TNB TheNewBlood VAFFANCULLO!!!!!!! XD

[@thanostitan5827]

TNB TheNewBlood \|T|/

[@pingudamassa2812]

I really think that Artorias was killed by some creature of the abyss (possibly Manus) and it's corpse was controlled. A honored knight wouldn't be so easily corrupted by the enemies of all he believed.

[@SilverMont]

Like a puppet? Makes sense.

[@pingudamassa2812]

And also he could have broken his arm while fighting this "creature"

[@Forslimjims]

maionesinho queijinho Or rendered useless as he defended Sif? (He's probably right-handed, or if he is left-handed than he might have used his stronger arm to better defend, and still has his sword but not a shield, and he's clearly capable of one handing the sword.)

[@bizzare806]

the movie before the Artorias fight is literally Guts pose in his berserk armour with a broken arm.

[@backlasher3741]

I just want to remind everyone something about his moveset. The man on the front of the Dark souls cover is infact Artorias and the big thing is, Artorias is left handed... You can clearly tell that Artorias' left hand is broken by the way he swings it, thus he has to adapt using his right hand to fight when usually he uses it with his great shield.

[@SilverMont]

Backlasher3 That's not Artorias on the cover. Completely different armour and he wasn't even in the game at that point.

[@jarrodrockyrenfrow566]

Silver Mont What if that was Artorias entering the Abyss? By the armor it's not the chosen undead. It appears to be that the person on the cover is left handed, and Artorias left hand is obviously broken when you fight him. If that was Artorias on the cover, then that would truly be him first entering the Abyss. Perhaps his armor changed while in the Abyss. Taking on a more darker tone, being in color and being worn away, just like his legs. All speculation of course, like most of this games lore.

[@SilverMont]

Jarrod Renfrow Well, it would also mean that some of the cloth on his armour grew longer despite being worn away, which wouldn't make much sense. I'm just going by the stuff they said in the design works books, where they spoke about the cover and didn't mention Artorias at all. That, and it was made by Bandai Namco, not FROM. It would've been a little odd for the publisher to include a character on the cover who didn't even exist at that point.

[@jarrodrockyrenfrow566]

Silver Mont I concede. Love your videos by the way. Subscribed :)

[@SilverMont]

Jarrod Renfrow Thanks!

[@TheBeanMan00]

I believe that when we fight Artorias he is dead not in the sense that hes not living but his soul has been morphed or corrupted killing the Artorias that our world/ time knows. he is the only knight of gwyn besides Orstein that we kill and ornstiens soul was gold but Artorias's sou; is black and purplle like manus...

[@SilverMont]

Yeah - Natu does all the custom thumbnails and such that you see on my channel. She's also my partner in the Dead Space 3 Dual-Comms.

[@Slyguy846]

This sounds pretty strange, but I'm pretty sure that Alvina is in some way intrinsically related to the abyss. The fragments of Manus in Dark Souls 2 all want power; to rule over a domain, with their servants. Now, Alvina shows up as an image in the abyss, but she also tells us that it's impossible to traverse the abyss. She wants to rule over a domain, just like the fragments of Manus in DKS2, and she has a 'na' in her name. Now, I doubt that her being a fragment of Manus was originally part of her character design, she probably isn't a fragment of Manus, but perhaps something spawned from the abyss. Some of these points may be wrong, depending on your interpretation, but she certainly seems related to the abyss.

[@domtuber9897]

These videos are so relaxing, calm and full of knowledge and wonder. Alex, you are one of my new favorite KZbinrs.

[@SilverMont]

I'm glad you like 'em!

[@oliverwirth42]

I would like to suggest that dark doesn't equal evil in the dark souls universe. That they are more like forces of nature. The reason NPCs think of it as evil is that the church labeled it as so because they follow lord gwyn. And it is the opposite of sunlight, lord Gwyn. And we all know how powerful the church's influence can be. Just look at the dark ages!

[@supremewolf8503]

And bloodborne cx

[@NexusEhh]

Damn Alex, you hit the Dragonslayer illusion on the head, considering lore implications in ds3

[@kamyaputraiswarapranidhana6568]

As much as I would like to believe on how badass Artorias is, he's right handed. His armor, his left spaulder or shoulder plate is bigger and sticking out of his cloth. The arm that holds the shield always have better protection like the knight/elite knight set. Hell, even crimson typhoon have bigger left spaulder. Still a badass tho.

[@dratoriasgaming9935]

Majestic greatsword from dks 2 confirms he is a lefty.

[@supremewolf8503]

+XDevilkillX that's not him

[@strawman5300]

Maby. But look at the digitale game cover. I think that that is artorias. Befor he enters the abbis, and he holds his sword in his left hand and his shield in his right hand.

[@knightartorias5085]

+Strawman I am a "leftie"...When my sword arm was broke, I had to switch over...And my shield isn't there because I chose to save my companion, Sif.

[@LucaBakiMMA]

hes left handed

[@strongforce79]

The picture of artorias bent over at scene 4:30 holds a striking resemblance to Guts in his wolf armor in the anime

[@InspiredbyNooBz]

I have spend years with the Dark Souls trilogy, but just now I realised: Siv (with a "V'') means in my first language (Bulgarian) - GREY! :D

[@simonmccutchen8147]

InspiredbyNooBz Holey shet We have made a breakthrough

[@NIGHTMAREx83]

It's always felt to me that the undead curse was a direct comparison to the players will to play the game. So when a player gets frustrated at the game and chooses to stop playing, his character (who is more or less an extension of the player) suffers by going hollow and eventually fading away (the player forgets about the game and the connection is broken).

[@xykmxcazador2]

Guts from berserk, Just saying.

[@supremewolf8503]

It's suppose to be c;

[@theblackgloves512]

Nope.

[@bevvvy1374]

Garbage taste detected

[@bevvvy1374]

IamBogus Who?

[@theblackgloves512]

You.

[@T3DNR3D]

Found your channel through recommended videos and goddamn son am I enjoying this content. Some decent and very thought provoking videos. Good stuff dude.

[@yugiohguy]

"adds fuel to the fire" Nice pun.

[@berzerkwolfgangson5209]

If sif is Artorias's companion, maybe Sif was given a sword very similar in looks to what Artorias has, since they are friends/ companions. that might be why when Sif dies his sword disapears..

[@bmombaerts]

I'm a bit puzzeled as to why you assume the four kings aren't connected to the 'beast of the abyss' artorias used to learn abysswalking. Because it is pretty clear that the four kings were infact on the side of Gwynn and thus the knights at first. Gwynn even gave them a piece of his Soul because he trusted them. So it is possible that the four kings were able to control their abyss powers at first. However afterwards they started to crave more and more power (possibly after they felt how strong Gwynn soul is, since the fraction they got was already immense)

[@SilverMont]

Yeah, the 'legend' of Artorias seems to mostly refer to the player, and people credit your achievements in the past to Artorias, not knowing the truth. We don't know exactly how much of it is false, though.

[@flurryous2]

Bruv... your lack of offense in this battle is frustrating to watch.

[@MrGameUk]

haha glad i wasent the only one who got frustrated :D

[@leydisanchez9228]

Ok keep it to yourself 😤

[@MrGameUk]

ill pass on that

[@memenazi7078]

Lol why he choose longsword as a signature weapon. Should at very LEAST use balder side sword, i see he has the dex for it.

[@memenazi7078]

I would never use a long sword. Even the balder side sword didn't have enough dps for me.

[@SilverMont]

Artorias did make a covenant with "the creatures" of the Abyss, but we don't know who they are. As for the Four Kings... well, they were probably humans. They were the kings of New Londo or something, but they did have a portion of Gwyn's power split amongst them, which likely made them very powerful humans, if not something greater akin to what Ornstein/Artorias are.

[@biggiehulbig7826]

If you ask me I think that knight Artorias became stronger from the abyss because the humans that were exposed to it became much stronger then normal people

[@MrNick2097]

+Biggie Hulbig But humans are creatures of the dark :S Artorias and the other knights appear far more oriented towards light.

[@darkfang1944]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but while feeding Kingseeker Frampt, Gough's and Ornstien's rings are both 100 souls, Ciaran's ring is 1000 souls, and Artorias' ring is only 50 souls. Also if you feed Frampt Sif's soul, he only gives you 4000 souls. I thought this was interesting.

[@jackpancake1254]

A bit late to make a comment on this, I know, but I thought of something while watching this. Is Artorias in the same situation as Solaire was? His attacks during his fight seem jerky and unresponsive, parts of his body are limp. He appears to be suffering from a form of pararsite. And the reason Artorias has two swords to have the player get, could be that artorias is in three different realities similiar to how solaire was. He may be dead and buried under Sif in one, have the parasite in another, and be alive in the last. Why could he be alive? Because you purged the abyss for the most part, meaning there in one reality may be two abysswalkers. Artorias may not be dead in some realm.

[@SilverMont]

Jack Pancake The parasite in this situation, would be the Dark/Abyss, which seems to have corrupted him and potentially even be controlling him at this point, although we can't be sure if it's that or if he's just lost his mind and gone berserk (that's what I believe, personally)

[@mjuang84]

Judging by his appearance, it looks like the Abyss has completely consumed him and is using him as a meat puppet. Poor guy is practically LEAKING Abyssal energy out of his armor's seams.

[@MrTurok999]

Silver Mont Do you still believe artorias is right handed?

[@SilverMont]

MrTurok999 He's using his right hand in all official art, so yes. Don't think it really matters, either way.

[@MrTurok999]

Silver Mont The majestic greatsword,which is artorias sword in dark souls 2,says all of it's wielders were oddly lft handed,so technically,canonically artorias was left handed

[@Ir0n0r3]

Most adorable thumbnail ever.

[@spoopyfanatics9737]

Come to the darkside we got cookies

[@knightartorias5085]

+Nathan Vasquez "New Londo Waterpark Now Open!"

[@TotallyToonsTV]

I enjoy these lore videos so much. Dark Souls has an intensely rich and extremely interesting lore :D

[@samuelhaldin9529]

You know how Sif looks like after he sniffs on you? Maybe he remember the scent from artorias dead body after you've killed him? So he realize you are the one who killed his master? Just a theory :P

[@TheSithlord259]

+Samuel Haldin (Sampe) maybe a theory but he only gets sad at you if you rescued him before meeting him again.

[@WobblesandBean]

+TheSithlord259 Yeah :/ Seriously, is there ANYTHING about this game that's not depressing as fuck?

[@ostanprithesh952]

+TheSithlord259 knight artorias was left handed wasnt he? he fights with right hand after his left hand was broken..did they ever tell how it happened..?

[@TheSithlord259]

Ostan Prithesh manus or the humanities broke his arm.

[@supremewolf8503]

+TheSithlord259 I'm sure it was manus because the humanity things don't really attack

[@sshum00]

Man.. I never thought people investigated this thoroughly. This is awesome, thanks for all the lore explanations/hypotheses

[@Irithyllian]

For the most part i do like this one, but, honestly, I think Ornstein is the strongest of the four knights, Cairan, human, I killed her more than easy without a sip of an estus flask, Gough, even easier, Artorias was very difficult, but that being said, out of a game perspective and more of a real world Dark souls perspective, Ornstein is a dragon slayer, not a drake slayer, dragons are determined by that beast you find in ash lake, not the dragon scale monsters by new londo, That being said, his trophy room shows lots of drake heads, a massive drake head looking like the hellkite drake, and a head even larger than that, Gough even says, dragonslaying a knights highest calling, Ornstein is a good fighter in game as well, while again, its him and smough, you can only make a single boss fight a certain difficulty, if smough was wherever else, im sure a 1 on 1 with Ornstein would make up a good fight, easily matching the fight with artorias.

[@SilverMont]

THEIAN11 Yeah, when it comes to straight up fighting, I think there's no question about it that Artorias and Ornstein are the best. Gough is an archer and Ciaran is an assassin.

[@Irithyllian]

Silver Mont Yeah, I'm not sure if the developers just found artorias' Story more intriguing and thats why they made the dlc based around him, with the other two knights of Gwyn with him, Ornstein didn't seem to get much more than his boss fight, even lore wise he seemed very vague, apart from, 'being believed to be the captain of the 4 knights' If i recall his armor saying. hahah

[@shiinkuno]

THEIAN11 the DLC is not based around him... even though its called artorias of the abyss, he is only a part of the whole.

[@Irithyllian]

Shinkuno Well to an extent it is, the title for one, but still, a good chunk is dedicated to him, the fact that 3 of Gwyn's knights are there still seems that they just did whatever possible to cram everything into one as well.

[@jeremylaforet5100]

Ciaran you wouldn't even see her coming Gough would kill you as soon as you left your precious bonfire artorias would attack relentlessly until there was nothing left of you

[@SilverMont]

That is possible, yeah! I think it's more likely that his damaged arm was his shield arm though - he lost his shield when he used it to protect Sif, right? Perhaps Manus hit him so hard it broke his arm, and when escaping, he then used the shield on Sif (as he couldn't really wield it anymore anyway) or perhaps he tried blocking with his arm after giving Sif the shield, which didn't work very well.

[@mbanana23456]

Or perhaps sif was just autorious's doggy and was fed very well

[@SilverMont]

+mbanana23456 Is it normal for dogs to reach such a size?

[@mbanana23456]

Silver Mont he fed him very, very, very well

[@yakuzashibe]

+Silver Mont He fed it very very very very well... ERR MAH GEWD ITS THE LLAMAGEDON

[@knightartorias5085]

+Silver Mont Tis normal for Sif. I also feed him the best of brand.

[@johnathangrishaw3096]

+Knight Artorias this should be a dog food commercial

[@elaboratelime5617]

I think Artorias went insane in the abyss, but not killed. Much like the undead, they must have a goal or else turn hallow. When we see Artorias for the first time he is killing a bloat-head, perhaps he is still trying deep down to stop the spread but attacks us for he may sense the abyss on us for we have traveled and/or was grabbed by Manus, The father of the abyss, who might have, if a only a little infected us with the abyss.

[@Paaaarl]

I think he is dead He was not only corrupted but his movements were like that of a puppet he had no battle stance like ornstein and smough or really any of the humanoid bosses

[@knightartorias5085]

+bell cranel *cough cough* I wasn't dead, I was close to it, but I also wasn't a puppet, I lost my mind is what happened. And that fight you did with Ornstein was just an illusion anyways, the real one is in DS2. When you lose your mind, you go crazy and attack things...my case in point.

[@catmeow9459]

+Knight Artorias ornstein was not an illusion in darksouls 1 at least I'm pretty sure he wasn't. The one in darksouls 2 I think was ornstein reborn with the same soul like how the other 4 Lord souls were reborn from the first 4 souls. I think in darksouls 3 the curse will be broken. but if it's the same thing im going to be pissed off.

[@knightartorias5085]

cullen nagy Oh, and also, if it was just the Soul of Ornstein in DS2, why is his armor blackened by the dark? He is nowhere near the abyss and it's darkness. Remember, Ornstein's armor from the DS1 era was golden, and he used lightning attacks. In DS2, however, his armor was blackened, and he used hexes(i.e; the dark/ the abyss.) He was corrupted, which usually doesn't happen too often. Unless a fragment of Manus had reached him, or something dark...

[@SilverMont]

Thanks! I'm glad you're liking it.

[@vacuous6856]

I knew it! Artorias is Darth Vader!

[@Razer5542]

+The Great Mortality and manus is sidious :P

[@jakke0272]

+Harder Stylers (HarderStyler) and sif is luke

[@abyssknight6131]

+Ayentey this means artorias is sifs father

[@McCabeRz]

On the topic of fighting Artorias, I actually think its a bit of both, he's clearly in some way conscious when you first enter, his pain-filled groan evident of this, but his movements suggest a puppet. So what I think is, he's completely aware normally, but when he starts charging his abyss power it's actually the abyss reaffirming its control over him, which would explain why he constantly charges throughout your fight with him. He's clearly aware in one way or another when he kills the creature at the start, but that's only my take on it.

[@SilverMont]

The Arrogant Needs more abyss juice to kill the creatures of the abyss!

[@Nattybumco]

That Guy wow I just put this exact opinion lol, mb.

[@odjrin]

This guy needs to work on his presentation skills.

[@SilverMont]

+Alan Taylor Yeah, this was one of my first videos, haha. Practice helps.

[@odjrin]

Point taken. I liked the video overall.

[@SilverMont]

Alan Taylor Check out say... my video on Alfred, or one of my more recent lore videos, and (hopefully) you can see the improvements!

[@johnnythefrancis]

I believe New Londo and Oolacile are two distinct places. Pure speculation, but I think that Oolacile are the ruins found in the Darkroot area, since the grave of Artorias is found there, and Ciaran buried him in the Oolacile Coliseum. Probably Kathe aka toothy serpent convinced the Four Kings, and so New Londo, to sucumb to the Darkness long after Artorias demise. However, about Artorias I believe that he was a true hero: a hero is someone who does an extraordinary act of courage which may result in the sacrifice of himself. Artorias faced the Abyss, and with it, Manus. But he was defeated, which left him in constant agony, and a broken arm. He knew there was little for him to do. And so that his great companion Sif could prevail, he sacrificed himself, creating a magic wall around the wolf, and offering himself as bait to the Abyss. He knew he wouldn't leave that place ever again, and so he saved all those he could, by temporarily stoping the spread of the Dark, and offering Sif a chance. Congratulations on these videos! I hope to see some for DS3

[@pre180]

It is a japanese game translated to english for an english market. The story maybe missing parts due to incorrect translation. Also even though the look is western fantasy the story is very japanese, therefore it may not make sense in linear structure that western audiences are expecting.

[@TheFreedomFields]

From Kaathe's dialogue it is clear (to me at least) that he is a firm believer of what he preaches. He is an embracer of opportunity and is proud of himself and his accumulative knowledge (no matter how true or not true is actually is). He continually referrers to his lines as 'truth' and is confident to deliver without opinion. He also appears to be rather 'full-of-himself' (for lack of a better term) and would consider it a true blow to the world should he leave it. He believes Frampt has: ''lost his sence'' and that only he (Kaathe) knows the truth.. If - as we may speculate - humanity is fragments of the Dark Soul, and the chosen undead is human (humans being a derivative of the Dark Soul), then I believe Kaathe is collecting humanity together to prepare for the Dark Lord he 'knows' is coming. The closer to the full Dark Soul Kaathe can become, the closer he will be to the Dark Lord. Kaathe believes that doing this will earn him his place in the future hierarchy. There is a very strong hierarchy in Dark Souls ranging from monsters and muscle (gargoyles) to Lord Gwyns combatants against the dragons. In this world, the Primordial Serpents seam to be somewhat overlooked. Kaathe, being the intellectual (and I think greedy) mind that he is, is using his way with words and his future sight to ensure that he has power in the world yet to come.

[@TheFreedomFields]

Also - Love the vids Mont! ^ It's what inspired those ramblings ^^^ :D

[@SilverMont]

My theory: Artorias fought Manus and tried to block his attacks, but they shattered his arm, despite his shield. Imagine if you tried to block a train with a shield - you'd still get messed up. If you hit a shield with sufficient force, the arm holding it will buckle.

[@SilverMont]

Artorias is only on the cover of the Prepare to Die edition. The original console version covers have the Elite Knight on in the JP art and just some random person on the US/EU version. For starters, why would Namco put Artorias on the cover a year before Artorias was in-game? And where is his plume? And why is his armour completely different?

[@LordChrisgrave]

Great vids bud, really enjoyed having a few beers watching them. IMO, the character on the front of the game, is meant to be you, as in the player traversing the abyss. I think part of the fun of Demon Souls/Dark Souls is the lack of a concrete story and its up to the players imagination to piece together what they make of it.

[@coolman299]

An interesting bit of cut dialogue you didn't mention here, is when Artorias tells you (presumably at the start of his boss cutscene) "Whoever Thou Art.... Stay Away" indicating he probably was alive, and had some shred of his mind left, though its doubtful his voice would ever reach you, his body being a puppet of the abyss. Another possible outcome is that, Artorias probably lost to Manus when he tried to stop the spread of the abyss in Oolacile (having gone to face him alone, leaving Sif protected by his cleansing greatshield from the humanity sprites) Artorias failed, but the chosen undead was probably mistaken for Artorias, thus forming the current legend of "Artorias The Abysswalker" who slew the father of the abyss and was a great hero, known throughout lordran.

[@SilverMont]

Yeah, the fact that they cut that (and all of Artorias's dialogue) seems to indicate that they ultimately preferred the idea of him being mindless by the time we fight him. At least, that is how it seems to me! Perhaps they just thought his dialogue didn't add anything and actually took away from the impact of the encounter.

[@1vanDrago]

@michael onorato it is broken. He used his great shield to protect Sif and broke his arm in the process.

[@Jerich0FUN]

Is there anything about Artorias (abyss one) sword we find in dark souls 2 (dlc)? Majestic greatsword. Cause it's kind of funny. It's known that Ciaran's Gold Tracer has a unique moveset in left-hand, and the description of majestic says "every last one of the prominent swordsmen who inherited this weapon was left-handed". Which leads us to...what? I mean, If we gave her Artorias's soul, thats just like giving her his abyss sword, right? And because of she gave us her blades as a reward, she has no weapon to use.

[@SilverMont]

He holds his sword in his right hand both in game and on the Prepare to Die edition cover. I'm pretty sure the character on the original cover isn't Artorias. As has been mentioned in the comments - that cover was made by Namco most likely, not by FROM. And it's probably just a knight. The fact that he MIGHT be holding Artorias's sword is just a coincidence. I'm pretty sure they had Kirk holding that sword in the Bartholomew trailer.

[@SilverMont]

That's true, yeah. We don't know much about what happened to Artorias - he wasn't a human who went hollow, he was like... a demi-god that went hollow? I suppose the main question is whether or not he was conscious of events. For example, did he realise what he was doing, or had his mind already 'died' and his body was being controlled like a puppet?

[@13courtjester]

by far my favorite character in Ds. Artorias is a badass, all around

[@SilverMont]

Ye, probably broken by Manus or the humanity-creatures. I like to think that he blocked the attacks of Manus and shattered his arm in the process.

[@itssoupy2975]

Wait, Alex! Do a lore video on The abyss walkers, old wolf of farron, artorias, and sif! also, I want to hear your thoughts as to why we can make lucatiel's (or at least a mirrah greatsword) out of the great cursed rotwood soul

[@keinkanal7382]

Great Video! I love Artorias and you put history on him personnally i want to believe he's leftthanded (that's why his arm is broken) because im a lefti and the majestic greatsword in dks2. I think artorias did not really made a covenant with the abyss but just collected humanity and abyss power although your theory about sif seems pretty solid. I'd say that he is definetly a puppet when you fight him as he has little to no wind up when he attacks... When you fight him he is stronger and weaker at once: Stronger because the Abysses Power let him burst the limit of human/god power but also wealer because he is unconscious and does not know what he does + my personal prefence of him being a lefti he fights with his "weak" arm

[@seanpiehel9330]

Your blocking is on point

[@SilverMont]

It really is! That and people telling me Artorias is on the original cover of the game.

[@NFrk97]

I think New Londo happened before Oolacile, Artorias probably fought off most of the Darkwraiths but was unable to fight the Four Kings because he wouldn't survive the Abyss. That led to New Londo being flooded and Artorias dedicating himself to fighting the Abyss after seeing all of the lives that were sacrificed because of it. He probably then came into contact with Kirk (before he was completely corrupted from being a Darkwraith) which allowed him to get his ring to traverse into the Abyss. The thing with Oolacile was that Manus emitted the darkness in the form of the humanity sprites, andthe corrupted humans were a punishment. Artorias was unprepared to fight the dark itself so he was defenseless against it. Sif may have stumbled onto Manus's chamber (which is why his summon sign is there) and Artorias broke his arm defending Sif from Manus. He may have retreated soon after and was immediately surrounded by the sprites (which is why he didn't have Sif escape through the lift). And so since he saw his fall as inevitable he left his shield behind with Sif and had one last stand against the Abyss. He may have then been overwhelmed in the area you see the largest amount of humanity sprites and promptly corrupted. His strong will allowed him to resist the corruption to aim his aggression towards the corrupted humans before finally succumbing to it when the Chosen Unread arrives.

[@valeforedark]

dude your videos rock. you have a good voice and tone , very easy to listen to :)

[@SilverMont]

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the vids. As for your other comment... hmm, that is true, his soul does drop. But to be fair, a lot of characters in the game are "undead" and still have souls, so it's possible Artorias was the same way. His soul was all twisted and blackened and corrupted, you know? It's hard to say, but he was certainly defeated (by us) before he could cause too much mischief. Because nobody in the "present" (save Alvina) seems to know that Artorias failed. Hence legend etc

[@riskake3120]

Artorias is based on Guts from Berserk. Here is a quote from the darksouls wiki's trivia on Artorias: The cover-art from the Prepare to Die Edition is vaguely similar to Issue 28 of the Berserk manga. By coincidence as well, both Artorias and Guts, the main character in the Berserk manga, are both unmatched with greatswords, and both have the same physical handicap in left arm (Guts' was cut off, while Artorias' arm is practically dust inside his armor.). Also both characters seem to have connection to wolfs - Artorias has wolf companion named Sif, while Guts has wolf-resembling armor. Their armors also look similar, and they both are "consumed by darkness" while fighting - Guts is lost in hatred, Artorias is posessed by dark magic. (Nothing here is a coincidence: Miyazaki has admitted that he loves Berserk and was inspired by it.) You can see the cover resemblances here: darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/file/view/Artorias%20and%20Guts.jpg/477295478/800x528/Artorias%20and%20Guts.jpg

[@ichigo9055]

If I am remembering correctly, I saw someone else analyse the box art of the game, since it can be assumed that the character on the cover is Artorias, and according to that, they speculated that Artorias' broken arm, is actually his sword wielding arm, so not only would he be weakened by the abyss by the time we get to him, but he would be attacking with his off hand, not even using his full strength.

[@Mabmould]

In my opinion Artorias was fighting the Abyss up until the end because he killed the ex-citizen of Oolacile who had been warped into a deformed monstrosity of the Abyss. By this time when the chosen undead arrives it could be that Artorias has been fighting the Abyss corrupting him and corrupting others but has become blind as to whom is corrupt and who isn't which explains why he attacks the chosen undead mercilessly. Pure speculation.

[@originalfinalslasher]

Just like the Abyss Watchers then lol

[@Nattybumco]

What I think about artorias when you fight him is that whenever he does that thing were he stops fighting for a couple of seconds and the darkness swirls around him, that is the darkness slowly consuming him as he is losing health. So I believe that when you are fighting him, you are fighting an alive artorias and not a dead "puppet" one.

[@sabbywins]

But if you look at the cover art of the North American copy, you see Artorias wielding his sword in his left hand as he enters the Abyss. I'm thinking that after he lost his shield to protect Sif, his arm was broken in combat with Manus. That means that he is even more of a badass then we thought, because he is now wielding his sword in his off-hand when you fight him in the arena. Great vid by the way :)

[@1224140994]

on the dark souls cover it looks like its artorias entering the abyss for the first time seeing as he has his tower shield with him, but it looks like his great sword is in his left hand, when you fight him in the dlc his left arm looks broken and limp and had to fight with his off hand...badass

[@MagmaStorm1337]

Artorias is such a badass, the fact that he weilds his sword in his offhand (artorias is left handed).

[@SilverMont]

I used one Elizabeth's Mushrooms. (DLC item that heals you for 30 seconds or so.)

[@IslanKleinknecht]

They didn't refer to him as "Abysswalker Artorias" in the pendant's item description, it was given to him after he agreed to face the Abyss in Oolacille, from which never returned. But the abyss did end, so everyone thought he succeeded, and thus the legend of Abysswalker Artorias was born.

[@SilverMont]

It's a semi-popular theory about the serpents, yeah. That they all belong to the same body which just happens to have a number of heads... quite a disturbing theory, when you think about it.

[@joseof-]

The people of Oolacile(pronounced Oo-la-seal) awakened Manus, and Artorias was sent to halt the spread of the Abyss, however he and Sif were overwhelmed and because his arm was broken and he could no longer wield his shield, he used it to protect Sif, and sacrificed himself to save Sif. After he was slain, Manus took control of him. What we fight in the DLC, is nothing but an empty husk of what used to be Artorias.