Great Grey Wolf Sif

Boss 0025 Great Greywolf Sif
Location Darkroot Garden
Health * NG: 3,432
NG+: 5,800
Souls * NG: 40,000
NG+: 120,000

* Recorded in PATCH 1.05

weakness: fire

Great Grey Wolf Sif is a Boss in Dark Souls and Dark Souls Remastered.

 

Great Grey Wolf Sif Information

A very large wolf who resides in a serene graveyard, across the river from Darkroot Garden. It can also be reached by climbing up the ladder close to the Hydra in Darkroot Basin.

According to lore, Sif was Artorias the Abysswalker's partner. When Artorias was swallowed by the Abyss, he threw up his Greatshield to protect Sif, as he could no longer bear it with his arm broken. Now, Sif guards their fallen comrade's grave and his ring, to ensure that what happened to Artorias, doesn't happen to anyone else.

The name Sif itself is a female name of Norse origin. However, all translations into European languages with grammatical gender use male gendered language for Sif, though many of them can be interpreted as the most neutral phrasing of the name. This includes French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and Russian.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Drops

 

Rumors

It was originally believed that Sif could be spared and allowed to limp away during the last segment of the fight. This is not true and the only way to progress in the game is to kill Sif; it is not an optional boss. Your dealings with Sif have no impact on the Forest Hunter covenant.

 

Attacks

Horizontal Swing

Sif swings her sword, usually followed up by a second in the other direction. This attack is easily telegraphed, and countered by rolling out of the way, but if caught in it, can knock you down. This is the main attack she uses throughout the fight. 

 

360 Sword Spin

Sif will swing her sword in a full circle, sometimes twice in a single attack. It has a quite slow wind up and has a very telling animation, as she moves her sword to the opposite direction, then takes a big swing. When the player sees this, they should try to either get as far back as possible, or under her. This attack knocks you down, and hurts as well. If you try to block this, it will most likely stagger you, so stick to rolling.

 

Overhead Swing

Sif gets on her back paws momentarily, and swings her sword into the ground, dealing high damage in the process. The attack can be dodged by well-timed rolling in the direction the sword is coming from. 

 

Backflip

As all these attacks can be essentially avoided by sticking under her body and legs, Sif recognizes this from time-to-time and backflips away to a create some distance again. She swings her sword while she does this, but you will rarely get caught in it. She can also do this attack when you are facing her head to head, so watch out for it then, as well.

 

Charge Attack

Sif's final attack is a charged one, which she rarely uses but is still noteworthy. 

 

Alternate Cutscene

  • Opening cut-scene is slightly different if you had freed Sif in the Chasm of the Abyss before approaching her at the end of Darkroot Garden. (AotA / PTDE)
    • Confirmed (at least for freed and summoned). Sif will approach menacingly, knock the player down, and then recognize the player's scent. Her expression will change, she will howl at the moon, and reluctantly pick up her greatsword. The cinematic is noticeably longer than normal. (AotA/PTDE)
    • The special cutscene appears even without summoning Sif.
    • Sif can be summoned to help with Manus if you locate and free her from the magic barrier provided by the Cleansing Greatshield situated behind an illusionary wall.
    • The Hornet Ring can be obtained without triggering the initial boss encounter. Only the immediate area in front of Sif's greatsword will begin the cutscene, so it is safe to simply walk around the gravestone, grab the ring, and leave.

Strategy 1 - Melee

Stay close to the wolf! The danger lies in the lengthy attack range, but by sitting under Sif, she will miss completely. Get in as many hits as you can before Sif eventually flips away, timing yourself to get under the belly of the beast once again.

The easiest way to to get underneath Sif is by waiting for a swing, then roll under her front legs. Just lock on to Sif and back up while waiting for her to swing, after the first swing get your shield up and run underneath her. This is also a simpler way to avoid the 360 attack, which will always come from the left swinging to the right. Make sure you stay in the middle and back up in a circle to avoid getting pinned down. Attacking her legs will make them limp, disabling her mobility (Jumping/Running). 

Also, unless you have an uber shield with amazing stability and/or godly stamina, Sif's two loop spin will most likely break your guard/stamina. Another way is to block the first hit then roll toward the next attack direction. The Eagle Shield found just past the upper bonfire in Blighttown is excellent in this fight and for this spin attack, for your first playthrough.

Sif will also begin to limp at the brink of death. Her attacks will become slower, and the slash combo will cause it to fall over and struggle for a bit before getting back up. Despite rumors that attacking her sword at this point, will cause it to break and her to flee, there is no such forgiving option. 

As you try to figure out how on lordran you can spare her life, you realize the true evil of the creators in making you kill a limping, almost defenseless doggo.

 

Strategy 2 - Ranged Cheese

If you wish to cheese, after spawning the initial cutscene, quit and reload. It is possible to jump to the top of the rocks to the left of the boss fog and snipe Sif with a bow. Any combination of Red Tearstone Ring, Feather Arrows, Black Bow of Pharis, and Hawk Ring is recommended.

 

Strategy 3 - Mage

Honestly, this fight is either extremely hard or extremely easy depending on how much you think about it. The easiest way to beat is to follow these 5 steps (if you main magic) 

  1. IF YOU AREN'T CASTING KEEP YOUR SHIELD UP.
  2. Stay as far back as you can without losing your lock on. Despite the length of Sif's sword, if you keep backing up, most of her normal attacks will miss. 
  3. Great Heavy Soul Arrows are a HUGE NO NO (unless you have excellent timing). The casting time is too great for you to just muck around. Stick to using your Soul Spears and Great Soul Arrows.
  4. Time your regen, randomly drinking Estus Flasks is an easy way to get killed; this is an endurance match, don't rush it.
  5. Guard and use your spells when Sif whiffs.

Instead of staying under Sif, try kiting her around and whenever attacked, make sure you've rolled away from her (backwards/sideways) then fire off a few spells. Repeat the process and Sif should go down pretty easily. Or if you have combustion, sit under Sif and combust. 

 

Online Co-Op Issues

There seems to be an issue (possibly a bug), when trying to summon the same phantom after losing in a fight with Sif. I'm not sure if this is related to the Darkroot Garden in general, or possibly due to the forest and the covenant/hunter PVP.

I was summoned as a phantom by 3 separate hosts and lost the fight 3 times. Unlike other boss fights like Gaping Dragon and Chaos Witch Quelaag, the host was not able to find my soul sign after returning to the steps leading into the forest and the doors leading to Sif. New hosts were able to summon me with no issue.

I talked to the 3rd host and we both exited and re-entered the game, set my soul sign down and we were then able to match up and fight Sif again with no issues. I was Covenant of the White and the host was Forest Hunter Covenant.

Gallery

great grey wolf sif moonlit encounter front1 great grey wolf sif combat ready front1 great grey wolf sif snarl front1

Area Bosses
Asylum Demon  ♦  Bell Gargoyle  ♦  Capra Demon  ♦  Centipede Demon  ♦  Crossbreed Priscilla  ♦  Dark Sun Gwyndolin  ♦  Demon Firesage  ♦  Four Kings  ♦  Gaping Dragon  ♦  Gwyn Lord of Cinder  ♦  Iron Golem  ♦  Moonlight Butterfly  ♦  Nito  ♦  Ornstein and Smough  ♦  Pinwheel  ♦  Seath the Scaleless  ♦  Stray Demon  ♦  Taurus Demon  ♦  The Bed of Chaos

 




Tired of anon posting? Register!
    • Anonymous

      Just stay under their stomach and hit them. Good amount of health considering the level you'll probably fight them at, but it's an easy boss.

      • Anonymous

        am i supposed to feel bad? i mean the limping was a bit sad but otherwise i really dont care about killing it

        • Anonymous

          Dev Team: We are done with the wolf boss, sir, anything else you want added for more flair?
          Miyazaki: Yes... make it limp at low health...
          Dev Team: Sure... it's unique and makes it more memorable
          Miyazaki: also make it trip and fall from the injuries when she is limping...
          Dev Team: ...Ok... it's a dog boss so its normal, people won't be affected i ho...
          Miyazaki: Also add a section where you save it from being imprisoned and then add another one where she recognizes you and is reluctant to fight you and....
          Dev Team: THE **** DID THIS DOG DO TO YOU MAN JUST STOP

          • Anonymous

            What the actual **** is this comment section?
            I was expecting to see some lore discussions/ advice on how to beat the boss, not this toxic cesspit. Is it so hard to talk about the damn game?

            • Anonymous

              “You must feel bad for him even though he attacked you first and you just defended yourself!!!!” yeah I don’t really care about this boss at all. Rest in piss

              • Anonymous

                Homeward Bone is obviously a play on words with the expression "Homeward Bound" - a film which follows Sif's journey to be reunited with her rightful owner Artorias.

                • Anonymous

                  A lot of people don't know this but Sif was the inspiration for the film adaptation of 101 Dalmatians. She went on to star in the sequel film 102 Dalmatians. Which received high praise from critics and viewers alike.

                  • Anonymous

                    I'm glad it's a relatively easy fight and you don't have to make it worse with multiple attempts, just say "I'm sorry doggo" as you roll under him and spam great combustion.

                    • Anonymous

                      i decided to go for the alt cutscene, and after the fact, as i'm typing this comment, i am tearing up... Sif was limping... i didn't WANT to kill Sif... i wish i didn't have too.

                      • Anonymous

                        "Great Wolf Sif, loyal and fierce, protector of Artorias and guardian of the Abyss, a sentinel whose loyalty transcends time."

                        • Anonymous

                          very easy boss for endurance builds. just block everything with your shield. that said it's pretty hard to killl it after playing the dlc first

                          • Anonymous

                            To all those "animal lovers" who "feel guilty":

                            You didn't feel guilty when you killed Artorias, or Ciaran, or Darkmoon Knightess, or Quelaag, or Fair Lady, or Ornstein. D a m n misogynists, misandrists, and misantropes.

                            • Anonymous

                              To all those "animal lovers" who "feel guilty":

                              You didn't feel guilty when you killed Artorias, or Ciaran, or Darkmoon Knightess, or Quelaag, or Fair Lady, or Ornstein. D a m n misgynists, misandrists, and misantropes.

                              • Anonymous

                                Everyone saying this fight was hard, just beat him under 20sec with zero hit. Am I over levelled? Did I screw myself? I am at Lv69 with 34 dex and 30 Endurance. I followed the game progression guide :(

                                • Anonymous

                                  Before playing ds1, all i understood from the memes about being sad about sif was a bit of an exaggeration, its just a normal boss fight but with a dog i said... i was wrong

                                  • Anonymous

                                    The most annoying ****ing thing is the fast charge from the distance with slashing 100%. Cannot even dring the bottle.
                                    Hitboxes are totally off most of the fights too.

                                    • Anonymous

                                      Does killing Sif disallow you from summoning them during Manus? I don't want to have to go through the entirety of AotA before this

                                      • Anonymous

                                        I just grabbed the hornet ring and exited via the menu, it teleported me to the gate (entrance to sif's arena) and that's how I avoided killing sif

                                        • Anonymous

                                          This boss sums up Souls fucck you attitude to the player perfectly. Can hit you even when you're under her jaw. Is far more agile and swings a sword faster than you despite being a 20-foot dog holding a two-ton sword in its teeth.

                                          • Anonymous

                                            beat on first try panic chucking fireballs while camera was going crazy when I was under it, feels like I kinda missed out on what should have been an epic fight

                                            • Anonymous

                                              The pain and guilt i felt watching Sif limp when they got low on health was immeasurable, RIP Great Grey Wolf Sif, You truly were the Goodest Boi ;~;

                                              • Anonymous

                                                there is one youtuber that said, dark souls is life. Men at least Life give you a choice. Dark souls doesnt.

                                                • Anonymous

                                                  I wish that if you saved Sif in the chasm of the abyss you would get the option to spare her during her boss fight.
                                                  It would kinda make sense plus I wouldn't have to kill the puppy to progress. Unfortunately all we get is a different cutscene.

                                                  • Anonymous

                                                    decided to play ng+ and she rolled over when she swung in last phase.. broke my heart lol. always finish her over the gravestones :(

                                                    • Anonymous

                                                      The easiest boss imo. I beat him in my second try. I would‘ve beaten him in my first try too but I was low on hp and didn’t have any estus

                                                      • Anonymous

                                                        Me on my first playthrough: hehe funny big puppy go die haha
                                                        Me on my second playthrough: im sorry im so sorry please forgive me i need to do this for the ring please oh god why miyazaki why

                                                        • Anonymous

                                                          Why on the god name, you dare to animate a limb and dying dog? You fuing psyco!!? And then force me to kill him!!! Hate you creator!!!

                                                          • Anonymous

                                                            Decided to go to AotA before Sif in my current playthrough.
                                                            Well, what can I say? Guess this playthrough end here. The world could submerge into darkness for all I care, but I didn't save the pupper only to kill him later and steal the ring.

                                                            • Anonymous

                                                              It also means more story-wise if Sif is a female because it creates an interesting archetype for the character: Whereas Fenrir took Tyr's hand for delaying the inevitable Ragnarok, Sif comforts Artorias by watching over him in death. She becomes like a grieving mother, whose son was taken from her fighting against chaos and the end of the world. In this way, Sif would become a direct inversion of Fenrir. We also know that the princess believed Artorias saved her, but never actually met him that we know of. Thus, Sif being female could also hint at the idea that the only female that was able to participate in his life was Sif herself. His life was too dangerous and brief to take a wife or love a family, so he had to settle for the friendship of a beast. Sif being a male wouldn't really help to hint at either of these ideas, which is why I think it'd be more interesting if Sif was a female.

                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                I played the whole trilogy and all the pain, frustration, triumph, and dying in dumb ways nothing comes close to
                                                                the grief when it comes to Sif. Not even the Frigid Outskirts or the Dancer of Boreal Valley was nor will ever be
                                                                as painful as fighting Sif especially after the secret cutscene for Gwyn's sakes neither you or Sif want to fight each other. And that is why I love Dark Souls. Now if you excuse me I got to find a corner to cry on.

                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                  why! sifs been though hell he lost his caring master and friend and was stranded in a abyss where a corrupted prehistoric human lurks im so sorry sif

                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                    I can't help but feel like it would be so much more satisfying if beating the DLC before reaching Sif allowed you to spare her. I often skip the DLC on more casual play-throughs, but if the above was the case, I'd do it every time.

                                                                  Load more
                                                                  ⇈ ⇈