I'm making this guide for new players and returning SL1 players who are having trouble with this boss.

There is no other English language guide on Steam that discusses this strategy to my knowledge.

Abyss Watchers is my favorite boss in this game.

This strategy does not make Abyss Watchers "easy" as it takes effort and practice to get good at, however, in my personal experience this strategy made me go from having trouble with Abyss Watchers to being able to handle them just fine with a +3 Raw weapon on SL1.

This guide will hopefully let you have an easier time with them.

A bit slow but it's easy and still fun.

Stay at medium to long range from the main Abyss Watcher and his boytoy and wait for this attack:


When he does this attack you should try to predict where his back will be and position yourself accordingly when he does this attack; Sometimes you will need to run backwards to catch up with his back if he does this attack in medium ranges, and you should always run a bit backwards even if you think you're out of attack range already because you can still just run up to his back.

Dodge attacks and run away while close to the Abyss Watchers and keep at the aforementioned medium to long range where this attack happens most often.

Keep note of this windup that does before the attack:




The main Abyss Watcher will also sometimes stand back while his boytoy fights the red-eyed Abyss Watcher, completing ignoring you as long as you don't attack him which allows for an easy backstab:


Just make sure he isn't being attacked or attacking when doing this.

Keep note of ALL Abyss Watchers' locations (including red eye) to avoid surprise from-offscreen attacks.

As a general rule, try to be fighting at least one Abyss Watcher at all times so that they don't gang up on the poor red-eyed Abyss Watcher.

If the sidekick is dead and the red-eyed Abyss Watcher is kicking the main Abyss Watcher's behind, then keep an eye out for the side kick respawning while keeping an eye on the fight between the red-eyed Abyss Watcher and the main Abyss Watcher.

When the sidekick respawns, attack him immediately to divert his attention away from the main fight, keep in mind that whilst doing this you are still keeping an eye on the main fight so that when the main Abyss Watcher wins, you know.

Remember that you are invincible to other enemies during backstab animations.

Try to keep away from the walls of the arena and try to keep out in the open.

Try not to be locked on all the time since you sometimes have to lock off to keep track of multiple Abyss Watchers.

Do a light attack on recently backstabbed enemies as soon as they get up.

Try NOT to attack Abyss Watchers if:

The two main Abyss Watchers are in close proximity to one another as this can lead to you getting hit by one Abyss Watcher whilst trying to hit another.

Both Abyss Watchers are actively attacking the red-eyed Abyss Watcher.

Just stay at medium to long ranges to bait out the attack shown and backstab the main Abyss Watcher when he's idly watching.

Dodge away when Abyss Watchers are close and attacking you.

Phase two is both easy and hard, you have only have one guy to worry about, but he's got more dangerous attacks and is more fired up than the Old Demon King when his nap is interrupted.

Bad jokes aside, in this phase we stay at the same medium to long distance that we did in phase one in order to bait out two attacks.

First off, this attack:


After the first swing in the attack, You'll dip into his attack range for a brief moment to bait out another attack, (so go forward slightly and then make a u-turn) and then when he does the jump attack you will simply walk forwards and slightly to the right or left towards him which will position you behind his back allowing for an easy backstab.

This will take some practice to get good at so don't beat yourself up if you don't get it right on the first try.

Just keep at a medium to long distance and dodge away from the Abyss watcher when close.

This attack usually comes at longer ranges.

This attack has a similar wind-up animation to the attack we wanted in phase one:




Now for the second attack:


As he is doing this attack, go right diagonally and then go left to his back quickly.
Think of the shape of the number 7. (though your movements might not be as straight as a 7)

It is important to that you are not too far from him whilst doing this "7" maneuver as you won't get to his back fast enough. You should be just far enough out of range when going for this backstab ideally.

You will get a good sense of how far he goes with his fire trail with practice and will be able to predict where his back will end up.

This is the hardest backstab in this guide and I am very bad at doing it, but just like the last attack we covered, you'll get better at it with practice.

This attack usually comes at medium ranges.

This is the wind-up animation:

Always keep locked-on to the Abyss Watcher as there is only him.

You should try to generally dodge in diagonals such as forward + right/left or backwards + right/left to assure safety against all attacks.

Like in phase one, do a light attack on recently backstabbed enemies as soon as they get up.

Like in phase one, keep to the open and away from the arena's walls.

Medium to long range, Number 7, Dip briefly into attack range, dodge when close, you know the deal already!

Good luck, consider commenting your thoughts and rating this guide if it helped you, and thank you for reading my first real guide!