Aldrich, although named to be a devourer of Gods, is confirmed to have killed only one of them, Gwyndolin. However, that still makes him a formidable opponent for players both new to the game and veterans alike. There are a few things that can tip the scale to your advantage as well as a couple of strategies which you can use. Do note that you will need to be patient and time your attacks right.
What you need to know before going to battle
- The Wolf Knight’s and Farron greatswords do 20% bonus damage to him. The same goes for any other weapon effective against Abyssal enemies.
- He is also weak against Lightning and Fire damage. But try to stay away from Dark or Magic attacks as they do little damage against him.
- Of all the attacks he will throw at you, pay close attention to his arrow barrage attack and learn the animation of it. You will be dodging that spell a lot. Vow of Silence as well as Twisted Wall of Light are effective countermeasures against it.
- He loves to teleport as far away from you as possible. When he does go to the middle of the room to reduce the time you need to get back at him, and the number of ranged attacks he can fire at you.
Cutting the tail of the beast (melee approach)
If you are going in for a close combat fight, then Aldrich’s tail should be your main target. Not only it is a little easier to hit him there, but after a few good attacks to the tail, Aldrich will be staggered.
For this approach to work, you will have to use guerrilla tactics. Charge at his tail, do as much damage as you can and start running to seek refuge behind nearby pillars to block the soul masses. Note that this attack is homing and during the second phase he will cast one after each retreat.
The last thing to look out for is his bow. Should you see Aldrich go for it, start rolling away from him as he is going for Arrow Barrage. Once the attack stops, get back in and keep attacking the tail. During the second phase, he will start leaving fire trails and get a boost to his damage output. Still, with decent timing you can keep attacking him like before and bring him down.
A pyro’s approach
Facing him as a pyromancer is somewhat easier than facing him up close, and there are two ways you can pull it off.
You can either use Flash Sweat right before going in the room, get close enough to prevent him from casting any soul spears, and use fire orbs while dodging. It would be best if you have access to Great Chaos Fire Orb as well as anything with more than decent Magic Resistance.
Should you lack any of the above you can use Fire Orbs or Chaos Bed Vestiges at him. Look out for Soul Spears and his Arrow rain, and you will be just fine. You can use the pillars for the first and outrun the latter.