Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon | Dark Souls 2 Wiki

Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon
HP	10,030 | 14,042 (NG+)
Weakness	Magic, Dark
Resistance	Fire
Immune	Poison
Respawn	NO

Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon is a Boss enemy in the Crown of the Sunken King DLC for Dark Souls 2 (DKS2). Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon, is a pale dragon adorned with a colossal spear embedded in its chest. This magnificent creature comes to life as you venture close to the first bonfire of Shulva, awakening within the Dragon Sanctum. Bosses are unique and challenging Enemies that drop Boss Souls capable of being transformed into powerful Weapons, Spells, and Items for the player.

Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon Information in Dark Souls 2

Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon is a boss enemy in Dark Souls II, and is the final boss of the Crown of the Sunken King DLC. You must defeat him to acquire the Crown of the Sunken King.

Dark Souls 2 Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon Location

• Dragon's Rest - At the Sanctum Nadir bonfire immediately after the Elana, Squalid Queen  boss arena.

Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon Drops in DKS2

• Soul of Sinh, The Slumbering Dragon
• Souls: 96,000 (Standard Game) 192000 (NG+)

DKS2 Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon Attacks

All Sinh's fire attacks build toxic and leave toxic fog hanging at the location where the attack hit for a while.

Blocking His Attacks

Most of Sinh's moves can be blocked with Gyrm Greatshield (Charge move requiring the most stamina to block).

Dodging His Attacks in DKS2

(this section only describes how to dodge Sinh's attacks without blocking them)
Claw swipe:
His close range swipe is rather fast and hard to avoid due to him not telegraphing the move before actually executing it. If your reaction time is really good, you might be able to roll immediately, but it is risky nonetheless. Be wary that he might follow up with a claw stomp if you are still close to him after the swipe. Swipe can be blocked. The best wait to avoid it is to stay closer to his hind legs, out of swipe's reach.

Sweeping dragon breath:
His sideways dragon breath is only executed when the player is directly to the left or right of the dragon. The move is telegraphed by him looking over his shoulder, leaving enough time to simply run to his other side right under his belly. As with all fire breath attacks, blocking is not advised, with exception for Gyrm Greatshield.

Straight Flamethrower:
Flame thrower is only used when far away and is always telegraphed with him shaking his head. If he uses a straight flamethrower, simply run or roll to the side, out of the line of fire.

Horizontal Flamethrower:
In case he is using horizontal flamethrower (about twice as long as the straight one), as soon as he shakes his head, run up to his right frontpaw (your left side), where you will always be safe for the duration of the move. Alternatively, if you feel you're too far, simply run further away from him, it's not so difficult to be out of flame's reach.

Dragon Breath:
Dragon breath is telegraphed by him standing up and looking down at the floor directly in front of him. Simply run out of the area; the best place is to stay by his tail (also practically the only opportunity to cut the tail).

Charge / Neck Swipe:
Sinh Charges at you with his head lowered, using his head and neck to hit you as soon as he is close enough to hit you. This is a very dangerous move since it deals very high damage, cannot be dodged by rolling sideways and is practically unblockable (he hits through 135 stamina with 70-stability greatshield like you aren't blocking at all). (This move can be rolled through with 107 adaptability. He does follow up with a stomp afterwards that is devastating if you are still underneath him so roll again to avoid the stomp).
This move is best avoided by rolling away from Sinh as soon as he starts whipping his head. Be careful, as the attack sometimes comes out slightly delayed.

Flying moves:
All of his aerial moves can be avoided by following Sinh as soon as he starts flying. Keep as close as possible while making sure not to stand right below him, as he will smack you down if he lands on you. This is the most reliable way to make sure his aerial flame thrower wont hit you, as it can be really hard to avoid. However, by using this tactics it will be difficult for you to keep track of Sinh's position all the time, since it's difficult to see him when he's above you (and you may be caught off guard by Aerial Fall). if you couldn't or don't want to follow him, here's some advice:
- Aerial Dive: although Sinh seems quite big, it is very easy to roll/run away of him diving since he cannot correct his direction while diving.
- Aerial Flamethrower Dive: even though it looks like it covers a very wide area, surprisingly, it is almost as easy to dodge as the regular aerial dive. Rolling sideways seems to work better than running. There is a good chance a bit of flame will get you, but for a rather small amount of damage and it won't stun you this way.
- Aerial Fireball: run or roll away, just do it quickly (the fireball is very fast).
- Aerial Fall: run away a little, it has a short range. He only uses it when you're directly under him.

Combo attack:
Since it is very hard to dodge roll out of all of its components, it is advised to simply run out of range as soon as this move starts. Since Sinh's tail is a very important component of this combo, cutting it off before Sinh reaches low HP will help greatly. Blocking is not advised. (Needs confirmation on how it is telegraphed to the player if at all). Both times that he has used this attack against me, he started with a right paw swipe that missed while I was on his right side. He then followed that into the double tail spin combo. See the video Sinh: Ranged, Sword & Board and Powerstance below for one of these occasions (towards the end in the attack montage).

Dark Souls 2 Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon Strategy

Melee strategy:
This fight can be very challenging as a melee character mostly because of Sinh's high amount of HP. Depending on your build, DPS and ng+ status, this fight might take up to about 10 minutes. In addition to using the dodging methods from above, never stand directly in front of him since his swipe is hard to dodge. One rather safe method is to keep your distance and try to lure him into using his flamethrower, which is a very slow move and easy to avoid. Alternately, carry Gyrm Greatshield because it negates its flame.
The straight version is faster and one should not try to hit Sinh more than 1 time with an UGS. The horizontal flamethrower is slower and allows about 2 hits from an UGS. This method however can lead Sinh to use his charge attack, which can be rather difficult to dodge.
Another method is to use the classic strategy used for all big four-legged bosses in Dark Souls (like Sif the Great Wolf or Royal Rat Authority): stand directly below his belly and attack his hind legs, which sometimes will make him use his dragon breath, which can be avoided by moving towards his tail. This move has a VERY long recovery time and 3 swings from an UGS are possible. Keep in mind that cutting off his tail will be helpful once he starts using his combination attack.
It seems like a good idea to go without a shield for this fight because most of his attacks either can't be blocked or will deal a lot of damage even when blocked, but they can be dodged by using the above-described methods. Instead try dual-wielding a good damaging weapon and watch the durability! Attacking Sinh seems to damage the weapon rather quickly, so bring a repair powder, a Repair spell or (better) a backup weapon. Each hit against his body does around 1.5 durability damage to your weapon. For most weapons if you aren't doing more than 400 damage per hit, durability will be a problem.

Faith Strategy:
If you are trying to kill the dragon only on miracles, it will be a very tough fight because you will probably run out of them or Estus Flasks before the fight is over. I highly recommend having a weapon that can be enchanted with a Boltstone for lightning to do some melee damage as well. You want to stay underneath the dragon or to his side while he is on the ground to avoid most of his attacks while you go at him with your sword or any spells. When he flies up in the air, you can get a lightning spear off on him but be careful because he can swoop down very fast or shoot fireballs at you so be ready to dodge or raise your Gyrm Greatshield because it completely blocks his flame except its toxin. Most of your damage will come from when he is on the ground and you can melee him. You want to chase after him and stay as close as you can but watch out in case he falls on top of you and does damage. Repeat the process until he is dead! Highly recommended to stock as many Amber Herb as possible.

Fire/Poison resistance strategy.

First, build up 600-650 fire defense [Pharos Mask, Chaos Robe, Chaos Leggings, Penal Handcuffs, Flame Quartz Ring +3, Dispelling Ring +1, Dragon Tooth in either hand] and 900 poison resistance [Ring of Resistance, Poisonbite Ring +1, Yorgh's Spear in either hand] and then use Great Magic Barrier/Flash Sweat. You will be immune to all fire and poison damage, eliminating many of the risks of the fight. Attack from the side and underneath, and be sure to dodge his physical attacks. If he hits you, find an opportunity to heal with your item of choice. You can use spells/miracles/pyromancies/hexes when he is at range, but to limited effect, as he has high resistance to these. Don't panic if you get hit by a fire attack; all it will do is knock you over. Be sure to re-apply your buff so that you continue to not take fire damage.

Sword and Spell Strategy:
Sinh has a lot of HP and moves. This strategy lets you use magic without needing huge amounts of attunement and you use spacing to limit the moves you have to deal with. This approach is great for hybrid characters, especially if you lack the ideal gear. The idea is to stay away from him and used ranged, but still hit him when he comes close so you don't have to worry about running out of spells. Use a staff or chime in one hand, and a weapon in the other (longer range is better). Wear high fire and poison resist armor and fire resist rings. Stay light for maximum invincibility frames when rolling.
When you enter, evade his opening charge (I move left) and hit his back legs, then move away. If you keep some distance, the dragon will only use the flamethrower attacks, the charge/neck swipe, and the aerial attacks. When the dragon uses uses an aerial attack, evade it and use a spell to deal some damage (more than one is risky). When the dragon takes off, strafe toward the center of the room unless that puts you in a toxic cloud, then move the other way. Keeping space from the toxic clouds that form after each fireball attack is very important, so be aware of where they are and move away from them whenever you can manage. You can soak a few fire hits with high fire resistance, and his physical attacks are pretty easy to dodge when you have the right spacing, so the toxic is the most dangerous thing. If the dragon flies extra high, prepare for a flamethrower dive. Else it'll either be a fireball or the aerial dive. All of these are most easily dodged if you are already moving sideways when the attack begins. If you are hit by the aerial flamethrower, Sinh will follow it up with an aerial dive. You must spam the dodge (either toward the dragon's origin or sideways) to roll immediately else you will be hit (and likely killed) by this aerial dive. Don't get try to close enough to let him land on you when he falls back to the ground. If the dragon charges you for a head swipe, roll backward and prepare to hit him once as he drops his head as part of the recovery animation. You have time to move toward it a bit and swing once, then roll back again or you will get bit. If the dragon uses the flame attack where he breathes fire from (his) left to right, you can run up and hit him at least twice, then back away. These should be the ONLY instances where you attempt attacking with a melee weapon. The straight fire breath should be avoided and only attempt to hit him with something ranged. It has a deceptive width at the end so get rather far away from it before trying to cast a spell. There is ample time for you to heal whenever you need instead of attacking, and once you get the hang of dodging and keeping away from the toxic clouds, you shouldn't have to worry about dying. If the dragon is only doing aerial attacks or the straight fire breath, and you are periodically losing you target lock, you are too far away and should move closer, especially if you don't have enough casts to kill Sinh with spells alone. If the dragon is doing attacks I did not mention or find it too hard to dodge his aerial fireballs, you are too close.

Strategy for Hexers:

Fighting Sinh as a Hexer can be daunting at first, depending how much you put into Vigor, Endurance, and Adaptability as opposed to Faith, Intelligence, and Attunement. As a 50 faith/50 int/11 vigor Hexer I would die in 2 hits from Sinh no matter what. However, Hexers have an edge because Sinh is extremely weak to dark damage. Make sure you prepare yourself with repair powders (if you plan to only use one weapon), the Bracing Knuckle Ring +2, and poison moss. Don't bother to bring a shield, unless you have a high fire resist shield you'd like to use for his flame attacks. Projectile Hexes aren't very useful against Sinh (Dark Orb from a Dark Sunset Staff +5 did around 400 damage) and casting can be unwieldy in this fight, so instead, use Dark Weapon or Resonant Weapon to buff your weapon of choice. It should preferably have innate dark damage. When Sinh wakes up he will ALWAYS charge forward, swinging his head to the right. Therefore strafe to the left to avoid damage. This is a perfect opportunity to line yourself up with his back legs and get a couple of hits in on his tail, depending on your weapon. One two handed R1 from a buffed Roaring Halberd +5 did 742 damage, even with only 16 strength and 16 dexterity. Going to the left will usually make him do a flying attack, but if you are too far behind him, he will likely turn to face you and use a melee attack. All of his flying attacks are relatively easily dodged by strafing to one side or the other. Break lock on and start sprinting to his side, but keep your camera focused on him so you know what attack he's using, as he can follow up his singular fireball and flame breath with a dive attack. Once he lands, run towards his front, get underneath his belly (behind Yorgh's spear, which is lodged in Sinh), and get a hit in. Sinh will either begin a flying attack, jump back to use a frontal melee attack, or do flame breath in front of him. The flame breath is a perfect opportunity to attack his tail, which, after removed, inhibits his dive attack and combo attack greatly. If he dodges back, just run towards him and dodge his claw swipes. When you see that your weapon is at risk, either switch to a backup or use your repair powder. In the event that you need to heal or get poisoned, get underneath him for a safe spot or dodge his flying attack and heal then. Remember that he can follow up the fireball or fire breath with a charge attack, so don't hit your Estus/lifegem/heal spell immediately after you dodge it (you should be able to fit a moss in that time period). Re-buff with your spell when necessary, and he should die relatively quickly. By far his most dangerous move is when he charges you on the ground; try your best to roll through if you have good adaptability or strafe and roll to the side very quickly. You can get hit by his head as well as his legs, and both on top of each other is usually enough to kill you.

Bow Strategy 

This strategy makes use of two or three items acquired earlier in the stage to help squishy characters with low physical scaling stats take Sinh down.

Even for players with low dexterity, the +7 Longbow found early on in the Sunken City can be used to great effect against Sinh. If the player equips the Hawk Ring (or Durgo's Hat), as well as Flynn's Ring (also found in the Sunken City), and the Ring of Blades +1, Sinh can be dispatched quite easily with Iron Arrows. Depending on the player's scaling with the bow, they can expect to use around 100-200 arrows, but they should always bring extras to account for missed shots.

Optionally, if the player intends to bring summons, the additional ring slot may be filled with the Red Tearstone Ring for added damage. With this strategy and NPC summons, the player may be able to defeat Sinh without taking damage, although it will require ample caution. With the miracle Denial (also found in the Sunken City), this becomes much more feasible.

The player is able to lock on to Sinh from very far away, allowing arrows to be consistently fired from relative safety. Individual shots may do as little as 50 damage with summons, but the upside is that the player will be capable of dealing 50 damage every 2 seconds, from nearly anywhere on the stage--including when Sinh is airborne! Since Sinh also has a habit of flying far away from the player after taking damage, the DPS tends to be surprisingly decent in comparison to using melee.

With this strategy, Sinh will sometimes pressure the player, but it is usually fairly easy to retreat and regroup by simply back-rolling/sprinting out of his melee range. The only attacks that may consistently strike the player will usually be fire based, so it may be wise to bring Flash Sweat to mitigate the damage. 

Overall, this strategy is very straightforward. Simply stay far away from Sinh and pelt him with arrows whenever he isn't shooting fire at you. Despite this strategy being much easier than other strategies, it can also be surprisingly engaging since Sinh makes use of ranged attacks and fills the arena with toxic clouds that must be avoided.

Video Strategy:

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Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon Hints in Dark Souls 2

• It is possible to cut off his tail (Cutting his tail off increases his flying attack usage), but you don't get any weapon out of it.
• The spear that pierces through his back and chest can be attacked to inflict high damage.
• Immune to poison
• Weak against dark and magic - but he has high resistance in all elements.
• Good to have some Poison Moss on you if you get toxicated.
• Very Resistant to fire and Lightning
  *NOTE* With 55 Faith, Great Lightning Spear does ~15dmg. Flame Swathe does 149.
• His hide appears to be highly corrosive to melee weapons, taking away high amounts (~1.5 points) of durability with each hit (Edit: Used a Crypt Blacksword against Sinh with a Bracing Knuckle Ring +2 and durability fell just above standard durability loss rate with out bracing knuckle against other enemies. shadowfox 96 confirm on Ps3.) Because of this, he is a good means to break the Santier's Spear. The broken one is also a good weapon for this, especially for melee characters, because you do not have to equip extra weapons (granting you more mobility) or change them in the middle of the battle.

Drakewing Ultra Greatsword's 2H strong projectile attack does really nice damage to Sinh, and allows you to punish his flying attacks.

• Gyrm Greatshield +10 completely NEGATES his fire breath, however it does not block toxin.
• Havel's Greatshield +5 let's you block most of his close range melee attacks
• Fighting this boss with any summons increases its damage reduction by a flat amount.