Dark Souls’ Sif is a stunning, great wolf who deserves so much more than what she gets. Her story is one of the more heartbreaking across all of the SoulsBorne games, but it’s also full of bravery and valor. All Souls players know who she is, and even those who have never been to Lordran may well know about Sif, regardless. There’s a lot more to this character than you might think when you first meet her, you can even get a different opening scene to her boss fight.
So, with that in mind, we took it upon ourselves to dive into who Dark Souls Sif is. Naturally, Sif’s story intertwines with her master’s, so we suggest giving our Dark Souls Artorias guide a read when you’re done here. We also have Dark Souls Gwynevere, Dark Souls Gwyndolin, Dark Souls Solaire, Dark Souls Manus, and Dark Souls Priscilla guides if you want to familiarise yourself with some of the game’s most important characters.
This is what you need to know about Dark Souls’ Sif.
Who is Dark Souls’ Sif?
Most players tend to encounter Sif at the midpoint of their adventure, needing to defeat her to get the ring that allows you to survive in the Abyss against the Four Kings. However, those familiar with Lordran and its layout can go after her earlier in the game if they wish. No matter when you face her, it’s a hard battle as nobody likes seeing the dog die, let alone being the one to do it.
When you throw Sif’s lore on top, it feels unbearably cruel to put the wolf down. Sif has direct ties to Artorias, a legendary knight of Gwyn who bravely lost himself to the Abyss trying to save Oolacile and fight back against Manus. Artorias’ last act before defeat was to protect his beloved companion, Sif, using his shield to protect her from the humanity sprites in the chasm.
In the DLC, you can actually save her, going down a secret path that shows where Artorias left her, still protected by his final act. Once you save her, she is summonable for the fight against Manus, giving the great grey wolf a chance to avenge her master.
Doing this results in a different cutscene when you trigger her boss fight, for she recognizes you as the person who saved her long ago. She looks to the moon and howls before taking up arms; she must defend her master’s grave while you must take his ring. You’re at a crossroads with no give. One of you must die.
Sif doesn’t want to fight you, and you don’t want to fight her. It’s a heartbreaking situation, but the legacy of this pooch and her master lives on – we’ll never forget them.
Where can I find Dark Souls’ Sif?
Dark Souls
Sif awaits you at the end of the Darkroots Gardens behind a huge concrete door; you can’t miss her. That fact is especially true as you need to defeat her to progress the game, meaning she isn’t optional. Still, with the amount of freedom you have in terms of exploration in Lordran, allow us to explain how exactly you can reach her.
Just run straight ahead when you enter the area after you use the Artorias medallion next to the Dark Souls bonfire. Eventually, you come across a castle-type building and continue through. Once out the other side, run across the field, and you come to a huge door. Sif is behind it.
Dark Souls Artorias the Abysswalker DLC
We know you want to save Sif in the expansion, and if you don’t, well, we don’t have the words for you, especially as giving this pup a chance to continue her master’s legacy is easy when you know what you’re doing.
As soon as you enter the Abyss caverns, walk forward, and soon enough, you can see some smoke on a lower level, drop onto it. Next, you can see a cat; follow it – it disappears and reappears a little further in front to guide you. Eventually, you come to an area with a branching path.
However, what you want to do is defeat the humanity sprites there and turn to the wall on your left. This is an illusory wall – hit it and go down the path. Soon enough, you can see the young Sif surrounded by humanity sprites. Kill the enemies, and then Sif howls in gratitude before she disappears.
That’s it. You’ve managed to save Sif. As a reward, she can help you in the Manus boss fight.
Dark Souls Sif boss fight
Okay, nobody likes it when the dog dies, much less being the one to put the pup down, which is why you must end this fight as quickly as possible, especially since in the last part of the fight, Sif is limping – it’s heartbreaking to watch and is a painful reminder that perhaps we’re not the good guy we think we are.
Fortunately, the fight is one of the easier ones in the game. All you need to do is stay under Sif and smack away, though be prepared to throw up your shield or roll away on occasion. If you have a decent damage output, regardless of your build, the fight is over before you know it.
The best bit of advice we can give is to attack her legs, as it slows her down, making her limp and giving you ample opportunity to finish the fight as soon as possible. It’s quite the sight at the end when she limps towards you with little health left. It leaves you feeling like an abomination, and you know what? You are. Poor Sif, this wolf deserved so much more.
Sorcerer build
The above method is only viable if you’re a melee fighter. If you’re a magic user, you want to stay as far away from Sif as possible so you can cast your magic uninterrupted. Due to how quickly Sif can close the gap, it’s best to avoid using spells with a longer casting time – no matter how tempting it is, great heavy soul arrows are too risky, using the regular soul spears and great soul arrows instead.
You should also bring in a shield that defends against physical damage and use it whenever you aren’t casting magic. One hit from Sif can ruin your progress. Overall, it’s still an easy fight, but it’s definitely more of a ‘slow and steady wins the race’ kind of thing in comparison to the rush-in approach of melee builds.
There you have it, everything you need to know about the majestic being that is Dark Souls’ Sif. For some more Souls content, check out our Dark Souls Rings guide. If you want some similar titles to play, our lists of the best Soulslike games and games like Dark Souls are full of great suggestions.