While revisiting the original Dark Souls, one player has found a particular room in Anor Londo to be their personal "house of horrors," surpassing even the famously difficult boss duo of Ornstein and Smough. This unexpected challenge lies not in the boss arena itself, but in the room immediately preceding it.
The journey to Ornstein and Smough from the nearest bonfires involves navigating long corridors. One path is largely clear but ends with two large knight enemies before the problematic room. The other path features silver knight enemies that can be outrun, making it a less dangerous, albeit longer, route.
The true obstacle arises within the room before the boss fog gate. The goal for players wishing to summon Solaire of Astora for assistance in the upcoming boss fight is to reach his summon sign on the other side of the room. However, the enemies within this space possess an immense aggro range, making it nearly impossible to reach the summon sign without provoking them.
Any attempt to simply run through and summon Solaire without first dispatching the room's inhabitants often results in Solaire engaging these enemies instead of accompanying the player, or even remaining behind indefinitely. This is because the enemies' aggro range extends throughout the church area, save for the very top floor.
To successfully summon Solaire, players must defeat all three enemies in the room. The archer on the left is described as relatively easy to deal with, requiring a few axe swings and manageable to approach while avoiding arrows. The primary difficulty stems from the two larger enemies downstairs. These foes are resistant to frontal attacks due to their shields and can evade or heal themselves. They also employ a powerful area-of-effect shield slam attack that can easily knock players down, leaving them vulnerable.
While these larger enemies are typically slow and telegraphed in their attacks, the repetitive nature of the run and the pressure of the upcoming boss fight have led to a frustrating experience for this player. The time spent fighting these three enemies, especially when they utilize self-healing, significantly prolongs the process and depletes valuable Estus flasks and spell charges, jeopardizing the subsequent boss encounter. The player laments the necessity of fighting these additional enemies each time, wishing for a less arduous approach.
The situation is further complicated by the requirement to burn a Humanity item at the bonfire each time Solaire is to be summoned. If the player perishes before summoning him, that Humanity is lost. This necessitates a potentially lengthy farming run back through Anor Londo and Sen's Fortress to acquire more Humanity, adding another layer of frustration to the already daunting task.