Crystal Sage Dark Souls III Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Put on armor that will provide a lot of protection against magic. Sorcerer set, which you can find in this area, is perfect. You should also take a lot of throwing knives, in order to eliminate copies that Crystal Sage will summon. Finally, you can summon Eygon to support you during the battle.
The place where you can call him is behind one of the columns in the corridor with two sorcerers and several other creatures (see the screenshot and remember to use Ember). You should kill all the remaining monsters before you summon your ally. He will be of great help in the upcoming battle.
As soon as you enter the arena, pay attention to Sage's strikes. He will shoot projectiles at you (a crystal touching the ground or flying in the air). The latter one is more dangerous because it will follow you till it hits you, or crash into a wall. Thus, it is best to wait out this attack behind a pillar. Watch out for one more attack: when violet orbs appear above his head, he will shoot them in your direction. The last form of attack will be activated if you stay too long in one position near Sage; he will perform 2-3 melee strikes. Don't let him do that.
When it comes to the first stage of the fight, the situation is rather simple: dodge his attacks, hide behind pillars and charge when possible. Don't lock your camera and you should have more freedom when it comes to outmaneuvering your foe. When you get close enough, perform a combo. Not only should it block his own strikes, but it also will deal a lot of damage and make him disappear for a while. When that happens, wait for him in the middle of the arena and repeat the same action when Crystal Sage reappears in a different position.
If you follow these tips, you should drain half of his HP in no time. When that happens, the true battle will begin - Crystal Sage will summon copies of himself. Although it takes only one hit for a copy to disappear, each of them can perform similar strikes to Sage himself. Remember that you have a moment to dodge before the orb attack charges, so use that time to deal with weak copies (the previously mentioned throwing knives will be perfect). As soon as your enemies appear, hit the closest one and hide behind a pillar. They don't move too much, so lean out and strike them with throwing knives (lock your camera when you do that). When they disappear, rush to the real Sage and strike. Repeat the whole sequence till you kill the boss.
Things can get easier when the real Sage reappears next to you. If that happens, the first thing you should do is to attack him because all of the copies will disappear as soon as he disappears. You can always distinguish the real boss based on his attacks: they are violet and not blue like in case of all the other copies. If you had summoned Eygon, the fight will be even easier: not only will he deal with the appearing copies, but he also will deal a lot of damage to the very Crystal Sage.
Reward: Soul of Crystal Sage, 8000 souls
Location: Road of Sacrifices