Mother of the Dark

"I smell your breath, little sheep... Come out, and let me taste your flesh." - Upon encountering the Mother of the Dark for the first time

Description
The Mother of the Dark is an optional boss located in the Deepest Dark. Defeating her is not required for main storyline progression.

There are no NPC summons for this boss.

Lore
The Mother of the Dark is the physical manifestation of a primordial being that feeds on fear. She despises the living, and wishes nothing more than to destroy the world of the living above.

It is said that she was defeated by an unknown champion who took her power for himself, eventually becoming corrupted by the Dark and taking her place.

Strategies
The Mother of the Dark has three phases at each third of her health bar.

She deals Eiwaz and Physical damage. She is weak to Kaunaz and Jera runic damage, and is resistant to Is and Fe damage.

Phase 1 (Melee)
For melee players, it is advised to stay close to the Mother's right side, as the Mother's attacks originate from her left side. Roll through her sweeping attacks, and punish the shadow tendril attacks as they have a long cooldown period afterward. It is advised that players should not try to dodge away from her attacks but rather towards her, as they have less of a chance of getting caught in an area attack.

Phase 1 (Ranged)
Phase 1 is significantly easier for ranged players, as most of the Mother's attacks are short ranged, aside from a few projectile attacks. Chip away at her health from a distance with runic chants, hexes, or bows.

Phase 2 (Melee)
Upon entering phase 2, watch out for the Mother's transforming AoE attack as she emits a blast of dark energy around her. Roll or run away from her when she hunches down, charging her AoE attack, and run back to her once she uses it. With light weapons such as the Warrior's Shortaxe, players will be able to get in 2-4 hits after she uses the AoE attack.

Melee players should be wary of her attack timing during phase 2, as she occasionally attacks off-beat which may result in getting roll-caught. Players should also watch out for her grab attack, which can take a huge chunk off of their HP. Watch for the tells and windup animations and dodge accordingly. Punishable attacks include the wide sweeping shadow claw attack, the leaping/ground smash attack, and the shadow tendril AoE attack. Take cover behind some of the rocks when she does her shadow beam attack.

Phase 2 (Ranged)
Phase 2 may prove to be harder for ranged players in relation to Phase 1, as the Mother's moveset becomes faster and more erratic. Keeping your distance is still vital, as the Mother has more AoE attacks that reach further than Phase 1. However, staying away from the boss room's walls is equally as important, as she may occasionally summon shadow tendrils that spike out from the walls and cause massive physical damage, as well as build up the Eiwaz meter.

Phase 3 (General)
In Phase 3, the Mother transforms into a giant humanoid beast, with great claws that protrude out of her right hand. Her attacks deal massive corruption damage and can one-hit or two-hit the player if they aren't careful. However, it is not necessary to attack the Mother, as her HP bar will slowly start to drain, and eventually deplete faster as she continues to attack the player. Staying alive should be the player's main objective, and carefully timing dodges instead of spamming is crucial. The Mother will attack more frequently than Phase 2, and her tells won't be as obvious as before. If the player gets too far away, she will cover the distance with a lunging dash with her arms spread open, which has a ridiculous hitbox. Therefore, players are advised to stick close to the Mother and dodge her attacks as best as they can.

Drops
The Mother of the Dark will drop the Black Tears, a Ring Fragment, and 10,000 Silver upon her death.

The Black Tears is a Rune Catalyst that primarily deals Eiwaz damage and costs FP to use.

R1: Summons shadow tendrils to the user's hand and causes them to lash out, somewhat like the Augur of Ebrietas from Bloodborne.

R2: Shoots forth a spear of darkness

Charged R2: An AoE attack that summons shadow tendrils that spike out from the ground around the user.

Rolling R1: Sweeps a short area in front of the player with dark energy

If the player performs a critical hit with the weapon equipped: Thrusts a spear of darkness into the enemy, which promptly explodes from within.

Quotes
First Encounter Cutscene:

"I smell your breath, little sheep... Come out, and let me taste your flesh."

Upon Player Death:

"Give in to the darkness..."

"Your corpse will be a feast for my children."

Upon Death:

"I shall await you in Hel, my dearest Hodr..."

Trivia

 * The unknown warrior could either be referring to Manus or Artorias from the Souls games; however, the games may be completely unrelated just as Bloodborne and the Souls games, only containing references and easter eggs that hint at a connection.