Darkeater Midir is a descendant of the Everlasting Dragons, though was raised and given a task by the gods and has been eternally loyal to them, despite the war between his kind and the deities that took place long ago. In Dark Souls 3, players will encounter the darkness-devouring dragon long after the gods have died, though he still stands stalwartly in The Ringed City and maintains his constant vigil against forces of The Abyss.
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However, even though Midir is immortal, he has begun to be corrupted by the overwhelming power of darkness that he has been consuming for a long time, which has given him abilities to use dark spells on a titanic scale. For this reason, as well as Midir's draconic strength, aggression, flight, and devastating attacks, this beast is one of the toughest bosses in the game. Thankfully, there are a few strategies that can help one defeat this immensely strong dragon.
Like most draconic foes, Darkeater Midir has different damage resistances for different parts of his body. He takes little damage in the legs, moderate damage on the body, and high damage when struck in the head. Whereas with other such foes, players can simply stand by the hind legs and swing away, Midir prevents this by almost always rearing up on his hind legs to unleash a gout of flames on the ground near his feet, preventing players from using the easiest of dragon-slaying methods. Because of this, the damage reduction, and due to Midir's body being hard to reach, players should focus on striking the head.
Midir won't keep his head in the same place for too long, as he uses it to unleash a plethora of attacks including firebreathing, bites, and even a laser beam. It also rests just above the player's head, even at its lowest point while Midir is standing, meaning that many weapons will not be able to hit this weak point easily. However, axes, hammers, and their greatweapon variants usually have an overhead swing (with the strong attack) that is ideal for clipping the violent violet dragon in the head.
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While some players will opt to use lighter and faster one-handed axes or hammers for this strategy to hit the boss 2 or 3 times per opening, a greataxe or great hammer can deal close to the same damage with just a single strike. A couple of greatweapons that would be excellent for such a heavy-handed approach (and for lore-related reasons!) would be Havel the Rock's famous Dragon Tooth and the appropriately named Dragonslayer Greataxe.
Dragon Tooth is a behemoth of a weapon that has nearly unparalleled physical devastation. It is the tooth of an Everlasting Dragon and like all dragon weapons, it grants the wielder a bonus to one's magic and fire damage reduction (12.5%), which will be handy when dealing with Midir's flaming breath. Its Perseverance weapon skill also grants more damage resistance while also increasing one's poise for added survivability.
The Dragonslayer Greataxe is an even better option, as it also possesses innate lightning attack, which is one of Midir's biggest weaknesses. It can be used for strong attacks on Midir's head that will deal huge damage to the boss, though, its weapon skill will be greatly useful here as well. If players use some FP to unleash Falling Bolt, they will call down a severe strike of lightning in a shocking explosion around themselves. If this is performed on Midir's head, the dragon will take colossal damage.
Another of Midir's few true weaknesses is thrust damage, though, since the usual weapons that have this kind of attack don't have often have overhead-swinging maneuvers, it can be tricky to land blows on the huge dragon's head. Thankfully, when locked on, one's weapon will angle itself as much as it can upward and towards the beast's jaws. It would still be best to use a weapon with more reach, like a polearm, as this will make it easier to for the Ashen One's attacks to connect.
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As one would be able to guess by taking a look at the available polearms in the game, the Dragonslayer Spear and the Dragonslayer Swordspear are 2 of the best picks for armaments to use against Midir. Dexterity builds should try the Dragonslayer Spear because they would benefit the most from its relatively high scaling with this stat. The innate lightning attack will also be greatly helpful when combined with the thurst attack for high damage per stab.
The Dragonslayer Swordspear is even more deadly due to doing more overall damage and also possessing the Falling Bolt weapon skill, much like the Dragonslayer Greataxe, which, again, can be devastating if one can hit the dragon in the face with it.
Darkeater Midir has some of the most resistances and immunities out of all bosses, as he resists magic, fire, and dark damage while also being completely immune to bleed, poison, toxic, and frost. This will give spellcaster builds few options, leaving only those focusing on miracles to be mostly unbothered. However, there are still options for all spell-slinging dragonslayers. Just be sure to stay relatively close to Midir, as if one strays too far away, the dragon will use his most deadly attacks that often fill the area with fire, darkness, and possibly even a laser beam.
Use lightning spells, though, those like Wrath of the Gods, and others that deal physical damage, can still be used here, albeit less effectively. Lightning Spear (and its better variants) and Lightning Arrow can both be used to hurt the boss quite a lot. For easier casting and slightly less danger, try to stay to the right or left of Midir's head (just out of melee range).
Without being able to make use of their fire, dark, poison, or toxic spells, pyromancer builds will have the hardest time with Darkeater Midir. Thankfully, there is the Boulder Heave spell, which launches a huge rock from the player's mouth that not only deals physical damage but also has a shattering initial projectile that turns into smaller ones that also do a bit of damage. For those who want to literally spit in the boss's face, this is the tactic to use.
Don't bother with sorceries that deal magic or dark damage, as they will have very little effect, even when targeting the dragon's head. However, Intelligence builds will be able to make great use of the boss-belittling favorite: Pestilent Mist. As this dank cloud envelopes someone (even the caster), it will deal damage proportionate to the afflicted's max HP, meaning that Darkeater Midir with his massive health pool is exceptionally vulnerable to this tactic, especially since his hitbox is large enough for the player to easily shroud him in one's deadly fog. Although the cheesiest method, none can deny Pestilent Mist's effectiveness at taking down this dragon.