Saigord the Staglord

The optional fight at Icemoor Castle Ruins that guards the best shield in the game: the Balgran Shield, the only one combining top defense with attack-speed and move-speed bonuses. The fight itself is a stagger race — Force Palm and Turning Slash Expertise both build toward knockdowns — with two rules layered on top: bring ice-resistance gear, and respect the red-glint attacks, which cannot be parried. He also teaches Turning Slash Expertise, making this one of the few optional bosses whose rewards upgrade both your gear and your skill kit. Two shopping stops before Icemoor: the armor database's special-effects lists for ice-resistance pieces, and your skill layout to confirm Force Palm and Turning Slash are both slotted — the fight is a stagger race and you need both lanes. The red-glint rule is absolute: those attacks cannot be parried, only avoided, and learning which of his swings glint is most of the fight's difficulty. The Balgran Shield he drops is the best in the game, so this is arguably the most rewarding optional fight for shield users.