Blackflame Friede and Ariandel - Still Working On Them

I haven't hit the frustration barrier that kept me from taking down Lothric/Lorian for a year (not playing constantly, I should specify - more that it made me stop playing for a long while) and in fact my last attempt got Friede down to about 15% on her final phase. But it's still not a "couple of attempts" boss like some of the earlier ones when I was breezing through the first part of the game.

One thing I've done is switch back to my +5 Hollowslayer Greatsword (boss weapons are maxed at +5) from my +10 Estoc - the stabbing attacks from the Estoc are easy for Friede to block, and I'm finding the wide swing of the Hollowslayer (is it ironic or perfect that I, the Lord of Hollows, have a Hollowslayer Greatsword as my main weapon?) to both hit Friede more frequently and also for more damage per hit.

The real challenge for me I think is that dodging Friede's attacks seems practically impossible. Instead, I've been casting Magic Shield before the fight (and at the start of each phase) so I can block her attacks and then have some stamina left over to hit her when she's done with her attacks.

Having discovered the powerful Lothric Castle single-knight soul-farming technique (slap on your covetous serpent rings, a Shield of Want, and Symbol of Avarice helmet - the one that looks like a Mimic - and you can get I think 4950 souls from every kill. Just rest at the bonfire right there to reset that one knight very nearby and heal up from the damage you took in the fight or just from having the box-head on and repeat until you very quickly have several tens of thousands of souls) I can level up relatively easily and also have been getting a decent number of Embers.

As such, when I'm feeling confident, I Ember up and summon Slave Knight Gael. Gael doesn't actually show up until phase 2 - so don't waste embers if you're struggling on getting to that phase - but man does it help to have someone drawing fire from Ariandel and potentially Friede. This last attempt Gael survived to phase 3, and we got to go ham on Friede for a while - until Gael died and things got a lot harder.

This is a fight where I often find myself out of Estus not long into phase 3. There are plenty of times to heal (though far fewer in phase 3) but it's easy to take a big chunk of damage from Friede's combos and basically any hit from Ariandel.

I believe Ariandel's left arm is weak, and if you hit it enough you can stagger him for a critical hit (either that or if you just put in a lot of damage.) Friede can be back-stabbed (which is easier if Gael is distracting her) but as far as I can tell, you really can't parry her (shame, as it made Pontiff Sulyvahn, a fight I had been dreading, practically a cakewalk.)

Man, I can only imagine how insane Gael will be if I ever get to him.