Oh absolutely. FromSoft looks at what players do and then troll that directly in the DLC.

Trying to remember… Artorias just required not being greedy and just casting after his full spin move. I seem to recall it to be a matter of spacing, similar to Bell Bearing Hunter in Elden Ring, you can get him to predictably chain the same punishable moves. Or like DS3’s Gundyr or Pontiff for parry strats.

DS2 at least eventually despawns if you’re not in the champion covenent. And hexes are really powerful. (DS2 Brume Tower DLC crown replenishes spell uses over time, so you can Dark Fog the world if you can clear that one.)