High 10 Darkish Souls bosses: Finest (and worst) ranked

The Dark Souls sequence is beloved by hundreds of thousands of gamers for a number of causes, with the largest of them being the franchise’s boss fights. Over time, developer FromSoftware has crafted numerous memorable boss encounters throughout the trilogy. Most of them have been wonderful — particularly in Dark Souls III — however some bosses stand out for the unsuitable causes, too. This is a take a look at our prime 10 greatest (and worst) Darkish Souls bosses.

High 10 greatest Darkish Souls bosses

One of the best bosses within the Darkish Souls sequence usually have readable animations, a moveset that may be realized, little to no random quantity generator (RNG) parts, a cool design, and wonderful music. Important ties to the story and the participant’s journey by no means damage both.

10. Velstadt, the Royal Aegis (Darkish Souls II)

Whereas the bottom sport of Darkish Souls II has many underwhelming bosses, Velstadt is one I completely like to tackle. As King Vendrick’s “proper arm,” this towering knight eternally guards his king within the depths of Drangleic Citadel — even supposing Vendrick turned a shell of his former self and went hole years in the past.

The oblong stone area the place you battle him is not very notable, and the music that performs in the course of the battle is forgettable, too. That being mentioned, Velstadt’s huge bell-hammer is iconic, and his golden set of armor is extremely cool as effectively. The battle itself can be a blast, as Velstadt’s assaults hit exhausting with easy animations, and will be persistently dodged with good timing. He can buff himself with darkish magic in the course of the battle, too, which modifications a number of the timings on his assaults, elevating the stakes.

9. Fume Knight (Darkish Souls II)

Fume Knight is arguably the toughest boss in Darkish Souls II, however not like a lot of the sport’s robust battles, it is for good causes. Fume Knight hits like a truck and makes use of a sword that is feels prefer it’s the scale of 1, however like Velstadt, you may dodge the whole lot he throws at you in the event you’re affected person and study the timings of his assaults. He additionally has a various moveset as effectively, which helps hold the battle towards him attention-grabbing and pleasant every time you problem him.

Fume Knight (often known as Raime) can be neat from a narrative and lore perspective, too. He was initially King Vendrick’s “left arm,” however after he was defeated by Velstadt following unrest between the 2, he retreated to Brume Tower looking for a brand new function. By the point gamers interact him, he has sworn fealty to Nadalia, the Bride of Ash.

8. Burnt Ivory King (Darkish Souls II)

The Burnt Ivory King is among the most attention-grabbing boss fights in any Darkish Souls sport. It feels much less like a duel and extra like an all-out struggle between the Burnt Ivory King and his Charred Loyce Knights and also you, different gamers or NPCs you summon, and the common Loyce Knights that yow will discover all through the Crown of the Ivory King DLC. The spacious area the place you battle him seems to be candy and offers gamers loads of room to work with, too, which is all the time nice.

The Burnt Ivory King himself is not that particular, however his assaults are telegraphed effectively and diverse of their timings. This makes dueling him in any case of his minions are slain an enticing and enjoyable expertise.

7. Black Dragon Kalameet (Darkish Souls: Remastered)

I usually do not love a lot of the beast boss fights in Darkish Souls as a consequence of wonky digital camera angles and animations that always really feel tough to learn, however Black Dragon Kalameet is an occasion the place the builders managed to keep away from points with both whereas additionally making the boss really feel brutally difficult, but utterly learnable and truthful. With a number of persistence and follow, gamers can grasp Kalameet’s lethal tail swipes, nosedives, and streams of lethal fireplace breath.

Gamers with sufficient ability may lower off Kalameet’s tail to acquire the Obsidian Greatsword, which is among the greatest weapons within the first Darkish Souls. It may also be buffed with magic, which will increase the injury additional. Slicing off Kalameet’s tail additionally prevents him from doing tail-related assaults, which rewards the participant for his or her bravery.

6. Dragonslayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough (Darkish Souls: Remastered)

Out of all of the completely different bosses within the unique Darkish Souls, essentially the most iconic of the bunch is arguably Dragonslayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough. Taking them on on the peak of Anor Londo is among the greatest climactic moments in any motion RPG ever, and the explanation why is due to how effectively the battle is designed. To stability out the truth that you are outnumbered on this battle, Ornstein is quick and agile whereas Smough is sluggish and tanky. This velocity distinction creates house between the 2 that you need to use to your benefit. There are additionally a number of pillars within the boss area you can transfer between to interrupt the aggro of each foes, too, which provides you the valuable seconds you have to heal or plan your subsequent transfer.

As soon as you’re taking one of many two bosses down, the opposite absorbs the ability of their fallen comrade, turns into bigger, and will get a brand new moveset. This makes the bout much more dynamic, as gamers should think twice about which enemy within the duo they need to battle a superpowered model of. Even the ambiance and context of this battle are superior — the orchestral rating that performs in the course of the battle is thrilling, and the truth that the all-important Lordvessel is simply previous Ornstein and Smough helps encourage gamers to by no means quit irrespective of what number of instances they fall.

5. Artorias the Abysswalker (Darkish Souls: Remastered)

Artorias the Abysswalker is usually thought-about to be the perfect boss within the first Darkish Souls, and when you think about how completely his battle is designed, it is easy to see why. Artorias is aggressive, however his assaults are additionally telegraphed effectively, so studying the right way to dodge his combos will not be solely achievable but additionally very enjoyable. On prime of this, lots of the combos have completely different variations. This retains the participant on their toes and ensures that every time you battle Artorias, the expertise will likely be just a little completely different than your final playthrough. The sector can be good, massive, and empty. There aren’t any environmental gimmicks right here — it is simply you towards him in a lethal check of your abilities, persistence, and dedication.

Artorias can be superior from an environment and lore perspective. The haunting, somber soundtrack drives dwelling the tragedy of Artorias’ defeat by the hands of Manus and his subsequent corruption by the Darkness, and the truth that you discover him battling Darkness creatures earlier than your battle with him signifies that someplace, deep down, a shred of who Artorias as soon as was stays.

4. Soul of Cinder (Darkish Souls III)

One of many sequence’ remaining bosses can be certainly one of its greatest. There are a lot of explanation why the Soul of Cinder boss battle is so memorable, however above all else, the truth that you are basically preventing a mixture of all earlier Lords of Cinder is solely phenomenal. I am going to always remember the chills I acquired when the plin plin plon of Gwyn’s theme performed at the beginning of the boss’ second part, and I am prepared to guess that different Darkish Souls veterans will not, both. Having to cope with sword slashes, spear thrusts, pyromancies, and sorcery additionally offers this battle a ridiculous quantity of variables, too, which ensures that gamers won’t ever get too comfy in the course of the battle. This looks like it might be overwhelming, however as a result of the boss modifications its weapon to mirror the kind of assaults it may use subsequent, sharp-eyed gamers could make correct predictions about what’s coming their manner.

The boss’ area can be simply one of many coolest in all of Darkish Souls, with a whole bunch of strewn weapons and piles upon mounds of ash telling the story of a battleground decimated by the infinite cycle of the First Flame. The Soul of Cinder itself can be a sight to behold, with its weird amalgamation of plate, chainmail, and fabric representing the numerous Lords of Cinder that made the pilgrimage to the Kiln of the First Flame in years previous.

3. Anonymous King (Darkish Souls III)

Ever because the first Darkish Souls, gamers have been making an attempt to determine the identification of Gwyn’s Firstborn Son that was banished from Anor Londo. Whereas it is not explicitly confirmed, nearly all indicators level to the Anonymous King holding that identification — and that is smart, because the battle with the Anonymous King is about as epic as you’d count on an encounter with a god to be. By the point you encounter him in Darkish Souls III, the Anonymous King has chosen to aspect with the dragons his father initially sought to destroy.

The primary part of the battle entails killing the huge storm drake that the Anonymous King rides on, which is just a little irritating as a consequence of digital camera annoyances, however nonetheless a great time because of how satisfying it’s to dodge the Anonymous King’s thunderbolts in addition to assaults from his mount. The second part is the place the enjoyable actually begins, although, because the Anonymous King places his drake to relaxation after which brings his iconic swordspear to bear on you with terrifying velocity and accuracy. With an enormous, various moveset, delayed melee assaults that power the participant to modify up their typical dodge timings, and loads of well being to burn by way of, the second part of the Anonymous King battle assessments your persistence, endurance, and ability in the entire proper methods.

2. Dancer of the Boreal Valley (Darkish Souls III)

There are so many issues that the Dancer battle will get proper, however I feel what stands out greater than anything is the ambiance of the encounter. Between the ominous and haunting violin theme, the Dancer’s sluggish, predator-like actions as she inches in the direction of you, and the sound of her footsteps echoing all through the cathedral you battle her in, the whole lot about this battle is designed to make you are feeling such as you’re little greater than prey. Add within the Dancer’s quick (however well-telegraphed) assaults and excessive injury output, and you will rapidly understand you are proper to really feel intimidated.

The second part is the place issues get much more intense, as when she will get knocked all the way down to half well being, the Dancer will pull out a magic blade to make use of alongside her fireplace one and can start to periodically whirlwind in the direction of you with an enchantingly stunning — and extremely lethal — spin assault. Dodging this transfer will be exceptionally tough in the event you wrestle with timings, however efficiently pulling it off is, for my part, essentially the most satisfying dodge to do in all of Darkish Souls. Except for this signature transfer, the Dancer additionally makes use of different new strikes throughout this part as effectively that may catch gamers off guard if they are not ready for the delayed nature of the strikes. Total, the Dancer battle is as stunning and pleasant as it’s brutally difficult and unforgiving. Except for my best choice, there is no boss battle I get pleasure from replaying greater than this one.

1. Slave Knight Gael (Darkish Souls III)

Slave Knight Gael is the epitome of what a Darkish Souls-style boss battle will be. The narrative stakes for this battle could not be greater — Gael consumed the dried blood of the Darkish Soul from the traditional furtive pygmies to liquefy it as soon as once more, however in consequence, the ability of the Darkish Soul corrupted his thoughts. Due to this fact, it is as much as you to defeat him so you may carry the blood to the Portray Woman, who possesses the ability to make use of it to create a brand new Painted World that is freed from the damage brought on by the infinite cycle of the First Flame.

It is the right story beat to shut out the sequence with. In some ways, Gael is a extra aggressive and more difficult model of Artorias. His assaults are quite a few, diverse, and relentless, however on the finish of the day, each single certainly one of them will be mastered by a talented participant. The large dunes of ashes that make up the world give the participant loads of room to work with if they should again off for a second to compose themselves or heal, although in the event you’re not cautious, Gael might punish this with a long-range lunge.

Issues get even crazier within the battle’s second part, which provides a path of flame to Gael’s assaults that power you to dodge with exact timing, in addition to projectiles like flurries of crossbow bolts and darkish magic orbs to the combination. Paired with the battle’s swelling and fast-paced orchestral rating, the mechanics of the boss battle really feel like the last word check of your means to execute the whole lot you have realized throughout the three Darkish Souls video games. I could not ask for a greater sequence finale.

High 10 worst Darkish Souls bosses

For a boss battle to make it on this checklist, it must have unfair or unlearnable RNG-based mechanics, poor animation high quality, a bland and uncreative design, and an underwhelming quantity of significance to the story and the participant’s journey.

10. Elana, the Squalid Queen (Darkish Souls II)

Most of Darkish Souls II’s DLC bosses are superior, however one which I all the time hate to battle is Elana. The problem with this battle is not essentially Elana herself — in reality, her melee and magic assaults are very well-telegraphed and truthful to the participant. The issue is the truth that she will summon minions to gank you whereas you are making an attempt to give attention to dodging her strikes, which makes the battle really feel very unfair, particularly if you have not summoned a participant or NPC that can assist you. She’ll both summon in 4 skeletons or a phantom of Velstadt, each of which can typically hit and stagger you as you are making an attempt to dodge Elana’s strikes. It is merely not a great time.

9. Deacons of the Deep (Darkish Souls III)

The Deacons of the Deep encounter is technically a boss battle, nevertheless it would not actually really feel like one since all it’s important to do to beat them is kill common enemies which have a glowing pink aura after which wail on the Archdeacon when he spawns in about midway by way of the battle. In the end, it is a battle about killing hordes of enemies somewhat than a boss, which feels disappointing contemplating killing regular enemies is what you had been already doing in the remainder of the Cathedral of the Deep. It isn’t unfair or low cost, it is only a snoozefest.

8. Prowling Magus and Congregation (Darkish Souls II)

The Prowling Magus and Congregation battle is actually the Deacons of the Deep, however worse. There are solely a handful of standard enemies to battle on this battle somewhat than what appears like a military of them, and there is not any kind of mechanic current both. All it’s important to do is kill a room full of primary enemies and you will come out victorious. A minimum of the Deacons of the Deep battle felt considerably intense because you needed to carve your manner by way of a sea of foes; this battle is very easy and underwhelming that it typically ends in seconds, which is not what anyone needs out of a Darkish Souls boss encounter.

7. Covetous Demon (Darkish Souls II)

The Covetous Demon is well essentially the most pathetic of Darkish Souls II’s true boss enemies, as its assaults are extraordinarily sluggish and straightforward to keep away from (in lots of circumstances, you do not even should dodge). Even in the event you do handle to get hit, which often occurs due to the boss’ wonky hitboxes, the assaults aren’t even that damaging. The boss additionally tends to easily sit nonetheless for a number of seconds between assaults, which lets you eat by way of its well being with out having to place in a lot effort. Pair these design points with the truth that the Covetous Demon has completely zero vital ties to the narrative, and you have got a boss that each Darkish Souls II participant needs they did not should battle throughout their travels by way of the Harvest Valley.

6. Pinwheel (Darkish Souls: Remastered)

Nearly all of the bosses within the second half of the unique Darkish Souls are disappointing, and the primary of the bunch is none apart from Pinwheel. This boss is much more of a joke than the Covetous Demon is, as, even supposing Pinwheel is situated within the late sport Catacombs space, its well being pool is so low that even gamers at Soul Stage 1 utilizing an unupgraded weapon can kill him effortlessly. That is even beneficial by veterans, as doing so permits you to get the Ceremony of Kindling that permits you to get 20 Estus Flasks proper at the beginning of a playthrough. Pinwheel does have some attention-grabbing strikes, akin to using fireplace magic and the flexibility to clone itself, however most of those by no means even come out earlier than gamers are capable of deplete its well being bar.

5. Ceaseless Discharge (Darkish Souls: Remastered)

Digital camera shenanigans, terrible hitbox consistency, assaults that undergo partitions, and an absurdly excessive well being pool all make your battle with this large lava monster a painful, rage-inducing chore. His gross title and lame narrative significance aren’t doing Ceaseless Discharge any favors, both. The truth that you principally have to cheese him by making him fall off of his standing area speaks volumes about how poorly the battle is designed. It is doable to run into the rocky alleyway that is current within the boss area and attempt to get him to slam his hand down so you may hit it, nevertheless it takes eternally to kill him this manner, and he might resolve to roast you thru the partitions as a substitute along with his fireplace assaults as a substitute.

4. Belfry Gargoyles (Darkish Souls II)

The Belfry Gargoyles are basically a copy-and-paste of the Bell Gargoyles from the primary Darkish Souls, besides with not one of the balancing that made it an pleasant battle. On this battle, as much as six gargoyles assault you suddenly, with people from the group becoming a member of the fray one-by-one the longer the battle goes on. This would not essentially be that unhealthy if the gargoyles weren’t robust to kill, however every of them boasts sturdy injury resistances and a large well being pool. As well as, these gargoyles are a lot sooner and damage much more than the unique duo from Darkish Souls, too, which makes issues much more tough. Even in the event you’re good at dodging, it is exhausting to not get hit by three or extra gargoyles as soon as, and with how staggering works within the Darkish Souls video games, that is perhaps all of the gargoyles must gank you to loss of life. Thank God this boss is elective.

3. Royal Rat Authority (Darkish Souls II)

Oh, how I despise this battle. The Royal Rat Authority himself is not even the principle subject right here; it is the squad of 5 regular rats that inflict Poisonous on you in as little as two or three hits, which drains your well being in seconds. Should you get Poisonous, you are compelled to attempt to heal your manner out of it, however the issue right here is that doing so offers any surviving rat minions and the Royal Rat Authority himself free hits on you that may both end you off outright or hasten your loss of life by consuming a piece out of your HP and staggering you out of your therapeutic animation.

Should you handle to kill the rat minions earlier than they Poisonous you, the remainder of the battle is a pathetic cakewalk. The Royal Rat Authority makes use of a cloned moveset from the Nice Gray Wolf Sif boss within the unique Darkish Souls (actually, FromSoftware? You could not even give him his personal assaults?) however he does them extra slowly, which makes him laughably simple to dodge. The one redeeming high quality of this battle is the truth that it, just like the Belfry Gargoyles battle, is elective.

2. Historical Dragon (Darkish Souls II)

The Historical Dragon battle is the third elective Darkish Souls II boss battle on the checklist, and it additionally occurs to be the worst one as effectively. The principle cause why is as a result of 90% of the time, the Historical Dragon will fly into the air and canopy nearly your complete boss area with fireplace that instakills you. Making issues worse is the truth that the digital camera would not help you take a look at the dragon when underneath it, which means that it is exhausting to inform when the fireplace is definitely coming. Due to this fact, the one “technique” you may make use of right here is to run away from the middle of the world as quick as you may when the dragon flies up and pray that you just will not get cooked alive.

Past this one infuriating assault, the Historical Dragon additionally makes use of stomps which have inconsistent hitboxes and areas-of-effect. I’ve by no means yelled “What? I dodged that!” in a Darkish Souls encounter greater than I’ve at this boss.

1. Mattress of Chaos (Darkish Souls: Remastered)

A rage hotter than the lava lakes of Misplaced Izalith itself builds up in my coronary heart each time I take into consideration the various hours I’ve spent making an attempt to kill the tree-like Mattress of Chaos throughout my Darkish Souls playthroughs. The battle sounds comparatively easy, dodging the arm sweeps and lower by way of the branches on the precise, left, and center of the boss to kill the bug inside. The issue is that as you progress by way of every stage of the battle, the ground of the world begins to crumble, threatening to ship you to your loss of life.

That is already tough to cope with as it’s because the participant has no manner of telling which a part of the world goes to break down earlier than it does, however making issues even worse is the truth that the Mattress of Chaos’ huge, sweeping assaults will typically push you into the holes within the flooring no matter whether or not or not you are dodging on the proper time. This makes the battle really feel completely luck-based, which is terrible. The one manner I have been capable of semi-reliably beat this boss is to swimsuit up with the heaviest armor I’ve and pray that it reduces the space the arm sweeps push me sufficient to save lots of my life.

Among the many 4 bosses main as much as your remaining showdown with Gwyn on the finish of the sport, the Mattress of Chaos is essentially the most disappointing by a huge margin, and to me, it is simply the worst boss within the Darkish Souls sequence. It is an actual disgrace, too, as a result of when you think about how vital the Flame of Chaos is within the lore of Darkish Souls, this boss battle may have been grand.

Your ideas

Do you agree with my checklist of the highest 10 greatest (and worst) bosses within the Darkish Souls sequence? Let me know. Additionally, for extra Souls-related rankings, try our ranking of FromSoftware Souls-likes from best to worst. Should you’re searching for different motion RPGs to play, do not miss our best Xbox role-playing games roundup.