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| Dark Souls Boss Ranking: Decade Anniversary
(Ranking contains spoilers for those who haven't played the game)
I've been doing annual runs of DS1 for a few years with new builds each playthrough, and I recently completed my first proper strength build. DS1 is pivotal for many reasons, but one of the aspects of the game that I admire the most, is how consistently impressive the boss lineup is, how well they've aged in relation to series and spinoffs as a whole, and how the difficulty can vary immensely from build-to-build, always keeping things fresh and exciting on subsequent playthroughs. It's astounding that DS1 is turning a decade old next month, and this ranking is an early ode to it, and its legacy. The list is ordered according to personal preference. On a side note, in spite of inevitable differences in rankings, hopefully we can all agree on how stellar the OST is as well. Motoi Sakuraba is a god. | | 27 |  | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
An honorable mention to the content of my deepest nightmares....The Basilisks:
These things are just dreadful, and in a game that is renowned for being tough as nails, these guys intimidate me the most. Curse is punishing enough as it is, but it's their design that terrifies me the most. | | 26 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Shoutout to all of the Hydras out there in Lordran:
Credit where credit is deserved: for a mini-boss, these things are pretty wicked. While they leave a lot to be desired mechanically (a moveset comprised of two attacks), they compensate for their shortcomings by being some of the most aesthetically appealing encounters in the game, which is especially true of their appearance in Ash Lake. They also deserve some credit for their status as being a gate-of-sorts to Oolacile. Bring a bit of patience to these fights, and some arrows and a decent bow certainly can't hurt either. | | 25 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
An Honorable Mention to Titanite Demons:
Titanite Demons continually strengthen each time you successfully defeat one, so if you manage to kill all of them leading up to the one that respawns in Lost Izalith, they can be stronger than many of the game's proper boss battles, and especially if you grind them to upgrade boss weapons. | | 24 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Bed of Chaos (2.5/5)
I give the Bed of Chaos minimal credit for attempting to shake things up, but it was poorly executed in respect to gameplay. The boss wouldn't be as annoying if there were a closer bonfire but given the sheer amount of time that it takes to return to the arena, it makes the fight a total slog. The only things keeping the Bed of Chaos from being in last place in the ranking, is the fact that it does have lore on its side, and in spite of a poor execution, it does stand out among the game's roster of bosses. I would love to see a re-imagining of this boss in the future, with better mechanics on its side. | | 23 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Taurus Demon (2.5/5)
The Taurus Demon isn't a bad boss, but it's bland in relation to the rest of the roster, and offers little to make it stand out among its peers. It has never stood out in any meaningful manner, and it's not particularly challenging or engaging, given that it can be killed with a few plunge attacks (especially with Gold Pine Resin). The trek back to the bridge upon dying for new players is probably the hardest and most notable aspect of the encounter. It's nonetheless worth mentioning that Taurus Demons are fantastic normal enemies in the Demon Ruins later on and being able to beat them in a couple of hits, is a phenomenal means of exemplifying character progression (similar to how bosses return as enemies in many Metroidvania late-games). | | 22 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Moonlight Butterfly (2.5/5)
The Moonlight Butterfly is the first of the optional bosses. This fight is more fun if you face it with an intelligence build. Otherwise, it's reduced to being a waiting game until it comes in to rest along the ledge of the fortress, allowing you to mercilessly beat it to a pulp. The Moonlight Butterfly has a great design aesthetically speaking, but it's doubtlessly one of the weakest bosses in the game. | | 21 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Ceaseless Discharge (3/5)
The Ceaseless Discharge is usually cheesed, but if you legitimately fight it, it can make for an immense challenge, especially if you choose the Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith as your initial Lord Souls boss run. It's one of the weaker bosses in the game though, which is why most players tend to take the easy way out. | | 20 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Iron Golem (3/5)
The Iron Golem isn't necessarily a bad boss, but it has always felt anti-climactic, given how difficult Sen's Fortress is as an area. The Iron Golem is easily brought into a ten second stun lock with strength weapons like the the Zweihander, where you can deal a laughable amount of damage quickly, assuming that it doesn't fall off of the platform first. The fight can be made more difficult if you choose to not eliminate the Firebomb Giant before going in and opt out of summoning Iron Tarkus. | | 19 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Pinwheel (3/5)
Pinwheel is the only boss in the game that I would consider to be easy and straightforward, independent of the time that you decide to brave the Catacombs. The Bonewheel Skeletons, regenerating Skeletons, and the area more generally are significantly greater threats than Pinwheel itself, but I still love the design of the boss and its theme music, which are both nice odes to the Zelda series. | | 18 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Bell Gargoyles (3.5/5)
The Bell Gargoyles have been a definitive wall for new players for nearly a decade, but they make for great preparation in relation to the threats that you encounter after ringing the Bell of Awakening. I love the boss arena, and I must admit that I died an embarrassing number of times during my first encounter with them via falling off of the roof of the church. | | 17 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Dark Sun Gwyndolin (3.5/5)
Gwyndolin is an optional boss, and a boss that doesn't offer too great of a challenge if you can dodge his magic. He has an intriguing story from the standpoint of lore though, which places him above the preceding bosses. Additionally, his boss weapon is one of the weakest in the game. I'll admit that I've developed the tendency of skipping this fight in order to save time on subsequent runs, but it's still recommended for first-time players, for the sake of experiencing everything that the game has on offer in respect to its narrative. | | 16 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Asylum/Stray Demon/Demon Firesage (3.5/5 overall, but the Stray Demon would be a personal 4.5/5)
The Asylum Demon is a solid first boss (similar to Vanguard in DeS), perfectly illustrating how to fight some of the bulkier enemies in the game, and it was extremely intimidating during my first playthrough. The Stray Demon and the Demon Firesage are indeed reskins of the Asylum Demon with additional attacks, but they have potential to be shockingly difficult depending on when/if you choose to fight them. If you want a proper challenge, head back to the Undead Asylum early on in your run: you are assured to be absolutely ravaged at least once or twice. | | 15 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Capra Demon (3.5/5)
Everyone knows how bullshit this boss is, so I will spare every one of ranting. I've skipped past the Depths at the start of playthroughs more than once because of this boss, and it's because of the arena and the dogs; not the boss itself. The Capra Demon isn't that tough on its own, and I love fighting them as normal enemies later on, but the dogs coupled with the fact that you're attacked as soon as you enter the arena with minimal space to work with, make the encounter hellish regardless of your build. The Capra Demon boss battle is a perfect example of artificially inflating difficulty for difficulty's sake, and I always dread it as a result. | | 14 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Centipede Demon (4/5)
Truthfully, I can never beat the Centipede Demon without summoning Solaire. Between its aggressive moveset and all of the lava in the boss arena, it has always given me tremendous trouble, regardless of what kind of build I have (it's especially tough with a pyromancy build for obvious reasons). The Demon Ruins is one of the weaker areas in the game, but I still thoroughly enjoy this boss, in spite of how brutal it can be. | | 13 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Gaping Dragon (4/5)
The Gaping Dragon is technically an optional boss, given that you can choose to skip or postpone the Depths if you have the Master Key. It's worth fighting for the large soul count though, which is advantageous for what comes ahead in Blighttown. Although the Gaping Dragon isn't known as being one of the more challenging fights in the game, it has a brutal walking attack that can easily result in instadeaths if you've neglected your vitality leveling. Be sure to take out the Channelers before going through the fog gate, because they can make this battle a total pain in the ass. | | 12 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Crossbreed Priscilla (4.5/5)
Priscilla is superb optional boss with unique mechanics, in one of the most beautiful areas of the game. It's unique how you are given the option to choose whether or not you actually want to fight her, and her boss weapons are some of the better options for dexterity builds in the game. It can be quite challenging to obtain her dagger, depending on your damage output and patience. | | 11 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Gwyn Lord of Cinder (4.5/5)
Gywn is honestly my least favorite final boss in the Souls series, because of how easy he tends to be if you're able to successfully parry his attacks. Nonetheless, he's still a stellar conclusion to a classic game, and I always enjoy traversing the Kiln of the First Flame. Summoning Solaire can make this a relatively easy fight if you've done what's required to access him, so it's much more rewarding to face him alone, unless you're legitimately struggling to beat the game. | | 10 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Seath the Scaleless (4.5/5)
The Crystal Cave is probably my least favorite area in the game, but Seath's fight is undoubtedly brilliant, and has the most cinematic set of encounters between its initial appearance in the Duke's Archives, building up to the inevitable face-off once you get through the prisonbreak sequence and the maze of twisting stairs. I've personally never had trouble with Seath however, because out of all of the Lord Souls bosses, his attacks are the easiest to avoid, with the biggest threat of the fight coming from the curse buildup if you can't avoid his crystal breath attack (stick to the tail, and you're good). He has an incredible boss weapon for intelligence builds, though it's a complete pain to obtain, given how quickly you can usually kill him. | | 9 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Four Kings (4.5/5)
The Four Kings are a DPS test, which can make them one of the easier bosses in the game, depending on your damage output. It's absurdly difficult however, if several of the kings are able to spawn at the same time. As long as you can prevent that from happening, it's a fun and relatively straightfoward encounter, and it grants you access to Kaathe, assuming that you ignore Frampt beforehand. New Londo Ruins is one of the best and most intimidating areas in the game, that always provides an immense challenge, regardless of when you choose to start it. | | 8 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Gravelord Nito (4.55/5)
The Tomb of the Giants and those damned skeleton dogs are harrowing enough, so being dropped down into a pit to be greeted by Nito and his legion of regenerating skeletons never fails to make for a stressful experience. Nito has such a great design, and though the difficulty is largely dependent on when you choose to fight him (as with the other Lord Souls bosses), he's not nearly as difficult as the Four Kings as long as you fight him near the position of the area's entry-point. The fact that Nito's AoE attack kills the skeletons also provides you with some valuable space to get in damage and healing. This is handedly my favorite of the later bosses in the base-game, with the Tomb of the Giants being my favorite of the late-game areas. | | 7 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Chaos Witch Quelaag (4.5/5)
I adore this boss. Quelaag was nearly terminated my first playthrough, especially after dealing with the chaos of PS3 Blighttown back in the day. I'll never forget homeward boning before ringing the Bell of Awakening and feeling bewildered by the prospect of having to endure even more Blighttown before I could progress. I love her design, the boss weapons are some of the best avaliable in DS1, her attacks are well telegraphed, and playing Blighttown on the remastered editions of DS1 with a stable 30/60 fps makes it my favorite area of the game, comfortably placing this boss in the top 10. I have always found Maneater Mildred to be one of the less effective and reliable boss summons though, given how easily she gets trapped in Quelaag's lava attacks. It's definitely a more rewarding experience trying to beat her alone. | | 6 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Great Grey Wolf Sif (4.5/5)
I have never found Sif to be particularly difficult as long as you can stay underneath him when you attack, but if you fight him earlier on before Anor Londo, it can make for one of the better and more grueling fights in the game. Sif is one of the most brilliant bosses from the perspective of lore as well. I'll never not feel like a complete dick for killing him, and especially after seeing him limping towards the end of the battle. Sif's soul also grants the most flexible set of possibilities for boss weapons. Both of the swords are fantastic, but the Greatshield of Artorias is arguably the best shield in the game, potentially breaking it in respect to some of the later, more intimidating boss fights with higher physical damage outputs. | | 5 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Sanctuary Guardian (5/5)
I love how you are instantly thrust into one of the most intense boss fights in the game upon initiating the DLC content. The Sanctuary Guardian is a relentless initiation into the breadth of content that Oolacile has to offer. The Sanctuary Guardian unfortunately doesn't scale nearly as well as the other DLC bosses in NG+ runs however, so it has the potential of being a relatively underwhelming experience if you wait until after you've beaten all of the Lord Soul bosses to fight it. Nonetheless, it's still one of my favorite bosses in the game, and I still struggle with it on new playthroughs. | | 4 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Kalameet (5/5)
Kalameet is the best dragon fight that I've ever experienced and given that all of the DLC bosses are in the top 5 of this ranking, it's perfect evidence to support how incredible the Artorias of the Abyss DLC is. Kalameet maintains such a punishing (albeit fair) moveset, and the progression to fighting him via accessing the cutscene with Hawkeye Gough shooting down from the sky, results in one of the most epic moments in the game. I will add that severing its tail to gain access to the boss weapon is next to impossible fighting him alone, which makes co-op preferable and borderline essential, if you're aiming to get the Obsidian Greatsword (the best dragon weapon in the game). | | 3 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Artorias (5/5)
Artorias is the boss that I struggled with the most during my first playthrough, but upon repeated runs, it became one of the easier fights, after realizing that you can tank the entirety of his moveset with most upgraded greatshields (or effective pinpoint dodging of course). Artorias and Sif are arguably the strongest bosses from the context of the game's lore, he has one of the best designs and boss souls in the game, and you obtain access to the best PvP in the game after beating him, which is a massive advantage in his favor. Don't underestimate that abyss buildup, because nothing is more frustrating than dwindling his health down to 25% or less, and being killed by a single hit. | | 2 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Manus (5/5)
Any of the DLC bosses could have taken the top spot, because they are all perfectly balanced, and they assure a proper challenge for every build, posing a serious threat regardless of whether you face them alone or with a buddy. Manus is a thrill. He's aggressive, he's one of the fastest and most unpredictable bosses, and it always makes for a delicate balance between deciding when to attack, heal, and swapping to the Silver Pendant if you choose that tactic, in order to deflect dark magic. As a bonus, the fact that puppy Sif can be of aide via tanking and dealing modest damage is only icing on the cake of what makes for an unforgiving and legendary adrenaline rush of an encounter. | | 1 | | Motoi Sakuraba
Dark Souls Soundtrack
Ornstein and Smough (5/5)
This fight makes for one of the most iconic duos in gaming, and for good reason. There's always a great deal of strategy involved in preparing for this fight, and especially in respect to choosing which of the two to defeat first, given that it has a substantial impact on the rest of the fight's difficulty, and in determining which of the boss souls and items you receive. Fighting them alone on a NG playthrough is one of the most challenging points of the game and series, and greediness is guaranteed to result in failure, unless you take the time to study their tells, pace yourself, and use the arena's pillars to your advantage. The runs between bonfires and the boss arenas are always training grounds to some extent, but that's especially true in this case, given how the Silver Knights and Royal Sentinels share similar movesets to O&S. What a legendary fight, and it immediately comes to mind whenever I think of DS1, being the quintessential boss of the game. | |
auberginedreams
08.16.21 | My first playthrough O&S were very hard. Somehow the other two times I’ve played they didn’t seem as bad. Bed of Chaos is an affront to God. So much time wasted running back after being swatted into a pit. Just awful. I think Manus is the hardest boss as a mage, he wasn’t hard at all with Zweihander though. I think Artorius is the coolest boss and seemed to influence BB and DS3 art direction. | beefshoes
08.16.21 | This list was surprisingly difficult to make. The top 5 are largely interchangeable in order, but Ornstein and Smough get a slight advantage in placement due to the fact that they were in the base game, and are so crucial to the experience overall. The only bosses that I would consider to be outright weak are the Bed of Chaos and the Moonlight Butterfly, but they're still not horrible. What a legendary game, and it's difficult to imagine what the last decade would have ended up looking like without its impact and influence. There probably wouldn't have been a Hollow Knight without it, and I feel that Kalameet was a clear response to Skyrim, and how disappointing the vanilla dragon encounters were throughout the game.
I'd love to see some responses and alternative rankings, and for the love of god, play this game if you haven't already done so.
@auberginedreams Yeah, the Zweihander can make short work out of a lot of the late game bosses. And most of the DLC content definitely feels like a transition from a design perspective, to the faster, more dodge orientated gameplay in Bloodborne. Agreed 100% on Artorias being the coolest boss. | auberginedreams
08.16.21 | I named a song on my latest EP after a line in Bloodborne. I personally prefer BB and DS3 over 1 and 2 just because there is less jank and annoying gravity deaths but I like them all. I think it’s funny that the Hollow Knight devs won’t admit they were influenced by Dark Souls. I love HK too but let’s be real it was heavily inspired by Dark Souls. | beefshoes
08.16.21 | There's no question that the gameplay in the sequels and spinoffs is more refined, and like much of this boss ranking, I empathize with someone preferring one of the games over the others. I've yet to play Sekiro and the DeS remake, so there's still plenty of Souls that I need to experience. What makes HK as incredible as it is, is how it blends Soulsborne so perfectly with Metroidvanias. That influence is obvious in all of its central mechanics, though it advances them in brilliant ways appropriate to its own design and character. | TheSupernatural
08.18.21 | Still waiting on a PC port for Bloodbourne
It's been a few years since I've played and a lot of these guys pissed me off at one point or another. Bell Gargoyles and O&S are always the bosses that stick in my mind when I think back on it. Probably took the most tries against those. Gwyn took me plenty too until I got the parry timing down right. I never ended up killing Manus, I got to that point in the game and gave up after a couple tries. Too many moves, too quick, too much jank, didn't feel fun to me anymore.
I distinctly remember Bed of Chaos too but for all the wrong reasons. | Djang0
08.18.21 | Taurus Demon is one of the best designed early game bosses in any RPG. Seeing it last (let alone below Bed of Chaos) is a crime. Otherwise love the list | Pon
08.18.21 | Bed of Chaos is a 0/5 but other than that \o/ | JohnnyoftheWell
08.18.21 | more Capra love plz
and yeah agreed, Taurus is a bit simplistic but it's a perfect early game challenge. wouldn't change a thing about it tbh | Dewinged
08.18.21 | Sweet list. Taurus is a great intro boss, the trek to him is a bit too punishing for new players though. Although my favorite part of seeing new players getting into the game is when they go down the cemetary instead of going up the stairs and into the Old Burgh and start killing skeletons all the way down the Catacombs (damn, this game is hard!) lol | Lord(e)Po)))ts
08.18.21 | No | Dewinged
08.18.21 | Care to elaborate, Potsy? | Colton
08.18.21 | a proper egg that man's head is | JohnnyoftheWell
08.18.21 | Pots is busy putting together his long, long awaited list of sput users as soulsborne NPCs | Colton
08.18.21 | pots' tattoos are the tattoo equivalent of oblivion npc dialogue | Drifter
08.18.21 | sanctuary guardian is the dumbest boss of all time | Gyromania
08.18.21 | Terrible list. Sanctuary guardian is so w.e, shouldn't be anywhere near the top, and taurus demon the worst boss in the game? Lower than bed of chaos? Lol okay. Bell gargoyles absolutely stomp the stray demon variants, such a staple fight. I get that O&S are a staple too but I just don't get the undying adoration for them. Seath is a nothing fight, same as priscilla. Neither of them pose any real danger and they're just a bore to fight. | CaliggyJack
08.18.21 | If Centipede Demon isn't in last place then this list is bad. | Trebor.
08.18.21 | bed of chaos is -5/5
I always skip centipede demon and all that bullshit | Gyromania
08.18.21 | Wait, what? You can skip centipede to get into lost izalith? | MyNameIsPencil
08.18.21 | I remember stumbling on the moonlight butterfly by accident and spamming it with firebombs like I was in the IRA | CaliggyJack
08.18.21 | "Wait, what? You can skip centipede to get into lost izalith?"
IDK about skipping him, but I modded my game and deleted Centipede Demon from the game, so I just enter the room, grab the lava ring and move on. I hate that boss and it never should've been made. | Gyromania
08.18.21 | Yeah centipede demon is just lame. I honestly don't think I've ever died to him outside of the very first time when I didn't know where to fight him, but it's just a rly dull and uninspired fight | CaliggyJack
08.18.21 | Lucky you.
I've died to him the most and all for bullshit reasons. From the absolutely unfair arena, to the glitchy movement and poorly defined hitboxes, to the dumb AI that makes it near impossible to ever attack him sometimes. | Trebor.
08.18.21 | "Wait, what? You can skip centipede to get into lost izalith?"
Gyro, you really don't know about this? If you give 30 humanity to chaos servent you can open a door that skips centipede demon and demon firesage
https://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Lost+Izalith+Chaos+Servant+Entrance | WatchItExplode
08.18.21 | My last playthrough I decided to solo every boss, including DLC. Manus was a highlight. Just a super fun fight. O & S are always a pain, and I kind of hate that fight honestly. Centipede isn't bad as long as you kite him around the corner where things open up.
Fave DS moments include the first encounter with Hellkite and discovering The Great Hollow and working my way down to Ash Lake. First trek through the Archives was miserable. | CaliggyJack
08.18.21 | "Gyro, you really don't know about this? If you give 30 humanity to chaos servent you can open a door that skips centipede demon and demon firesage"
Totally forgot about this lmao. I got annoyed farming humanity so I never used it. | Trebor.
08.18.21 | I usually end up with around that much spare humanity anyway. Also it takes like 30 minutes to farm the rats in the depths | Gyromania
08.18.21 | Treb: totally forgot about that bypass haha. It's been some time since I've played ds1, I tend to gravitate towards bloodborne nowadays | Trebor.
08.18.21 | You guys excited for that bloodborne ps1 demake? | CaliggyJack
08.18.21 | "I usually end up with around that much spare humanity anyway. Also it takes like 30 minutes to farm the rats in the depths"
I'm not the best at the OG Dark Souls, so I always end up losing Humanity because I summon NPC's to help me.
"You guys excited for that bloodborne ps1 demake?"
Fuck yeah, and the upcoming Bloodborne First Person mod. And the Fan-Sequel to Dark Souls. | MyNameIsPencil
08.18.21 | I've been stuck on Seath the Scaleless for a while because I was trying too hard for the moonlight sword without actually doing anything right | SteakByrnes
08.18.21 | Artorias will always be my favorite boss in the series, I'll never forget that adrenaline rush when I first fought him | CaliggyJack
08.18.21 | Seath is a dumb fight.
Honestly the game post-Ornstein and Smough really drops the ball boss wise. | JohnnyoftheWell
08.18.21 | Four Kings and Gwyn are aight but otherwise yes agreed hard | Gyromania
08.18.21 | also area-wise imo. everything after anor londo dips considerably in quality. the undead burg/parish, depths (yes, i actually like this area), blighttown, darkroot garden/basin, sen's fortress, and anor londo + painted world represents the pinnacle of fromsoft level design. new londo is kind of cool but annoying, duke's archives same thing, crystal cave, demon ruins, lost izalith, tomb of giants all completely blow ass | JohnnyoftheWell
08.18.21 | depths are forever underrated, some excellent design right there. tomb of the giants i feel is a pinch overhated and it feels like such a relief when you finally get to the city section of lost izalith that i can vibe that part nostalgically, but otherwise the late game is not the gr8 game alas | CaliggyJack
08.18.21 | Kinda honored that clicking on the Dark Souls album in this list leads right to my review | SteakByrnes
08.18.21 | Duke's Archives and Crystal Cave own but yea first half of the game's areas are better overall | Gyromania
08.18.21 | Glad I'm not the only one, Johnny. I never skip the depths. Great level design, with a cool boss to top it off | beefshoes
08.19.21 | The Depths is awesome indeed. Those basilisks honestly still give me a lot of anxiety, and even more so in the Great Hollow.
About the late-game, while I would agree that the earlier areas generally fit the interconnected structure of Lordran better, I still enjoy them all- even the Crystal Cave, in spite of it being my least favorite place. NLR is top notch though. Draining the lower half and opening up the access point to/from the Valley of the Drakes is one of the better moments of the game, mechanically speaking.
It also says a lot about the quality of the game, given that the Bed of Chaos is the only boss that I'd eliminate or considerably change.
Edit: upon reflection, I swapped 23 and 24. It didn't make sense to put a decent (albeit bland) boss ahead of the Bed of Chaos. I also added a couple of honorable mentions for fun. | CugnoBrasso
08.19.21 | I kind of stopped playing videogames in the last couple of years for some reason but I remember being very fond of Dark Souls (I enjoyed the interconnected world much better than I liked fighting the bosses).
I beated Quelaag on my first try. | Gyromania
08.19.21 | You make a solid case for NLR. I honestly think my main issue is the gank enemies. I know they're easy to deal with if you havr transient curs (or w.e that item is called), but I'd have probably liked the area more if it had more engaging enemy design and maybe just a bit more to explore. | protokute
08.20.21 | Boy, did Ornstein and Smough gave me a hard time, almost gave up on the game because of these dudes. | beefshoes
08.20.21 | Yeah, many of the late game areas could have benefited by having a more diverse enemy set. At least the bottom half of NLR has more going on though.
I prefer the Switch port to the other's honestly, in spite of the lower frame rate. I don't like the graphical changes in the PC, PS4, and Xbox One editions, ultimately preferring the original with a stable 30 FPS across the game. The Switch community is still quite active too. I never have trouble finding PvP or co-op, and get to enjoy it outside, which is a massive advantage. | beefshoes
08.20.21 | I've personally never encountered any frame drops, even in Blighttown, which is saying a lot. | beefshoes
08.20.21 | Who cares? As long as it plays well, that's all that matters. lmao | Flugmorph
08.20.21 | all easy | Flugmorph
08.20.21 | "Honestly the game post-Ornstein and Smough really drops the ball boss wise."
will this be the second time in history I'll agree with caliggianjones | beefshoes
08.21.21 | Aside from the Bed of Bullshit, how does that apply to Seath, Four Kings, and Nito? They're all classics. | Flugmorph
08.21.21 | na seath and nito are both boring af, four kings is only interesting because of new game+ | aydross121
08.24.21 | Capra Demon is a great fight though, it teaches you that if a boss cheeses you, then you can cheese him back by throwing literal shit at him from outside the arena | ghostalgeist
08.24.21 | all i needed was to see artorias in 5/5 to know this was a good list | Zig
10.06.21 | possibly my all time fav game. over 200 hours playing this masterpiece.
Artorias is the best boss fight, along with Ornstein & Smough.
The hardest for me is Kalameet. | beefshoes
10.06.21 | Artorias is probably the best and coolest boss overall, but I think that my nostalgia for Anor Londo is what pulled O&S to the top. Kalameet is fucking brutal, especially if you're going for the tail.
Have you played DS2 and DS3 Zig? I've got SotFS and the GotY version of 3, so I am planning on playing both of them in the near future. | BaselineOOO
10.06.21 | Good list. But. Trash game. Shit bosses compared to all other Souls games.
Demon's Souls 09 >
DS2 >
DS3 >>> | Zig
10.07.21 | @beefshoes
I did DS2 SotFS and found the game a bit bland and boring. However, I'm playing the original Demon's Souls and it's really fun. Never did DS3 because I don't own the console, but I tried Sekiro. | Pon
10.07.21 | DS3 has comfortably the best bosses in the Souls series. Gael was a perfect send off for the series and I'm very eager to see what Elden Ring brings. | zakalwe
10.07.21 | DS1 is still the greatest computer game of all time.
Most intimidating enemy is them bastard skeleton bonewheels | SteakByrnes
10.07.21 | Baseline with possibly the worst opinion on the franchise I've ever seen | BaselineOOO
10.07.21 | Huh? On Soulsborne dedicated forums about 80% of people there think DS3 and DS2 are better than DS1. Amongst common gamers from reddit, IGN, gamespot and music forums (RYM, sputnik), yeah, DS1 is seen as the greatest game ever, but really it's all nostalgia due to it being their first Souls game. DS1 is a mess with clunky controls, mediocre builds, awful upgrade system, crappy boring bosses (!!), mediocre lore, PvP is a joke, most areas after Anor Londo are unfinished and objectively look like Playstation1-era maps, its first half's interconnectivity is hugely overrated etc. DS2 and DS3 wipe the floor with the first game, and people's only reason for not admitting it is some perplexing bitch-ass argument "blahblah but the genius level design, blahblah but the atmosphere". Why do I even bother with other people's low standards? Cya, troll! | SteakByrnes
10.07.21 | "On Soulsborne dedicated forums about 80% of people there think DS3 and DS2 are better than DS1"
Yea I don't believe this one second lmao, I've seen people say DS3 is better but I've seen maybe a handful of people ever say DS2 is anywhere near as good as DS1. I don't get how you think the bosses are boring, but most of the shit you said is subjective anyway so whatever, cya troll! | beefshoes
10.07.21 | I started 3 last night, and the level design is indeed incredible. I don't know about you guys, but I am finding the combat to be the toughest in the series thus far (haven't played 2 or Sekiro yet). The enemies are much more aggressive, and where you start out with minimal estus, it makes for a hell of a challenge. | BaselineOOO
10.08.21 | Dark Souls 3 has the best level design in the series imo, compared to DS1 it feels more streamlined. I don't care that much about interconnectivity (elevator shortcuts in these games are a meme at this point) as long as the areas themselves are vast and sufficiently explorable. DS3 is a consistently great exercise in level-design, and only has one real weak area - the swamp. Don't forget to play the DLCs too! (they contain the best bosses in the series!!) The combat is indeed tough, even weak npcs have plenty of move sets and the bosses all feel larger than life and actually challenging, similarly to Bloodborn, it's a pure ACTION-rpg game. To keep things interesting for longer, I recommend learning to use weapon arts, it makes combat so much more complex and fair. Finally, the thing that makes DS3 so amazing in my opinion is the fact that presentation-wise and lore-wise it doesn't feel just like a dark medieval western game like DS1. Level and enemy design, game quirks, fast-paced but methodical combat, it's all distinctively Japanese, and it's glorious. | BaselineOOO
10.08.21 | I wholeheartedly recommend you to play DS2 as well. I HIGHLY recommend the original version + the DLC, not the Scholar of the First Sin edition, which is an uninspired mario maker remix of it (but any version is fine in the end). DS2 is the most inconsistent game in the franchise level-wise, about half of the areas are linear and boring with not much exploration to offer. However, it does excel in certain regards: 1) the good areas are GOOD, especially the DLCs; 2) build variety and pvp are the best in the series, with an extremely wide range of armors, weapons, magic abilities, it's sooo nerdy you'll love it! ; 3) it feels like a mythical journey, you start as this weak ass walking piece of meat only to end up killing legendary ancient dragons, and this evolution comes more natural than in any other Souls game; 4) lore is easily the best and most complex in the series, if you care about that stuff.
Sekiro is technically perfect btw, but it's vastly different to the Souls game or Bloodborne. I enjoyed it a lot but I don't care enough about it. | JohnnyoftheWell
10.08.21 | SotFS >> og DS2
mainly because it's harder and you have to be a masochist to love DS2 in the first place | BaselineOOO
10.08.21 | SotFS is merely artificially harder. It pretends to fix DS2's enemy placement (which is fine btw) by dropping a bunch of new enemies in the same place "there, fix'd, not buy the game again". Also what they did to the lighting in SotFS is a sin, looks like dogshit compared to vanilla's shadowy graphics. | Gyromania
10.08.21 | Ds2's enemy placement is truly atrocious. Sotfs doesn't fix this either (maybe in some spots but not overall. Also aldia is the most tedious boss fight in a game featuring ancient dragon as a boss | Pon
10.08.21 | The biggest Sin of Scholar was not replacing soul memory | Gyromania
10.08.21 | Idk how I feel about pvp being the best in 2... I trolled the ever living shit out of people on that bridge in the iron keep. Like it's actually insane how much hatemail I received. Pvp is kind of ass across all their games tho tbh. Latency is just too big of an issue and weapon scaling and lvl etc. | Gyromania
10.08.21 | "I started 3 last night, and the level design is indeed incredible. I don't know about you guys, but I am finding the combat to be the toughest in the series thus far"
3 is piss easy imo. The easiest souls game by far (a few bosses are admittedly bs tho). Sekiro is the hardest by far imo. Sword saint is probably their toughest boss to date | beefshoes
10.08.21 | I got to Anor Londo last night in DS3, and I'm extremely proud of the fact that I beat pontiff sulyvahn in just a few attempts. Turns out that parrying still comes in handy in this game after all.
I agree with everything that you said Baseline000, at least from the point that I've reached. Irithyll had a steep difficulty curve, but once I figured out where to go, the area has been incredible. I've heard that the dungeon can be annoying though.
I'll get around to SotfS (it's the only version that I could get) once I get through everything in DS3. | BaselineOOO
10.08.21 | I don't want to be divisive btw, I'm just vocal about my own opinions. I wish I enjoyed DS1 as much as the other games, God knows I've tried, but I couldn't! It feels "dated" to me, while Demon's Souls 2009 doesn't lol... yeah, it just doesn't click with me I guess. Difference in opinions aside, enjoy this series guys, it's probably the best modern gaming has to offer.
I disagree that Dark Souls III is easy. It's only easy if you played the other games before haha. For me it was by far the most difficult because it was my first. | Drifter
10.08.21 | “ IDK about skipping him, but I modded my game and deleted Centipede Demon from the game, so I just enter the room, grab the lava ring and move on. I hate that boss and it never should've been made.”
coward |
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