Highlights
- Some Dark Souls bosses, like the Bed of Chaos, have significant lore but lack challenging gameplay, needing improvement.
- Seath the Scaleless is a boss with deep lore but not an overly difficult fight, showing a focus on story over gameplay.
- Characters like Crossbreed Priscilla may have lore significance, but their boss fights are surprisingly easy and should be more challenging.
Dark Souls is a series renowned for its boss fights, focusing heavily on such encounters. Throughout the series, there are a variety of bosses, some being hard, some being frustrating, and some being, naturally, the best.
The Hardest Boss Fights In Dark Souls History, Ranked
The Dark Souls trilogy, developed by From Software, harbors some of the most dangerous and aggressive boss fights in history.
However, that isn't to say all boss fights are hard; some are quite easy. Not every encounter needs to be a battle that leaves players with a sliver of their health. On the other hand, some bosses should have more difficulty in their encounters. There are some bosses that are easy to vanquish that shouldn't be, whether that is because of an imposing design, an interesting character, or deep and influential lore. These bosses deserve to be harder instead of the relative ease with which players will tear through them.
12 Bed Of Chaos - Dark Souls
A Fight That Should Be Both Improved And More Difficult
- Boss fight in Lost Izalith
FromSoftware has graced players with some frustrating bosses over the years, but the Bed of Chaos is arguably the worst fight they've designed. It isn't a hard fight, but rather just annoying, as players can die instantly.
Regardless, the lore behind the Bed of Chaos is significant, as it was once the Witch of Izalith, in possession of one of the Lord Souls and the creator of the Flame of Chaos. The boss fight doesn't reflect the importance of the lore, being an easy fight, but one with glaring criticisms.
11 Seath The Scaleless - Dark Souls
With Deep Lore, But Not Too Challenging Of A Fight
- Boss fight inside the Crystal Cave
One of the things that first made Dark Souls stand out was the deep amount of lore present. Most bosses have lore relating to the world one way or another, and Seath the Scaleless had a large part in the backstory of Dark Souls.
Hardest Bosses In Dark Souls, Ranked
Dark Souls is known for its difficulty, and here are the most challenging bosses in FromSoftware's beloved action RPG.
Despite this, his fight isn't the most challenging. He is able to kill players if they underestimate him, but it is nowhere near the hardest fight in the series or even the first Dark Souls. Seath shows how focusing on lore instead of gameplay can reduce a boss fight, as he should be vastly more difficult for a character of his importance.
10 Crossbreed Priscilla - Dark Souls
Feared By The Gods, Yet Easy To Defeat
- Boss fight inside the Painted World of Ariamis
As with any story, certain characters have become fan favorites from Dark Souls, with Priscilla being a notable example. Found trapped within the Painted World of Ariamis, she isn't exactly a difficult fight, with her limited moveset making for an easy battle.
However, her role in the lore is surprising. Priscilla was feared by the Anor Londo gods, due to her ability to kill them, and as such, was brought into the Painted World of Ariamis to keep her out of the real world. Despite this, her boss fight doesn't reflect her lore significance and should be harder.
9 Giant Lord - Dark Souls 2
A Fight Not Representative Of A Character Of His Status
- Boss fight in the Memory of Jeigh
A core part of Dark Souls 2 was the story involving Vendrick's war against the giants. Players are able to fight the Giant Lord in a memory, facing up against the once regal ruler of the giants, towering over even his own kin.
However, for all the bravado, the Giant Lord is a simple fight, possessing a limited moveset that is easy to dodge. He is capable of dealing noteworthy damage, but nothing that would make him a roadblock in a playthrough. His fight doesn't match his story, being a victim of the war Vendrick and, ultimately, Nashandra waged against him. He should be more of a challenge, which would especially make the Last Giant boss fight more meaningful to show how much he's fallen from grace.
8 Ceaseless Discharge - Dark Souls
A Tragic Boss That Deserves A Challenging Fight
- Boss fight in the Demon Ruins
A large theme in Dark Souls, and FromSoft's worlds in general, are characters who were dealt a tragic hand in life that makes players feel bad for killing. Ceaseless Discharge is one of the best examples in Dark Souls; a character who was transformed into a giant hideous demon, living in self-perceived comfort that his sisters look after him.
There is an argument that such a distraught and pained character would naturally have an easier boss fight, but players are able to kill him instantly by running back to the fog-gate entrance. Fighting him normally has players dodging and attacking his tentacles until he's dead, not making it a difficult fight, despite his lore providing a reason for the contrary.
7 Pinwheel - Dark Souls
A Well-Known Easy Fight
- Boss fight in The Catacombs
Naturally, there are going to be some bosses that are easier than others. Pinwheel is notorious for being the easiest boss in the first Dark Souls and one of the easiest in the entire series.
While it is nice to fight a forgiving boss occasionally, some challenge would be welcome for Pinwheel, due to the sheer ease of defeating it. If there wasn't a health bar, players might not even realize they had killed a boss. Pinwheel essentially serves as the opposite of Midir - a boss who is so easy and quick to defeat that there is no challenge involved.
6 Old Iron King - Dark Souls 2
An Imposing Design With Great Lore Significance, Yet An Easy Boss Fight
- Boss fight in the Iron Keep
Dark Souls 2's bosses aren't as consistently challenging compared to the first or third game, but some definitely deserve to be more difficult. The Old Iron King has a huge presence in the lore of the game and has an imposing and threatening design that makes him seem like a tough boss.
Despite looking like one, the Old Iron King is not a demon, but rather the monstrously transformed form of the king of the Iron Keep, where his boss battle is found. The fight is rather simple, with just a couple of attacks that leave the Old Iron King open for the player to attack heavily. If following normal progression, then he is also quite squishy, with players easily chopping up his health. His lore importance as one of the four kings of Dark Souls 2, as well as his impact on the various lands, are not reflected in his gameplay.
5 Demon of Song - Dark Souls 2
An Unsettling Design For A Demon That Deserves A Harder Fight
- Boss fight in the Shrine of Amana
FromSoft has a history with fantastic designs, not just for their bosses. The Demon of Song represents a demon boss design perfectly, with a deeply disturbing and unsettling appearance. Its appearance also matches the environment it's found in.
However, the fight isn't anything too special. Its moveset isn't all that involved, and it is quite easy to defeat. It has an interesting mechanic where it pulls its skin over its face to become impervious to damage, but it only does this for a limited time. Players are likely to defeat this boss on one of their first times facing it, despite its creepy design leaving a desire for a harder battle.
4 Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder - Dark Souls
A Purposely Easy Fight
- Boss fight in the Kiln of the First Flame.
Final bosses in video games are usually or are expected to be, the hardest battle a player will experience in the game. Gwyn inverts this, being a fight made easy to represent how far he has fallen.
However, his fight can be a little too easy. His battle, being easy to show how weak he is, is a great subversion that makes for a deeply memorable moment, but players can very quickly defeat him, even on their first try.
Some difficulty might have worked to show that while Gwyn is not as strong as he once was, he is still a god and the one that set the Age of Fire and, as a result, the Dark Souls games into motion.
3 Yhorm the Giant - Dark Souls 3
A Simple Gimmick Fight
- Boss fight in the Profaned Capital.
Dark Souls is a world full of tragedy and pain, with numerous characters and bosses having such themes in their stories. Yhorm is a character who was doubted by his people, despite doing much in attempts to protect his realm.
Dark Souls 3: Hardest Bosses, Ranked
The Dark Souls series is notorious for its difficulty, and these Dark Souls 3 bosses are prime examples of why that is.
His boss fight is an odd one, as fighting him without the Storm Ruler shows how tough he truly is, but with the weapon, the battle becomes incredibly easy. It makes sense, as the Storm Ruler is designed to kill a giant, but it also trivializes Yhorm's fight. The battle would benefit if it was harder, especially with the inclusion of Siegward's questline and his friendship with Yhorm being an emotional high of the game.
2 Aldia, Scholar Of The First Sin - Dark Souls 2: Scholar Of The First Sin
A Deeply Interesting Character, But One With An Easy Boss fight
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin has a long gauntlet of final bosses. Players will face three boss encounters back-to-back, with Aldia rounding off the gauntlet.
Aldia shows up throughout the game and has become a hugely appreciated character. Despite this, his boss fight isn't the most challenging and could do with being harder, both as a result of his fascinating character as well as his status as the final boss. Despite having faced two other bosses prior, players can still defeat Aldia on their first try, as he doesn't test their limits all too much.
1 Nashandra - Dark Souls 2
An Easy Fight Despite Her Hugely Important Place In The Lore
- Boss fight in the Throne of Want.
While the original Dark Souls' ending boss fight made sense as to why he was easy, Nashandra doesn't. Despite being the final boss of base Dark Souls 2, she is not a hard fight at all, even though she has multiple reasons otherwise.
Naturally, being the final boss, she should be harder than most. However, more importantly, she is the instigator behind so many of the events of Dark Souls 2. Notably, she manipulated Vendrick, and started the war with the giants as a result. Her true nature is even more deserving of a difficult fight, as she is a daughter of Manus, Father of the Abyss. She is a manifestation of the part of Manus desiring power, the motivator behind her actions, and, as a result, events behind Dark Souls 2. All of this, yet her fight is very easy, and she deserves a harder battle.
The Hardest Boss Fights In Soulslikes, Ranked
FromSoftware's Demon's Souls & Dark Souls spawned a subgenre known for grueling encounters. Which are the most difficult bosses in Souls-likes?
