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[Azriell]

Still playing through, but Pontiff Sulyvahn is the worst right now. He's so hard to read when he goes into endless combo mode, I think I actually prefer the second phase just because he slows down since. I threw myself against that wall ~10 times so far, came close twice, and got crushed the rest. Stacking magic and fire resistance gear helps, and I just picked up Flash Sweat and threw on some rings for buff duration, casting speed, and pyromancy+ (not sure if this one actually helps or not). I usually use a small 1h axe or the butcher knife, but I've decided to try to find a weapon with longer reach for this fight. I might run through the snow city place for awhile and gain some health levels too.

Abyss Watchers was also pretty hard in the second phase.

Bosses are my least favorite thing about Dark Souls. I don't hate them, but I prefer exploring and facing lesser enemies in pursuit of treasure, bonfires, and shortcuts.

 

[joesmokey]

It's interesting the difference in difficulty between melee and caster for some of these bosses. I'm struggling to see how people can find Soul of Cinder difficult, but I am a Pyromancer so all I have to do is a few timely dodge moves.

My ranking:
1) Nameless King
2) Pontiff
3) Abyss Watchers

Abyss Watchers was the point in the game where I realized you couldn't do full casting only and had to rely on melee as well.

 

[d00d3n]

Nameless King is Bloodborne DLC-tier.

Basically, but nothing in DSIII is Bloodborne DLC-optional boss-tier

Spoiler

Laurence

. I guess that level of frustration will be reserved for the DSIII DLC in six months.

 

[d00d3n]

Pontiff is difficult, but not so bad if you have a greatshield imo. He can't really break through your defenses if you are careful about your stamina use, unlike the nameless king.

 

[Neoweee]

I don't think that listing # of deaths is particularly useful, because it becomes very easy to come to wrong conclusions based on factors like "Did not find until second playthrough" or "knew it would be hard so brought my A-game" or "did thing before/after other boss.

(Easiest)
Yhorm the Giant - 3 (hilarious playing blind in Japanese. Realized it was a gimmick fight, so my second time tried to cause a roof collapse by destroying the pillars. On my third run I found the sword, and realized quickly it was a gimmick weapon due to the stat requirements).
Ancient Wyvern - 0
High Lord Wolnir - 3 (death by curse gas)
Vordt of the Boreal Valley - 0
Deacons of the Deep - 0
Crystal Sage - 1
Iudex Gundyr - 0
Curse-Rotted Greatwood - 3

(Medium)
Old Demon King - 1
Abyss Watchers - 0
Oceiros, the Consumed King - 0
Champion Gundyr - 0
Aldrich, Devourer of Gods - 5
Dancer of the Boreal Valley - 2

(no order, really)
Lothric, Younger Prince - 7
Soul of Cinder - 2
Pontiff Sulyvahn - 3
Nameless King - 0
Dragonslayer Armour - 10

I'd say my rankings for the fights are pretty close. Nameless King isn't ridiculous by any means, but he does hit hard and it is a long fight. But if you're playing him at endgame, and you have enough HP and damage output, he is completely reasonable.

Aldrich and Wolnir are both BS with their insta-kill moves.

ODK, Champion, Wood, etc. can really depend on when you fight. Wait a bit and they're easy, fighting them early they will be much more difficult.

A lot of the rankings flip for casters, because the developers forgot to program range AI for like half of the bosses.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Basically, but nothing in DSIII is Bloodborne DLC-optional boss-tier

Spoiler

Laurence

. I guess that level of frustration will be reserved for the DSIII DLC in six months.

The only BB DLC boss easier than Laurence were the failures tho...I didn't find him very difficult at all

 

[Aurongel]

Nameless King, Pontiff Sulyvahn and Soul of Cinder are the only 3 that gave me huge trouble.

 

[Imperfected]

Pontiff is difficult, but not so bad if you have a greatshield imo. He can't really break through your defenses if you are careful about your stamina use, unlike the nameless king.

Oh, well... I don't use a shield, so...

(Actually, hes manageable with a parrying weapon like a katana, because his Stand seems to telegraph his next attack and let you know when he's going to open himself up to a parry.)

 

[viHuGi]

Nameless king is hard!

 

[Panda Rin]

Nameless King was the only one I had significant trouble with. Could not read his second phase at all.

Pontiff Sulyvahn and Abyss Watchers were challenging.

Don't know why, but it took me a while to kill Curse-Rotted Greatwood as well.

Everyone else was cake.

Favorite thematic fights were Prince Lothric and Aldritch. Interested to hear more of their backgrounds.

 

[Jawbreaker]

Number of deaths followed by boss name.

0 - Iudex Gundyr
0 - Vordt of the Boreal Valley
0 - Crystal Sage
0 - Deacons of the Deep
0 - Aldritch
0 - Oceiros, the Consumed King
1 - Pontiff Sullyvahn
1 - Yhorm the Giant
1 - Ancient Wyvern
2 - Curse-rotted Greatwood
2 - High Lord Wolnir
3 - Old Demon King
3 - Dragonslayer Armor
4 - Soul of Cinder
5 - Abyss Watchers
5 - Lothric/Lorian
6 - Champion Gundyr
7 - Dancer of the Boreal Valley
10+ - Nameless King

 

[Jude]

Still playing through, but Pontiff Sulyvahn is the worst right now. He's so hard to read when he goes into endless combo mode, I think I actually prefer the second phase just because he slows down since. I threw myself against that wall ~10 times so far, came close twice, and got crushed the rest. Stacking magic and fire resistance gear helps, and I just picked up Flash Sweat and threw on some rings for buff duration, casting speed, and pyromancy+ (not sure if this one actually helps or not). I usually use a small 1h axe or the butcher knife, but I've decided to try to find a weapon with longer reach for this fight. I might run through the snow city place for awhile and gain some health levels too.

Abyss Watchers was also pretty hard in the second phase.

Bosses are my least favorite thing about Dark Souls. I don't hate them, but I prefer exploring and facing lesser enemies in pursuit of treasure, bonfires, and shortcuts.

For the first phase i use a bow, he just walk so slowy to you so fire some arrows on him and move to the other part of the room when he try to attack you, rinse an repeat, second phase is easy in mele mode with GS you can kill the clone at the same time that hit the boss.

So far Pontiff is the only boss i had to think a strategy to kill it, all others were very easy ( killed at first or second try ), playing without guide and not summoning, Yhorm cost me a little, but thats tricky by their part.

I just reached Prince yesterday, only one try and second phase reached, so far seems easy too.

 

[MegaSackman]

Didn't finish the game yet, stuck on Nameless King (close to 15 tries) but here we go:

Hardest to hard:

1- Nameless King: Not so sure how hard it is yet but his second phase surely likes to attack a lot with little window to heal. First phase is extremely easy.
2- Abyss Watchers: Same as NK, first phase is easier but second phase just spams attacks like a maniac. Reminds me of Shadow of Yharnam but better.
3- Dragonslayer: Not sure why but it took me like 15 tries, sometimes when I was close to kill him he throwed me away the bridge. -_-
4- Pontiff: At first it looks like the most difficult of all but once you see that staying behind him is safe since he misses most of his attacks you know is just a matter of time. Reminds me of Mergot's Wet Nurse (same level)
5- Champion Gundyr: Similar to Dragonslayer but quicker althought in a safer enviroment.
6- Dancer: Is not super difficult, but his insta kill grab got me 4 times which was no fun at all.


Medium to easy:

7- Aldritch: You only have to really worry about his arrow rain attack, other than that is a walk in the park.
8- Demon King: Camera killer, at least if you fight under him, he has one or two insta kill hits but they only kill you when you can't see what's happening.
9- Oceiros: Beat him in my first try but took all my estus, doesn't seem hard tho, just avoid his charge attack and you'll be fine. Poor mans Blood-Starving Beast Boss.
10- King Wolnir: Another fight when you can't understand what the hell is happening (until you do), the fog killed me the first couple of tries but other than that is quite easy.
11- Yhorm: Took the long way to kill him, awesome battle in that regard, didn't know about the Stormsword. Sad that that thing exsist.
12- Wyvern: Same as Yhorm but I did find the gimmick this time after a few tries. Fun battle but not really a boss fight.

Joke tier:

13- Tree: Visually good but super easy battle, reminds me to Amygdala but worst.
14- Crystal Sage: Horrible, lame, uninteresting. Reminds me of Witcher of Hemwick (same level)
15: Vordt: Kinda cool but extremely weak boss.
16: Deacons: It's Rom The Vacuos Spider but super lame, aweome music tho.
17: Ludex Gundyr: This is a tutorial. Black Mass is the worst design I've seen in this games, horrible bad taste.

 

[d00d3n]

The only BB DLC boss easier than Laurence were the failures tho...I didn't find him very difficult at all

Well, I disagree completely with this. Do you really think he is easier than Maria? I suck at soulsborne games, but I still killed her on my first attempt. As a person who played through Dark souls I/II with cheesy high stability shields in front of my precious face, it was difficult to learn the dodging playstyle that Bloodborne requires. Laurence requires mastery of dodging imo. It is possible that he is easier for people who are naturals at dodging, I guess.

 

[Gunslinger]

Old demon king really? I took him out on the first try....

Not done with the game yet though. So far i died the most to abyss watchers because i was using heavy armor and my movement was strict. But once i switched to medium armor got him down on 3rd try.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Well, I disagree completely with this. Do you really think he is easier than Maria? I suck at soulsborne games, but I still killed her on my first attempt. As a person who played through Dark souls I/II with cheesy high stability shields in front of my precious face, it was difficult to learn the dodging playstyle that Bloodborne requires. Laurence requires mastery of dodging imo. It is possible that he is easier for people who are naturals at dodging, I guess.

I'm not particularly good at these games either, even easy bosses sometimes take me multiple attempts. Maria was a lot harder for me, and I think a lot more reliant on dodging skills since she's super quick, agressive, and has a wide range of moves for both close range and longer attacks too.

Laurence's first half was just the Cleric beast where you hug his feet and destroy him, and then the second half you just keep your distance and then run in for a few hits after he's stopped thrashing about.

 

[SargerusBR]

NK is easier if you are using a bow. Can't tell about sorceries yet.

 

[Eumi]

I'd be more pissed at nameless King camera if it didn't happen only when you're so close that it'll trigger the 'fuck you play properly' fire breath attack. Honestly, once you learn it, it's really not too difficult a boss. Very little bullshit at least.

Pontiff on the other hand is a bitch when you meet him and a bitch when he goes down. I swear 90% of the difficulty would be gone if his stand stood in front of him instead of behind, as usually Pontif blocks the startup animations so you can't dodge his stands attacks properly.

 

[MegaSackman]

I'm not particularly good at these games either, even easy bosses sometimes take me multiple attempts. Maria was a lot harder for me, and I think a lot more reliant on dodging skills since she's super quick, agressive, and has a wide range of moves for both close range and longer attacks too.

Laurence's first half was just the Cleric beast where you hug his feet and destroy him, and then the second half you just keep your distance and then run in for a few hits after he's stopped thrashing about.

The Cleric Beast + the delayed fire (it was a big deal for me, you couldn't just stay at his feet). It wasn't that easy to get used to that. Second phase looked porn but if you stay close and circle around you are fairly safe.

The thing with Maria is that she can be parried a lot, therefore killed easier.

 

[d00d3n]

I'm not particularly good at these games either, even easy bosses sometimes take me multiple attempts. Maria was a lot harder for me, and I think a lot more reliant on dodging skills since she's super quick, agressive, and has a wide range of moves for both close range and longer attacks too.

Laurence's first half was just the Cleric beast where you hug his feet and destroy him, and then the second half you just keep your distance and then run in for a few hits after he's stopped thrashing about.

I don't remember dodging much for that battle. I remember staggering her a lot with my dear blunderbuss and healing down to the last blood vial, though.

For Laurence, I guess where you saw structure and opportunities, I was scared shitless by a raging beast. He attacks are relentless during that second phase.

 

[ApharmdX]

Hmm. Most frustrating for me would be the Dragonslayer Armor. I hate that fight, and the run back through the damn red-eye knight with the greatsword, even more so. He doesn't take a lot of damage and the fight is a bit more drawn-out.

I had some trouble with Old Demon King on my first playthrough. I'd get pinned, with the damn camera, and end up getting washed with enough waves of fire to kill me.

The most difficult for me? Aldrich. No question. It's just a drawn-out fight. He doesn't take a lot of damage from anything, from what I've seen, and his second half moveset is cheap.

 

[d00d3n]

Hmm. Most frustrating for me would be the Dragonslayer Armor. I hate that fight, and the run back through the damn red-eye knight with the greatsword, even more so. He doesn't take a lot of damage and the fight is a bit more drawn-out.

I had some trouble with Old Demon King on my first playthrough. I'd get pinned, with the damn camera, and end up getting washed with enough waves of fire to kill me.

The most difficult for me? Aldrich. No question. It's just a drawn-out fight. He doesn't take a lot of damage from anything, from what I've seen, and his second half moveset is cheap.

That dude predictably stands still and buffs himself, if I remember correctly, but it is stressful to hear him chasing you.

 

[CHC]

Champion Gundyr was BY FAR the hardest for me, maybe it was just a strange incompatability with my weapon (Greataxe), but he was just so fucking fast and merciless. I finally just caved and summoned since I was really anxious to explore "Dark Firelink."

Otherwise, yeah the Nameless King was a goddamn nightmare (but a delightful one) and Pontiff was a stiff challenge.

Gundyr, though.... motherfucker was on another level. Those kicks and the shoulder slams did me in more times than I care to remember.

 

[Sanke__]

Yeah so I guess I beat yhorm the hard way

Fight was real fucking difficult

And I forgot about champion gundyr
Definitely my second hardest fight

Then either dragonslayer armor or nameless king

 

[Struct09]

I had a really hard time getting the timing down right for Champion Gundyr, I ended up rolling right into his attacks a lot of the times. I did the Dragonslayer Armor not too long after and had no problem.

I found Oceiros to be quite easy but he had some quick move that took me down in one hit so it took me a few tries.

 

[Zyrox]

My ranking, in terms of difficulty (played a quality build, equal str and dex, low health, some endurance, noy much vitality, weapon of choice was drang hammers for most of the game, afterwards washing pole 2handed, never used a shield and beat all bosses on my own):
1. Namrless King
2, Pontiff Sulyvahn
3. Champion Gundyr
4. Aldrich
5. Dancer of the Boreal Valley
6. Oceiros the consumed king
7. the rest are kind of a blur because none of the others gave me much trouble. I guess honorable mention goes out to Ancient wyvern because I didn't figure out the gimmick, but even the hard way was relatively easy, just took a while

 

[mentallyinept]

3. Pontiff Sulyvahn - I had a lot of trouble with this guy, mostly because I was playing like an idiot. Once I was comfortable enough with his patterns that I could drop by guard between attacks, I beat him.

2. Dancer of the Boreal Valley - I had more trouble with the Dancer than anyone else death wise, but that was only because I refused for the longest time to switch my weapon from the Zweihander. When I moved to my Broadsword, first try.

1. Nameless King (2nd Phase) - Nameless King is at the top, because even with all the skill I had honed playing through the game his sheer damage output and aggressiveness killed me several times. I really had to get my equipment in order (2 Shields Fire and Lightning, Anti Lighting Armor) and play really patient to take him down (forcing myself to get through Phase 1 without healing to preserve Embers, only healing when it was completely safe).

Yeah so I guess I beat yhorm the hard way

Fight was real fucking difficult

And I forgot about champion gundyr
Definitely my second hardest fight

Then either dragonslayer armor or nameless king

You beat Yhorm without the Stormblade? My lack of damage immediately set of alarm bells that this was a puzzle boss. Same with Ancient Dragon.

 

[mentallyinept]

Sorry for the double post...

 

[Arkeband]

The only BB DLC boss easier than Laurence were the failures tho...I didn't find him very difficult at all

I did Bloodborne's DLC in NG+, so everything's health was inflated, which makes the Laurence fight a nightmare because you're doing slivers of health worth of damage. And if you try to get in extra hits, you're likely to find yourself standing in a pool of magma, if there's even an opening.

I had an easier time with OoK by comparison.

Nameless King just feels cheap, he's relentless, his moves feel deceiving, and if you get hit with one you're likely getting hit with an unavoidable 2-3 combo, which is instant death. His health pool is nuts and his first phase is a waste of time dragon that sticks its neck out for you.

 

[Slick Butter]

After having huge trouble with the final boss and Nameless King, I found that switching to a big weapon (greataxe) made them super easy. With the greataxe I can do either first try, usually.

Pontiff and the Dancer are still assholes though. I dunno how I did Pontiff on my third try on my first playthrough.

First playthrough ranking:
1. Nameless King
2. Soul of Cinder
3. Twin Princes
4. Dancer of the Boreal Valley
5. Champion Gundyr

Now (from my fourth playthrough):
1. Pontiff Sulyvahn
2. Dancer of the Boreal Valley
3. Nameless King
4. Soul of Cinder
5. i dunno, those two damned dogs? not a boss but jeez

 

[OmegaTreeFish]

The first 5 plus Oceiros and demon king i did first go all were super easy. But demon king i did at the end as i missed it so was very OP for that fight.

Mega skelly and that whyven took 2 attempts.

So the above i class as really easy

I cant remember exact numbers but the other bosses fitted in to 3-6 attempt tear (a modest challenge):
Abyss watchers
Pontiff
Yorm
Dargonslayer armourer

And somewhere around 10 attempts tear (tough).
Aldritch
Dancer
Twins

Soul of cinder i did 5 attempts and then summoned as i just wanted to finish the game and just thought "oh yay a super version of gwyn that you cant parry". He was tough but i couldnt be bothered to learn him.

Havnt beat champion or namless yet. Had about 5 goes on each. Will try them again sometime. But seriously, fuck the camera in this game. Its what made dancer and twins hard and its what makes nameless hard. Champion is just super fast and has really strange timings on his moves that i fall for over and over but its just a matter of practising them when i can be bothered. Champion and nameless i feel are the hardest 2 in the game.

However my fav 2 fights were dragonslayer as just a great classic souls type boss and dancer from a visual perspective.

 

[FF Seraphim]

I honestly had no issue with the camera for the Nameless King

But ranking for difficulty:

1. Nameless King 2nd phase, 1st phase is easy
2. Dancer of the Boreal Valley

The rest I beat in one or two tries.

My two favorite fights would be Abyssal Watchers and the Twin Princes.

 

[bobone]

The only bosses that killed me where Champ Gundyr, Old Demon King, and Nameless King. But Champ and Old Demon King only killed me once each.
I had to respec to kill the Nameless King

So basically 19-2: All of them
1: Fuck the Nameless King

 

[Juraash]

So I'm still working through the game but I'll comment on the ones I've done.

1. Aldrich - This guy gave me more trouble than any other boss up to this point. I think I kicked the bucket somewhere between 10-15 times on this dude. His big soul spear move was brutal, especially if your timing was even slightly off when dodging arrows in phase 2. By the time I killed him I felt like I understood the fight and mechanics and still just got lucky with him.

That said, I'd kinda lump everyone else so far into a moderate or easy category. I found Pontif to be super easy and I was sort of surprised by it. The areas by and large have been sufficiently nastier for me than the bosses in them. The whole of a Irythyl was a tense grind filled with more deaths than I care to admit.

I feel like Aldrich might be a general turning point and I'm kind of hoping the bosses coming up are closer to his level of challenge.

 

[MegaSackman]

I did Bloodborne's DLC in NG+, so everything's health was inflated, which makes the Laurence fight a nightmare because you're doing slivers of health worth of damage. And if you try to get in extra hits, you're likely to find yourself standing in a pool of magma, if there's even an opening.

I had an easier time with OoK by comparison.

Nameless King just feels cheap, he's relentless, his moves feel deceiving, and if you get hit with one you're likely getting hit with an unavoidable 2-3 combo, which is instant death. His health pool is nuts and his first phase is a waste of time dragon that sticks its neck out for you.

Its true what you say about his first phase, at first is amazing but after the thid try it really is a waste of time since it's quite easy. Second phase is just a you described it, if you fail a dodge you found yourself dodging like a maniac because he just spams attakcs short and long distance.
You have to know really sure about what move he's going to make but is dissapointing that the one time you have to hit him you have to waste it healing yourself. -_-

Really spectacular battle tho.

 

[DJIzana]

1. Aldrich, Devourer of Gods - Without a DOUBT this is the hardest one I fought. The arrow shower, the teleporting, the magic missile attacks / arcane lance looking attack + everything else? It took MANY tries to down this beast... MANY.

2. Ludex Gundyr - Ironically the first boss. I had basically forgotten all the tactics involved with Dark Souls (used to Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1). I just had a lot of derpy moments and had to get used to the controls again (and especially being able to block)!

I didn't... really have any difficulty with any other bosses, to be honest. Not even The Nameless King. Downed him 2nd try (with help).

Easiest boss was The Crystal Sage and the coolest boss, BY FAR, was Lothric, the younger prince. The setting, the music, the spell effects and animations... all so epic!

 

[Kolx]

Soul of Cinder. Fuck him fuck him fuck him. I'm still struggling against him

 

[LiK]

Soul of Cinder. Fuck him fuck him fuck him. I'm still struggling against him

First form is rough. Second form is actually easier.

 

[Flyinmunky]

1) Nameless King This took me at least 20 attempts

2) Abyss Watchers took me 4-5 attempts

3) The rest 0-3

I was pure Pyro build

 

[Kholdy]

Nameless King is too much epic, losing only for Twin Princes (that music is god tier).

First time I reached Nameless King, I felt that I was dodging too early or he was baiting me with a feint.

Anti Lightning equipment does shine here and makes the hits much more manageable since I don't fell like a skilled player in any mean.

I've recorded that shit for fun (I'm new here, don't know if I can post videos of my own)

 

[Wagram]

Top 5 most difficult (for me):

1.) Pontiff Sulyvahn: I was deprived SL 43 when I hit this dude. He ate my lunch for two hours probably due to the fact that I had almost no HP.
2.) Champion Gundyr: He beat me up for about an hour. The SF combos were hilarious.
3.) Nameless King: I didn't seem to struggle on this guy like most. I actually took him down rather quickly, but that final fight was tough. I got him to 25% HP with no estus and went straight to zero. It was now or never and I fucking did it.
4.) Aldrich: Those damn arrows were stumping me, and a few times I jumped directly into the magic soul-arrow like attack.
5.) Lorian & Lothric: Not super tough, but epic, and it was like 5 in the morning so my reflexes were shot and I died a bunch. Woke up next day and one shot.

Top 5 easiest (for me):

1.) Dancer of the Borreal Valley: Really cool animations, but this boss was super slow and did almost nothing. Too easy. 1 shot.
2.) Oceiros: This boss fight was cool with the music, but really easy.
3.) Crystal Sage: He melts easily.
4.) Deacons of the Deep: Nothing happens in this fight. Really easy, but I did die once.
5.) Vordt: Probably the biggest disappointment in the game. Dark Souls 3s version of Darkbeast Paarl.

Only two bosses I one shot were Soul of Cinder and Dancer.

Now that Soulsborne is on a break I wanted to throw out there where I feel the final bosses of the series stand. Keep in mind I can't parry for shit.

I'll mark it since I don't know if people have touched these yet.

Final boss order (for me):

Spoiler

Gwyn > Soul of Cinder > Aldia > Gehrman > Moon Presence > Nashandra > King Allant

 

[Sanke__]

You beat Yhorm without the Stormblade? My lack of damage immediately set of alarm bells that this was a puzzle boss. Same with Ancient Dragon.

Yeah
It set off an alarm for me when I hacked at his feet
The problem is you actually do somewhat reasonable damage when you hit him in the hands and it eventually staggers him for a critical hit which does a solid chunk of damage so I just figured that was what I needed to do
I had heard about the siegward summon so I also just figured that was how you were really supposed to beat him
(Makes it significantly harder to dodge his attacks when you are going after his hands instead of his feet though)
Really sucked when I got him to a quarter health and he wouldn't stagger again but I just eventually beat him hacking at his feet for the last like 10% health
If I wouldn't have beat him that time I would have tried to figure something else out

I even thought it was really weird to get a weapon during a boss fight but had never heard of a mechanic like that in a souls game so I just kinda ignored it

Now I figured out ancient dragon almost immediately
The lack of damage didn't concern me near as much as how tiny the battlefield was
I knew there had to at least be a different area to fight him in and saw the perch above his head as I moved forward

 

[NIN90]

Wait, people actually do Yhorm the old fashioned way? Seeing the pitiful amount of damage is a pretty clear tell.

Edit: Oh.

 

[turbocat]

I've died a few times on several of the bosses, but I seriously died on the Dancer at least 30 times. Probably the most difficulty I've ever had on a Souls series boss. Doesn't make any sense, either, as I fought it at the proper point in the game.

 

[MegaSackman]

Yeah
It set off an alarm for me when I hacked at his feet
The problem is you actually do somewhat reasonable damage when you hit him in the hands and it eventually staggers him for a critical hit which does a solid chunk of damage so I just figured that was what I needed to do
I had heard about the siegward summon so I also just figured that was how you were really supposed to beat him
(Makes it significantly harder to dodge his attacks when you are going after his hands instead of his feet though)
Really sucked when I got him to a quarter health and he wouldn't stagger again but I just eventually beat him hacking at his feet for the last like 10% health
If I wouldn't have beat him that time I would have tried to figure something else out

I even thought it was really weird to get a weapon during a boss fight but had never heard of a mechanic like that in a souls game so I just kinda ignored it

Now I figured out ancient dragon almost immediately
The lack of damage didn't concern me near as much as how tiny the battlefield was
I knew there had to at least be a different area to fight him in and saw the perch above his head as I moved forward

It happened exactly the same thing to me, I didn't know. To be honest it's how every or most bosses should have been, they have so little life that once you know how to beat them you killed them in less than two minutes.

Have my fight recorded for reference

 

[Struct09]

I was confused by Yhorm too. So I let myself get summoned into someone else's game and saw the others using the Stormblade, but I was left with only my longsword so I was the idiot running up and poking his feet. The next run in my game I noticed the item, ran up and got it, but he killed me while I tried to equip it. Third time was the charm

 

[Frozenprince]

Nameless King is the hardest boss in any souls game ever for me.

Died at LEAST 100 times. It was brutal.

Such an amazing fight. Still can't believe it was optional.

I think a lot of the "These bosses are so easy" things are just... well.

You guys have played these games, you "got gud". Of course it's the easiest.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Nameless King is the hardest boss in any souls game ever for me.

Died at LEAST 100 times. It was brutal.

Such an amazing fight. Still can't believe it was optional.

I think a lot of the "These bosses are so easy" things are just... well.

You guys have played these games, you "got gud". Of course it's the easiest.

Not for me, I've played em all and I had to summon for Nameless King. It was fucking hard.

On that note, 1 on 1 I haven't beaten:

Manus
Lawrence the First Vicar
Nameless King

 

[Neoweee]

Nameless King is the hardest boss in any souls game ever for me.

Died at LEAST 100 times. It was brutal.

Such an amazing fight. Still can't believe it was optional.

I think a lot of the "These bosses are so easy" things are just... well.

You guys have played these games, you "got gud". Of course it's the easiest.

How much Vigor did you have? What rings were you wearing? Did you stack Lightning resist after your first death?

I get why Nameless King is considered a hard boss. He is fast and hits like a truck.

I don't get why he is in the "hardest boss ever" list. He's an endgame boss, so by then your Estus + Estus Ring gives you 11 extra health bars. You have a huge margin of error against him.

 

[Logash]

Nameless King is absolutely the hardest boss in any game that I have ever had to fight. I'm surprised people are putting Soul of Cinder on this list. Beat him the first try no problem and was pretty disappointed in the fight. I did like the music and scenery though.