Dark Souls III sure has its fair share of tough bosses but it also only had 19 overall (plus another 6 from the DLCs) so I figured I would keep this list down to a top 9 rather than do a top 10. So, just to clarify this list will cover only the bosses that featured in the original game and not the DLCs as I have only played two of them so far (i.e. the two bosses from The Ashes of Ariandel DLC).
The list will also be based on the difficulty I personally encountered in playing these bosses, so there might be one or two surprising choices and/or omissions from what you would usually see on these lists.
So, with that all said, let's grab our swords, enter that fog gate and take a look at these badass bosses from hell...
9. Vordt of the Boreal Valley
So, to kick off the list is a surprisingly difficult boss early on in the game, Vordt of the Boreal Valley, who gave me serious trouble in my second playthrough as a pyromancer, this boss repeatedly kicked my ass time and time again before I got by him!
As for the boss himself, Vordt can be found in the High Wall of Lothric area in the game and he is a beast like creature, who was once formerly a Boreal knight but is now seen sprouting some metallic armour and carries a big hammer (yep another hammer boss!). Vordt essentially comes at his opponents with a series of slash and strikes attacks in the first phase but in the second he will then go into a charge attack mode, which the player must avoid at all costs or risk being killed outright and he also breathes out frost, which can frostbite you.
So, basically the trouble I had with this boss was not realising the best way to defeat him was to use the deep battle axe, which utilises dark damage and I instead used a longsword, which proved pretty inefficient against him and ended up getting killed over and over again as I struggled with his second phase attacks.
And this brings me onto the best way to kill him is of course to use the deep battle axe and get underneath him as much as you can to get your strikes in but this can be a little more challenging in the second phase when Vordt goes into psycho charge mode. However if you stick with him and also use green blossom herbs to boost your stamina then this should become an easier fight.
However just because the trouble I had with him, I figured he deserves a place on the list here and especially going in as an under-powered character early on, Vordt can still provide a stern challenge for a new player. So, for these reasons, Vordt deserves his place on here.
8. Oceiros the Consumed King
At No.8 is this rather surprisingly tricky boss, Oceiros the Consumed King, who is a blind dragon that can be found in the Consumed King's Garden area of the game and is also optional and not required to complete the game.
Oceiros however despite being optional still can present a fair challenge as a boss and he also remains somewhat unique as a boss as he is quite chatty in the game as you hear him talk about an imaginary or invisible baby for the first part of the fight. However in the second phase, Oceiros starts to go nuts and runs rampant around the room as he charges at you, spits out frost breath that can curse you and essentianlly can massive damage if you get in his way.
So, it has to be said I did struggle with this boss quite a bit in my first playthrough as I managed his first phase ok but his second phase is where the real difficulty lies as Oceiros becomes frenzied and very aggressive as he charges you again and again and if you get the caught in it you are in big trouble.
So, suffice to say that I ended up dying to this boss quite a bit more than I would have liked to have as he proved quite tricky when it came to evading his frenzied charge attacks, which can seriously do alot of damage. In fact I have to admit that if there any bosses in a game that involve you rolling carefully to dodge their attacks, I usually suck at it, so you can imagine it took me a bit of time to try and get my timing right well enough to get my hits in and finish him off!
As for strategy well simply its a case of the old cliche of "get good" at rolling to avoid his attacks and getting your damage in just at the right times and also use a shield with good stability just in case you do get caught out by Oceiros's frenzied rage, which can easily two shot you.
So, this guy is definitely a tricky customer and one of the more tricky bosses in the game for me and not one to be underestimated.
Next up are The Abyss Watchers, who for me were the first legitimately tough boss in the game as you will be given quite a stern workout here as you face a bunch of clones of the legendary knight, Artorius (who appeared in the first Dark Souls game).
The Abyss Watchers can be found in Farron Keep and basically comprise of a series of knights who all look the same and fight each other to the death, however as one dies another pops up and they keep on fighting. So, this is what you have to look forward to as you soon find yourself being two against one, however to make things a little different, a third Abyss Watcher will show up and they will fight the other watchers instead. This then helps take the pressure off you a little as you can choose to attack the other Abyss Watchers instead.
Now surviving the first phase of this fight isn't too difficult but where the real difficulty lies is in the second phase where a single Abyss Watcher rises up and starts attacking with higher levels of aggression and this time he uses flame attacks to inflict serious fire damage. Surviving the second phase of this fight is where the real challenge lies indeed as you have to try and manage your health and stamina as this fight can really sap both quickly.
So, as for how to cope with the Abyss Watchers??? Well basically I did summon for this fight but ultimately the NPCs again were all killed before the fight even ended, so I found myself having to defeat the firey Abyss Watcher in the second phase myself. In short, you are best using a good shield with fire resistance and I will also recommend using the flame stoneplate ring, which provides decent fire defence, failing that I would also suggest using Red Bug Pellets, which also provide fairly good resistance to fire. Again in this fight you really need to manage your stamina and get in your strikes whenever you can, which is best when The Abyss Watcher(s) have their downtime between attacks but the attack windows can be fairly short making this difficult.
So, for me The Abyss Watchers was a real indicator for the difficulty that would lie ahead in the game as things would only get tougher from here and for that these guys deserve their place here at No.6.
6. Pontiff Sulyvahn
So, at No.6 is a boss, who I actually originally had left off this list (rather stupidly!) and that boss is no other than Pontiff Sulyvahn. The Pontiff himself is a large imposing figure, who was formerly a sorcerer but became corrupted by the Profaned Flame.
Now the reason I had left him off the list is because I always was able to summon two NPCs for his fight, making him significantly easier to take down. However on another playthrough I did (as a cleric in which I mucked up several questlines so I deleted it!) I was only able to summon one NPC and by God it was a completely different fight and one which I seriously struggled with!
As for what makes Pontiff so tricky??? Well, the guy has his share of aggressive attacks and they are hard to get a read on as he tends to mix them up and they are also quite long and sweeping in style and yep they deal out ALOT of damage! Pontiff also at around half way through his health bar will enter a second phase (yep that dreaded second phase!) and produce his own clone, which carries a series of pre-emptive attacks, which the real Pontiff will then also perform on you. So, this all adds up to a pretty tricky fight!
As how to deal with Pontiff Sully? Well, in my cleric playthrough (I mucked up!) I actually wasn't able to beat Pontiff with just the one NPC summon but I came very close though but with the two summons he is MUCH easier to take down. So, what I would suggest for the fight is to get those two summons to make your life easier (and don't mess up Anri's questline like I did as she is the other summon I failed to get last time!).
However NPCs aside, you need to time your rolls to evade Pontiff's attacks and keep rolling to his left to avoid them and when he produces his clone in the second phase, try and kill his clone as fast as you can and your are best using a buffed weapon for this (either use magic or lightning) as this clone is largely immune to physical damage. You should also take note that if Pontiff has enough health left and you have killed one of his clones then he will try and summon another, so you need to keep killing his clones over and over until you can get Pontiff's health bar diminished completely.
So, overall Pontiff Sulyvahn is a boss I really underestimated here initially as he can prove to be a serious handful and definitely one of the tougher bosses in the game. Thankfully there are summons there to help make this fight way easier but if you go in alone or just with the one summon you are bound to be in for a tough fight.
So, apologies for initially leaving Sully out of the list as he really deserve his place on here at No.6.
5. Dancer of the Boreal Valley
Next up is the deadliest female boss in the game (well except maybe Sister Freide in the Ashes of Ariandel DLC?!) the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, who can be found in the Hall wall of Lothric area of the game but you fight her just inside the entrance of Lothric castle.
So, why is the Dancer of the Boreal Valley such a difficult boss??? Well, it simply comes down to just how hard this boss hits as she can dish out some MAJOR damage to your character if you aren't wary (or even if you are wary!). And the Dancer's most devastating attack comes in her first phase where she performs a grab move, where she literally grabs you and you get impaled onto her sword, which is basically a one-shot kill if your health bar isn't high enough! Her second phase is no joke either as the Dancer will pull out a second sword and start swirling them around the room, which can inflict large amounts of damage again if her hits connect with you.
As for how I got on with this boss, I have to say in my first playthrough as a pyromancer I managed to kill her off quite easily with dark pyromancies, using Black Fire Orb, which wiped her out fairly quickly as she is weak to dark. However, I did another playthrough as a melee character where I struggled against her big time as I failed to get the timing on my rolls right to evade her attacks, which as I said hit pretty hard!
So as for strategies, well its another case of getting good at timing your rolls to avoid her attacks and roll through them and when she attempt to grab you back way off! In fact there is a ring in the game, which could prove a good help in this fight, which is the milkus bloodring that gives you room for what is called invcibility rolling, which is where you can roll more efficiently to avoid enemy attacks. So, basically get your rollls down, back off when she does the grab attack and get your hits whenever you can after she has finished her own attacks. However, I would still suggest using pyromancy to kill her or ranged attacks as a melee approach definitely provides a greater challenge against this boss.
However, one thing I definitely would say in defence of this boss is that she does has a very nice curvy figure and a great butt! ;-)
So, The Dancer of the Boreal Valley definitely deserves her place on this list as she can prove a stern challenge especially for melee characters and I would say unless you get good on your rolls to avoid her brutal attacks, you will be in for a rough time with this one.
Right, OK so that's it for now and I will be back soon with Part 2 of the list.
See you soon...
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