Souls Series Boss Ranking Lecture

Jul 5, 2024

Souls Series Boss Ranking Lecture

Introduction

  • Speaker's unique achievement: beating all Souls series bosses (Demon's Souls to Elden Ring).
  • Exclusions: Bloodborne Chalice Dungeon bosses, some Elden Ring side bosses, and SEKIRO side bosses.

General Observations

  • From Software's reputation for best boss design in video games.
  • Ranking based on quality groups, not individual assessment.
  • Encouragement to like and subscribe.
  • Preparing for a long discussion.

Anomaly Bosses

  1. Old Monk (Demon's Souls)
    • PVP boss fight (dependent on opponent).
    • Fine in PVE, very easy.
  2. Maiden Astraea (Demon's Souls)
    • Story boss; fight focuses on killing protector Garl Vinland.
    • Astraea’s self-execution if Garl dies.
  3. Halflight, Spear of the Church (Dark Souls 3)
    • Forced PVP encounter (better than Old Monk but still unranked).
    • Offline bot experience: easy but forced PVP disliked.

Worst to Bad Bosses

  1. Bed of Chaos (Dark Souls)
    • Labeled worst boss ever.
    • Platforming segment, not true combat.
    • Unpolished and unsatisfying.
  2. Covetous Demon (Dark Souls 2)
    • Easy, short, and unmemorable.
    • Criticized for pointlessness.
  3. Ancient Dragon (Dark Souls 2)
    • Long health pool, monotonous fight.
    • Poor camera interaction.
  4. Ancient Wyvern (Dark Souls 3)
    • Similar to Ancient Dragon.
    • Existence of a gimmick to quickly end the fight.
  5. Amygdala (Bloodborne)
    • Great visual design, but poor camera interaction.
    • Move set and arena not well-matched.
  6. Blazing Bull (SEKIRO)
    • Criticized for poor synergy with Sekiro’s mechanics.
    • Not fun or valuable for lessons.
  7. Celestial Emissary (Bloodborne)
    • Simple boss, criticized for being unremarkable; similar to minions without real challenge.
  8. Godskin Duo (Elden Ring)
    • Criticized for being unbalanced and not rewarding.
  9. Living Failures (Bloodborne DLC)
    • Hated for being repetitive and unnecessary.
    • Great soundtrack, wasted potential.
  10. Seath the Scaleless (Dark Souls)
    • Great visual design.
    • Poor arena, clunky animations.
  11. True King Allant (Demon's Souls)
    • Story-driven, unsatisfactory final encounter.
  12. Ceaseless Discharge (Dark Souls)
    • Criticized for simplicity and easily bypassed.
  13. Capra Demon (Dark Souls)
    • Criticized for arena design, Dogs are bigger threats.
  14. Guardian Dragon (Dark Souls 2)
    • Slightly better than previous dragons, but repetitive.
  15. Lud and Zallen (Dark Souls 2)
    • Painful run back, duplicate mechanics from better fight Ava KPs.
  16. Grave Robbers (Dark Souls 2)
    • Designed for co-op; easily exploitable AI, repetitive.
  17. Four Kings (Dark Souls)
    • Great concept but poor execution, considered DPS race.
  18. Prowling Magus and the Congregation (Dark Souls 2)
    • Poor design, seen as just a tough enemy rather than a boss.
  19. Pinwheel (Dark Souls)
    • Not challenging, poor arena.
  20. Phalanx (Demon's Souls)
    • Early game boss, sparks of fire cheese possible.
  21. Dragon God (Demon's Souls)
    • Puzzle boss with experimental design.
  22. Folding Screen Monkeys (SEKIRO)
    • Puzzle boss, more intrigue-focused than fight.
  23. Rom, the Vacuous Spider (Bloodborne)
    • Criticized for tedium and slow pacing.
  24. Old Iron King (Dark Souls 2)
    • Underwhelming finale, design problems.
  25. Oceiros, the Consumed King (Dark Souls 3)
    • Design with similarities to Vordt, but generally uninspiring.
  26. Executioner's Chariot (Dark Souls 2)
    • Gimmick-based, long runback detracts attention.
  27. Skeleton Lords (Dark Souls 2)
    • Not a traditional boss, more of a tough encounter.
  28. Royal Rat Vanguard (Dark Souls 2)
    • Frustrating enemy identification.
  29. Dark Sun Gwyndolin (Dark Souls)
    • Easy mechanics, more of a glorified hallway fight.
  30. Micolash, Host of Nightmare (Bloodborne)
    • Gimmick-driven; repetitive.
  31. Fire Giant (Elden Ring)
    • Criticized for slow pacing; easy strategy.
  32. One Reborn (Bloodborne)
    • Average fight, incredible atmospheric design.
  33. High Lord Wolnir (Dark Souls 3)
    • Unremarkable mechanics, visually spectacular.
  34. Dirty Colossus (Demon's Souls)
    • Easy, visually distinctive but simple.
  35. Curse-Rotted Greatwood (Dark Souls 3)
    • Gimmick-driven; notable for arena change.
  36. Witches of Hemwick (Bloodborne)
    • Variance depends on insight levels, inconsistent experience.

Below Average to Average Bosses

  • Leechmonger (Demon's Souls)
    • Simple mechanics, unremarkable.
  • Dark Beast Paarl (Bloodborne)
    • Unique intro, somewhat janky hitboxes.
  • Dragonrider Bosses (Dark Souls 2)
    • Reused designs with slight variations.
  • Belfry Gargoyle (Dark Souls 2)
    • Poor application of DS1 Gargoyle mechanics.
  • Moonlight Butterfly (Dark Souls 1)
    • Great visual but boring ranged combat.
  • Demon of Song (Dark Souls 2)
    • Frustration stemming from area preceding it.
  • Fool's Idol (Demon's Souls)
    • Gimmick of teleporting, not particularly challenging.
  • Champion’s Gravetender & Great Wolf (Dark Souls 3)
    • Similar to Sif's arena, not memorable.
  • Regal Ancestor Spirit (Elden Ring)
    • Beautiful visuals, teleportation annoyance for melee builds.
  • Vicar Amelia (Bloodborne)
    • Teaches different play style, gets visually messy.
  • Yhorm the Giant (Dark Souls 3)
    • Gimmick-based weapon boss, somewhat uninspired.
  • Last Giant & Giant Lord (Dark Souls 2)
    • Near identical mechanics and layouts.
  • Adjudicator (Demon's Souls)
    • Gimmick spot hitboxes, poor level design.
  • Blood-Starved Beast (Bloodborne)
    • Janky animations, parryable but frantic.