4. Spear of the Church
Dark Souls III: The Ringed City Boss Ranking
One of the more interesting bosses to enter into the Dark Souls series is the Spear of the Church, as it attempts to merge both PvE (Player vs Environment) and PvP (Player vs Player) elements. While this is a clear homage to the Old Monk fight in Demon’s Souls, the Spear of the Church is inconsistent at best and frustrating at its worst. When the fight starts players are challenged by not only a computer controlled NPC, but a randomly chosen human player that will take the role of the Spear of the Church boss. The catch is this boss will be equipped with all their normal weapons, armor, and spells but cannot use their Estus flasks to heal.
The NPC character will be summoned multiple times throughout the fight if it dies and can stack on bleeding effects all while healing both themselves and the enemy player. On top of this the human controlled boss actually has a bunch of passive magic spells that can stun or heavily damage the player. Basically, this fight boils down into a lame gank fight that lacks any kind of real personality or punch. Your opponent could either be highly skilled or incredibly weak, meaning there is a rather alarming amount of inconsistency with this boss battle.
If you decide to play Dark Souls III: The Ringed City offline then this battle becomes even more of a joke as the actual NPC is even easier to kill. While he has a nice mixed of ranged and close quarters combat skills, players can easily avoid these attacks via the pillars scattered about the room. However, it is cool that once you vanquish the Spear of the Church players can pay around 100,000 to have the boss available again. Better Get Farming.
3. Darkeater Midir
Dark Souls III: The Ringed City Boss Ranking
The Ringed City’s only optional boss, Darkeater Midir is a boss that will harass the player before they even get to plummet into its arena. Once you scale the tower and knock Midir into the pit below, the actual boss fight is highly entertaining. While the actual move set this boss showcases is nothing we haven’t seen before, it all cohesively works in a terrifying package. Midir has a good mix of close and ranged attacks that don’t allow players to just stay under this beast during the entire fight. Unlike the Ancient Wyvern, the dragon offers a proper fight that tests the player’s ability to deal with a highly mobile target that has a plethora of attacks at its disposal.
However, there are a few issues that keep Darkeater Midir from the top spot, with one of the most notable being that nothing really happens when he shifts to his “second phase.” Unlike the Demon Prince or Gael, this boss really doesn’t alter in a drastic or interesting way that could offer new problems for players to deal with. Instead, Midir gets a dark infused AoE attack that can be easily dodged if you’re paying attention to the beast when attacking. It’s a shame because this can make the fight rather tedious given the huge health bar that Midir sports, which drags the fight out to the point of tedium. That being said, this is perhaps one of the most beautiful arenas in all of Dark Souls III.
2. Demon Prince
Dark Souls III: The Ringed City Boss Ranking
Perhaps the closest that From Software has ever gotten to recreating the Ornstein and Smough fight from the original Dark Souls. When the fight starts out players will be tasked with slaying two demonic bat monsters named Demon in Pain and Demon from Below. Once they are both killed, whichever one is left will transform into the Demon Prince. Where things get interesting is that the Demon Prince’s abilities will change based on which of the two foes you kill first, meaning two players could face the same boss but have radically different experiences. However, in order to even get to the prince, you’ll need to contend with both of the demons who aren’t push overs.
Getting the balance right for a gank fight is tricky, but From Software did a marvelous job with these two as it never feels unfair. Since the demons can lose their powers and become more vulnerable to attacks, it allows for a nice ebb and flow of combat that some fights lack in Dark Souls III. While they hit hard, their attack patterns can be exploited and it’s easy to get a few hits on them before retaliation. Yet, once the Demon Prince emerges you will need to deal with an exceptionally powerful boss that can obliterate health bars.
After getting to the second phase, the Demon Prince can either use chaos fire attacks or use laser beams to attack the Ashen One. Couple this with his powerful melee strikes and base fire spells and you get one of the more intense fights in The Ringed City. The only issue with the fight is that for those who prefer to use pyromancy, you’ll find this battle to be insanely difficult. Both demons have high fire resistance, making it difficult to kill them with flame based attacks. Yet, with some patience this mighty Dark Souls III boss will fall before your sword.
1. Slave Knight Gael
Dark Souls III: The Ringed City Boss Ranking
Perhaps one of the best bosses in Dark Souls III, Slave Knight Gael will push any player to their limits thanks to his diverse moveset, amazing second phase, and powerful hits that can down a foe in seconds. Set in a vast wasteland, players are given a ton of room to maneuver during this fight which is helpful since Gael is exceptionally fast. The first half of the battle is like fighting a wild beast as he will lash out with erratic attacks that can make him very hard to predict. This only adds to the fun as it helps keep the player on their toes, and Gael leaves very little room for relaxation once the fight has actually begun. Yet, there are just enough openings and moves you can punish that allows this first half to not feel overwhelming and unbalanced.
Yet, once the fight shifts to his second phase Gael assumes an upright position and acquires a vastly different set of abilities, including being able to to use dark fire with his attacks. This makes him exceptionally dangerous even at a distance, as it will force the player to only strike him once or twice before rolling away. This is further enhanced by lightning that will be called down, requiring users to avoid this strikes unless they want to leave Gael an opening to strike. It’s this duality between his ferocious first form and more traditional second that makes this battle so memorable. While the latter homages the Artorious fight, it doesn’t feel too similar which allows the battle to stand out on its own.
While Dark Souls III: The Ringed City has some great bosses, there is little doubt that Slave Knight Gael is the best this game has to offer. The mix of complex mechanics, beautiful music, wonderful arena, and fun changes make him a battle that is instantly memorable. While it may be the last boss we ever face under the Dark Souls name, there is little doubt he will not be remembered as one of the greatest in the entire franchise.
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