Dark Souls III

Aldrich, Devourer of Gods

Saint of the Deep

Aldrich had an insatiable hunger and revelled in the screams of his victims. An abomination of the Abyss if there ever was one, his hunger was only satiated by the body of a god. This abhorrent monster must be brought to heel and soon. In the ashes of Anor Londo rises a flame of rebuke to destroy the so called "saint" once and for all.....

Aldrich is a mad and twisting boss that keeps you on your toes constantly. His spells are numerous, his attacks devastating and he can steal a portion of your life with life hunter scythe. This is not a time to be weary, any opening that can be afforded by this Lord of Cinder should be taken.

The contrast between the two battles of Yhorm and Aldrich is massive (pun definitely intended) seeing as one felt more honourable while the other felt more like stopping a monster. Aldrich is a depraved specimen of a Lord of Cinder and was practically forced into it, perhaps thats why he ended up the way he did.

Side Note: It's hard to tell wether or not Siegward perished after the battle with Yhorm. He leaves behind his armour and a second Storm Ruler. Wether this is because he fulfilled his promise to Yhorm or because he died is left entirely up to speculation. I chose to believe the latter. Regardless I honoured the Knight of Catarina by equipping his armour, which actually works well against Aldrich, to symbolise our friendship. Praise the Onion Bro!!!

Lord of Cinder Slain. One more remains.

Dark Souls III

Yhorm The Giant

The Giant and The Onion

Yhorm, a descendant of an ancient conquerer, stands guard over his home in the profaned capital. He trusted Humans once, even going so far as to cast away his shield out of grief for one he was supposed to protect. He gifted the humans who doubted him with a blade of storms and another blade of storms to a dear friend before facing his fate as a lord of cinder. Now that friend returns. With blade in hand, ready to smite one he once called friend......

Yhorm is probably my favourite fight so far. Not because of how easy it is, nor because of the weapon you get. No Yhorm is my favourite because of a certain Knight of Catarina. This is by far the most interesting fight based solely on lore. How do Siegward and Yhorm know each other? What was their relationship before this battle? So many questions.

Two Storm Rulers absolutely decimate Yhorm. The fight become less of a fight and more of a tennis match with one side charging an attack while the other heals. If you want this fight to be fair then don't follow Siegward's storyline to the end. Even without him though, Storm Ruler chews through Yhorm like a hot knife through butter.

Lord of Cinder Slain. Two more remain.

Side note: Having played only a bit of Dark Souls 1 I didn't fully appreciate Siegward's character when I met him in DS 3. Having followed him till the end though, I see that he is indeed a grand character and fighter, I only wish there was more interaction with him afterwards. Praise to the Onion Bro!!

Dark Souls III

Pontiff Sulyvahn 

The Pontiff of The Boreal Valley Stand Guard Over The Lands of Legend

An Invader if there ever was one, Pontiff Sulyvahn's presence can be felt all around Lothric and the lands beyond. His decisive nature and cruelty can be found in his soldiers transforming them into creatures rather than men. And yet he fears. He fears a god and so imprisoned him for the devourer. The time has come to rid the world of his blackened eyes....

Pontiff Sulyvahn is one of these fights were it pays to lose. Losing means that throughout the fight you learn about him and his patterns. It means that you start to expect more of him. Which is why I am glad that I lost so often. The key to Sulyvahn is to stay near him, crazy as it sounds since he can basically cut you apart in moments. But being near him pays off, his attacks are wide and therefore rely on you being further away from him. 

Pontiff Sulyvahn is an interesting character in terms of motivation. I would like to know more about his role and goals in the story of Dark Souls 3. Because despite how frustrating the fight can be, he is a genuinely interesting character. 

Side note: Anri is there for side quest reasons and after following through with her quest line I am kind of wishing I hadn't. I'll explain a little more later. 

Dark Souls III

Old Demon King

A Demon Wakes Beneath the Smouldering Lake

Demons have come before to challenge the might of men. In truth those demons nearly always won against the lives of men. It took someone who wasn't among the living to deal with the demons though, since their "lives" had burned away long ago, leaving them Hollow and empty. And now the last of them an Old Demon King awaits the chosen unkindled to do to him what he did to his kin.....

There is no two ways about it. This fight is truly difficult. So many of the Demon Kings attacks are punishing and deadly, able to chip away bits of your health all at once. It makes managing the fight your top priority. Skill and showing off are absent things and should be during this fight as it will take a lot of concentration to stay ahead of the game.

The Old Demon King represents every Dark Souls players worst nightmare. The Asylum Demon, The Capra Demon all these demons are the bane of many players. If you look closely during this fight you can see the corpses of some of those famous bosses in the arena. Representing the fact that the Old Demon King reigns above all of them......and rightly so. He's terrifying. 

With him slain however things become a lot easier. Although if you think that he is the hardest boss yet then you better rethink that quick. As there are harder enemies waiting around every corner.

Dark Souls III

High Lord Wolnir

The High Lord and Carthus Conquerer

Wolnir wanted to outlive death. He adamantly pursued this goal by conquering and killing. He destroyed the Lords of Carthus and ground their crowns into dust and from the dust rose the High Lord Wolnir. It seems that the gods are vengeful though and granted Wolnir unending life....at the expense of his flesh.

Wolnir can be tough. He can summon a whole hoard of skeletons to pursue you. He can unleash a gas cloud that chips away at your health. He can even summon a humungous sword to deal holy death to anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in it. Fortunately I got about one of the above things happen. 

Having an ally of some sort for this battle is advisable as things can get unnecessarily complicated. I wish that I knew more about the lore of the Dark Souls 3 universe as so much needs explaining. Wolnir is definitely one that needs explaining. 

Dark Souls III

The Deacons of the Deep

Cursed Followers of Aldrich

The most foul Aldrich slept in the cathedral of the deep, having been forced into becoming a lord of cinder. His clergy still congregates in the cathedral believing him to be the saint people professed him to be. If they wish to know the deep so badly then send them to it.

Mob bosses can go either of two ways. They can either overwhelm you with a varied range of attacks or they can scratch off health without much worry. The Deacons of the deep are the latter. They provide a challenge but only if you are inept at fighting.

The boss serves as a placeholder then for a tougher one down the line. You can encounter the deacons later on as regular enemies and they pose a much bigger threat as enemies than as bosses. 

Turns out Aldrich wasn't in the cathedral of the deep after all. 

Dark Souls III

The Abyss Watchers

Farrons Undead Legion 

A great warrior once dedicated his life to battling the decadence of the Abyss and its spawn. Strengthened by the blood of the old wolf of Farron, the Abyss Watchers now fight in his stead. But even these Lords of Cinder must return to their throne, for no abyss could call more sweetly than the linking of the fire.

The first lords of cinder that you encounter and they are amazing. Every aspect of this fight is amazing. The Abyss Watchers pose a legitimate threat, even when they fight amongst themselves. Which is an interesting premise since it begs the question: Why are they fighting each other in the first place?

My best guess would be that one of them is trying to attain the power of cinder from the others. I summoned some help for this one because I didn't know how it would turn out, though I feel confident that I could have managed it on my own. 

Lord of Cinder slain. Three more remain. 

Dark Souls III

Crystal Sage

The Successor of Crystal Sorceries

 A long time ago an accord was struck between the Legion of Farron and the Crystal Mages. They would be allowed to practice their arts as long as they supported the Undead Legion with sorceries, both maintaining and bolstering their already impressive strength. And now the time has come to silence the Successor, for enough damage has been done by crystals already. 

The Crystal Sage caught me off guard in a big way. Firstly I did nothing to bolster my defences against magic and Secondly I widely underestimated how tough the fight would actually be. The result? My first loss to a boss. 

I am not a huge fan of magic in games or at least going out of my way to try it. However there is something incredibly enticing about magic in Dark Souls as you feel that the act alone of raising your stats high enough to use it is an achievement. 

The Crystal Sage is otherwise a easy fight, lock onto the guy spraying purple Crystals everywhere and you have your winner.

Side note: Orbeck of Vinheim is in the Crucifixion woods. Unfortunately he didn't stay for very long in my play through as another NPC requested his untimely demise. That marks the third NPC that I've killed. Two maliciously and another by accident. 

Dark Souls III

Curse-Rotted Greatwood

The Cursed reminder of the hollows curse

The Undead have little meaning to their lives. What can be found but to pray for some salvation? To serve a cause, anything to escape the monotony of a life unending. The Great Wood answers and unleashes its fury.

The Curse Rotted Greatwood felt more like a filler boss. A sentinel to stand guard over a dying place. In a way a tree is a perfect representation of decay, the leaves die, the trunk withers. But as long as the roots remain so does its life, perhaps thats why the hollows in the area identify so strongly with and pray to a tree. A giant moving tree but still.

As a boss the Curse Rotted Greatwood isn't so difficult. The difficulty can be found more in trying to locate its weak points. But once they are found and attacked the battle becomes much easier. My first real test of pyromancy as well. 

Side note: You may have noticed I gained extra souls at the end. That was Hodrick. A mound maker. A covenant that is directly underneath the Greatwood. I already knew he was under there and having fought him earlier as a NPC invader I was perfectly comfortable with letting him get squashed. 

Get Rekt you invading bastard. 

Dark Souls III

Vordt of The Boreal Valley

The Watchdog of The Boreal Valley

To descend from the realm of Lothric, one must first pass through the gate at the base of the castle. Were it that easy all who pass would make it to the Undead Settlement. But then no challenge worth doing has ever been easy...

To a seasoned player of the Souls series encountering Vordt will not come as a surprise at all. In fact to be able to meander through a gate without getting your head taken off would be more surprising. Which is why when you hear the Boreal Watchdog roar you feel assured that Dark Souls 3 hasn't grown complacent and missed an opportunity to humiliate players the world over.

Vordt is not that hard of a boss, staying near his legs is a viable and good strategy. His real deadly moves come into play during the second half of the fight where he can now inflict frostbite which slows stamina recovery. As boss battles go he remains fun and a decent challenge to players everywhere.

Next up the Undead Settlement and......a big tree.....not even kidding. Wish I was though.

Dark Souls III

Iudex Gundyr

The Ashen Judge

Gundyr stands watch over the cemetery of ash. Awaiting the chosen Unkindled who will remove the coiled sword from his chest. Gundyr is here to judge your worthiness, wether you attain the coiled sword and become the Chosen Unkindled or if you will return to the ashes which spawned you. 

My first boss battle (video above) in Dark Souls 3 was a healthy reminder of a principle most Souls players are familiar with; overconfidence is the down fall of every player. You should always assume that you will die and enter the fight knowing that you, likely, won't win. Overconfidence can be seen in my clip almost immediately as I try, woefully, to parry this rather easy to parry boss.

That wasn't the case with Gundyr. Oh sure he tests you, throws out some badass moves and yes, catches you off guard. But for all that bluster he is a relatively easy boss, learn his moves dodge and roll when you need to and take a few shots. At the same time however Dark Souls 3 is so unlike its predecessors that its difficult not to show off some of the new advantages you might have.

Iudex Gundyr is a good fight and a warm welcome to fans of the series. 

Update 25/ 04/ 2016

Hey there guys. Been a long time since I posted anything, I know. Sorry I've been away for a while, things have been up and down these past few months/ weeks. Currently I am applying for jobs and other things. Boring adult stuff. Just wanted to let you know I have some stuff on the way. Might even see it in the next couple hours. Depends. Anyway just wanted everyone/ anyone/ that one guy who reads this/ multiple people who read this I am not gone yet.

Ciao

G