Ranking Soulsborne bosses.

TheKnightOfTheSea

𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝕸𝖔𝖔𝖓'π–˜ π•Ύπ–•π–†π–œπ–“
β€Ž
#7
@TheKnightOfTheSea
I did this super fast so I might have made some mistakes.

I left out Bloodborne chalice bosses, Sekiro minibosses, and Elden Ring non-remembrancec bosses (with a few exceptions like Margit)
going to share my thoughts tier by tier

yeah fuck Bed of Chaos and the Gank Squad. I don't think I've ever seen the Primeval Demon in any boss videos lmao.

I think Ceaseless Discharge is actually a good fight if you're looking at it solely from a lore standpoint. CD is supposed to be pathetic and helpless, but from gameplay it's indefenisvely boring and easy.

I actually enjoyed both 4 Kings and Ruin Sentinels. Ruin Sentinels was a good early game challenge, and outside of a single attack I'd call it pretty balanced. 4 Kings was a nice dps test too. I wouldn't put either of them on the same level as the Ancient Dragon lmao.

I also didn't expect Rennala to be this low. looks like a better fight from the footage I've seen. \

I would put Rom, Witches of Hemwick and Micolash lower as well

Surprised you have Aldia and Vendrick so high. Both were pretty shit, hard carried by lore imo.

I'd bump Vordt up, he's a pretty good fight for early game, though I'm sure he's boring on subsequent playthroughs.

Hard disagree on Ebrietas, I found that fight to be one of the best in Bloodborne's base game.

I'd bump Burnt Ivory, lower Moon Presence, and bump regular Shinobi Owl.

Out of curiosity, where would you put Radagon and Elden Beast if they were separated?

Pretty based takes all around.

I'd bump Orphan and Twin Princes for sure, and I'd lower Guardian Ape a lot.

I thought you had Morgott higher for some reason.

Love the Manus respect. Manus suffers from Orphan of Kos syndrome imo, where people focus more on his difficulty than his quality as a fight.
 
#8
going to share my thoughts tier by tier

yeah fuck Bed of Chaos and the Gank Squad. I don't think I've ever seen the Primeval Demon in any boss videos lmao.
Primeval Demon only appears on pure black world tendency. Calling it a boss is a bit of a meme.

I think Ceaseless Discharge is actually a good fight if you're looking at it solely from a lore standpoint. CD is supposed to be pathetic and helpless, but from gameplay it's indefenisvely boring and easy.

I actually enjoyed both 4 Kings and Ruin Sentinels. Ruin Sentinels was a good early game challenge, and outside of a single attack I'd call it pretty balanced. 4 Kings was a nice dps test too. I wouldn't put either of them on the same level as the Ancient Dragon lmao.

I also didn't expect Rennala to be this low. looks like a better fight from the footage I've seen. \

I would put Rom, Witches of Hemwick and Micolash lower as well
I do not think Ruin Sentinels is balanced, it’s 3 enemies in a room that aren’t designed to fight together. And I don’t like DPS test bosses.

Renalla is basically Elden Ring Rom.

Surprised you have Aldia and Vendrick so high. Both were pretty shit, hard carried by lore imo.

I'd bump Vordt up, he's a pretty good fight for early game, though I'm sure he's boring on subsequent playthroughs.

Hard disagree on Ebrietas, I found that fight to be one of the best in Bloodborne's base game.
Vendrick and Aldia are, like you said, carried by lore.

I think Vordt is way to easy to just run under and wail on. Also just not really a cool fight.

And yeah big disagree on Ebrietas, I think the camera in that fight is absolutely atrocious.

I'd bump Burnt Ivory, lower Moon Presence, and bump regular Shinobi Owl.

Out of curiosity, where would you put Radagon and Elden Beast if they were separated?
Burnt Ivory King as lost all spectacle for me because of having to farm Loyce souls and imo it’s not that good of a fight. Moon presence is also underrated imo.

I think you’re right about the Sekiro bosses in this tier, I would also bump Emma in addition to Shinobi Owl.

Radagon would be S while Elden Beast would be C.

Pretty based takes all around.

I'd bump Orphan and Twin Princes for sure, and I'd lower Guardian Ape a lot.

I thought you had Morgott higher for some reason.
I don’t like phase 2 orphan personally and Twin Princes is a bit overrated imo.

I also like Guardian Ape a lot, I think it’s one of the best bosses in Sekiro.

Morgott would be S if it weren’t so easy to overlevel and kill him in like 5 attacks. Seriously, if you fully explore the Altus Plateau Morgott dies like immediately

Love the Manus respect. Manus suffers from Orphan of Kos syndrome imo, where people focus more on his difficulty than his quality as a fight.

Yep. I’ve always had Manus as my favorite fight in DS1.
 
#9
I'm gonna be totally honest and straight to the point
Elana and Sanctuary Guardian are ass, they belong with Crystal Sage maybe
Asylum Demon is a top tier boss imo, deserves an A at least. He has done his function very well as a tutorial boss
Pursuer is a great mini boss, especially for an older game like DSII. His mechanics are very well handled. A+
Aldrich and Chariot get a well deserved E
I'm surprised you have Lost Sinner on D, he's one of the most complex DSII bosses, would arguably say he's the 2nd toughest to fight for a prolonged time on low level damage after Fume. You can usually hold a couple minutes, but especially on NG++ and above Sinner becomes an actual menace, super intense.

F & E ranks are what really matters in a list like this, I give 'em 10
Very good list overall Tkots

@TheKnightOfTheSea
I did this super fast so I might have made some mistakes.

I left out Bloodborne chalice bosses, Sekiro minibosses, and Elden Ring non-remembrancec bosses (with a few exceptions like Margit)
I now understand your lack of culture Kinyagi, Flamelurker, a contender for top 3 souls bosses, is standing on the same row with fuckin Freja, guardian dragon and moon presence
:risitavirus::risitavirus::risitavirus::risitavirus::risitavirus::risitavirus:

Also put some respect on my boy Oceiros, very underrated boss
:josad:
 
#10
I now understand your lack of culture Kinyagi, Flamelurker, a contender for top 3 souls boss.
LSD and hallucinogens are one hell of a drug.

Flame lurker is one of the best bosses in Demon’s Souls! Yay!

Except that this means absolutely nothing, since moss DeS boss fights are garbage gimmick fights.

He’s literally a beta version of the standard roll-dodge-attack souls boss fight.
Just more jank and piss-easy.

Also put some respect on my boy Oceiros, very underrated boss
Ah yes, I love fighting bosses that are essentially just giant bad hitboxes (seriously, his knee touches you slightly and you take damage) that scream at you.

But then again, DS2 is your favorite souls game, so why I am even talking about hitboxes lol
 

TheKnightOfTheSea

𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝕸𝖔𝖔𝖓'π–˜ π•Ύπ–•π–†π–œπ–“
β€Ž
#11
Elana and Sanctuary Guardian are ass, they belong with Crystal Sage maybe
gotta disagree. Elana is a cool gank boss and a well balanced boss that attacks with magic. A bit overshadowed by Sinh imo though. Sanctuary Guardian has aged a bit poorly but I found it to be pretty solid. I don't like the poison tho.

Asylum Demon is a top tier boss imo, deserves an A at least. He has done his function very well as a tutorial boss
Yeah he does his job better than the likes of the Lost Giant, but I prefer the Cleric Beast and Gundyr. I should have placed him higher.

I'm surprised you have Lost Sinner on D, he's one of the most complex DSII bosses, would arguably say he's the 2nd toughest to fight for a prolonged time on low level damage after Fume. You can usually hold a couple minutes, but especially on NG++ and above Sinner becomes an actual menace, super intense.
I thought you'd have put Lost Sinner lower after fighting him on NG+. I've heard that the pyromancers are a bit bs. Maybe C would have been better.

Very good list overall Tkots
thanks man.

Also put some respect on my boy Oceiros, very underrated boss
:josad:
the atmosphere and presentation is great, but I wasn't a biggest fan of the fight itself. Fuck that charge attack.
 
#12
LSD and hallucinogens are one hell of a drug.

Flame lurker is one of the best bosses in Demon’s Souls! Yay!

Except that this means absolutely nothing, since moss DeS boss fights are garbage gimmick fights.

He’s literally a beta version of the standard roll-dodge-attack souls boss fight.
Just more jank and piss-easy.
If that's the case then all DS1 and Demon souls should be trashed in the final 2 rows, they'll never compete (even DS2- Fume and Alonne)
We have to look at each game and how it performed in its time, and for the bosses which ones left the most impact in that very game

Like technically O&S is such a bad fight, comparing it to Gael or Cinder is a crime when it comes to game mechanics, but in their own game they were iconic

Ah yes, I love fighting bosses that are essentially just giant bad hitboxes (seriously, his knee touches you slightly and you take damage) that scream at you.

But then again, DS2 is your favorite souls game, so why I am even talking about hitboxes lol
Oceiros is a very difficult boss to understand tbf, and he's super hard to contain, but he's one of the few examples of Ai manipulation in DS3, something super common in earlier souls. Like he's designed in such way that position your character can influence what moves he can make. The hitbox on that instant charge is bonkers for example, the trick is predicting these charges or even better to prevent him from doing it by placing your character near his legs going around circles, and the best strategy is keeping him trapped in one corner.

I had to learn these things when I did a lvl 10 +0 weapon. Oceiros was the only troublesome boss really and had to grind him for good lol
 
#15
If that's the case then all DS1 and Demon souls should be trashed in the final 2 rows, they'll never compete (even DS2- Fume and Alonne)
Bad assumption. I adjust for age when I do the ranking, and even then I don’t think Flame Lurker is a top 3 boss, whether by presentation or mechanically.

I have some old GoW bosses objectively over some new ones in terms of spectacle and mechanics. This shouldn’t be that hard to grasp.

Oceiros is a very difficult boss to understand tbf, and he's super hard to contain, but he's one of the few examples of Ai manipulation in DS3, something super common in earlier souls. Like he's designed in such way that position your character can influence what moves he can make. The hitbox on that instant charge is bonkers for example, the trick is predicting these charges or even better to prevent him from doing it by placing your near his legs going around circles, and the best strategy is keeping him trapped in one corner.

I had to learn these things when I did a lvl 10 +0 weapon. Oceiros was the only troublesome boss really and had to grind him for good lol
He’s not difficult to understand at all. Ive never died to Oceiros on a normal run (same with a few bosses actually, it seems to surprise people that I’ve never died to Lady Maria for example). And even on soul level 1, he was still one of the easiest bosses.
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@SakazOuki If you want a fight that actually tests positioning and AI manipulation, try fighting Margit or Mohg.

They literally have combos that can extend indefinitely depending on your positioning relative to them.

Bro said β€œmanipulate AI based on position” as if it was unique to old souls games, when Sekiro and Elden Ring bosses literally read and react to positioning and even inputs lol
 
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#16
He’s not difficult to understand at all. Ive never died to Oceiros on a normal run (same with a few bosses actually, it seems to surprise people that I’ve never died to Lady Maria for example). And even on soul level 1, he was still one of the easiest bosses.
It is very hard to die in DS3 in general, and when you're a couple runs into the game most are just super basic with direct strategy.
The hardest bosses in DS3 to consistently no hit are Cinder and Oceiros, and these no hit runners usually end their runs on these two. They are too unpredictable and require a lot of energy. In SL1 +0 Oceiros is a menace as you can't even use frostbite, so you're expecting a 10 minute fight at best with non existant stats basically.
Rest of the bosses can all be cheesed one way or the other
Pontiff with parries/ poison/ toxic, Gundyr with parries, twins can be nasty but strafing them makes things a lot easier, and you can go on and on about every single boss besides these 2 basically, this uncertainty really keeps you on your toes

Nameless is an example of a decently tough fight but all you need to know is the timing of his attacks. The charge however nasty it is is still totally avoidable and rollable, its just a huge pain in the ass lol
 
#17
It is very hard to die in DS3 in general, and when you're a couple runs into the game most are just super basic with direct strategy.
The hardest bosses in DS3 to consistently no hit are Cinder and Oceiros, and these no hit runners usually end their runs on these two. They are too unpredictable and require a lot of energy. In SL1 +0 Oceiros is a menace as you can't even use frostbite, so you're expecting a 10 minute fight at best with non existant stats basically.
Rest of the bosses can all be cheesed one way or the other
Pontiff with parries/ poison/ toxic, Gundyr with parries, twins can be nasty but strafing them makes things a lot easier, and you can go on and on about every single boss besides these 2 basically, this uncertainty really keeps you on your toes

Nameless is an example of a decently tough fight but all you need to know is the timing of his attacks. The charge however nasty it is is still totally avoidable and rollable, its just a huge pain in the ass lol
It’s interesting that Soul of Cinder is one of him. Is it true that he actually straight up ignore iframes with some of his attacks? I’ve heard about this but I’ve never actually noticed it myself lol
 
#18
Bro said β€œmanipulate AI based on position” as if it was unique to old souls games, when Sekiro and Elden Ring bosses literally read and react to positioning and even inputs lol
Naturally thats how game mechanics work, but as a player this you're not thinking of Ai manipulation as the main strategy for most bosses. In DS3 for example there are a couple tactics that can be done to force Pontiff into throwing a parryable attack, but its not really necessary. Oceiros however would totally fuck you up if you allow him some distance, so you have to constantly keep your positioning in check.
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It’s interesting that Soul of Cinder is one of him. Is it true that he actually straight up ignore iframes with some of his attacks? I’ve heard about this but I’ve never actually noticed it myself lol
Cinder is a controversial fight because his moveset is so random and hard to follow up with
Curved sword Cinder is a huge pain in the ass for example, and sometimes you get like 5 minutes of a highly aggressive Cinder not giving you any room for counters, other times he might not pull out curved sword
As for iFrames I've never seen anyone complain but he has a lot of moves that are total bullshit, arguably even worse than Oceiros charge
His kick for example is one of the most dreaded moves by runners lol
 
#19
Naturally thats how game mechanics work, but as a player this you're not thinking of Ai manipulation as the main strategy for most bosses. In DS3 for example there are a couple tactics that can be done to force Pontiff into throwing a parryable attack, but its not really necessary. Oceiros however would totally fuck you up if you allow him some distance, so you have to constantly keep your positioning in check.
Yeah. The only bosses I’ve actually consciously used AI manipulation or positioning to straight up shut down were Gwynn and Morgott. Im sure that there’s way more you can do it on though. I didn’t know about oceiros for example.
 
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