Imagine being Sulyvahn and accomplishing all of this just to be bested by some guy who skipped all the cuts scenes, fat rolling and spamming soul arrow.
It must suck for him in quite a few runs of mine. Guy who has consumed no souls to empower himself, guy who beat him to death with his bare fists. Challenge runs are awesome. I love humiliating people like sulyvhan and various gods with some silly restriction
He enslaved a whole city, made the gods leave their home, locked away Gwyndolin, gave Aldrich acess to his kingdom so that he could eat men and Gwyndolin to get strong. Yeah...
+BCwithPC Nameless can also be cheesed. A crossbow and keeping distance causes him to not use most of his attacks, and his slow edgy-walk makes him an easy target. His 2nd phase in this regard is also the rare case of a boss in DkS3 that's (shockingly) easier to beat with magic.
My first time fighting Pontiff Sulyvahn without understanding any lore. I don’t know who I am, I don’t know why I’m here, All I know is that I must kill
Theres actually a really cool theory that speculates that Sulyvahn went looking for the Profaned Flame in order to eliminate the rot in the Painted World of Ariandel, but he got corrupted and turned into the bad guy we all know.
Probably looking the First Flame, but knowing little of the main world’s lore, he stumbled into the Profaned Capital instead. Wrong flame, wrong results.
Sulyvahn told the archers where to stand in Anor Londo. Sulyvahn set Vendrick up with Nashandra. Most unforgivable of all Sulyvahn pushed Tarkus from the rafters.
She's been mutated into an animal-like creature, though. Obviously, her skeleton must've adapted to walking on all fours. And look at her neck!! The fact that she's still known as 'The Dancer' by the time you fight her is creepy, she's been turned into a beast-human, and she STILL dances?? Sulyvahn has got some kinks, that's for sure.
In his second phase as we all know he summons a shade of sorts. If you kill it, he summons another one to help him continue fighting. Thing is, the shade is the one initiating the attacks while Sulyvahn follows. Like the shade is the one puppeteering _him_ . What's going on there? Is this representation of the evil possessing him? Some shadow of the Profaned Flame/Abyss that took over him? You can never truly kill the shade. If you do it'll just respawn infinitely, it's become so innately a part of Sulyvahn's being. The only way to get rid of it is to kill the Pontiff himself altogether. I saw someone theorize, something that would actually put him in a somewhat sympathetic light, was that he saw how his homeland was rotting away and needed flame to burn it away, and so in an attempt to help renovate the Painted World and do away with the rot, sought outside his world after what he heard to be one of the most powerful flames existing, the profaned of course. But in his attempt to retrieve it to do good it corrupted him instead, leading to all the business that went on afterward. Does that seem plausible? I don't know, I'm no Loremaster 9000 myself, I just like hearing/reading interesting observations about things.
His power reminds me of what the Darklurker did in Dark Souls II ... tried to split itself in half. However, they shared the same life bar and whomever took damage, both received it. However with Pontiff, his shadow has it's own life bar. It really does make me think that your theory has more value than most would assume. I like your theory a lot, well done pointing out a very interesting concept about his shadow.
I actually posted this same thing on reddit, I think it may be his shattered soul because as you kill him you can see this shade unite both with him in death.
Actually this theory is very plausible, especially that the stories in the painting say that a second ash (the first one being Elfriede) will one day come and help burn the painting, so maybe he initially set out to find said ash? If we put together the two theories that the queen of Lotrhic is Gwynevere and that the first of the scholars is Sulyvahn, then maybe he became a scholar in order to find an ashen one, much like Gwynevere is looking for an ashen one to link the flame.
Love your theory, this really shed some light to this most hated person in the entire Souls universe. But if he is corrupted by the profaned flame then why is his shadow clone has a purple colour that is the same as the sorcery Sulyvahn himself used. Sulyvahn always wants to change the world, so he may really want to burn the rot away so the painting will no longer be forlorn and despairing. He is against the linking of the fire so maybe he wants to take the first flame himself and cleanse the painting world ?
- You can paint a world for lost souls to find home - It can be anything, paradise-like warm beach or rain forest, a well-lead city of wonders - You paint a goddamn ice desert full of ruins and things, that want to kill you on every step LOGIC
Exactly, but his death was at the hands of Aldrich if you think about. Aldrich is the one who ate him and aborbed the powers. Unless Pontiff was the one who poisoned Gwyndolin all along.
With a game that emphasizes the linking of the Fire and the distortion of timelines because of it, it's not hard to assume that gwyndolin died, then the First flame was linked, then this starts all over again
Sulyvahn sent out five Outrider Knights, giving each one of his Eyes -- but I couldn't help noticing that there's *six* Eyes around his neck. Could there still be an Outrider Knight still out there... maybe searching the Ringed City?
Seems unlikely. Besides, we already know that Prince Lorian's crippled on account of his brother's curse -- Sulyvahn wasn't involved in it, or at least not in that way.
He's still got six of them -- I'd wager that each Eye corresponds to one of the ones he gave to his Knights, allowing him to watch the world through them (the Outriders are described as his "watchful eyes", after all). If that's the case, keeping one of the rings would be a waste, and his soul can't be transposed into a ring, which further suggests that he doesn't possess one.
Vaati, seriously dude, you're an absolutely brilliant narrator and author. I keep saying it, but Dark Souls would not be the game it is without you. Thank you.
My take on Sulyvahn's story: I love the fact that he came out of the painted world. It lets you know about him in so little words. Just the mere fact he was born in the painted world and ventured out. I think there is a deeper message to Sulivans background. The painted world symbolizes him perfectly - and matches his actions. And empty man with a heart is as cold as the painted world itself. In a way, he IS the painted world - cold, empty, fearful, hungry, meaningless. Imagine being born in a never-ending winter where there is no to relate to. His "ambitions" were only him wanted to experience his own humanity which he lacked back in the painted world. Description says he never experiences "loss." But how can he experience "loss" without first 'gaining' How would one understand what 'humanity' is like without going through Dark Souls philosophy on 'humanity'? Yes, Greed(Anor londo), lust(dancer), torture(subordinates), lies(lothric mentoring) - all of sins you can think of. One eventually has to go through all that to really know its like. You can't understand good without its context being evil. And he does so to the fullest, as well as the experience of losing it in one fell swoop. The moral of the story here is that no matter how powerful you are, everything, sooner or later, will come to an end. You can't take anything with you when you die, only the experience and memories of it.
That's what's so cool about Sulyvahn's lore. He likely wasn't anything we'd call evil at first, just a man wanting to experience life instead of endless decay. He wants to experience humanity, and if the theory is true that the Profaned Flame is actually a power of the Abyss, a power strongly if not fundamentally related to the Dark Soul of man, then it's no surprise he was so easily swayed by what could be called the very quintessence of the humanity he sought.
Sullyvahn: Master of frost sorceries and moon miracles, has an eternal flame capable of destroying kingdoms, uses Deep magic, is a master manipulator who has an entire church following him, not to mention a Lord of Cinder supporting him Ashen One: *GREATSWORD*
Road Runner At a low level it just takes a long time. She’s not very hard to dodge, so its possible to beat her early, and much easier than a lot of the other bosses would be.
A church that uses the arcane arts of the deep, turning men into beasts and rotting away at a city under the moonlight. That sounds very... unfamiliar. Ive never heard of another game like this
This could be your best Dark Souls 3 video, it was a fantastically well told story. It' surprising how soon in the game we meet and beat the Pontiff considering how important and influential he is to the narrative, if there is a main antagonist in Lothric he's the prime candidate.
Literally the complete opposite of this buddy! The fact that you fight him early and find out most of the implications of his actions after you kill him is such a subtle and new experience! They always have the big bad guy at the end - that's forced, that's done to death. Takes a lot of nerve to set the potential narrative up like this and I think they nailed it.
I kind of like how he's basically right in the middle of the game. Kind of matches how he's right in the middle of the lore. He's allied with Aldritch and the Deep, he's afflicted by the Profaned Flame, he seems to have a solid amount of influence in Lothric. Just about the only area he doesn't seem to have affected is Carthus/Smoldering Lake, but that area has always seemed like a bit of an interlude in the narrative, a sort of respite before the heavy lore in Irithyll and the Profaned Capital. He even made a mark on one of the DLC's! It makes it so that, if you read the item descriptions, he has a bit of buildup, but you don't understand his magnitude until after he's gone. Like many of the best stories in Dark Souls, you don't get to learn them until the important characters are dead. And it helps the...finality of the main game's endgame that the 3 endgame bosses aren't big baddies. There's the Nameless King, who apparently is not a fan of bells, but has heavy lore implications and answers a long-asked question. There's the twin princes, who just want to be left alone and watch the fire fade. And there's the Soul of Cinder, who is just a test of your skills. These aren't the villains. The villains are all dead. These are just the ones who are left (which is hammered even more home by the Ringed City DLC).
animelover3083 I'd say yes, but not many. Most antagonistic characters aren't really villainous, they're usually just insane, hollow, doing their job, or trying to protect that which they hold dear (or some combination of the four). I really don't think that anyone in DSI falls into this category (maybe Nito, but even then). In DSII, I'd say that three of the Daughters of Manus could be seen as genuinely villainous (not the Queen of Eleum Loyce, though). And then in DSIII, we have Sulyvahn.
You know you should write a Dark Souls Complete Lore Book... I guess it wouldn't be too hard for you. You could implement all your thoughts and theories in it since you are most precise in theorising the Soul series. I think people would love to have such a book no matter it being based on theories, you could also put "item" and other sources for such theories like you already do in your videos. I for certain would definitely get your book and also believe others would too.
I would want such a book to exist as much as I don't want it to exist. Even if these are just minor details, like you said, Food with gluten, you have your own theories, so does everyone. I would shout at anyone telling me the Pontiff did NOT cooperate with the princes, for example. At the same time I would love a DS(3) lore book with pergament-style paper, unique artworks of the characters, and insight inspections of Dark Souls many places and events. One could solve the indeniable community split upon release of said book by having it signed as VaatiVidaya's opinion and letting others follow the trend, but that would create a huge mess of books
I wouldn't want a book written by Vaati. Instead, I'd love it if he read all these lore stuff to all of us ;-; His production is incredibly high quality
I think this is a good idea so long as it is a collection of lore and theoroes (as you said) and NOT a narrative. Also it would be even sicker with a bunch of art in it
I think you might've messed up at 3:33. Smough was never made a knight because he was so cruel. He always wanted to be and it's heavily implied he holds resentment towards Ornstein because of this. In Dark Souls, if you downed Ornstein first, Smough would actually be the one to kill him and absorb his lightning.
Shrek Fanboy I think Smough wanted to be one of the Four Knights like Artorias and Ciaran. I would consider him a knight but he resented not being one of them. That's how I see it anyway.
Freak story says he was not allowed to be a night because he would grind the bones of his enemies and use it as a spice. Gwyn saw this as barbaric and would not allow him to ever become a knight
Smough wasn't one of Gwyn's Four Knights, but couldn't he have been an ordinary knight like Solaire was, for example? Or are we explicitly told that Smough wasn't any sort of knight at all? I had the impression that he wasn't allowed to be one of Gwyn's Knights like Ornstein and Artorias were, but maybe he was still a basic knight. EDIT: I went back to the video and Vaati calls him a knight of Gwyn. Nevermind my comment, I now see what your comment is talking about. It does seem like he made a small error.
Shrek Fanboy Smough was also reputed to be a cannibal and a prick, from what I remember. He was also a brute, plain and simple. He would probably drop a hammer on his own mother at her funeral. It's not surprising that he would drop a hammer on Ornstein as he lay dying.
That wasn't the real Ornstein, or the real Smough, at least not in my opinion. Anor Londo was an illusion. The sky. The guards and demons prowling the streets. The big titted princess. All of it fake. The gateway to Anor Londo was Sens Fortress. Only three people we knew got through. Knight King Rendell (despite numerous claims). An unnamed Berenike knight (ill get to him soon), and Black Iron Tarkus. We knew what happened to Tarkus. He fell, and died as he crossed the narrow ledges of the Painting Room. A horrible fate to be sure, but we never knew what happened to Knight King Rendell. See, Rendell was an undead. And as an undead, he would journey to Lordran. Along they way, a number of his household guards joined him. All undead. He learned of the great city of the gods, Anor Londo, and made his way there. Crossing through the Parish, Sens Fortress, and ultimately to Anor Londo. Same with the Knights of Berenike, to which i'm sure Tarkus was apart of. Now see, Rendell was the Knight King of Balder as you can tell just by fighting his hollowed household guards. Now take this into account: When you defile Gwynevere's image, you are met with twilight. And outside her "protectors" room, a Berenike Knight and a Balder Knight await. The only human Balder knight ever encountered. It would make sense that Rendell teamed up with this Knight of Berenike and fought their way through the Fortress, and the streets of Anor Londo, to reach Gwynevere and fulfill the legend, but it turned out that neither of them were the Chosen Undead. And so they were met by Gwyndolin, who saw their potential and prowess, and gave the secret of Anor Londo away. He offered the two a deal. Become Blades of the Darkmoon and guard the Cathedral and wait for the true Chosen Undead (and possibly his sunhumpin' friend). They were to be his final test. To see if he was truly chosen. Look at the movesets in the game. As you fight Smough, he constantly charges you and otherwise provides a great nuisance. The unnamed Knight of Berenike does much the same. The Balder Knight acts more like Ornstein. Hopping in an out of your range, pissing you off, and chipping away at your health while his heavier hitting friend tanks you. So, in closing, they are not the true Knights of Gwyn, but rather, two illusions. Smough actually being the Berenike knight, and Ornstein being the Knight King Rendell. Of course, this is my interpretation of it and I could be entirely wrong. But, Miyazaki did state once that things in the Souls games could tell a story with silence.
For me, it was actually loss what impulse Sulyvahn out of the painting. I think that the tree was Sulyvahn's mother and someone transformed it into a frozen tree. That's when he experience loss. And that's why his M.O is to deform people into another beings, a way to control his trauma by forcing it into his victims. He could not bear loss, therefore he escape and made an entire world victim of the same loss he wield. And I also think that the reason that he shames the Dancer it is because of some twisted sentimentally of his, a way to, at least, connect to something or someone. I don't know, I like Vaati's version too, but I got to reckon, The Pontiff is a complex character.
Bro champion gundyr is so underrated bossfight it was probably the most enjoyable bossfight in ds3 for me, such great move sets and yet very fare at the same time. @@gregh5061
What if Pontiffs original goal was to save the Painted World of Ariandel and the young painter girl? Sure hes a bit of a dick after all the Profaned Flame business, but it seems to me that he might have known about Gael's search for the Dark Soul. And in an attempt to assist Gael in some regard, he began sacrificing the remaining gods to Aldrich, so they would not link the fire. Aldrich, so preoccupied with his gluttony and the bounty Sulyvahn had given him, would be loathe to give it up to link the fire once more. Using the power of the Profaned Flame, Sulyvahn could have been attempting to keep Yhorm imprisoned within the Profaned Capital. And with so many of his Deep/Abyss afflicted followers nearby the Farron Keep, as well as the ever-present threat of High Lord Wolnir, the insane and corrupted Farron Abyss Watchers would never abandon their duty to link the fire again. Many of Pontiff's Outrider Knights are found within Lothric Castle, as well as Vordt and the Dancer, who could have all well been sent by him to capture, kill, or imprison the Twin Princes, thus essentially exterminating the heirs of fire and removing any chances of the First Flame actually being linked. All of this maneuvering by the Pontiff would leave Gael to search the world for the Dark Soul at his will, and eventually a new world might be painted with that Dark Soul, one in which Sulyvahn might finally belong. Just a theory I had, hopefully it doesn't sound too far-fetched.
I do think the Pontiff definitely put his minions in strategic places to keep the Lords of Cinder confined. I dunno if he was coordinating with Gael, but we do find Gael in the Cleansing Chapel, praying to Velka, in Aldrich's home turf. Being a former slave knight, a hollow used as nothing but a tool, Gale probably didn't think highly of the gods or the kindling of the flame. He's also interacting with the painted world, a place where Priscilla, who was feared by the gods, used to live, and the place Sulyvahn came from.
This is an interesting theory to be sure! Though I think that the case with the Twin Princes is actually the opposite. I feel like Sulyvahn already knew Lothric and Lorian had no intention of linking the First Flame, so instead of those knights being sent to Lothric Castle to attempt to kill or capture the Princes, they could've very well been sent to keep watch over and protect the Princes instead.
no one ever fucking puts on the police ring cause people are too busy playing with their friends i can always invade and see people playing with their friends rarely lone randoms
I actually get summoned a lot as darkmoon, But the fucking problem is that the host is usually nowhere to be found or already dead by the time I get there. The spawn locations for dark moon is atrocious
It also always struck me as interesting how the Deacons used pyromancies. Specifically the fire ball. They were men of faith, but wield magic that requires both faith, AND intelligence. Just an observation
Zaczus 333 When Yhorm became a lord of cinder, the profaned flame reacted and scorched everyone alive in what is now the profaned capital. This may be due to a giant linking the first flame, but it is never explicitly stated.
While Aldrich was sleeping, he dreamt of an age beyond the Firelinking Curse, the Deep Sea. Everything he did, (while in tandem with his gluttony) was a bid to transcend the cycle that we’ve been slave to for 3 games. It’s only in the ending that we put our hopes for a new world without servitude in a child with a painting set. It seems to me that Aldrich was a genius, or at the very least, he rejected the eternal ring, which is admirable.
Julian Thomas Exactly right. For me, any character that is attempting to transcend the cycle of light and dark, is the one ‘in the right’. What good is morality when eternity is doomed to repeat itself? Eat people, break the cycle, #ImWithAldrich
All you heretics, Sulyvahn is one of the best and nicest characters in all of Dark Souls. Why? Well, because he trapped Yorshka, leader of the worst covenant in DS3. Plus, right beneath his arena is the most popular PvP hotspot in this game. Poor Sulyvahn just wanted to save us from the salt of online play. But we went and killed him. We should be ashamed.
The Pontiff was the only boss I felt really deserved to die and wasn’t just in the Ashen One’s way. Think: • *Gundyr*: In the way to get to Firelink. Just another Unkindled doomed to an eternity of testing other Unkindled. • *Vordt*: In the way to get out of Lothric Wall. A proud knight corrupted by the Pontiff. • *Crystal Sage*: In your way to get to the Cathedral. A master of magic and not really at fault for anything. • *Deacons*: In your way to get the Doll. Once venerable clergymen, corrupted by the dark they were founded to contain. • *Wolnir*: In your way to get to Irythill. Yes, he doomed many souls to the Abyss, but when it comes down to it he’s like Gwyn: a once great lord, now scared and alone, afraid of the dark. • *Dancer*: In your way to get into Lothric Castle. Another knight corrupted by Sullyvahn. • *Lords of Cinder*: In your way to Link the Fire and fulfill your duty. They do what they think is right, or have just gone insane or been corrupted. • *Soul Of Cinder*: Literally In your way to link the fire. No real motive, just a manifestation meant to prove your worth. Like Gundyr, really. And the Pontiff. A tyrannical, cold-hearted ruler who enslaved and bestialized his own innocent citizens, drove out the royal family and left some to be enslaved or devoured, aiming to usurp the fire and plunge the world into dark.
It's one of two things. Either Gwyndolin promoted Smough to knight after Orenstein left, or this is one of those things where history is not told/remembered exactly as it happened.
Quite a fitting death if Aldrich did eat him imo. A guy who loved nothing more than killing and eating people ends up as the prey, to a guy who loves killing and eating people even more.
I personally pity Sulyvahn for his story. It must be the real pain inside, that makes you want to change the world, that is unchangable and cycled forever, not like ours, which is pretty random and always moves on. Royal family, totally feeding on their people. What pain must have been his existence, that he willingly corrupted his souls with profaned flames and more than that - started looking in the fking abyss, that basically eats you with it's insects and curse. How much patience, waiting, studying, spying, manipulating - how much of his life he wasted only to get out of the routine, just to realise in the end, that the routine will never stop, for even disgusting unkindled ones, not even a human beings (useless ash) can kill him, after he gained all the power he could get his hands to
I imagine it'd be something like Samurai Jack the character stumbling across different weird encounters while trying to advance. Come to think of it, The Scotsman is fairly similar to Siegmeyer/siegland. With the gore of primal.
Eh… I feel like Fromsoft stories only work in a video game setting where environmental storytelling and flavor text scattered throughout the world tell bits and pieces of the lore. A tv show would probably oversimplify it and make it less compelling, not to mention the horrible track record of video game adaptations
Now when I kill this boss I don’t feel joy for killing him after he killed me 11 times. I now feel justice that has been served, I just wished that we could save the Dancer and keep her as an ally.
Vaati, please...please, for the love of god please can you please do a video showing the family tree of gwyn. how it links to gwynevere, and who exactly is the queen of lothric, and how many children does she have? how is oceiros a royal? who are his parents? omg, this needs to be done. you are the man for this arduous job.
It's really amazing exactly how deep the Pontiff's influence goes through the game of DS3. I kind of wish he had gotten more of a spotlight, or a DLC (Friede was the star of AoA, sadly).
Dark Souls is filled with tons of similarities and idea found in Berserk. I like the idea of having the final boss be a reference to one of the best characters from such an amazing story.
From the Anime/Manga Berserk. Originally a friend of the main character, he betrays him, basically becomes a demon and starts trying to bring about the end of the world
Incorrect: Griffith wants to bring about a more pure world with him guiding humanity to its "heights". It just so happens that Griffith caused so many chaotic and unfathomable situations in motion with him in the centre of it all.
I was starting to draw a smile when you mention the defeat of Sulyvahn for all the stuff he did, until you ended the video with the curse... I don't know what face I have to put now... These lore and prepare to cry videos are amazing. Dark souls is indeed a remarkable game.
"Yes Gwyndolin, im definetley one of your knights and are here to take you to somewhere safe, no need to worry, now please enter this oversized cooking cauldraon."
After seeing this it feels weird that Sulyvahn doesn't have a dedicated cutscene in the game. Of course it's typical Dark souls lore hidden in items. However for being such an important character to the whole storyline, he is simply thrown at you without any big introduction and felt very forgettable to me during my first playthrough. Knowing all the lore behind him, it makes him such a great character that feels like the game should have given him more attention, maybe he could have even been the true final boss?
I think it was a deliberate thing on their part. At first he just seems like just another boss, but as you learn more about him and see how influential he was you develop a deeper understanding in hindsight. Yet at the same time the fact that his boss fight was so normal and he doesn't come off as particularly special kinda drives in the fact that despite all his hard work and political machinations, in the end it all amounted to nothing, and he never actually stood a chance of ending the cycle. He did all this work to try and end the age of fire and prevent it's kindling, yet all the fire had to do was send out a single unkindled and everything was unraveled. And not only was he beaten, but the unkindled didn't even consider it a particularly special feat, he didn't regard the man with any kind of awe or gravitas, he was just a small obstacle in the way of his real goal, a footnote. The game not giving him attention actually helps to cement his futility.
Do you guys think that Sulyvahn is the best well-written character on the Soulsborne series? He is literally connected to everything and make sense, in any point he seems forced to me.
Laurence arguably started Bloodborne and all his actions have lasting consequences. Don't remember anyone naming him the best well-written character in the series.
Good call on Lawrence. His initially small act of breaking away to pursue his own ideas becomes such an insane snowball of calamity. I'm really biased at this point into not liking Sulyvahn at all. I loved demons souls, loved dark souls 1 even more, then dark souls 2 and 3 felt incredibly thin in terms of interesting lore and boss fights. So when I picked up bloodbourne it pretty much blew me away at what I felt was a vastly superior world they had created. People will of course have thier own ideas of what is good but even after watching this video (good as they are) i'm like 'Pontiff Sulyvahn... erm.. forgotten it all already'. How can he possibly compare to Micolash, Gehrman, Ostrava of Boletaria and Knight Fuck-Mothering Solaire?
With the new introduction into slave knight Gael story in the ringed city , slave night Gael was most likely one of the first pigmy's and he even fought against the dragon
Beautiful video Vaati, as always you do such a great job. But there are some things you didn't address, like why a statue of a young Sulyvahn is in Lothric Castle and what is his connection to the Scholars of The Grand Archives?
sitting under the tree is where i spend most of my days inventing frost magic, relaxin' all cool and shootin' sorceries outside of my hood. When a couple of unkindleds, who were up to no good Started gettin' embered in my neighborhood. I got in one little fight and my tree got scared And said 'you're movin with your gods in irithyll.
One Lunch Man They don't deserve the lore, the game was designed for conquerors in a way; people that played, failed and in their thirst for accomplishment, or to give or obtain meaning or answers. The difficulty of the game was meant to separate those that demonstrated themselves worthy of of such insight. I love that, because that in a way makes me part of a small community (in my case solely the Bloodborne one since it's why I bought a ps4 in the first place and as of now its the only game I have). So be proud of being part of something you earned by continuing there where others failed and gave up, this game and the others from FROMSOFTWARE were made on it's entirety for people like you and me and anyone that has taken their time to find answers. Honestly I prefer that few are us who have the honor to be a part of the game lore since I believe it would become cheap and superficial if everyone had access to it, which the difficulty in the games becomes a filter. *randomly neighs like Ludwig *
Irithyll is a wonder of design, atmosphere and creativity. I'm on my first playthrough of DS3 now and Irithyll stands as one of the most memorable locations in any video game for me, it really made an impression on my imagination. If that place were real I'd move there and never leave.
I know this is late bro but you not just a hero ur a super super hero bro thank you very much I tried many apps trying to find it but no luck. thank you alot
Vordt is never far away from the Dancer, as if they are connected. The dancer has a fragment of Gwyndolin's soul, her mother. Smough is the last of the Knights to remain in Anor Londo. Vordt is a fatty with a huge hammer. Smough = Vordt?
Yeah, that happens if you make 2 Covenants that serve the same role and can only "invade" if the host is in the only covenant with NO progression and no effect other than summoning said phantoms... Really bad move FROM -.- Was it really that hard to give us Blue Eye Orb?
“Free my homie he did nothing wrong”
Their homie:
😂
😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Always fear a man with zero souls he has nothing to lose
U ever get that rush? Both losing ur chance at getting ur souls and the realization that it doesn’t matter any longer?
Earl Josh Beloria I never worry about it. I’ll take out my anger on the spiders in the sewers
Every one tried to counter you, i think that you said something very powerfull
An unembered man with no souls
That moment when you lose those 40000+ souls you were saving.
The complex plot of dark souls 3
Something bad happens.
Turns out Sulyvahn did it.
Sulyvahn did nothing wrong.
-He's a Belkan confirmed-
What lies do you dare tell of undead filth.
@@pontiffsulyvahn9182 bruh
Church Boi High on Profaned Flame and The Abyss goes mental on The Puny Gods and Undead in a Dying World
Dark Souls 1 - It's all Gwyn's fault
Dark Souls 3 - It's all Sulyvahn's fault
“The Pontiff made many enemies and they were his downfall in the end“
lol git ganked church boi
Always point down on Sulyvahn
LOL *CHURCH BOI*
Lol. Seriously, though, didn't he just use the Way of White and not follow their faith?
@Fresh Beginnings Yeah. Worded it wrong sorry.
@Fresh Beginnings He didn't "use" Aldrich like a tool, it was more like when Aldrich did something it usually helped Sulyvahn one way or another.
"Sulyvhan forced out the beasthood within men."
He didn't fear the Old Blood. Master Willem would be so disappointed.
Beast all over the shop, sooner or later you will be one of them
Sulyvahn needed more eyes. The many that he had were, obviously, insufficient.
Dragorosso95 "Grant us eyes... Grant us eyes..."
Ironically, granting his Right and Left Eyes was what turned his outrider knights into beasts.
@@Bluecho4 Oh Snap Sulyvhan is one of the Old Ones! Just hiding in a humanoid form to shape the world in his grasp!
Imagine being Sulyvahn and accomplishing all of this just to be bested by some guy who skipped all the cuts scenes, fat rolling and spamming soul arrow.
And summons for every fight
imagine being sulyvahn and getting wrecked by some dex/str build in a loincloth and a greatsword.
It must suck for him in quite a few runs of mine. Guy who has consumed no souls to empower himself, guy who beat him to death with his bare fists. Challenge runs are awesome. I love humiliating people like sulyvhan and various gods with some silly restriction
Or by a green boi with bare fists.
This guy is pretty much the closest thing to a main antagonist as it gets. And he's like the halfway boss!
He enslaved a whole city, made the gods leave their home, locked away Gwyndolin, gave Aldrich acess to his kingdom so that he could eat men and Gwyndolin to get strong. Yeah...
And funnily enough, he's much more difficult than most of the bosses after him.
joshua kim IMO he is the hardest main series boss. The nameless king is easily choreographed. The dancer is late game and no insane combos.
+BCwithPC
Nameless can also be cheesed. A crossbow and keeping distance causes him to not use most of his attacks, and his slow edgy-walk makes him an easy target. His 2nd phase in this regard is also the rare case of a boss in DkS3 that's (shockingly) easier to beat with magic.
Sir Potato yeah...imo Nameless second phase is cheap chit and way harder than Pontiff, but imo Pontiffs fight is much more fair and fun.
My first time fighting Pontiff Sulyvahn without understanding any lore.
I don’t know who I am,
I don’t know why I’m here,
All I know is that I must kill
Basically me against any boss
After understand the lore about Sully: I now know for sure that I MUST kill
Well, yes. That’s pretty much how 90% of everyone plays SoulsBorne games
Yup can't argue with that
Literally me, f*ck it i have story too😂
Man, Sulyvahn pulled off some Palpatine-level scheming there.
"I am the Darkmoon Knights!"
@@Ζήνων-ζ1ι Indeed I am. Ashen one. Or at least now I am.
@@Ζήνων-ζ1ι not yet
@@Julius_Caesar69420 it's treason THEN .
@@Ζήνων-ζ1ι "UNLIMITED...COMBO!!!!"
"If this man can't change the world what hope do we have?" WELL WE BETTER GIT GUD
Artair Rose gives me conniptions
*points down*
and we got gud
Well...What is it?!
Such a powerful statement to end the video. I am excited to see the Dark Souls conclusion later this month.
Theres actually a really cool theory that speculates that Sulyvahn went looking for the Profaned Flame in order to eliminate the rot in the Painted World of Ariandel, but he got corrupted and turned into the bad guy we all know.
I can believe that.
Too bad you lot shall never know.
Probably looking the First Flame, but knowing little of the main world’s lore, he stumbled into the Profaned Capital instead. Wrong flame, wrong results.
@@curts7801 shush.
@@pontiffsulyvahn9182 I feel like you could use a hug
Sulyvahn told the archers where to stand in Anor Londo.
Sulyvahn set Vendrick up with Nashandra.
Most unforgivable of all Sulyvahn pushed Tarkus from the rafters.
The most evil in the series indeed
Sulyvahn manipulated Frampt and Kaathe
Sulyvahn brought the divine dragon to japan and got Alexander stuck in the ground
@@noobsgroobs9158 Sulyvahn told Malenia that Miquella was in Caelid and told Mohg how to sneak into the Haligtree
Sulyvahn told the dung eater how the headless of ashina consume the energy of their victims
If this man can't change the world, what hope do we have?
Gives me conniptions.
Maarten Burger we're not worthy
Maarten Burger They made him a Lord of Cinder, not for virtue; but for might
What a sham.
Joyous bunch, really ^^
I got shivers at the end of this video. Very well done.
"Where could my dear brother be "
He's inside Aldrich's tummy
Well, not technically "inside"
@@breedingpitmetal I do believe Sulyvahn was inside Gwyndolin ;)
@@zraven2931 Gwyndolin is male.
LegendMeadow it makes more sense since whenever you die to sulyvahn you would call him gay
I would rather say midway, like feets in the stomach and legs in the esophagus.
Buh, I'm sure he's fine. ;)
*pat Yorshka on the shoulder*
I never wondered but... the dancer probaly suffers from some hell back pain if she always walks like that
She's been mutated into an animal-like creature, though. Obviously, her skeleton must've adapted to walking on all fours. And look at her neck!! The fact that she's still known as 'The Dancer' by the time you fight her is creepy, she's been turned into a beast-human, and she STILL dances?? Sulyvahn has got some kinks, that's for sure.
@@jakespacepiratee3740 If you use her twin daggers as a male character, you look pretty gay.
Her ass is nice though
@@alonelyperson6031 True, I love its physic when you hit it. So bouncy
@@LeMustache you guys are creepy but I like it :d
Healing Church: We are the most evil church based organization in all of Soulborne.
Sulyvhan: Hold my estus.
The church isn't evil at all, they are just beasts with good intentions.
@@nirvanic3610 as the saying goes, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
@@nirvanic3610 Janos, go back to your gods be damned wall, Tyrion sent you there for a reason, lol.
He ain’t got estus! He do have wombo combos tho...
Testus*
In his second phase as we all know he summons a shade of sorts. If you kill it, he summons another one to help him continue fighting. Thing is, the shade is the one initiating the attacks while Sulyvahn follows. Like the shade is the one puppeteering _him_ . What's going on there? Is this representation of the evil possessing him? Some shadow of the Profaned Flame/Abyss that took over him? You can never truly kill the shade. If you do it'll just respawn infinitely, it's become so innately a part of Sulyvahn's being. The only way to get rid of it is to kill the Pontiff himself altogether.
I saw someone theorize, something that would actually put him in a somewhat sympathetic light, was that he saw how his homeland was rotting away and needed flame to burn it away, and so in an attempt to help renovate the Painted World and do away with the rot, sought outside his world after what he heard to be one of the most powerful flames existing, the profaned of course. But in his attempt to retrieve it to do good it corrupted him instead, leading to all the business that went on afterward. Does that seem plausible? I don't know, I'm no Loremaster 9000 myself, I just like hearing/reading interesting observations about things.
His power reminds me of what the Darklurker did in Dark Souls II ... tried to split itself in half. However, they shared the same life bar and whomever took damage, both received it. However with Pontiff, his shadow has it's own life bar. It really does make me think that your theory has more value than most would assume. I like your theory a lot, well done pointing out a very interesting concept about his shadow.
I actually posted this same thing on reddit, I think it may be his shattered soul because as you kill him you can see this shade unite both with him in death.
Actually this theory is very plausible, especially that the stories in the painting say that a second ash (the first one being Elfriede) will one day come and help burn the painting, so maybe he initially set out to find said ash?
If we put together the two theories that the queen of Lotrhic is Gwynevere and that the first of the scholars is Sulyvahn, then maybe he became a scholar in order to find an ashen one, much like Gwynevere is looking for an ashen one to link the flame.
We know that Friede "buried the Flame", that could be the Profaned one, why not?
Love your theory, this really shed some light to this most hated person in the entire Souls universe.
But if he is corrupted by the profaned flame then why is his shadow clone has a purple colour that is the same as the sorcery Sulyvahn himself used.
Sulyvahn always wants to change the world, so he may really want to burn the rot away so the painting will no longer be forlorn and despairing. He is against the linking of the fire so maybe he wants to take the first flame himself and cleanse the painting world ?
When he said "Sister Gwynevere with her silver knights", my thoughts "Yeah, 2 big knights"
Try holding with both hands!
Tom Haswell Amazing chest ahead!
I was just looking at them when I read your comment and thinking that.
Every time Vaati mentions here I just think hehe big lady
Two juicy knights
In conclusion: "He was huge a*shole anyway".
All kidding aside, superb video as usual man. Cheers!
Matthew Shezmen um where is this mans attention in this comment section?
Corey Berg Here it is.
Lol when are you gonna make the dlcs parody
This man is beautiful a treasure of an animator.
Oof
- You can paint a world for lost souls to find home
- It can be anything, paradise-like warm beach or rain forest, a well-lead city of wonders
- You paint a goddamn ice desert full of ruins and things, that want to kill you on every step
LOGIC
That's why the little painter girl in DLC wants to paint a warm and nice world.
This land is peaceful it's inhabitants kind
@@MonkeyNeuronActivation And Dark
And you see why I wanted out now?
@@MonkeyNeuronActivation : She said she want to paint another cold world.
So does this mean that canonically, Gwyndolin survived past Dark Souls 1 and that his "true" death was at the hands of Sullivan?
Exactly, but his death was at the hands of Aldrich if you think about. Aldrich is the one who ate him and aborbed the powers. Unless Pontiff was the one who poisoned Gwyndolin all along.
he is an optional boss so it isn't terrible to assume he lives.
With a game that emphasizes the linking of the Fire and the distortion of timelines because of it, it's not hard to assume that gwyndolin died, then the First flame was linked, then this starts all over again
Killing optional bosses isn't exactly canon
Yes but killing ornstein and smough isnt optional and somehow they still live in 3rd game
Sulyvahn sent out five Outrider Knights, giving each one of his Eyes -- but I couldn't help noticing that there's *six* Eyes around his neck. Could there still be an Outrider Knight still out there... maybe searching the Ringed City?
+Mark Hashman Or maybe it's Lorien, he fights the same way as the Outrider Knights.
Seems unlikely. Besides, we already know that Prince Lorian's crippled on account of his brother's curse -- Sulyvahn wasn't involved in it, or at least not in that way.
He needs to keep one eyes...
He's still got six of them -- I'd wager that each Eye corresponds to one of the ones he gave to his Knights, allowing him to watch the world through them (the Outriders are described as his "watchful eyes", after all). If that's the case, keeping one of the rings would be a waste, and his soul can't be transposed into a ring, which further suggests that he doesn't possess one.
Mark Hashman oh ho ho
Vaati, seriously dude, you're an absolutely brilliant narrator and author. I keep saying it, but Dark Souls would not be the game it is without you.
Thank you.
Just finished the video. The ending gave me goosebumps, just incredible, dude.
Indeed.
@@EverTM Yeah ......n hit me hard when he said ......"If a man like him could not change the world ......then wht hope do we hv "
True I just finished dark souls 3 and i came here to listen to the lore. Didn’t expect the best dueler i have fought was an evil bastard
*Motivational Poster*
Sulyvahn: "You can do anything if you put your mind to it!"
(Shit starts exploding in the background) XD
Not gonna lie, Sulyvahn is a badass to go from a sorcery scrub to a dual greatsword wielding madman... pretty cool ;)
Ravus Nox Fleuret is he from DS2? because that powerstance is stronk as fuck
Yeah i think he went on vacation to Drangleic at some point in his life :D
only vacation? methinks he took a sabbatical and murdered the land
Can you all stop talking behind my fucking back? Many thx.
Ravus the only was regularly sorcerers win if if they use the environment in PvP and if they don't anybody with a good sword can murder them
Okay, but at what point did he get hit with a Stand Arrow?
Somewhere in part 3,during his fight with champion star platinum.
JOJO
Are some kind of god? It doesn't matter where I go, you always show up again at some point XD
By Aldrich, has a reward for letting him eat a god
It will be seen in part 9
My take on Sulyvahn's story:
I love the fact that he came out of the painted world. It lets you know about him in so little words. Just the mere fact he was born in the painted world and ventured out. I think there is a deeper message to Sulivans background. The painted world symbolizes him perfectly - and matches his actions. And empty man with a heart is as cold as the painted world itself. In a way, he IS the painted world - cold, empty, fearful, hungry, meaningless. Imagine being born in a never-ending winter where there is no to relate to. His "ambitions" were only him wanted to experience his own humanity which he lacked back in the painted world. Description says he never experiences "loss." But how can he experience "loss" without first 'gaining' How would one understand what 'humanity' is like without going through Dark Souls philosophy on 'humanity'? Yes, Greed(Anor londo), lust(dancer), torture(subordinates), lies(lothric mentoring) - all of sins you can think of. One eventually has to go through all that to really know its like. You can't understand good without its context being evil. And he does so to the fullest, as well as the experience of losing it in one fell swoop.
The moral of the story here is that no matter how powerful you are, everything, sooner or later, will come to an end. You can't take anything with you when you die, only the experience and memories of it.
That's what's so cool about Sulyvahn's lore. He likely wasn't anything we'd call evil at first, just a man wanting to experience life instead of endless decay. He wants to experience humanity, and if the theory is true that the Profaned Flame is actually a power of the Abyss, a power strongly if not fundamentally related to the Dark Soul of man, then it's no surprise he was so easily swayed by what could be called the very quintessence of the humanity he sought.
ye but he killd gwyndolin
He kinda reminds me of Ai Coleman
@@Gas-maske dunno man, I don't feel like ai really can relate to sulyvahn
@@976sasa Gwyndolin himself was a pretty twisted dude, so it's not necessarily killing Gwyndolin that's bad, it's the method and motive behind it.
"... profaned, for it has the abyss hidden within it..."
*looks to the dungeon*
*sees the abyss watchers arriving*
* Velstat's giant bell starts ringing *
Sulyvahn: *sweats profusely*
STAB THE FLAME
*edge walking intensifies*
@@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem *scared dark noises*
Sullyvahn: Master of frost sorceries and moon miracles, has an eternal flame capable of destroying kingdoms, uses Deep magic, is a master manipulator who has an entire church following him, not to mention a Lord of Cinder supporting him
Ashen One: *GREATSWORD*
I still fought him with magic.
Yes
If for support you mean storming into his house and locking himself into his basement while eating a femboy...
me: soul arrow for 10 minutes :)
Sellsword Twinblades
I was a tyrant like you once ,until I got parried
Lol
Lmao
Tyrant is a harsh term.
time for new technique "poise through parry" / immune to stagger from parry
Sadly I can't parry with my Pierce Shield, it's Bullshit
1:49 are you... trying to hypnotise me?!
cause its working, I suddenly have an irresistible urge to read item descriptions brb
SunlightBlade Dang, not even giving first source docs. Well Sunlight, looks like we will have to..... READ!
SunlightBlade Hey it's lightning blade
oh god it infected me too
SunlightBlade holyshit its sunlightblade hi. also not just u xD
SunlightBlade holy shit. Lightning blade
I never noticed but I killed him with a Vordt Hammer.. REVENGE FOR VORDT!!!!
**Vordt theme chorus plays**
Take out the Dancer early, and you get revenge x2.
Road Runner dancer isn’t that hard, just keep out of the fire
Road Runner
At a low level it just takes a long time. She’s not very hard to dodge, so its possible to beat her early, and much easier than a lot of the other bosses would be.
Thank you. Vordt would be proud at the redeeming vengeance.
@Road Runner bro fr, after I killed the first main boss in high wall I went to vs the dancer and got 1 shotted💀
Sulyvahn is to Dark Souls 3 what Zues was to Greek Mythology. Didn't cause all the problems but definitely caused a majority of them.
Although Zeus mostly caused problems with his penis.
Or as he calls it, his lightning bolt.
Gone as quick as it comes, some ladies say.
Um, Gwyn tho...
I always saw Gwyn as the DS version of Zeus.
Man I swear whenever I get bored of dark souls if I watch one of your videos it always gets me hyped up to play the game again
same
#NotMyPontiff
Theclaw Yaww Not Yorshkas pontiff either.
Theclaw Yaww The Russians hijacked the darkmoon blades.
The unkindled wiretapped yo pontiff
This is Fake lore!
Say what you want about him, he kept his promise to build a wall around Irithyll to keep them unkindled out. Didn't work too well though, I guess.
A church that uses the arcane arts of the deep, turning men into beasts and rotting away at a city under the moonlight. That sounds very... unfamiliar. Ive never heard of another game like this
This could be your best Dark Souls 3 video, it was a fantastically well told story. It' surprising how soon in the game we meet and beat the Pontiff considering how important and influential he is to the narrative, if there is a main antagonist in Lothric he's the prime candidate.
Literally the complete opposite of this buddy! The fact that you fight him early and find out most of the implications of his actions after you kill him is such a subtle and new experience! They always have the big bad guy at the end - that's forced, that's done to death. Takes a lot of nerve to set the potential narrative up like this and I think they nailed it.
Will is right. Pontiff is one of if not the most unique boss in the game. I think they completely nailed his storyline.
I kind of like how he's basically right in the middle of the game. Kind of matches how he's right in the middle of the lore. He's allied with Aldritch and the Deep, he's afflicted by the Profaned Flame, he seems to have a solid amount of influence in Lothric. Just about the only area he doesn't seem to have affected is Carthus/Smoldering Lake, but that area has always seemed like a bit of an interlude in the narrative, a sort of respite before the heavy lore in Irithyll and the Profaned Capital. He even made a mark on one of the DLC's! It makes it so that, if you read the item descriptions, he has a bit of buildup, but you don't understand his magnitude until after he's gone. Like many of the best stories in Dark Souls, you don't get to learn them until the important characters are dead.
And it helps the...finality of the main game's endgame that the 3 endgame bosses aren't big baddies. There's the Nameless King, who apparently is not a fan of bells, but has heavy lore implications and answers a long-asked question. There's the twin princes, who just want to be left alone and watch the fire fade. And there's the Soul of Cinder, who is just a test of your skills. These aren't the villains. The villains are all dead. These are just the ones who are left (which is hammered even more home by the Ringed City DLC).
Thesaurus Rex wait...there are true villains in dark souls games?!
animelover3083 I'd say yes, but not many. Most antagonistic characters aren't really villainous, they're usually just insane, hollow, doing their job, or trying to protect that which they hold dear (or some combination of the four). I really don't think that anyone in DSI falls into this category (maybe Nito, but even then). In DSII, I'd say that three of the Daughters of Manus could be seen as genuinely villainous (not the Queen of Eleum Loyce, though). And then in DSIII, we have Sulyvahn.
Sulyvahn is such an evil and powerful character. What a badass.
Yea, he is so powerful that he even can damage the sanity of people in reallife..fucking piece of shit boss got me frustrated real hard ;_;
Shoutout to my man Sulyvahn for giving us my favorite weapon in the game, The Profaned Greatsword
Mine too man. What a weapon 😍
Not a problem my child. Though you could have just asked for it.
Pff Greatsword of judgement ftw
I Shoutout to my man Sulyvahn for giving us the best boss cosplay.
Flipping scrubs like burgers with the weapon art since 2018!
Some say The One Ring was forged in the Profane Flame.
One ring to rule them all
So Sauron took a shit in a bowl and the Profaned Flame was born?
@@QrowBarr Plot Twist: Sulyvahn was the rape child of Sauron and sumbitchinariandel.
Is this a crossover episode
OOOOHHHH ELDEN RING!
You know you should write a Dark Souls Complete Lore Book... I guess it wouldn't be too hard for you. You could implement all your thoughts and theories in it since you are most precise in theorising the Soul series. I think people would love to have such a book no matter it being based on theories, you could also put "item" and other sources for such theories like you already do in your videos. I for certain would definitely get your book and also believe others would too.
I would want such a book to exist as much as I don't want it to exist. Even if these are just minor details, like you said, Food with gluten, you have your own theories, so does everyone. I would shout at anyone telling me the Pontiff did NOT cooperate with the princes, for example. At the same time I would love a DS(3) lore book with pergament-style paper, unique artworks of the characters, and insight inspections of Dark Souls many places and events.
One could solve the indeniable community split upon release of said book by having it signed as VaatiVidaya's opinion and letting others follow the trend, but that would create a huge mess of books
I wouldn't want a book written by Vaati.
Instead, I'd love it if he read all these lore stuff to all of us ;-;
His production is incredibly high quality
I don’t want that book, I want a vocal book with his voice
I think this is a good idea so long as it is a collection of lore and theoroes (as you said) and NOT a narrative. Also it would be even sicker with a bunch of art in it
I think you might've messed up at 3:33. Smough was never made a knight because he was so cruel. He always wanted to be and it's heavily implied he holds resentment towards Ornstein because of this. In Dark Souls, if you downed Ornstein first, Smough would actually be the one to kill him and absorb his lightning.
Shrek Fanboy I think Smough wanted to be one of the Four Knights like Artorias and Ciaran. I would consider him a knight but he resented not being one of them. That's how I see it anyway.
Freak story says he was not allowed to be a night because he would grind the bones of his enemies and use it as a spice. Gwyn saw this as barbaric and would not allow him to ever become a knight
Smough wasn't one of Gwyn's Four Knights, but couldn't he have been an ordinary knight like Solaire was, for example? Or are we explicitly told that Smough wasn't any sort of knight at all? I had the impression that he wasn't allowed to be one of Gwyn's Knights like Ornstein and Artorias were, but maybe he was still a basic knight.
EDIT: I went back to the video and Vaati calls him a knight of Gwyn. Nevermind my comment, I now see what your comment is talking about. It does seem like he made a small error.
Shrek Fanboy Smough was also reputed to be a cannibal and a prick, from what I remember. He was also a brute, plain and simple. He would probably drop a hammer on his own mother at her funeral. It's not surprising that he would drop a hammer on Ornstein as he lay dying.
That wasn't the real Ornstein, or the real Smough, at least not in my opinion. Anor Londo was an illusion. The sky. The guards and demons prowling the streets. The big titted princess. All of it fake. The gateway to Anor Londo was Sens Fortress. Only three people we knew got through. Knight King Rendell (despite numerous claims). An unnamed Berenike knight (ill get to him soon), and Black Iron Tarkus. We knew what happened to Tarkus. He fell, and died as he crossed the narrow ledges of the Painting Room. A horrible fate to be sure, but we never knew what happened to Knight King Rendell.
See, Rendell was an undead. And as an undead, he would journey to Lordran. Along they way, a number of his household guards joined him. All undead. He learned of the great city of the gods, Anor Londo, and made his way there. Crossing through the Parish, Sens Fortress, and ultimately to Anor Londo. Same with the Knights of Berenike, to which i'm sure Tarkus was apart of. Now see, Rendell was the Knight King of Balder as you can tell just by fighting his hollowed household guards. Now take this into account: When you defile Gwynevere's image, you are met with twilight. And outside her "protectors" room, a Berenike Knight and a Balder Knight await. The only human Balder knight ever encountered.
It would make sense that Rendell teamed up with this Knight of Berenike and fought their way through the Fortress, and the streets of Anor Londo, to reach Gwynevere and fulfill the legend, but it turned out that neither of them were the Chosen Undead. And so they were met by Gwyndolin, who saw their potential and prowess, and gave the secret of Anor Londo away. He offered the two a deal. Become Blades of the Darkmoon and guard the Cathedral and wait for the true Chosen Undead (and possibly his sunhumpin' friend). They were to be his final test. To see if he was truly chosen. Look at the movesets in the game. As you fight Smough, he constantly charges you and otherwise provides a great nuisance. The unnamed Knight of Berenike does much the same. The Balder Knight acts more like Ornstein. Hopping in an out of your range, pissing you off, and chipping away at your health while his heavier hitting friend tanks you.
So, in closing, they are not the true Knights of Gwyn, but rather, two illusions. Smough actually being the Berenike knight, and Ornstein being the Knight King Rendell.
Of course, this is my interpretation of it and I could be entirely wrong. But, Miyazaki did state once that things in the Souls games could tell a story with silence.
Obviously, Sulyvahn is a Great One. How else can we explain the beastly scourge of Yharnam.
Oh wait...
For me, it was actually loss what impulse Sulyvahn out of the painting. I think that the tree was Sulyvahn's mother and someone transformed it into a frozen tree. That's when he experience loss. And that's why his M.O is to deform people into another beings, a way to control his trauma by forcing it into his victims.
He could not bear loss, therefore he escape and made an entire world victim of the same loss he wield. And I also think that the reason that he shames the Dancer it is because of some twisted sentimentally of his, a way to, at least, connect to something or someone.
I don't know, I like Vaati's version too, but I got to reckon, The Pontiff is a complex character.
His backstory is darker than I knew, that said he is still my favourite boss in the game, possibly the souls trilogy.
I fuckin loved champion gundyr. If I had to count in all. Fromsoft games then it would be isshin tho
Bro champion gundyr is so underrated bossfight it was probably the most enjoyable bossfight in ds3 for me, such great move sets and yet very fare at the same time. @@gregh5061
What if Pontiffs original goal was to save the Painted World of Ariandel and the young painter girl? Sure hes a bit of a dick after all the Profaned Flame business, but it seems to me that he might have known about Gael's search for the Dark Soul. And in an attempt to assist Gael in some regard, he began sacrificing the remaining gods to Aldrich, so they would not link the fire. Aldrich, so preoccupied with his gluttony and the bounty Sulyvahn had given him, would be loathe to give it up to link the fire once more. Using the power of the Profaned Flame, Sulyvahn could have been attempting to keep Yhorm imprisoned within the Profaned Capital. And with so many of his Deep/Abyss afflicted followers nearby the Farron Keep, as well as the ever-present threat of High Lord Wolnir, the insane and corrupted Farron Abyss Watchers would never abandon their duty to link the fire again. Many of Pontiff's Outrider Knights are found within Lothric Castle, as well as Vordt and the Dancer, who could have all well been sent by him to capture, kill, or imprison the Twin Princes, thus essentially exterminating the heirs of fire and removing any chances of the First Flame actually being linked. All of this maneuvering by the Pontiff would leave Gael to search the world for the Dark Soul at his will, and eventually a new world might be painted with that Dark Soul, one in which Sulyvahn might finally belong. Just a theory I had, hopefully it doesn't sound too far-fetched.
I do think the Pontiff definitely put his minions in strategic places to keep the Lords of Cinder confined. I dunno if he was coordinating with Gael, but we do find Gael in the Cleansing Chapel, praying to Velka, in Aldrich's home turf. Being a former slave knight, a hollow used as nothing but a tool, Gale probably didn't think highly of the gods or the kindling of the flame. He's also interacting with the painted world, a place where Priscilla, who was feared by the gods, used to live, and the place Sulyvahn came from.
I like your theory, although Yhorm probably won't link the flame again due to the deaths the linking caused in the profaned capital.
@@Cookie_Joe Also Yhorm is a little insane himself (didn't recognise Siegward who was his friend once)
This is an interesting theory to be sure! Though I think that the case with the Twin Princes is actually the opposite. I feel like Sulyvahn already knew Lothric and Lorian had no intention of linking the First Flame, so instead of those knights being sent to Lothric Castle to attempt to kill or capture the Princes, they could've very well been sent to keep watch over and protect the Princes instead.
4:29 Is talking about Darkmoon Knights
Footage is of a Aldrich because getting summoned as a Darkmoon is impossible and the colours are close enough
lol
Good Point
no one ever fucking puts on the police ring cause people are too busy playing with their friends i can always invade and see people playing with their friends rarely lone randoms
I actually get summoned a lot as darkmoon,
But the fucking problem is that the host is usually nowhere to be found or already dead by the time I get there.
The spawn locations for dark moon is atrocious
Ever since the Ringed City, Darkmoon summons have amped up. I even got tired of it after a while
It also always struck me as interesting how the Deacons used pyromancies. Specifically the fire ball. They were men of faith, but wield magic that requires both faith, AND intelligence. Just an observation
Im laughing at the fact that the chosen undead just walks in and goes "sup yall" and ends up killing them all.
I killed these guys for the first time this weekend. I feel like Aldrich is the only truly evil lord of cinder.
Russian Doggo Yep , same feeling , only ask - why in the profaned capital we see hundreds od dead bodies ? Yhorm was making a barbecue ?
Zaczus 333 When Yhorm became a lord of cinder, the profaned flame reacted and scorched everyone alive in what is now the profaned capital. This may be due to a giant linking the first flame, but it is never explicitly stated.
While Aldrich was sleeping, he dreamt of an age beyond the Firelinking Curse, the Deep Sea. Everything he did, (while in tandem with his gluttony) was a bid to transcend the cycle that we’ve been slave to for 3 games. It’s only in the ending that we put our hopes for a new world without servitude in a child with a painting set. It seems to me that Aldrich was a genius, or at the very least, he rejected the eternal ring, which is admirable.
Balor's Curse With the way you described it, Aldrich sounds like he is trying to escape the cycle like Aldia from Ds2.
Julian Thomas Exactly right. For me, any character that is attempting to transcend the cycle of light and dark, is the one ‘in the right’. What good is morality when eternity is doomed to repeat itself? Eat people, break the cycle, #ImWithAldrich
All you heretics, Sulyvahn is one of the best and nicest characters in all of Dark Souls. Why? Well, because he trapped Yorshka, leader of the worst covenant in DS3. Plus, right beneath his arena is the most popular PvP hotspot in this game. Poor Sulyvahn just wanted to save us from the salt of online play. But we went and killed him. We should be ashamed.
Nice job. You stole that from Otz.
the best covenant in ds3 "praise the moon"
But he made Alrich kill best boi. That requires execution
FakePale
Well maybe you shouldn't invade people then ya' prick.
The Pontiff was the only boss I felt really deserved to die and wasn’t just in the Ashen One’s way.
Think:
• *Gundyr*: In the way to get to Firelink. Just another Unkindled doomed to an eternity of testing other Unkindled.
• *Vordt*: In the way to get out of Lothric Wall. A proud knight corrupted by the Pontiff.
• *Crystal Sage*: In your way to get to the Cathedral. A master of magic and not really at fault for anything.
• *Deacons*: In your way to get the Doll. Once venerable clergymen, corrupted by the dark they were founded to contain.
• *Wolnir*: In your way to get to Irythill. Yes, he doomed many souls to the Abyss, but when it comes down to it he’s like Gwyn: a once great lord, now scared and alone, afraid of the dark.
• *Dancer*: In your way to get into Lothric Castle. Another knight corrupted by Sullyvahn.
• *Lords of Cinder*: In your way to Link the Fire and fulfill your duty. They do what they think is right, or have just gone insane or been corrupted.
• *Soul Of Cinder*: Literally In your way to link the fire. No real motive, just a manifestation meant to prove your worth. Like Gundyr, really.
And the Pontiff. A tyrannical, cold-hearted ruler who enslaved and bestialized his own innocent citizens, drove out the royal family and left some to be enslaved or devoured, aiming to usurp the fire and plunge the world into dark.
even worse when you count the optional bosses like the old demon king
Ahem... Aldrich was not good either, Pontiff just helped him to eat Gwyndolin.
Bro the crystal sage sided with the abyss watchers
Igugigu Aldrich is a fat bastard with an eating disorder
Can't really give other people the excuse that they were "corrupted" (like the deacons) since so was Sulyvahn by the profaned flame.
So that means Smough got promoted to a full knight :`)
MarvinT
At least. :'( Poor Smough.
It's one of two things. Either Gwyndolin promoted Smough to knight after Orenstein left, or this is one of those things where history is not told/remembered exactly as it happened.
Ironic, how the least "honourable" knight was the last one standing on his duty
Sharky, he's just too fat and lazy to go anywhere else. :P
Quite a fitting death if Aldrich did eat him imo. A guy who loved nothing more than killing and eating people ends up as the prey, to a guy who loves killing and eating people even more.
"You put the Pontiff's achievements to shame, *rolling* over him.." I see what you did there ;)
My children. You needn't listen to this madman's pitiful rambling, nor the horrid lies he tells here.
Your soul hand it over
JUSTICE FOR VORDT!
@@justabeholder4753 indeed.... How tragic everyone's favorite pet dog's fate was.
Don't worry, we love you.
Haters gonna hate :p
Man I wish I could get your armour
"If this man can't change the world ,what hope do we have‽"
This hits hard
I personally pity Sulyvahn for his story. It must be the real pain inside, that makes you want to change the world, that is unchangable and cycled forever, not like ours, which is pretty random and always moves on. Royal family, totally feeding on their people. What pain must have been his existence, that he willingly corrupted his souls with profaned flames and more than that - started looking in the fking abyss, that basically eats you with it's insects and curse. How much patience, waiting, studying, spying, manipulating - how much of his life he wasted only to get out of the routine, just to realise in the end, that the routine will never stop, for even disgusting unkindled ones, not even a human beings (useless ash) can kill him, after he gained all the power he could get his hands to
Moral of the story : "Do not be a jerk to others , Cuz they will gank up on you and kill you!"
Imagine how good a dark souls tv show could be
I imagine it'd be something like Samurai Jack the character stumbling across different weird encounters while trying to advance.
Come to think of it, The Scotsman is fairly similar to Siegmeyer/siegland.
With the gore of primal.
Only thing is there would be no way of actually knowing the story unless the show features a vaati
Eh… I feel like Fromsoft stories only work in a video game setting where environmental storytelling and flavor text scattered throughout the world tell bits and pieces of the lore. A tv show would probably oversimplify it and make it less compelling, not to mention the horrible track record of video game adaptations
"Then what hope do we have?" at 14:42 combined with the gesture really feels like a sneaky reference to Hawkwood, nice.
*talking about sorcery*
"An art that is despised by the old loyalty"
a salty veteran in pvp?
The Royal Family got Dark Beaded in the burg. I can't say I don't empathize
Sulyvahn is such a cool character, amazing how much of DS3 was due to him
I've never realised that the two goths in Irithyll are actually Vordt and the Dancer... holy shit
DerGünther which goths
@@saltin9525 the two ghosts in irithyll
Snek Eater so vordt had a human figure?
@@saltin9525 both vordt and the dancer were normal until sullyvahn gave them the cursed rings that turned them into abominations.
It's cute how they stick together. I like to imagine Vordt tried to protect the dancer in some way, despite the circumstances.
Now when I kill this boss I don’t feel joy for killing him after he killed me 11 times. I now feel justice that has been served, I just wished that we could save the Dancer and keep her as an ally.
Hah. Wishful thinking Ashen one.
Yes. All of that. That and more. Vordt too.'
Well she and vordt appear in their original forms walking together as spirits in their home, Irithyll. A happy ending, I suppose
Justice for Vordt. Justice for the Dancer. And most importantly, Justice for The Darksun Gwyndolin
holy shiet chara and pontiff in the same reply section? is this a crossover episode?
"He is a sorcerer that uses swords. This is going to be easy!"
"He was a diehard atheist. Which was a problem because he lived in the city of the gods."
*10 haunting words before death*
I beat him on my first try. Volnir>Sullyvan
*It was not.*
and it was!
Today's my birthday Vaati, thanks for this dope ass gift
+Jaybums haha Np, happy birthday!
Go fuck yo- o shet I mean happy birthday
happy birthday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY FELLOW ASHEN ONE!!!
Happy birthday, i hope u surrender once you see me
Vaati, please...please, for the love of god please can you please do a video showing the family tree of gwyn. how it links to gwynevere, and who exactly is the queen of lothric, and how many children does she have? how is oceiros a royal? who are his parents? omg, this needs to be done. you are the man for this arduous job.
It's really amazing exactly how deep the Pontiff's influence goes through the game of DS3. I kind of wish he had gotten more of a spotlight, or a DLC (Friede was the star of AoA, sadly).
I clicked on this faster than I imagined it was possible
Same
Little did you know, I clicked on this by complete accident the second after i clicked on my Subscriptions tab.
: ^ )
By far one of the most interesting characters. That moon sword is by far the most fashionable weapon in the game.
i love how Sulyvahn became the Pontiff and rule the world
everything was perfect for him when make Lothric War
Sulyvahn's story reminds me of the fact that power and ambition is the wrong medicine when the wound comes from childhood.
Sulyvahn is basically Griffith
Except, unlike Griffith, Sulyvahn lacks anything that could cast him in a sympathetic light.
Griffith?
Dark Souls is filled with tons of similarities and idea found in Berserk. I like the idea of having the final boss be a reference to one of the best characters from such an amazing story.
From the Anime/Manga Berserk. Originally a friend of the main character, he betrays him, basically becomes a demon and starts trying to bring about the end of the world
Incorrect: Griffith wants to bring about a more pure world with him guiding humanity to its "heights".
It just so happens that Griffith caused so many chaotic and unfathomable situations in motion with him in the centre of it all.
Just typing "Pontiff" into the search bar made me die in the game.
You should be given the rights to write a Dark Souls book
Casual Skrub 27 I want a comprehensive lore book by him, and a massive series of novels. And they all have to have audio versions voiced by him.
Same here
Seriously. The man is a genius with lore, and has the most soothing voice to go with it. I'd buy it all.
Casual Skrub 27 yup
Jon Francis And he writes so well in the parts that aren't item descriptions!
“So if this man can’t change the world... Then what hope do we have?”
Chills every time.
when you are so strong, you accidentally gain power from another anime world (jojo)
We don't speak of that my child.
theminipyro 123 who the fuck asked you
I was starting to draw a smile when you mention the defeat of Sulyvahn for all the stuff he did, until you ended the video with the curse... I don't know what face I have to put now... These lore and prepare to cry videos are amazing. Dark souls is indeed a remarkable game.
"So if this man can't change the world, what hope do we have?"
Vaati your script writing sends shivers
"Yes Gwyndolin, im definetley one of your knights and are here to take you to somewhere safe, no need to worry, now please enter this oversized cooking cauldraon."
After seeing this it feels weird that Sulyvahn doesn't have a dedicated cutscene in the game. Of course it's typical Dark souls lore hidden in items. However for being such an important character to the whole storyline, he is simply thrown at you without any big introduction and felt very forgettable to me during my first playthrough. Knowing all the lore behind him, it makes him such a great character that feels like the game should have given him more attention, maybe he could have even been the true final boss?
I think it was a deliberate thing on their part. At first he just seems like just another boss, but as you learn more about him and see how influential he was you develop a deeper understanding in hindsight. Yet at the same time the fact that his boss fight was so normal and he doesn't come off as particularly special kinda drives in the fact that despite all his hard work and political machinations, in the end it all amounted to nothing, and he never actually stood a chance of ending the cycle. He did all this work to try and end the age of fire and prevent it's kindling, yet all the fire had to do was send out a single unkindled and everything was unraveled. And not only was he beaten, but the unkindled didn't even consider it a particularly special feat, he didn't regard the man with any kind of awe or gravitas, he was just a small obstacle in the way of his real goal, a footnote. The game not giving him attention actually helps to cement his futility.
pdragon619 Jesus the wall of text , they removed shit from the game and changed bosses areas , they just shit on him deal with it
Doctopus lol Dude calm down, nobody forced you to read the "wall of text" - 'deal with it' ;) Have a nice day.
Sulyvahn was the most epic Boss i´ver ever met. Not the hardest one but the most epic one
wow, that ending was really "deep".
finbar caporaso 😭😔
I see what ya did there
Deeper then the cathedral
so in conclusion this mf was actually the main villain of ds3
Do you guys think that Sulyvahn is the best well-written character on the Soulsborne series?
He is literally connected to everything and make sense, in any point he seems forced to me.
Doing a lot of shit that connects to a convoluted timeline doesn't make a character well-written.
Yes it makes. He is pratically the one who starded dark souls 3
Laurence arguably started Bloodborne and all his actions have lasting consequences. Don't remember anyone naming him the best well-written character in the series.
Good call on Lawrence. His initially small act of breaking away to pursue his own ideas becomes such an insane snowball of calamity. I'm really biased at this point into not liking Sulyvahn at all. I loved demons souls, loved dark souls 1 even more, then dark souls 2 and 3 felt incredibly thin in terms of interesting lore and boss fights. So when I picked up bloodbourne it pretty much blew me away at what I felt was a vastly superior world they had created. People will of course have thier own ideas of what is good but even after watching this video (good as they are) i'm like 'Pontiff Sulyvahn... erm.. forgotten it all already'. How can he possibly compare to Micolash, Gehrman, Ostrava of Boletaria and Knight Fuck-Mothering Solaire?
With the new introduction into slave knight Gael story in the ringed city , slave night Gael was most likely one of the first pigmy's and he even fought against the dragon
Beautiful video Vaati, as always you do such a great job. But there are some things you didn't address, like why a statue of a young Sulyvahn is in Lothric Castle and what is his connection to the Scholars of The Grand Archives?
ElzinTheAnomaly in other videos, vaatividya states that Sulyvahn is the sorcerer that plant the seed in Lothric's mind to not link the flame.
He's from the painting? You learn something new everyday
wait what you didnt know that
someguywhosallafterbirdbootysscurr I probably did but remembering all the hidden DS is tough
It is mentioned in the DLC. He created the "Frozen Weapon" Enchantment - also the scroll's description says: "Painting of Ariamis born and raised.'
Manni DefinitelyNot ariandel
sitting under the tree is where i spend most of my days
inventing frost magic, relaxin' all cool
and shootin' sorceries outside of my hood.
When a couple of unkindleds, who were up to no good
Started gettin' embered in my neighborhood.
I got in one little fight and my tree got scared
And said 'you're movin with your gods in irithyll.
"What hope do we have?"
Well, we have a Fire Keeper devoted to us.
But the world doesn't change in the end, it goes into NG+, another cycle...
Vaati gets me hyped to play Dark Souls in this dramatic tone and I log on and get invaded by a hacker with a large head named "Ultra Giga Nigga"
I usually get invaded by Guts, lots of them.
I want Daddy Vaati to read erotic fanfiction featuring the Ashen One and the Dancer of the Boreal Valley.
what the actual fck
god no!
This needs to happen, my weenie desires this
Oh.... oh yes.
Vaati reads, "And the ashen one thrust his purple headed warrior into her quivering love pudding." I would pay to hear that.
And people still say " yo I hate dark souls this game have no story its just die and retry" ... if only they would know ...
if only the lazy bastards would read item descriptions
kurosakikun96 EDWAD READ THE ITEM DESCRIPTION!
Well said
XD Those who say that don't even know what the lore is
*I was one of those ppl*
One Lunch Man They don't deserve the lore, the game was designed for conquerors in a way; people that played, failed and in their thirst for accomplishment, or to give or obtain meaning or answers. The difficulty of the game was meant to separate those that demonstrated themselves worthy of of such insight. I love that, because that in a way makes me part of a small community (in my case solely the Bloodborne one since it's why I bought a ps4 in the first place and as of now its the only game I have). So be proud of being part of something you earned by continuing there where others failed and gave up, this game and the others from FROMSOFTWARE were made on it's entirety for people like you and me and anyone that has taken their time to find answers. Honestly I prefer that few are us who have the honor to be a part of the game lore since I believe it would become cheap and superficial if everyone had access to it, which the difficulty in the games becomes a filter. *randomly neighs like Ludwig *
Irithyll is a wonder of design, atmosphere and creativity. I'm on my first playthrough of DS3 now and Irithyll stands as one of the most memorable locations in any video game for me, it really made an impression on my imagination. If that place were real I'd move there and never leave.
Ending song : Horizon Dream 2 - Jon Björk
Nice dude, finally..
YOU ARE A GODDAMN HERO... even heaven might almost be your reward
Can't find it tho
You are a fucking hero
I know this is late bro but you not just a hero ur a super super hero bro thank you very much I tried many apps trying to find it but no luck. thank you alot
Vordt is never far away from the Dancer, as if they are connected. The dancer has a fragment of Gwyndolin's soul, her mother. Smough is the last of the Knights to remain in Anor Londo. Vordt is a fatty with a huge hammer. Smough = Vordt?
You know the solidness of that theory makes the fact that it never once even crossed my mind that much worse.
TheWillRogers If so, he jumped on a treadmill. His ghost in Irithyll is thinner
TheWillRogers nah his original spirit in irythil isnt fat, smough is probably dead
Fearless Q8 well, if he were to be Vordt, he would most definitely be dead by the time you got to Irithyll, so it adds up
Smough was never fat. He was just big armored.
badum-tsh (my attempt at the drums)
=D
>talks about darkmoons
>shows an aldrich faithful
Do you know how difficult it is to invade as a darkmoon in this game? HARD
ikr?
VaatiVidya i do, unfortunately :P
no judgement, just sth i noticed
Yeah, that happens if you make 2 Covenants that serve the same role and can only "invade" if the host is in the only covenant with NO progression and no effect other than summoning said phantoms... Really bad move FROM -.- Was it really that hard to give us Blue Eye Orb?
Infinity ...
Me and my 2-year-old son always listen to your stories before he goes to sleep he loves your voice it helps him fall asleep very easily
14:07 "He used all of this, P-PLUS"
L + Ratio + Profaned Flame + Deep + Sorcery + Beasthood + Frost + Moon miracles + Candle wax
Me: *walks in*
Pontiff: Wanna see a 24 hit combo?
Me: Nah I’m go-
Y O U D I E D
"Pushed the entire royal family, out of their home."
*cuts to Prince Lothric bolting at full speed out of there*