gael is so good he makes me start an entire playthrough just to fight him again, he's the only boss where i feel actually sad when i beat him because it means the fun is over
I love cinder the most for the fact it's 1. Got many years of fromsoft legacy as it's whole backbone, 2. It's so varied that many different playstyles get tested differently, 3. Music transition and finality. But the second one to me is Abyss Watchers, as 1. It's cool to try some tactical approaches with that chaos, 2. Guys are such a solid lore army and in combat they can adapt with some tricks, but are not bulletproof either, 3. Guys are LITERALLY the embodiment of non-online pvp, the corrupted Abyss Watcher and player are invaders, the 2nd Abyss Watcher is the phantom, and the main guy is the host. This 2v1v1 is very dynamic, exactly like pvp. While all bosses have their unique elements, none of them tap into something so deeply ingrained into the games as Abyss Watchers' brawl and Cinders' series-wide lore and playstyle customisation
I think Yhorm is more fun when you realize the storm ruler isn't the only intended way of killing him. Hitting his hands will do extra damage PLUS open him for a riposte after several hits, which will take off a massive chunk of health. So u just have to learn to bait the moves that lower his hands to the ground then punish which is so much more satisfying than timing the storm ruler imo
You didn't mention it but champion gundyr is one of the only bosses that can juggle you in the air with his knock up followed by kick. The only other bosses that come to mind is soul of cinder's 2 phase combo and Promised Consort. Edit: I forgot Manus can juggle you and Gherman can too (Don't know how I forgot about manus, I think my mind willfully forgot about him due to ptsd)
Chad, my king…I’ve been waiting since I found your channel for this video and when I saw this upload I audibly exclaimed “YES” keep going boss. It’s awesome to see how your videos and you have changed and grown throughout the years
Hey, just finished your video! Calling back to your first ds3 upload really made me think about how much you’ve improved over time man. This was so much fun to watch, keep on doing what you love!!
Oceiros phase 2 actually can't do the instant charge unless you're either very very far away or directly under him, so you can consistently prevent it every time if you just leave a bit of space between you and the boss before he does a move (the space is not large at all, you can still stay aggressive). You mentioned that by staying behind the boss you can often prevent it but it's not guaranteed - generally if he's up against a wall he will get shoved towards the player so is closer after turning than usual, this is the time when he can instant charge. Great video btw
It took me a while for Gael to become my number one, but eventually it did. The only thing I ever had an issue with him is that he was always too easy. I even first tried him on my very first playthrough. (not my first souls game though.) What eventually tipped the scales in his favor was my sl1 playthrough. Gael was most definitely not the hardest challenge on my path, but instead, he was just the perfect amount of difficult. I've never had a boss's difficulty be as perfect as Gael at sl1. I don't need the bosses to be hard for me to enjoy them, I only need them to be hard for me to get intimately familiar with their movesets. Once I've achieved that, they might as well deal no damage at all, and I'd still be having the time of my life. Thanks to my sl1 playthrough, I've gotten to that point with Gael, and thanks to that, he isn't leaving my number 1 spot now or ever.
Champion Gundyr is still one of the best for me. He is just super fun to fight against. The pacing is good, the lore implications is nice, and best of all, his second phase is literally just putting in more effort. No theatrical displays of magic or powerups!
Most bosses at phase 2: explosion, spirit clone, fire sword, meteorite strikes, nuking the whole arena, etc Champion Gundyr at phase 2: stops playing around and starts trying
Some notes on a couple of the mid tiers I thought would be interesting to add. It's not actually really known if Oceiros is actually hallucinating. You can't see Ocelotte, sure, but even you can hear that baby wailing. Plus, it's already been established with Priscilla that crossbreeds with scaleless dragons like Seath and the mutated King can turn invisible... so he may have actually just killed his baby! Neat? Also something I like about Yhorm is while his health bar seems daunting, the Storm Ruler isn't necessary for the fight, since headshots deal massive damage. This can be achieved with both ranged damage and staggering him. He's actually really well thought out, it's super interesting that he can't be brute forced, but he can be solved in two ways.
I understand you perfectly on Dancer man, even after doing SL1 I just can't fully understand her 2nd phase and it always feels like she does combos I haven't ever seen. I still find the fight very cool tho, the music is a banger and the style of her moves actually make it look like a dance.
Sekiro and ds3 are my most played fromsoft games and it all comes down to the incredible boss line-up. After one or 2 playthrought bosses are the main factor that keeps the game spicy enough to replay.
You just convinced me, Sister Friede is my #1 fight, the second phase being 2 opponents at once, which are balanced perfectly, the third phase being so surprising yet so challenging, as much as I live Gael, I do find him a tad easy but Friede is just the perfect level of challenge and spectacle. Cool video
dude the feeling of “oh wow i’m really in over my head here” when fighting sulyvahn in the boreal valley. the area is the first area that gave me a tough time only to find the pontiff and get obliterated. the feeling i got after defeating him the first time still hasn’t been matched in any soulsborne or even any souls like game.
42:35 same here. I had beaten Sekiro but DS3 was my first souls game. I reached Pontiff and was obliviously using a raw infused small axe two handed without even unlocking the fastest shortcut (had to take the elevator down every time) and thought "well I had fun this far but these games are just too hard for me so I guess this is where my journey ends" then I finally beat him and new I could beat the game eventually. Still used a raw axe the entire playthrough though
My favourite is Nameless King. DS3 was my first souls game, and i think it has the best boss quality of any game I've played. Great Video mate. I might re-do my souls boss Ranking videos.
49:49 another awesome thing about Midir is the "Head Openings" make sense in the context of the story as well. Because he's both blind and probably rabid from the abyss eating away at him, it makes total sense that he would leave his head exposed like this. S tier boss still, and I think Midir still stands above Bayle, mainly because Bayle's flame lightning has some pretty awkward jank to it.
Pontiff at number 5 makes me so happy. He's my all-time favorite DS3 boss, even more than Gael, actually. Same for the ost, honestly. (The best part of the battle is when Pontiff and his clone both start comboing the shit out of you, and your camera flies around at mach 5 as its following them, and you somehow manage to dodge all of it. Best feeling ever)
@@ThePontiff113 His ost is top 3 for me fs, it’s so damn good, and ya there are few feelings in the game more hectic and satisfying than simultaneously dodging him and the clone’s combos
I'm so glad that i'm not the only one who was introduced to Dark Souls level of difficulty by the Pontiff Sulyvahn, dude was sooo hard at my first playthrough.
I think champion gundyr’s blandness works in his favor. No magic, no elements, no outside interference, no gimmick, just two people fighting to the death. Champion REALLY puts the “fight” in boss fight
I love your videos and I'm happy to finally be able to comment on one at the release ! I think this is the first time that I agree so much with a ranking of this game's bosses. I just want to say that the Dragonslayer Armor is so mutch underrated in my opinion, I find its moveset just perfect, everything is incredibly satisfying to dodge, and like Lorian and Gael, it feels like dancing when you master it. But obviously Gael is unbeatable ! Aside from Isshin maybe, I don't see any boss in the entire series that can compare to him.
I think we should start ranking bosses in 2 different ways , one based on your first playthrough and one based after multiple playthrough cuz some bosses are just made to wow you in your first time or became pretty easy after you understand it or master it
Great list, demon prince is my personal number one especially cause the duo is perfect, off screen visual and audio cues, and the way they ignite and reignite to signal who's passive and who's aggressive.
i agree with a lot of this! personally not a huge fan of midir but being completely honest it’s just a massive skill issue (i hate fighting dragons cause i suck at them). i ended up embering up for him in pure rage. i really liked danger though, i think she’s really tricky because of her fight style but it’s pretty fun.
A few days ago I finished my first sl1 run of ds3 and the 2nd worst part of the run was fact that I beat Gael on my third try. Like, I was so excited to get my ass handed to me by my favorite boss in the game and really learn the fight but apparently I’ve already “gotten good” at the fight which kinda pisses me off. If only I could forget the fight and relearn it all over again😔 Also, if you were wondering, the worst part of the run was Halflight. Fuck that boss. Also, also, great video. Very much enjoyed👍
Slave Knight Gael in my opinion became my favorite boss ever like his ost the "blood of the dark soul" 2nd phase and the lore of the character himself. Gael is the unsung hero who outlasted the very gods whose age has long since passed, Gael helped make a better world with his sacrifice or in other words HE'S AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
I have NEVER understood the love for friede. First phase is boring as shit, second phase you're stuck in a way too small room with a guy charging at you while the other one snipes and heals from afar, and by the third phase you just want to be done because you're bored by the length of this fight. Just another too long gank fight which is true for all gank fights fromsoft has ever made, except demon prince. Same thing with Midir, I see people praising the boss like it's the greatest thing ever created talking about "how can you not love Midir its a dragon ooga booga", like I'm not five anymore I won't be so impressed by a in game dragon that I'll look past the obvious flaws with this boring dragon with too much health.
For Halflight you can use unparriable weapon like the whip or throw bombs. Not super effective but at least you save yourself an estus or 2. They could have given bro a more thematic shield. The one he uses is more fit of a knight instead of a scholar/sorcerer.
Random trivia about boss from place no. 1 (place well deserved) can be riposted, but how you do it makes it very unique. Normally he can be stunned which breaks his animation, but if you stagger him with the headshot, he has a unique animation (akin to headshoted Troll in Elden Ring) - if you approach him VERY fast and press regular attack, you will get the riposte (best for it are Claws and Oniriki & Ubadachi) However, for some reason he has no unique animation, if riposte kills him. He just gets up and dies, which looks weird to say the least.
I felt the same overcoming feeling about nameless king that you do about pontiff. Pontiff with summons is a murder-fest, and solo he is a challenge, but not half the challenge, nor the memorable spectacle that nameless is personally. A clear #3 in my own book.
The best time I had with the game was my SL1 run. And my god Halflight was hell! Because he’s a parry god everytime he brought the shield out I pretty much had to stay away until he swapped. Which gave the painting guardians enough chance to heal him in between. It was so painful. On my 13th attempt, by some miracle another lvl 1 player came in as the boss instead and I just went ham on him! I wasn’t letting that opportunity get away 🤣
I can’t believe I just watched an hour long video ranking a game I’ve already played to death 💀 Gael solos #1 spot obviously but Ludwig from Bloodborne will always have the best soundtrack
I will put Yhorm in top 10, well I wont use any weapon but Storm Ruler, and I will never solo him because he gave me Siegward, one of my favourite NPC in the game. Also Yhorm looks so cool.
@@rysspace2511 I feel like over the last couple years I’ve heard more and more people calling it top tier, but ya I think it’s pretty underrated overall
I pretty much agree with most of this tier list except for everything after Twin Princes lmao. I am such a diehard fangirl of them it’s crazy, I have to put them in 2nd right behind Gael but I wanna talk about Aldrich. I think as an individual boss he’s meh, but the context of his lore makes me really have to put him higher. fanservice be damned he’s an emotional fight (for me) he’s the culmination of what happens after you link the fire in DS1. Priscilla is presumedly driven out of her home and killed by the Devourer of Gods. Gwyndolin takes off his ring as a way to break out of the shell his father forced him in, and still gets killed all the same. Gwynevere has long abandoned Lordran and Lothric. all of the original divinity of DS1 has been shattered. Aldrich is the ultimate conclusion to DS1’s lore relevant characters- you even fight him in a broken version of O&S’s room. you know, O&S, the bosses that defended the illusion of Gwynevere. and the twisted version of Gwyndolin’s theme seriously drives home the tragic fate of all gods who lived for too long. it shows, to me, that the fire needs to stop being linked. it’s the message the games have showed us time and time again.
You said you feel that placing Dancer at #12 might be controversial ...To me, the fact that Dancer is "only" #12 speaks for the quality of the bosses in this game.
You know, sometimes I kinda dunk on the crappy early game bosses and Yhorm, but you’re right that the top 12 in this game are actually incredible bosses. Damn I need to do some reassessment here
I love dark souls 3 for its bosses. I dont find a single boss who is filthy easy. Sure, some like ancient wyvern are lame but none of them are suoer easy. They all still present a challenge
I hate when youtuber says: this music is so good and then they don't play it. Just add 5-10 seconds it won't hurt you, you can skip it and not everyone remembers every boss ost
@@solaireofcatarina44 Ideally that’s actually how I’d like to do it, but I got the feeling that a lot of people would find it redundant since basically the entire upper half of the list would need a dedicated music segment
You know, I kinda agree with it being redundant, but maybe the music can be amped up in the background when you talk about it so it doesn’t take extra time off the video.
@@chadofastora idk maybe pley most of the theme in the background as you talk as rhe other comment suggested and then omay the most epic part at the end of the boss opinion for like 5 seconds
I finished a ds3 scythe playthrough yesterday and some notable points were i didn't miss the wyvern head unlike my first playthrough... That's it Also i forgot about champion gravetender and also got stuck on demon princes but that's it... i honestly don't really like demon princes with their healthbars and their toxic buildup but it's still a cool fight my advice for midir... Roll back
My big problem with the crystal sage is that i can't tell the difference between the blue fake magic amd thr purple crystal magic because i'm colour blind.
Guess I never really noticed just how many gank or multi target bosses there are in dark souls 3 and counting all fight that have at least two separate fighters/targets bet ten out of 31 or 32% over a third
You've just reminded me how much do I love this fucking game, man. I mean, don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Elden Ring for what it is, it is easily one of my favorite games of all time but sometimes it's just too constipated. Dark Souls 3 nailed this perfect balance line of difficulty. It's quite challenging game, the hardest game of the trilogy at least, but it feels reasonable 90% of time. If you die it's almost certainly your fault. Elden Ring, on the other hand, took the difficulty curve a little too far. That's why I love both these games equally despite the fact that DS3 on the first sight, if you're new to FS games, may look like ER 0.5. Which is absolutely wrong. By the way, I actually like pretty much all of the bosses in the game including deacons (you cannot believe how hard are they if you're using something which isn't for the crowd control, for example the estoc), tree (when I was playing the game the first time I even said to myself - now this is a boss fight, it's MASSIVE, it's menacing, you feel the impact of every single punch and you have to position yourself properly; but yeah, on subsequent playthrough, when you know everything it feels like a waste of time), wolnir (pretty much all I've just said about the tree perfectly applies to skelly boi but I'd like to add how fckn creepy this thing is) and crystal guy (it's just a balanced and more fast paced version of pinwheel, isn't that honestly great?). I don't like half-light because... yeah, it's an NPC / PvP fight, it's not my alley. And ofc the dragon but it's hardly the boss, it's glorified battle encounter with health bar attached to it. And ofc I fckn love the dancer, such a masterpiece of a fight.
Disagree with Iudex Gundyr being a good tutorial boss, the reason being his 2nd phase. The previously clearly visible attacks become obscured by a black blob and you have no idea which part of the blob can attack you.
100% agree on halflight being the worst. Feels like a waste of time, every time. I’ve always had a soft spot for Oceiros because of his design and lore though.
i will always like curse rotted greatwood, i farmed pretty much every sunlight medallion there there is pretty much no challenge or risk to the host dying and its the same every time
I fell a tear when i fought gael and cried a bit when i went to bed after cause the fight was so god damn awesome and emotional. Actual Peak, nothing will ever beat that boss. Better then sex!
Here's my hot take, I just feel like I need to say this: Ornstein and Smough is not as good of a duo boss as people think. I know that they are the template that all others are compared to, but honestly I don't think they are designed as well as people think. It's pretty clear that the player is encouraged to kill Ornstein first, as he zips around the arena faster than Smough. However, the broken AI of Ornstein, with his tendency to spam ranged spells or just casually jog next to Smough, along with the cavalcade of jank that is his hypermagnets dash attack creates a fight that isn't as satisfying as it should be. And if you choose to attack Smough first, this fight is downright annoying and tedious. In a game like Dark Souls, where game knowledge and smart tactics can lead you to victory, it seems very weird that they would design a duo fight that is specifically meant to be beaten a certain way. Demon Princes, Friede, and even the Twin Gargoyles get this right, but I always see people praise O&S because of "pillars".
@@sjdvideos11 Ok, it’s not that bad. But I think it’s the lowest low of the series, and I’ve heard too many stories of people getting turned off by it that I’ve just grown some disdain towards it
I personally never understood why people love the twin princes so much. Sure the idea is creative, but lorian just keeps doing the same swing, you dodge and get one hit in and thats basically the entire fight. Always felt really boring and unfun to me but i might be alone with that opinion. Nice vid as always anyways :)
Beat dark souls 3 a week ago for the first time I found gael to be overhyped, the demon princes underaprecciated, and soul of cinder as my favorite. Just for reference I played ER, DS1, DS2, sekiro and AC6 this year for the first time so that may be why I like the soul of cinder the best idk
Gael #1. Homeless Santa just cannot be dethroned
@@JohnDarkSouls895 FR
Oversized gnome kinda fits him better ngl
Gael is overrated he never was the best
I like Lothric/Lorian and Midir more
@@WeirdTroll666 fair and based. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion
We all know the best boss is the camera.
King of the storms disagree's
controlling the camera properly is a skill a lot of people seem to want to ignore lol
@@kara-uppercutcan definitely control the camera when I get pushed back into a corner by storm king
Not the best but definitely the hardest. It lacks a cool character module though, in my opinion.
@@linkiboi286 agreed
gael is so good he makes me start an entire playthrough just to fight him again, he's the only boss where i feel actually sad when i beat him because it means the fun is over
I get the same feeling when with Messmer. To me those two and isshin share the spot of peak from soft boss design.
It’s the only boss where sometimes I get killed right at the end intentionally just so I can face him again
@@BLP04 SAME
@@mannytprimeministerofthemanate I bought the dlc yet, im super excited to fight messmer
@@sofy2299you‘re not gonna be dissapointed. 3rd best souls boss imo
The redeeming factor of the deacons is their phenomenal music and nice lore
Also it's just fun to smack 20 priests witha. Big sword
I love cinder the most for the fact it's 1. Got many years of fromsoft legacy as it's whole backbone, 2. It's so varied that many different playstyles get tested differently, 3. Music transition and finality.
But the second one to me is Abyss Watchers, as 1. It's cool to try some tactical approaches with that chaos, 2. Guys are such a solid lore army and in combat they can adapt with some tricks, but are not bulletproof either, 3. Guys are LITERALLY the embodiment of non-online pvp, the corrupted Abyss Watcher and player are invaders, the 2nd Abyss Watcher is the phantom, and the main guy is the host. This 2v1v1 is very dynamic, exactly like pvp.
While all bosses have their unique elements, none of them tap into something so deeply ingrained into the games as Abyss Watchers' brawl and Cinders' series-wide lore and playstyle customisation
@@otamatonefan8996 Well said, I love how the lineup is so good that you could make a case for like half of them to be near the top
I think Yhorm is more fun when you realize the storm ruler isn't the only intended way of killing him. Hitting his hands will do extra damage PLUS open him for a riposte after several hits, which will take off a massive chunk of health. So u just have to learn to bait the moves that lower his hands to the ground then punish which is so much more satisfying than timing the storm ruler imo
We all know the best boss is the friends we made along the way
You didn't mention it but champion gundyr is one of the only bosses that can juggle you in the air with his knock up followed by kick. The only other bosses that come to mind is soul of cinder's 2 phase combo and Promised Consort.
Edit: I forgot Manus can juggle you and Gherman can too (Don't know how I forgot about manus, I think my mind willfully forgot about him due to ptsd)
@@johnbloodborne6158 True, but bro how’d you get there already? 💀
@chadofastora I skipped to see where you placed him since champ is my personal favorite boss
@@johnbloodborne6158 Ah, ok
Gherman can juggle you with his Scythe form.
Manus can Juggle you.
For me PERSONALLY the dragonslayer armour is top 5, love the fight
@@brokeboi6079 Understandable, it goes hard af
Chad, my king…I’ve been waiting since I found your channel for this video and when I saw this upload I audibly exclaimed “YES” keep going boss. It’s awesome to see how your videos and you have changed and grown throughout the years
Hey, just finished your video! Calling back to your first ds3 upload really made me think about how much you’ve improved over time man. This was so much fun to watch, keep on doing what you love!!
Oceiros phase 2 actually can't do the instant charge unless you're either very very far away or directly under him, so you can consistently prevent it every time if you just leave a bit of space between you and the boss before he does a move (the space is not large at all, you can still stay aggressive). You mentioned that by staying behind the boss you can often prevent it but it's not guaranteed - generally if he's up against a wall he will get shoved towards the player so is closer after turning than usual, this is the time when he can instant charge.
Great video btw
@@AdmiralJub-xt6xw Thanks for the tip
Welcome back! Since you mentioned NPCs so much, I guess making a ranking of best NPC fights in FromSoft games could be a fun list
@@stainie Perhaps
All of them are shit so idk. It's like ranking the nicest war criminals
It took me a while for Gael to become my number one, but eventually it did. The only thing I ever had an issue with him is that he was always too easy. I even first tried him on my very first playthrough. (not my first souls game though.) What eventually tipped the scales in his favor was my sl1 playthrough. Gael was most definitely not the hardest challenge on my path, but instead, he was just the perfect amount of difficult. I've never had a boss's difficulty be as perfect as Gael at sl1. I don't need the bosses to be hard for me to enjoy them, I only need them to be hard for me to get intimately familiar with their movesets. Once I've achieved that, they might as well deal no damage at all, and I'd still be having the time of my life. Thanks to my sl1 playthrough, I've gotten to that point with Gael, and thanks to that, he isn't leaving my number 1 spot now or ever.
Crazy how you hadn't made this video yet. Thought this would be a reupload for sure, which means, another awesome video to look forward to watching!!
Champion Gundyr is still one of the best for me. He is just super fun to fight against. The pacing is good, the lore implications is nice, and best of all, his second phase is literally just putting in more effort. No theatrical displays of magic or powerups!
@@MQhelper FR, it’s just a straight up fight with no BS
Most bosses at phase 2: explosion, spirit clone, fire sword, meteorite strikes, nuking the whole arena, etc
Champion Gundyr at phase 2: stops playing around and starts trying
Some notes on a couple of the mid tiers I thought would be interesting to add.
It's not actually really known if Oceiros is actually hallucinating. You can't see Ocelotte, sure, but even you can hear that baby wailing. Plus, it's already been established with Priscilla that crossbreeds with scaleless dragons like Seath and the mutated King can turn invisible... so he may have actually just killed his baby! Neat?
Also something I like about Yhorm is while his health bar seems daunting, the Storm Ruler isn't necessary for the fight, since headshots deal massive damage. This can be achieved with both ranged damage and staggering him. He's actually really well thought out, it's super interesting that he can't be brute forced, but he can be solved in two ways.
I understand you perfectly on Dancer man, even after doing SL1 I just can't fully understand her 2nd phase and it always feels like she does combos I haven't ever seen. I still find the fight very cool tho, the music is a banger and the style of her moves actually make it look like a dance.
People always compare Sully and Rellana, but Promised Consort's combo in phase 2 is literally Sully's combo almost one-to-one.
@@ros243 FR
Sekiro and ds3 are my most played fromsoft games and it all comes down to the incredible boss line-up. After one or 2 playthrought bosses are the main factor that keeps the game spicy enough to replay.
@@saswag2004 True
There are VERY few moments playing a video game where I felt the way I felt when fighting Gael.
You just convinced me, Sister Friede is my #1 fight, the second phase being 2 opponents at once, which are balanced perfectly, the third phase being so surprising yet so challenging, as much as I live Gael, I do find him a tad easy but Friede is just the perfect level of challenge and spectacle. Cool video
dude the feeling of “oh wow i’m really in over my head here” when fighting sulyvahn in the boreal valley. the area is the first area that gave me a tough time only to find the pontiff and get obliterated. the feeling i got after defeating him the first time still hasn’t been matched in any soulsborne or even any souls like game.
Gael 1: Sitting in chair, relaxed
Gael 2: Slightly leaning forward in chair
Gael 3: Standing
I’m so hype for this when I get done with class :) keep it coming man
42:35 same here. I had beaten Sekiro but DS3 was my first souls game. I reached Pontiff and was obliviously using a raw infused small axe two handed without even unlocking the fastest shortcut (had to take the elevator down every time) and thought "well I had fun this far but these games are just too hard for me so I guess this is where my journey ends" then I finally beat him and new I could beat the game eventually.
Still used a raw axe the entire playthrough though
My favourite is Nameless King. DS3 was my first souls game, and i think it has the best boss quality of any game I've played. Great Video mate. I might re-do my souls boss Ranking videos.
Watching my friends play DS3 is what got me into the series and it all started because I saw them fight GreatWood
49:49 another awesome thing about Midir is the "Head Openings" make sense in the context of the story as well. Because he's both blind and probably rabid from the abyss eating away at him, it makes total sense that he would leave his head exposed like this. S tier boss still, and I think Midir still stands above Bayle, mainly because Bayle's flame lightning has some pretty awkward jank to it.
Pontiff at number 5 makes me so happy. He's my all-time favorite DS3 boss, even more than Gael, actually. Same for the ost, honestly. (The best part of the battle is when Pontiff and his clone both start comboing the shit out of you, and your camera flies around at mach 5 as its following them, and you somehow manage to dodge all of it. Best feeling ever)
@@ThePontiff113 His ost is top 3 for me fs, it’s so damn good, and ya there are few feelings in the game more hectic and satisfying than simultaneously dodging him and the clone’s combos
I'm so glad that i'm not the only one who was introduced to Dark Souls level of difficulty by the Pontiff Sulyvahn, dude was sooo hard at my first playthrough.
I think champion gundyr’s blandness works in his favor. No magic, no elements, no outside interference, no gimmick, just two people fighting to the death.
Champion REALLY puts the “fight” in boss fight
I love your videos and I'm happy to finally be able to comment on one at the release !
I think this is the first time that I agree so much with a ranking of this game's bosses. I just want to say that the Dragonslayer Armor is so mutch underrated in my opinion, I find its moveset just perfect, everything is incredibly satisfying to dodge, and like Lorian and Gael, it feels like dancing when you master it. But obviously Gael is unbeatable ! Aside from Isshin maybe, I don't see any boss in the entire series that can compare to him.
I think we should start ranking bosses in 2 different ways , one based on your first playthrough and one based after multiple playthrough cuz some bosses are just made to wow you in your first time or became pretty easy after you understand it or master it
@@Nello_angelo That’s actually a neat idea
Great list, demon prince is my personal number one especially cause the duo is perfect, off screen visual and audio cues, and the way they ignite and reignite to signal who's passive and who's aggressive.
@@alextapia8798 FR, it’s super intuitive
i agree with a lot of this! personally not a huge fan of midir but being completely honest it’s just a massive skill issue (i hate fighting dragons cause i suck at them). i ended up embering up for him in pure rage. i really liked danger though, i think she’s really tricky because of her fight style but it’s pretty fun.
A few days ago I finished my first sl1 run of ds3 and the 2nd worst part of the run was fact that I beat Gael on my third try.
Like, I was so excited to get my ass handed to me by my favorite boss in the game and really learn the fight but apparently I’ve already “gotten good” at the fight which kinda pisses me off.
If only I could forget the fight and relearn it all over again😔
Also, if you were wondering, the worst part of the run was Halflight. Fuck that boss.
Also, also, great video. Very much enjoyed👍
@@1eyedmate271 It’s almost sad how Gael is so fair that he’s easy once you known him well 😭
fighting dragon slayer armor with nothing but wrath of the gods has made the fight one of my favorites of all time
Slave Knight Gael in my opinion became my favorite boss ever like his ost the "blood of the dark soul" 2nd phase and the lore of the character himself.
Gael is the unsung hero who outlasted the very gods whose age has long since passed, Gael helped make a better world with his sacrifice or in other words HE'S AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
I have NEVER understood the love for friede. First phase is boring as shit, second phase you're stuck in a way too small room with a guy charging at you while the other one snipes and heals from afar, and by the third phase you just want to be done because you're bored by the length of this fight. Just another too long gank fight which is true for all gank fights fromsoft has ever made, except demon prince.
Same thing with Midir, I see people praising the boss like it's the greatest thing ever created talking about "how can you not love Midir its a dragon ooga booga", like I'm not five anymore I won't be so impressed by a in game dragon that I'll look past the obvious flaws with this boring dragon with too much health.
first phase is over really fast, second phase is easy and third phase is really good
Midir doesn't have "too much health" hitting his head is really easy and he doesn't take any longer than the other bosses.
If there's one thing I dislike? It's gimmick bosses, from wolnirs bracelets, to the ancient wyverns drop attack, to storm ruler
For Halflight you can use unparriable weapon like the whip or throw bombs. Not super effective but at least you save yourself an estus or 2. They could have given bro a more thematic shield. The one he uses is more fit of a knight instead of a scholar/sorcerer.
Random trivia about boss from place no. 1 (place well deserved) can be riposted, but how you do it makes it very unique. Normally he can be stunned which breaks his animation, but if you stagger him with the headshot, he has a unique animation (akin to headshoted Troll in Elden Ring) - if you approach him VERY fast and press regular attack, you will get the riposte (best for it are Claws and Oniriki & Ubadachi)
However, for some reason he has no unique animation, if riposte kills him. He just gets up and dies, which looks weird to say the least.
My ranking
25.Halflight -D tier
24.Deacons of the deep-D tier
23.Wolnir-D tier
22.Wywern-C tier
21.Crystal Sage-C tier
20.greatwood-C tier
19.champion and the Wolf-B tier
18.Aldrich-B tier
17.Old demon king-B tier
16.Udex Gundyr-B tier
15.Yhorm-B tier
14.Vordt-B tier
13.dragon slayer armor-A tier
12.Oceiros-A tier
11.Abyss watchers-A tier
10.Champion gundyr-A tier
9.Lothric an Lorian-A tier
8.Dancer-S tier
7.Soul of cinder-S tier
6.Gael- S tier
5.Nameless King-S tier
4.Pontiff-S tier
3.Friede-S tier
2.Demon Prince-S tier
1.Midir-S tier
I was in a call with my friends when I fought aldrich, beat him 2nd try and was shocked to find out he was a lord of Cinder
I felt the same overcoming feeling about nameless king that you do about pontiff. Pontiff with summons is a murder-fest, and solo he is a challenge, but not half the challenge, nor the memorable spectacle that nameless is personally. A clear #3 in my own book.
48:45 midir is still my favorite nobody can end him for me
midir is little bit more fair than bayle imo
The best time I had with the game was my SL1 run. And my god Halflight was hell! Because he’s a parry god everytime he brought the shield out I pretty much had to stay away until he swapped. Which gave the painting guardians enough chance to heal him in between. It was so painful. On my 13th attempt, by some miracle another lvl 1 player came in as the boss instead and I just went ham on him! I wasn’t letting that opportunity get away 🤣
agree with most of the list and the Dragonslayer Armour, my favourite boss altough I don't think it's the best
@@Defileros Understandable, it’s so damn good
I can’t believe I just watched an hour long video ranking a game I’ve already played to death 💀 Gael solos #1 spot obviously but Ludwig from Bloodborne will always have the best soundtrack
@@Frozenstone72 It’s a close call on the soundtracks for me, they’re both so good
something else that ive found about the crystal sage is that they always spawn on the opposite end of the area from you
Him not finishing most of the bosses really provoked me
Ok putting wolnir below rotted Greatwood and crystal sage is CRAZY
Caraio cê é muito foda parceiro! Muito bons seus vídeos 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I will put Yhorm in top 10, well I wont use any weapon but Storm Ruler, and I will never solo him because he gave me Siegward, one of my favourite NPC in the game. Also Yhorm looks so cool.
Demon prince in number 4 made me extremely happy considering how overlooked it is compared to the other bosses in the game.
@@rysspace2511 I feel like over the last couple years I’ve heard more and more people calling it top tier, but ya I think it’s pretty underrated overall
I pretty much agree with most of this tier list except for everything after Twin Princes lmao. I am such a diehard fangirl of them it’s crazy, I have to put them in 2nd right behind Gael
but I wanna talk about Aldrich. I think as an individual boss he’s meh, but the context of his lore makes me really have to put him higher. fanservice be damned he’s an emotional fight (for me)
he’s the culmination of what happens after you link the fire in DS1. Priscilla is presumedly driven out of her home and killed by the Devourer of Gods. Gwyndolin takes off his ring as a way to break out of the shell his father forced him in, and still gets killed all the same. Gwynevere has long abandoned Lordran and Lothric. all of the original divinity of DS1 has been shattered. Aldrich is the ultimate conclusion to DS1’s lore relevant characters- you even fight him in a broken version of O&S’s room. you know, O&S, the bosses that defended the illusion of Gwynevere. and the twisted version of Gwyndolin’s theme seriously drives home the tragic fate of all gods who lived for too long.
it shows, to me, that the fire needs to stop being linked. it’s the message the games have showed us time and time again.
Seeing Gael S tier i just knew it was gonna be a good list
Bro, who in the right mind wouldn't put Gael in the S tier ?????
@@fishgiovaana8441Idk bro but just seeing him s tier makes me happy
You said you feel that placing Dancer at #12 might be controversial ...To me, the fact that Dancer is "only" #12 speaks for the quality of the bosses in this game.
You know, sometimes I kinda dunk on the crappy early game bosses and Yhorm, but you’re right that the top 12 in this game are actually incredible bosses. Damn I need to do some reassessment here
Top 3 dragons:
Placi
Bayle
Midir
Ngl, Judicator Argo isn't that annoying for me. I love his voice.
It's funny that you make a Dark Souls 3 video of all bosses while i'm finally playing this game for the first time, what timing is that 😅
@@marlons.7840 Hope you enjoy it
@@chadofastoraAt the moment, Lothric and Lorian are giving me nightmares, they are so damn hard 😡
I cant wait to see where my goat gundyr is
I love dark souls 3 for its bosses. I dont find a single boss who is filthy easy. Sure, some like ancient wyvern are lame but none of them are suoer easy. They all still present a challenge
Hot take my favorite boss in ds3 is easily twin princes. Peak character design, good lore, underrated arena, and great ost.
@@TEEZY105 I used to agree actually, but ofc I still think it’s awesome
I hate when youtuber says: this music is so good and then they don't play it. Just add 5-10 seconds it won't hurt you, you can skip it and not everyone remembers every boss ost
@@solaireofcatarina44 Ideally that’s actually how I’d like to do it, but I got the feeling that a lot of people would find it redundant since basically the entire upper half of the list would need a dedicated music segment
You know, I kinda agree with it being redundant, but maybe the music can be amped up in the background when you talk about it so it doesn’t take extra time off the video.
@@chadofastora idk maybe pley most of the theme in the background as you talk as rhe other comment suggested and then omay the most epic part at the end of the boss opinion for like 5 seconds
Isn’t the boss music playing in the background of each section, though?
I finished a ds3 scythe playthrough yesterday and some notable points were
i didn't miss the wyvern head unlike my first playthrough... That's it
Also i forgot about champion gravetender and also got stuck on demon princes but that's it... i honestly don't really like demon princes with their healthbars and their toxic buildup but it's still a cool fight
my advice for midir... Roll back
My big problem with the crystal sage is that i can't tell the difference between the blue fake magic amd thr purple crystal magic because i'm colour blind.
Miyuzaki prob lives in a poison spawn
Damn, I might replay DS3 after this. I remember struggling a lot against Midir compared to Friede.
@@anon3631 Always a good idea
For me, Midir and Friede is easier than Demon Prince lmao
I never solo Demon Prince and never will but I always solo Midir 😂
My biggest problem with Pontiff is the fact that when you use prarry shield he is such a pushover
@@DariuszHerma Sadly true
I always love deacons. It's a really unique fight
I'm not even trying to be different, but I genuinely like Friede more than Gael. Tho, I do agree that Gael is the perfect final boss of Dark Souls.
@@LordOfShadows0 Understandable
Phenomenal, only correct ranking
@@bumbie1863 Thanks, but bro did you watch in 2x speed? It’s only been out for 30 min 💀
The most boring ranking you mean. Literally not a single somewhat hot take.
@@Mr.Starlight_gaming thankfully. We don't need bad hot takes lol
Guess I never really noticed just how many gank or multi target bosses there are in dark souls 3 and counting all fight that have at least two separate fighters/targets bet ten out of 31 or 32% over a third
You've just reminded me how much do I love this fucking game, man. I mean, don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Elden Ring for what it is, it is easily one of my favorite games of all time but sometimes it's just too constipated. Dark Souls 3 nailed this perfect balance line of difficulty. It's quite challenging game, the hardest game of the trilogy at least, but it feels reasonable 90% of time. If you die it's almost certainly your fault. Elden Ring, on the other hand, took the difficulty curve a little too far. That's why I love both these games equally despite the fact that DS3 on the first sight, if you're new to FS games, may look like ER 0.5. Which is absolutely wrong.
By the way, I actually like pretty much all of the bosses in the game including deacons (you cannot believe how hard are they if you're using something which isn't for the crowd control, for example the estoc), tree (when I was playing the game the first time I even said to myself - now this is a boss fight, it's MASSIVE, it's menacing, you feel the impact of every single punch and you have to position yourself properly; but yeah, on subsequent playthrough, when you know everything it feels like a waste of time), wolnir (pretty much all I've just said about the tree perfectly applies to skelly boi but I'd like to add how fckn creepy this thing is) and crystal guy (it's just a balanced and more fast paced version of pinwheel, isn't that honestly great?). I don't like half-light because... yeah, it's an NPC / PvP fight, it's not my alley. And ofc the dragon but it's hardly the boss, it's glorified battle encounter with health bar attached to it. And ofc I fckn love the dancer, such a masterpiece of a fight.
@@Cathart1c I wish I could see the dancer as a masterpiece too 😭. Maybe one day I’ll sit down and try to fully learn it
Glad to see Frieda that high in my opinion she's the best dark souls 3
@@BousserwelNada If it weren’t for Gael she would unquestionably be my favorite
Disagree with Iudex Gundyr being a good tutorial boss, the reason being his 2nd phase. The previously clearly visible attacks become obscured by a black blob and you have no idea which part of the blob can attack you.
Love your rankings dude. Really interesting takes
Immideatly clicked on the notification
100% agree on halflight being the worst. Feels like a waste of time, every time. I’ve always had a soft spot for Oceiros because of his design and lore though.
@@LimeCultivist Ya, I think Oceiros had potential to be top tier
Friede my beloved #1
Greatwood at 20, Tree fans are up
What game will get your blessed boss ranking next time, Chad?
Have you tried Armored Core 6?
the game has many great boss fights that are worth experiencing
@@felwem711 Despite being a huge fromsoft fan I actually haven’t played it yet, but I know I have to at some point
22:43 how did you get imprisoned like that 😂
i will always like curse rotted greatwood, i farmed pretty much every sunlight medallion there
there is pretty much no challenge or risk to the host dying and its the same every time
Is this video top tier?
Yes, yes it is.
I fell a tear when i fought gael and cried a bit when i went to bed after cause the fight was so god damn awesome and emotional. Actual Peak, nothing will ever beat that boss. Better then sex!
Wow. Friede that high??? Crazy!
Someone finally puts Dragonslayer Armour above Dancer
Thank god
Wtf chad dropped and i didn’t get notifications
3:00 git gud my brother, nothing wrong with the boss parrying you
could you do the same with the modded bosses? like from convergence and cinders
Here's my hot take, I just feel like I need to say this: Ornstein and Smough is not as good of a duo boss as people think. I know that they are the template that all others are compared to, but honestly I don't think they are designed as well as people think. It's pretty clear that the player is encouraged to kill Ornstein first, as he zips around the arena faster than Smough. However, the broken AI of Ornstein, with his tendency to spam ranged spells or just casually jog next to Smough, along with the cavalcade of jank that is his hypermagnets dash attack creates a fight that isn't as satisfying as it should be. And if you choose to attack Smough first, this fight is downright annoying and tedious. In a game like Dark Souls, where game knowledge and smart tactics can lead you to victory, it seems very weird that they would design a duo fight that is specifically meant to be beaten a certain way. Demon Princes, Friede, and even the Twin Gargoyles get this right, but I always see people praise O&S because of "pillars".
You take that back about syrup village
@@sjdvideos11 Ok, it’s not that bad. But I think it’s the lowest low of the series, and I’ve heard too many stories of people getting turned off by it that I’ve just grown some disdain towards it
I personally never understood why people love the twin princes so much. Sure the idea is creative, but lorian just keeps doing the same swing, you dodge and get one hit in and thats basically the entire fight. Always felt really boring and unfun to me but i might be alone with that opinion. Nice vid as always anyways :)
Beat dark souls 3 a week ago for the first time I found gael to be overhyped, the demon princes underaprecciated, and soul of cinder as my favorite. Just for reference I played ER, DS1, DS2, sekiro and AC6 this year for the first time so that may be why I like the soul of cinder the best idk
Oceiros doesn't have any hallucinations
List was cooking until DSA at 11 and Champ at 9. Twinces, midir, and freide were too high as well