It must be written in the stars that Carian women just can't resist toxic gingers that will leave them in shambles, no wonder Ranni got rid of her body.
Metyr's low rumble in phase 2 is a recording of a black hole raised a few 10s of octaves so humans can hear it. It's a wonderful addition to both the soundtrack and the lore.
Midra is my all-time favorite boss in souls. His lore and the lore surrounding him is amazing. The environmental storytelling that builds him up from when you first enter the abyssal woods is both terrifying and stunning. His design fits him perfectly with his lore. His music and audio design sends chills down your spine. And his fight is a jawdropping spectacle that feels like dance with just the right amount of difficulty. He's basically a better version in every way of the abyss watchers from DS3, which was my previous favorite boss in souls.
Aw thanks for the shoutout! I appreciate that a lot. Your criteria actually has merit whereas mine was based on my opinion and sound and general structure lmfao
As a physically disabled gamer and one who's Elden Ring main character/OC is one who embraced BOTH schools of Draconic Invocation, that is to say Communion and Cult....I loved that both characters who represent the absolute pinnacle of Dragonkind are disabled as well as being mighty and quite literally AWESOME filled my heart with a pride and joy I couldn't describe.
A cool bit of environmental storytelling in Bayle's arena are all of the red flowers in the arena - physical demonstration of all the dragon communion warriors who tried to take his heart only to have a field of calorbloom mark their deaths as one of countless others.
Man going down there and finding metyr was absolutely nuts. I was getting tired of running around for that quest but EVERYTIME you finish a part you get the juiciest piece of lore which keeps you doing the quest 🤣
You should rank all the other bosses in other souls games as well! Would be awesome to see your opinion on Dark Souls 1 since you’re the loremaster of that game haha
I love how Midra further shows how resisting frenzy ironically is what makes one so spastic and “frenzied”, while wholly embracing it gives you a sense of levity or calm. If the player chooses the Frenzy ending it looks like a villainous pose when they raise their arms, but when Midra does it and elevates it looks like he has had a weight lifted of his shoulders (aside from his head) and oddly found peace, which is both a scary and cool idea
It feels so sad when he finally decides enough is enough and stops resisting. As you said you can see him becoming calm, because there is no more fight. Brain always makes parallels to the topic of uh unaliving oneself (love having to use stuff like this)
The flame of frenzy wants to destroy everything and everyone. Midra is resisting it to save everyone but thanks to us making it harder for him to resist it and then beating him up, he decides enough is enough and gives up letting the flame of frenzy take over. We at least redeem ourselves by killing him saving him from the torture of the flame of frenzy. Its hard for him because he wants to save people by resisting it himself. We dont seem to be suffering because we let ot take over thereby dooming the lands between by letting the flame of frenzy take over.
I absolutely love how you use sound and music as a metric in your ratings. The analysis of the music as it related to the fight, character, and story is such a great detail. Audio is SO important, yet not recognized as much as it should be, in my opinion. :)
I do always love these videos, some of my favorite content from you. One of my absolute *favorite* parts of this video, though, is your attention to detail with the music. I don't really notice a lot of other souls creators doing that, and as a musician myself, it's really nice to see people pay attention to those details, especially when they aren't details I noticed myself!
What a great idea to do a "tier list" of bosses. It really makes me wonder how you rank the base game bosses as well. I also think this was a great "break" from your deep-lore-look videos. I appreciate the thouroughness in which you explain your scores. It feels as though you're honoring the lore and that this isn't "just another video" for you. 5/5 gentlemen. 🎉
36:16 - I believe in the 3rd phase, the Scadutree Avatar is utilizing the vestiges of power Miquella left imprinted in his Great Rune. The giant aoe explosion is the color of Unalloyed Gold. It would be interesting and unsurprising if Gaius was a half-brother of Radahn's. Given how we know Marika and Radagon must have been having an affair during Marika's marriage to Godfrey (for Messmer and maybe Melina to both be older than the Carian kids, and explaining the red pigment in their hair), it wouldn't be surprising if Gaius was a result of Radagon just sleeping around before wedding Rennala. That's grasping at straws though. Just a fun thought. Rellana feeling regret for siding with Messmer is very likely considering Messmer's own knights rebelled against him, and many are becoming aware that Marika had no intention of releasing them from the Realm of Shadow--therefore the Carians who followed Messmer into the slaughter against the Hornsent were condemned to their own deaths one way or another. I do wish we got a cutscene or more context on her. Romina was incredibly underutilized considering she's the main boss of Rauh and became another "vessel" of sorts for the Scarlet Rot... She felt like an after-thought given her presence in the trailer.
The Scadutree Avatar’s music is easily my favourite in the DLC. As mentioned it feels like an increasingly desperate dance. But also it reminds me of the Slavic, Scandinavian and Germanic medieval folk music that inspired the soundtrack of The Witcher game series. This music and boss fight feels as though I could encounter it in the swamps of Velen and have it fit perfectly
One thing about Messmer’s fight I really like is that it always feels like he’s just trying to get it over with. He uses a huge, obvious fire orb immediately and hastily and relentlessly swings and even throws his spear. He’s not Godrick who’s enjoying his fight, he just seems like he’d rather do something else
the dancing lions are absurdly weak to long ranged attacks, mesmer has multiple ranged attacks and weaves artfully in and out of melee... he absolutely sits on dancing lions. dont take my word for it, watch some elden ring fight club channels.
I just noticed that Romina and the putrescence knight are foils and also subverting expectations. Rot is shown with beauty and elegance near the top of the world, and love is shown as putrid and rotten at the bottom of the world.
I’m enjoying this video. Been playing the older souls games and watching your older videos again recently; would be cool to see videos in this style for the main series!
A thought on Radahn's size, I don't think it was the rot, I think he simply continued to grow and grow as he aged or it's a possible Great Rune influence. Malenia hadn't used the rot when they first met in Caelid, when he's at his largest Starscourge size, while we know Miquella resurrected Radahn as he remembered him in his younger days before stopping the stars. I think this is an important visual cue that drives their relationship home. Whether Radahn was ever a willing participant in Miquella's plans or not, Miquella intentionally brings him back in the idealized form he first became enamored with. It's a great piece of visual storytelling even if I am still a bit sour on the direction of the story itself. Agree on all marks with Bayle, for me his storyline is what truly recontextualized the game to me and not Metyr's. We get so much from so little there, how the previous Elden Lord enacted similar massacres to the current one, a cycle of oppression less literal than Dark Souls usually portrayed it and one that was otherwise mostly absent from Elden Ring. I do agree on your desire for more information on Dragon society though, we do ascertain a lot of their values and interactions with humanity from Bayle, but we have ultimately learned little about Farum Azulan life. I personally think the Rock Heart's "Original Ancient" Dragon Communion was a missed opportunity, and that there should have been Ancient Dragon Communion spells to shed light on this. We fight Senessax, an Ancient who allied with Bayle, and we now know why there is a dead Ancient Dragon at the Caelid Communion church, so something like "Senessax's Maw" or some other such nonsense would have been a good gap filler here. Definitely a contender for the best Dragon, I'm partial to Midir and the Ancient Dragon lore of Souls for being more abstract and bizarre, but SOTE really elevated ER's Dragons considerably for me.
Another consideration on Radahn's size. Could it be that causing the stars themselves to halt caused his enormity? In Elden Ring, we see Fallingstar Beasts which are smaller but eventually grow large to become Astel. In fact, don't the Astel have an unused "meteor" attack like Radahn's? Maybe the size relevance is due to cosmic forces rather than rot or just sheer growth?
Midra is my favorite DLC boss based on lore. Through various studies of his character (including yours), I was able to hype myself to a first-try victory. My personal headcanon is that the Putrescent Knight is just the leftover bits of Ludwig, Ludwig's horse, and the Orphan of Kos clumped together; Kos' child, all grow'd up. Divine Beast Dancing Lion sets the pace and tone for all boss fights in the DLC; only after defeating it did I feel officially welcomed to the Shadowlands. The second half of The Promised Consort kinda almost has wedding vibes to it, the union of a god and its lord. 58:05 "uses techniques he developed" except in 2nd phase where he moves like the Ulcerated Tree Spirits with his snakes. I had just shortly beforehand fought a number of Ulcerated Tree Spirits, including the one at the bottom of Shadow Keep, so it felt nice having some useful knowledge nearby before facing Messmer's phlegm. This was a fun video. :D
The best part about Metyr's design is how in her phase transition and black hole attacks, she assumes the form of a Mudra, as though attempting to pray and commune with the Greater Will and bringing upon you a microcosm in the process.
Ngl I might need some more music breakdowns from you if you haven't already. I personally haven't heard anyone go in depth as much nor make it seem as interesting. Genuinely changed the way I took in each track as I listened to your descriptions of the instruments and what they represent within each battle. Unlocked a new appreciation for the music. Love the work 🙏🏾
I don't know how I never noticed that before, the dance the Divine Beast Warrior's use to channel their power is probably the same the dancers under the lion suit are using to move the robes around so weirdly.
25:36 The piece also has 3 beats per measure, which is common for a dance in Western classical music (think waltz). The tempo is also pretty fast, which means that the dancers would be stepping and twirling around at a rapid pace while still moving with elegance.
The choir singing w those bells that builds up to an uplifting sound while sad at the same time is absolutely clutch at setting the mood for fighting radahn
Always only the best from Hawkshaw, so much I wanna say. I was definitely thinking Messmer or Midra was getting 1, my favorite is how you brought the music into it, so many people don't realize even the music itself illustrates the lore and is so important. Your ideas on the putrescent knight were fantastic, the depth of the music there, is something I missed, I also find it interesting its name in the files is 'Gloam Eyed Knight'. I also love how you mentioned Bayle looks worse than Placi, after how he crippled Egon, the same way Placi did to him, makes me think Bayles Rage is all about his cowardice of fleeing the fight and can't let it go. I also like how you touched Metyr didn't truly get annihilated. Consort Radahn fight still has to be my favorite, the NPC fight lead up to the NPC's fighting with you was so unreal for me. PS. Can't wait for your lore video you release about Radahn and Miquella specifically, my tattoo artist is wanting to know more about them. :)
I hear everyone saying that, but before the dlc most people in the lore community believed that the two fingers had no communication with the greater will, and were just making it up as they went along, just to find out, the two fi gers got there information from metyr who was just making it up as she went along. We all knew the greater will abandoned the lands bewteen befire the dlc so in my opinion its not as lore shattering, not nearly as much as marikas history and the hornsent
@ I agree with all of that. The two fingers claim to power being fraudulent doesn’t really matter. They have had enormous influence on the world regardless. The lore of Metyr to me implies that the entire world of Elden Ring likely exists within a fleeting microcosm itself, not significant nor important enough for the Greater Will to care for it. After all, we see in the Elden Beast fight arena that there is far from one Erdtree out there… Fleeting Microcosm Sorcery description also implies a type of simulation theory.
@hawkshaw still the best in what they do. Great take on the list process and nice break down particularly using the soundtrack as part of scoring (pun intended:). 👍
It's almost like the second part of Metyr Music reflects how she is waiting for a response from the greater will. Listening to only quietness of the vastness of space. Only her own breathing.
Hey Hawshaw, someone has found practically another aspect of your eldenring color theory. Its about Leyndell beeing a city of rainbows, from Scum Mage Infa. It perfectly fits.
Also. I'd rank Messmer lower than Bayle. I feel the fact that Fromsoft essentially let the design of Messmer out before the game, while also letting us know he was a child of Merika made the fight expected. Like we knew this fight was going to happen it was just when. However, i was totally blown away by Bayle. Sure, dragon fights were expected, but what a dragon!!! And the deep lore of him was just outstanding. I put Bayle over Messmer.
To be honest I agree for my own experience. Nothing beats finding something like Bayle without any prior knowledge of them. I think I also enjoyed his fight more than Messmer's!
Midra convince me everyday that if FromSoftware want to make Horror game, they can do it and it will be so frecking amazing I totally agree with your Top 3 they were the cherry on the cake for me
Something that just occured to me: I think the broken trunks scattered around the Scadutree Avatar's arena might be dead Minor Scadutrees, broken before they could grow to lofty heights like the Erdtree's progeny did. Maybe the Scadutree Avatar is mourning those losses - the Minor trees which all Avatars are sworn by their very nature to protect?
34:33 We should have had a Finger Reader for Metyr. Perhaps one per Finger Ruin, providing hints of information on Metyr. They would give less information than Ymir, but their information would be more reliable.
30:19 my head canon is the 3 fingers had nothing to do with metyr, and was manifested by the frenzied flame, mimicking the 2 fingers to be approachable and seem like it's related when it actually isn't.
I’d rank the divine beast as a perfect 19/20, with only the soundtrack holding it back from a perfect score. It introduces and reinforces the hornsent culture so perfectly both with their respective references to Asian cultures with the dancing dragons and asceticism and spirituality AND as a perfect display of what all hornsent we see want to accomplish. It’s just such an original design that somehow manages to represent the hornsent’s culture in the lore and their real life inspirations.
I think my last place will always be the Putrescent Knight. Putrescence feels like cut content. The concept is introduced in the same sentence it's dismissded again and then never returns. It's only a thing in one relatively small area in the DLC. The connection to St. Trina also feels like an afterthought. And #1 will always be Metyr because the 2 fingers have intrigued me since day 1 of Elden Ring. They were a true mystery and I'm glad we got a definitive explanation for them.
The combination of the Old Lord’s talisman only showing Placidusax with four heads and Bayle only having two of his heads lodged in his body implies that Placidusax lost his first head in a fight long before he fought Bayle
Midra was also prob a call back to the Yellow Monk from demon souls. That’s why I loved him. Also, there is something bad ass about him refusing to flinch or dodge. I mean, it spelled his doom because the last thing you want to do is eat my duel dragon communion seal rage but it did throw me off a bit.
41:50 Star scourge that fought Malenia was that big before the scarlet rot kicked in, Malenia only has rot once she blooms and that didnt happen yet. Its more likely that Radahn's great rune didnt fully manifest yet since Great Runes cause demigods to increase drastically in size(except for Miquella who wqs cursed at birth). Radahn with a lessened Great Rune was small enough to be restrained by Morgott but once fully manifested he's big enough to stalemate Malenia. We get Radahn's great rune after death so after he resurrects he becomes small again because he lacks that Great Rune.
I think that the obscurity of Dragons lore is very intentional, we're already having difficulty figuring out recent history, so it makes sense that a whole previous age, something that happened as far as maybe eons ago has fewer and less concrete information about it
10:13 I’ll always rock w rellnalas ost shiis on my playlist. I was forced to like it cause that the only boss to ruin my solo run 🥲I spent hours and still could solo her
So glad we agree on Number 1. I’m glad I stumbled upon Midra by accident. Nothing else in the DLC even came close to his area for me. I just wish his weapon was imbued with Frenzy when we obtained it.
35:18 so did Marika make the Scadutree, and the Erdtree was something else made by the Elden Ring or something? Cause a tree that's shadowy lacking order and cling like an embrace sounds like strumpet (Marika) behaviour to me.
I would really like someone to confirm this for me if possible. I remember fighting Bayle and before I got to kill him low sliver of health. He starts to cripple around and runs away slightly for a bit before my mimic got the final blow. I just want to know im not losing my mind.
Ranking solely on Lore, mine is: 11. Metyr, Mother of Fingers (Hardest to rank) 10. Commander Gaius 9. Rellana, Twin Moon Knight 8. Putrescent Knight 7. Romina, Saint of the Bud 6. Scadutree Avatar 5. Promised Consort Radahn 4. Divine Beast Lion Dancer 3. Midra, Lord of Frenzy Flame 2. Bayle the Dread 1. Messmer the Impaler Excellent video, Hawkshaw. Keep up the great work.
Watching this video made me think bayle Has somewhat of a chaos color pallet with his lightning Is it possible he was taken by chaos causing the civil war?
The Putrescent Knight, aka Leonard's discarded body, his skeleton riding atop his putrescence filled skin, wielding the ruined and rotted Starscourge Greatswords since Miquella made new ones for his brainwashed consort. The reason i like this crack theory is because it means that Miquella cast away his own literal other half at the same time and place as Radahn's "other half" in the same sense as Gaius and his boar. In this hidden away place Miquella saw to it that both he and gis captive betrothed would be vroken aoart to fit better together. Miquella is a monster, and thats why we dont see Leonard in the final fight.
the issue with this theory is that it’s explicitly stated the knight was putrescence from the stone coffins. still, the story told by this theory is insane and i love it
I can never agree to PCR being anywhere near as high on this ranking, let alone on the lore, but at the very least the second phase thene is something we can all agree is utterly fantastic.
Genuinely think Consort Radahn had the worse lore in the DLC. Contrived and silly, Mohg body with Radahn soul because he's a fan fave- should've been Godwyns corpse puppeted by Miquella (no soul required)
I feel Placidusax had the more severe injury considering he's missing three heads and Bayle is only missing half a leg and a bit of a wing. As far as him being the one that fled, that could be because other ancient dragons arrived as reinforcement and so he had no choice.
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Which bosses do you think are the most Loresome?
It must be written in the stars that Carian women just can't resist toxic gingers that will leave them in shambles, no wonder Ranni got rid of her body.
Me(a red haired tarnished) about to prove fate inescapable
Have you considered that Ranni herself is the toxic redhead?
@@fl7433 Hmm…🧐
@@fl7433To defeat them she had to become one of them
@@fl7433she was, indeed.
Hawkshaw accidentally revealing himself to be a true music connoisseur.
Metyr's low rumble in phase 2 is a recording of a black hole raised a few 10s of octaves so humans can hear it. It's a wonderful addition to both the soundtrack and the lore.
Yeah it sounds identical to a UA-cam video NASA put out of the black hole at the center of the Perseus galaxy cluster
@@jamesleishman8025where you the black hole they recorded?
@tomasasevedo9391 This is not at all as appreciated as it should be 😭
Midra is my all-time favorite boss in souls.
His lore and the lore surrounding him is amazing. The environmental storytelling that builds him up from when you first enter the abyssal woods is both terrifying and stunning. His design fits him perfectly with his lore. His music and audio design sends chills down your spine. And his fight is a jawdropping spectacle that feels like dance with just the right amount of difficulty.
He's basically a better version in every way of the abyss watchers from DS3, which was my previous favorite boss in souls.
Aw thanks for the shoutout! I appreciate that a lot. Your criteria actually has merit whereas mine was based on my opinion and sound and general structure lmfao
Not at all! When that all aligns so well with the story it's just as valid as any other source I think
Marcooo!!!
YO I WATCH SO MANY OF UR VIDS. Have you done an Elden Ring Lore Deep Dive yet cuz ur music analysis are super accurate
*sees notification*
"oh that's a cool concept, I'll watch it"
*Checks video length*
"yeah that's about right for Hawkshaw"
As a physically disabled gamer and one who's Elden Ring main character/OC is one who embraced BOTH schools of Draconic Invocation, that is to say Communion and Cult....I loved that both characters who represent the absolute pinnacle of Dragonkind are disabled as well as being mighty and quite literally AWESOME filled my heart with a pride and joy I couldn't describe.
A cool bit of environmental storytelling in Bayle's arena are all of the red flowers in the arena - physical demonstration of all the dragon communion warriors who tried to take his heart only to have a field of calorbloom mark their deaths as one of countless others.
Man going down there and finding metyr was absolutely nuts. I was getting tired of running around for that quest but EVERYTIME you finish a part you get the juiciest piece of lore which keeps you doing the quest 🤣
You should rank all the other bosses in other souls games as well! Would be awesome to see your opinion on Dark Souls 1 since you’re the loremaster of that game haha
I'd really enjoy that! If people like the video I'd definitely consider doing more like it
@Hawkshaw Slave Night Gael is peak; every other boss fight can be good, but the Gael fight is the GOAT
I completely agree, please make this a series
@@Hawkshaw please do Bloodborne
I really want this as well. It really fits your channel well and is a bit of a variety to your usual dives
I love how Midra further shows how resisting frenzy ironically is what makes one so spastic and “frenzied”, while wholly embracing it gives you a sense of levity or calm. If the player chooses the Frenzy ending it looks like a villainous pose when they raise their arms, but when Midra does it and elevates it looks like he has had a weight lifted of his shoulders (aside from his head) and oddly found peace, which is both a scary and cool idea
It feels so sad when he finally decides enough is enough and stops resisting. As you said you can see him becoming calm, because there is no more fight. Brain always makes parallels to the topic of uh unaliving oneself (love having to use stuff like this)
The flame of frenzy wants to destroy everything and everyone. Midra is resisting it to save everyone but thanks to us making it harder for him to resist it and then beating him up, he decides enough is enough and gives up letting the flame of frenzy take over. We at least redeem ourselves by killing him saving him from the torture of the flame of frenzy. Its hard for him because he wants to save people by resisting it himself. We dont seem to be suffering because we let ot take over thereby dooming the lands between by letting the flame of frenzy take over.
I absolutely love how you use sound and music as a metric in your ratings. The analysis of the music as it related to the fight, character, and story is such a great detail. Audio is SO important, yet not recognized as much as it should be, in my opinion. :)
I do always love these videos, some of my favorite content from you. One of my absolute *favorite* parts of this video, though, is your attention to detail with the music. I don't really notice a lot of other souls creators doing that, and as a musician myself, it's really nice to see people pay attention to those details, especially when they aren't details I noticed myself!
What a great idea to do a "tier list" of bosses. It really makes me wonder how you rank the base game bosses as well. I also think this was a great "break" from your deep-lore-look videos.
I appreciate the thouroughness in which you explain your scores. It feels as though you're honoring the lore and that this isn't "just another video" for you.
5/5 gentlemen. 🎉
36:16 - I believe in the 3rd phase, the Scadutree Avatar is utilizing the vestiges of power Miquella left imprinted in his Great Rune. The giant aoe explosion is the color of Unalloyed Gold.
It would be interesting and unsurprising if Gaius was a half-brother of Radahn's. Given how we know Marika and Radagon must have been having an affair during Marika's marriage to Godfrey (for Messmer and maybe Melina to both be older than the Carian kids, and explaining the red pigment in their hair), it wouldn't be surprising if Gaius was a result of Radagon just sleeping around before wedding Rennala. That's grasping at straws though. Just a fun thought.
Rellana feeling regret for siding with Messmer is very likely considering Messmer's own knights rebelled against him, and many are becoming aware that Marika had no intention of releasing them from the Realm of Shadow--therefore the Carians who followed Messmer into the slaughter against the Hornsent were condemned to their own deaths one way or another. I do wish we got a cutscene or more context on her.
Romina was incredibly underutilized considering she's the main boss of Rauh and became another "vessel" of sorts for the Scarlet Rot... She felt like an after-thought given her presence in the trailer.
I love Igon's dialogue in the Bayle fight, but Hornsent's dialogue for Messmer is pretty heartbreaking.
The Scadutree Avatar’s music is easily my favourite in the DLC. As mentioned it feels like an increasingly desperate dance. But also it reminds me of the Slavic, Scandinavian and Germanic medieval folk music that inspired the soundtrack of The Witcher game series. This music and boss fight feels as though I could encounter it in the swamps of Velen and have it fit perfectly
One thing about Messmer’s fight I really like is that it always feels like he’s just trying to get it over with. He uses a huge, obvious fire orb immediately and hastily and relentlessly swings and even throws his spear. He’s not Godrick who’s enjoying his fight, he just seems like he’d rather do something else
the dancing lions are absurdly weak to long ranged attacks, mesmer has multiple ranged attacks and weaves artfully in and out of melee... he absolutely sits on dancing lions.
dont take my word for it, watch some elden ring fight club channels.
Long have I waited for a new Hawkshaw vid, you are my favorite lore channel out of them all
5:21 is so true. The analysis of Rellana’s boss room with the chair is great too, but I agree with her ranking
I just noticed that Romina and the putrescence knight are foils and also subverting expectations. Rot is shown with beauty and elegance near the top of the world, and love is shown as putrid and rotten at the bottom of the world.
I’m enjoying this video. Been playing the older souls games and watching your older videos again recently; would be cool to see videos in this style for the main series!
Would love more of these ranking videos! This has to be one of my favorites
A thought on Radahn's size, I don't think it was the rot, I think he simply continued to grow and grow as he aged or it's a possible Great Rune influence. Malenia hadn't used the rot when they first met in Caelid, when he's at his largest Starscourge size, while we know Miquella resurrected Radahn as he remembered him in his younger days before stopping the stars. I think this is an important visual cue that drives their relationship home. Whether Radahn was ever a willing participant in Miquella's plans or not, Miquella intentionally brings him back in the idealized form he first became enamored with. It's a great piece of visual storytelling even if I am still a bit sour on the direction of the story itself.
Agree on all marks with Bayle, for me his storyline is what truly recontextualized the game to me and not Metyr's. We get so much from so little there, how the previous Elden Lord enacted similar massacres to the current one, a cycle of oppression less literal than Dark Souls usually portrayed it and one that was otherwise mostly absent from Elden Ring. I do agree on your desire for more information on Dragon society though, we do ascertain a lot of their values and interactions with humanity from Bayle, but we have ultimately learned little about Farum Azulan life. I personally think the Rock Heart's "Original Ancient" Dragon Communion was a missed opportunity, and that there should have been Ancient Dragon Communion spells to shed light on this. We fight Senessax, an Ancient who allied with Bayle, and we now know why there is a dead Ancient Dragon at the Caelid Communion church, so something like "Senessax's Maw" or some other such nonsense would have been a good gap filler here. Definitely a contender for the best Dragon, I'm partial to Midir and the Ancient Dragon lore of Souls for being more abstract and bizarre, but SOTE really elevated ER's Dragons considerably for me.
Another consideration on Radahn's size. Could it be that causing the stars themselves to halt caused his enormity?
In Elden Ring, we see Fallingstar Beasts which are smaller but eventually grow large to become Astel.
In fact, don't the Astel have an unused "meteor" attack like Radahn's?
Maybe the size relevance is due to cosmic forces rather than rot or just sheer growth?
Midra is my favorite DLC boss based on lore. Through various studies of his character (including yours), I was able to hype myself to a first-try victory.
My personal headcanon is that the Putrescent Knight is just the leftover bits of Ludwig, Ludwig's horse, and the Orphan of Kos clumped together; Kos' child, all grow'd up.
Divine Beast Dancing Lion sets the pace and tone for all boss fights in the DLC; only after defeating it did I feel officially welcomed to the Shadowlands.
The second half of The Promised Consort kinda almost has wedding vibes to it, the union of a god and its lord.
58:05 "uses techniques he developed" except in 2nd phase where he moves like the Ulcerated Tree Spirits with his snakes. I had just shortly beforehand fought a number of Ulcerated Tree Spirits, including the one at the bottom of Shadow Keep, so it felt nice having some useful knowledge nearby before facing Messmer's phlegm.
This was a fun video. :D
Awesome video! I’d love to see you do this with the base game remembrance bosses
I love this. A thoroughly thought out and articulated look at the dlc bosses and their lore.
The best part about Metyr's design is how in her phase transition and black hole attacks, she assumes the form of a Mudra, as though attempting to pray and commune with the Greater Will and bringing upon you a microcosm in the process.
Ngl I might need some more music breakdowns from you if you haven't already. I personally haven't heard anyone go in depth as much nor make it seem as interesting. Genuinely changed the way I took in each track as I listened to your descriptions of the instruments and what they represent within each battle. Unlocked a new appreciation for the music. Love the work 🙏🏾
I don't know how I never noticed that before, the dance the Divine Beast Warrior's use to channel their power is probably the same the dancers under the lion suit are using to move the robes around so weirdly.
25:36 The piece also has 3 beats per measure, which is common for a dance in Western classical music (think waltz).
The tempo is also pretty fast, which means that the dancers would be stepping and twirling around at a rapid pace while still moving with elegance.
The choir singing w those bells that builds up to an uplifting sound while sad at the same time is absolutely clutch at setting the mood for fighting radahn
Thank you Shawn, this analysis is fantastic ❤
Anyone get goosebumps in messmers second cutscene every time he says "thou shall be taken in the jaws"
Always only the best from Hawkshaw, so much I wanna say. I was definitely thinking Messmer or Midra was getting 1, my favorite is how you brought the music into it, so many people don't realize even the music itself illustrates the lore and is so important. Your ideas on the putrescent knight were fantastic, the depth of the music there, is something I missed, I also find it interesting its name in the files is 'Gloam Eyed Knight'. I also love how you mentioned Bayle looks worse than Placi, after how he crippled Egon, the same way Placi did to him, makes me think Bayles Rage is all about his cowardice of fleeing the fight and can't let it go. I also like how you touched Metyr didn't truly get annihilated. Consort Radahn fight still has to be my favorite, the NPC fight lead up to the NPC's fighting with you was so unreal for me. PS. Can't wait for your lore video you release about Radahn and Miquella specifically, my tattoo artist is wanting to know more about them. :)
Romina's theme is one of my favorite video game themes of all time. it gave me goosebumps when i was fighting her
Bayle the dread is my nr 1 by far. CURSE YOU HAWKSHAW for only putting him in third place!
Love the added variety. I would love to hear you discuss the lore in a more unscripted format with a guest like SmoughTown
Metyr feels far too low. Metyr’s existence changes everything.
I hear everyone saying that, but before the dlc most people in the lore community believed that the two fingers had no communication with the greater will, and were just making it up as they went along, just to find out, the two fi gers got there information from metyr who was just making it up as she went along. We all knew the greater will abandoned the lands bewteen befire the dlc so in my opinion its not as lore shattering, not nearly as much as marikas history and the hornsent
@ I agree with all of that.
The two fingers claim to power being fraudulent doesn’t really matter. They have had enormous influence on the world regardless.
The lore of Metyr to me implies that the entire world of Elden Ring likely exists within a fleeting microcosm itself, not significant nor important enough for the Greater Will to care for it. After all, we see in the Elden Beast fight arena that there is far from one Erdtree out there…
Fleeting Microcosm Sorcery description also implies a type of simulation theory.
@hawkshaw still the best in what they do. Great take on the list process and nice break down particularly using the soundtrack as part of scoring (pun intended:). 👍
It's almost like the second part of Metyr Music reflects how she is waiting for a response from the greater will. Listening to only quietness of the vastness of space. Only her own breathing.
This is so good, a base game boss review like this would be so cool
Hey Hawshaw, someone has found practically another aspect of your eldenring color theory.
Its about Leyndell beeing a city of rainbows, from Scum Mage Infa.
It perfectly fits.
Not sure if anyone said this already but metyrs second phase music is the sound of a black hole that was recorded a few years ago scientifically
Also. I'd rank Messmer lower than Bayle. I feel the fact that Fromsoft essentially let the design of Messmer out before the game, while also letting us know he was a child of Merika made the fight expected. Like we knew this fight was going to happen it was just when.
However, i was totally blown away by Bayle. Sure, dragon fights were expected, but what a dragon!!! And the deep lore of him was just outstanding.
I put Bayle over Messmer.
To be honest I agree for my own experience. Nothing beats finding something like Bayle without any prior knowledge of them. I think I also enjoyed his fight more than Messmer's!
The lack of cutscenes have nothing to do with from software wanting to say they are not important. The dlc was rushed. That is the reason why.
I love your voice on thwse videos def my fav souls youtuber atm
Midra convince me everyday that if FromSoftware want to make Horror game, they can do it and it will be so frecking amazing
I totally agree with your Top 3
they were the cherry on the cake for me
Something that just occured to me: I think the broken trunks scattered around the Scadutree Avatar's arena might be dead Minor Scadutrees, broken before they could grow to lofty heights like the Erdtree's progeny did.
Maybe the Scadutree Avatar is mourning those losses - the Minor trees which all Avatars are sworn by their very nature to protect?
I think that the Radahn fight shows glimpses of Radahn’s admiration for Godfrey
Miyazaki: made a dancing lion boss
Me: Barongsai
34:33
We should have had a Finger Reader for Metyr. Perhaps one per Finger Ruin, providing hints of information on Metyr. They would give less information than Ymir, but their information would be more reliable.
30:19 my head canon is the 3 fingers had nothing to do with metyr, and was manifested by the frenzied flame, mimicking the 2 fingers to be approachable and seem like it's related when it actually isn't.
A detail I never hear anyone talk about during miquella’s cutscene is the oracle envoy horn that briefly plays when he exits the divine gateway
We need the ranks for all the bosses! Fromsoft 300+ boss rankings!!!
Agree
I’d rank the divine beast as a perfect 19/20, with only the soundtrack holding it back from a perfect score. It introduces and reinforces the hornsent culture so perfectly both with their respective references to Asian cultures with the dancing dragons and asceticism and spirituality AND as a perfect display of what all hornsent we see want to accomplish. It’s just such an original design that somehow manages to represent the hornsent’s culture in the lore and their real life inspirations.
I think my last place will always be the Putrescent Knight. Putrescence feels like cut content. The concept is introduced in the same sentence it's dismissded again and then never returns. It's only a thing in one relatively small area in the DLC. The connection to St. Trina also feels like an afterthought.
And #1 will always be Metyr because the 2 fingers have intrigued me since day 1 of Elden Ring. They were a true mystery and I'm glad we got a definitive explanation for them.
The combination of the Old Lord’s talisman only showing Placidusax with four heads and Bayle only having two of his heads lodged in his body implies that Placidusax lost his first head in a fight long before he fought Bayle
Midra was also prob a call back to the Yellow Monk from demon souls. That’s why I loved him. Also, there is something bad ass about him refusing to flinch or dodge. I mean, it spelled his doom because the last thing you want to do is eat my duel dragon communion seal rage but it did throw me off a bit.
Got here within the hour I am truly blessed
So glad the bestiary idea of ranking bosses/ enemies/ NPCs based off of lore is spreading. It got to be my favorite concept!
The most loresome bosses… I love it!
41:50 Star scourge that fought Malenia was that big before the scarlet rot kicked in, Malenia only has rot once she blooms and that didnt happen yet.
Its more likely that Radahn's great rune didnt fully manifest yet since Great Runes cause demigods to increase drastically in size(except for Miquella who wqs cursed at birth).
Radahn with a lessened Great Rune was small enough to be restrained by Morgott but once fully manifested he's big enough to stalemate Malenia.
We get Radahn's great rune after death so after he resurrects he becomes small again because he lacks that Great Rune.
Malenia was born with the rot, that’s why she has a metal arm
I think that the obscurity of Dragons lore is very intentional, we're already having difficulty figuring out recent history, so it makes sense that a whole previous age, something that happened as far as maybe eons ago has fewer and less concrete information about it
Great weapon choice
Renalla guards the way to the black keep, no? So mesmer is trusting her with guarding the only way to his castle, that’s quite a lot of trust imo
10:13 I’ll always rock w rellnalas ost shiis on my playlist. I was forced to like it cause that the only boss to ruin my solo run 🥲I spent hours and still could solo her
I rank Hawkshaw #1 for lore
How did I not know Bayle had TWO of Placidusax’ heads latched onto him??
Curse you Bayle is the new Jolly Cooperation
So glad we agree on Number 1.
I’m glad I stumbled upon Midra by accident. Nothing else in the DLC even came close to his area for me.
I just wish his weapon was imbued with Frenzy when we obtained it.
Hawkshaw, in midras arena the hay on the floor has fingerprint burn marks.
I think the lack of the burn in midra shows how forceful this is on him
He did not embrace the fren6 yet must suffer the consequences
Where's the tier list for the base game bosses???
35:18 so did Marika make the Scadutree, and the Erdtree was something else made by the Elden Ring or something? Cause a tree that's shadowy lacking order and cling like an embrace sounds like strumpet (Marika) behaviour to me.
Ive consistently first try Renala. Whats my secret? Flames of the fell god, spam it from behind the impassable boss door behind the fort she’s in LMAO
Bro knows what a viola is 👏🏼
I'm partial to Rellana. Probably my favorite flight in the dlc.
Ooooo I’m here early! And only an hour as opposed to beastiarys 8 hour video on the same subject hahahaha which I def watched
I would really like someone to confirm this for me if possible. I remember fighting Bayle and before I got to kill him low sliver of health. He starts to cripple around and runs away slightly for a bit before my mimic got the final blow. I just want to know im not losing my mind.
Radhan coming back will never fit in the lore
Midir from Dark Souls 3 The Ringed City DLC will forever be my favorite dragon fight ever, but Bayle comes a very close 2nd
Ranking solely on Lore, mine is:
11. Metyr, Mother of Fingers (Hardest to rank)
10. Commander Gaius
9. Rellana, Twin Moon Knight
8. Putrescent Knight
7. Romina, Saint of the Bud
6. Scadutree Avatar
5. Promised Consort Radahn
4. Divine Beast Lion Dancer
3. Midra, Lord of Frenzy Flame
2. Bayle the Dread
1. Messmer the Impaler
Excellent video, Hawkshaw. Keep up the great work.
Well achuawally* thumb is a type of finger. We are five fingered beings
Watching this video made me think bayle
Has somewhat of a chaos color pallet with his lightning
Is it possible he was taken by chaos causing the civil war?
The Putrescent Knight, aka Leonard's discarded body, his skeleton riding atop his putrescence filled skin, wielding the ruined and rotted Starscourge Greatswords since Miquella made new ones for his brainwashed consort.
The reason i like this crack theory is because it means that Miquella cast away his own literal other half at the same time and place as Radahn's "other half" in the same sense as Gaius and his boar.
In this hidden away place Miquella saw to it that both he and gis captive betrothed would be vroken aoart to fit better together.
Miquella is a monster, and thats why we dont see Leonard in the final fight.
the issue with this theory is that it’s explicitly stated the knight was putrescence from the stone coffins. still, the story told by this theory is insane and i love it
I can never agree to PCR being anywhere near as high on this ranking, let alone on the lore, but at the very least the second phase thene is something we can all agree is utterly fantastic.
Learning or no. The divine beast OST is one of my favorite pieces of music in all of gaming. 10/5
And should we wait for subtitles? Thanks in advance!
Gonna be honest it’s a little weird that rellana liked the son of her sisters lover. There must be a crazy age gap
Genuinely think Consort Radahn had the worse lore in the DLC. Contrived and silly, Mohg body with Radahn soul because he's a fan fave- should've been Godwyns corpse puppeted by Miquella (no soul required)
Is there some kind of “Fromsoft lore UA-camr” accent
Radahn is smaller in final fight because its moghs body he is in
29:10 everything with horns uses their head to attack things, actually
True, I should have better clarified that- but I'm sure you understand what I'm intending!
Casually talking about the end cutscene? In the name of everyone who gave up on Radan till further notice and avoiding spoilers; not nice.😅
Some scores are clearly fixed to get the desired order.
And Midra at 1st place? Cmon.
Strongly disagree with this list.
I feel Placidusax had the more severe injury considering he's missing three heads and Bayle is only missing half a leg and a bit of a wing. As far as him being the one that fled, that could be because other ancient dragons arrived as reinforcement and so he had no choice.
Predicting that Midra wins high diff