Top 10 Hardest Bosses in Dark Souls

A lightning-spear-wielding knight who's super fast? Fair. A fat, gigantic executioner with a devastating hammer? Fair. Two bosses at the same time? Tough, but fair. All of the above in the same fight? Beyond unfair. Oh, but it doesn't stop there. It is actually completely pointless to try to fight both at the same time because when one dies, the other regains all of its life. But it can't get any worse, right? Oh, but it does. When Ornstein is killed first, Smough gains his lightning ability, so his hammer inflicts even more damage, even if blocked. When Smough dies first, Ornstein becomes huge, so his hits do more damage, and he's still ridiculously fast. And to top it off, he gains Smough's fire resistance. This battle shows you how unfair Dark Souls can be. There are literally no upsides to this battle. It seems as if they have no weakness. Summoning someone to distract one boss while you kill the other would be wise. Trying to kill one while both are attacking you is suicide.

Manus, Father of the Abyss, has really given me problems. I am currently on NG+4, and still have not successfully defeated him. His ridiculous combos make this boss the hardest boss in the game. His five-hit combo pretty much kills you every time. If it does not kill you, then you're probably tanking him, which doesn't really work.

Another problem with this boss's difficulty is the fact that there is no real medium strategy for defeating him. You could try multiple ways, from tanking to winging it and going in with a ranged weapon. But no matter what you do, you can't say he is not hard.

Definitely the hardest boss on the amazing add-on. It is very possible that his magic-fire breath can be a one-hit knockout if you're not careful. It is suggested you come into this fight with a good shield and light armor. Staying by his legs is key, but even then, you have to be careful. Don't get greedy with hitting him. His tail swipe can be devastating, and so can his stomps. This fight is especially difficult if you're trying to cut off his tail for the Obsidian Sword.

Savage boss, and the only one on this list I've never defeated. Manus is the only other boss that made me sweat, but I guess Dark Souls is always like that. You defeat a boss nobody else can, then get stuck on one everyone thinks is easy. I really think Kalameet is an exception to this rule and have no doubt it would be number one if you restricted voting to people who have defeated everything on the list.

Artorias will either one-hit kill you or leave you with about 10% health most of the time. He is super fast, much more mobile than you, and extremely unpredictable. Then he gets an insane speed and strength buff on top of that. Tanking this guy is literally impossible because he takes boatloads of stamina, hits fast, does crazy combos unlike any other enemy, and he's extremely aggressive, and his attacks are just ferocious.

This fight will make you learn how to dodge like a champion. He is my favorite fight in the series though. He's just EPIC.

The first playthrough of this boss fight is about as easy as the Iron Golem. Now, I understand the Iron Golem isn't that difficult, but I couldn't think of a better analogy. This boss fight is like the Iron Golem fight but without any of the ledges and with more of them spawning every now and then. My first time playing, I had my friend give me armor and weapons that I shouldn't have had until the second playthrough, which made the fight much easier. However, my second battle with them on my actual second playthrough wasn't very easy. I think I attempted this boss fight five times, with one of those times having help from my friend. On my last two tries, I had the Grass Crest Shield equipped and a Black Knight Sword +5. I don't have a lot of stamina, so having that shield helped a lot as I was able to attack more often, and most of the time, I got one king killed or almost dead by the time the next one spawned in. Though I did die my first time using this strategy, I came out victorious in my next try.

Gwyn really earns this high rank in the list for me if you can't parry him. If you can manage to do that, then you're absolutely golden in this fight. What I recommend is going into the fight for the first time and trying to learn his parry timing. Now, I understand this can be VERY frustrating, and you more than likely will lose a LOT of souls doing this, but when you get the timing down, and you finally manage to beat him, it's all worth it. Now, I must mention that your parry timing has to be very good because ONE badly timed parry can, and probably will be, the end of the fight. I have learned this through many badly timed parries. I can say from experience that once you have his timing down, this becomes a very easy boss fight.

The first boss of the add-on. The only thing that makes this boss easier is the fact there is literally nothing standing between him and the bonfire, so if you die, at least you're right there. This boss is big and attacks fast. He can very possibly poison you with his tail, which makes him even harder. His lightning attacks are almost unavoidable, and he has a good amount of health. Tanking this boss would probably be a good idea.

This boss is a joke for veterans of the series. However, I can see why this boss could be ranked here for newer players. You are attacked almost immediately after entering the fight, and he has two fast wolves to try and take you down as well. Once you have the wolves down, the fight becomes much easier.

A tactic that is very helpful but at the same time kind of cheesy is to keep running up the stairs after you take down the wolves, having Capra follow you, then jumping down. After he jumps down, that's when you should attack. The absolute only time you should play defensively in this fight is when you're going up the stairs. Other than that, try to hit him as much as possible, and you'll do fine.

What makes this boss hard is not the boss itself, but how many times you will probably die before you can actually hit him. It only takes one hit to kill him. Easy, right? Wrong! You have to destroy two orbs, one on each side, while his giant branches are trying to hit you with fire, and the ground is literally caving in beneath you. You then have to drop down to the tree in the opening, get up to him, and hit him once. This is a very evasive process.

This boss was accurately dubbed the Bed of Bull by YouTuber thedeModcracy. I have lost countless souls to this unfair boss. This is the only boss in the entire game that I truly hate and never look forward to fighting. The only good thing about this boss fight is that it saves the progress you've made in the fight. Other than that, this "fight" is truly bull.

Although the first boss was very similar to this one, this one can be somewhat challenging if you don't know what you're doing. You start off the battle with some health loss already because you have to fall through the floor. His hits are pretty hard-hitting and might be able to kill you in one hit. Fortunately, he's very slow. Staying behind this boss can keep you safe. Just watch out for his fire eruptions.

This boss is literally just Demon Firesage but not on fire. Though I do think his AoE attacks hit harder than Demon Firesage's, so look out for those. Other than that, if you can beat Demon Firesage, you can beat this asylum demon reskin.

This boss is seriously the easiest part of Blight Town. Whether you have Mildred to help you or not, you're more than likely to beat this spider lady monster on your first try. If you can manage to stay on her right side (your left), the fight is a piece of cake. I honestly kind of wish they had placed something a bit more challenging to guard the second bell of awakening.

This boss isn't too hard, but can be a pain if you go in without a strategy. It's actually kind of easy to get a lot of hits on her, but that's what makes it difficult. You get greedy with hits, and the next thing you know, you're standing in lava. Literally. Her lava can kill you quickly, which is why you can't be too greedy.

This boss isn't too horrible. He's big and intimidating, but he's pretty easy to kill. Dodge his arm attacks at range, then when he gets close, make sure to try to avoid the jumping attack as much as possible. This boss is also completely optional if you are part of the Chaos Covenant and have a rank of plus 2.

What makes this boss hard is that you have to make him come to you. There's lava around him and you CANNOT go in there. It's hard to hit this boss without being hit, but he doesn't have a whole lot of health. Having a good shield can make this boss a piece of cake.

For me, Nito is the second easiest lord to kill behind Seath. The only attacks I really have to watch out for are his AoE attack and his red sword attack, which do the most damage to me by far. I try not to worry about the skeletons. The only ones I actively try to avoid are the giant ones, and I normally don't go that far into his tomb. I don't worry about his skeletons because I like to stay close to him, which causes a majority of his attacks to miss. The only downside to that is it's almost impossible for me to avoid the AoE attack. A positive to that, though, is that he uses it quite often, and I just have him kill his own skeletons for me. The most tries it has taken for me to kill Nito is three. He just isn't that hard of a boss for me.

Even besides the infamous exploit where you can push him over the edge, this fight is easy. If you're by the body where you pick up the clothes, he will do the same attack over and over again. This attack is very easy to dodge, and you can get a few attacks in while he just rests his arm there.

The biggest problem with this boss is its hitboxes. If you do die to said hitboxes, the fight becomes much more difficult because his attacks reach all the way across the arena.

This boss can be hard depending on the strategy. Once the fight engages, you can then run back to the fog door and he will jump at you over the edge, holding on for dear life. This is when you keep hitting his hands to get him to let go, and voila! He's dead!

For me, Seath is by far the easiest lord for me to kill. All you have to do is stay out of his crystals, and avoid his tail whip attack, and you're fine. It also helps if you have purging stones and a good amount of flasks. It also helps if you know all the invisible paths, and if you can just run through the clam enemies. However, they can follow you in there.

If that happens, all you have to do is save and quit the game, then reload it, and you'll be right in front of the fog wall. By far, this is the easiest lord for me. I never have trouble fighting him.

A completely optional boss, but very annoying nonetheless. He blasts magic from across the hall which is very powerful, and once you reach him, you can maybe manage two hits on him. Fortunately, he doesn't have a lot of health.

Optional and very similar to the Moonlight Butterfly, avoid his magic and arrows by hiding behind the pillars, then take a couple of swings on him when you can, and that's all this boss takes. Gwyndolin is a pushover.

Fortunately, you have to engage the first hit for this fight to begin, so take advantage of this with the most powerful hit you can think of. Then, keep your eyes peeled because she turns invisible. This is where it gets hard. Fortunately, you can somewhat get a fix on her position because she leaves footprints in the snow. Don't let her hit you, because she can cause some heavy bleeding damage. Take advantage of attacks when she becomes visible again.

This boss fight can be quite challenging without a good set of armor and a good weapon. Her attacks hit hard and cause bleed damage. If you have a fast-hitting weapon, that's what I recommend using in this fight as it will allow you to make her turn visible relatively easily. After that, you can just wail on her.

A lot of people will say this is the easiest boss in the game, and depending on your build, it might be, but jumping into this battle with no strategy will most likely end in your character's death. First of all, this boss has a TON of health. The first few times I fought this boss, I got wrecked, and I just couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.

Then I figured out a strategy: When he charges, stand by his side and wait for him to stop. Then get some good hits in his tail, but don't get greedy. So yeah, this is an easy boss, if you know what you're doing.

For guarding one of the best and most important areas in the game, this boss is a pushover. He is easily defeated solo and even easier if you choose to summon Tarkus to help you. Just remember to take down the giant throwing fire bombs at you in the tower. If you don't, this boss becomes much harder.

Very slow, but powerful boss. You don't want him to hit you. Fortunately, if you're careful, he probably won't hit you. This boss can be easily defeated by summoning the phantom before this boss.

A relatively easy boss because it leaves itself completely vulnerable when it comes down to rest, letting you probably take about half of its health down in one rest. However, low-health characters might have a tough time with this boss because its magic can be a one-hit kill. Luckily, its magic can be easily evaded.

This boss is easily killed if you have Witch Beatrice summoned, if you have your own magic, or a combination of both. Even without the help, this boss is really easy. Just avoid her magic attacks and attack when she comes down to rest.

This boss is easy, especially if you cheese him and just keep plunging off the tower. Also, if you're lucky, he'll jump back to avoid your hits, and if you're in the right spot, he'll jump right off the bridge.

This boss is easy depending on the strategy used. If you do it right, you can just plunge attack him over and over again, just run back after every plunge to give yourself time to climb the tower.

Probably the easiest boss in the game in hindsight, but can be tricky for new Dark Souls players, considering it is the first boss. Luckily, you get a free plunging attack which will give you a great advantage over him.

Very easy after your first playthrough. When I started NG+, I killed him normally without even taking a hit. However, when I start my next playthrough, I'm going to kill him the first time you encounter him because I want to try out his weapon.