History AwesomeBosses / DarkSouls

* The Ancient Dragon, who appears at the top of the Dragon Shrine as an NPC and actually gives you [[PlotCoupon an essential item to complete your quest]], if provoked turns into what is possibly the most brutal {{Superboss}}in ''Dark Souls 2'', if not the whole series. Seeing this ''massive'' beast rise to crush you like the pitiful bug you are compared to it is sure make you wish you could pause the game to [[BringMyBrownPants get some clean underwear]]. This is accentuated by the sountrack, which just screams "[[ThisIsGonnaSuck you have indeed fucked up]]".

* [[DownloadableContent The "Artorias of the Abyss" content]] adds a gauntlet of [[BonusBoss powerful bosses]] for the most hardened ''Dark Souls'' veterans:

** [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Black Dragon Kalameet]]. The BonusBoss to end all bonus bosses, this feared dragon is more than eager to crush you with all his might when you descend down the valley for his proper boss fight. Between his [[EvilIsCool awesome design]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UXX-TL1bxc brillant soundtrack]], there's little getting in the way for you to enjoy this hidden battle. There is a very good reason why this fight is widely regarded as the best dragon fight ever put into any video game.

* The Ancient Dragon, who appears at the top of the Dragon Shrine as an NPC and actually gives you [[PlotCoupon an essential item to complete your quest]], if provoked turns into what is possibly the most brutal BonusBoss in ''Dark Souls 2'', if not the whole series. Seeing this ''massive'' beast rise to crush you like the pitiful bug you are compared to it is sure make you wish you could pause the game to [[BringMyBrownPants get some clean underwear]]. This is accentuated by the sountrack, which just screams "[[ThisIsGonnaSuck you have indeed fucked up]]".
* The [[BonusBoss Darklurker]]. Just reaching it is a challenge (requires finding and joining an obscure covenant and fighting through several gauntlets of black phantoms). The actual boss fight pits you against an eerie angelic figure who is bar none the most powerful spell-caster in the game. The entire battle is a desperate race to whittle down its (thankfully relatively low) health any way you can while it hurls pyromancies, hexes, and sorceries at you. Then, just when you think you've got it on the ropes, it ''duplicates itself''.

* ''Crown of the Old Iron King'' also has its share of {{bonus boss}}es, all of which put even veteran players to the test.

* No ''Dark Souls'' game would be complete without a proper dragon BonusBoss battle, and Darkeater Midir does not disappoint. Like Kalameet and Sinh before it, the thing is huge and incredibly fast, with enough punch to make you reconsider tanking. Its BreathWeapon, while infuriatingly powerful enough to one-shot players, is also a spectacle to behold, especially if it turns into a black beam of Abyss light that produces a wave of DelayedExplosion across the arena.

** The Burnt Ivory King: After dropping down a massive pit into a small arena surrounded by an ocean of lava, you're attacked not by a boss, but by wave after wave of Charred Loyce Knights who pop out of 3 portals. Kill a certain number of them, and then a huge portal rises up from which the Burnt Ivory King emerges in epic slow-mo fashion. However, unless you took the time to find the three other Loyce Knights scattered throughout the DLC, the Charred Loyce Knights will just keep on coming. What the Loyce Knights will do is sacrifice themselves to freeze the portals so that the Charred Loyce Knights would stop coming out, making your fight with the Ivory King easier. The Ivory King also has his fair share of awesome animations, such as backflips and a jumping attack that make him go slow-mo in mid-air and then suddenly dashes towards the ground.

* The Fire Demon encountered in the Catacombs of Carthus, while more like a miniboss, is still memorable for the fact that the player can actually ''[[EnemyMine cooperate]]'' with the friendly neighborhood [[DemBones skeletons]] to take him down - and even with the numbers on your side, the big guy can still put up a fight! It gets even better when you try dragging the nearby [[ChestMonster Mimic]] into the war, who will [[CurbStompBattle ruthlessly pound the demon]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fyOIQtEpmE into the dirt]].
* Despite also being one of the most notorious cases of ThatOneBoss in the series), most still agree that the battle against Pontiff Sulyvahn is excellent despite its brutality. It's a fast-paced, exhilarating battle against an incredibly aggressive and nimble boss that will ''thoroughly'' test your dodge-roll timing, ability to quickly react to enemy tells and quickly punish openings. This, combined with his memorable design (basically the [[SinisterMinister Pope]] DualWielding {{BFS}}s), epic music, and [[TheChessmaster excellent]] [[TheCorrupter lore]], made [[EvilIsCool Sulyvahn]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse extremely popular]] [[LoveToHate with the fandom.]]
* Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, aside from having possibly the coolest title in the franchise, is a terrifying foe. Despite a fairly low hit point pool, he is lightning fast with both his varied spell moveset and his health stealing scythe miracle. He also fights you while using Dark Sun Gwyndolin as a flesh puppet. Aldrich does not disappoint as likely the final Lord of Cinder you will face before the endgame. He’s so good, he’s the only boss you can fight twice! One of Anri’s questlines has you face down Aldrich in their world as well, fighting the abomination alongside the brave knight.

* The Nameless King is one of the most visually stunning battles in the games, in addition to being an awesome fight in its own right. There's a good reason for this: You're fighting the literal God Of War of the Souls series. Not a hollowed god, not a god of death who has been drained of power for untold ages, and not a cowardly god who spends the entire battle fleeing from you. This is a full-on battle against a real, living god, one at the height of his power, and who is not afraid to go toe-to-toe with you. With him being the last of the true gods, this battle is TheLastDance for the deities of Dark Souls as a whole, and as he wrecks your face for perhaps the hundredth time, you'll begin to understand why guys like him reigned undisputed until the fire began to die.

* The ''Ashes of Ariandel'' DLC offers a fight that is as challenging as it is spectacular: Sister Friede. She starts the fight as a bonafide LightningBruiser, with rapid scythe combos on par with the likes of [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} Gehrman]]. She can dash across the room in seconds to hook you with her scythe, create exploding ice crystals on the ground, and many other tricks that would be enough to qualify her for this page by themselves. But once you take her down, Father Ariandel promptly freaks out and comes after you himself... but not before ''reviving Friede''. Round two of the fight is a chaotic endurance match as you have to contend with [[ForceAndFinesse not only Friede's vicious moveset, but Ariandel's imposing presence as well]]. Once you finally slay them both, the music goes silent, and you expect "Heir of Fire Destroyed" to pop up any moment. '''[[VictoryFakeout It doesn't.]]''' Instead, Ariandel gives an ominous speech as Friede revives ''again'' as [[TurnsRed Blackflame Friede]], drawing a [[DualWielding second magical scythe]] to dice you with and turning her already-intense attacks up a notch. This is a boss that makes you ''work'' for your victory.

* ''The Ringed City''[='=]s final boss, who is the ''final boss'' of the ''trilogy'', has already been heralded as one of the best bosses, if not ''the'' best, in the entire series, Slave Knight Gael. First phase he uses his brutal swordsmanship skills and inhuman speed, before being powered up by '''the Dark Soul''' itself, becoming even faster, utilizing every weapon at his disposal, including a rapid fire crossbow, the Way of White Corona, and his fricken ''cape''. During the ''third'' phase, lightning bolts begins to pour around the arena, and he starts channeling ''Manus'' himself, and throws around crimson abyss projectiles. Described as an unholy fusion between Artorias and Manus, it's safe to say FROM saved the best till last.
* No ''Dark Souls'' game would be complete without a proper dragon BonusBoss battle, and Darkeater Midir does not disappoint. Like Kalameet and Sinh before it, the thing is huge and incredibly fast, with enough punch to make you reconsider tanking. Its BreathWeapon, while infuriatingly powerful enough to oneshot players, is also a spectacle to behold, especially if it turns into a black beam of Abyss light that produces a wave of DelayedExplosion across the arena.

** [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Black Dragon Kalameet]]. The BonusBoss to end all [[UpToEleven bonus bosses]], this feared dragon is more than eager to crush you with all his might when you descend down the valley for his proper boss fight. Between his [[EvilIsCool awesome design]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UXX-TL1bxc brillant soundtrack]], there's little getting in the way for you to enjoy this hidden battle. There is a very good reason why this fight is widely regarded as the best dragon fight ever put into any video game.

* The ''Ashes of Ariandel'' DLC offers a fight that is as challenging as it is spectacular: Sister Friede. She starts the fight as a bonafide LightningBruiser, with rapid scythe combos on par with the likes of [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} Gehrman]]. She can dash across the room in seconds to hook you with her scythe, create exploding ice crystals on the ground, and many other tricks that would be enough to qualify her for this page by themselves. But once you take her down, Father Ariandel promptly freaks out and comes after you himself... but not before ''reviving Friede''. Round two of the fight is a chaotic endurance match as you have to contend with [[ForceAndFinesse not only Friede's vicious moveset, but Ariandel's imposing presence as well]]. Once you finally slay them both, the music goes silent, and you expect "Heir of Fire Destroyed" to pop up any moment. '''[[VictoryFakeout It doesn't.]]''' Instead, Ariandel gives an ominous speech as Friede revives ''again'' as [[TurnsRed Blackflame Friede]], drawing a [[DualWielding second magical scythe]] to dice you with and turning her already-intense attacks UpToEleven. This is a boss that makes you ''work'' for your victory.

* [[OurGargoylesRock The Bell Gargoyles]]. After the trek through the Undead Burg has tempered you into expecting what ''Dark Souls'' has to offer, you find yourself in the Undead Parish, where the first of two Bells of Awakening await you. The final obstacle is a towering gargoyle swinging both its tail axe and its halberd to smash you into the roof you fight upon. And then, when you've whittled down its health to half, [[DualBoss another one joins the fray]], blasting fire at you as you now deal with two opponents. Bonus points for this being the first point you can summon Solaire in the game. This boss was so popular that it was brought back for ''VideoGame/DarkSouls2'' [[spoiler: and they brought their whole family this time!]][[note]]Unfortunately said rematch, the Belfry Gargoyles, are considered [[ThatOneBoss one of the WORST bosses in the game]] for not only being a complete rehash, but also [[FakeDifficulty a brutally unfair gank]].[[/note]]

* Farron's Undead Legion of the Abyss Watchers are concentrated badass given form, both in the lore and in the fight against them. They're basically a legion of undead designated with guarding against the horrors of the Abyss, and when the time came for them to Link the Fire, they went down there [[BandOfBrothers together to burn as one]]. It also helps that [[spoiler:they are both a CallBack to and were ''founded'' by fan favorite character Artorias]], and it really shows in the fight against them; these bastards are [[LightningBruiser Lightning Bruisers]] to the core, able to cross yards of arena in the blink of an eye and incorporating a lot of scrambling movements and flips into their devestating move set. [[spoiler:It gets even better when you hit Phase 2 of the fight, as the combined power of all the fallen Watchers flows into their leader, activating his/her powers as a Lord of Cinder. You'll be in for the fight of your life as they practically [[FlashStep flash step]] around you and strikes with his/her flaming greatsword.]]

* Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, aside from having possibly the coolest title in the franchise, is a terrifying foe. Despite a fairly low hit point pool, he is lightning fast with both his varied spell moveset and his health stealing scythe miracle. He also fights you while [[spoiler:using Dark Sun Gwyndolin as a flesh puppet]]. Aldrich does not disappoint as likely the final Lord of Cinder you will face before the endgame. [[spoiler:He’s so good, he’s the only boss you can fight twice! One of Anri’s questlines has you face down Aldrich in their world as well, fighting the abomination alongside the brave knight.]]
* While Yhorm the Giant is an easy boss, it can still be an amazing spectacle as you fight against a massive giant wielding a great machete while charging the Stormruler to create a SwordBeam that can bring him to his knees. The grand arena and the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic thrilling music]] create an epic experience that makes up for the easy difficulty of this fight. The spectacle of this old king rising up off his throne and [[OminousWalk slowly marching down the throne room towards you]] is truly a sight to behold. It gets even better if you've [[spoiler:completed Siegward's questline, because ''he joins you for the boss fight with his own Storm Ruler'', fulfilling his promise to [[MercyKill his dear old friend]]]].

* Champion Gundyr, [[spoiler:the alternative version of Iudex Gundyr in the Untended Graves secret area]], is a relentless LightningBruiser who is ''guaranteed'' to make your adrenaline flow. From his excellent AI who will punish common exploits and strategies to cheese him, to his tough but fair long combos, to his rather unpredictable patterns (especially where his FoeTossingCharge and his kick are concerned), Champion Gundyr will keep you on your toes through the entire battle.

* Not many Dark Souls Bosses can be best described with the word “Fair”. But the Dragonslayer Armour is just that. He’s just as fast as the player, uses a fairly basic build and moveset, has a wonderfully designed arena, a challenging second phase, and an [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic amazing theme]]. Despite having little lore importance, Dragonslayer Armour is a tough but fair fight that will stick in your mind until [[spoiler: ''The Ringed City'', where you get a rematch against him as a powerful mini boss]]!

* The FinalBoss fight is probably the single best boss battle in the history of the series, for no other reason than the fact that [[spoiler:you are basically fighting ''yourself!'' More specifically, the Soul of Cinder combines the power of every Chosen Undead and nameless entity that ever Linked the Fire, and as such it has access to, in no particular order; a straight sword, a greatsword, a curved greatsword, a staff, sorceries, miracles, pyromancies, and the backflip-dodge of the Dark Wood Grain Ring.]] The only thing that makes this fight even better is when you hit Phase 2, [[spoiler:and you hear the three lonesome piano notes of Gwyn's theme as the Soul takes on the move set of the first Lord of Cinder himself. It feels both like a do-over of Gwyn's fight from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' and an enhancement; no cheesing out parry attempts here folks, you're gonna have to do this legit! Hope you know your way around the combat or brought a couple phantoms in to help you.]] Suffice to say that [=FROM=] pulled out all the stops in making the FinalBoss of the Souls series worth all the effort to get to it.

* For those who were left feeling more melancholy than awed by the Old Demon King boss from the main game, being an outright pitiful end to demonkind, ''The Ringed City'' DLC's first boss starts off strong with a DualBoss fight against Demon from Below and Demon in Pain, two bat-like fiends that take turns alternating between tearing you to shreds and blowing you up... ''and then,'' once you've felled them, [[spoiler: the corpse of the last one to fall becomes host to the soul of the Demon Prince, who'll either use apocalyptic rains of fire or a pyroclastic BreathWeapon to burn you to cinders depending on which corpse he possesses]]. ''This'' is a worthy end to the tale of the demon race.
* ''The Ringed City''[='=]s final boss, who is the ''final boss'' of the ''trilogy'', has already been heralded as one of the best bosses, if not ''the'' best, in the entire series, [[spoiler: Slave Knight Gael.]] First phase he uses his brutal swordsmanship skills and inhuman speed, before being powered up by [[spoiler: '''the Dark Soul''' itself, becoming even faster, utilizing every weapon at his disposal, including a rapid fire crossbow, the Way of White Corona, and his fricken ''cape''. During the ''third'' phase, lightning bolts begins to pour around the arena, and he starts channeling ''Manus'' himself, and throws around crimson abyss projectiles.]] Described as an unholy fusion between Artorias and Manus, it's safe to say FROM saved the best till last.

* [[ClimaxBoss The Iron Golem]]. You've been through hell and back after finishing the gauntlet of traps that is Sen's Fortress, and this colossus is the only enemy left that guards the way to Anor Londo. Your train of thought? BringIt! Bonus points for being allowed to summon the [[MemeticBadass almighty]] [[BlackKnight Black]] [[MightyGlacier Iron]] [[WorldsStrongestMan Tarkus]]. To top it off, you get to finish it off in one of the most satisfying ways any boss in a souls game could be killed: lure it onto the bridge, stab the backs of its legs with a strong attack, and watch this giant angry mountain of metal [[DisneyVillainDeath topple over the edge and plunge to its doom.]]

* [[ClimaxBoss The Iron Golem]]. You've been through hell and back after finishing the gauntlet of traps that is Sen's Fortress, and this colossus is the only enemy left that guards the way to Anor Londo. Your train of thought? BringIt! Bonus points for being allowed to summon the [[MemeticBadass almighty]] [[BlackKnight Black]] [[MightyGlacier Iron]] [[WorldsStrongestMan Tarkus]].

* Despite also being one of the most notorious cases of ThatOneBoss in the series (he's even representing the game in the pictures for the franchise's [[ThatOneBoss/DarkSouls That One Boss page]]), most still agree that the battle against Pontiff Sulyvahn is excellent despite its brutality. It's a fast-paced, exhilarating battle against an incredibly aggressive and nimble boss that will ''thoroughly'' test your dodge-roll timing, ability to quickly react to enemy tells and quickly punish openings. This, combined with his memorable design (basically the [[SinisterMinister Pope]] DualWielding {{BFS}}s), epic music, and [[TheChessmaster excellent]] [[TheCorrupter lore]], made [[EvilIsCool Sulyvahn]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse extremely popular]] [[LoveToHate with the fandom.]]

* [[CanisMajor Great Grey Wolf Sif]]. His UndyingLoyalty towards his master after the latter died long ago, as well as the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJuO6RYCcpw hauntingly beautiful boss theme]], has illicited many a desire to not fight him, and even so provides one of the most emotional fights in the game, Gwyn notwithstanding.

** [[BigBad Manus, Father of the Abyss]]. See Artorias above? This bad guy proceeds to up the ante and attack you relentlessly from the start, overwhelming you with heavy flurries and shadow sorceries. Not all hope is lost, however, for you are able to summon Great Grey Wolf Sif for the fight, giving you the courage to put a stop to this omnicidal abomination for good.

* While Yhorm the Giant is an easy boss, it can still be an amazing spectacle as you fight against a massive giant wielding a great machete while charging the Stormruler to create a SwordBeam that can bring him to his knees. The grand arena and the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic thrilling music]] create an epic experience that makes up for the easy difficulty of this fight. The spectacle of this old king rising up off his throne and [[OminousWalk slowly marching down the throne room towards you]] is truly a sight to behold. It gets even better if you've [[spoiler:completed Siegward's questline, because ''he joins you for the boss fight with his own Storm Ruler'', fulfilling his promise to [[MercyKill his dear old friend.]]]]