History DemonicSpiders / DarkSouls

* Going down to the swamp of Farron Keep for this one, we have the giant shamans that hang out there. They have a nasty habit of hiding in the parts of the swamp where the muck is too thick to run away. Every single attack with the trees they carry creates a burst of flaming skulls, making it so there is no safe time to try stabbing them. And since being poisoned, getting hit by a magic tree and then getting hit by 15 magic skulls really hurts, they make it even easier to die in this hellhole. The cherry on the pain sundae is that they also have a powerful area of effect attack that can cost you about half or more of your health.

** None are more aggravating than the Frozen Reindeers fought in the Frigid Outskirts. Large, fast, and capable of charging you like a steam train, they also discharge electric attacks that stagger you regardless of poise. Due to the near-perpetual snowstorm of the area, it can be quite difficult to direct your attacks on the enemy, and if you're unlucky enough, you can get swarmed by several of them.

* Alonne Knights in Iron Keep have infinite poise, very erratic and fast attacks which are difficult to read and parry, and they have the tendency to all gang up on you.

* Going down to the swamp of Farron Keep for this one, we have the giant shamans that hang out there. They have a nasty habit of hiding in the parts of the swamp where the muck is too thick to run away. Every single attack with the trees they carry creates a burst of flaming skulls, making it so there is no safe time to try stabbing them. And since being poisoned, getting hit by a magic tree and then getting hit by 15 magic skulls really hurts, they make it even easier to die in this hellhole.

* The Hollow Assassins in the lower Undead Burg. While they may not have much health, they attack in groups of three or four, can fill up around a third of a player's bleed bar which instantly kills a player regardless of current health when filled, can stunlock players with low poise, and have an infinite amount of throwing knives that will stagger most players attempting to use sorcery or pyromancy against them. On top of that, once you get past them, you encounter [[ThatOneBoss the notorious Capra Demon]].

* [[KillItWithFire Torch]] Hollows. Take the ''basic enemy'' of the game, confiscate the broken and rusty sword it normally carries and give it a torch. Torch Hollows have earned as much respect and fear as the Wheel Skeletons to some players, and can do significant damage if it lands a full frenzy attack combo. The Depths bonfire typically hosts the numerous bloodstains of those that tend to forget how much of a threat the single Torch Hollow guarding the corridor out can be.

Almost every single basic {{mook}} in ''Videogame/DarkSouls'' would qualify as a DemonicSpider in any other game (and you are very likely to die a few times during the ''[[FakeDifficulty tutorial]]'') than [[NintendoHard this one]], but there are some that stand out to the point of making you want to punch the screen in frustration. Without further ado, here are some of those DemonicSpiders:

* The hollow assassins in the lower undead burg, while they may not have much health they attack in groups of three or four, can fill up around a third of a player's bleed bar which instantly kills a player regardless of current health when filled, can stunlock players with low poise, and have an infinite amount of throwing knives that will stagger most players attempting to use sorcery or pyromancy against them, and on top of that lead to one of the most frustrating bosses in the game during the first playthrough, the Capra demon
* The Undead Balder Knights, who are very swift with their sword strikes, reliable shield, and above all, the ability to parry ''you''. For beginning players, they're almost akin to a {{Miniboss}}, due to the low damage players will be dealing initially. The sole fact that they can parry attacks is frightening, as your mistakes are often punishable by instant death in this scenario.

** The Possessed Armor enemies from the same DLC will be your doom. Their melee attacks deal heavy damage to health and stamina, and can be difficult to interrupt due to their high poise and long range. Their ranged attacks are far more threatening, however, as they are deadly accurate with their powerful greatbows, tracking the player's movement perfectly before firing.

* The Lothric Knights. If any enemy shows off [[ArtificialBrilliance the new and improved AI]], it's them. For starters, they'll shield bash you if you get behind them and keep track of you very well. If you try to rush them, they can stunlock you to death before you get the first hit. There's also a second version that carries a greatshield and a spear, and those get all the qualities mentioned, plus the ability to hide behind their shields as they poke you to death. Did we mention this is one of the ''first enemies introduced in the game''? When you run into them again at Lothric Castle, they gain the ability to apply Blessed Weapon or Crystal Magic Weapon for even greater attack power, and introduce a third variant wielding an ''enormous'' greatsword which does lightning damage in addition to physical, meaning you can't block 100% of the incoming damage.

* The Lothric Knights. If any enemy shows off [[ArtificialBrilliance the new and improved AI]], it's them. For starters, they'll shield bash you if you get behind them and keep track of you very well. If you try to rush them, they can stunlock you to death before you get the first hit. There's also a second version that carries a greatshield and a spear, and those get all the qualities mentioned, plus the ability to hide behind their shields as they poke you to death. Did we mention this is one of the ''first enemies introduced in the game''? When you run into them again at Lothric Castle, they gain the ability to apply Blessed Weapon for even greater attack power, and introduce a third variant wielding an ''enormous'' greatsword which does lightning damage in addition to physical, meaning you can't block 100% of the incoming damage.

* The Lothric Knights. If any enemy shows off [[ArtificialBrilliance the new and improved AI]], it's them. For starters, they'll shield bash you if you get behind them and keep track of you very well. If you try to rush them, they can stunlock you to death before you get the first hit. There's also a second version that carries a greatshield and a spear, and those get all the qualities mentioned, plus the ability to hide behind their shields as they poke you to death. Did we mention this is one of the ''first enemies introduced in the game''? When you run into them again at Lothric Castle, they gain the ability to enchant their weapons for even greater attack power, and introduce a third variant wielding an ''enormous'' greatsword.
** Lothric Castle also introduces the Lothric Priests who are always found in the company of Lothric Knights. They don't attack you directly, but will stay far away from you and constantly cast Sacred Oath and Great Heal to make dealing with the Lothric Knights that much worse. And because the Lothric Knights are so aggressive, it's nearly impossible to ShootTheMedicFirst.

** They return once more in the Grand Archives. There are very few ledges where you can fall to your death here, instead their weapons are now [[HotBlade glowing red hot]] and hurt like a bitch. And yes, they still ambush and dogpile you.

* The Lothric knights. [[spoiler:Both in the High Wall and Lothric castle]]. If any enemy shows off [[ArtificialBrilliance the new and improved AI]], it's them. For starters, they'll shield bash you if you get behind them and keep track of you very well. If you try to rush them, they can stunlock you to death before you get the first hit. There's also a second version that carries a greatshield and a spear, and those get all the qualities mentioned, plus the ability to hide behind their shields as they poke you to death. Did we mention this is one of the first enemies introduced in the game? At later stages of the game, they gain the ability to enchant their weapons for even greater attack power, and introduce a third variant wielding an ''enormous'' greatsword. And they're often flanked by Clerics, who will buff them up even further as well as heal them.
* The Hollow Slave is an imp-like enemy that carries an axe, or Flamberge and are really great at appearing out of nowhere. They're annoying but manageable in the undead settlement but hit DemonicSpider status in the Cathedral of the Deep, often showing high up on ledges where falling to your death is a constant danger. They also love to ambush and dogpile you!

* The Lediya Pyromancers in Undead Crpyt can be this to some, especially if one of the bells is rung. Not only do they have a lot of powerful spells (some of which track you) at their disposal, they can also pull off insane amounts of damage with their three-hit combo, sometimes enough to outright kill you at full HP. To make matters worse, they spawn infinitely until you destroy their statues that are pretty sturdy, and can come at you four at a time when the above mentioned bell situation happens. The only comfort is that they stop spawning once you destroy their statues...besides the ones that can spawn in the room preceding the area's boss chamber - their spawnpoints are unbreakable.

* The Lothric knights. [[spoiler:Both in the High Wall and Lothric castle]]. If any enemy shows off [[ArtificialBrilliance the new and improved AI]], it's them. For starters, they'll shield bash you if you get behind them and keep track of you very well. If you try to rush them, they can stunlock you to death before you get the first hit. There's also a second version that carries a greatshield and a spear, and those get all the qualities mentioned, plus the ability to hide behind their shields as they poke you to death. Did we mention this is one of the first enemies introduced in the game?

The Ringed Knights can give the Lothric Knights a run for their money with their strong armor, speed, powerful attacks, and ability to buff their attacks with fire. Said knights also seldom come alone, and carry dragon shields that can both blow you away and torch you with flames. It doesn't help that a lot of their attacks can literally catch you off of a roll, meaning you actively have to time all your rolling​ just to avoid them getting a guaranteed hit on you.

** The first enemies you're gonna run into is the murkmen, which come in 2 varieties: the first, which crawls around to whack you with a sickle, and the second, which carries a staff and casts dark sorceries at you. One on one, they aren't an issue. However, from the get go, you'll almost never be surrounded by less than 5 of them. Add to that the absurd amount of damage they do, their tendency to turn into homing humanity suicide bombs if you get too close too quick, and that their aggro range rivals the aforementioned Gravelord curse enemies, and you're in for multiple deaths. The kicker? Often they'll spawn in when you enter an area where either you'll only see one, or no enemies at all, meaning any encounter with them starts with you either surrounded or cornered in by them.
* The angels.they constantly rain down holy light on you, forcing you to take cover constantly. And if they SEE you take cover? They start casting a localized spell in your area that causes curse build up. And they're always so far away from you that seemingly your only option of dealing with them is arrows and spells, and any kind of damage you can hit them with does scratch damage, even your strongest attacks. And if you manage to kill one right away, ''it instantly respawns.'' The only way to deal with them is to kill the shriveled up immobile hollows hiding near their spawn areas, two of which are hidden out of your way and force you to be bombarded by lasers constantly to get to.
** The Harald Knights, dear god, the Harald Knights. Bulbous armored soldiers carrying large cleavers and with a black hole for a head. They barely take any damage to begin with and can only be staggered by being hit in the face (which is rare unless using arrows or certain pyromancies). Their combos are relentless, they have devasting range, and they do so much damage with a single swing that even if you have heavy armor and 40 points in Vigor, you're guaranteed to lose 70% of your health. Did we mention​ that, like the Murkmen they often come in packs and like to spawn out of the ground, meaning you almost never encounter less than 3 of them at a time? The only reliable way of killing them is plunging attacks, which do absurd amounts of damage to them and often can kill them outright. However, if you miss, you're usually placed right next to one of these terrors with enough fall damage incurred to make a single swipe fatal.
** The stone humped hags, hollowed versions of the pilgrims from the base game. Their main attack is a spell with a deceptively long range that drains your health quickly and can even target you when you aren't even able to be seen by them. And their defenses are absurd due to that lump of stone. And if you do manage to get them to low health, they cast a self-healing miracle that can also drain your health faster than the Irythill Jailers ever could. And sometimes they'll hit you with a swioe that can take out more than a quarter of your health.killing these guys often takes constant movement and trying to out damage them before they can heal, which is made difficult already due to their defenses and even worse because they're often surrounded by difficult enemies and in places you can't easily reach, meaning killing​ them can either take forever or be borderline impossible depending on your loadout. Later versions of these enemies also have a deceptively fast spinning attack, which are fast and deadly enough to make the older bonewheel skeleton​ jealous.
The Darksign Knights can give the Lothric Knights a run for their money with their strong armor, speed, powerful attacks, and ability to buff their attacks with fire. Said knights also seldom come alone, and carry dragon shields that can both blow you away and torch you with flames. It doesn't help that a lot of their attacks can literally catch you off of a roll, meaning you actively have to time all your rolling​ just to avoid them getting a guaranteed hit on you.

** The stone humped hags, hollowed versions of the pilgrims from the first game. Their main attack is a spell with a deceptively long range that drains your health quickly and can even target you when you aren't even able to be seen by them. And their defenses are absurd due to that lump of stone. And if you do manage to get them to low health, they cast a self-healing miracle that can also drain your health faster than the Irythill Jailers ever could. And sometimes they'll hit you with a swioe that can take out more than a quarter of your health.killing these guys often takes constant movement and trying to out damage them before they can heal, which is made difficult already due to their defenses and even worse because they're often surrounded by difficult enemies and in places you can't easily reach, meaning killing​ them can either take forever or be borderline impossible depending on your loadout. Later versions of these enemies also have a deceptively fast spinning attack, which are fast and deadly enough to make the older bonewheel skeleton​ jealous.

** The Harald Knights, dear god, the Harald Knights. Bulbous armored soldiers carrying large cleavers and with a black hole for a head. They barely take any damage to begin with and can only be staggered by being hit in the face (which is rare unless using arrows or certain pyromancies). Their combos are relentless, they have devasting range, and they do so much damage with a single swing that even if you have heavy armor and 40 points in Vigor, you're guaranteed to lose 70% of your health. Did we mention​ that, like the Murkmen they often come in packs and like to spawn out of the ground, meaning you almost never encounter less than 3 of them at a time? The only reliable way of killing them is plunging attacks, which do absurd amounts of damage to them and often can kill them outright. However, if you miss, you're usually placed right next to one of these terrors with enough fall damage incurred to make a single swipe fatal.

** The Millwood Knights are massive LightningBruiser vikings with a lot of different movesets depending on their weapon of choice, with some using one-handed axes that are really good at catching up to you if you attempt to roll away while others use large two-handed maces with massive aoe attacks that deal a lot of damage. On top of it all they tend to back each other up, with some Knights sitting in the distance firing earthquake-causing greatarrows at you while you fight their comrades. Special mention goes to their ambush in the Snowy Mountain Pass, where an uncareful player will find themselves fighting two Millwood Knights at once while a third hounds the player with earthquake attacks.