History YMMV / DarkSoulsIII

* TragicMonster: Most of the bosses.
** The Lords of Cinder are only being hunted because they refused to burn themselves a ''second time'' to postpone extinguishing the First Flame. Any notion that this is anything but delaying the inevitable--and barely, at that--has long since passed.
** Yhorm and the Abyss Watchers failed to answer the call as Lords of Cinder because they're sanity is too far gone for them to recognize it.
** Oceiros has gone so mad with grief that he insists his empty hand still clutches his infant son. It's unclear whether the boy is dead or ''ever existed.''
** [[spoiler: Slave Knight Gael]] is the oldest undead in the setting, able to hold onto his purpose for untold millennia to stave off going hollow. He is so good at it that he nearly outlives the ''world itself.''

** The [[AnIcePerson Frostbite]] status effect introduced in this game. An eneyou try
my affected by Frostbite will have their stamina regeneration reduced for a moment and take a bit of damage. It's a decent idea, and only a handful of your opponents, whether a player or a boss, can actually resist it. The issue is that only ''5'' weapons in the base game are even capable of inflicting it, one of which is a [[MightyGlacier greathammer]] that will kill most of its targets before it even inflicts the effect, and its function of reducing stamina regeneration only applies to players, making it inferior to Bleed for boss killing. ''Ashes of Ariandel'' somewhat mitigated Frostbite's underuse, adding two dedicated spells for it, as well as another weapon with the effect attached; it was also buffed with the introduction of The Ringed City, which made it much easier to apply on both enemies and actual players.

** The [[AnIcePerson Frostbite]] status effect introduced in this game. An enemy affected by Frostbite will have their stamina regeneration reduced for a moment and take a bit of damage. It's a decent idea, and only a handful of your opponents, whether a player or a boss, can actually resist it. The issue is that only ''5'' weapons in the base game are even capable of inflicting it, one of which is a [[MightyGlacier greathammer]] that will kill most of its targets before it even inflicts the effect, and its function of reducing stamina regeneration only applies to players, making it inferior to Bleed for boss killing. ''Ashes of Ariandel'' somewhat mitigated Frostbite's underuse, adding two dedicated spells for it, as well as another weapon with the effect attached; it was also buffed with the introduction of The Ringed City, which made it much easier to apply on both enemies and actual players.

** The Curse Rotted Greatwood isn't hard as far as ''Dark Souls'' bosses go, given it only has a few basic attacks and obvious weak spots that foil its otherwise invincible body. What makes it a tedious fight is having to reach those spots while it's constantly trying to swat you away, made even worse by its limbs' obnoxious range and the Hollows that try to interfere during the first half of the fight. In the second half, you also have to contend with an additional arm that can [[GrappleMove molest you]], and you'll be losing a lot of time going back and forth trying to reach the remaining pustules as the Greatwood becomes more mobile and uses attacks that you are forced to retreat from. It is an optional boss, but because it has the Transposing Kilm, you'll want to fight it so you can get special boss weapons/items from their souls.

** While ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' has been generally well-received, there isn't much of a consensus on how the game stacks up to its predecessors. On one hand, gripes about its lack of individuality, combat more reminiscent of ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' than its numeric predecessors, [[ContinuityPorn near-constant callbacks to the first Dark Souls]], and perceived downgrades from Dark Souls 2's PvP mechanics are common. Praise, on the other hand, for its wonderfully detailed, grim but beautiful areas, hard but fair difficulty design, [[AwesomeBosses/DarkSouls sheer count of varied and epic bosses]], and overall polish and cohesion is just as common.

** While ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' has been generally well-received, there isn't much of a consensus on how the game stacks up to its predecessors. On one hand, gripes about its lack of individuality, combat more reminiscent of ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' than the other two ''Dark Souls'' games, and [[ContinuityPorn near-constant callbacks to ''Dark Souls'']] are common. Praise, on the other hand, for its detailed world, balanced difficulty curve, [[AwesomeBosses/DarkSouls numerous and varied bosses]], and overall polish and cohesion is just as common.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** While some ''Dark Souls II'' fans were pleasantly surprised to find more overt references to the game in ''The Ringed City'' [[spoiler: including revisiting good ole Earthen Peak, several armor sets from the second game, and some more lore connections,]] the continued trend of ContinuityPorn to the first Dark Souls and lack of important closure for lore introduced in II still disappoints other fans.
** In the first game, Ornstein's set lacked the long red plume that its helm had when Ornstein himself wore it. Presumably this was due to technical limitations as many armors that had cloth physics when worn by enemies lacked them when worn by the player, the Silver Knight armor being the most dramatic example. In ''III'', Ornstein's armor returned, yet still lacked the plume, despite other armors having proper cloth physics. Eventually however, they patched the armor and restored the plume, with Ornstein fans rejoicing.
** In the first two games the default state for the player was to be Hollow. This meant that most of the time your character would look like an emaciated corpse unless you made use of limited items to get your humanity back. This significantly cheapened the desire to put effort into character creation since your character was going to look like a corpse most of the time. While the second game had items that would counter this, like a ring that applies a glamour or the restored power of the crowns from the DLC, most players would still spend most of the game Hollow since these come late in the story. The Ashen One is not undead and will not go Hollow no matter how many times they die which makes the character creation feel like it has more purpose. [[spoiler: You can avert this by proceeding down a specific ending path however.]]

* {{Adorkable}}: For all her serenely calm dignity, using the right EmoteCommand in front of the Firekeeper reveals her to have a surprisingly playful side. Do something silly and she'll put a hand to her mouth as if [[NotSoStoic suppressing giggles]], salute or bow her and she'll gracefully bow in return, do something unsightly and she'll look away embaressed, and if you start clapping or give her a toast she'll even perform a GirlySkirtTwirl. Small wonder that most, if not all, of the fanbase has fallen in love with her.

** The endgame and DLC weapons crank this up to comical levels. Many of the boss weapons become insane displays of flips and weapons swipes at impossible angles. Notable examples include [[spoiler: Freide's Greatscythe, which causes the user to attack like the boss herself, flipping around and shooting out ice, the Demon's Scar, a falchion made of pure fire that can shoot pyromancies, and the Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords, which are two greatswords that cause the user to spin and flip around with a greatsword in each hand.]]

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Pyromancy in previous games had no stat scaling or minimum requirements to use, making it a viable tool in a melee-focused character's arsenal without having to invest points in Faith or Intelligence. In this game it scales with ''both'' Faith and Intelligence, and many of its spells have high stat requirements in one or the other, meaning it's only really useful for those already invested in a spellcasting build.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: All over the place, as is typical for the series.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The item description for the broken straight sword as well as its weapon art can come off as much less humorous [[spoiler: given one of Anri's endings in their questline involves attacking you with said weapon as a hollow.]]
-->''A weapon with no exceptional qualities. Only a mad Hollow would choose to fight with this.''
-->''While in stance, use normal attack to break a foe's guard from below, and strong attack to slash upwards with a forward lunge. Only, neither move will appear very impressive with a broken sword.''

* {{Adorkable}}: For all her serenely calm dignity, using the right EmoteCommand in front of the Firekeeper reveals her to have a surprisingly playful side. Do something silly and she'll put a hand to her mouth as if [[NotSoStoic suppressing giggles]], salute or bow her and she'll gracefully bow in return, and if you start clapping or give her a toast she'll even perform a GirlySkirtTwirl. Small wonder that most, if not all, of the fanbase has fallen in love with her.

** How the [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]], Covenants, and CO-OP of ''Dark Souls III'' compares to its predecessors is another area of contention. While some are satisfied with the online experience and mechanics, others find that the mechanics in previous Souls games, especially ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', were superior (or, at the very least, less troubled).

** The Ancient Wyvern. Another CallBack to ''Demon's Souls'', you spend most of the battle running away from the boss until you reach the right spot to [[OneHitKill kill it in one hit]]. The enemies along the way are arguably more of a threat than the boss itself. There is also a chance that it will [[spoiler:[[WhatAnIdiot fall down from the arena and die]]]] if you ignore it and go hunting the enemies in the area.

** '''Every goddamned area in The Ringed City'''. From Software made sure that the series managed to go out with a huge bang, and hoo boy, they made sure that the last DLC will not be a walk in the park. [[LongList The enemies alone are a major factor to this]], such as the Murkmen that tend to appear in [[ItsQuietTooQuiet rather seemingly empty areas]], the Harald Knights that have massive amounts of HP and can one-shot a player with 40 vigor or more in a single combo, the Angels that, unless the Pupa spawning them is killed, will rain light beams at you, Desert Pyromancer Zoey who can surprisingly use a [[LethalJokeWeapon whip]] very well along with devastating pyromancies, Hollow Clerics that will abuse their long-range miracles and will hide in the lump of stone they carry to heal unless kicked (which is a pain for curved sword users), The Pygmy Paladins that can push you off near narrow bridges or edges and use Lightning Spears and Stakes, The Ringed Knights that can manage to rollcatch you with a lot of their attacks, along with the ability to buff their weapons with fire, the large Locusts who will partake in eating you, and most frustratingly, the Judicator Giants that will summon ruin Phantoms to bombard you with arrows, and even getting close will either have them summon Ledo to pound you to the ground, and speaking of him, if you go down the wrong path, you may even encounter him as a [[BossInMooksClothing dark spirit]]. And oh, it gets worse. Going too far down the swamp will result in you eventually encountering the ''Dragonslayer Armour'', though thankfully, you should have been leveled up well for the encounter. Finally, the last stretch has you dodging Midir's dragon breath, and trying to get to cover without thinking will either get you pushed by a Pygmy Paladin into the fire, or end up falling right into your doom. Thankfully, after all that, the difficulty appears to drop, though going down the wrong path will result the Moaning Knight invading. There's a reason why if you don't have the ''Ashes of Ariandel'' DLC, the only way to access it is during the Klin of the First Flame.

** Special mention goes to the horrendously ugly Monstrosities of Sin in the Profaned Capital. They're as tough as a tank, and hit like one as well. Think you can take advantage of their ridiculously low speed and circle around them? Guess again, and be punished by a highly damaging attack where they roll over onto you. And they have an incredibly nasty grab attack that comes out ridiculously fast with barely any warning, does Mimic-grab levels of damage, and has [[HitboxDissonance enough phantom range to make Dark Souls II's Cyclops blush]]. Be thankful that for once the game is merciful enough to have these things in a singular area that's cut off from the rest of the game.

* AccidentalInnuendo: Performing a critical attack on an enemy from behind is ''supposed'' to be you stabbing them InTheBack, but the upwards motion of the stab and the fact most humanoid enemies are taller than your character (even the generic Hollows) can result in it looking like you're shoving your sword [[AssShove somewhere rude.]]
** Also, the line the Fire Keeper has when you give her souls to level up. "[[UnusualEuphemism Touch the darkness within me]]", anyone? Not to mention that the act of doing so involves [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything one partner kneeling while the Fire Keeper is filled with a white substance.]]

*** In the same vein as Yuria, Yoel is either a fanatically loyal pilgrim who genuinly wants to help you, even if his way of helping may have consequences you don't particularily care for... Or he's a scheming bastard who manipulates you from the start, playing the role of a poor old man so he can get into your good graces, then pushing you down the path Yuria wants you on, wether you want it or not.

* EvilIsCool: Aldrich and Sulyvahn are two of the most unambiguously evil characters in the whole series and are responsible for countless atrocities, but their memorable design and challenging boss battles have led to them becoming very popular.

** [[BlobMonster Aldrich]], Saint of the Deep and [[KillTheGod Devourer of Gods]], was a cleric who founded the Church of the Deep and took to [[ImAHumanitarian devouring the flesh of men]] for power. Turning to devouring the undead, Aldrich grew bloated and mutated into a hideous, slug-like being who continued to devour countless people alive, luxuriating in their screams. Eventually sacrificed to become a [[Characters/DarkSoulsIIILordsOfCinder Lord of Cinder]], Aldrich was revived and housed within the Cathedral of the Deep where he continued to have helpless people fed to him. In his most profane act, Aldrich devoured the god Gwyndolin slowly, [[AndIMustScream keeping him in a state of unending agony]]. Not even children were safe from Aldrich, and only two, Anri and Horace, ever escaped the Devourer's hunger.

** Farron Keep, a poison-filled swamp which makes [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Blightown]] and the [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls Valley of Defilement]] look like {{SugarBowl}}s in comparison. Imagine a BIG poisonous swamp, filled with {{Demonic Spider}}s: feral beasts capable of one-shotting you, giant creatures armed with a tree and regularly releasing a homing magical attack, giant crabs, basilisks, [[FromBadToWorse darkwraiths]], and a whole covenant of players dedicated to prevent you from reaching the Abyss Walkers. Also, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking slugs]]. Making it worse, the majority of the map is covered in swamp water that both slows you down and poisons you, and unlike in Blighttown, there's no item you can find that alleviates this.

* CrazyAwesome: Much like [[spoiler:their founder Artorias]], the Abyss Watchers have a thing for incorporating front flips and other odd displays of acrobatical skills into their swordsmanship--and they're all the more beloved for it.

** ''Every'' Lord of Cinder has become ''hugely'' popular among the fanbase for various reasons, including; [[EvilIsCool Aldrich]], [[TheChessMaster Ludleth]], [[CrazyAwesome The Abyss Watchers]], [[TragicVillain The Twin Princes]], and [[TheGoodKing Yhorm the Giant.]]

** The Spear of the Church can turn into this if the player controlling him happens to suck. Even if the Spear is controlled by an AI, it's still basically just a 2 vs. 1 [=PvP=] fight. The fact that this is the very last fight you'll have before ''[[spoiler:the very last boss of the entire franchise]]'' only adds salt to the wound. Many players choose to save him for later and then go back and [[BonusBoss fight Darkeater Midir]] because of how lame the Spear fight is.