Top 10 Dark Souls bosses

A couple of weeks ago I've decide to do a top 10 boss fights of each Souls game. A couple of days ago I did top 10 boss fights from Demon's Souls. Now it is turn for first Dark Souls to receive the same treatment. Dark Souls is my favorite Souls game and it is in top 3 of my all time favorite games. This is in the large part based on the fact that Dark Souls (DLC included) had some of the most memorable boss fights of any game. So without further ado lets start with the list.

10. Seath the Scaleless

     Much like Old Hero from Demon Souls (who was number 10 on my top 10 bosses from Demon Souls) Seath is also blind. However his moves are much more calculated and it seems that he is much more aware of your presence than Old Hero was. For most this might have been one of the easiest fights of the game, but for me it was really hard. however this was mostly my fault since I pretty much haven't invested any souls in humanity stat, so my curse resist was pretty low, which for the majority of the game wasn't that big of a problem. That was until I came upon this motherfucker. He has a breath attack which carries curse status effect and it is unblockable since it comes from beneath the player. He will also use his tail if you are trying to do some damage from his back, and if zou are in front of him he will bend and swipe with his arm. He also has a crystal wave attack that covers majority of the area wher you fight him, and this attack made me die so many times from curse that is not even funny.

    I've played many games that have dragons in them but none of them looked so weird and unique as Seath. The fact that he has no scales and that he is so skinny that you can see his ribs makes him very creepy looking.

9. Capra Demon

     One of the most annoying boss fights early on that almost made me quit the game all together. That was until I figured out the trick to beat this boss. 

    Capra Demon is very weird looking boss wielding two big ass swords that deal massive damage. Usually boss fights in any souls game take place in large or big areas, however this one takes place in a small corridor which makes proper dodging really hard. On the top of that there are two demon hounds that immediately charge at you once you enter the area, they can get really annoying if you don't kill them early on and fast. The trick to this fight is to exploit stairs that are neatly placed in the boss area.

8. Bell Gargoyles

     This boss fight was so memorable that it found its way into Dark Souls II. In Dark Souls II they were the bosses of optional area Belfry Luna, here you will face with five of them (not at the same time) as oppose to two from this game. Most people describe this boss fight as the place where Dark Souls actually start by providing the most challenging fight early on.

    When the boss fight starts you are fighting just one gargoyle which doesn't seem like much of a challenge at first, but eventually another one shows up and things get a bit trickier. I somehow manage to beat this boss on my first try. I guess I was just well prepared for this fight since I did some grinding beforehand. I had the Drake Sword and a very good shield which made this fight so much easier for me. If you are fast enough and if you have Drake sword you can actually kill him before the second gargoyle shows up. I didn't actually do that but I took a great chunk of his health. Even if you didn't take that much health from the first you should focus your attacks on that one to take him out as fast as you can since managing two gargoyles at the same time can prove to be very challenging. They will not leave you much room to take estus flask so you would have to mindful of that as well. 

7. Chaos Witch Quelaag

    Quelaag is the boss that you will encounter after going trough a shit stain that is Blighttown. After all the frustration that Blighttown caused me this fight was actually quite interesting, refreshing and overall enjoyable. Quelaag is the daughter of the Witch of Izalith, and for some reason she is fused with a spider. Spider part usually attacks with lava by spewing it from the mouth or releasing it from the side of its body. Spider can also side stomp with his legs, however spider's most damaging attack is the roar which is usually combined with lava spew or strike from Quelaag's sword. Qualaag on the other hands wields a sword and her attack are consisted of stabs and swipes, occasionally she will do a 3 move sword combo.

    Quelaag can prove to be a very formidable foe. Keeping an eye on the lava that remains some time on the ground and avoiding or blocking Qualaag's sword attacks can sometimes be very overwhelming. When you are fighting the boss that has several attack patterns it can be very challenging (but also fun) task to learn all of that bosses tells. This was one of more exiting fights of the game for me since I was constantly low on health, and I tried to conserve estus flasks as much as possible. Great fight indeed.

6. Gravelord Nito

    Often times when you fight a boss in Dark Souls you don't really know what to expect or what is the best way to kill that boss. Right from the get go your focus should be the skeletons that are in the area. By this point in the everyone should have probably figured out that using divine weapon will make skeletons not raise again once you drain all of their health.

    Nito is a weird looking motherfucker; his entire body is comprised of skeletons. He wields a large sword that can do a ton of damage; however his attacks are predictable and slow so they will give you ample opportunity to prepare for them. Aside from sword attacks he will occasionally try to grab you. It can be easily avoided by watching his tells and dodging at appropriate moment. Finally he has miasma attack, he basically starts to glow and after a brief time he will release a shockwave which aside from dealing a high damage can also stagger you. When he starts to glow the best strategy is to run as far from him as humanly possible. Having a shield that has a high magic resist can be very useful for this fight.  

    I enjoy fights that pose fair challenge and this one is definitely one of those. One of the fun things to do in Dark Souls is figuring attack patterns of bosses and learning what is the best and quickest way to kill them. That is why this boss fight is at number 5. 

5.Black Dragon Kalameet

     This is where we enter the territory of Dark Souls one and only DLC Artorias of the Abyss. As you can see by the rest of the entries on this list this DLC provides some of the best and hardest boss fights you will encounter in first Dark Souls universe, insert Black Dragon Kalameet a cool looking black dragon that only has one eye.

    Being that he is an optional boss from this DLC, you might end up playing trough entire DLC without even encountering him which happened to me on my first playtrough. His fog door only appears after some prerequisites. Kalameet forces you to constantly be on the move and circle around him. He has a lethal charge attack and breath attack that usually come without the warning so staying away from his front will allow you to more easily dodge his attacks. Figuring all of his attacks and dodging them requires a lot of practice and lets face it a lot of deaths. In order to beat him you must be a master dodger. Using a shield is also an option, however don't even try to use your small ass shield, heavy shield with high stability is your only option if you are willing to beat him and you are not that good at dodging.
    Kalameet is arguably the boss with the biggest arsenal of attack ranging from different breath attack (which deal magic damage), forward charges, head wipes, diving attacks and tale attacks. He will also occasionally do an attack where he will emit telekinetic field in front of him. If you get caught in that field you will take double damage for a short period of time.
    Needless to say this is a very difficult boss fight (which is the case with pretty much every boss from this DLC. 

4. Sif, the Great Grey Wolf

    Sometimes the simplest looking bosses are the most intriguing and collest looking one. Siff is a big direwolf that holds a giant sword in his mouth which he uses to attack you. You should try sticking to his legs as much as possible. You will be able to do a lot of damage before he jumps back and starts attacking again. Definitely one of the easier bosses, especially if you fight him somewhat later in the game like I did. The best way to avoid being hit with his sword attacks is by dodging towards him which will allow you enough time to deal some damage to him. His attacks can be blocked easily but they drain a lot of stamina.

   The interesting thing about this fight is that he doesn't really want to fight you. He can be found in Darkroot Basin guarding the grave of his master, Knight Artorias. In order to progress to the next area of the game is by getting the ring that is next to the grave, and the only way to obtain that ring is by fighting him. You can see in his introduction cut-scene that he is reluctant to fight you, but after seeing that there is no other way for him to protect his master's grave than to fight you. Usually the boss fights fill me with joy and sense of accomplishment, this one filled me with sadness.

 3. Knight Artorias

    Easily one of the most badass characters of any game Artorias is one of th true legendary figures of Dark Souls lore. He was one of the Gwyn's (final boss) Four knights. He was known as one of the best Gwyn's soldiers that was proven his battle skill during the fall of New Londo. Artorias led the way with his wolf Sif (number 4 on my list). When the township of Oolacile came under threat of Manus. His power overcame him, but he managed to save Siff from the same fate. That is why Siff guards his grave in Darkroot Basin. Artorias of the Abyss DLC takes place in the time before the events of Dark Souls, and when you come to face Artorias you will notice the once proud knight that has succumbed to dark corruption.
   You fight Artorias in a large area that is reminiscent of Colosseum. Knight Artorias is one of the most challenging Dark Souls bosses. Around the battlefield he will move rather slow, but his attacks are on the contrary very fast. He will often perform lunge attack with his greatsword and this is probably the best moment to attack him. Once he performs his lunge attack, you will have to roll towards him but slightly on the side of his unarmed hand, there you can try to slash at him once or twice. He also has a powerful and fast leaping attack, which he will often spam so I wouldn't suggest attacking him when he is performing this leap. He also performs your regular sword slashes. Also while he moves he will leave black sludge behind him that will slowly deplete your health, which will disappear after a very short time. He will occasionally trow this sludge. He is one of the rare bosses that can roll in order to dodge your attacks. Once you take away half of his health he will surround himself with dark aura, which essentially amplifies the damage he deals. 

2. Manus, Father of the Abyss

    Some of the best boss and hardest boss fights from first Dark Souls come from its DLC Artorias of the Abyss. Manus is for me the most intimidating looking foe of entire Souls game franchise

    He is the final boss of the DLC and appropriately so has the highest HP of all Dark Souls bosses. What I really like about this boss is his design, he is definitely one of the most unique and badass looking bosses. His left hand is much bigger than his right one, most of his attacks are done with his big ass hand. In his other smaller he holds a staff which he will use with his jump attack which will toss you back if you are blocking. He also will occasionally do a three-hit combo and a six-move combo. Best strategy is to simply circle strafe from his three-hit combo. This wouldn't be the last and one of the hardest boss fights if he didn't have magic attacks. When his over sized hand glows he will use one of his dark magic attacks.
    Generally speaking I don't usually use summons in any Souls games. I usually try to tough it out and beat the bosses purely based on my skill and nothing more and nothing less. This boss fight has probably one of the biggest oh my god moments as far as summoning goes. Remember Sif (number 4 on my list), well you get to summon him. Granted he is much smaller than in instance when you fight him and he probably won't help you as much as you might think he will. Nevertheless it is one of the coolest boos fight moments.

1. Dragon Slayer Ornstein &Executioner Smough

   Lets face it y'all probably saw this one coming. This boss fight is pretty much in top three if not number one on any list with top 10 Dark Souls bosses. However it wasn't an easy choice. I was for some time thinking of putting Manus at number one. In the end the prevailing factor was the difficult of the fight where Ornstein and Smough took the cake. From the get go the two bosses appear at once (with Bell Gargoyles fight at first you fight one but later another one appears) one that is much slower but deals a lot of damage (Smough) and one that is much faster whose hits don't do as much of damage (Ornstein)
    Usual way to deal with the boss fight which includes multiple enemies is by focusing on killing one of them so that you can even your chances up. That is what your strategy should be in this case as well, however any damage that you deal to the other one is pretty much useless because there is a twist. Once you kill one of them the other one will absorb the power of the other and regain any health that you've taken away from him, also his HP raises. You will essentially fight a more powerful version of the boss that you didn't initially kill. Smough will get lightning power from Ornstein (if Ornstein was killed firs) and Ornstein will become much larger absorbing the largeness :) of Smough. If you tought that fighting two bosses at the time was hard wait until you have to fight a more powerful version of one of them. For me many people this is make it or break it fight, so much so that several people i know fond this fight so hard that they've actually quit. For me this was the hardest fight of the game, but after a bunch of tries and help from a summoned NPC I finally prevailed. Beating the boss (or in this case bosses) never felt so satisfying and rewarding.
    Also the back-story of the two is kind of interesting and there is some interesting fill the blanks stuff going on. If you kill Smough first Ornstein will absorb his power by gently (lovingly?) touching Smough. But if you kill Ornstein first Smough will basically crush Ornstein with his large hammer and thus absorbing his lightning power.