FromSoftware is known for its tough boss battles and between Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring there have been a lot of them. Here’s a look at the 15 we think are the developer’s most challenging so far.
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There are plenty of tough bosses in FromSofware’s catalog of games but we’ve narrowed down 15 that are most likely to cause you soul-crushing rage. These bosses have been selected for a variety of reasons but mostly due to how tough they are at the point it is intended to face them in their respective titles.
15. Maneaters (Demon’s Souls)
Maneaters were one of the first walls that FromSoftware fans ever faced. Whether it’s the original 2009 Demon’s Souls or the PS5 remake, Maneaters are some of the game’s toughest foes.
This fight has players take on two beasts at the same time each with a variety of ranged and melee skills. Your best bet is to take and eliminate the first one as soon as you can before its friend arrives, otherwise, you’re in for a world of pain.
14. Radagon, Elden Beast (Elden Ring)
The final boss of Elden Ring’s story can be extremely challenging as there are two individual fights to complete each with different weaknesses. This means that your build will need to be versatile, as specialized builds can struggle in one of the two fights.
First, you’ll take on Radagon who is a closed-ranged powerhouse with the ability to close distance fast and deal lethal area of effect damage. This fight alone can be a tall task for many players, but things get harder once you beat Radagon and are forced to take on the Elden Beast.
Elden Beast is very different as it will stay at a distance shooting ranged magic attacks only closing the distance to swing its sword. Your job here is to get as close as you can, as often as you can rolling the sword swipes and landing shots where possible.
13. Manus, Father of the Abyss (Dark Souls)
The first Dark Souls has a handful of difficult bosses, but in perspective, it’s really one of the easier games once you get the hang of it. A notable exception to this is the fight against DLC boss Manu, Father of the Abyss.
Manus is a giant enemy, but unlike most of his size, he’s aggressive and constantly attacking. Those who tend to have passive playstyles will struggle against Manus and the only way to beat him is to learn his moveset, dodge behind, and get in your attacks where you can.
12. Slave Knight Gael (Dark Souls 3)
Dark Souls 3’s DLC has many challenging bosses but the hardest is Slave Knight Gael. This fight is a major step above what players have encountered in the DLC to its point, and can easily cause problems with its fight being broken into multiple phases that are drastically different.
Slave Knight Gael will start in a beast stance closing the distance with giant swings of its sword. There are swiping, stabbing, and piercing attacks here, but once you get the movements down phase one can be made easy. The problem is that phase two is an entirely new fight.
During phase two Gael two-hands his sword in an upright stance and makes things more difficult by also utilizing a ranged crossbow. This ranged offense combined with the spinning attacks that are now at his disposal limit your escape options and make this one of the hardest FromSoftware bosses to date.
11. Genichiro Ashina (Sekiro)
The first time that you fight Genichiro you’ll instantly feel that he is the hardest FromSoftware boss ever made, and while that’s not true, he’s definitely up there. What makes Sekiro unique from other FromSoftware games is that you aren’t able to leave a boss to level and return. You’re basically stuck defeating each story boss to progress and that’s what makes Genichiro so hard.
To beat Genichiro you must learn to parry, anticipate attacks, and use your tools to your advantage. If you can’t do these things then you’re going to be stuck with no way of progressing Sekiro until you do.
10. Maliketh, the Black Blade (Elden Ring)
The first phase of your fight against Malkieth, the Black Blade can be a breeze. Most of his attacks are melee blows that can be seen and rolled with little effort, but the reason Malkieth is such a tough fight is that in phase two things go from 1 to 100 fast.
Phase two of Malkieth is one of Elden Ring’s toughest battle moments. He’s fast, can close distance in an instant, and also has the ability to launch powerful attacks at you from the sky. There’s no blocking these attacks, all that you can do is roll.
9. Ornstein and Smough (Dark Souls)
Juggling two bosses has always been tough, and the first time players learned this was when Dark Souls challenged them to beat Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough at the same time.
Ornstein is fast, agile, and has lunging attacks that can easily catch you off guard. Fighting them would be tough alone, but doing so while Smough stomps around swinging his giant hammer makes this an unbelievably difficult challenge for less experienced players.
8. The Nameless King (Dark Souls 3)
The Nameless King is one of the most iconic bosses in the Dark Souls franchise, and the hardest boss in Dark Souls 3. You can get away with phase one quite easily by dodging his swooping attacks, crushing blows, and landing shots on his dragon, but once he dismounts you’re in for a world of pain.
The Nameless King has a combination of swiping attacks and lighting blasts so your only choice to survive is to string together long rolling combinations and land shots in the few openings he provides.
7. Owl Father (Sekiro)
Fighting Owl the first time in Sekiro is already tough enough, but if you choose to seek out and face the optional Owl Father fight then expect things to be even more difficult. In this fight Owl is more aggressive and has all of his tricks from the first encounter, however, he now has a second phase with fresh moves.
This second phase can be crushing if you haven’t studied. Now he has a complete ranged offense to complement his close-range combinations. The only way to win is to learn his close-range combinations, stay near, and dodge that owl as your life depends on it.
6. Ludwig The Accursed / Holy Blade (Bloodborne)
Ludwig is one of the first, if not THE first boss that you’ll fight in Bloodborne’s DLC and its difficulty is a major step up from what the base game has to offer. Beating Ludwig’s first phase isn’t too tough if you’re ready to roll his swiping moves, but it’s the second phase that most will struggle, and even quit on.
In phase two Ludwig stands up and wields his Holy Blade. This weapon completely changes his moves so that you’re now looking at swinging attacks and lethal area-of-effect moves. This can be challenging for melee players, and the best way to beat him is to get behind and stay as far away from that sword as you can.
5. Demon of Hatred (Sekiro)
Remember how Sekiro’s combat system is built on parrying? Yeah, well forget that. That won’t help you here. The Demon of Hatred feels like he is in the wrong game as their moves can’t be easily parried and the only way to beat him is to run away and sprint back in when there are openings.
Making this boss even more tough is the fact that he’s one of the only foes in the game that has three lives. Expect to do a lot of running and less fighting if you want to claim the head of this option boss.
4. Malenia, Blade of Miquella (Elden Ring)
Malenia is many FromSoftware fans’ favorite boss. This fight looks simple but it is incredibly challenging. Malenia can easily heal back health with her attacks and has multiple distance closers and long combinations.
If you manage to survive the first phase things only get more tricky when the rot flower blooms. From this point, you must be mindful of taking rot damage while also avoiding here new attacks which include a devastating area of effect closer that can instantly kill most builds.
3. Orphan of Kos (Bloodborne)
Orphan of Kos is Bloodborne’s most frustrating boss and naturally, you’ll encounter him at the end of the DLC. This fight punishes players who aren’t aggressive so you’ll basically need to get in his face to win.
With a giant weapon that deals massive crushing damage from range and by leaping at a distance, you’ll need to be at your best when anticipating his next move and ensuring you’re out of the way of his attacks. Yes, they do deal splash damage so don’t think that simply because he hasn’t hit you you won’t get hurt.
2. Promised Consort Radahn (Elden Ring)
Promised Consort Radahn is absolutely ridiculous. This boss in his first phase has insane combinations that feel like they go on for way too long, and a big enough moveset that you must always be on your toes as there’s no way of knowing what comes next.
If you thought the first start of the battle was tough enough then phase two is going to blow your mind. Radahn’s attacks become more erratic and substantially faster, and he has one of the most broken area-of-effect moves ever made so just be ready to run. These factors combined are why Radahn is one of the toughest FromSoftware bosses of all time.
1. Isshin, the Sword Saint (Sekiro)
The hardest FromSoftware boss ever is Sekiro’s final fight against Isshin, the Sword Saint. You’ll need to kill Isshin three times to win this fight, but your chance to do that only comes after you’ve killed Genichiro again, which must be done every attempt. Fortunately, by this point, you are more powerful and simply a better player so the Genichiro section should be a breeze.
In each of Isshin’s phases, he has a new set of attacks that call for different skills that you’re expected to have learned during the game. There are no shortcuts here, if you want to beat Isshin you must learn to parry, parry, and then parry some more until that final death blow is dealt.
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