FromSoftware’s experiences are known and praised for their boss fights, which are their games' ultimate expression of gameplay, narrative, and audiovisual content.
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FromSoftware is brilliant at making you believe you’ve finally won when, in reality, the worst is yet to come.
In particular, one of the most praised aspects of these bosses is theirmagnificent difficulty, as they are often demanding enough to force you to understand and master their mechanics before achieving victory.
Despite this, the developer doesn’t always hit the nail on the head when creating adequate challenges, given they have occasionally devised several abominable encounters for various reasons.
Therefore, whether due to design, execution, or genuine flaws, these arethe ten most unfair Soulsborne boss fightsthat have made more than one player sweat blood.
10Ancient Dragon
The Largest Health Bar in History
Dark Souls 2
Dragon Shrine
One of the reasons FromSoftware’s bosses stand out is that they’re not typically sponges capable of taking thousands of hits without their health bars moving.
Instead, their interpretation of difficulty is driven by stylized and demanding attack patterns, refined mechanics, and creative concepts,though none of this can be attributed toDark Souls 2’s Ancient Dragon.
With just a couple of attacks, bland combat, and tons of health points, this winged beast isamong the last decade’s most tedious tests of patience.
Nothing about its fight feels satisfying, but the slightest mistake and one of its two attacks will pulverize you, forcing you to start over. Thankfully, it’s optional, because otherwise, the game’s overall quality would drop dramatically.
9Royal Rat Authority
A Toxic Fight
Doors of Pharros
I’ll always maintain thatDark Souls 2is a big reason for the series being considered one of thebest trilogies of all time, but there are bosses like theRoyal Rat Authoritythat sometimes make me doubt it.
This secondhand Sif is an uninspired fight, highlighted by small minions capable of infusing Toxic, a negative status that annihilates you immediately if you can’t deal with it.
Unless you use a bow or magic, it’s almost impossible to eliminate the little pups before fighting the boss itself,turning the combat into a massive brawl that isn’t engaging in any way.
Its difficulty is relative because the Royal Rat Authority itself is a tremendously basic enemy, but the context surrounding it makes itan unfair and annoying encounter.
8Maneaters
A Narrow Headache
Demon’s Souls
Fool’s Idol Archstone (3-2)
Many bosses are more annoying because of the area than the enemy itself, and this is the case with theManeatersinDemon’s Souls.
Between the discomfort generated by abrupt camera movements, the ease with which you may fall out of the arena, and the AI that behaves erratically,it’s a disastrous fight.
Even without considering the tedious path to replaying them,this dual fight is one of the main reasons whySoulsborne games’players learned to cheese bosses.
Without engaging patterns to learn, a frustrating boss room, and unpredictable enemy behavior, the Maneaters fit the bill for a detestable boss.
7Capra Demon
The Boss is the Room
Dark Souls
Lower Undead Burg
Speaking of traumatic rooms, it took FromSoftware several installments to understand small spaces hardly allow for enjoyable action.
Therefore,Dark Soulssuffered the same asDemon’s Souls, setting bosses like theCapra Demonin a place that damages everything good the fight has to offer.
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While the entity itself is entertaining to combat, the presence of its two infamous dogs inside a room that measures mere centimeters across is anything but enjoyable.
Unless you’re over-leveled and can take out everything in just a few hits, you’ll have to experience the tedium of climbing the mini-staircases, dropping, and climbing back up to separate the enemies and deal with each one individually.
In theory, it’s an interesting idea, but in practice,the Capra Demon is a great reason to quit the game in the adventure’s early stages.
6Gravelord Nito
Minion Madness
Tomb of Giants
Another bad habit the developer took a while to fix was the boss fights with multiple minions, which is whyGravelordNitois feared throughout theDark Soulscommunity.
As if the mere presence of numerous powerful skeletons weren’t enough, they revive if you don’t have the proper equipment to kill them, effectively crippling players who don’t increase their Faith stat.
Thus, Nito is similar to several of the bosses on this list,frustrating due to the conditions surrounding him. He offers an interesting fight with varied moves and a tight health pool, but his environment doesn’t help at all.
Considering you waste an Estus Flask with every attempt because it also forces a mandatory fall that takes a large chunk of your health,the fun is limited to a minimum when Nito could have been one ofDark Souls’best bosses.
5Oceiros, the Consumed King
You Won’t See It Coming
Dark Souls 3
Consumed King’s Garden
Dark Souls 3boasts the highest average of quality regardingboss fightsin FromSoftware’s history, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its downfalls.
As a result, whileOceiros, the Consumed Kingis a great boss, he’s still certainly the most frustrating in the entire title, both due to the way he hinders the camera and his unpredictable attacks.
The speed with which this beast runs at you in its second phase is incredibly difficult to anticipate, especially considering its sizable hitbox.
Dodging its charges is extremely difficult, as is even knowing what’s happening at any point in the fight after its transformation.
He’s far from a bad boss, and the fact that he’s the only frustrating one inDark Souls 3speaks volumes for the title, butit’s unfair for reasons that aren’t entertaining.
4Lud and Zallen, The King’s Pets
The Worst Boss for the Worst Area
Frigid Outskirts
Just asFrigid Outskirtsis known as the worst area FromSoftware has ever made,Lud and Zallen, The King’s Petsalso have earned themselves a place in players' negative associations with DS2.
It’s not as unfair as some others we’ll talk about, but it definitely belongs in the category for a myriad of reasons that are surprising coming from the creators of several of history’s mostnotable bosses.
With two copies of a previous boss in the same fight capable of fighting both up close and at a distance as well as constantly healing and buffing,there’s no way to justify this fight’s existence beyond padding the DLC content.
It pains me, because I’m a hugeDark Souls 2supporter, butLud and Zallen are some of themost frustrating,dishonest,and unnecessary things in the Soulsborne formula.
3Laurence, The First Vicar
Frustration Isn’t Optional
Bloodborne
Hunter’s Nightmare
Few bosses in my life as a player have made me quit a game, and among that select list isLaurence,The First VicarfromBloodborne: The Old Hunters.
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FromSoftware only knows how to cause true pain through its expansions.
Being a mere reskin of a base game boss,this character was able to completely break my patience with his poorly telegraphed movements and a hellishly unfair second phase.
With lightning-fast attacks, tremendous damage output, and erratic behavior, I understand completely why FromSoftware made thistragic fightan optional encounter.
While it’s not nearly as difficult as bosses like the Orphan of Kos,its irritating power is beyond any other boss inBloodborne. I’ve beaten him once, andI never want to face him again.
2Bed of Chaos
Platforms, Gravity, and Suffering
Lost Izalith
Bed of Chaosis probably Soulsborne games' most unfair boss for the vast majority of players, and there are plenty of reasons to consider it so.
Aside from the aesthetics and lore,this boss fight has absolutely nothing to do withDark Souls, taking the game’s mechanics to a platforming realm I applaud for how daring it is, but not for its execution.
The ease with which you can die from a bad hitbox, a misstep, or a miscalculated jump is unfair, becauseDark Soulsis neither a game about that type of movement, nor is it good at it.
The fact that it’s a unique boss shows FromSoftware agrees, asthey’ve never dared to make anything remotely similar to Bed of Chaos again, which will forever be remembered as a stain on the studio’s history.
1Promised Consort Radahn
An Unprecedented Pain
Elden Ring
When you playElden Ring, you assume you’re going todie countless times. However, nothing could have prepared me for the originalPromised Consort Radahn in Shadow of the Erdtree.
He’s a much fairer boss these days after some nerfing, but his previous form quickly becamethe mostwicked and incomprehensible challenge FromSoftware has ever put together.
With minimal counterattack times, an extremely complex and fast-paced moveset, a remarkably long health bar, and a second phase that was downright terrifying, he wasthe hardest boss of all time.
Whether up close or from a distance, using a Dexterity or Magic build, donning armor against holy attacks, or going without clothes,there was no comfortable way to deal with the Promised Consort Radahn of yesteryear.
Fortunately, FromSoftware understood the fight’s difficulty was more than just demanding, delving too deeply into the realm of unfairness. Yet, the hundreds of attempts it took to defeat him the first time won’t be erased from my memory by any additional patch.
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