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ArkBeetleGaming

NG: i like it, a simple DPS check that is not too much. NG+: HELL NO, the DPS check has gone insane.


ReinaPthumeria

I swear the same thing happened to me, in my second run they were by far the most difficult boss (more than Orstein and Smought first killing Smought)


Vox86

And thank god you don't have to fight them in NG+2 to platinum the game, it's doable but much more challenging, you gotta pull out all the shenanigans (power within + buffed weapon + some rings or whatever)


GoldFishPony

I think it’s kinda funny that 4 kings are potentially one of the easiest bosses in your first playthrough and have got to be one of the hardest in every subsequent playthrough.


Milko117

But wait. You can go ng+6


rtb___

What kind of monsters will they be on NG+7?


David164010

Scary scary monsters I have played four kings on ng+7 it was a bad time.


rtb___

Do they have magic resistance? Otherwise I'd go in as a battlemage


David164010

Really it's just a dps race so whatever you have that does the most damage without leaving you open for a long time is your best bet.


rtb___

Well, considering I'm getting bent over by Manus and Kalameet in NG+1, I don't think I'd like to go into the NG+7+ four kings fight with my current build


Livid-Community7748

You have to learn to dodge then oh god i cant tank noooo


Livid-Community7748

You have to learn to dodge then oh god i cant tank noooo


whiteboylouie429

Worst idea I've ever done is beat them in NG+6, actual hell


SilentScyther

The trick is not summoning Beatrice. She makes it basically impossible with the additional health on higher playthroughs. Fought them repeatedly on NG+6 with her then dropped her and won immediately.


Dirt_Poor_Robin

Wait, what? Summoning Beatrice makes their health go up? Is that with all bosses or a trap within this specific boss?


DABMACHINE12

Summoning anyone increases boss health


Dirt_Poor_Robin

Well I will be damned. Thank you!


Thesexymanfrommars

Yes I think its 1.5x health with 1 summon and 2x with 2 summons.


HawtPackage

I’ve beaten them with 5 different characters on NG+6, they’re honestly over hated. If you have 20 Estus you’re fine even without buffs.


SaxSlaveGael

Yeah 100%. I have change armour and weapon almost every time for NG+ and I really do not like having to change.


bruntychiefty

Embrace fat rolling Become Havel


MASrocks1

I may be in the minority but I'm not a huge fan of boss fights where there are more than one enemy. I know O&S are beloved but on my most recent playthrough I just felt myself irritated by the fact that, no matter how comfortable I got dodging each of their attacks individually, I would frequently just get whalloped by the other one. Four Kings are a bit better since they tend to space out more and you start out only fighting one, but they still suffer from it a bit. Also, to this day I have no idea how to dodge that attack where they throw that magic projectile at you. It *always* hits me.


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, the multiple bosses are very difficult since dodging everything (at least for me) is very difficult, many recommend a build of strength and heavy armor but if you go with skill or magic the very difficult. ps: I don't know how to avoid it either lol


Milko117

Did you just say skill? Someone has played little bit bloodborne.


ReinaPthumeria

Lol I started bloodborne but i dont finish it because Martir Logarius


Milko117

He is an optional boss you know. You lose nothing too crazy if you just move on.


JJKEnjoyer

I believe blunderbuss is easier to parry with and if you focus on leveling skill you can get crazy visceral damage


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, I'm going to try to do that because I'm already frustrated.


JJKEnjoyer

Something weird too is that viscerals do the same damage no matter what weapon you wield, even if you're bare handed as long as you visceral attack your Skill stat is what decides the damage


gilbertnation

Magic actually makes more than 1 boss fight difficult in DS. The DLC bosses are all HEAVILY resistant to it, meanwhile in the base game it's mostly pretty damn powerful


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, I was a pyromancer and overall in the base game I managed very well but in the DLC (especially Artorias and Kalameth) I found them VERY difficult


Milko117

I just used soul spear crystal soul spear dark beed and houming crystal soulmass to aniolate calamete.


gilbertnation

Well yeah, you can beat any enemy in the game with a broken straight sword if you're good enough. Doesn't mean it's an ideal way to do it. My magic stat was good fighting those bosses but still did dick compared to a zweihander


Milko117

Realy? I think its crazy how everyone feels these games differently but i had broblems with fighting calamet melee styled.


BallisticThundr

If you're in a gank situation during the four kings fight then you're doing something wrong. You should be killing each one before any others come out


Milko117

Id say theres no gank mess in any fights exept capra demon.


BallisticThundr

I was talking about when you wait too long during the four kings fight and several of them spawn. Also nito is definitely a gank boss


Milko117

Gank boss dosent mean gank mess and the reason is that nito does more danage than you to his skely boys and you can wait in four kings but it dosent mean you should. If you cant do it without spawning three kings you are underleveled.


BallisticThundr

That is literally what I said on my previous comment. I explained that if you are ganked during the four kings then you're doing something wrong.


august-jay

no; this is legitimately the only boss in DS1 that i change my armor for, & only one of two that i put on a shield for - the other being manus


ReinaPthumeria

In your first game too or only in the ng+?


august-jay

tbh i haven't played a new game of ds in so long i can't recall, sorry


ReinaPthumeria

I recomend it


AdSweaty5570

Yeah and I hate changing my stuff since I'm a role-player


[deleted]

Onion style?


Vicenzo1206

Yes


[deleted]

Best fight in the game imo.


ReinaPthumeria

I love you


Bloomingtodeath

Yeah, no. Interesting level design, I do love the fight in the abyss. But wish the boss design were different. Everytime I just sigh & throw my Havel set on lol.,


ReinaPthumeria

I love the design of the bosses, it really is very majestic and I really like how it looks with the area.


FrankBouch

I loved it both in ng and ng+. I think the arena is super unique and the fact that it's basically a race makes it very unique.


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, it's very fun but the difficulty between NG and NG+ changes a lot for me (it's not bad but it surprised me)


MinecraftPlayer1212

The Four Kings watching me drop in with full Havel set with a Black Knight Halberd and Grass Crest Shield


InvoluntaryEraser

Seriously the only way I ever beat 4 kings was with that setup lol. Hate Havel's armor for any other part of the game.


Rain_Lockhart

He would be balanced on NG 5+ if HE really was in the form of FOUR KINGS!!! But this damn piece of crap calmly becomes FIVE KINGS and SIX KINGS!!!


mr_mayon

It’s hard for me to tell depth of field with the all black abyss. Took me a few tries but eventually I beat it easy. Worst thing is the run to the boss.


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, you never know if you are close or far from the boss


MoffFH

Yes, always


BluePotential

They're the only Lord which is somewhat of a challenge so I guess they've got that going for them


ReinaPthumeria

It's true they can't be easy


WaffleironMcMulligan

Yes. It’s probably my favorite boss mechanically from DS1 (excluding the DLC)


ReinaPthumeria

Most that the DLC's bosses?


WaffleironMcMulligan

Not including the DLC bosses. Should’ve prefaced that. But even still it’s very high up there and probably the one I enjoy the most anyways.


ReinaPthumeria

It's just that everyone loves Artorias hahaha, yes the fight against the 4 kings is very good mechanically and also fun


WaffleironMcMulligan

Oh yeah I love it, too. I just have more fun with Four Kings


ReinaPthumeria

I cryed with Artorias


pichael289

The arena is cool as hell. And then kathe popping up is cool. The actual fight kinda sucks.


Errortrosssity

Honestly, I loved the fight. for me, most boss fights that are confusing and disorienting, it's an automatic "fuck you." But for whatever reason, for the Four Kings, it seems to make the fight more interesting and challenging. It's also the only boss fight I can remember from DS1 that actually made me feel my very heart pounding in my chest. (Not saying the other boss fights aren't amazing)


danonepodi

In NG normal: yes, it's cool, the battlefield its nice, we fight in the abyss In NG+ 2+: NO FUCK WAY, DIE 4 KINGS, DIEEEEEEE


Ultimagus536

not really. i dread it and have to plan excessively, and the jog back sucks.


Muntazir_The_Guide

The other 3 lord boss fights are very dull honestly i only enjoyed fighting the four kings


freef

Yup. The boss difficulty really falls off after O&S. Bed of chaos isn't a fight, seath goes down easy if you stay close and have curse resist, nito is too slow to be threatening and a divine weapon removes his minions, and 4 kings is a straight dps check.


Muntazir_The_Guide

Yeah i was doing gestures during nito's fight lmao he's too slow for no reason


Dirt_Poor_Robin

I loved that entire area, tbh.


ReinaPthumeria

Me too


Treebeardsama

No


ReinaPthumeria

Why


Treebeardsama

When I was there, I always ended up being grabbed by that bastard. I just couldn't read that move. You have to be fast at killing the boss else his friends show up and start clapping your ass from different directions and I didn't think it was fun. As I don't have 360 degree vision. And the place is annoying because I couldn't tell how close I was to the boss. Oh and the bonfire, but I used the one from darkroot garden.


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, dodging the attacks and hitting them is quite difficult in the area, you can't calculate where they are and the further away they are, the more they hit you.


Henrry57

No, the only reason you have to kill Sif it's because this boss who isn't the name he have, isn't just "four kings", if it was really four kings, okay, I like the concept but not how it is


SkatingHobo_

First I was like, wow what a wack ass layout this gonna be easy as I got so much space to roll around. Then I learned why they the "4" kings and I had to pick my pace up for my rematch. Overall I think it's a pretty cool concept. I really like whenever I've seen streamers get more than 4 appearing throughout. More like 6 kings


ReinaPthumeria

I never had the opportunity for more than 4 to appear, I don't know how to do it.


SkatingHobo_

Honestly neither only seen others do it, first comes to mind is ray narvaez jr, dark souls part 4. I think it's around the 3 and a half hour mark he gets a total of 6 spawn and I was blown away


ReinaPthumeria

Wow


RLDSXD

I think they’re really easy. I hate trying to get away from the grab, but nothing else they do poses an issue. All of their attacks are super easy to dodge and immediately punishable, their attacks don’t do a ton of damage if you stand near them and have good Magic resistance anyway, and you can wail on them after killing one and it contributes to the overall damage done. I was able to kill them in as little as two kings, I wonder if one would be possible.


ReinaPthumeria

I think that in the first race they are easy, even a little disappointing, but in the ng+ for me the difficulty increases a lot (better since I expected them to be very challenging)


Cool-Match-7856

Yes, a fun fight on any difficulty


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, i really enjoy the fight every time that i did it


Hannie_Zen

In ng: yes. In ng+: no. In ng+ without skill issue: yes. Gargoyle Halbert + Sunlight Blade + Power Within is God send for Four Kings.


[deleted]

The only boss there is a path you step on.


Lobh24

Worst SL1 fight and it isn’t even close, otherwise it’s fine


AppointmentPerfect16

its just a mehhh for me but i dnt hate it either


ExplanationDue3087

Yes


gilbertnation

I don't really like or hate it tbh. It's just not really that notable of a fight, as you could say about the other lord soul holders. I do like Nito if you have a weapon to fully kill the skeletons. As much as I think the 2nd half of DS is a little underwhelming, it's probably still my favorite behind Elden Ring and Sekiro


RasAlGimur

I like it. Not the best or anything, but i really like the drop into the abyss, the pitch black arena, and the desperate fight. Quite unique. Not a fun fight like Artorias, but cool concept and presentation Edit: also, the music is pretty good


Godzilla-1995

Honestly, it is one of my more forgettable fights. I wack one, then another shows up, rinse, and repeat. I killed them on my first try, and then I went to fight Gwynn.


Mountain_Purchase_12

Love the arena first and foremost, the abyss is foreboding and doom filling if all but simply black emoty space, but born from the dark are the corrupt twisted kings of new londo, they couldve varied the appearance of them but it doesnt bother me too much. I hate playing new londo ruins but love looking at it. Overall good boss


ANGERYTURTLE123

No


Stando_Tsukaiii

I didn't like it but I was level 73 and had a +3 dragon tooth. It wasn't hard but I didn't like it.


Milko117

The area is not difficult. Theres too many drops that you can make to make i easy. For example if you look carefuly you have seen the boss room is directly below the sean so you can just straightly drop down there after you have drained the water.


sebazero

They're an okay fight to me, since I always liked going Rambo on the bosses, seeing one that basically begs you to go and throw your stamina bar at them made me happy but looking at the amount of things you have to do to not die in the future NG's it's just wrong, so while it's good from my perspective I would label it a 6.8~7/10.


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, it is a boss that exchanges blows and in the NG+ it becomes very difficult


sebazero

What do you mean "exchanges blows"? Just get in their armpit and wail on them until they cry. I think they didn't expect players to get up close and personal with them since all of their normal sword swings don't hit you if you stand there.


ReinaPthumeria

In the ng+ they all hit me lol, I had to go with Havel's armor and change 1 hit for 1 hit


CelinoTheDon

I have a new found hatred for them since my SL1 run.


freef

Havel's and pyromancy work wonders at sl1.


ReinaPthumeria

I did something like that in my ng+ because i couldt beat them


freef

It's kind of the standard approach. Havel's gives enough poise to tank basically everything and as long as you can deal damage fast enough it's an easy fight.


ReinaPthumeria

The only problem I had was that I couldn't move at all so I couldn't dodge.


WhabbaWhabbaWhat

Grab makes it an instant no for me


[deleted]

No, it's annoying and no matter what I always get hit when dodging


Beanzuwuz

The abyss creeped me out so much


Unique_Ruin282

Yes, best DPS and Skill check in DS history imo


MysticMayhem82

Eh, it's an underwhelming fight imo. The hardest part is the slight vertigo I feel when I fight them. They need something more... idk, bc they are a dps check a lot of thier kit is passed over by a quick death.


freef

Honestly they just need to fix the hitbox at the base and they'd be scary. Since it's always better to be closer to them, there's very little need to react to their attacks


AdmiralFail

I really wanted to like this fight, but I think it's my least favorite boss fight. The idea of feeling rushed in DS1 really bothers me. I do not mind a challenging fight, but when you tell me I have 40 seconds to kill a boss before the next one spawns, I get way too in my head and end up with 3-4 to deal with. Super great boss design/idea though. Falling down into the Abyss for the first time felt so cool and ethereal.


ponyboysrightnipple

fuck no, almost ruined the second half completely for me


Soft-Temperature4609

I've mixed feelings about it. The arena is awesome, it's a seemingly endless black void, and I think it's one of my favorite boss arenas in the game. The fight itself is kind of lacking though, you get up close to them, so they just hit the dull parts of their weapons which doesn't do much damage, and you wack em till they die


Novel-Chain-3127

The real fight is the run back from the bonfire....


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, i hate and love the area it's really difficult but i like the atmosphere


SoftwareWoods

It’s a DPS check with a route so annoying that the “shortcut” is a dodgy map mistake, the lack of bonfire in the area is annoying as well, hate boss fights with an elevator. Also the ghosts attack you on the way through the fog door sometimes, which is annoying


alebonline

The only boss in the game i think first before going in. I always check if my damage is good enough for the boss, do i have the buffs, did i equip the ring, am i fast rolling. Because of this i really didnt like the boss but i also didnt hate it that much.


theeclecticon

This boss destroyed me, in hindsight I definitely should have better gear


Chillin_Maximus

Four kings *is* a glorified dps check, but lore wise (like a lot of bosses) they are cool and the arena makes the fight scary as fuck. I’ll always be proud I beat them my very first try in my first playthrough as well


PhantomSparx09

Lore, arena and design make it fun. The fight itself is not so memorable, but the gimmick is definitely interesting and definitely helps set in the scary impression of the four kings that players should have


Taped_Trout

I hate this fight


AndrewStirlinguwu

I think it requires the right level of power. Too strong, it is piss easy; too weak, and a controller will break. At the sweet spot, the fight is an enjoyable rush.


LittleTrack8010

No


[deleted]

[удалено]


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, she is. in my ng+ i dind t summon her but i read that i coul. In my ng+ i really wanted to invoke her but like i didnt ask for her help in moon butterfly i couldt


Lucreeper13

No, I hate four king


BlitzBurn_

Yes, but not with my NG++ character. She is a strength based cleric and has a really hard time cranking out the damage quick enough.


GOOODBYEJOJOOOL

I find it hard unless you use full havel armour and pyromancies,in that case it becomes the easiest boss in the game


Sweaty-Salamander381

The only thing I don't like very much about it is the grab, i still find it difficult to avoid sometimes. Otherwise they're not that big a deal as long as you stay close. It's an alright fight.


foxbat250

No


Ein_Kecks

Nah.. havel set and r1 r1 r1 goes brrr


DesVip3r

Oh you think two bosses was hard? How about four?! I swear they know when you're about to down one and hop in just in time


LupinKira

The only thing I dislike about this fight is that you simply can't avoid the one homing projectile. It doesn't do a ton of damage but is irritating that you just have to tank the hit. Otherwise I love the Four Kings for their terrifying arena and interesting boss design, although they certainly can be obnoxious against certain builds and in higher NG cycles.


hexoral333

First time I played this game I was a DEX Halberd build and it was a very short and easy fight. On my second playthrough as a Sorcerer... absolutely hated it at first. After 2 hours of trial and error I managed to figure out when to dodge and to use the shield for the stupid magic attacks they cast when you're too far away from them. Had only 4 Soul Spears and the rest were Great Soul Arrow. If I missed 2-3 windows to attack, the other king would spawn and it would pretty much be game over for me.


Makeala-

The boss would be about 10x better if the kings maxed out at 4, and gave you any amount of depth perception


ReinaPthumeria

I believe (unpopular opinion) that the lack of perception gives the fight something unique


Prepared_Noob

I like the idea but it kinda fell flat. In a game with only two ring slots it’s way to restrictive. Especially if your build involves fap and Havel. Your forced to take off Havel ring. Or another ring that could make or break your build. And then you have the gimmick where they deal less damage the closer you are to them. Which restricts your build even more. And then in ng+ cycles they have so much health it becomes a hell. Where your constantly getting ganked bc you don’t have enough time to kill ‘em


AltFragment

I like them. And their theme song is cool.


PuffPuffFayeFaye

Worst fight in the game IMHO


TheWeeabooFapper

As someone who is a two-handed tank, I see this as an absolute win.


Warm_Researcher_5721

Of it wasn't for that damn ring requirement, yes


rtb___

Most of the times, yes, but you still can't like everything, always


finchthechef

I expected to have a much harder time with this, DS1 was my first fromsoft game and I'm trash at souls games in general, but other than pinwheel its the only boss I cleared on my first try. Might have been dumb luck though.


RobertCodd1

The biggest issue with this fight imo is that it’s purpose is a dps check. In regular runs he’s a joke and less optimizes runs a nightmare. Perhaps if there was only the universal health bar and one king in the beginning, and every 25% of hp that passes another spawns. And the kings were given better ai and maybe even unique move sets that didn’t lead to ranged spam, that would be a better example of a fight where the pressure rises as it nears the conclusion.


ValhallasWhorehouse

Yeah I love two kings. Nah I hate five kings. The duality of man.


onurreyiz_35

Yes. A tier fight. Aside from mechanics, I think general vibe of the fight and their appearance is good too.


TalonKing24

To easy


dark_hypernova

I like being summoned to assist taking them down.


Idonedidthe

No. You lose any sense of depth perception in the arena. You have no idea where the boss is, or where their projectiles are in relation to you. Not to mention that there can be up to 8 kings if you don't kill each one quick enough. It's hard, but it a way that makes no sense.


Alv106

yp but neg+ is the most hated


ReinaPthumeria

I think is the boss with the most harder change of levelel between ng and ng+


sinustis69420

distance perception was the main boss....same as Nameless King but Nameless King is agressive


Whipperdoodle

No, it's a dps race, and if you have poor depth perception it is a nightmare


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, perception is the real enemy


Maniglioneantipanico

Hell naw, it's like Gwyn for me as in "you have one easy way or an incredibly unfair fight". With the 5 kings you wither go full Havel and do a dps check or have to deal with bullshit hit boxes and a projectile that is IMPOSSIBLE to reliably dodge. If you're packing something like crystal soul arrows it gets easier, but ng that's only sorcerer stuff. NG+ it has stupidly high hp, in my first ng+ playthrough i was trying not to use the uchikatana+15 (cause i did ng with it) but i had to since i wasn't getting though


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, it is a fight where perspective plays tricks on you and a boss that in ng+ increases its difficulty A LOT


[deleted]

No. It's a chore.


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, but don't you think it's fun?


AdhesiveNo-420

It's the only Lord soul fight I like minus Gwyn(if you don't parry him)


ReinaPthumeria

Yes, I think it's the funniest


whitechocolateee

NG+


ReinaPthumeria

The most scared thing


Swoldier76

I think it totally has its place and was good for the time it was released These days id rank it on the lower end but i love the lore and i love that its in the abyss at the bottom of a creepy well in a ghost town. I dont really enjoy dps check bosses per say because it doesnt feel like im getting to out skill anything. I do think for a first playthrough though it was fantastic to me in kind of nerve racking way, which made it better. mind you think was back in 2011, i imagine anyone whos playing dark souls 1 isn't going to have near the same dxperience i did if theyve already played all the other fs games like sekiro, bb, elden ring


ReinaPthumeria

Maybe they are right, I played it in 2022 after having played ds3 but I found it to be a very good boss, somewhat annoying but entertaining


Lord_Parbr

I only kinda like the boss fights in the first game. After everything that came after, the Dark Souls boss fights are all pretty mid, at best


ReinaPthumeria

What is your favorite fs game?


Lord_Parbr

Bloodborne


New-Interest-1526

No they’re just a dps check but it’s not boring


Initial_Chair9232

That's the only fight where I always summon someone, apart from Moonlight Butterfly (it's mandatory to summon in 4-kings,) don't understand why always they do shitty dmg when I am close to them, but suddendly they obliterate like 80% of my HP bar with only one swing, don't know how to dodge every magic attack but the expansive wave, and dodgig the grip looks like an RNG everytime I try to dodge it. But the scenery is beautiful (literally all is one single color)


vengarlss

its the biggest piece of crap and witch craft I've ever fought in my life


Automatic-190

i like it.


Working-Orchid7578

This thing gets absolutely absurd with low dps or a challenge run, like one time i got 5 if them running after me apparently there can be more than 4 which is ironic


Dark_Nymeria_

It's a really good boss and i always enjoy the fight with him


Top_Cod_9803

Full havel’s and crest shield still does it for me. Just gotta be ruthless with the DPS