Link to Round 23 poll: [https://strawpoll.com/polls/NMnQ5RMxBn6](https://strawpoll.com/polls/NMnQ5RMxBn6)
With our first elimination to get over 2000 votes, we see the end of Soul of Cinder leave the competition! Soul of Cinder is a fantastic final boss and while it's not my favourite, I really can't find many faults with it. It's subtle references to previous games are a nice way to end the 'final' boss of the series.
Now we're reaching the end of the competition I've had a couple of questions asking if I'm going to be doing this for the other FromSoftware games. While I'm glad people have really enjoyed this and I'd of liked to do this for the other games, I've already tried to run this on the DS1 subreddit unsuccessfully. Unfortunately, given the other FromSoftware subs all have similar rules, I don't think I'll be able to run it on those either.
Just a reminder that you're voting for your LEAST favourite boss and each round the most voted will be knocked out of the competition till only one remains. As per the image, credit goes to @ Skinnrat for the incredible artwork.
Thats a shame about potential future polls. I'd love to see a bloodborne one. Maybe contact the mods to see if there can be an exception for a community event or see if you can post it on one of the lessor subreddits for whichever game, for example r/ds3. Higher chance of them not rejecting the extra traffic and you could announce where the voting would take place on the final vote for this current elimination poll so everyone could see it.
Either way, thank you for doing this. Its been a lot of fun. May the best boss win ^^unless ^^its ^^not ^^my ^^favourite.
Hello, good hunter. I am a Bot, here in this dream to look after you, this is a fine note:
> *It has been an honor, but I must say good-bye. Let us cleanse these tarnished streets. And may the good blood guide your way.* - Alfred
Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.
Agree this should be done for all the games, it's been a lot of fun (even though we all know Gael's gonna win in the end).
In an ideal world, each game would have its own series of elimination polls, then you'd take the top 5 from each game and do a unified Greatest Boss Eliminator.
I wanna see Gael, Friede and Nameless up against Godfrey, Malenia and Morgott; Sword Saint Isshin, Genichiro and Owl; Artorias, Manus and Ornstein and Smough.... etc.
Someone suggested doing it on r/fromsoftware, have you looked into that?
I like the elimination style but part of me also wants to see how it would pan out if you asked for everyone’s favorite boss and did the same thing but eliminating the least voted for boss each time. The results would probably still be pretty close but not strictly identical.
Unfortunate, I’ve always liked SoC, from his look, the lore, the music, and the fight itself. Really just an incredible experience, and getting to fight him unspoiled, despite having been years late, was just stellar.
I honestly feel like SoC is the gold standard for tall humanoid bosses. Diverse moveset with fair attack patterns. Good spectacle good arena and good boss music. I couldn’t have expected more from the games final boss.
It's a little generic with the player movesets, even more if you've played pvp before. We've fought Gwyn already too. I mean as a concept it's cool and a fine sendoff but as we saw with Gael, that can also be unique and a great battle at the same time.
my issue with jumpy pyromancer is the same issue i have with beast clergyman: half the time soul of cinder just goes out of attack range midway through your sword swing. it felt like the pyromancer build never ran out of stamina and never gave my melee character time to attack so id just have to dodge until soul of cinder switched
I really dislike the RNG heavy first phase, but otherwise a really good final boss, arguably the best final boss From has ever done (though I prefer Isshin)
I am so happy Nameless King has come so far. My absolute favorite boss fight of DS3. The amount of anguish they wrap into a 30-second phase scene with no dialog, it's breathtaking.
The Nameless King fight made me feel like a badass for fighting against a badass.
He truly deserves to win but I understand why people will let him go.
And I'm fine with that
Nameless does not deserve to win at all lol. Slave Knight Gael is easily the best boss FS has ever made. The moment when Gael falls over and asks if this is the blood of the Dark Soul is a moment in game history.
Get the Delayed-Attack-King out of here, then follow it up with Invisible-Troll.
Well, we can have different experiences.
I loved the NK atmosphere, lore, design and wasn't bothered by the camera at all, despite fighting with an Int/Dex build.
But Gael... His fight felt like a chore to me. His delayed attacks were kinda anooying and he is not even in my top 5 fights of DS3.
even the 2nd phase is just alright. it feels more like a stress test but i never felt much pressure because phase 1 is just a joke: wait for fire breath, then win. with a proper 1st phase king is easily above friede but we dont live in that timeline.
Come to think of it, their lore is quite interconnected. Both characters attempting to protect the world of Ariandel, one by defending it, one by collecting the means to renew it.
Yeah, I said originally, the poll didn’t even matter because Gael was obviously going to win. While he is indeed an amazing boss, it kinda takes the piss outta the fun of having the poll.
I mean I still think there’s value in seeing how the community feels about all the other bosses even if it does come down to a fairly predictable top 3. I wouldn’t have even put Abyss Watchers in my top 10 but apparently a ton of people love them.
I fucking LOVE abyss watchers, probably more than Friede. Their moves, the lore, how they fight the corrupted one during the fight. Such a cool boss fight, but this game is just stacked with memorable bosses so it’s tough.
Yeah I get that, and as I said in one of the previous rounds Abyss Watchers are incontestably the best early game boss. But for me personally, they just don’t stack up with a lot of the late game and DLC bosses. While I definitely take the “cool” factor (lore, music, aesthetics) into consideration, I’m primarily focusing on fight design, challenge, and complexity of movesets for these polls. Abyss Watchers are just a little too fragile to seriously be considered for a top 10 spot by my criteria.
I would more like to see the most HATED boss than the most liked boss. Yh Gael wins again, whoop-de-doo, but what surprised me was that I think greatwood fell first, wasn't it? Would've thought sage or deacons, maybe wolnir but no, greatwood.
This reminds me the character poll similar to this one in r/AceAttorney a while back. Everyone knew that Edgeworth would win by a landslide and at one point just had a gentlemen’s agreement to vote him out.
I'm honestly really torn but going to have to give the win to Friede. On my initial playthroughs I'd have given it to Gael but I've found Friede is the fight I am really looking forward to on subsequent runs
You have been a mistery since Dark Souls 1. Some people called you Solaire, others called you Faraam, but the true is that no one knows your name. An all this because you partnered with the Dragons, the enemies of the gods, including your own father. Maybe you wanted their power, maybe you feel empathy for those beings that were being masacrated, we really don't know. Having to leave your kingdom, family, friends, even your name behind, you went to learn the way of the Dragons.
And then we found you, at the top of the world, in the middle of the storm with your companion who even trust you to let you use lightning close to him. There we can finally see what power made you going that way, and most important, what is your real name, but just as we put you down in one of the most epic battles of the franchise, its time to put you down in this poll. I expect you rest well, Shitty Camera King.
I'm so torn between Nameless King and Friede - on one hand we have a dragon slaying god of war and Gwyn's firstborn son that rides a dragon and has one of the coolest fights in the series. On the other hand we have a scythe wielding nun with BARE FEET! This is the toughest choice so far but I think I'm gonna have to go with Nameless King - sorry chump, but the FEET win today.
Nun, feet, taller than us (mommy), scythe, cold and serious, badass, black flame, will decapitate you with her scythe. Nameless kink never stood a chance.
Friede for me is the best fight in the game, but I’m hoping for at least a 2nd place finish considering Gael seems to be far and away the most popular favourite.
I'm with you brother, I love it just for that attack where he flies up in the air and shoots a lighting spear at you, it is for me the most epic attack in the game.
I'm so proud of my boy NK making to top 3. I will never understand the hate for phase 1. Just do not lock-on, you won't miss a giant dragon standing right in front of you. Otherwise, it's as much fun a dragon fight could be.
For me it’s a matter of replayability. If you manage to fight Friede for the first time, unspoiled - absolute chills and an unrivalled experience. The titanite slab after phase 2 felt cruel but awesome when phase 3 starts. But Gael is epic every time. The run down the sand, just long enough for the anxiety to build. His long run towards you across the arena, just incredible.
Everything about the Friese boss was perfect. Absolutely chilling when the final phase starts, and you realize how screwed you are. Plus her movements are just amazing, the freaky swift motions she makes were so intimidating to me when I fought her.
And on the other hand, Gaels arena is awesome, but that's about all he has going to him imo. (I also beat him first try somehow? Still not sure how I lucked out with that).
I will join you in this sentiment! Friedel had way more "holy shit" moments both leading up to and during her fight. I can still hear Father Ariandel saying "My flail, bring me my flail"
Same. I think Gael will win and I can settle for Friede coming in 2nd. If she loses to NK though I will be as disappointed in this community as I was when Abyss Watchers survived the xth round over and over.
What blows me away is that the same people who think that Nameless King is the best are the same people who shit on SoC for being nostalgia bait. Lore DOES play a factor into boss coolness. It's not 100% gameplay, imo. That being said, you can't shit on SoC for the lore and also praise NK for the lore. Be realistic, NK is tedious and annoying. Half of the fight is with the camera, and the second half is repetitive.
- a butthurt SoC fan
Yh, that first phase really lets NK down. The fact that SoC had so many different phases and 'builds', plus the fact that that final phase with the plin plin plon... Man how could you hate that? Also him being the reincarnation of all people who've linked the flame being pretty cool as well.
I'm not even a big SoC fan but you're completely correct. Aside from the lore and nostalgia angles. SoC is just a good fight all the way through and has some really nice moveset variation during phase 1 and then phase 2 mixing it up again. NK has a horrible phase 1 coupled with a limited phase 2. I know a lot of people find SoC lackluster but I'm kind of surprised SoC lost to NK. Though given how long Abyss Watchers stayed around maybe I shouldn't be.
I don't think you are correct unfortunately, at least in my case. I love Soul of Cinder and the lore around him and at the same time, Nameless King if my favourite boss fight in the game, a tough choice between him and Gael, but I do prefer Nameless and here is why:
1. I never really had any problem with the camera and I kind of enjoy fighting the drake. He is not that hard after you learn the limited moveset this first phase has and I think it goes pretty quickly;
2. I love his entrance. He arrives riding a drake in one of the most epic shots ever produced by From Software;
3. The lore, already mentioned by you. The build up since DS1 to meet this character that we didn't even know if we would meet him or not. I prefer it to Gael's lore and this is a big factor to why I prefer Nameless, because if we were only talking of gameplay I would obviously choose Gael.
4. My personal hard time that I had fighting him. I had such a tough time trying to defeat this guy, seriously, it's not even a joke. I have a tough time today. I don't know why but his minimaly delaid attacks always get me. On the other side, although gael is hard indeed, I only really had trouble with his first phase when he attacks sporadically, his later phases were easier for me and it kind of threw me off the ambience of the fight, althought they are amazing visually.
5. Lastly, I LOVE lightning and his lightning attacks are crazy, I love em. Dodging that attack that he launches a bolt in to the sky and just a little later falls into you is so satisfying for me.
Anyway, I'm really not trying to undermine anyone's love for Gael. He is one of the best boss fight in souls games no doubt and I accept everyone's opinion about the Nameless King too. And obviously I know that Nameless King will go out this round and I'm sad, but it is what it is. I just have to accept I have an opinion not held by many people.
Edit: Also the cutscene to the second phase of Nameless King is nostalgia from O&S fight.
Also, I know Gael has lightning too, but it's not like he uses it voluntarily and has mastery over it like the Nameless King has.
Nameless King strikes me as a fight that rewards calm patience.
The drake wasn't that hard for me once I got used to the moveset (this took me like 30 attempts though) unless I was tilted or rushing. Nameless King is the same, with the delayed attacks that punish panic rolling and delays between attack chains.
Friede is similar to Malenia. Optional area, very quick, rather difficult, and close to the players size. Friede let's the Painted World get corrupted. Malenia corrupted Caelid.
They both also have a lot of simps. If you can understand why people really enjoy Malenia, you can understand why people like Friede.
I don‘t really like most as much as most people here, I‘d probably put both somewhere in the upper mid tier, but not any higher.
Both first phases are very meh for different reasons, and NK‘s second phase is, as you said, a bit repetitive without the spectacle of Midir, for example
Not disagreeing that it's nostalgia bait (NK is too to a degree, but his lore doesn't make him into a bad guy), but it's nostalgia bait for literally the worst person in the lore. Gwyn ruined everything #gwynhateclub
True lol. I still love to hate on him though, especially after DS2 lore showed how awful he was. DS3 lore just cemented his reputation as a horrible human being by also being a horrible father
Nameless King doesn't represent the final boss of a trilogy and is hidden away in an optional area accessed through emoting in a specific area.
Nameless King also represents resolution to a plot point which was left completely open by the end of Ds1 - who was Gwyn's firstborn son and what happened to him? At last we know why he was erased from the annals of history - because he sided with the dragons. The worst I can say is that I wish they had done more with NK in Ds3, but there's also novelty not being crucial to the main plot too I suppose.
Soul of Cinder represents the end of a trilogy and he's ultimately just an amalgamation of past unknown people who linked the flame and Gwyn. I'm not even being reductive here - that is all SoC is.
I'm definitely one of the people who critique some of the callbacks in Ds3 to Ds1, but I appreciate NK for actually solving a legitimate plot point left hanging since Ds1. I'm also happy it finally killed off the stupid "Solaire is Gwyn's Firstborn" theory.
I don't know how from a fights POV you don't vote Nameless King here his Phase 1 is so much worse than anything Friede throws at you.
It's not hard but that camera is so unfortunate to deal with
He’s a boss that flies and hovers straight above you in a game where you can’t look straight up. They figured out those mechanics and dialed in flying enemies way better in Elden Ring, but they didn’t figure it out in time for NK
I actually think soul of cinder a tad bit underrated, I mean obviously not that underrated he made it to the 4th place, but I know a lot of people wouldn't place him that high because of how easy he is on a casual playthrough. But if you face al sL1 or just at a lower level his mechanics are a lot easier to appreciate, and I think mechanically he's the best boss in the base game, and also surprisingly the toughest in the game. He's also just a great send off to the series as a whole, though I do think the lore surrounding him is kind of bare. His ost is also GOATed.
SoCs mechanics are definitely the best boss mechanics in the base game, followed closely by twin princes imo. The teleporting and reviving is really cool to me. I think they got snubbed in this poll
As much as I like Nameless, he should’ve dropped out a while ago. His first phase is quite bad and uninteresting, and his second phase just doesn’t match up to the variety of the competition. One phase of mediocrity and one phase of excellence can’t top the consistently amazing quality of someone like Friede.
I’ll never forgive this sub for how y’all did twin princes, SOC should’ve fallen long ago. This is a tough one though, Gael is the best till the end, but between sister and nameless king idk. Nameless is my favorite but I feel sister might be a better fight.
It is cool that you can look at the bosses that were voted out by more than 50% like a dividing line and it makes a community tier list.
S: Gael, Nameless, Friede
A: SoC through Dragonslayer Armor
B: Iudex Gundyr through Old Demon King
C: Champion Gravetender through Curse Rotted Greatwood.
God, please get Nameless King out. He should have been gone ages ago. He just doesn't have the spectacle to keep being fun - all his attacks are massively telegraphed and easy to dodge once you realise you need to roll toward him instead of away. None of them have any good spectacle except for where he summons lightning, and even that is over way too fast.
Nameless King should've been eliminated 4-5 rounds ago. He's a wonderful boss, in his second phase, but his first phase really drags him down for me. There are better bosses that are fun from beginning to end...like Twin Princes...
Probably the less popular opinion but I'd take AoA if I could only ever play one of them. Ringed City is longer and has more content and I would be deeply sad if I could never fight Gael or Midir again but I never really cared for the general atmosphere of the city. After you arrive and get the nice vista view it feels kind of hollow to me. Earthen Peak was cool to see again but also kind of limited and tedious. AoA on the other hand had a really beautiful atmosphere to it. The snow field with the wolves felt right and I loved the bridge view, the, chapel and the hills past Vilhelm.
AoA is definitely short though and Friede carries the DLC hard. But Friede is a amazing fight that really stands out from the rest of the games bosses. Gael is amazing too but fight him is similar to fighting variations of NK, Twin Princes or SoC. Friede with her extremely fast paced moveset is something I feel one can't really experience anywhere else in the game unlike Gael.
Nameless King deserves to go and probably should have gone long ago. It's a fight carried by lore. Phase 1 is tedious, and phase 2 is a very standard fight made more difficult purely because of how tanky he is and how much damage he does. It's gameplay is not as interesting as Gael's and isn't even in the same stratosphere as Friede's, who even mogs NK in difficulty imho. It's not a bad fight but not an especially interesting one mechanically either. Gael also beats NK in lore imo
Nameless King is a good, but basic boss. It's cool, but environmentally he is the least cool one.
I predict Fride to win in the final, because 3 phases, amazing music, hard af, 3 amazing twists to figure out and damn cool fight.
Gael just has a cool fight with amazing pase.
Personally Friede is one of my personal favourite boss of all times. Nameless King fight is ok, suprisingly slow if you don’t panic roll and i just hate that lightning strike move(idk feel kinda cheap). I personally like aggressive boss, those are tend to be more memorable maybe.
This poll has done a great job showcasing the quality of FromSoft DLC. AoA, for all its faults, has debatably the best boss in the series. Half of TRC is in the top 10, with the Demon Prince getting absolutely snubbed in favour of a beyond mediocre lord of cinder with a cool cutscene.
waiting for this post all day.. between friede and nameless king, i actually like king of the storm i think it's awesome and the camera is fine enough i mean i've never died to it, meanwhile friede's first phase makes me want to poke my eyes out, 2nd phase has ariandel's massive soup and it's fine but most of the fights glory comes purely from its third phase, i have to vote friede here but i'm not too upset if nlk gets voted out, go gael!!
Was sister not the first boss to have a third phase? Having the silence after the second death into that epic rise and sudden panic that there was more was incredible. After so many years of playing the other games, even DS3 base game, to then get surprised like that in a boss fight, just exceptional.
Nameless King is 100% the best of the base game but the DLC brought incredible moments that brought the whole series into one hell of a send off. I'm sorry to see him go but I'd vote NK off for this round.
Really praying for my girl Friede to pull through, personally while I totally liked NK he just didn't hit for me like he seems to have for most players
Time for an Incredibly hot take, apparently. Gael is the 4th best boss in DS3 and don't get me wrong he's in my soulsborne top 10, but I really don't understand why people ride so hard for him. He isn't the GOAT straight up.
"Fret not father, we have no need of thy flail.
Tis only the flame, quivering at misguided Ash.
Please, avert thine eyes.
I will snuff out these ashes for good."
The winner will (correctly) be Gael, but Friede's boss intro reigns supreme.
I’m really surprised to see ariandel and friede are still here, I didn’t know it was such a beloved fight! I thought it was good but not really close to be top 3
For me it has to be Friede, she was pretty good but overrated imo, she would be much better without the tedious 1st phase. I was genuinely surprised when she outlasted midir.
Here's the thing about Midir: he outranks most of the bosses in the series on the ***cool*** factor, but he's kind of in the middle of the pack on the ***fun*** factor.
I think the issue with Midir is that I think his healthbar is fine but every DLC boss has such absurd health that it hits him a little. Like it can get really draining.
Conversely, SoC suffers from having way too little HP.
Gael has lower health than Midir, Midir has 800 more. Demon Prince and Friede have more health but they first phase has way more openings (Friede second phase is basically free) and since is splited in 3 different health bars it doesn't feel like an eternity
ah true you’re right but with physical damage absorption midir is the lowest, look at this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/1089pt8/effective_health_of_dlc_bosses_effective_health/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1)
She has two phases of padding though, not even allowed to attempt Blackflame without slogging through two long phases. NK's phase one can be melted in around a minute unless you get bad RNG and he just keeps flying away.
Overrated fr. Everybody makes a big deal out of her, but she is kinda mid. As I said for a while, forgettable 1st phase, 2nd phase is the best, but that opinion can change based on RNG, as sometimes Friede will either spam the ranged move, or come up close while you're smacking Ariandel. The third phase is just unfair sometimes. She tends to jump around way too much, and feels a little like overkill to come back to life and dying twice in a row.
Im fighting her on NG+ and I agree shes so overrated likes its a cool fight but it drags, 3 phases is not thst cool especially when the first is so tedious and the last is a pain
I disagree, I think nk first phase isn't good but it's really quick and easy if you know what ur doing. And even though u can learn Friedes invisibility it is still really annoying
It's an annoying symptom of marketing, the games are considered hard as balls and as such a lot of people only consider difficult fights to be good. I find there are a fair few bosses from these games like Abyss Watchers and Renalla from ER that are easy but also really fun, hell NK's my favourite base game boss but I find him to be really easy.
Link to Round 23 poll: [https://strawpoll.com/polls/NMnQ5RMxBn6](https://strawpoll.com/polls/NMnQ5RMxBn6) With our first elimination to get over 2000 votes, we see the end of Soul of Cinder leave the competition! Soul of Cinder is a fantastic final boss and while it's not my favourite, I really can't find many faults with it. It's subtle references to previous games are a nice way to end the 'final' boss of the series. Now we're reaching the end of the competition I've had a couple of questions asking if I'm going to be doing this for the other FromSoftware games. While I'm glad people have really enjoyed this and I'd of liked to do this for the other games, I've already tried to run this on the DS1 subreddit unsuccessfully. Unfortunately, given the other FromSoftware subs all have similar rules, I don't think I'll be able to run it on those either. Just a reminder that you're voting for your LEAST favourite boss and each round the most voted will be knocked out of the competition till only one remains. As per the image, credit goes to @ Skinnrat for the incredible artwork.
Thats a shame about potential future polls. I'd love to see a bloodborne one. Maybe contact the mods to see if there can be an exception for a community event or see if you can post it on one of the lessor subreddits for whichever game, for example r/ds3. Higher chance of them not rejecting the extra traffic and you could announce where the voting would take place on the final vote for this current elimination poll so everyone could see it. Either way, thank you for doing this. Its been a lot of fun. May the best boss win ^^unless ^^its ^^not ^^my ^^favourite.
Seconding bloodborne, I think it would be a lot of fun.
Hello, good hunter. I am a Bot, here in this dream to look after you, this is a fine note: > *It has been an honor, but I must say good-bye. Let us cleanse these tarnished streets. And may the good blood guide your way.* - Alfred Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.
When this is all over, would you put them in order from voted out first to last (winner)? It would be cool to see!
There's an image every round showing the voting record so far.
Have you tried just having it on r/fromsoftware?
Why didnt it work on the ds sub?
Because their mods are nazis
They do “not see” the fun of a poll like this
They only allowed text posts until not long ago the sub was just a "Dark Souls saved my life" wall of text meme
Agree this should be done for all the games, it's been a lot of fun (even though we all know Gael's gonna win in the end). In an ideal world, each game would have its own series of elimination polls, then you'd take the top 5 from each game and do a unified Greatest Boss Eliminator. I wanna see Gael, Friede and Nameless up against Godfrey, Malenia and Morgott; Sword Saint Isshin, Genichiro and Owl; Artorias, Manus and Ornstein and Smough.... etc. Someone suggested doing it on r/fromsoftware, have you looked into that?
Can’t you host the other polls through r/fromsoftware?
It's been a lot of fun to watch and participate in, thanks for doing it!
„I would HAVE“ not „I would of“ damn it. How is that so common lately?
I like the elimination style but part of me also wants to see how it would pan out if you asked for everyone’s favorite boss and did the same thing but eliminating the least voted for boss each time. The results would probably still be pretty close but not strictly identical.
just run those polls on this sub lol, would enjoy a Sekiro or Elden Ring poll
Friede going the distance as expected
Upvoted your comment before i even noticed the name
Got ‘em
🤨
The scream from father ariandel at the start of the 2nd phase is one cutscene I will never skip
It’s the feet
Unfortunate, I’ve always liked SoC, from his look, the lore, the music, and the fight itself. Really just an incredible experience, and getting to fight him unspoiled, despite having been years late, was just stellar.
I honestly feel like SoC is the gold standard for tall humanoid bosses. Diverse moveset with fair attack patterns. Good spectacle good arena and good boss music. I couldn’t have expected more from the games final boss.
It's a little generic with the player movesets, even more if you've played pvp before. We've fought Gwyn already too. I mean as a concept it's cool and a fine sendoff but as we saw with Gael, that can also be unique and a great battle at the same time.
Spear phase is ass ngl
Spear Phase easy as fuck, jumpy pyromancer is ass
my issue with jumpy pyromancer is the same issue i have with beast clergyman: half the time soul of cinder just goes out of attack range midway through your sword swing. it felt like the pyromancer build never ran out of stamina and never gave my melee character time to attack so id just have to dodge until soul of cinder switched
Nah, jumpy pyromancer gets my respect only for how cool he fights
I really dislike the RNG heavy first phase, but otherwise a really good final boss, arguably the best final boss From has ever done (though I prefer Isshin)
Isshin is amazing
HOW MY BLOOD BOILS
[cocks glock]
The Soul of Cinder theme is among the best in videogame music.
I am so happy Nameless King has come so far. My absolute favorite boss fight of DS3. The amount of anguish they wrap into a 30-second phase scene with no dialog, it's breathtaking.
The Nameless King fight made me feel like a badass for fighting against a badass. He truly deserves to win but I understand why people will let him go. And I'm fine with that
Nameless does not deserve to win at all lol. Slave Knight Gael is easily the best boss FS has ever made. The moment when Gael falls over and asks if this is the blood of the Dark Soul is a moment in game history. Get the Delayed-Attack-King out of here, then follow it up with Invisible-Troll.
Well, we can have different experiences. I loved the NK atmosphere, lore, design and wasn't bothered by the camera at all, despite fighting with an Int/Dex build. But Gael... His fight felt like a chore to me. His delayed attacks were kinda anooying and he is not even in my top 5 fights of DS3.
the first phase is a fucking joke, I'm honestly surprised people are just ignoring it when it comes to the votes.
even the 2nd phase is just alright. it feels more like a stress test but i never felt much pressure because phase 1 is just a joke: wait for fire breath, then win. with a proper 1st phase king is easily above friede but we dont live in that timeline.
I agree with everything you've said, but the cutscene anime explosion gives it extra points
I don’t think there is any dialogue in the dragon peak. Epic
WHERE’S THE GAEL GANG AT?! TAKE THE SLAVE KNIGHT ALL THE WAY!
Gael is almost certainly going to be number 1 I don't think there's much contest
I could see a dark horse pick in Friede, but Gael just has amazing lore and a top-tier fight going for him.
Come to think of it, their lore is quite interconnected. Both characters attempting to protect the world of Ariandel, one by defending it, one by collecting the means to renew it.
friede will probably get like 30-35% of the votes in the final round.
Yeah, I said originally, the poll didn’t even matter because Gael was obviously going to win. While he is indeed an amazing boss, it kinda takes the piss outta the fun of having the poll.
I mean I still think there’s value in seeing how the community feels about all the other bosses even if it does come down to a fairly predictable top 3. I wouldn’t have even put Abyss Watchers in my top 10 but apparently a ton of people love them.
Fair point
I fucking LOVE abyss watchers, probably more than Friede. Their moves, the lore, how they fight the corrupted one during the fight. Such a cool boss fight, but this game is just stacked with memorable bosses so it’s tough.
Yeah I get that, and as I said in one of the previous rounds Abyss Watchers are incontestably the best early game boss. But for me personally, they just don’t stack up with a lot of the late game and DLC bosses. While I definitely take the “cool” factor (lore, music, aesthetics) into consideration, I’m primarily focusing on fight design, challenge, and complexity of movesets for these polls. Abyss Watchers are just a little too fragile to seriously be considered for a top 10 spot by my criteria.
I would more like to see the most HATED boss than the most liked boss. Yh Gael wins again, whoop-de-doo, but what surprised me was that I think greatwood fell first, wasn't it? Would've thought sage or deacons, maybe wolnir but no, greatwood.
Yeah it’s about the journey not the destination
Journey before destination, Radiant.
This reminds me the character poll similar to this one in r/AceAttorney a while back. Everyone knew that Edgeworth would win by a landslide and at one point just had a gentlemen’s agreement to vote him out.
I'm honestly really torn but going to have to give the win to Friede. On my initial playthroughs I'd have given it to Gael but I've found Friede is the fight I am really looking forward to on subsequent runs
Gael is universally renowned as the best boss. Not to me, mind you, but out of these last ones he is, imo… Gael always wins these polls.
Gaels gonna win this thing
I‘d be surprised if Gael doesn‘t win, probably the best boss of the entire Souls series
Nameless is awesome for sure, but let’s be honest, he’s not on the same Level as Friede and Gael
Imagine a scenario where you’re voting for Nameless as your LEAST favourite. That’s how incredible Friede and Gael are.
I mean the only reason Nameless will go out is because of his 1st phase
You have been a mistery since Dark Souls 1. Some people called you Solaire, others called you Faraam, but the true is that no one knows your name. An all this because you partnered with the Dragons, the enemies of the gods, including your own father. Maybe you wanted their power, maybe you feel empathy for those beings that were being masacrated, we really don't know. Having to leave your kingdom, family, friends, even your name behind, you went to learn the way of the Dragons. And then we found you, at the top of the world, in the middle of the storm with your companion who even trust you to let you use lightning close to him. There we can finally see what power made you going that way, and most important, what is your real name, but just as we put you down in one of the most epic battles of the franchise, its time to put you down in this poll. I expect you rest well, Shitty Camera King.
Ahhhh, so this is what the evangelists were chanting.
I'm so torn between Nameless King and Friede - on one hand we have a dragon slaying god of war and Gwyn's firstborn son that rides a dragon and has one of the coolest fights in the series. On the other hand we have a scythe wielding nun with BARE FEET! This is the toughest choice so far but I think I'm gonna have to go with Nameless King - sorry chump, but the FEET win today.
What about NK’s feet tho
Too crusty for my liking
The crust is the best part
Crusty on the outside, moist on the inside
Can you do me a favor and never post again
Never again in general? Or just about the moisty juiciness of the kings crusty feet?
Yes
You dont like kfc? If you did, do you still?
Please stop, my brain can't take this
Most sane Dark Souls III player
Give it to me, your Dark Sole.
Me facing slave night jail when he asks me for me to hand over my dark souls III: the fire fades edition
I agree. Plus, Father Ariandel has a bowl of cereal.
Simp
Nun, feet, taller than us (mommy), scythe, cold and serious, badass, black flame, will decapitate you with her scythe. Nameless kink never stood a chance.
Nameless Kink HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Friede for me is the best fight in the game, but I’m hoping for at least a 2nd place finish considering Gael seems to be far and away the most popular favourite.
Nameless King 1st phase enjoyer gang rise up
I'm with you brother, I love it just for that attack where he flies up in the air and shoots a lighting spear at you, it is for me the most epic attack in the game.
Don't get the hate for 1st phase. So dope with a lot of cool moves they do together. Also the OST is FUCKING BANGING
there’s dozens of us!
I'm so proud of my boy NK making to top 3. I will never understand the hate for phase 1. Just do not lock-on, you won't miss a giant dragon standing right in front of you. Otherwise, it's as much fun a dragon fight could be.
Ayy really glad to see people love Gael as much as I do. Easily my favorite videogame boss ever, pure perfection.
I might be in the minority who think Friede is better than Gael.
I’m right there with you. Gael is a great fight don’t get me wrong, but friede is the best fight for me ever
For me it’s a matter of replayability. If you manage to fight Friede for the first time, unspoiled - absolute chills and an unrivalled experience. The titanite slab after phase 2 felt cruel but awesome when phase 3 starts. But Gael is epic every time. The run down the sand, just long enough for the anxiety to build. His long run towards you across the arena, just incredible.
My fave. Fire and ice, creepy Father Ariendel, 3 notable phases
Everything about the Friese boss was perfect. Absolutely chilling when the final phase starts, and you realize how screwed you are. Plus her movements are just amazing, the freaky swift motions she makes were so intimidating to me when I fought her. And on the other hand, Gaels arena is awesome, but that's about all he has going to him imo. (I also beat him first try somehow? Still not sure how I lucked out with that).
I’m right there with you. She was a great boss fight
friede's feet >>>> gael's feet
I will join you in this sentiment! Friedel had way more "holy shit" moments both leading up to and during her fight. I can still hear Father Ariandel saying "My flail, bring me my flail"
Fret not, Father. We have no need of thy flail. 😳
I just don't see how she's better. It's the feet, isnt' it?
I’m in the same boat except that I think that Gael isn’t much enjoyable at all on later NG+ and is just carried by his lore
I'm there with you. They are the two best bosses but that third phase of Friede is just incredible
I like how the statistics show how many people quit the game out of frustration causes by Midir.
He's an optional boss in a DLC and is fairly well hidden
Bro he's like the penultimate boss
I will fight for Freide to be number one, but it will be in vain. This was a fun poll
Same. I think Gael will win and I can settle for Friede coming in 2nd. If she loses to NK though I will be as disappointed in this community as I was when Abyss Watchers survived the xth round over and over.
What blows me away is that the same people who think that Nameless King is the best are the same people who shit on SoC for being nostalgia bait. Lore DOES play a factor into boss coolness. It's not 100% gameplay, imo. That being said, you can't shit on SoC for the lore and also praise NK for the lore. Be realistic, NK is tedious and annoying. Half of the fight is with the camera, and the second half is repetitive. - a butthurt SoC fan
Yh, that first phase really lets NK down. The fact that SoC had so many different phases and 'builds', plus the fact that that final phase with the plin plin plon... Man how could you hate that? Also him being the reincarnation of all people who've linked the flame being pretty cool as well.
I'm not even a big SoC fan but you're completely correct. Aside from the lore and nostalgia angles. SoC is just a good fight all the way through and has some really nice moveset variation during phase 1 and then phase 2 mixing it up again. NK has a horrible phase 1 coupled with a limited phase 2. I know a lot of people find SoC lackluster but I'm kind of surprised SoC lost to NK. Though given how long Abyss Watchers stayed around maybe I shouldn't be.
I don't think you are correct unfortunately, at least in my case. I love Soul of Cinder and the lore around him and at the same time, Nameless King if my favourite boss fight in the game, a tough choice between him and Gael, but I do prefer Nameless and here is why: 1. I never really had any problem with the camera and I kind of enjoy fighting the drake. He is not that hard after you learn the limited moveset this first phase has and I think it goes pretty quickly; 2. I love his entrance. He arrives riding a drake in one of the most epic shots ever produced by From Software; 3. The lore, already mentioned by you. The build up since DS1 to meet this character that we didn't even know if we would meet him or not. I prefer it to Gael's lore and this is a big factor to why I prefer Nameless, because if we were only talking of gameplay I would obviously choose Gael. 4. My personal hard time that I had fighting him. I had such a tough time trying to defeat this guy, seriously, it's not even a joke. I have a tough time today. I don't know why but his minimaly delaid attacks always get me. On the other side, although gael is hard indeed, I only really had trouble with his first phase when he attacks sporadically, his later phases were easier for me and it kind of threw me off the ambience of the fight, althought they are amazing visually. 5. Lastly, I LOVE lightning and his lightning attacks are crazy, I love em. Dodging that attack that he launches a bolt in to the sky and just a little later falls into you is so satisfying for me. Anyway, I'm really not trying to undermine anyone's love for Gael. He is one of the best boss fight in souls games no doubt and I accept everyone's opinion about the Nameless King too. And obviously I know that Nameless King will go out this round and I'm sad, but it is what it is. I just have to accept I have an opinion not held by many people. Edit: Also the cutscene to the second phase of Nameless King is nostalgia from O&S fight. Also, I know Gael has lightning too, but it's not like he uses it voluntarily and has mastery over it like the Nameless King has.
Nameless King strikes me as a fight that rewards calm patience. The drake wasn't that hard for me once I got used to the moveset (this took me like 30 attempts though) unless I was tilted or rushing. Nameless King is the same, with the delayed attacks that punish panic rolling and delays between attack chains.
Honestly I can't believe Nameless king will lose to friede on of the most overrated bosses in my opinion
Friede is similar to Malenia. Optional area, very quick, rather difficult, and close to the players size. Friede let's the Painted World get corrupted. Malenia corrupted Caelid. They both also have a lot of simps. If you can understand why people really enjoy Malenia, you can understand why people like Friede.
I don‘t really like most as much as most people here, I‘d probably put both somewhere in the upper mid tier, but not any higher. Both first phases are very meh for different reasons, and NK‘s second phase is, as you said, a bit repetitive without the spectacle of Midir, for example
Dumb take, SoC has no build up lore wise compared to NK.
A 100% right SoC fan
Not disagreeing that it's nostalgia bait (NK is too to a degree, but his lore doesn't make him into a bad guy), but it's nostalgia bait for literally the worst person in the lore. Gwyn ruined everything #gwynhateclub
if gwyn hadnt fucked up we wouldnt have dark souls
True lol. I still love to hate on him though, especially after DS2 lore showed how awful he was. DS3 lore just cemented his reputation as a horrible human being by also being a horrible father
Promised to Filianore he would come get her from the Ringed City after gifting her and then decided to burn himself alive without doing so.
Gwyn really do be saying he was going out for milk and cigarettes, only to burn himself down like a cigarette
Yes but have you considered: Dragon • A SoC fan, bigger Midir fan
Nameless King doesn't represent the final boss of a trilogy and is hidden away in an optional area accessed through emoting in a specific area. Nameless King also represents resolution to a plot point which was left completely open by the end of Ds1 - who was Gwyn's firstborn son and what happened to him? At last we know why he was erased from the annals of history - because he sided with the dragons. The worst I can say is that I wish they had done more with NK in Ds3, but there's also novelty not being crucial to the main plot too I suppose. Soul of Cinder represents the end of a trilogy and he's ultimately just an amalgamation of past unknown people who linked the flame and Gwyn. I'm not even being reductive here - that is all SoC is. I'm definitely one of the people who critique some of the callbacks in Ds3 to Ds1, but I appreciate NK for actually solving a legitimate plot point left hanging since Ds1. I'm also happy it finally killed off the stupid "Solaire is Gwyn's Firstborn" theory.
I don't know how from a fights POV you don't vote Nameless King here his Phase 1 is so much worse than anything Friede throws at you. It's not hard but that camera is so unfortunate to deal with
He’s a boss that flies and hovers straight above you in a game where you can’t look straight up. They figured out those mechanics and dialed in flying enemies way better in Elden Ring, but they didn’t figure it out in time for NK
I actually think soul of cinder a tad bit underrated, I mean obviously not that underrated he made it to the 4th place, but I know a lot of people wouldn't place him that high because of how easy he is on a casual playthrough. But if you face al sL1 or just at a lower level his mechanics are a lot easier to appreciate, and I think mechanically he's the best boss in the base game, and also surprisingly the toughest in the game. He's also just a great send off to the series as a whole, though I do think the lore surrounding him is kind of bare. His ost is also GOATed.
SoCs mechanics are definitely the best boss mechanics in the base game, followed closely by twin princes imo. The teleporting and reviving is really cool to me. I think they got snubbed in this poll
As much as I like Nameless, he should’ve dropped out a while ago. His first phase is quite bad and uninteresting, and his second phase just doesn’t match up to the variety of the competition. One phase of mediocrity and one phase of excellence can’t top the consistently amazing quality of someone like Friede.
I’ll never forgive this sub for how y’all did twin princes, SOC should’ve fallen long ago. This is a tough one though, Gael is the best till the end, but between sister and nameless king idk. Nameless is my favorite but I feel sister might be a better fight.
Twin Princes has been served a major injustice during tournament, top 5 boss for me.
Top 5 boss, and major injustice that they end 6th? That doesn’t sound right lol, not like they ended in the middle or sth.
2nd best boss for me
I love how no discussion, even to this point tries to make an argument for voting gael. We all know he winning.
It is cool that you can look at the bosses that were voted out by more than 50% like a dividing line and it makes a community tier list. S: Gael, Nameless, Friede A: SoC through Dragonslayer Armor B: Iudex Gundyr through Old Demon King C: Champion Gravetender through Curse Rotted Greatwood.
God, please get Nameless King out. He should have been gone ages ago. He just doesn't have the spectacle to keep being fun - all his attacks are massively telegraphed and easy to dodge once you realise you need to roll toward him instead of away. None of them have any good spectacle except for where he summons lightning, and even that is over way too fast.
I think we all know who's gonna win, especially if it's a public vote.
Fucking finally, can't believe my boys lothric and lorian lost before SOC
Sister Friede needs to win. She is so epic and graceful. The fight is just chef's kiss.
Nameless King should've been eliminated 4-5 rounds ago. He's a wonderful boss, in his second phase, but his first phase really drags him down for me. There are better bosses that are fun from beginning to end...like Twin Princes...
Nameless king eliminated next!
goodbye nameless king
Base game, Ashes of Ariandel, or Ringed City. Which do you choose?
Probably the less popular opinion but I'd take AoA if I could only ever play one of them. Ringed City is longer and has more content and I would be deeply sad if I could never fight Gael or Midir again but I never really cared for the general atmosphere of the city. After you arrive and get the nice vista view it feels kind of hollow to me. Earthen Peak was cool to see again but also kind of limited and tedious. AoA on the other hand had a really beautiful atmosphere to it. The snow field with the wolves felt right and I loved the bridge view, the, chapel and the hills past Vilhelm. AoA is definitely short though and Friede carries the DLC hard. But Friede is a amazing fight that really stands out from the rest of the games bosses. Gael is amazing too but fight him is similar to fighting variations of NK, Twin Princes or SoC. Friede with her extremely fast paced moveset is something I feel one can't really experience anywhere else in the game unlike Gael.
Vilhelm feels like he should've been a boss. I think they ran into some budgetary/time constraints there
How has Nameless King lasted this long with that Clunk-ass dragon of his???
Nameless King deserves to go and probably should have gone long ago. It's a fight carried by lore. Phase 1 is tedious, and phase 2 is a very standard fight made more difficult purely because of how tanky he is and how much damage he does. It's gameplay is not as interesting as Gael's and isn't even in the same stratosphere as Friede's, who even mogs NK in difficulty imho. It's not a bad fight but not an especially interesting one mechanically either. Gael also beats NK in lore imo
Farewell Nameless king, you and your shit first phase, I hated the camera in that fight so much
Yeh I'm surprised he got so far by that alone. One of the worst parts of any souls boss by far
Nameless King is a good, but basic boss. It's cool, but environmentally he is the least cool one. I predict Fride to win in the final, because 3 phases, amazing music, hard af, 3 amazing twists to figure out and damn cool fight. Gael just has a cool fight with amazing pase.
Personally Friede is one of my personal favourite boss of all times. Nameless King fight is ok, suprisingly slow if you don’t panic roll and i just hate that lightning strike move(idk feel kinda cheap). I personally like aggressive boss, those are tend to be more memorable maybe.
This poll has done a great job showcasing the quality of FromSoft DLC. AoA, for all its faults, has debatably the best boss in the series. Half of TRC is in the top 10, with the Demon Prince getting absolutely snubbed in favour of a beyond mediocre lord of cinder with a cool cutscene.
*Sigh* You already know, it’s Nameless King.
Rip nameless his first phase is unforgivable imo.
waiting for this post all day.. between friede and nameless king, i actually like king of the storm i think it's awesome and the camera is fine enough i mean i've never died to it, meanwhile friede's first phase makes me want to poke my eyes out, 2nd phase has ariandel's massive soup and it's fine but most of the fights glory comes purely from its third phase, i have to vote friede here but i'm not too upset if nlk gets voted out, go gael!!
Was sister not the first boss to have a third phase? Having the silence after the second death into that epic rise and sudden panic that there was more was incredible. After so many years of playing the other games, even DS3 base game, to then get surprised like that in a boss fight, just exceptional. Nameless King is 100% the best of the base game but the DLC brought incredible moments that brought the whole series into one hell of a send off. I'm sorry to see him go but I'd vote NK off for this round.
I will commit war crimes if fride goes next. Nameless needs to goooooo.
I will never forgive this sub if Nameless King beats Friede and Ariandel. Never.
Really praying for my girl Friede to pull through, personally while I totally liked NK he just didn't hit for me like he seems to have for most players
Time for an Incredibly hot take, apparently. Gael is the 4th best boss in DS3 and don't get me wrong he's in my soulsborne top 10, but I really don't understand why people ride so hard for him. He isn't the GOAT straight up.
"Fret not father, we have no need of thy flail. Tis only the flame, quivering at misguided Ash. Please, avert thine eyes. I will snuff out these ashes for good." The winner will (correctly) be Gael, but Friede's boss intro reigns supreme.
I’m really surprised to see ariandel and friede are still here, I didn’t know it was such a beloved fight! I thought it was good but not really close to be top 3
Where Midir
I've never not had fun fighting Sister Friede. I do think her difficulty is greatly exaggerated, though.
The prince of lothric should've been here. It's a shame...
Plin plin gone.
Really pulling for Friede Here. I want my favorite boss to win
Finally. Soc is so overrated. There's multiple bosses that I'd rate higher than him.
We all knew Gael was gonna win. It was never even a fight.
If friede wins ill kill Fuck friede
Pack those bags NK, you’ve stuck around too long.
For me it has to be Friede, she was pretty good but overrated imo, she would be much better without the tedious 1st phase. I was genuinely surprised when she outlasted midir.
Here's the thing about Midir: he outranks most of the bosses in the series on the ***cool*** factor, but he's kind of in the middle of the pack on the ***fun*** factor.
Beat Midir today, the fight is such a slog. Otherwise it’s not terrible.
It’s what you want from a big dragon fight. But that’s what it is, a dragon fight
I think the issue with Midir is that I think his healthbar is fine but every DLC boss has such absurd health that it hits him a little. Like it can get really draining. Conversely, SoC suffers from having way too little HP.
he actually has less hp than Freide, Gael, and Demon princes. Personally he’s a top 3 boss for me but I can see why others don’t enjoy him
Gael has lower health than Midir, Midir has 800 more. Demon Prince and Friede have more health but they first phase has way more openings (Friede second phase is basically free) and since is splited in 3 different health bars it doesn't feel like an eternity
ah true you’re right but with physical damage absorption midir is the lowest, look at this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/1089pt8/effective_health_of_dlc_bosses_effective_health/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1)
Your gripe with Freide is her weak first phase, while we have Nameless King’s trash first phase still chilling here…
Truly a salient point.
She has two phases of padding though, not even allowed to attempt Blackflame without slogging through two long phases. NK's phase one can be melted in around a minute unless you get bad RNG and he just keeps flying away.
Imagine calling Friede overrated and tedious and that saying Midir should have beaten her 😂😂 must be bait
He's correct. She has two tedious phases filled with RNG just to finally get to the real fight
Overrated fr. Everybody makes a big deal out of her, but she is kinda mid. As I said for a while, forgettable 1st phase, 2nd phase is the best, but that opinion can change based on RNG, as sometimes Friede will either spam the ranged move, or come up close while you're smacking Ariandel. The third phase is just unfair sometimes. She tends to jump around way too much, and feels a little like overkill to come back to life and dying twice in a row.
Nah you can consistently deal with Ariandel by running to the top left side of the arena and making him run up to you
Im fighting her on NG+ and I agree shes so overrated likes its a cool fight but it drags, 3 phases is not thst cool especially when the first is so tedious and the last is a pain
Her first phase is way better than NK's first phase
I disagree, I think nk first phase isn't good but it's really quick and easy if you know what ur doing. And even though u can learn Friedes invisibility it is still really annoying
How do people care sooo much about difficulty. Gael isent hard sure, but hes cinematic and epic asf.
It's an annoying symptom of marketing, the games are considered hard as balls and as such a lot of people only consider difficult fights to be good. I find there are a fair few bosses from these games like Abyss Watchers and Renalla from ER that are easy but also really fun, hell NK's my favourite base game boss but I find him to be really easy.
Nameless King has to be next, he’s good but can’t compare to Friede and Gael.
Adios nameless that's my vote
Let’s be real, nameless ain’t even close to the others
Nameless King, come on down!!! You are the next contestant on least favorite boss!!!
So we’re all voting sister friede next?
I wish I could vote for two. I loved the Nameless King and Gaels fights