FromSoftware has created some of the best expansions in gaming history, offering experiences often equal to or even better than their original counterparts.
FromArtorias of the AbysstoShadow of the Erdtree, each DLC is special on its own merits, though usually for the same reason: memorable and highly challenging bosses.
As such, the studio tends to raise the bar with each new piece of additional content,allowing for considerably greater and more satisfying challenges.
The Soulsborne games are largely what they are thanks to their expansions, and that speaks volumes to their quality.
Thus, we celebrate FromSoftware’s genius on a fairly regular basis, and now it’s time torank the ten Hardest Soulsborne DLC Bosses.
10Burnt Ivory King
A Fight Turned Into War
Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Ivory King
Considering its bosses are the easiest in the history of Soulsborne games, it’s difficult to imagine aDark Souls 2prospect for this list, but it does have a few candidates.
However, I’ve prioritized theBurnt Ivory Kingabove all the options because I consider it the hardest boss in the entire sequel, even beyond alternatives likeFume Knight.
The fight starts from the moment you step foot in Eleum Loyce, where you must recover all the knights that will help you in the battle and prevent it from being even more demanding.
Even so, the Burnt Ivory King is agile, doesn’t give you spaces to heal, and its damage is very high, quite different from the base game’s fights, which are slow and have many moments to recover health points.
Dark Souls 2may not have the toughest bosses, but examples like the Burnt Ivory King remind us its expansions do present plenty of challenges.
9Knight Artorias
The Abyss is Terrifying
Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss
Royal Wood
Dark Soulsis a game with thoughtful, slow-paced mechanics, where shield use, and awareness of your surroundings is vital to survival.
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Nevertheless, when you land in Oolacile and encounterArtorias, everything you learned in the base game goes out the window, given the Abyss Walker is pure, non-stop adrenaline.
As withGwyn, Lord of Cinder, openings are limited, and the slightest mistake is highly punished, butArtorias is a level above in terms of attack patterns and endurance,especially since you can’t parry.
Because of this, only doing a perfect fight is what allows you to overcome Artorias.Anything less will end in your death, and the longest and most annoying boss runs in the entire game, althoughit’s still the best in the series.
8Ludwig, The Accursed
A Beast and A Knight
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters
Hunter’s Nightmare
I’m probably one of the few people who underestimates the difficulty ofLudwig, the Accursed,because it has never taken me too many tries, but credit where credit is due, it’s a tricky encounter.
Generally speaking,Bloodborne: The Old Huntershas the highest average difficulty in the history of Soulsborne expansions, and Ludwig is definitely among the category’s top.
If it weren’t for his transition into the second phase, where his movements become more graceful, readable, and predictable,he’d probably be even higher,as his first phase is absurdly demanding.
What’s clear is that he’s a phenomenally designed boss, given he never feels unfair. Unlike other entries on this list, Ludwig is rewarding and challenging but never frustrating.
7Messmer the Impaler
You Will Know Defeat Once Again
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Shadow Keep
While it took me more tries than any boss in the base game, I have mixed feelings aboutMessmer the Impaler’s difficulty.
Paradoxically, the number of attempts it took me to beat him didn’t reflect how I felt about each one, as I always knew what I had to do to succeed.
Unlike base game bosses like Malenia or Maliketh, which I beat more quickly but with less confidence, Messmer never felt all that imposing, even though he became my favorite boss in all ofElden Ring.
He’s incredibly designed and choreographed, so reading him is both enjoyable and accessible.I believe Messmer is so well-rounded that it reduces his difficulty, which shows how difficult he could be if FromSoftware hadn’t put all the love in the world into him.
Nevertheless, the numbers aren’t wrong, andno threat in the main game made me replay the fight as much as the Impaler. Maybe my feelings didn’t reflect that, but there’s no denying he beat me relentlessly for quite a while.
6Darkeater Midir
The Hardest Soulsborne Dragon
Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City
The Ringed City
There are few bosses in my history with the Soulsborne games that have made me stop playing for weeks, but I must admitDarkeater Midiris one of them.
The most difficult dragon FromSoftware has ever created is inDark Souls 3: The Ringed City, where this wounded but powerful beast lurks until you fall into its lair to tear you to pieces.
My biggest issue is that Midir doesn’t function like the other dragons in the Soulsborne games, asyou have to fight him face-to-face instead of chasing his feet and tail until his hit points reach zero.
That break from habit felt very uncomfortable to me, especially since Midir never ceases to attack. Whether it’s his fire breath, his deadly rays, or his lightning-fast claws, stopping to breathe is not an option.
So, I love him passionately,but he symbolizes one of the few moments where Dark Souls honestly beat me down.
5Sister Friede
A Three-phase Headache
Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel
Painted World of Ariandel
I acknowledge thatDark Souls 3is largely responsible for the trilogy beingone of the best, but I will never forget the damageSister Friededid to me.
When I managed to beat the second phase, seeing the boss rise from the ground once againbroke my heart in a way very few Soulsborne games have ever done in my life.
It wasn’t until years later that I was able to beat her third phase regularly. Until then, I resorted to firing arrows from afar and taking advantage of her exploitable AI because I wasn’t able to defeat her face-to-face.
There comes a point where you can do the first two phases without taking damage, but the third… That’s another story,one that makes Sister Friede a threat even to the most experienced players.
4Slave Knight Gael
The Most Relentless Foe
Filianore’s Rest
Dark Souls 3’s DLCsare masterpieces and idyllic examples of how to create incredible bosses, withSlave Knight Gaelbeing at the top.
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In truth, it stands as the most difficult challenge in the entire trilogy, as it’s one of the rare cases where the boss has no weaknesses at all.
When it comes to speed, toughness, damage, complexity, durability, AI, and so on,Slave Knight Gael is the king of each category. As with Artorias, the only solution is perfect performance, exceptDark Souls 3is incredibly faster thanDark Souls.
Despite Soul of Cinder’s notable difficulty,bosses like Sister Friede and Gael outdo it by offering the same style of challenge but on a larger scale, undeniably proving why they are among the best bosses in the game.
3Laurence, The First Vicar
A Punishing Nightmare
Grand Cathedral
Along with Sister Friede,Laurence, The First Vicaris the only boss in the Soulsborne games who has forced me to drop the game and come back weeks later to beat him.
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters is known for punishing those who think they can beat its bosses the same way as in the base game, and Laurence is a great example of that.
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Unlike his counterpart Amelia, it’s practically impossible to find his back to attack,much less in his hellish second phase,where he becomes a spectacle of lava and attacks with weird hitboxes.
WhileGehrman, The First Hunteris a graceful encounter between two colleagues who want to save the other, Laurence is a frustrating mess I’ll never be convinced to love.
2Orphan of Kos
The Only Fight That Never Gets Easy
Fishing Hamlet Coast
No matter how many years pass,I will always dread the moment in Bloodborne’s DLC where you have to face the Orphan of Kos, one of the most difficult bosses in the entire history of video games.
Although I’ve played the game numerous times with different builds and watched dozens of speedruns, The Old Hunters' final andtragicencounter always makes me sweat blood.
It’s erratic like no other Soulsborne enemy, with an unpredictable second phase and an overwhelming ability to wipe out your health points with just one attack.
If Gehrman’s boss fight is a delicate challenge, this is a fight for survival you only end up overcoming through divine intervention.
Between the ease with which it moves out of the player’s vision, the untimely lightning bolts it summons throughout the arena, and its desperate screams,the Orphan of Kos is a nightmare in every sense of the word.
1Promised Consort Radahn
The Maximum Exaggeration of Difficulty
Despite spending over a decade playing the Soulsborne games incessantly,I’ve never attempted a challenge that even comes close to the difficulty of Promised Consort Radahn.
Aside from being on a completely superior plane to Radagon and the Elden Beast, Radahn’s return was as unexpected as it was devastating.No boss in this type of game has ever managed to defeat me as many times as Miquella’s lord.
Malenia, the Orphan of Kos, and even Isshin aren’t up to the unfair experience ofShadow of the Erdtree’s finale. With low frames, blinding rays of light, and occasionally inescapable attack patterns, it was simply brutal.
Fortunately, Promised Consort Radahn was balanced and is now an outstanding final boss, with the degree of demand expected for an icon of its magnitude.
Regardless, the more than 100 attempts it frustratingly took me to defeat its original version will forever bethe hardest thing I have done as a FromSoftware fan.
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