Dark Souls 3 was released in 2016 by FromSoftware and is the final game of the beloved Dark Souls trilogy. The boss order in this game is well-designed. This game learned from its predecessors and managed to perfect the formula of the Soulsborne genre. The updates and improvements that this game brought led to the creation of Elden Ring and its DLC Shadow of the Erdtree. It is one of the most challenging yet satisfying games to play. This article will go over the best order in which you should tackle the bosses of Dark Souls 3.
Boss Order
Dark Souls 3 contains 25 bosses in total with 19 bosses in the base game and 6 in the two DLCs Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City. Here is the best boss order in which you should progress through the game.
- Iudex Gundyr: Iudex Gundyr is the first boss that players will face on their journey and he serves as a tutorial boss.
- Vordt of the Boreal Valley: Vordt of the Boreal Valley is the first major boss that players will have to face before going to the Undead Settlement.
- Curse-Rotted Greatwood: It is an optional boss in the Undead Settlement.
- Crystal Sage: Crystal Sage is present at the intersection of the Cathedral of the Deep and the swamp area.
- Deacon of the Deep: Optional Boss present at the Cathedral of the Deep.
- Abyss Watchers: Abyss Watchers are non-optional bosses and are the first that will pose a challenge to the players.
- High Lord Wolnir: Non-optional boss that is present at the Catacombs of Carthus.
- Old Demon King: Old Demon King is an optional boss that is present at the Smouldering Lake.
- Pontiff Sulyvahn: Pontiff Sulyvahn is one of the more challenging bosses and is present in the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley.
- Yhorm The Giant: Yhrom The Giant is a non-optional boss fight and is present at the Profaned Capital area.
- Aldritch, Devourer of Gods: Aldritch is a non-optional boss and is present at the Anor Lando.
- Dancer of the Boreal Valley: Dancer of the Boreal Valley is present at the High Wall of Lothric and defeating her will unlock a new area.
- Dragonslayer Armour: Non-optional boss that is present in the Lothric Castle.
- Lothric and Lorian: Present at the top of the Lothric castle, Lothric and Lorian are one of the most challenging boss fights in the game.
- Oceiros, The Consumed King: Oceiros is an optional boss who is present in the Consumed King’s Garden.
- Champion Gundyr: An optional boss that is a more challenging version of Iudex Gundyr.
- Ancient Wyvern: Ancient Wyvern is a gimmick boss fight and is more of an obstacle course.
- Nameless King: Nameless King is probably the hardest boss in the base game and is optional.
- Soul of Cinder: Soul of Cinder is the final boss of the main game and defeating him concludes the boss order of the base game.
- Champion’s Gravetender and Gravetender Greatwolf: An optional boss fight that is present in the Ashes of Ariendel DLC.
- Sister Friede: The final boss of the Ashes of Ariendel, Sister Friede poses a challenge thanks to her three different phases.
- Demon Princes: Demon from Below and Demon from Above are a gank boss fight present at the start of The Ringed City DLC. Defeating both of them triggers another phase where they combine to become another boss.
- Darkeater Midir: Probably the best dragon fight that FromSoftware has created, Darkeater Midir is optional and has an extremely large health pool.
- Halflight, Spear of the Church: Halflight is an NPC boss fight and also has a chance to summon a real-life player to fight against.
- Slave Knight Gael: The final boss of The Ringed City DLC, Slave Knight Gael marks the end of the amazing trilogy.
Reasoning for the Order
This boss order of Dark Souls 3 will ensure that players get the best possible experience out of the game. It allows players to get familiar with the game by facing some easy bosses in the game first and then moving towards the more challenging bosses. It also does not hinder the story experience and makes players feel like they should not be fighting this boss right now. It is also recommended not to skip the optional bosses as they drop a major amount of souls that players can use for leveling.
