The Unbelievable Glitch That Breaks Dark Souls Enemies

FFXIV Online's free trial includes content up to the first expansion Heavensward, until level 60, with unlimited game time! Check it out here: wehy.pe/y/15/catalystz
A deep dive into the unbelievable AI Break glitch that has revolutionized Dark Souls speedruns. Discover the history, mechanics, and secrets behind this fascinating exploit, and see how top speedrunners use it to their advantage in the most competitive runs. From Gwyndolin in 0 cycles to optimizing boss fights like Ornstein and Smough, this glitch has transformed the way Dark Souls is played. If you're a fan of Dark Souls, FromSoftware games, or speedrunning in general, you don't want to miss this in-depth exploration of a game-changing glitch that breaks ALL the enemies in Dark Souls.
Special thanks to Cadarev and rythin for providing valuable feedback on the video! ❤️
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
2:16 Origins of AI Breaks
4:14 How does it happen?
12:16 AI Break Chain Example
#catalystz #darksouls #speedrun

[@catalystz]

FFXIV Online's free trial includes content up to the first expansion Heavensward, until level 60, with unlimited game time! Check it out here: wehy.pe/y/16/catalystz Thank you for watching the video and allowing me to continue doing what I do! I hope you have a great day ❤

[@lk69ak65bl1]

Woah. I've never seen a KZbin ad for FFXIV. That's neat. I love this game so much.

[@miweneia]

Wtf I didn’t know it was free I might finally check it out, always thought it was like WoW

[@MissPoplarLeaf]

I fucking love FFXIV, so I was pleasantly surprised to see an XIV ad in a video! Seriously, super fun game.

[@nelsomsmae3046]

Great video! I remember LobosJr doing a run where a mod forced his weapons to switch very quickly; the AI kept breaking and I never knew why!

[@UltraDumbass1782]

Yeah, same happened for LilAggy. I think I remembered the Butterfly just floating downward forever for him.

[@mangaming1942]

What's your pfp?

[@nelsomsmae3046]

@@mangaming1942 a cuttlefish eye.

[@Svorty]

It's bloody insane how people can figure this kind of things out. Thank you very much for the indepth explanation.

[@funkymachine]

its not really that insane people figure out more about a game as they play it. It's actually expected and standard.

[@Svorty]

@@funkymachine well then it is at least insane to my smooth brain. The level of understanding and amount of time it took those folks to find all these things out and then put them together and successfully routed them is what is so impressive to me.

[@Zdudeful]

@@funkymachine There's always one...

[@DrSid42]

I'm surprised people don't straight out debug the game in assembler at this moment.

[@three_black_knights]

​​@@Svorty While it is impressive, I wouldn't call it insane. Quite a few active speedrunners play this game over and over. They share strategies and often attempt to mimic good performances. Add a little randomness due to the necessary lack of complete determinism in the game runtime and you occasionally get random oddities happening that mix things up every so often, leading to new, better playstyles that are in position to reveal more things. This optimization procedure is similar to one known as the genetic algorithm, which has been proven really effective time and time again in all sorts of fields. Hmmm. While applying formal optimization procedures would likely take all the fun out of speedrunning, using them to teach an AI to speedrun something might make a good graduate thesis or something...

[@MettanAtem]

Gwyndolin was so baffled by the naked guy charging at him that he forgot to teleport. Like a deer in headlights.

[@kasane1337]

Ngl, I would do the same. By that I mean charge at him naked.

[@TrueLunar10]

This is actually something I ran into with the item swaper mod. When set to change too fast (like once a frame) AI would always be frozen. Who knew an ancient bug in mod runs would apply to speedruns

[@LilacMonarch]

Yeah, and for certain bosses it could be especially problematic. Like with the moonlight butterfly it would break the AI while it's flying so it would never stop. So it just kinda peaces out and flies away leaving you with an empty fight with nothing to do

[@user-uq9se1nx9q]

@@LilacMonarch But as we saw in the video, it is possible to hit flying butterfly in the wing

[@LilacMonarch]

@@user-uq9se1nx9q if you can do it fast enough before it's super far away

[@hotpotato481]

It's insane that people not only figured this out, but your video explanation was so concise and well edited that it made sense XD

[@catalystz]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@Mohamed-ow8pg]

Ds1? Good quality? Good editing? Count me in

[@naktiluka]

Both the glitch itself and history of its discovery are incredible! I think this is the only glitch of what you covered that I can easily imagine how happens :)

[@andy4an]

my review of FFXIV "it's ok" (2800 hours played at time of review)

[@filiplass7442]

Already know this is gonna be a banger

[@DoomBurger.]

True

[@Kakuruma]

If I was told I'd get an ad for XIV in a Dark Souls glitch video, I wouldn't have believed. lol

[@gregoryporter-gaming2559]

I remember a challenge run, where the weapon would switch every x seconds to a random weapon. It made the moonlight butterfly just fly up until it was out of map

[@catalystz]

Yeah that is an instance of the AI Break! Speedrunners sometimes had it happen accidentally in their runs. The AI gets stuck on the action of relocating and just says bye bye!

[@flugga182]

these videos that explain a glitch or a route with all the history and the commity efforts that are behind are really fascinating. no one else does these kind of video. amazing stuff!

[@catalystz]

Thank you for enjoying the vid!

[@MissPoplarLeaf]

I don't know other DS creators who do this kind of content, but check out the "God Gamers" Hollow Knight speedrun history videos by fireb0rn, or the "How Super Mario Odyssey was Beaten in Under 1 Hour" video by SmallAnt!

[@flissflossgaming]

It's legit amazing how some of these glitches/exploits are found, and you're very skilled at explaining everything. I'm more of a casual speedrunner, so I don't know if a lot of these micro-optimizations will ever matter for my runs, but I sure do love learning more about speedrun science. Love your videos catalystz!

[@catalystz]

Thank you for the kind words! I am very happy that you enjoy such deep dives. And good luck on runs!

[@flissflossgaming]

@@catalystz Thanks for the luck!

[@user-js8jh6qq4l]

i think i saw this glitch back in 2014 when lobos was doing permaswap run (his weapon kept changing so the ai broke once every 2 times)

[@Spaze47]

Hey cata! I've thought this for quite some time but just never ended up putting it to words. That can change now. Your documentary-type videos like this are some of my favorite content to watch. They're explained concisely and clearly, in an incredibly logical way that's easy for the viewer to follow. The glitches and exploits you choose to showcase are furthermore always awesome to learn about. I always look forward to seeing more of these types of videos from you!

[@catalystz]

Thanks so much for the kind words! It's words like these that really motivate me to keep improving and making more videos.

[@gravityhorse4781]

Your editing is great! Thanks for the vid 👍

[@Cracks094]

The Speedrun community is awesome. Finding a new glitch (or rather how to force it to occur) after so many years is simply incredible and i'll never not be amazed by the ingenuity and dedication put on display, just as i'll never not be amazed by how rapidly your editing and production value for these videos gets better.

[@prismaticc_abyss]

If youre watching this on release, he's live rn, come hang out in the stream

[@danieL2kto3k]

Appreciate that Mick Gordon tune at the end there. Nice video, cata!

[@philippconstantin9361]

Thx man love your way of explaining! Keep on doing what you love, your good at it!

[@Graviittyy]

KZbin hit me with the perfectly timed ad. “When these setups were perfected it led to this” RAID SHADOW LEGENDS

[@catalystz]

OOF. Speedrunners working hard to bring you RAID 😅

[@nupali5049]

I'm so glad you made a video about this, since I've heard ai cancel mentioned in runs I've been wanting to know how it works

[@theflumpsydumpster7228]

You know, last time I ran DS Remastered, I accidentally pulled off this trick on Gwyndolin. At the time I was like "Oh, sweet, easy kill" and went about my day, but after seeing this I'm pretty sure this is what occurred

[@FL_Southpaw]

Your videos are always so high quality, from the editing, pace, and content . Thanks for all that you do! You rock!

[@BrianM_3rd]

Always a treat to wake up to a new video from you on my day off! I'll never get tired of DS1 speedrun content. Hard to believe it took this long to figure out! You think when something strange happens, the first thing speedrunners would think would be "How can we do that _on purpose_ " :)

[@forwardspiral9745]

Always learn so much from your videos cata! Great job

[@Skiemlordd]

Nicely edited bro, keep it up!

[@catalystz]

Thank you!

[@ramonchi_5]

Great vid as always Ty!

[@dbrobb5282]

I love this game, but every time I watch one of your Dark Souls Glitch video it breaks my brain! Hats off to all of those speed runnners working through these interesting glitches and figuring them out. Fantastic video!

[@Vincent89297]

Very high quality video. Well done.

[@catalystz]

Thank you very much for enjoying it!

[@fromthegamethrone]

I've said it before, but thank you for the extra effort in editing, it helps me to understand the finer details.

[@EdMoffatt]

Such a great explanation, I absolutely loved watching this

[@strigalet1468]

Great video Cata!!!

[@snowgw2]

Excellent video!!

[@sherpa6071]

INSANE. I love speedrunners and the community. Well done you absolute legends.

[@MajorMokoto]

Oh I'm excited to see some new DS1 runs! This looks fun.

[@TheHogfatherInvades]

I can't even debug my own programs sometimes. I can't imagine how people debug a game they didn't make

[@catalystz]

So for Dark Souls it's a pretty funny story. One time, when pushing an update to the game on Steam, FromSoftware accidentally pushed the debug EXE. They took it down very quickly but the community backed it up and managed to restore many of its features.

[@easytos]

As a visual learner, I really appreciate you using graphics to demonstrate how this works.

[@therealatomic6170]

Yooooo Content! Thanks man, another sick vid I guess

[@filippogavelli690]

Thank you very much, such a good video and crazy discovery even now. Amazing

[@therealfriday13th]

When the frame perfect animation setups were complete, the results were...an ad for Evony? Man, KZbin ads are HILARIOUSLY timed😅

[@catalystz]

LOL. Dark Souls Speedrunners selling out with their strategies 😂

[@visgraatje859]

Wow! Really great video. I'll tell you again in legendary speedrunner Kahmul's chat!

[@AshenDev]

is this only for ptde? thats hella interesting. crazy seeing new finds for these games even years after development. great video as always cata

[@catalystz]

PTDE and DSR! You just need to use slightly different setups as the update timer is different (151 frames vs 300 frames @ 30fps vs 60fps respectively).

[@bossdoorpodcast]

Very cool, wouldn't mind learning some of these setups for casual play

[@TwoDaysFromRetirement]

10:02 this string of video effects is awesome, hits so good

[@TwoDaysFromRetirement]

Great vid, highlights and clarifies tough to picture info with graphics, effects, and sounds in creative but seamless ways. That's to say nothing of the really nice freecam footage that can tell little stories on its own. Interesting stuff in an interesting way, fantastic work as always.

[@catalystz]

Thank you very much for the kind feedback!

[@potasama]

Love your videos cata, have a great day as well!

[@TechPro771]

You've got a talent for explaining things.

[@generic_username95]

These videos are absolute quality. 👍

[@user-bc5vv1ug2g]

I feel like watching FitMC 2b2t content but Dark Souls. Such high quality video.

[@free_spirit1]

Each frame is 0.033 seconds. Just blows my mind. I don't understand how players are so consistently able to perform actions within extremely small time windows.

[@bronze81]

Great video 😁

[@soku2924]

yet another banger vid. keep it up ❤

[@kalaveet2857]

Omg so that's why the 4 Kings ran into me so often🤯 I always toggle sprint for them to reduce the chance for a projectile, so it only makes sense the bulldozer would randomly happen

[@luminous2585]

Damn, this video feels a bit like history coming back to me. I watched a modded challenge run many years ago where someone had their weapons swap randomly every .5 seconds or so. That was causing AI breaks very frequently. Back then I didn't think much of it, but now I realize for how long this must've been on the mind of speedrunners.

[@catalystz]

Yeah that's exactly what was happening. Interesting to find out that such a mod would cause it but it makes perfect sense.

[@DemoniteBL]

This would be a really annoying discovery in a game where you can't queue actions. lol

[@Pablo121k]

I Liked this video because of the 151 frames reminded me of pokemon, also that eastward song is soooo goooood!

[@matthewshafer9545]

I suppose this would be "easier" to figure out @ 30 fps going for 151 frames would buy you an additional tenth of a second ...you have just over the 5 second mark to swap while at 60 fps you would have exactly 5 . Still, managing to chain animation's frames together from load to pin pointing the glitch point is mind blowing 😮

[@ryanhorton9594]

I know it's not the same, but does elden ring still have the AI break on Radagon? And the bosses who break when you enter the arena without using the fog door?

[@naldinhoostman7535]

The moment he said frame perfectly i thought about The "meaty" concept in fighting games lol

[@catalystz]

Haha, good analogy choice on my part then!

[@Heowolf]

I've been playing fighting games a good 20+ years and I have never heard a meaty attack set up be called a frame kill. In my head, that would be more akin to using "Greyoll's Roar" on knockdown in ER to try and catch a rollout (legitimately can't think of an option in any other FS game lol). I did a little bit of research on it and technically it fits here, it's a pretty interesting way to get around lack of pausing in game since pause buffer would be the normal go-to.

[@AfterlifePlays]

Do I ever think I’ll be able to speedrun this game? Probably not Will I watch every catalystz video on how to speedrun this game? You’re damn fucking right.

[@catalystz]

Based.

[@sammartens1090]

Thanks, as a game dev I am now in a constant state of fear that players will abuse any small glitches that my code might have

[@catalystz]

Haha, don't worry. Most players will not be putting thousands of hours into your game looking for the smallest exploits.

[@Almorus]

I have to say your editing skills are incedible... but for me personaly the R2-D2 sound when the axis pops is too loud and i found it a bit anoying throughout the video. Besides that amazing job, can't wait to see more from you.

[@catalystz]

I appreciate the feedback and will keep it in mind! It can sometimes a bit tough to balance everything out because KZbin applies its on compression on the sound.

[@amberhernandez]

Could the game considering the player as "unloaded" contribute to the toggle escape glitch? It allows the user to escape stunlocks by soft-swapping (toggling weapon slots), and it's a pretty big part of PVP!

[@catalystz]

Not really. Toggle escaping is based on animation cancelling rather than loading/deloading the player.

[@orionl7406]

Anyone watch that video where the guy had his weapons change every I think it was 15, then 10, then I think 5 and then even lower. I remember when he tried to kill the Butterfly, but it was stuck permanently in the sky and flew away as a result of the weapon swapping.

[@jennasloan396]

Toggling your weapon lets you sprint faster? That sounds similar to that one trick in Tears of the Kingdom

[@geordil]

New Cata vid pog

[@Mister_Clean]

Dark Souls 1 speedrunning continues to get more and more absurd Incredible

[@TheHogfatherInvades]

Holy shit you uploaded another video

[@badrequest5596]

Interesting. Makes sense. In UE the default value for AI update is also a few seconds. This means you have by default 5s until the AI sees you. This is because if you have it update every frame, it would extremely overtaxing to the cpu and make the game stupid slow in fps. You can switch it to every frame update but depending on how many AI you have loaded, it can break it. I assume they do the same in ds.

[@catalystz]

That makes sense.

[@meepk633]

The church theater is a very funny gag.

[@GazuNeveS]

Mindblowing rocket science and dedication guys. Praise the sun for everyone involved !

[@GazettiSF]

I’ve been playing fighting games for over a decade and I’ve never heard the term “frame kill” I just kind of called it a buffer or setup. Just one of those things you do without knowing what it could be called.

[@catalystz]

That makes sense as there are several terms used for the same thing. That's why you can have websites that literally document all the different terms used withing the FGC lmao (glossary.infil.net/)

[@GazettiSF]

@@catalystz I think this example works better with how they do it in pinch out speed runs

[@dziosdzynes7663]

Incredible video as always

[@adityarajput5149]

Hey I love your videos, keep up the good work/

[@catalystz]

Thank you very much!

[@adityarajput5149]

@@catalystz ❤️

[@MiroslavBaldzhiev]

One specific AI brakes on it's own without any specific user input. In darkroot garden in the forest that is guarded by the NPCs there is one area where you need to bait the thief NPC. You just have to keep him in that area for a while and at some point he freezes. But it's a different kind of AI brake. It does not just last some specific time. For what I know he can stay frozen forever until you hit him. And he is not completely frozen. He stays at one place without moving and he does not attack, he does not block but he turns to face you as you circle around him. Still his turning is slow enough so you can get a free backstab. It is pretty consistent. Sometimes it happens fast, sometimes it takes a long time but with a little patience you can get it every single time. I know it because I do it every time. I find it easy and fun way to kill that guy. All you need to do is keep him in that area for a while. The area in question is a bit to the front and right after you go down the stairs after the artoiras crest door . There is a slight high ground there with a tree to the left side and a rock to the right side and a little slope to the lower ground to the back side. So you just go to that area between the three the rock and the slope, and just wait. He gets aggroed from there and comes for you. Just keep blocking and bait him to come to that area and keep him there for a while and that's it. He innvitably freezes after a while.

[@catalystz]

Nice, I haven't heard about that one. Enemy AI is programmed to work within specific zones, so it is possible you are forcing him out of the zone of where his AI works. He then turns because enemies also react to sounds and that's a different part of the AI. That would be my guess.

[@MiroslavBaldzhiev]

​@@catalystz It's not a case of him going out of the zone where he is active. He is active in the entire area guarded by the NPCs and can fight there. Just within that small area that I am referring at some point he freezes. And it's not immediate. He can fight for a while there but if you keep him there sooner or later he freezes.

[@p0k314COM]

I've been interested in speedruns for years, but what Dark Souls represents in this topic is pure magic. The technical level of these strats surpasses the requirements of any other game.

[@MrKogarou]

Amazing video! Maybe one day a run will use a bulldozer setup to move faster?

[@nightmaregats]

Awesome! I love seeing people discover more stuff about Dark Souls. Btw i've found some cool stuff in dark souls too, if you'd like to see them, theyre on my channel. It's about moveswap, leaving the asylum without the estus flask. Maybe the stuff i found can help with speedruns or new strategies! I still know lots of other stuff and glitches, maybe I do another video soon.

[@gaverin0]

im assuming AI checks work differently in other DS games,

[@Freeseraphim]

I love dark souls, and I am hooked on ffxiv

[@Sed_Wes]

DS1 speedrunners - finding ways to optimize carpal tunnel development since 2011 ❤

[@morgan79737]

Is Zullie and IllusoryWall aware of this? huge find. W

[@user-ef3up2yd6o]

my brain is melting

[@TheMoogleKing93]

With this glitch we now officially need a Dark Souls TAS.

[@catalystz]

Yeah a TAS would be hella interesting with just perfectly toggling through all areas! 😂

[@VideoGamesRus100]

FF14 is an amazing game, it's just a shame it takes ~40-50 hours in game to get to the meat and bones of the game.

[@YannMetalhead]

Good video.

[@Poisonouz]

absolutly nut video cata

[@Frostile]

Pretty sure that fighting game term your talking about is called a Meaty

[@catalystz]

A meaty is the actual attack that hits perfectly on stand-up. Frame kill (buffer, setup...) is the sequence of actions that occur before the meaty!

[@a_catYT]

When was this discovered?

[@catalystz]

Throughout 2021 and 2022 mostly.

[@a_catYT]

@@catalystz thx

[@whereiswp]

Speedrunners are just INSANE.

[@banana9494]

I'm sure this is great in speedruns, but it's funny to me how much more difficult it is to break the AI, when compared to just fighting them as intended.

[@prismaticc_abyss]

It is harder than beating them normally, despite what the "glitches are cheats" crowd would want to tell you, but it is also faster so its done

[@DjAtmaWeapon]

You are the greatest KZbinr ♥

[@catalystz]

I have long ways to go but I appreciate you like the content!

[@gee_woah]

Coming from someone who loves FF14 (and FS games), honestly a little strange to advertise the boss encounters and world layout as being similar to the FS tailored single player experience. The games don't play similarly at all. Good video though!

[@catalystz]

I mean you are not wrong, as one is an MMORPG (though debatable what that even means) and the other is curated single-player RPG. That being said, I was looking for similarities and having to learn somewhat consistent boss patterns to optimize fights is one of them!

[@amlesion9142]

Fromsoft should just released the source code to the public already.

[@aosomnissj4585]

another interesting video

[@TonyPepperonis]

Up voted for eastward music.

[@catalystz]

What a banger

[@balanarsro000]

Watching the new metas from DS makes me think Resident Evil speedruns are easy

[@PleymortAgain]

Kahmul is just a wizard

[@WhirlwindHeatAndFlash]

ahh yes, speedrunning the paralympics of gaming where people try to avoid doing anything that could resemble engaging gameplay as much as possible