Top 20 Best Soulsborne Bosses (Elden Ring included)

[@magicat7356]

Yo, thought I'd mention here in hopes people read it prior to watching: I'm someone who plays these games way too much and as such replay value is a huge factor in my assessment of how much I like the fights. Also, many good bosses had to be left out so I'll give them honorable mentions here: Gehrman, Gascoigne, Pontiff Sulyvahn, Fume Knight, Manus, Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Abyss Watchers and Champion Gundyr

[@davidborned]

I’m suprised Artorias wasn’t worthy enough to get an honorable mention. I remember you said in the past that he was on par with Manus as your favorite fight in DS1.

[@magicat7356]

@@davidborned He'd come like right after others I mentioned there, so close enough.

[@fakename5805]

@@magicat7356 Around where would you place Godrick?

[@joshpollnitz1618]

@@fakename5805 godrick is a relitively meh boss compared to the best fromsoftware has

[@fakename5805]

@@joshpollnitz1618 Highly disagree but it's down to personal taste I suppose

[@MaleWingDiver]

In the DLC Mohg and Morgott should do the fusion dance and become Mohgrott.

[@jordanriley1436]

Please 😂

[@kevinmiller8985]

That’s hilarious but would be cool. But then after they fuse, they’d literally wreck a whole group in one hit though. 🥸

[@tehCostHD]

Mohgrott, king of pedos

[@RealVergilSparda]

mohgrott the lord of king

[@AtomicZamurai]

You were not far enough

[@fantomeduchateaux8136]

Sir Alonne is not only an amazing boss, his OST is also the one that brought Yuka Kitamura into everyone's mind and cemented the path the glorious DS3 Soundtrack

[@Johnny.1994]

Martyr Logarious is the most underrated boss in the games for me. Cainhurst castle is one of my favorite locations in the entire series and the road towards the rooftop and the fight it self was so beautiful to me. My Castlevania nostalgia hit me hard when I first entered the hidden area and watched the castle from afar

[@platoniclogic5877]

I know, martyr logarius is tied for my favorite boss in the main game with gerhman. And cainhurst is such a good reference to Dracula.

[@CITYZEN50]

It's a really good boss, but it really isn't that fun when there's 10 mins run to the boss only to die and repeat it all over again.

[@Johnny.1994]

@@CITYZEN50 What do you mean? The game has literally a shortcut for it. You just have to find it

[@CITYZEN50]

@@Johnny.1994 The elevator shortcut right? There's still a long way from there to the boss, maybe the "10 mins run" was exaggerated but it def is a 2mins or smth..

[@platoniclogic5877]

@@CITYZEN50 yes the boss run is pretty annoying and the arena cud be better; with the sloped roofs. But overall I love that fight.

[@cardmossdn8058]

Thank god were finally reaching the end of Elden Ring boss hate. Good to see them being appreciated for how good they are

[@apehawk]

Except Malenia, she still sucks

[@phlegmfiend]

Ong bro, people were just complaining about the fact that ER bosses weren’t dark souls 3 bosses. It’s a different game guys…

[@I.disagree]

@@phlegmfiend I don't know if it's just me, but elden ring's combat feels exactly like dark souls 3's combat

[@TronaldTheWizard]

Gotta say i didnt appreciate them till i started a 2nd playthough recently with a MUCH better understanding of guard breaks, parrying, and stance breaks. Had a WAY more fun time not using mimic tear. First playthough was Str/Faith and by the end i was melting bosses so easy with my mimic tear. 2nd playthough is Pure dex SUPER fun

[@leo-shun]

@@I.disagree it does. Thats why Elden Ring's bosses feel like they are on steroids. They buffed the bosses' combat and kept the players as they were

[@doolenny9458]

Insane to think you went from hating Malenia To saying she was bordering on good To saying she is amazing To now saying she is the second best Elden ring boss and above Ludwig and fael(two of your og favorite bosses)

[@jackreacher7495]

Personally I call it a thoroughly loosened asshole

[@Sanguinnius]

For a boss that took me 2 days looking back at it i love her,malenia is exactly what fromsoft fans wanted a hard boss that requires u to just get good and same fans were complaining about it

[@tom6626]

Same for me, she is now tied with Godfrey as my favourite boss in er, might not be a flawless Boss like sword saint isshin, Maria or aratorias, but it’s close to it and I almost prefer it, one of the most engaging fights in the series, very atmospheric and theatrical, damn fun and great music +cutscene/lore

[@borismateev767]

Im gonna repost my comment because I believe these takes are gonna be very unhealthy for the future of those games.

[@borismateev767]

*I have fought Malenia for 30 hours and NOW that I have almost mastered her I am starting to believe she is fair and good boss*. I don't think that is a fair take. The learning experience of a boss also matters, and in Malenia's case it is AWFUL. Waterfoul dance probably kills players who fight her on their first playthrough almost consistently the first 10-20 times they see it and expectations of it change the flow of the battle from dynamic to a boring wait/ai exploits. If the learning experience does not matter just make every attack one shot you. What does it matter? You will learn eventually. If the boss does not give enough windows for attack, at some point it becomes a boring waiting game, not a fight. Especially when the dodging mechanics are not that engaging (after mastering some of the moves completely). It becomes: let her finish her 26 attack combo (yes, I have counted) so I can get a free hit. For the record, I have beaten her without help, summons or magic. It was an achievement but the adrenaline is not enough to hide her apperant problems that I am worried will pollute future From games too.

[@teamhammerbros8466]

People don’t bring up enough how well the Isshin fight is set up. The upgrade text lays it out well, the whole game you learn moves HE made up. Daunting.

[@randokalunn8647]

Considering Miyazaki said there's still gonna be more content for Elden Ring you just know there's gonna be dlc bosses so you'll probably end up making another top 20 video if the dlc bosses of course end up being amazing. I'd be surprised if they weren't.

[@sleep_enjoyer13]

Imagine seeing Names like " Miquella, the Unalloyed" , "Godwyn, Prince of Death" or "The Gloam Eyed Queen" (with her name revealed?) in this list. I always thought fighting pre-serpent Rykard would be cool. The possibilities get me giddy.

[@numbersbubble]

No actually it will be 2 watchdogs and 8 imps in a small confined room

[@wackywackster114]

@@numbersbubble Clearly peak boss design

[@elipetrou9308]

Well it’s coming

[@randokalunn8647]

@@elipetrou9308 We knew it was coming but were just simply waiting for an announcement. I'm very excited for Shadow Of The Erdtree! If this can top the old hunters dlc both in size and quality I'll be impressed. But we need to let Fromsoftware cook.

[@enman009]

Isshin is such a badass, from his humble interactions to the respectful desire he has to fight you, it makes it more compelling. But damn if Elden Ring didn't have fascinating bosses with complex moves that can be predicted and consistently avoided. Morgott, Godfrey, Malekith, Mogh and, yes, even Malenia, have such distinct personalities, styles, abilities and overall flow that you can't help but feel satisfied after destroying them. The Old Hunters is a Masterpiece, the bosses being the no.1 reason outside the lore. If there's an Elden Ring DLC, it needs to have, at least, a boss in the same level of enjoyment as Orphan or emotional weight as Ludwig.

[@Gshellshock]

Bro, Your take on DS2 and Sir Allone was top notch. Instant sub.

[@MaleWingDiver]

Ludwig is #1 for me. I still remember the chills I got the first time I hit second phase.

[@Sephirothkingdom782]

His actual fight in phase 2 is very mid and far too easy for the buildup it has. It's why I have bosses like isshin and gael over him.

[@Nrzpokrter]

@@Sephirothkingdom782 Gael isnt easy?

[@gustavofring3899]

Most overrated boss of all time

[@SJ-di5zu]

@@gustavofring3899 How?? Cinematically it’s easily the best boss, with the best soundtrack, lore, and an amazing cutscene. Sure, there are better bosses mechanically like Isshin, Inner Father, or even Maria. But for many people, cinematics/music are more important than mechanics. Plus mechanically Ludwig is very solid and difficult.

[@ThroughfulGamer95]

Great list! Glad to see you being completely honest with your opinions, regardless of the potential controversy. My own would go like this: 1. Starscourge Radahn 2. Slave Knight Gael 3. Maliketh, the Black Blade 4. Inner Father 5. Hoarah Loux, Warrior 6. Ludwig, the Accursed/Holy Blade 7. Orphan of Kos 8. Morgott, the Omen King 9. Inner Isshin 10. Darkeater Midir 11. Mohg, Lord of Blood 12. Nameless King 13. Demon Prince 14. Radagon of the Golden Order/Elden Beast 15. Sister Friede 16. Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower 17. Father Gascoigne 18. Twin Princes 19. Soul of Cinder 20. Gehrman, the First Hunter

[@sleep_enjoyer13]

Another good list, I love positivity.

[@highvoltage7559]

I suspect I may have brainwashed him into enjoying Malenia. I will wear this as a badge of honour. Also Inner Father is exactly where he should be.

[@thebluehood35]

This is probably one of the first lists that I saw Godfrey ranked this high on the list. And as someone who really love every single moment of the bossfight, I just reacted excitedly the moment you put him on top.3. Though I ranked the Hoarah Loux phase to be a slightly better than the Godfrey phase since his stomps are more random to make jumping more enjoyable. (Yes I agree that Godfrey’s 1st Phase is THE best 1st Phase and the Hoarah Loux phase felt more enjoyable for me thanks to how I fight him using a pair of Caestus for a fist brawl and how his moves are more random but still very much fair) Edit: another reason why I love Godfrey’s fight is how his arena wide shockwaves pumped my adrenaline to the maximum like I can feel every impact My rankings for top 5: 5. Ludwig 4. Maliketh 3. Twin Princes (Tied with #2) 2. Slave Knight Gael (Tied with #3) 1. Godfrey, First Elden Lord

[@magicat7356]

I find Hoarah Loux more fun as well, I just figured I'd show some love to phase 1 as well since i feel it's often overlooked

[@thebluehood35]

@@magicat7356 I agree, having learnt all of his movesets and how jumping makes the fight even more fun. His Phase 1 felt like a dance and I love it (I saw one video of a Godfrey playthrough where Godfrey’s attacks synced with the music and it felt graceful). Also the 360 combo finisher is one of those combo finishers that made me feel mesmerized due to how beautiful the movement is.

[@whenthehowisandmebutthedot8493]

​@@thebluehood35 Honestly, this is a pretty unpopular opinion, but I absolutely HATE Hoarah Loux. The entire phase is sprinting in a circle around the arena for a bit until he goes for a grab attack, then you dodge and get like two hits. If you aren't using summons, and are playing melee, there is no other strategy besides running and waiting

[@thebluehood35]

@@whenthehowisandmebutthedot8493 the grab attack isn’t the only attacks that you can take advantage of. You can try dodging behind him but personally I find it way more fun to just dodge or jump backwards since I would absolutely like to experience his combos. But yeah, pretty understandable if you don’t really enjoy hyper-aggressive bosses like I do since that type of bosses would feel frustrating for some but for my case they would always bring out max adrenaline, which is why I absolutely love the Hoarah Loux phase. On the side note, some other bosses that gave me that similar adrenaline would be Gael or Gundyr considering they are very intense yet fair and fun fights

[@doolenny9458]

Inner father is such an amazing fight Wish his arena didn’t suck and he was unlockable without wanting to jump out of a window

[@saula8948]

He is kind of bs tho , sometimes for some reason he will still hit you with the mist raven even if you feel you clicked the parry button on time , I am talking about the 1-2 combo the other mist raven attacks are fine . I like the fight a lot but parrying that move feels inconsistent . And no I am not complaining about the difficulty or anything I beat mortal journey with the demon bell and without Kuro's charm multiple times but Inner Father while he did get the biggest changes of the 3 inner bosses he also feels the most bs at times .

[@dorianpompa8409]

emma fire isshin and demon of bullshit are a walk in a park by the time you are able to defeat inner owl

[@saula8948]

@@dorianpompa8409 Well Emma is easy but is fast and can do a lot of damage fast , Fire Isshin can be annoying in p2 . Demon of Hatred can be bs and can 1 shot you with some of his attacks . Inner Owl became easier once I started fighting him more defensively , he will rarely use the mist raven or even at all unless you attack him more than once , once I learned that the fight became much easier , once he does the unblockable attack where he waits until he hits with this sword you can hit him 2-3 times . Second phase once you can predict when he will do his other mist raven variations . Obviously the fight is much harder without Kuro's charm and with the demon bell but even then once you learn the fight he isn't really all that bad .

[@dorianpompa8409]

@@saula8948 fire isshin with fire umbrela is very fun, demon of bullshit with fire umbrela and uhh the malcocent or sum is a joke, I find inner owl mist in after some hits just free posture since you can just spam twice right click and boom, obviously after practice its not a very difficult fight but compare to most bosses in video games in general is a god damm tough one

[@saula8948]

@@dorianpompa8409 it is but if you play more defensively the 1-2 mist raven combo is a non issue , biggest problem with being too aggressive is that your posture gets maxed so 1 bad parry and your posture is broken and he just stabs you in the gut and kills you . I honestly never figured out what the trick for it is to be 100 % consistent , no idea , that is why I avoid it generally by being more passive and usually not getting more than 1 hit at a time except when he has the big swing which he charges up and in p2 once I parry his new mist attacks I just jump and empowered mortal blade him .

[@D4C_]

When I saw Gael at #6 place I instatly thought "how times have changed", and seeing Malenia right after him is definetly a controversial move lmao.... Not that I disagree, I love Gael, but compared to my favorites he just doesn't holds up as well (still an absolute banger tho), and I'm also a Malenia fan, she's probably my favorite fight ever, there's some close competition but the dread, frustration, fun, and satisfaction she made me feel is unlike anything else I've been watching your videos for a few years and it's pretty cool to see how your opinions changed, not to mention the quality of your videos which keeps improving, keep up the great work man!

[@lynackhilou4865]

Personally i disagree , i still think he's the best boss from soft made ( besides isshin probably ) , i replayed ds3 last year after elden ring so it's not nostalgia speaking either , but to each his own , we're fortunate we get bosses this good with every game they release

[@laesar2299]

Yeah malenia is def my fav boss oat

[@LuM4rex]

You are just hamsters who have eaten delicious bowel movements. Malenia is the boss of extremes. Fromsoft went to give the boss vampirism, an idea of complexity that any schoolboy can come up with if you give him a task to complicate the fight. And yes. The "Single Mind" of Grandfather Ishsin in combination x3 in the game with the fight Dark Souls is a real circus of freaks from the rolls.

[@jordanriley1436]

@@LuM4rex Nah, Malenia good.

[@LuM4rex]

@@jordanriley1436 Of course, this is definitely the case. Because you said so.

[@BdrRm]

8:40 actually, ER dragons take extra damage to the head and you can fight them the Midir's way, and they are a lot of fun when you do this.

[@HeyTarnished]

Can’t wait to see Messmer entering the top 10 best Soulsborne bosses ever list lol.

[@epsilon1372]

Ill wait to place bets on him specifically being my top 10, but it wouldnt surprise me if several dlc bosses make it into my top 10

[@skoop4477]

he has definitely entered

[@kdecker65]

He made my top 10 but then i beat post nerf final dlc boss and it pushed him of the list

[@mannytprimeministerofthemanate]

I think for me what makes elden ring’s bosses so memorable is that they all have such unique personalities and stories. Yes, every boss have some lore to them but you’re usually fighting some demented creature that happens to be in your way. You are going against something not someone. Sekiro did this as well with character like genichiro, owl and isshin, but elden ring did it better and way more.

[@narutofan4545]

You kidding me? Elden ring has the worst bosses in the series

[@flamingmanure]

thanks for the joke, i needed a good laugh. elden rings mini bosses alone are better than half the main bosses of bb and ds3, the only truly great bosses of the older games comes from their dlcs and maybe 5 from the main game XD its true, elden rings main bosses have much more personality than most of the older games main bosses, they fuckin talk for one thing XD they arent just 90% mindless beasts and 90% mindless knights like in souls borne. sounds like youre drowning in ur nostalgia bias, a stereotypical thing from a souls veteran at this point, im pretty sure youre one of those salty souls veterans that think ER bosses are too hard or over tuned or have too many moves and delays, when really you played it like ds3 or bb, where throwing a few R1s and backing off and reactively dodging back or in front of you when an any attack comes. it takes actual thought put into your positioning and dodge direction in ER, panic dodging or always dodging backwards (which works for 90% of ds3 and bb, just two R1s and a backwards dodge for 30 hours will get you through most of the games) that is a constant death sentence in ER. ER EASILY has the best main bosses, mini bosses, and enemies in the series by faaar, with only sekiro and ds3 coming close. bb has the worst main boss line up in the series, worst than ds1, the only good bosses after amelia are gherman and logarius, the rest are just mediocre or even annoying like shadows, and wet nurse and amygdala, bad bosses like hemwick and rom, and complete utter trash bosses like mico, not a single boss in ER is as bad as mico and bed of chaos, you can aleast have fun with the forskin duo through coop, spirit ashes, OP builds and weapons, ashes of war and the many items and craftables you can use, some of my most fun online souls moments ive had playing all these games came from fighting the duo bosses in coop, and theyre the only bosses i cooped in too, while all the egotistic souls vets kept bitching about "bad" game design with their couch gaming degree XD you ignored the tools, you played like the game wrong, and im sorry that hurt your experience with elden ring bosses.

[@flamingmanure]

@@narutofan4545 thanks for the joke, i needed a good laugh. elden rings mini bosses alone are better than half the main bosses of bb and ds3, the only truly great bosses of the older games comes from their dlcs and maybe 5 from the main game XD its true, elden rings main bosses have much more personality than most of the older games main bosses, they fuckin talk for one thing XD they arent just 90% mindless beasts and 90% mindless knights like in souls borne. sounds like youre drowning in ur nostalgia bias, a stereotypical thing from a souls veteran at this point, im pretty sure youre one of those salty souls veterans that think ER bosses are too hard or over tuned or have too many moves and delays, when really you played it like ds3 or bb, where throwing a few R1s and backing off and reactively dodging back or in front of you when an any attack comes. it takes actual thought put into your positioning and dodge direction in ER, panic dodging or always dodging backwards (which works for 90% of ds3 and bb, just two R1s and a backwards dodge for 30 hours will get you through most of the games) that is a constant death sentence in ER. ER EASILY has the best main bosses, mini bosses, and enemies in the series by faaar, with only sekiro and ds3 coming close, sekiro arguably has better but not the point here. bb has the worst main boss line up in the series, most of them are generic beasts with no personality, the only good bosses after amelia are gherman and logarius, the rest are just mediocre or even annoying like shadows, and wet nurse and amygdala, bad bosses like hemwick and rom, and complete utter trash bosses like mico, thats it, theres only real 6 ot 7 really great bosses in bb. not a single boss in ER is as bad as mico and bed of chaos, you can aleast have fun with the forskin duo through coop, spirit ashes, OP builds and weapons, ashes of war like sleep and poison and the many items and craftables you can use like the ones to get them to kill each other, some of my most fun online souls moments ive had playing all these games came from fighting the duo bosses in coop, and theyre the only bosses i cooped in too, while all the egotistic souls vets kept bitching about "bad" game design with their couch gaming degree XD you ignored the tools, you played like the game wrong, and im sorry that hurt your experience with elden ring bosses. ER and sekiro were my first souls games, i dont have any nostalgia bias here like u and magicat.

[@narutofan4545]

@@flamingmanure name one else ring boss better than ghale

[@D0verking69]

@narutofan4545 Bruh Gael is easily the best boss in the series. That's like saying "Steven Hawking is dumb because he isn't as smart as Einstein."

[@Cav829]

More than a specific ranking, it just makes me happy to see over time that a lot of people have come around on Malenia. For some reason she just really clicked with me on even my first run, and after watching Moon's streams in particular and seeing that Waterfowl was completely dodgeable it eased my tension a bit going in and I was amazed how quickly I came to understand the attack. So I'm kind of glad they never gave into the pressure to dodge it as it is so unique and it just adds to how unique exhilarating the fight is.

[@glorytoukraine5524]

People said Fume knight was impossible back in 2014. Now people beat him with a broken ladle. There's already people who have beat Malenia without rolling once. She's completely fair, people just needed time to figure it out

[@whenthehowisandmebutthedot8493]

​@@glorytoukraine5524 Doesn't matter if a boss is beatable, it's the fact that almost everything about the fight is great, but they added one singular attack that is so difficult and unintuitive that you are required to look up a guide to dodge it on thr first playthrough. And even worse, if you don't abuse summons or OP spells, and are playing pure melee, it is common for her to do the attack whill you're comboing her, which makes it undodgeable

[@glorytoukraine5524]

@@whenthehowisandmebutthedot8493 if it's intuitive for you to R1 spam and not look up until the 4th hit, that's your problem

[@tonystarrk4859]

Disagree with your take during Demon Prince that Elden Ring bosses lack a sense of "grandness". In fact, for the shardbearers and main story bosses, I feel that Elden Ring makes them feel like epic encounters better than the other games. Even on my first playthrough I remember thinking this early-on, Godrick putting dragon on his arm, Radahn launching arrows at you across the desert then turning into a meteor and fighting half a dozen summons, even Renala's fight with the eerie singing children and the 2nd phase under the moon with her spamming magic looks beautiful. Not to mention Maliketh doing flips through the air while launching beams at you, Malenia turnng into the rot goddess with wings, Morgott exploding with his curse with his awesome lines while summoning magic and doing flips, and Mohg with his countdown in latin with demonic wings while raining blood fire. Plus Rykard, Placidusax, and Elden Beast (which are so obviously epic you mentioned as an aside).

[@magicat7356]

Yeah honestly I'd take that statement back if I could

[@Lloyd00]

Maliketh is memorable for the unique parry mechanic. Even though I don't parry often I definitely parry Maliketh

[@vanjaarsic1616]

Parry items made both Manus and Maliketh instantly better for me. It feels so cool to pull it off.

[@bahencio]

I like the isshin phase transition because the spear he pulls out from the ground is the same the 7 ashina spears use, and considering you only fight 2/7 you can assume the one he pulls from the ground is from the corpse of someone who died in that battlefield or something

[@YxngSho]

This genuinely unique and good list some ordering could be better but it’s really diverse and nice

[@prawn1717]

My jaw genuinely dropped when I saw Gael at #6, and then to see Malenia in the spot above him was just mind blowing. I'm glad you liked Elden Ring's bosses so much though! We're almost guaranteed to get DLC, and since those bosses are generally the cream of the crop, I wouldn't be shocked to see one or two topple Godfrey, Isshin or even Father Owl this year! Personally, my top 5 would probably go: 1) Radahn 2) Demon Prince 3) Gael 4) Maliketh 5) Radagon/Elden Beast Don't care for Sekiro or Bloodborne's combat all that much, I can't keep up with the reaction speed they demand :P

[@tehCostHD]

Finally someone who loves elden beast haha

[@radcut7404]

@@tehCostHD The fight can be quite great if you learn to manage all the attacks. Also the music is just beautiful.

[@tehCostHD]

@@radcut7404 I agree. I’ve never had an issue with the “running away” it just makes it more cinematic so you can see the full breath of the bosses attacks and beauty. If it never moved, you’d be shoved inside its stomach attacking it the whole fight. That’s not fun. Elden beast is one of the best giant boss fights in the series. And I’ll die on that hill

[@jacobnorris8256]

Honestly my problem with the final boss isn't even with Elden beast, I just fucking hate Radagon's holy lightning and its unnecessarily massive explosion that remains into his next attack, instant light rays, and rabid fucking heal punishing, easily the second most infuriated i've been after fire giant. Elden Beast is honestly the better half of that fight imo, even though I will support the whole "fuck bosses that run away" thing because them doing so makes them MUUCH less dynamic (since it turns the fight into either attacking or defending rather than weaving both together). Also way, way too tanky with both healthbars combined. Every attempt takes a century, which is probably why people get so impatient with Elden Beast. Though if the elden beast design was a little less, y'know, parasitey, I would've probably appreciated the majestic-ness a lot more. The beautiful movements and effects are made worse by it looking like something that gives you diarrhea.

[@Nrzpokrter]

@@tehCostHD Me either. Tho it would be more managable is you were given Torrent, EB's running away isnt that much of an issue. The true issuse are annoying attacks like wave of gold with poorly telegraphed hitbox and the cancer called elden stars.

[@ac1dnet]

as someone who also plays on ng+7 and up, malenia is also one of my top 5 favorite from software fights

[@Theoneeyed_ghoul]

What’s your top 5

[@ac1dnet]

@@Theoneeyed_ghoul1.) isshin. we all know how good isshin’s fight is. its a culmination of everything you have learned throughout the game, against one of the most interesting and badass lore characters fromsoft has made, and his introduction is nuts 2.) gael. not much needs to be said about gael. almost everyone considers him the best, and there is a reason for that. the lore, music, and scenery are almost unmatched by any other experience, and then the duel itself with the man is one of the most difficult but fair fights in the series. perfection. ps, i would say on normal difficulty gael is not even top 10 hardest bosses because he is so fair, but on ng+7 he is easily harder than malenia due to how much damage he does. you have to play almost flawlessly 3.) malenia. this boss, on the other hand, is not fair whatsoever and she does not apologize for it. this fight used to piss me off, as it did for everyone else, until i sat down and decided to learn her fight inside and out. she is easily the most difficult fromsoft boss, but you can learn the ins and outs of her moveset and be able to handle her much more consistently than bosses like gael or radagon. i have never managed to do her fight no hit, but i have gotten so so so close. it is incredibly enjoyable to dance with her once you learn how to dodge waterfoul and how to tell when she is about to pop it. i know people also hate how she can cancel her stagger animations, but i just smile every time i notice her do it because of how badass it is. malenia for life 4.) genichiro. this man is the most classic duel in sekiro and its a very enjoyable back and forth. i have to play charmless to enjoy his fight though because he has very low posture on a normal play through. still, though, beating the shit outta genichiro is one of the most satisfying video game experiences. 5.) radagon/ elden beast. so this is definitely my hot take, but i absolutely love the elden beast. it is the reason the fight ranks this high. the music is my personal favorite fromsoft ost, and the fight itself is so ethereal and it feels like it perfectly captures the feeling of the journey i had just been on. ive also never had many problems dodging his magic spam or keeping up when he runs away, its just part of the fight to me. and then on top of that, radagon himself is an incredible fight. rather than having long combos, radagon has short moves that he chains together in random configurations and it can be exhilarating to dodge his move spamming on the fly. neither would be top 5 by themselves, but i think their presence compliments each other and creates an insane final experience that i still greatly enjoy I have only played elden ring, ds3, and sekiro because i dont have a playstation for bloodborne or demon souls. i have tried ds1, but i just have a hard time getting into it. that being said, some honorable mentions would be: mohg, friede, owl, godfrey, nameless king, and malekith, roughly in that order

[@mintegral1719]

Agreed! I've never done NG+7, but I did beat her at RL1, and even though it took me literally hundreds of attempts, it made me appreciate her as a boss so much. I actually had fun the entire time I was grinding out that fight, whereas almost any other boss would've driven me insane with that many attempts. Malenia is just such a beautiful and intense duel, and so thrilling to learn to perfectly dodge.

[@deogracias9869]

Thank you for giving Elden ring bosses the credit they deserve

[@berzang5838]

This is the most based ranking I’ve ever seen

[@gs32621]

how is this ranking based when gael isnt number 1 on his list

[@oblx._]

Yooo my man!! 25:45 I literally came up with the exact same solution for Malenia's Waterfowl, but instead of a jump I do a roll 😆Malenia is a very demanding fight, but once you learn her intricacies it's amazingly fun and intense, so glad she made Top 5

[@kabershshkabersh4272]

I swear, every ranking he’s done of his top souls bosses has that sir alone joke in it…

[@magicat7356]

Leave me Alonne.....................................

[@kabershshkabersh4272]

@@magicat7356goddammit

[@masroorahmadbani1712]

@@magicat7356 I thought I was alone is enjoying the puns but that is not the case.

[@chadofastora]

The video we all wanted, but were afraid to ask for since it seemed redundant. Thanks for the awesome content as usual

[@martingrundy7577]

When I finally got the owl 2 fight down I could finally appreciate how good of a boss he was, totally agree with this number 1

[@Tvanon]

I was trying to make my own list, but then I realised how hard it is. I can name my top two, which are Gael on number 1 and Lady Maria on number 2, but the rest takes me forever to pick. So I'll just list bosses that I really REALLY like other than that two without ranked; Sister Friede, Midir, Nameless King, Abyss Watchers, Pontiff Sulyvahn, Ludwig, Gherman, Father Gascoigne, True Corrupted Monk (my favorite in Sekiro), Genichirou, Lady Butterfly, Isshin, Radahn (my favorite in Elden Ring), Godrick (underrated), Malenia (I used to hate her, almost made me hate the game as well), Mohg (used to hate him too), Placidusax, Godfrey. A lot of people are complaining about Elden Ring's combat, and I was too until I clicked with it and it just is different from DS3. I realised they can't use the same trick as DS3 and you can't expect them to do so since ER has many new combat mechanic.

[@unkindledone5665]

Might as well share mine as well: Honourable mentions: Radagon+EB, all of DS3 princes, Manus, Fume Knight, Dancer, Gehrman, Placidusax, Kalameet... shit, so many phenomenal bosses. 20. Inner Genichiro 19. Pontiff Sulyvahn 18. Champion Gundyr (just a relentless, thrilling fight) 17. Nameless King 16. Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower 15. Soul of Cinder 14. Blasphemous Rykard (by FAR the best gimmick fight) 13. Inner Owl 12. Artorias, The Abysswalker 11. Darkeater Midir 10. Maliketh, Marika's Black Blade 9. Morgott, The Grace - Given (when fought with nerfed weapon, tho I do this for Maliketh and boss at no.1 spot at times as well) 8. Orphan of Kos (massively high high, but some small issues) 7. Mohg, Lord of Blood 6. Slave Knight Gael (a bit overrated, but absolutely phenomenal) 5. Malenia, Blade of Miquella (at times my favourite, at times frustrating) 4. Sword Saint Isshin (either version, overall the most perfect and flawless boss ever, however slightly lacks in spectacle) 3. Godfrey, The First Elden Lord (thats how you deliver on a boss thats been hyped up from even before the game released, also could have used just a bit more hp) 2. Ludwig, The Holy Blade (BY FAR, the best soundtrack in the series, sorry Radagon, Gehrman and Mohg, you all are close) 1. Conqueror of the Stars, General RADAHN (personally a favourite moment in all of gaming, no more description needed)

[@mabooooyleatherface.1044]

Heyll yeah i love this ranking it's mostly about game play and instead of bitching about the fact that ER bosses not just letting you hit them or healing in your face you actually understand them and theyr mechanics . Great ranking i really wanna play ds rn.

[@Oneiric_Benevolence]

Malenia is my favourite boss in elden ring, but to even think that her waterfowl dance is kinda fair is completely insane. No regular player can figure out what to do about it (especially from close range) unless they are willing to spend many, many hours just trying to figure out that one move. Even then, it is very difficult to dodge it from close range.

[@namphan8593]

That’s why he said it’s a poor choice for first time player

[@itszaque]

I’m SOOOO glad someone who actually knows how to fight Midir made this list! You instantly earned points for actually being good at these games once I saw that lol. As far as your rankings go, yes I’m upset Gael isn’t higher, I think he has to go top 2 but to each their own. The other wild part is how fromsoft has made so many excellent bosses that you have no choice to leave off some iconic bosses like Pontiff Sullivan, O&S or Phlacidusax. Good list overall though, even if you do have a bit of a bias for fighting strong old men with both Owl and Horah Loux being top 3. (Also the fact you fight Mohg with double omen killer weapons is very fitting, yet very messed up. 10/10)

[@tomrieger7253]

I think this perfectly shows how far From’s bosses have improved. Astorias isn’t even on this list (or any Dark Souls 1 boss) and back when the Dark Souls 1 DLC was released I thought he was a fantastic boss, one of the best.

[@maleniabladeofmiquella3758]

Malenia is my favorite boss of all time. The challenge is amazing and she feels like she’s your equal.

[@scabobo1834]

Yeah the Aeonian Bloom is just boring now but I remember the many times along the way when I absolutely needed that moment of reprieve in that second phase. And it's a beautiful attack

[@michaeljohnston8891]

“There’s no animation showing Godfrey being strong enough to re-aim his axe slam” Brother, he causes world-ending earthquakes by punching the ground

[@magicat7356]

I don't mean he isn't strong enough, just there's no effect to show the ground breaking while he's re-aiming it or something like that. It just looks awkward

[@FindAname_]

Its nice to see someone giving Malenia the spot she deserves. You already said most of the things I love about her (she is Nr. 2 on my favorite bosses list). But one thing I want to add is the way the fight feels. I loved playing my dex katana build all the way since dark souls 1 and maybe that is the reason I love fights that feel like I am "dancing" with the boss. It's what I love about Artorias, Nameless King, Friede, Gundyr, Isshin and many other fromsoft bosses. But Malenia was just on another level. The fast pacing combined with the way her moves connect, especially in phase 2, just feels incredible.

[@mayonessa.]

Morgott feels like genichiro Kicked the crap out of most of us at the beginning, absolute pushover when we meet them for the last time Only difference being that when you beat geni you get to fight one of the best bosses ever made (imo), when you beat morgott you get access to one of the worst areas ever made (imo) Very poetic!

[@p.istvan8744]

I agree with Inner Father. I too find him the most fun in Sekiro and overall. And his OST is just amazing. Really fitting with the fight's pace. My second is Sword Saint and third is Gael.

[@krimson8317]

based berserk and sekiro enjoyer

[@The_Stickle_Cell]

Thanks for pointing out the floating candles in Friede's boss arena, I will never unsee that now!

[@darisgraceless]

thank you for adding Morgott to the list! poor man have an amazing moveset, he just need serious buff т_т it was really fun to make no damage with him with a simple weapon without status effects but in normal circumstances player just melts his health at this point of the game x( buff Morgott, Fromsoftware, please!

[@shadysorkin9214]

Great ranking! Loved all these bosses.

[@juice17776]

If FromSoft continues with dlc bosses being some of the best, we could see the best bosses ever in Elden Ring dlc soon

[@tehCostHD]

I’m happily surprised to see so many elden ring bosses. The quality of the remembrance bosses in this game are mind boggling. People seem to think elden ring has the worst bosses in the franchise…. But I think those people are crazy. There are more S tier bosses in this game than any other game. Even dark souls 3. And we are getting a DLC with even more.

[@tehCostHD]

@@c99-c9 yeah I tend to go back and forth between mohg and Godfrey and maliketh as my favorite boss. I think right now it’s Godfrey but mohg is so damn good too

[@noahdavidson1343]

Great list. I'm quite biased for sekiro but I think guardian ape really should have made the list. I love demon of hatred too but guardian ape really deserves to be top 15 I think.

[@TheGuyWhoAsked1245]

The burnt ivory king from ds2 not being on the list is a crime to humanity

[@anonymous01201]

definitely one of the bosses of all time

[@arnabkumardas8358]

​@@anonymous01201Ds2 is a game

[@kdecker65]

Can u do a new top 20 now that ER dlc is out?

[@Guys._.]

Damn, seeing Gael at number 6 upsets me slightly, I don't know why, but it does. It's such a great fight, but I also appreciate how FromSoft have also managed to make even greater bosses.

[@Sephirothkingdom782]

They have not topped gael yet. He's like the puss in boots 2 movie. Both have no real flaws.

[@clover7726]

Its because Gael is the most Lore significant fight in the series, the lore, music and enviorment are perfect. But he isnt the best boss mechanically wise which sometimes means less fun. For me Owl Father is the best boss because hes simply the most mechanically complex FromSoft boss, which means hes also the most fun to me.

[@JudeEaley]

My favourite were the abyss watchers. I got into fromsoftware through ds3, and those lot were perfect. Soc is a close second-- I love how they amalgamate all the Lords of cinder into their moveset

[@Silverstar114]

Love the video! Your explanations are really interesting to listen to. One pointless comment I have is that it looks to me like Godfrey lifts the axe just barely out of the ground when he moves to track you, so I think that's one of the few cases of tracking that didn't feel too ridiculous in ER.

[@mamalannightshyaman]

I know the abyss watchers aren’t an end game boss but of all the souls games I don’t remember there being such an epic boss that made me completely invested in the rest of the game

[@ReasonbyNight]

Sekiro and Bloodborne are still their best games for a reason.

[@tomschlaiss5735]

Really well done video and that ending haha

[@inmyopinion...484]

the lady maria take is god-tier. THANK YOU!!!

[@TheLastGame666]

Overall good ranking, even though i don't agree with a few placements, I'm glad to see malenia and Godfrey getting the love they deserve! Maybe one day we'll see people giving Radagon and elden beast the love they deserve as well...

[@magicat7356]

Radagon is great, Elden Beast not as much.

[@TheLastGame666]

@@magicat7356 Honestly the scenery, spectacle and soundtrack alone elevates elden best to a pretty good boss, the fight is pretty enjoyable aswell, honestly aslong as u figure out where he runs, it's way more manageable

[@sleep_enjoyer13]

Radagon by himself is easily one of my favourites in the series. Elden beast i have grown to love as well, however elden stars is manageable by itself but very frustrating if the beast goes hyper aggressive. Love the fight though, it makes great use of the jump and looks fantastic. Jumping over the rings and seeping sword attacks is awesome.

[@Sephirothkingdom782]

Malenia deserves nowhere near number 5 lmao.

[@TheLastGame666]

@@Sephirothkingdom782 that's ur opinion, she's 3 for me

[@captainlovebug]

Oh man, the entirety of the DLC bosses from Bloodborne and DS3 are my favorite fights in the whole series.

[@l0rd_breeigo-sama954]

Orphan of Kos was the reason i bought Bloodborne. And i have not regretted it since. As it still remains atop my list

[@mysteriousgamer8941]

for me, these to me are the top 50 best bosses in soulsborne 👇. 50. Oceiros (ds3) 49. Lost sinner (ds2) 48. The pursuer (ds2) 47. The rotten (ds2) 46. Great grey wolf sif (ds1) 45. Graveloard nito (ds1) 44. Old king allant false king (demon) 43. Looking glass knight (ds2) 42. Abyss watchers (ds3) 41. Fire giant (er) 40. Linchdragon fortissax (er) 39. Lothric younger prince (ds3) 38. Godrick the grafted (er) 37. Vical amelia (bb) 36. Demon in pain & demon prince (ds3) 35. Orstain & smough (ds1) 34. Yhorm the giant (ds3) 33. Moon presence (bb) 32. Sir alonne (ds2) 31. Champion gundyr (ds3) 30. Burnt ivory king (ds2) 29. Malenia (er) 28. Godfrey hoarah loux warrior (er) 27. Sister friede (ds3) 26. Fume knight (ds2) 25. Father gascoigne (bb) 24. Nameless king (ds3) 23. Pontiff sulyvahn (ds3) 22. Malekith the black blade (er) 21. Dancer of the boreal valley (ds3) 20. Artorias the abyss walker (ds1) 19. Serpent rykard (er) 18. Guardian ape (seki) 17. Great shinobi Owl (2nd fight, seki) 16. Radahn (er) 15. Dragonslayer armour (ds3) 14. Manus (ds1) 13. Genichiro ashina (2nd fight, seki) 12. True corrupted monk (seki) 11. Gehrman (bb) 10. Orphan of kos (bb) 9. Dragonloard placidusax (er) 8. Darkeater midir (ds3) 7. Radagon & elden beast (er) 6. Soul of cinder (ds3) 5. Mohg loard of blood (er) 4. Ludwig the accursed & the holy blade (bb) 3. Lady maria (bb) 2. Slave knight gael (ds3) 1. Isshin the sword saint (seki)

[@itsame7491]

I see another maria enjoyer, really happy to see another one

[@ladifuno2619]

I remember completing the sekiro boss rush that had every boss in the game and that’s still my proudest moment in Sekiro

[@king_pain177]

Lady maria is most definitely my favorite from BB you’re not alone brother

[@c-sar5395]

25:20 hard agree. THE Greatsword can easily block the first part of waterfowl dance which is very hard to dodge through, and using lion's claw will ground Malenia most of the time. I strugled with the fight at while using katanas for a few hours, but beat her first try after changing into a str build using larval tear. Btw, i love how the top 3 bosses are all old men. Truly one of the souls game boss ranking of all time.

[@yo_mama_gaming4517]

Great list, mine is kinda similar in bosses so I guess these really are just some of the objectively best bosses (the others from your list and your honorable mentions only barely didnt make it, they'd almost all be in a top 40)... as you said it is your solemn duty to be correct when no else is Anyway here is my list: (sad no ds1 and 2) 1. Inner Father (if I'd put the other variants of the inner bosses on this list they'd be here too probably, incredible that they picked out 3 of the best sekiro bosses and upgraded them for a dlc) 2. Inner Isshin 3. Inner Genichiro 4. Malenia 5. Orphan of Kos 6. Gael 7. Gherman 8. Ludwig 9. Mohg 10. Placidusax 11. Midir 12. Nameless King 13. Lothric and Lorian 14. Demon Prince 15. Sister Friede 16. Lady Maria 17. Isshin Ashina 18. Radagon and Elden Beast 19. Demon of Hatred 20. Champion Gundyr

[@deepcownewnosh]

I 100% agree that Midir is the best dragon boss in the series.

[@ever-changingbeing]

Sister Friede is my fav boss in video gaming. She isn't the hardest, but she is definitely the best fight in the franchise. That fight just has everything. 3 very different phases. Solo and multi boss parts. Stagger, parries and backstabs are actually mechanics, unlike in most bosses. It has both melee an magic attacks. Grab attacks, status effects, healing, elemental damage. Even stealth mechanics! That fight simply has everything. And on top of all the mechanical depth, it also has amazing music and atmonsphere, interesting lore and some of the best cutscenes. Yea, it's easily my favorite boss.

[@josefrancisco4178]

Agreed, easily the best DS3 fight for me, nameless king and Gael were awesome, but pretty easy by the time you fight them

[@DEmili-pu6rz]

One of the biggest problems of souls pros making ranks, is that they replay the bossfights too much, and they memorize their patterns and think that the bossfight is still going to be awesome? It doesn’t work that way, it is not going to be fun if you already know how to do it, it is the first time that really makes you love it, that’s why you think some moves are so simple, you just memorized them

[@juwe7143]

20. Burnt Ivory King 19. Morgott 18. Sir Alonne 17. Orphan of Kos 16. Lady Maria 15. Fume Knight 14. Godrick 13. Dragonlord Placidusax 12. Twin Princes 11. Midir 10. Inner Owl 9. Artorias 8. Mogh 7. Slaveknight Gael 6. Radagon & Eldenbeast (we both seem to place a very controversial boss just above Gael) 5. Ludwig 4. Godfrey 3. Maliketh 2. Radahn 1. Isshin

[@hoytkeyler1997]

Sir Alonne is for me one of the best boss of the franchise, like...DUDE this guy is so much incredible he can be in DS3/ER

[@pedroguilherme868]

You Just kind of calmed me down about isshin lol His last phase hacing lightning means i'll definitely be able to beat him I've been training for days fighting the okami to get money

[@mahanrostami1020]

the goat is back

[@benjamincotton1734]

The way my eyes popped out my head at 22:18

[@TheBlackyoshi95]

The Alonne joke will never get old don’t stop

[@eradication06]

Nice irony in using a great omenkiller cleaver against Mogh

[@SacredWalrus]

As someone who has also beaten malenia no hit NG+6 (I didn’t want to do another run, I know, I’m a casual) I feel like she forces you to play far more defensively than the rest of Elden rings bosses which can make her frustrating to adapt to but once you learn to fight her that way she becomes 10 times more fun and more fair. (Also Gael is in his rightful place not being number one inner father is amazing)

[@jareddavis2125]

I feel like Manus has a place on a list like this, just imo. But a great list and video.

[@grafitiend]

Just beat Melania again and i went from thinking she was a flawed boss to an absolute masterpiece, might be my favorite from the entire series!

[@catkillua5470]

1-gael 2-gehrman(or ludwig idk) 3-midir 4-father owl(inner) 5-twin princes 6-sister friede 7-orphan of kos 8-soul of cinder 9-sword saint isshin(inner) 10-true monk(or nameless)

[@KirkWilliams300]

Was not expecting Cool Cat footage in a Soulsborne video at all.

[@s8theninjawarrior916]

Let's not forget Elden ring still has the expansion to come, but my list would go; 20. Radahn 19. Genichiro 18. Gerhman 17. Soul of cinder 16. Ornstein and Smough 15. Demon prince 14. Ludwig 13. Twin princes 12. Orphan of Kos 11. Maliketh 10. Lady Maria 9. Sister Friede 8. Nameless King 7. Artorias 6. Mohg, lord of blood 5. Midir 4. Godfrey/Hoarah Loux 3. Gael 2. Malenia, blade of Miquella 1. Isshin, the sword saint Ps- Malenia and Isshin are tied imo

[@joevaghn457]

"We're in the post-nut clarity phase" killed me

[@randomzergling3661]

Woah holy shit I remember watching you when you were a cuphead channel that put in swears for no real reason. You shaped my childhood (and gave me quite the dirty mouth) thank you for making content and keep doing what you're doing.

[@madcrusader123]

I will put my top 10 here. I haven't played DeS, Bloodborne (cuz no PS) and Sekiro (cuz I don't like the style) 10. Radagon/EB. Great final boss for ER, good music. Both are a bit too easy to dodge, tho, and there isn't too much challenge, if rng decides so. 9. Abyss Watchers. Although easy now, I was awestruck when I first fought them. They really would benefit from increased hp, tho. 8. Sister Friede. Quick, but squishy af, and staggers way too easily with bigger weapons. Still a fair challenge. 7. Artorias. Love his fight and lore, suffers from DS1 clunk. 6. Twin princes L and L. 2nd or 3rd best music of DS3, and the suspense is really high all the time you fight them. 5. Rykard. Best gimmick fight of all time. 4. Godfrey/Hoarah Loux. Great fight against a powerful foe, a bit too easy, tho. 3. Gael. Used to be my number 1, how the mighty have fallen... 2. Mohg. Great music, a lot of *fair* challenge. Love his style. 1. General Starscourge Radahn. Just plain awesome, great lore, best spectacle of all, best music imo, challenging enough for his placement, and I will never forget the joy, when I beat him for the first time (pre-nerf). Literally the only flaw with him is that he was nerfed way too hard...

[@stevenbrown4001]

Isshin, lady Maria, Malenia, Bayle, and Owl Father are my top 5, with Sister Friede, Messmer, and Rellana right behind.

[@matteobonelli8442]

So glad that someone realized how much of a masterpiece Morgott is, such a shame that they completely gutted his stats. I don't agree with Malenia for a simple reason: I do agree that her overhaul combat is fun and interesting, but she has THOSE problems that will always keep her far away from perfection. A missed chance, From.

[@kaos5292]

Lady maria is my all time fav boss perfect soundtrack on top of it all too

[@youngjut3]

Elden ring is goated for me because it made me actually confident enough to beat the souls games I already owned.

[@hitdoctor24]

Love seeing the Elden Ring bosses get their flowers, they got so much hate on release but the top tier bosses are absolutely among the best in the series (Malenia kinda sucks though). No Artorias is absolutely bonkers though. Not even as an honorable mention? Oof

[@magicat7356]

Nah, he's too simple to be top 20

[@hitdoctor24]

@@magicat7356 If that's your main metric for ranking bosses then sure, that's fair. I just think it's an incredible representation of his lore and a blast to play, even if it's mechanically simple, as basically all DS1 bosses are compared to what would come later.

[@henryalexander7325]

You’ve made jokes about Sir Alonne for 6 years? That’s Alonne time!

[@yup7380]

I think Dark Souls 3 AI bosses are just limited with how they excecute their movesets and it makes sense within the context of the world since most of it inhabitants are hollow or crazy and lost their mind. Sekiro and Elden Ring, especially Sekiro just feels like they have smarter boss. Hence the unpredictability and complexity. To me, soulsborne are games that is more than just the gameplay but also the moments. Ludwig, a beast regain humanity and the ost starts celebrating it. Gael being the last boss that paralel your journey being a nobody with greatest will. Artorias and Sif, Gherman freeing you by killing you, and so on. All of these elevates souls bosses. Without those, I don't think I would like it that much.

[@LuM4rex]

Oh my god Stop making up nonsense and justifying unnecessary things with lore. Obviously, 7 years ago they simply did not have the technology to implement. You still fucking compare Artorias and Malenia. (By the way, Soulsborne bosses are overrated, Sekiro is the only game where the fight is like a dance and really captures imo)

[@yup7380]

@@LuM4rex What do you mean by I'm comparing Malenia and Artorias ? I never once mentioned Malenia and no, the game is the one justifying itself. Why would a hollow think as smart as Owl from Sekiro ? If you're trying to say Dark Souls 3 AI could be better then you're right, the enemies track finder can be very stupid. As such they attack through the wall and somehow hit you, problem that still persist in Elden Ring. My second paragraph just simply stated that the reasons I love soulsbourne boss fights are more than just the dodge and hit gameplay. Without the lore, atmosphere, and ost backing it up, I would probably just find it okay. If I want a pure action game, I can just play DMC

[@Urlastnerve]

I’m going to be honest. I just don’t get the overwhelming love for Ludwig. I mean, I think it’s an amazing boss fight, properly challenging, cool phase change. But, I don’t get the whole “greatest boss fight in the series” praise it gets. I like the fight a lot. But, I just don’t see that level of hype everyone talks about

[@yab3146]

The music and the transition alone Just make the fight. His second phase is just awesome with the Moonlight greatsword, albeit a bit too easy

[@crow1460]

I'm not going to talk about the phase transition, music and story telling because we all know it's a masterpiece but, in my opinion, it's also the most complete and well balanced boss in the game mechanically. It combines two phases and both of these have the best elements of both a beast fight and a Hunter fight, there aren't other fights like Ludwig in the game. It's an extremely original and fun boss to fight, in my opinion the perfect boss for Bloodborne.

[@Urlastnerve]

@@crow1460 Father Gasoline did exactly same thing. Just reversed. Story wise, an average player isn’t even going to know who he is or what the deal is with the sword.

[@crow1460]

@@Urlastnerve Yeah but Father Gascoigne's moveset is just a regular NPC's moveset after all, which works well for an early game boss and i think it's great but it doesn't have the same complexity of Ludwig. Also, the arena, while brilliant, suffers from the fact that you can stuck him on a grave and fight him with basically 0 danger (This issue is somewhat resolved in phase 2 since he can destroy the graves) or you can get stuck on the graves and getting stunlocked by his attacks.

[@shinobi9606]

I was not going to forgive Gael being only number six but seeing that father at number 1 I completely agree. I loved inner father as it amped up an already intense and perfect boss fight from sekiro.

[@shawnmarcum8078]

Godfrey, Nameless, Mohg, and Fume Knight prove that you don't need to be fast to be some of the very best bosses.

[@elien902]

I love your list and how you stay true to how you feel instead of trying to put the most loved bosses at the top. That being said, I personally would put Maliketh higher as I think the context around the fight is awesome unlike what you suggested. There were tidbits of lore throughout the game that made me want to face Maliketh as he was being described as one of the most fearsome beings in the lands between. Not to mention that acquiring the ruin of death is a major plot point. Also the nod to Ludwig was amazing. You mentionned Inner Morgott. Yes please. Add Maliketh to that list. Both of these bosses die way too quickly for how awesome their moves are. I’m still at this phase where I can’t enjoy Malenia since waterfowl just frustrates me. I’m trying to learn the “run around her” and dodge point blank but I’m dying way too many times and I just don’t find it fun sadly. I also don’t really enjoy Godfrey. It’s a fight I was really looking forward too because he looked so awesome in the promotional material and the intro slideshow but I just don’t really like the rythm of the fight. Also the way he says “Warrior” in the second phase just bugs me. I know it’s such a dumb nitpick but I just find it pathetic. Lastly, I’m really looking forward for Father Owl and eventually Inner Father since I just finished my first playthrough and missed him. How the hell was I supposed to know I should eavesdrop to get a weird item to access a memory to fight him ? That prompt never showed up. I knew from the cutscene after lady buttefly that that bastard killed us so I kept traveling there hoping he would show up. Anyways, I’ll be sure to fight him on subsequent playthroughs. Thanks for the video.

[@mintegral1719]

Totally agree on Malenia; I beat her at RL1, so I had to learn her moveset extremely well, and she is RIDICULOUSLY fun once you can really go toe-to-toe with her.

[@leadfaun]

Maliketh is TOO DAMN LOW! But he does need more HP. The Flying Dragons in ER work pretty well, being similar to Midir, but the Ancient Dragons are pretty annoying. You can't even break their poise because of how high it is.

[@yab3146]

Their heads just don't stay down for long enough, which is odd since the normal dragons don't have this issue.