Ranking The Souls Gimmick Bosses! (Including Elden Ring and Sekiro)

best gimmick boss in the from software games. Ranking the soulsborne bosses worst to best.
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WHAT MAKES A GIMMICK BOSS? 0:00
MY CRITERIA 2:00
8 2:40
7 4:06
6 5:19
5 6:13
4 7:09
3 8:37
2 9:30
1 10:43
OUTRO 11:33

[@youwy]

C I N E M A T I C

[@VelhoTheWizard]

It's funny how in Sekiro you don't weird the storm ruler, the boss does...

[@95seb123]

If anything it's a mix between Storm Ruler and Moonlight great sword

[@VelhoTheWizard]

@@95seb123 The only thing that makes it the moonlight greatsword is the glow and the fans trying to find it in every game.

[@RedBloodedMale777]

@@VelhoTheWizardand the beam attacks

[@VelhoTheWizard]

@@RedBloodedMale777A beem made out of wind not magic.

[@Boobusmcscoobus]

For cinematic fights immortal dragon definetely wins but as a boss rykard is AMAZING, despite being a gimmick he’s still fun, climactic and difficult

[@bluntlyhonest6803]

yea they nailed rykard and the dragon.

[@lloydirving6209]

>despite being a gimmick the word "gimmick" in regards to souls bosses seems to be looked down upon or generally not seen favorably, and I don't know why. it's not inherently a bad thing at all to be a "gimmick fight". every single zelda boss is a "gimmick fight" and zelda games are lauded for their fantastic bosses among other things.

[@apieython7853]

@@lloydirving6209 because these so called "souls veteran" thinks that bossfights determine the entire quality of the game. These shallow mindsets clouded their judgement thinking that "if it easy= bad" then came up shitty conclusions like "bad boss= bad videogame"

[@DiaomBayet]

⁠@@lloydirving6209not all zelda bosses are gimmick bosses (demon king ganondorf in totk) but i think the op said this because gimmick bosses are usually underwhelming in souls games. Sekiro and Elden ring got it right though

[@lloydirving6209]

@@DiaomBayet nah demons souls has the best gimmick bosses by far. 9 times out of 10 when a gimmick boss shows up in a later souls game it is just a boss that was copy/pasted from demons souls anyway.

[@ChocolatePancakeMan]

The realization that Rykard was the Elden Ring gimmick boss, but was still legitimately fun, was probably one of the hypest moments in souls for me.

[@matthewseggelink1192]

I have an Ancient Wyvern hot take. We would all collectively consider it one of the coolest parts in the whole game if he didn’t have a health bar. Not a single other thing would have to change, he is just disliked because he has the title of “boss” when he’d be better served as a level gimmick.

[@TheSuicune7]

The Snake from Sekiro is proof of this

[@SonKunSama]

​@@TheSuicune7 but the serpent is an environmental hazard only, it's impossible to damage except for with the set pieces the game hands to you. The Ancient Wyvern is technically beatable in a normal way so it's as much as a boss as Yhorm. I think Fromsoft has had some great ideas over the years about giant dragons chasing the player through their game worlds but it must have turned out too ambitious up until very recently. They probably just repurposed the assets into what the Ancient Wyvern eventually became. Fromsoft has been steadily improving with their technical capabilities over the years though, I can't wait to see what's in store for us.

[@TheSuicune7]

@@SonKunSama agreed, FromSoft had done really well, and I can say that their last 4 Souls games are all amazing in their own right, along with the OG Dark Souls, of course

[@zaynthemane]

It’s actually insane how much of a difference in quality there is between #3 and #2. Nice to see how much Fromsoft has improved in gimmick bosses

[@MissChambersxo]

I’d personally swap Rykard and Divine Dragon because I love how Rykard is a gimmick boss while also being mechanically interesting. But I really hope we get a gimmick boss in the Elden Ring DLC because when they’re done right like with Rykard and Divine Dragon they’re really awesome.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

Maybe Miquella will be a gimmick boss? Or Godwyn?

[@HopefulNihilist]

How is Rykard "mechanically interesting"?? It's literally just a regular fight with the gimmick If needing to use a specific weapon.

[@ll-ll5gt]

@@HopefulNihilist rykard is the best soulborne gimmick boss

[@josezuniga4814]

Perfect list, definitely had to come down to either Rykard or Divine Dragon

[@uuop9940]

I find that especially in dark souls 3 alot of things that are cool completely ruined by a stupid gimic: Look at yhorm the giant, in the cinematic he looks like thr biggest mf ever made- the wind literally moves WITH HIS ROAR For the first time i thought he would be like the giants in the cathedral AT LEAST, but the reality is he dies in 5 hits and he isn't really that big he is like a little child compared to the other giants

[@janedoeYT]

1:44 I'm actually really glad you ran into this problem, because it means 1. you actually put a lot of thought into it, and 2. this is what we in the business call linguistics, and "classifying" things is a problem that's seemingly simple and obvious on the surface but is... a whole ass rabbit hole with no clearly defined answers and I'm just glad someone else also went down that rabbit hole lmao

[@f8ze304]

Hi Youwy, happy new year 😊

[@janvrba121]

you are not suppose to catch the folding screen monkeys, you are supposed to lure them into the locations that weakens them. For example you want to lure the purple one into a dark room because he cant see you.

[@mcduck_33]

Great list, but you never mentioned the unique mechanics that makes each of the Folding Screen Monkeys different. That's really what makes the fight so interesting for me, because it's less about chasing the monkeys and more about using stealth to counter each of their separate mechanics. Otherwise fantastic list as always

[@pockystyx4087]

honestly agree with the whole list. It's funny; I would kinda consider The Old Ivory King a gimmick fight, and also one of the best.

[@firstorderblade4432]

burnt ivory king? He's not much of a gimmick but hes definitely top 10 bosses in the series

[@pockystyx4087]

More so the gimmick with gathering the knights, and dropping down into a brawl before the actual great boss fight with the man himself. its up there as one of the most satisfying fights in the series for me lol

[@firstorderblade4432]

@@pockystyx4087 Definitely the best fight in ds2 imo. Also, on a side note, eleum loyce is my favorite area in the series because of gimmicks like gathering the knights, getting the eye for aava, or the troll invaders

[@NisseDood]

@@firstorderblade4432 Thats one thing I miss most from the series isGimmick Zones. DS1 had sens fortress and DS2 had all the dlc. DS3 didnt really have any interesting gimmick zones and ER only had those kinda annoying wannabe Executioners chariot dungeons and bait enemies to the light dungeons. Shulva Sanctrum city in DS2 is still my favorite zone in the series because it makes me feel like dark fantasy Indiana Jones.

[@firstorderblade4432]

@@NisseDood ds3 did have some cool gimmicks like the ringed city archers and lothric dragons

[@NerosArchive]

A lot of people don't like the gimmick bosses but I like how it mixes things up. There are some bad ones though like bed of chaos. I think most are fine I don't mind them.

[@thomasdevlin5825]

Yhorm was really bad, the entire fight just felt like it was half done. My first attempt all I could do was run back and forth trying to dodge the boss's attacks while rummaging through my inventory trying to find the storm ruler until I eventually died, then on the second attempt the storm ruler made the fight so easy it felt like a joke. And he's not meant to be fought with anything but the storm ruler, he literally dies in five hits to the weapon skill so there isn't even supposed to be a fight, if you brute force it he's just a basic enemy with an unreasonably high health pool. It made me genuinely angry that he was a lord of cinder, if he was just some fodder boss I wouldn't care, but we got this as a main boss instead of something interesting

[@ramrodbldm9876]

Video starts at 2:41, save you some time you're welcome

[@egg_64.]

Personally I like Rykard but immortal dragon is just better.

[@reiddutchess9955]

I had no idea the ancient wyvern was meant to be beaten like that, so I just killed it with normal attacks and dodges and I remember thinking it was so asinine and not fun. Jokes on me now that I realize I have been wrong this entire time 😅

[@btarczy5067]

I was thinking of your definition of a gimmick fight just before you said it. In which case I will nominate Malenia because she attacks my sanity IRL and I had to become a better person to beat her.

[@Dracoboss98]

My headcanon is that the weapon the divine dragon wields is Sekiro’s reference to the moonlight greatsword. Also, I prefer Rykard because he’s actually somewhat challenging. I don’t think I’ve ever actually died to the divine dragon.

[@janvrba121]

in higher new game pluses divine dragon can combo you pretty easily with his second phase combo

[@shard.bearer]

I saw your post on reddit lol. I was the guy who said why would you put pinwheel as a gimmick bosa

[@Kusiruukku]

WHAT..??? I've never seen that jumping attack on the little dragon guys on Divine dragon 😭

[@shadowbandV]

I highly recommend parrying divine dragon sword attacks instead of running in his arena it makes the fight ten times better 👍

[@samuraidoge6039]

Spam the two hand l2 and follow it up with r2 and rykard can be easier than the patches boss fight

[@mauz791]

Hell yes, Divine Dragon has no bullshit. It's a perfect one on one, fighting a scarred immortal God. It has possibly the best OST in the game like Owl (Father) as well. It's so good. I don't think From will ever reach that level of hype anytime soon, because the lack of summons perfected the duel.

[@QuantumTelephone]

Best gimmick boss is Rykard and its not even close. I also really enjoyed dragon god but i think its because ive never had a problem with him. He was truly a massive behemoth creature for the time

[@harrygames-pu7jw]

i know im late but defeating the divine drqgon should hqve given like its weqpon wnd its perfect for holy moonlight sword like come on a Japanese style moonlight sword

[@Mo_Mudabber]

TOGETHER

[@99CrashBandicoot]

Hard disagree on 1 as the first phase is so terrible - but agree with everything else! Love these lists and would absolutely love an Elden Ring boss ranking from worst to best! :D

[@botondkunos1774]

Rykard is really bad. The gimmick is good, but every thing else in that fight is terrible. A bunch of pillars and corpse piles you can get stuck on, the stupid unavoidable lava shockwave, but the worst is the "hell on earth" attack, a mess of explosions and flying skulls, both of which are off screen threats which is extremely cheap.

[@Mohgenstein]

Sorry to say but sounds like a skill issue on your behalf

[@botondkunos1774]

@@Mohgenstein you have no point. Good to know.

[@legendary8879]

sounds a lot like skill issue. the pillars are like 50 meters away from each other and are giant, you have to be pretty blind to get stuck on them. there is no ''unavoidable lava shockwave'', you just have to roll at the rigth time, like anthing in souls. you litteraly just have to run in any direction to avoid ''hell on earth''. and the atack looks cool as hell

[@botondkunos1774]

@@legendary8879 pillars and corpse piles arent a problem on their own, but Rykard is massive and his attacks require more positioning to dodge consistently and while you concentrate on him, the pillars and corpse piles can become a distraction/hindrance even if you keep an eye out for them. I've looked into it and the lava shockwave can be avoided by running sideways and jumping at the last moment, but that attack is still far from perfect. The animation on it is so weird you cannot determine what kind of attack it is or when you are supposed to run away. The hell on earth attack has the same problem as Mohg's Nihil, being that at its' worst it's it is incredibly annoying and even at its' best it adds nothing to the fight. With Mohg you just drink a physick and the attack becomes pointless and with Rykard you just run away rendering it a colossal waste of time. And that's only if you dont get caught by any offscreen explosion or skull. And even if we look past all that, his attacks are very basic and lame aside from Rykard's rancor leaving a cool explosive trail behind. His base moveset is like a watered down Divine dragon.

[@legendary8879]

@@botondkunos1774 "rykard is big and his pillars become an obstacle". Thats a good thing, it makes so you have to think about your position on the figth and makes It more interesting, If you got stuck on them, It was your error and i am pretty sure he can Destroy them. The lava move not only is dogeable, but its the rarest move for him to do, in my First playtrough It took me about 16 Tries to beat him and he never used It, but i agree that its not perfect. "Mogh nihil and rykard earth quake doesn't add nothing to the figth". Thats Just false, not only are they the most iconic atacks fromsftware has ever created, they are a core part of the figth, nihil is a attack thats charged as you figth mogh, where he counts to create tension, and then starts to do a massive unavoidble damage, it ads to the atmosphere, mechanics , visuals, and shock factor off the figth, its a genial attack, thats serves to manage the quantity of flasks you have, If you panick in his First fase, nihil is gonna execute you, the flask that lowers the damage you get is a completaly optional item that serves to make the figth easier, It doesn't ruin the attack in any form, its the same thing to say that gasgoine transformation is trash because you can use the music box, If you think It becomes boring when using It, Just doesn't use, the same way that if you think rykard becomes boring when you run from the skulls, Just don't run, you can pretty much Dodge them and atack him in beetwen. If you are playing a way that you don't like, It doesn't make the figth bad

[@vonTrops]

I only clicked on the video to see if you still say "actually" 1000 times in one sentence. Im proud of your improvement. Also... theres no "death cutscene" in devine dragon fight cuz you do not kill him

[@cryptisi5363]

The Wyvern hate will not go unnoticed

[@laurencevicar5798]

8.Bed of Chaos 7.Dragon God 6.Ancient Wyvern 5. Folding Screen Monkeys/Rykard 3. Yhorm 2. Storm King 1. Divine Dragon HM: Micolash(My Guilty Pleasure)

[@lightofthecolossus]

You forgot 4

[@samueljetstreamrodrigues1864]

​@@lightofthecolossusrykard

[@Not____Applicable]

That sekiro fight is the coolest fight in all of the games for sure.

[@Mo_Mudabber]

Capping

[@firstorderblade4432]

bro has never fought burnt ivory king. Way cooler than anything in sekiro

[@trafalgarlaw9834]

Divine dragon definitely the best on this list

[@ludwigelmaldito2934]

Rykard is the best imo, and, hot take, Bed of Chaos is not the worst, is not even bad.

[@Aboud24]

Rykard is the best without a single doubt

[@revolversnake126]

by soulsplayer logic every boss that isn't rollslop is a gimmick.

[@joeyjones9041]

Bed of Chaos is so janky

[@Mohgenstein]

Rykard is the best no diff

[@buddyunholy9133]

eehh storm king?

[@tivadarvrastyak1598]

for me Rykard is far the best gimic boss TOGETHAAAAAAAA

[@LordNexusTheFir]

Melania is a gimmick boss 😂 Hp steal & steal through shields with no logic or explanation, sudden hyperarmor dodges & kicks, waterfowl has hyperarmor but for us it doesn't, her rune is completely useless, input reading to capitalize on waterfowl 1shotting the player, 2 full health bars. Shes a worse gimmick than Bed of Chaos with a blindfold.

[@WinstonWolfe21]

These are the gimmick bosses by my estimation 1) Storm King 2)Old Dragon God 3}Bed of Chaos 4)Ancient Wyvern 5)Yhorm 6)Divine Dragon 7) Rykard 8) The 3 monkeys boss (thank you I forgot about that one its been so long since I’ve played sekiro) and I’d maybe throw the The witches of Hemwick in as well

[@Mo_Mudabber]

Capping

[@lorenzopeverelli7819]

Lol bed of chaos at number 3 you must be totally out of your mind

[@WinstonWolfe21]

@@lorenzopeverelli7819I wasn’t naming them in order. BoC would be dead last

[@lorenzopeverelli7819]

@@WinstonWolfe21 nevermind I thought you were ranking them lol

[@shard.bearer]

As always, Youwy is wrong again. How is rykard (an actual fight) lower than divine dragon (looks cool but is in no way an actual boss fight)

[@youwy]

Because I like it better?

[@potulnykubus4967]

Dragon God more like dragon chump, worst boss in the series cuz with BoC you can't expect anything good after demon ruins with 3 terrible bosses and lost izalith being lost in production but Dragon God teases you from the begging that he's the biggest baddest MFer in the game but he end up being a terrible green light red light mini game

[@firstorderblade4432]

ICE WORM from armored core 6 is easily the best gimmick ive seen in a game Its not even close honestly, divine dragon is cool visually but boring af Close second is yhorm becuase of the quest with sieg and his ost

[@Arfadoz]

Rykard >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Divine Dragon