SOULSBORNE: Ranking the BEST Boss Per Game Based on Lore!

Today, I wanted to talk about some of my favourite Bosses from Each Soulsborne Game based on their lore - You'd be surprised at how in-depth the Old Iron King's story goes, or how about the Sculptor from Sekiro?
There's more to every story than meets the eye.
✦ Become a Channel Supporter for just €4.99 a month:
/ @billysyt
✦ Soulsborne Ranking Playlist: • Soulsborne Rankings
✦ Billy's Social Media ✦
LinkTree: linktr.ee/billy_s
Twitter: / the_billy_s
Discord: / discord
TikTok: / the_billy_s
✦ Channel Members ✦
mynameispunch
Arkangel14
Sleipnir
Woedenaz
Ross Orlando
The_Absolute_menace
The Foochie
Bedhead TV
Eden Gilad
NooodleLegs
ExtravaGav
Meevee
Peter Leggatt
Garrett
Business Email: [e-mail]
#eldenring #darksouls #ranking

[@BillySYT]

I'd love to just say that I've wanted to do this type of video for a while. I love Soulsborne lore and I'd love to do another video or two in this series because there are SO many bosses with such amazing lore to rank! So let me know if you want to see more ^^

[@darkrootambush3860]

For DS3, it will always be Sulyvahn for me. He has his hands in just about every major area in the game. Lothric castle, irithyll, anor londo, the painted world, and even the dungeons and profaned capital

[@Metalton95]

Definitely Sulyvahn as a standalone character - although I also LOVE The Nameless King even if he's carried hard by DS1 lore.

[@bedheadtv9594]

One of the things that I love about these games is the lore the team at fromsoft have a real talent for story telling even if most of them don’t end happily. One of my all time favourites like you is artorias lore the way he protects sif at the cost of his own sanity makes him a hero in my book. Slave knight gael is my favourite from ds3 they way he doesn’t give up on his quest for literally the whole of time is commendable even if it doesn’t end well.

[@laserduck6149]

MESSMER, FOE OF MY BELOVED PEOPLE! IN VENGEANCE OF THE FLAMES MY BLADE I WIELD! God, I just can't explain how much I love Messmer's... everything

[@magganboi1350]

You're telling me The Old Iron King had lore?...All I remember from him is him being dummy thicc...sorry not sorry...

[@vereornox701]

I just realized that Ranni being a doll with four arms is a likely callback to Demon’s Souls and the Fool’s Idol🤦‍♂️

[@nathanbarrett4402]

Messmer's lore is all the more tragic when you look closely at his lines. When he first meets us hes confused at seeing the guidance of grace with a Tarnished. He clearly knows what one is and likely partook in their exodus. Hounding them from the Lands Between. He likely believed completely in his mother, her lies about what needed to be done. To purge anyone who opposed the Erdtree. And yet, one day a Tarnished would enter, the next Elden Lord if they hold strong. A tool of Marika to be used. Just like Messmer. He'll continue to serve Marika's original mission to him as the humilation of all of this being for nothing, to serve under a lightless lord is too much to bear. Even so he still considers this while he fights us. His place, his purpose and ultimately his grace. If its even worth keeping when faced with mortal danger. He hasn't fully abandoned his mother as he apolgises to her, but clearly grace can be granted and taken at will so it can't be all that worthwhile, especially compared to the power of the abyssal serpent. However upon his defeat the dam finally breaks. As he dies he realises the final purpose of his crusade. What it was all for in the end. To destroy Marika's own subjects and imprison, in a hidden away land, her own son whos flame she feared, as if the prison of his own loyalty wasn't enough. That in the end, one of her banished retainers would be favoured over her loyal son. It's too much to bear as he disrespects her by cursing her name. All the pain and suffering he endured for her forgotten as she picks a new lord to free her from the consequences and her eternal imprisonment. All he amounted to was a sacrifce in her name as she once said would be the fate of her unsuccesful children. Truely tragic.

[@Lloyd00]

for DS3 its gotta be Nameless for me...The answer to who's Gwynn's son thats been erased from history!

[@Scowleasy]

I’m pretty sure Aldrich called them “snackrifices”

[@mindseyemusicreview]

Demon of Fog Gwyn Nashandra / Vengarl Honorable Mention Pontiff Orphan Miquella

[@ColetheFlame01]

While I am not huge on lore, I do like learning as it puts a whole new perspective on the character. Such is the case for Fume Knight from Dark Souls 2 Iron King DLC. When I first met him, I saw a hulk of a man who was wielding two badass weapons and looked great defending his already dead queen. Oddly enough I went in as Velstadt cause I liked his armor and weapon so I at first knew phase 2 as the entire boss. after getting royally decimated enough times, I switched sets and he wasn't buffed which made me curious as to why he didn't buff instantly. After learning who he was, why he hates Velstadt so much, how he became the Fume Knight, he went from being a top 10 boss for me, to my absolute favorite alongside Sir Alonne. I didn't see just a strong knight anymore, I saw a warrior who had been wrongfully betrayed, and wanted to feel like he belonged again, and I was only there to both challenge myself, and relieve him of his pain and grief over all the betrayal his past had.

[@danielgordon84]

Absolutely do more of these “favorite lore” videos! They’re very personal, and I love those types of videos.

[@lightofthecolossus]

Not Aldia for DS2 is quite the statement. Aldia is all that DS2 is about. He IS the scholar of the first sin. That is like a literal John Darksouls: Prepare to Die not making the list for best lore.

[@BillySYT]

Aldia's the obvious pick, don't get me wrong, but I wanted to highlight a different pick that people were less aware of. I can always get to Aldia in a follow-up video if I want.

[@primalspongebob6144]

Aldia most definitely is top 3 ds2 bosses by lore. So much involvement and depth behind him. So much influence everywhere. Insane to think of the game without him. I was expecting the Chad Burnt Ivory king instead. He just gets everything right. My GOAT man, not even an honorable mention is mind hollowing 😢. Though you know I’ll say Old Iron King is underrated since people just see him as a meme because of the simplicity, and hole in the boss room.

[@markopusic8258]

One thing I will say if that Aldia loses a lot of points because of DS3. Now, is this Aldia's fault? No, but the fact DS3 exists and pretty much sweeps under the rug everything related to Aldia and the Bearer of the Curse, it's hard not to laugh at how inconsequential both of them ended up being in the great scheme of things.

[@lightofthecolossus]

@@markopusic8258 I think that is the entire point. DS2 is all about how all kingdoms eventually fade and everything of the past eventually never being remembered anymore. Time also generally works really convoluted in the games with some areas being far into the past or in the future. The games also don't really share a timeline. Havel is killed by you in the prison in the Undead Burg, but he is also one of the knights of the nameless king, much like Ornestein. So I think both DS2 and DS3 are seperate continuations of DS1. DS2 thousands of years into the future with only Manus and the Great Souls having somewhat of an effect on the world and all gods being forgotten, and DS3 pretty much right after DS1. Anor Londo still standing, André still living. Yes, Lucatiel's mask and the body of Gilligan can be found in DS3, suggesting DS3 takes place right after DS2, but since time works so strangely, it doesn't have to be. Though all things considered, I think it's better to see DS2 lore as seperate from DS3 entirely. DS2 has some ties to DS1, but in a thousands of years into the future way, while DS3 is pretty much just a straightforward continuation of DS1 with some small references to DS2, but pretty much nothing in the lore departement.

[@Metalton95]

Aldia AND the Ivory King - I definitely thought it'd be either of those, as they are the reason I come back to DS2 now and then. Aldia imo is the lore GOAT of FromSoft for how much substance he adds, while Ivory King is the biggest giga chad before Radahn.

[@viterio5410]

Love the vid, but a slight correction on the bloodborne section. Gehrman Maria and then killed Kos, who’s the corpse orphan climbs out of

[@lyokochaeyeon]

Love a good lore video, love to see this become a lil lore series on the souls and maybe some souls like games too. I didn't realised how some of the DS2 bosses were tied to the Iron King like the skeletons Lords and potentially Myhta, makes me wonder what other bosses are tied to each other lore wise

[@PlasticFlamingoo]

Burnt Ivory King absolutely has to be up on my list. Possibly #1. A genuinely good and humble man. So beloved he turned a SHARD OF THE ABYSS to join his cause and support him even long since past that he’s lost his agency. I won’t say too much cause I’d love to hear your take on his lore. But genuinely one of my favorite characters across any FromSoft title

[@Owainmclain]

Burnt Ivory King might be the greatest example of a true hero in the trilogy

[@ColetheFlame01]

I love Burnt Ivory King, but I kinda got his lore mostly from Alsanna and his fight. for me Fume Knight hit harder. Who was he? Why does he instantly enrage when wearing Velstadt's helmet? How did he get here? When I learned who he was, I respected him so much more and it truly made beating him each time even better, and made the losses hurt less cause, he could do what we were trying to do, banish the darkness, end it all. He could do it, he just chose not to. Losing to him is like being told "You can't do what I can." And finally besting him felt like a rite of passage similar to beating Sif from Dark Souls honestly.

[@potulnykubus4967]

Messmer is the only canonically based boss in Souls

[@michalwinger5479]

I just w ant to say that this is a great video topic and I woud love to see you talk about Radhan,Ludwig and Burnt ivori king in the next episode. Love your content keep it up man

[@jasona4445]

You should definitely make this a series

[@soldbenjamin2195]

Pretty sure unlike the giant king we didn’t killed alonne, iron king did and when he saw his old throne in the room next to alone, that’s when he aknowledge alonne respect for him even after their fight

[@soldbenjamin2195]

Dark souls 2 boss lore ( mostly iron king, alonne, ivory king) are so fucking good it’s nearly the bests from the series

[@ShardofWant]

Messmers father is never confirmed people forget Rykards painting actually depict him with blond hair, so some of Marikas kids having red hair is possible.

[@tracemacmillan9718]

Honorable mention should be the twin princes, yhorm and nameless king. For twin princes I found interesting because of Lorian basically sharing his brothers burden and use of his legs, and how lothric was basically born only to become a lord of cinder but was too frail and weak to take on the strength of the first flame and thus abandoned his destiny, partly leading to the fall of his kingdom and his father oceiros descending into madness. Yhorms lore is interesting because he sacrificed everything for a people who never cared for him and blamed him for the profaned flame tearing apart their city, with his only true friend siegward returning to the kingdom to release him of his burden. And nameless king who despite being exiled and stripped of divinity and even had his very name erased from history for siding with the dragons, still went out of his way to visit his father gwyns tomb in anor londo to pay his respects before setting out on his own. I think it’s also interesting how he basically managed to outlive almost all of the old gods from his age

[@mirayoquese8608]

Maiden Astraea Sif Burnt Ivory King Laurence Gael Demon of Hatred Malenia

[@joshuaweston6531]

Watching this has made me realize that I really need to take the time to read the item descriptions in these games. I absolutely adore the Souls series, but I am admittedly pretty ignorant of the lore. That stuff about the Old Iron King is pretty fascinating! DS2 really just doesn't get the respect it deserves in general...

[@ethanpispas4098]

While i do believe that DS2 has the best, most complex, most philosophical lore, for me the correct answer will always be all the major DS1 bosses. For us that started back with DS1, these characters are as clasic as Gandalf and Frodo.

[@ikigai1799]

Old Iron King has great Lore. I wish the boss fight was at least as good as Lore.

[@jonathanfarrimond3619]

Iron King lore is peak, I do think ds2 has the best lore

[@mickeynelson6263]

Personally, I feel like DS2 has the best lore. It’s just a shame the bosses were such a let down. The last Giant/Giant Lord is so interesting, but the actual boss fights are so easy they’re forgetful

[@BillySYT]

Full agree. Dark Souls 1 has great character lore, Dark Souls III has a great lore for connecting the series. But Dark Souls II, it feels like a Tolkien novel in the sense that there's SO much lore that isn't even directly related to the game itself. Named Kingdoms that are never referenced in-game, most of the prominent bosses have fleshed out backstories, it's... Honestly insane.

[@wolfox7776]

*Sees all of the Vaati videos in my history* Nah I clearly wouldn't be interested in having this become a series. Jokes aside, that would be really be cool.

[@Firebee033]

My favorite part of the series might be the lore and with well over a thousand combined hours, here's my list Demon Souls: Allant, duh Dark Souls I: Doggo Dark Souls II: Chubby Simp Dark Souls III: Plin Plin Plon V2 BludBourn: Horce Sekiro: Paps Elden Ring: Goat King but Snake Boi is close second

[@polararias9936]

It would be great a top best npc's from soulsborne series :3 ...or husbandos 7w7 .....but, I love some of the bosses Lore...especially Bloodborne bosses :"3 ...Gherman and Gascoigne lore is sad and tragic but beautiful in a way. Now that I played DS1, Artorias and Sif makes my heart ache, they deserve better :"c

[@WeirdTroll666]

No Laurence is Blasphemy!

[@BillySYT]

I'd love to do more videos, cover more boss lore, Laurence is definitely on my radar in that sense.

[@Gusthepanda]

Love this idea. Haven't watched it yet and I already know I want more. As a fellow gaymer busy taking my boyfriend through the souls games for the first time, I relate so much to your content. Keep it up Billy. Also best boss by lore imo is nameless king

[@nerdymidwesterner3662]

I feel like a good boss' lore can offer as a gateway to the lore of the game as a whole. Everyone will inevitably find themselves confused trying to piece out the story on their first playthrough, but some bosses will leave you with such an impression that it makes you wanna learn about them and what their place in the world is.

[@threadsoflifebooks1878]

I think it was said in DS3 that Aldrich's followers forced him to become a lord of cinder, but nothing was said about how they managed this.

[@TheCrowKill]

Well guess what, there IS a fan club for the gaping dragon! (I’m the only member…)

[@angbald]

Dude.......Gaping Knights. The have the darksign...somewhere else

[@NeloBladeOfRanni]

Smh no burnt ivory king for ds2 😂

[@BillySYT]

Love the guy, would totally be willing to cover him in a follow-up, but I've been DYING to talk about the Old Iron King's lore since I started Souls content

[@NeloBladeOfRanni]

@@BillySYT understandable I agree with your choice of messmer tho and no this isn't because of him giving me ptsd from his grab attack and giving my tarnished all 18 of his inches

[@WarrenValion]

Artorias' character/lore is enhanced with the cut voice lines imo.

[@Dagoth_Ur_Fr]

The gaping men’s guild. It’s the gaping dragons fan club, completely cannon in ds2. Wish KZbinrs would do even a little bit of research 😂😂

[@venomoz1523]

Anything but the Burnt Ivory King for DS2 is wrong

[@disres1337]

Didnt they kill Kos, not the orphan of kos

[@xian1978]

The ghing about Artorias that nobody seems to graps is that we should not take in-game lore as "the truth". In game lore is what the people of that world know or believe about the world. So, they believed Artorias defeated Manus and the Abyss, but that was ultimately not true. Like in ER the fingers comunicate with the Greater Will, and then we found out on the DLC that that's not true either. I always see people analizing the Lore that seem to take it always at face value. That's why I'm somewhat sure that "the greater Will" from ER is not a God per se, but some form of space creature, like the Elden Beast of Metyr, some form of celestial being that's beyond our comprehension, so for people on the Lands Between they think they are Gods with some kind of purpose for us.

[@BillySYT]

I'm not sure where in my Artorias segment I took everything at face value? The point of his lore, and the tragedy of his character, which I explained at the end of the segment, is that WE, the player, know the truth, that he didn't defeat Manus before dying, but was defeated, corrupted and put down by us. But that doesn't take away from the fact that he WAS an Abysswalker prior to the events of Oolacile, as he was involved in the New Londo incident. And for Elden Ring, I think most people who analyse the lore post-DLC are fully aware they aren't actually gods, but creatures, as you say, beyond our comprehension. I dunno, I think you're not giving the community enough credit.

[@justins4814]

Maiden of Astrea lore is heart breaking.

[@Hopeful_Husker]

A lore series would be great!

[@johnwilson121283]

Nice to see Whatevs make another appearance today.

[@BillySYT]

The best part about Whatevs - Better B-Roll for Elden Ring segments

[@vade184]

how is ds3 not gael ?