u/Lol_u_ded

I expected a lot worse when people said Friede is the hardest SL1 boss. There are quite a few sources of difficulty in this fight. Firstly, her movement. She’s able to slip out of backstabs after certain moves or if you don’t finish your roll in the right spot. Secondly, she’s one of the bosses that tests your endurance. She doesn’t have a ridiculous amount of health but patience is a must. Third, managing both Friede and Ariendal. You won’t always see her but her frost wall kills you in one hit if you are using my build. Sometimes, she’ll creep right onto Ariendal and deal critical damage with a scythe swing but you won’t notice because he’s so big. Last big challenge is Friede speed. She’s edging the limits of DS3’s combat speed. She’s not too fast where you cannot react but you have to lock in.

Sister Friede killed me many times. I’d also gotten close quite a few times. She’s very hard but I cannot place her with the upper echelon of SL1 difficulty personally. Her attacks are some of the best telegraphed in the series with both visual and sound cues to guide you. She never strung any weird combos together like Gundyr and Dragonslayer did. Her AI is extremely predictable and each move has distinct tells for the most part. You can also exploit some of her moves by rolling behind her and backstabbing her. While some moves, she will slip out of your backstab, others, she takes too long to recover and gives an excellent window to attack. I personally say Friede is harder than Dragonslayer Armor due to the endurance test and stamina management aspect but not as hard as Dancer because Dancer has some very awkward attacks and strings that are highly punishing despite Dancer dying quickly. Tier 3 difficulty of 5…but that’s still pretty hard.

My next post will be my very first tier 5 difficulty boss: Demon Prince. He’s down but there is ONE ATTACK that both versions do that is very hard for me to dodge.

The second POS gank fight would be Halflight. Point down highly deserved because 1/10 boss. OST was wasted on this rubbish.

I died to this duo several times. I showed absolutely no respect from beginning to end because it’s one of my least favorite “fights” in the game, so it is my fault. Gravetender cowers behind that stupid shield most of the time. Can’t always get him down before the wolf appears but it’s doable to kill him with the wolf out, even if annoying and inconvenient. The wolf’s mobility is extremely annoying and hitting him with a short-range weapon is challenging. He has plenty of openings but stubborn Broadsword just doesn’t wanna hit him. Wasn’t very hard. Most attacks are survivable set aside the stupid double charge. I just hate this boss and don’t care to truly focus. Ranking it harder than Old Demon King and easier than Oceiros.

Beat them in about 10 tries. A few more attempts than Oceiros. Thought I had to lock in, this was a very fair boss fight. The teleportation attacks can be a handful at times but they’re usually pretty manageable. All attacks are well-telegraphed. For that, I’d say Oceiros is a touch harder at SL1. Another big reason I have Twin Princes towards the middle in difficulty so far: glass cannon boss. They fold pretty easily even on this playthrough. I am trying to stick with the Broadsword but I know Lothric is weak to Dragonslayer’s Axe. You have access to more goodies at this point in the game than with Oceiros (especially Prisoner’s Chain). It could’ve been easier if I’d changed weapons. I’ll say that I felt pressure when facing the Twin Princes, especially with the magic orbs at the start of phase 2, but I don’t consider the princes particularly challenging at SL1. I’m anticipating much worse ahead.

Next, I am jumping into the DLC. Saving Soul of Cinder for last.

I had to make a notable change my setup for this fight because I knew almost all his attacks would OHKO through Lloyd’s Shield Ring. Instead of that, I ran Carthus Milkring for extra invincibility frames.

This was not an easy fight to master at all. I thought NK had different timings on some of his horizontal swings but there is actually a subtle tell based on how fast he raises his hand after the first. He also has two charge attacks that I differentiated based on his hand positioning. Figuring out his moveset is part of his challenge. He also killed me several times with the slam when I thought I was safe behind him. He also has 180 vision with it so you have to wait half a second to a second to attack. Takes a lot of endurance but feels amazing to get him down. He was extremely fair and exhilarating to fight from beginning of phase 2 to the end. Phase 1 was very easy but I died a few times to the camera.

At this point in my SL1, NK is the hardest I have fought. He is more punishing than Pontiff since basically everything OHKOed me and I was less consistent at getting his HP down compared to the latter. Strafing him doesn’t work as much and the endings to his combines are even less predictable.

This was the second-hardest boss I had faced at the time in my possible first SL1 full playthrough. Pontiff’s second stage with his clones not always mimicking each other or even blocking my vision is the reason I put Gundyr in second for now.

I was very optimistic early on that I would get him quickly. I was close on my second attempt. I don’t always know when he’s going to stop attacking. There were some very weird transitions in his combos too. One of the hardest things for me to deal with? His champion’s charge from point-blank range. I got killed several times by his strike up that forces him into the kick animation but it was a very fair attack. I wasn’t patient enough.

Really, Champion Gundyr is one of the fairest fights in the game and among the most fun in the series. But his aggression makes him a major threat at SL1 if you choose not to or don’t know how to parry him. I know the parry timing pretty well for several of his attacks (unlike Pontiff) but chose the route of honor and enjoyment. I had a ton of fun with this fight, win or lose, and I appreciate the challenge he brings on this playthrough.

Next review is for Nameless King.

Continuing my documentation of my SL1 playthrough. Killed Oceiros a couple of days ago. Got him in fewer than 10 tries, which is very good for me at this point in the game. I had much more trouble with phase 1. His slams with the staff were the most difficult thing about this fight, and he has a solid amount of health. Once phase 2 hits, you have to pray his whole body doesn’t become a hitbox. His charge is ridiculously broken and one-hits with Lloyd’s shield ring, no HP boosts or armor. Besides that, he wasn’t that hard. I have him ranked along the mid-difficulty side of this playthrough so far. Which will end up lower towards the end.

Next review will be Champion Gundyr, then Nameless King. I’ve killed them both. Twin Princes will be next but my schedule is gonna get busier again.

Despite having a very simple moveset and pretty telegraphed attacks, he took me quite some time. The shield bash was difficult to deal with and there were some nonsensical follow-up attacks in combos that threw me. I also tended to feel pressured by the butterflies on the background. He’s done though. My next opponent was Oceiros. Review coming for him next. I will indeed make a SL1 boss ranking when I’m done.

Almost got him first-try then proceeded to get my ass handed to me over and over. Until I beat him while only sustaining chip damage once from magic as shown. Not as bad as Pontiff but still pretty hard.

I almost no-hit him a few times but I’d get OHKOed. :( I didn’t see him do the backpedal away attack until he had no clone so I wasn’t ready for that. But hey. One step closer! Big road block down!

Would anyone be interested in a ranking of bosses at SL1?