Souls gamesare mainly known for the hard bosses that punctuate each grueling adventure, and rightly so, as they are undoubtedly the aspects of these games that will have you most regularly tossing controllers and pulling your hair out in frustration. However, there are some specific areas in each of these Souls titles that are treacherous, and sometimes these area designs make traveling to the boss harder than the actual boss fight itself.
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It sounds ludicrous that a particular mob enemy, or an environmental hazard could be harder than the boss that awaits you at the end of the line, but when you’ve spent as much time in Souls games dying in the same places over and over as I have, you’ll understand that this is a very common problem that Souls players face.
So, as somewhat of a PSA, and a look back in anger for all of us Souls veterans, I’m going to list the ten most annoying boss runs inevery Soulsborne game, and I might even throw in some Souls-likes for good measure.
10Dragonlord Placidusax - Elden Ring
A Time-consuming Trek For The Tarnished
Crumbling Farum Azula
Boss Run Time
We kick things off with a token entry forElden Ringbecause, in truth, anything post-Dark Souls 3has so many checkpoints and shortcuts included that you’ll never really witness a tough boss run, and withElden Ring’sinclusion of the Stakes of Marika, that’s even more true.
However, there is one boss within theCrumbling Farum Azulathat is an annoying one to trek back to. Not because there’s any inherent danger, but more because this run has no respect for your time.
Players will need to navigate a long platforming section within the Crumbling Farum Azula without Torrent to speed up proceedings, and then when you finally reachDragonlord Placidusax, you’ll need to skip a cutscene to get into the action, which just adds fuel to the fire.
The upside here is that the boss in question is well worth making the trek, as Placidusax is easily in the top five best bosses inElden Ring.But a Stake of Marika near the door would have been very much appreciated here.
9Bed of Chaos - Dark Souls
If You Can’t Stand The Heat, Rage Quit
Lost Izalith
1.5 Minutes
Speaking of Boss Runs that waste your time, the originalDark Soulshad a tonne of them, mainly due to the lack of warping options present in the game. However, one of the worst runs asks you to travel through Lost Izalith to face off against the Bed of Chaos.
Much like Dragonlord Placidusax, the run here isn’t filled with anything all that dangerous, aside from the lava, you’ll need to run through, ensuring you’ll need to use an Estus Flask or start at a disadvantage against the Bed of Chaos.
But the biggest sin committed here is that the run is over a minute and a half long if you really hustle, and there’s absolutely nothing of note or interesting along the way, making it a pointless run to the boss each time.
As DS1 Veterans will know, the Bed of Chaos is a terribly designed boss that can kill you through no fault of your own in seconds flat, condemning you to another long and uneventful run back. Lost Izalith is a pretty unpolished and rushed area of DS1 in general, and this run back is a prime example of why it’s not an area we have fond memories of.
8Four Kings - Dark Souls
Not Exactly A Stairway To Heaven
New Londo Ruins
As mentioned,Dark Soulswas pretty stingy with its Bonfires back in the day, and this led to a lot of long journeys to areas with no easily accessible warp zones. However, one of the most irritating Bonfire omissions was within New Londo, as players who want to face off against the Four Kings would need to make the trek down from the Firelink Shrine, or through the Valley of the Drakes via Darkroot Basin to get there every time.
The trip starting at Firelink Shrine is the safest of the two, but there are so many factors that make it a pain. There’s the long elevator ride down to New Londo, there’s the fact that you need a Cursed Weapon or Transient Curse active to harm ghost enemies, and there’s the fact that there are loads of Darkwraith Knights on the lower level leading to the boss.
Plus, if you get to the staircase to nowhere and don’t have access to the Covenant of Astorias Ring, you’ll be trapped and be forced to fall to your death, meaning the entire run was a waste of time. It’s a runback with layers of irritation and one we hope you only need to brave once.
7Gravelord Nito - Dark Souls
You, My Friend, Are InGraveDanger
Tomb of the Giants
Sticking withDS1, we have another boss that holds one of the necessary Lord Souls needed to complete the game. The run to Gravelord Nito will have you begin right at the heart of the Tomb of the Giants, and this means that if you don’t have the Skull Lantern, you’re in for a really tough time as it’s pitch black throughout most of this area. However, even if you do have this light source, there’s still plenty lurking in the dark that makes this run a pain.
Players will need to avoid the huge Skeleton enemies within this area as they navigate a rather labyrinthian descent, which requires the player to memorize where the holes in the ground and safe drop zones are if they want to avoid taking damage.
Then, even when you escape the darkness, you’ll have to avoid Skeletal Worm enemies, Skeleton Archers, Pinwheel enemies, and much more.
Then, like a rotten cherry atop this rancid cake, when you traverse the fog to Gravelord Nito’s domain, there’s a drop that will cut your HP by about a third if you don’t have the Silvercat Ring equipped. It’s a pain from start to finish and usually leaves you at a disadvantage when you finally face off against Gravelord Nito.
6Old Hero - Demon’s Souls
Don’t Fear The Reaper
Ritual Path (4-2)
2.5 minutes
We pivot fromDark Soulsto thetrue first-ever Souls game,Demon’s Souls. It was a game that was still working out what the Souls blueprint looked like, and as a result, this led to quite a lot of boss runs that were very annoying, and one that stands out is the run to the Old Hero boss fight in The Ritual Path (4-2).
This is an area where you are plagued by the Storm beasts that float by the cliffs and fire projectiles your way, which makes it even more likely that the Skeleton enemies along the way will cut you to pieces.
However, that isn’t all you have to contend with here, as you’ll need to navigate areas filled with deadly Reaper enemies with their army of Shadowlurkers, and you’ll also come up against particular Shadowlurkers who can shoot green laser beams which are near-impossible to avoid.
It’s a boss run that’s long, challenging, and annoying. But the saving grace here is that theOld Hero is such an easy boss to cheesethat, as long as you can make this run successfully once, you probably won’t have to endure it ever again.
5Old Monk - Demon’s Souls
Is This What Phantom Pains Feel Like?
Upper Latria (3-2)
4 minutes (if playing it safe)
We move from the Old Hero to the Old Monk, the boss that serves as the finale of World Three, located in The Ivory Tower. The boss can vary in difficulty depending on whether the PvP gimmick kicks in on your way there. However, one aspect of facing this boss, which is a constant and consistent pain, is the run to get to them.
I include the staircase to reach 3-3 in this run, as there is a Black Phantom on this long, winding, and narrow staircase that I still hold a great deal of contempt for to this day, as they are so hard to get past without being stun-locked or knocked off the edge. It’s a blessing to get past them, but this trend continues as you climb the Ivory Tower to The Old Monk.
You’ll find two more Black Phantoms along the way, and unless you want to die violently, the best way to deal with them is by aggro-ing them down the stairs, waiting for them to give up, and then backstabbing them. Rinsing and repeating this process takes an age, making this one of the most agitating and long-winded boss runs in Souls history.
4Old King Allant - Demon’s Souls
A Painfully Tough Final Gauntlet
The King’s Tower (1-4)
2.5 Minutes
The Old Monk is a pain, but if you’re careful, chances are you will survive each time you attempt that run. The same cannot be said of the run to Old King Allant inDemon’s Souls, as this final mob enemy gauntlet before the boss pulls no punches. Players will initially face off against three tough Black Phantoms, which thankfully don’t respawn once killed, and will then proceed through to the gank zone.
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The area after this is crawling with Red Eye Knights and Imperial Spies, but this is only a warm-up for the main event, as players will be forced to either deal with or avoid the onslaught of fiery attacks fromthe Blue Dragon. Precise timing will see you narrowly avoid their potent breath, but it takes quite a lot of practice, and some luck to get it right.
Then when you think it’s over, you’ll have another Black Phantom to face before the long elevator ride leading to Old King Allant’s throne. It takes ages to run through, it’s difficult to run through, and you have one ofthe hardest bosses in the gamewaiting at the end of this arduous run, which all culminates in a brutal boss run, which still gives me nightmares.
3Blue Smelter Demon- Dark Souls 2
Git Gud, Or Get Ganked
Iron Passage
45 Seconds
Demon’s Soulsand the originalDark Soulshad some terrible boss runbacks, but with the important caveat that the world design was usually so impressive that you didn’t mind too much. Well,Dark Souls 2, having been the only game Miyazaki didn’t have a hand in developing,had the same issues without the design chops to cover them up. Which makes runbacks like the Blue Smelter Demon a giant pain.
This area through Iron Passage is pretty small, making the run a pretty quick one if you try to blitz through it. However, the problem comes from the sheer volume of enemies within the area. You have huge Possessed Armor enemies, agile Ashen Warriors, and ranged Fume Sorcerers all packed into one small area.
This usually means that if you get clipped even once, you’ll be stun-locked into oblivion.
Dark Souls 2is rife with gank zones, but this is one of the worst of all and one that will usually leave you battered and bruised before you even lay eyes on the Blue Smelter Demon.
2Darklurker - Dark Souls 2
Kill Them All If You Want To Get through
Dark Chasm of Old
Our runner-up is a boss that actually has three unique boss runbacks, but seeing as only one has a convenient Bonfire, we will be referring to the Dark Chasm of Old route to Darklurker. To even begin this boss run, you will need to spend one Human Effigy to enter the area via the Old Man NPC, which could potentially mean you need to farm this item.
Then, once you actually get into this area, you have to fight against a series of humanoid enemies, which, admittedly, aren’t all that challenging, but here’s the kicker. The area ahead will remain inaccessible until all mob enemies in the area are killed, which makes this boss run around three minutes long every time you attempt it.
With most other boss runs, with precise movement, skillful play, or memorizing the route, you’re able to lower the time taken to get through with practice. However, this run ensures that players engage with every enemy every time, making this a boring, tedious, and unwelcome boss run.
1Lud and Zallen - Dark Souls 2
There’sSnowEasy Way Through This Area
Frigid Outskirts
All of those mentioned already were bad boss runs, don’t get me wrong, but in my eyes, nothing quite compares to the irritation caused by the Crown of the Sunken King DLC’s Lud and Zallen boss run.
This run sees you travel through the notoriously annoying area known as the Frigid Outskirts, an area that walked so that theMap (Consecrated Snowfield)inElden Ringcould run.
The visibility in this area is dreadful, making it tough to map out an optimal route to the boss. Not to mention, this lack of vision means that the dreaded Reindeer enemies can burst from the fog and zap your health with their deadly charge attacks, and to top it all off, even if you’ve memorized and mapped out your route perfectly, this runback will take you over three minutes to do.
All of this just to get to a boss battle that is a shoddy reskin of an existing boss you’ll have likely already fought, which truly adds insult to injury. This is easily the most annoying and dreaded boss run in all of Soulsborne history, so if you’re planning a replay of DS2, maybe give Lud and Zallen a miss.
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