Top 5 Most Awesome Enemies in Dark Soul

To compliment my previous list of top five most annoying enemies in Dark Souls, I decided to compile a list of the five most awesome enemies as well. I have to say, it was much easier to come up with particularly annoying enemies than it was to think of enemies that really stood out in a positive way. I actually had to cut out some contenders from the previous list to keep it short, wheres for this list, only the top two entries were immediately obvious to me. One final thing to point out is that these enemies were chosen primarily because of their interesting, cool, or goofy looks. Now, without further ado, here are the top five most awesome enemies in Dark Souls.

5. Scarecrows

Oh, I'm a skeletal gardener, and I'm okay, I sleep all night and I work all day

These are undoubtedly some of the quirkiest enemies in the game. They look kinda funny, they move funny, their attacks are haphazard, and they have the classic dive attack that always provides luls. I think they honestly feel a little bit out-of-place in this game, but I suppose the meadows of Royal Woods need to be gardened by someone. You can find them wielding either a pitchfork, like the guy in the picture below, or giant gardening scissors. They are weak on their own, but can pose some danger in groups. Furthermore, they are often watched over by a stone Guardian, and those big boys can really wreck you if you aren't careful.

4. Bloathead Sorcerers

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"

These weird-looking, Cthulhu-esque, lanky creatures with freakishly long arms definitely made the list based purely on their looks. In terms of their attack patterns, they pretty much just spam Dark Orbs. As such, fighting them is hardly interesting. In contrast to some of the other entries on this list, there really isn't anything funny about their looks. They do look really cool, though, in a twisted and tormented way. I've been hoping to get their head as a drop (which, according to Dark Souls wiki, has a phenomenal 1% drop rate...), but haven't had any luck thus far. The head would make for some pretty wicked cosplay builds. Maybe one day.

3. Mimics

By golly, I wonder what fancy loot I'll find there

Wait, wat?

OM NOM NOM NOM

Dark Souls

I'm sure that for everyone who went into Dark Souls blind, the first time they encountered these sneaky buggers left quite an impression. I have to say that these are some of the most memorable enemies I've ever seen in any game; their looks are deeply distrubing, but the way they wobble around and try to kick you is actually pretty comical. It's also very fitting that the first time you encounter these is in the infamous Sen's Funhouse, with all of its pressure plates, swinging blades and bottomless pits. In some ways, these enemies very much characterize the entire experience of playing Dark Souls: they have the potential to kill you with one successful bite, which may raise some protests for the famous "artificial difficulty", but they can easily be detected by treading carefully and paying attention to details.

That's a seriously disturbing design

2. Skeleton Babies

Creepy or cute - you decide!

These were by far my favorite enemies in the game during my first playtrough, but that's because I actually completely missed the number one enemy until my second playthrough. These little fellas ride the line between really creepy (they are, after all, baby skeletons) and weirdly cute. Although I, like pretty much everyone else, hate Tomb of the Giants, Nito and these guys manage to make going through the place totally worth the trouble. I just can't help it - seeing these babies run around in the water always brings a smile to my face. The smile does admittedly fade if they manage to attack me, because they cause the ever-so-deadly toxic status effect. Perhaps it's best to just giggle at them from afar.

1. Mushroom Children and Parents

That daddy has a mean haymaker

These are definitely the most sympathetic "enemies" in the game. The children especially are just simply adorable, just wandering around and minding their own business. Their footsteps also make a funny tapping sound. As a matter of fact, I hesitate to even call them enemies, because although the daddies will attack you if you kill the babies (can't really blame them here), or tread too close to them, it's generally best to just go around them and avoid the fight. As I mentioned above, I managed to completely miss these during my first playthrough. I doubt I'm the only one, though, since these guys can only be found in three areas of the game - Darkroot Garden, The Great Hollow, and Ash Lake - all of which are completely optional. Ever since I stumbled on them in the deepest parts of the Darkroot Garden, however, they have claimed the title of being my favorite enemies in the game.

Honorary Mention

An honorary mention goes out to the Black and Silver Knights. They not only look cool and imposing, but are also a lot of fun to fight against. They also definitely establish the fact that parrying is insanely effective against a lot of enemies.

BRRRROTHER!

The Black Knights are, together with Sir Artorias, the poster boys for the Prepare to Die version of the game, since one is featured together with the logo in Steam's store page. The Black Knights are found in various locations around Lordran, most notably in the Kiln of the First Flame. They wield four different types of weapons, including the ever-so-popular Black Knight Halberd. When killed, they drop various upgrade materials and may also drop their weapons.

The Silver Knights are only found in Anor Londo, where they guard the castle from invaders. They can wield either straight swords, spears, or greatbows. Speaking of Silver Knights wielding greatbows, you are now remembering the Anor Londo archers. That segment, starting from the bottom of the great staircase, past the Bat Wing Demons and up to the infamous ledge with the archers is by far my least favorite bonfire-to-bonfire gameplay trip in the entire game. At least you meet Brolaire, who is as fabulous as always, by the Castle bonefire...

Since I managed to get this post out in a surprisingly timely manner, it can pretty much conclude the year 2014 for me. Happy New Year!

Top 5 Most Annoying Enemies in Dark Souls

This time around, I want to write about one of my favorite games in recent memory, and a strong contender to be included on my Top-10-Games-of-All-Time list, Dark Souls. I’ve got a few ideas for Dark Souls related topics I want to write about at some point, but I think I’ll start with a fairly straightforward one: the most annoying enemies in the game. It seems like everyone and their grandma has done a list about their favorite and least favorite bosses, but similar lists of regular enemies seem to be at least a little bit less common. I chose the enemies to include on this list based on how difficult they are to deal with and how rage-inducing they can be. In the end, all of the entries scored pretty high on both accounts.

5. Skeleton Dogs

Image taken from
<http://www.nuk3.com/gallery/
images/comedy/full/108.jpg>

Tomb of the Giants seems to generally be regarded as everyone’s least favorite area in the game. There are two main reasons for this: The first one is that the place is practically pitch black, and hence requires the player to use a source of external light. Unfortunately, there are only three options available in the game – a Cast Light sorcery for the magically inclined, a lantern that takes the place of your shield, or a special illuminating headpiece that you need to find first. Needless to say, the darkness can pose a challenge for the unprepared. The second reasons are the Skeleton Dogs that lurk in the darkness, and let me tell you, the weird panting sound they make while laying in ambush is deeply disturbing. They are huge, deal tons of damage, attack in erratic patterns and have a lot of health. A royal pain in the backside, in short. On the upside, I have to say that their design is quite memorable. Maybe that will provide some small comfort when they maul you to pieces in the impenetrable darkness that is Tomb of the Giants, where no one can hear you scream.

Nice doggy...

4. New Londo Ghosts

I think New Londo Ruins is a pretty cool location; it has interesting (and tragic) lore behind it, a unique progression mechanic where the area is initially flooded and you have to find a way to drain the water to access the lower levels, an unexpected “shortcut” to Valley of the Drakes, and a cool boss fight at the end. New Londo Ruins is also one of my least favorite areas in the game. Why, you may ask. Because of these goddamn ghosts, that’s why. They are a unique enemy because they cannot be attacked normally: in order to kill them, you have to either be cursed (and being cursed halves your total HP, so this isn’t a very viable strategy), use a special consumable which allows you to temporary attack them, or use one of the three cursed weapons in the game (which can be a pain in the ass to acquire, depending on your luck). But believe it or not, the minor challenge of not being able to attack them without taking precautions is actually the least of your worries when dealing with these spectral rump ravagers. Due to the fact that they are ghosts, they can move freely through walls, floors, and ceilings, or stay hidden inside them and attack from there without you being able to retaliate. As if all of that wasn’t enough, they also have a tendency to hang out in these ghastly ghost posses and gang up on you, should you venture too close. Oh, and did I mention that when you do manage to kill them, you get hardly any souls for your troubles? Gee, thanks From Software! So, all in all, fuck these ghosts and fuck Spooky Londo Ruins.

2spooky4me – somebody call the damn Ghostbusters

3. Blowdart Snipers

These asshats really make me scratch my head. When you think about it, a lot of enemies in Dark Souls teach you something about the game. For example, Silver Knights teach you that parrying is king, and the Slimes in the Depths teach you that some enemies are vulnerable to certain types of damage (case in point, they are weak to fire). I’m not really sure what the Snipers teach you. They generally start shooting toxic darts at you before you even see them (and the darts are also difficult to see), so on your first playthrough, you’re simply going to get hit without even realizing what happened at first. The toxic darts, as the name implies, inflict a toxic status effect, which is essentially poison on steroids. Basically, if you get hit by the darts and become toxic, it’s game over man, game over, unless you, for some inconceivable reason, happen to have a stock of Blooming Purple Moss Clumps at hand. Maybe they were supposed to teach that you shouldn't just hang back and play passive all the time, but rather close the distance and get the job done. What they ended up teaching me, however, is to just do suicide runs to kill them, since they are one of the few enemies in the game that do not respawn. I’m not entirely sure if that’s what the developers intended. Anyways, they certainly deserve their spot on this list.

What's not the like about Blighttown?

2. Bonewheel Skeletons

The upsides of Bonewheels:

1. They are only found in two places in the game.
2. There are no more upsides.

These are truly some of the most terrifying enemies in the game. Not only do they inhibit some of the darkest and most claustrophobic places there are in Lordran, they, like the New Londo Ghosts, like to hang out in deadly posses. These are probably even worse, though. It’s like they’re some morbid and twisted version of biker gang thugs, pulled out straight from the depths of Seven Hells. As everyone who has played Dark Souls knows, what makes Bonewheels iconic is their deadly rolling attack where they zoom at you at the speed of a fighter jet – bless the poor soul who gets hit by them. If you do get hit by the rolling attack, chances are pretty good you’re dead. If, instead, you get hit but manage to block, enjoy all of your stamina being drained in a couple of seconds, unless you happen to use a greatshield. During my first playthrough, my body became conditioned to clench my butt cheeks real tight whenever I heard the unmistakable sound of these wheels of death revving up and zooming towards me.

They see me rollin', they hatin'.

1. Giant Mosquitos

These are definitely the least dangerous enemies on this list, but they are also by far the most annoying. The first of their quirks is that they spawn endlessly and hunt you down almost everywhere you are in lower Blighttown; you just can’t get away from them. Oh, and did I mention how they sound precisely as annoying as real mosquitoes do? BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ – oh, sorry, what was that? I couldn’t quite hear you over the sound of my BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. The worst part about them, though, is that they fly (no shit, mosquitoes fly?). The thing is, Dark Souls’ lock-on system apparently was not created with flying enemies in mind, and as a result, the mosquitoes are often impossible to hit with a melee weapon. Then again, maybe that was a conscious design choice to emulate how swatting real-life mosquitoes is an exercise in frustration? Damn, From Software, such immersion, much wow! As a side note, I have to point out that two of these five enemies dwell in everyone’s favorite town in Lordran, Blighttown (more like Delighttown, amirite?). No wonder people always just skip it.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Honorary Mention

An honorary mention goes out to the Basilisks. While they pose little challenge for an experienced adventurer, they can thoroughly devastate an unsuspecting victim. They are made even more dangerous by their relatively unthreatening appearance – I’ve even seen some people describe them as being cute! Personally, though, I have to question those people’s sanity – just look at those freakishly large, bulgy eyes. These bastards always give me the heebie jeebies... The reason these frog-like fiends made this list is, naturally, their ability to blow out a cloud of miasma that kills and renders the victim cursed, should he or she stay in the cloud for too long.

In my first playthrough, I stumbled on one of the pitfalls in the Depths, which drops you down to the basilisk-infested sewers. I promptly got gang raped by a mob of these and turned into a pretty statue, catching a curse for my troubles. So, I had to backtrack to the Female Undead Merchant in the Lower Undead Burg to buy a Purging Stone for a whopping 4000 souls (it felt like a fortune back then) to cure the condition. I was then able to return to the Depths, where I immediately fell down into a different pitfall, and got molested and cursed. Again. Back to the merchant with me. At least I didn’t fall down a third time, but the experience scarred me for life. I no longer go down to the sewers.

Watch out for those fumes

And there you have it; a list of the five enemies in Dark Souls that caused me the most anal anguish during my first playthrough. Next time, I’ll turn the tables around and list my five favorite enemies in Dark Souls.