Dark Souls 2is known to many as the easiest of theDark Soulsgames. The bosses of this game in the series are amongst the easiest to defeat when compared to harder bosses like the Four Kings of the original game. This is somewhat true until players reach the DLCs ofDark Souls 2.
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This is when the bosses take things up a notch and become some of the toughest in FromSoftware’s series. Thebosses inDark Souls 2’s DLCstruly challenge players as they push the difficulty to the extreme, but which ones are the toughest?
Updated July 09, 2025 by Mark Sammut:At the moment, Elden Ring is inescapable. FromSoftware’s latest project adapts the Dark Souls formula to an open-world setting, and this has proven to be a match made in heaven. As great as the 2022 game is, not everyone has access to this masterpiece; consequently, some people might find themselves returning to the studio’s previous epics to get their fix of awesome boss fights. Dark Souls 2’s DLCs contain a handful of the best and hardest boss fights in the game, and this article has been expanded to include more information about each challenging enemy.
Resistances
Aava is perhaps the easiest fight players will be a part of when taking on the DLCs. Aava is a saber-tooth tiger that shoots icicles andattacks fast. Players should be sure to get some good armor and a good shield so they can defend themselves against the attacks.
Luckily, players can also summon two NPCs to assist them in the battle. The summon signs for these NPCs can be found near the boss fog wall.
Players who thought they would only be dealing with one Smelter Demon should be prepared to be disappointed. TheSmelter Demonis back but this time it’s blue and much larger. This Smelter Demon has the same attacks as the first.
Players who remember that battle will also remember how much of a pain it was. During the fight, the Smelter Demon will have a constant fire AOE that deals damage to players when they stand too close.
Lud and Zallen are the other king’s pets that players will need to fight. This fight is much more difficult than the Aava fight because players will need to fight two bosses at once. They are basically the same as Aava, but when the first one gets below 50% health, the second one will appear. Zallen has a berserk mode that makes them more dangerous and lasts for about two minutes. During this time, Zallen has constant health regeneration and increase damage and defense.
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These bosses are optional and their path contains arguably the hardest standard enemies inDark Souls 2: Frozen Reindeer. In fact, some people might argue that those roaming enemies are more difficult and frustrating than the bosses themselves.
Cave of the Dead
Cerah’s Resistances
Introducing what many players call the “Gank Squad.” This boss is actually three bosses that players must fight at one time. TheGraverobberis the fastest of them all and players will encounter them first.
The others attack from a distance and take longer to reach the player. It is best to try and take down the Graverobber before Cerah can join in the fight. If players end up fighting all three of the bosses, they will most likely lose. Players can summon two NPCs to help in this battle, which is generally advised to avoid being overwhelmed.
Fighting Elana is like fighting an entire group of enemies at one time. Players will be able to get in a few hits on the boss in the beginning of the fight, but they should watch themselves after that as they will soon find themselves taking on Velstadt, The Royal Aegis and Skeletons. These NPCs can easilyoverwhelm playersif they aren’t careful.
Elana is not particularly difficult as a standalone boss, and most of this fight’s challenge arises from managing the summons. When they join the fray, focus on defeating Velstadt and the Skeletons rather than damaging Elana. The former can be especially frustrating, although he is weak to lightning attacks. There are also no friendly summons available for this fight.
Sir Alonne attacks with the speed of a demon and never lets up. From the start of the fight, players will need to keep on their toes and prepare to either dodge or block. This boss fight is one of the hardest across all the DLCs. It also has a difficult route to take to reach the boss.
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Of course, players can make things easier by wiping out all the enemies 12 times in a row to prevent them from respawning. Players will be rewarded for killing Sir Alonne fast enough by getting to watch him commit suicide.
The fight against Sinh is filled with awkwardly timed attacks. Sinh has a wide variety of attacks that consist of shooting fire and claw attacks. Some of the attacks are so tricky to dodge that even being a second off can be a death sentence.
Players should make sure to increase their fire resistance before the fight to help even the odds. They should also consider increasing their dodge speed to help avoid damage whenever possible. Sinh’s attacks also focus on poisoning the player by building up Toxic, so wearing armor or a ring that negates some of this damage can significantly reduce the fight’s challenge. If those are not available, make sure to eat a
Common Fruit before the battle and to keep a few Poison Moss in hand.
The Burnt Ivory King is debatable when it comes to difficulty, but many players say that he is one of the toughest bosses in the game. This boss has a good variety of attacks and one massiveAOE attackthat can be difficult to dodge if a player isn’t paying attention.
Part of what makes this fight difficult is the process that players must do to start the fight. They jump into a hole and are immediately greeted by Loyce Knights. These knights will keep spawning until all the gates they spawn out of are closed. Prior to entering the fight, players can get their own Loyce Knights to aid them, which makes everything a lot easier.
The Fume Knight is by far the mostdifficult bossin any of the DLCs and also the entire game. This boss is unrelenting with his attacks and will consistently wail on the players who choose to take him on.
He wields both an ultra greatsword and a regular greatsword. After decreasing his health a little, the Fume Knight will switch stances and attack with just his ultra greatsword.
