Having trouble with a certain boss inDark Souls? Usually, all you would have to do is summon an NPC character or another player to fight alongside you and it'd make the boss easier to defeat.The key word there is "usually."
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While summoning help makes most of the bosses in the game easier, there are some bosses, like Artorias the Abysswalker among others, that are actually made more difficult by summoning phantoms. There are a variety of reasons why that is and thiss list will this list will touch on them. Here's tenDark Souls bosses, including Artorias, that are harder if you summon.
10 Artorias The Abysswalker
One of the four Knights of Gwyn, Artorias the Abysswalker is one of the most difficult bosses in the entire game. Appearing in the aptly named Artorias of the Abyss DLC, you might be tempted to summon help against him but that would ultimately cause you more problems.
For one thing, summoning one phantom causes the boss's health pool to increase by 50%, and with two phantoms its health is doubled. Also keep in mind that Artorias hits very hard and very fast. More often than not, Artorias will take out your summon quickly, leaving you to deal with him alone with him having increased health.
9 Chaos Witch Quelaag
The boss arena where you fight Chaos Witch Quelaag is absolutely massive so summoning a phantom or two may seem like a good idea but you'll just run into the same problem as you would against Artorias.
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Summoning help will only increase Quelaag's health pool and at the point of the game you usually fight her, you won't be doing much damage to begin with. With summons, it will actually take much longer than if you went in solo.
8 Capra Demon
Capra Demon is usually the first hurdle that players come up against during their first playthroughs because of the tiny boss arena, the overly hyper attack dogs, and the giant demon wielding two giant swords.
It's easy for things to get chaotic during this boss fight but bringing a summon in with you will only make things more chaotic and you'll be finding yourself back at the bonfire faster than it took to summon someone.
7 Gaping Dragon
There are difficult bosses before Gaping Dragon but this is the first boss that makes the blood drain from your face when you first see it. It's enough to make you summon both Solaire and Lautrec, whose summon signs are just out the fog gate, but you'd be making a mistake.
Like with the other bosses, bringing summons will raise Gaping Dragon's health pool, and it already has quite a large health pool to begin with. On top of that, both Solaire and Lautrec do barely any damage and they'll go down rather quickly, so it's better to go it alone.
6 Centipede Demon
Admittedly, the Centipede Demon isn't a terribly difficult boss fight either solo or with summons, but bringing in summons does make this boss more chaotic and difficult to manage.
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It's all because of the pools of lava in this boss arena. For example, if you summon Solaire to help you, he'll have a tendency to run into the pools of lava and drop dead in just a few minutes.
5 Gwyn Lord Of Cinder
The problem with bringing summons for the fight against Gwyn is the same problem as with Artorias. Gwyn hits hard and fast so he'll likely take out your summons quickly, leaving you to deal with a Gwyn with increased health.
Like with Artorias, you're better off going in solo, learning his moves, and persevering until you bring him down.
4 The Four Kings
The Four Kings are a unique boss in that there are multiple enemies that share a health bar. Each King has their own health bar which then effects the larger boss health. With multiple enemies attacking you at once, it makes sense to summon in some help to manage the enemies. Not so for the Four Kings.
This is because bringing summons will increase their health, and thus it will takeyou longer to take down each one and you're more likely to get swarmed by them.
3 Ornstein & Smough
When discussingDark Souls' difficult bosses, the go-to example is usually Ornstein and Smough, a duo of bosses you have to fight at the same time.
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Summoning usually helps with this boss fight but between Ornstein's speed and Smough's strength, things can get out of hand very quickly, and you'll be left alone with two very angry enemies with increased health.
2 Manus, Father Of The Abyss
TheArtorias of the Abyss DLC has some of the most difficult bosses in the entirety of theDark Souls, which should be saying something.Among these nigh impossible fights is the final boss of the DLC, Manus, Father of the Abyss.
Like the other bosses, bringing in a summon increases Manus' health, and like many of the bosses on this list, Manus is easily capable of taking out your summons. Manus has several attacks that have a huge area of effect that can take out you and your summons in seconds.
1 Black Dragon Kalameet
Arguably the most difficult boss in the wholeSouls series, Black Dragon Kalameet is thankfully an optional boss but it's still a boss you should face alone rather than with summons. You need every advantage that you can get against Kalameet, and giving adding to its already huge health pool is not the way to do it.
As difficult as this boss is solo, it's more difficult with summons as the fight will be more dragged out than it should be, creating more opportunities for you to stumble and get killed and you'll have to start all over again. It's best to go in solo and end the fight as quickly as possible.
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