There are a select few gamers out there who love nothing more than being brutally massacred by giant bosses over and over again as they seek out the toughest, most-challenging games possible, and if you’re one of these gamers, you’ll know that the Souls genre offers a rich vein of punishing titles just waiting to maim, stab and crush you with no hesitation or mercy. If you’re someone who’s always been on the outside looking in, however, and thought, ‘Are there Souls games for beginners?’ Well, the answer is yes, andAnother Crab’s Treasureis a great example.
Easiest Souls Bosses Of All Time
Not every Souls boss is hard to beat… just most of ‘em.
This Shoals-Like offers a much more palatable entry-level Souls adventure that maintains all the staple mechanics of the FromSoft collection, with less of the gore and brutal difficulty spikes. This game is still quite a challenge, however, and has plenty of bosses that will push you to your limit as you aim to break into this genre with ruthless aggression. Don’t believe me? Well, then I had better show off the toughest of the lot then.
10The Consortium
Floatsom Vale
We kick things off with a boss that is more of a gimmick than it is a traditional slugfest, making itAnother Crab’s Treasures’boss that actsas a nod to Demon’s Souls.This boss will see you battle against a bunch of crabs that have been smushed into a rage cage, and rage they will in an attempt to pound you into the dirt.
You’ll have to avoid a series of appendages as you gradually carve out openings to get to the various ropes holding the cage closed and take out their respective health bars. Not to mention, the cage will roll around a lot, which will not only break your shell if you’re unfortunate enough to be caught off guard, but will also limit your opportunities to get to various ropes without clambering up the cage to get them. It’s not super difficult, but it is a fair challenge and a fun fight.
9Scuttling Sludge Steamroller
The Scuttling Sludge Steamroller is one that will be somewhat easier or tougher for different players depending on if you’re playing as a heavy or light build, as a slow, heavy build struggles against this boss. They have a lot of moves that make use of Gunk, meaning those unable to get out of the way will suffer pollutant affliction, and will gradually lose health on top of whatever punishment the boss deals aside from their Gunk attacks.
They also have punishing melee combos with weird delays and timing that will likely catch you off guard until you memorize how they play out; plus, to put the cherry atop this punishing boss battle cake, they also have a shield that will block almost all frontal attacks, forcing you to get in behind them to deal damage. More mobile players will have an easier time here, but regardless of your build, the Scuttling Sludge Steamroller is no pushover.
8Petroch, The False Moon
The Unfathom
Next up, we have Petroch, a boss that isAnother Crab’s Treasure’sattempt to pay homage to Mimic Chests inDark Souls, as this boss will spring to life when players innocently head into a Moon Snail Shell to rest. You’ll be spat out and forced to fight against this crab with a huge shell of its own, but despite appearances, it isn’t as tough as it looks, provided you know how to approach this fight.
If you try to go in all guns blazing, you’ll get creamed, as this boss has the ability to parry you if you attack their hard shell. So it’s best to hide in your own shell and wait for them to come to you. They do have access to some red crystal attacks, but these can largely be avoided if you’re going to be hiding in your shell for most of the fight anyway. Basically, if you exercise caution, you’ll be fine, and if not, you’ll have a horrible time here.
7Camtscha The Bleached King
The Old Ocean
I just want to specify that when I list Camtscha here, I’m including both phases of this fight. As players will fight against his Bleached King form, which is somewhat of a challenge as you’ll have to avoid their swinging Toilet Brush attacks by leaping over them like a jump rope, and you’ll also have to contend with their bleach buildup that will prevent any Umami usage. You’ll probably beat the first phase of this fight on the first try, though. If you wait around for a sec, however, you’ll learn that the fight is only just beginning.
Camtscha Reborn will emerge from the Bleached King shell and this skinless beast has a lot more in its bag of tricks. It has a burrowing move where it will flail all of its limbs and force you to get clear, it has a selection of powerful slam attacks and it also has a massive health bar to whittle down. It still ranks low here, as even for a two-stage boss fight, this is still manageable, but any time you have to fight two bosses, you’re always in for a tough time.
6Praya Dubia, The Ocean’s Agony
Sometimes, boss battles are less about dealing huge damage and more about staying alive long enough to carve out an opening, and that’s exactly how the Praya Dubia fight inAnother Crab’s Treasureplays out. This fight sees you run around a large arena where you’ll have to take out little crab minions before Praya Dubia drops to the floor and allows you to deal any damage. But you’ll also have proximity bombs to contend with throughout this process. This is somewhat challenging, but it’s her second phase that sees this boss rise up this list.
10 Best Soulslikes For Beginners
These beginner soulslike titles will help you ‘Git Gud’
You see, the second phase is literally all about survival. Praya Dubia will make a valiant last stand and will toss loads of proximity laser bombs at the player, cast laser pillar attacks and you’ll also have to duck and weave around even more little crab minions. There’s a lot happening on screen and you’ll need to endure her Final Scream until her HP is fully depleted. It’s intense, so all I can say is good luck.
5Pagurus, The Ravenous
Ther Sands Between
Pagurus is a tricky boss to place, because if you ignore him and traverse the Lands Between to the different areas available without fighting him and then return later, it’s a much more manageable fight. Plus, if you find out that he’s allergic to bananas, you’ll also have a much easier time if you pick the fight shell for the encounter. No matter when you face Pagurus, however, you’ll be in for a tough battle against a strong boss with killer attacks.
Pagurus has a series of melee combos that are hard to avoid, with a number of quick slam attacks that will break your shell, and considering there aren’t many to pick up around you, this can be a disaster. Not to mention, he also has a grab attack that will almost always kill you as he cuts you with his knife and swallows you whole. There are some ways you can cheese Pagurus, which sees him drop down the list a little, but all in all, he’s more than worthy of a spot high on this list.
4Roland, Venture Crabitalist
The Mouth of the Drain
Just missing out on the podium places, we have Roland, the guy you would assume to be the final boss of this game based on how the story plays out, but we’ll get onto the true final boss in a little while. Roland is a fun, but challenging fight that takes place on a pinball table. This essentially means that you can’t be too defensive and back off here, as the table will bounce you back his way and leave you open to attacks.
You’ll need to stay on the offensive, but Roland has a number of killer moves that will make this a tough task to pull off. He has annoying melee combos with strange delays that are hard to memorize and master. It’s essentially a fight where, if you don’t have the art of parrying mastered, you’re going to have a rough time. So if you want to take on his entrepreneurial pest, you’ll need to know how to use that Shell properly.
3Heikea, Intimidation Crab
Expired Grove, Village Gates
In a game so full of color and whimsy, it’s difficult to present a boss who is genuinely intimidating, but to his credit, Heikea lives up to his name and then some. This guy is a tricky customer who uses the art of intimidation to cause terror build-up, which causes Kril to hide in their Shell until the bar drops again. This can make you a sitting duck if you aren’t careful, which is because Heikea backs this gimmick up with devastating attacks.
They have powerful melee combos that have a long-range, and they have a slamming attack that will break your shell in an instant. The fight only really heats up when you take him down to 50% health, however, as this is when he breaks his chopstick weapon in two and comes at you much more aggressively.
It’s almost impossible to back up and keep your distance at this point, which forces you to dodge roll into his attacks with precision to make use of those precious I-frames. The only reason they aren’t a little higher is that there are Cascadia Roll Shells lying around the arena that offer lots of healing opportunities, but even with those lying around, you’ll still struggle to beat this powerful boss.
2Firth, The Crab Who Stole The Whorl
Trash Island
Shock, horror! The final boss isn’t considered the hardest boss in the game. How can that be so? Well, I suppose I need to clarify that in terms of attack patterns, their multiple stages and their variety of gimmicks, from a purely objective standpoint, Firth is probably the hardest boss. The reason why we have dropped them down into the runner-up spot is that by the time you reach them, however, you’ll have access to the best Shells in the game, will have a ridiculous amount of health, skills and buffed stats, and you’ll likely be a master of parrying at this point too. Which makes this fight much less taxing.
That being said, even with all the gear, they’re still no pushover. Their first phase will have you contend with his Umami Junk sword attacks and his fast-paced teleport attacks. Whereas his second phase will see you try and hold back the tide against his Naval Mine attacks and his whirlpool attacks. He’s a stern test, and one fitting of a final boss to wrap up this game, but there’s still one more boss we think will drive you even more insane.
1Grovekeeper Topoda
Expired Grove
Due to the point in the game you will likely face Topoda, the stern test he provides and how harsh the punishment is in this fight for even the tiniest mistake, we just had to place Topoda on the top of this list. Topoda is a boss with a number of strong and fast-paced melee attacks that essentially force the player to master the art of parrying, and he also happens to be one of the few bosses that can be parried and still continue his combo without interruptions, meaning you need to chain parries here.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg, as Topoda also has access to a teleporting Shell break attack that requires precise dodging to avoid, and in his second phase, he will hide in a sandstorm and chain these attacks, meaning you need to master the timing of avoiding this attack or you’ll never be able to get near him to finish him off in the second phase. Using the various Decoy Shells lying around the area will help in a pinch, but only through perfect parries and dodges will you get out of this encounter alive.
The Hardest Souls Bosses Of All Time, Ranked
Every Souls Boss is a Challenge, But Some Are Tougher Than Most
