The Four Kings

fourkings-ds1.jpgThe Four Kings (四人の公王) is a mandatory Boss encountered in New Londo Ruins.

Description

Lord Gwyn recognized the foresight of these four great leaders of New Londo, and granted them their ranks and fragments of his Lord Soul. Sadly, they fell into the Dark after a primordial serpent offered them the Art of Lifedrain.

Location

The Abyss
At the center of the (previously) submerged New Londo Ruins. To get to this boss you must first drain the water in the New Londo Ruins and have the Covenant of Artorias ring equipped before dropping from the stairs past the Fog Gate.

Playthrough HP Souls
New Game 2,353 each King (9412 total) (9,504 in the shared health bar) 60,000
NG+ 4,015 each King (16,061 total) 180,000
NG+6 5,019 each King (20,077 total) 225,000

Drops


Resistances

Physical resistances


Regular Strike Slash Thrust
299 299 299 299

Elemental resistances


Magic Fire Lightning
205 192 177

Auxiliary resistances


Poison Toxic Bleed

Sourced from the Future Press Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide

Summoning


Witch Beatrice
You must have summoned her for the Moonlight Butterfly fight if you want to summon her here. Her Soul Sign is on the other side of a large pillar (to your right while facing the bridge to the Fog Gate).

Notes


Attack Patterns


Strategy


The first thing to be aware of is the additional Kings. Keep an eye on your surroundings to ensure there is not another King sneaking up behind you. All four Kings are identical so if you are fighting more than one at once, target the one with the least health.

You should aim to kill each King as quickly as you can so you are not fighting more than two Kings at once. Up to four Kings can be in the fight if you allow it.

Each King makes up about a quarter of the total boss HP and most of the time killing the fourth or taking him very low will end the battle, but sometimes a fifth King may need to be engaged.

Attack a King during its death animation (assuming there are no other Kings currently in the fight) as even with no health you can still deal damage to the overall boss health.

Dodging and Blocking


Stay as close to the King you are currently fighting as possible. Their melee attacks will do much less damage and are easier to dodge when standing right on them. Only back away when they begin to spin.

Staying close to the King you are fighting will usually keep additional Kings from engaging you, but still keep your target between you and other Kings.

Melee


Attack while the King recovers from his attacks and be back on the defensive before he launches his next attack. Note to watch for him spinning around as it can be difficult to get out of range of either possible attack that will ensue.

Melee Pyromancer Video

Ranged


The Kings can close distance very quickly so staying at range is not entirely viable. Your best approach is to dodge back as the King attacks and get an attack in while he recovers. The abyss has invisible walls at its perimeter, be careful about getting pinned against them and unable to dodge the sweeping attack. Note you want to finish each King as quickly as possible so if using ammunition, use the best you have available. Most spells are effective however if using homing attacks it is best to be reasonably close before casting. (Note that Dark Bead and Pursuers are extremely effective against the kings at point-blank range.)

Status Effects and Items


Stealth and Diversion


You can let Witch Beatrice tank for you while you land ranged attacks on the distracted King. She does decent damage but do not rely on her to win the fight for you. Note you may have to kill a ghost floating near the ceiling of the room just before the Fog Gate or Beatrice will not follow you. Also note that summoning her will cause the Kings to spawn faster so do not do so lightly.

Information

Strategies

Drops

Lore

Notes

Trivia


Revision #5
Created 20 November 2024 04:19:50 by jade
Updated 17 December 2024 07:44:29 by jade