DARK SOULS 3 Nameless King: Boss Strategy and Rewards

How to Beat the Nameless King

The DARK SOULS 3 Nameless King punishes early dodges and rushed counterattacks. Beat him by targeting his mount’s head during the opening phase, then delaying your rolls and attacking only after clear recovery animations in the duel. Learning those openings helps you preserve Estus through both health bars.

Your priorities change halfway through the fight:

• King of the Storm: Use lightning damage, stay in front of the mount, and attack its head.
• Nameless King: Switch to fire or dark damage, watch his delayed swings, and limit each opening to a short punish.
• Both phases: Keep enough stamina to dodge after attacking. Both opponents can be staggered and riposted, but neither can be parried.

Dying during the second phase resets the entire encounter. Make the first phase consistent so you reach the duel with healing left.

Official page: DARK SOULS™ III (bandainamcoent.com)

Where to Find the Nameless King

The boss waits at Archdragon Peak, beyond the large bell near the Great Belfry bonfire.

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

To enter the fight from the Great Belfry:

1. Ring the large bell.
2. Step onto the cloud-covered approach and enter the boss arena.

For co-op help, summon another player on solid ground before entering the cloud arena; summon signs cannot be placed on its fog floor.

Preparation, Gear, and Elemental Weaknesses

Bring an upgraded weapon suited to your existing stats. The Sharp Sellsword Twinblades +10 work well for a Dexterity character, while a familiar straight sword or heavier weapon can follow the same dodge-and-punish strategy.

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

The elemental switch matters more than copying an entire equipment set.

Phase	Health in NG	Elemental weaknesses	Damage to avoid relying on
King of the Storm	4,577	Lightning; also vulnerable to Frostbite	Fire
Nameless King	7,100	Fire and Dark	Lightning

For a weapon that accepts buffs, prepare Gold Pine Resin or Gold Pine Bundles for the mount. Switch to Human Pine Resin for dark damage or Charcoal Pine Resin or Charcoal Pine Bundles for fire damage against the king.

Keep your equipment load light enough for a medium or light roll. Choose armor by its actual protection and weight rather than its appearance.

Useful equipment includes:

• Thunder Stoneplate Ring: Reduces incoming lightning damage.
• Chloranthy Ring: Improves stamina recovery.
• Grass Crest Shield: Provides stamina recovery while carried on your back.

The Thunder Stoneplate Ring is available within Archdragon Peak. Follow the route from the Dragon-Kin Mausoleum bonfire and climb the ladders to reach it.

Damage rings require more care. Lloyd’s Sword Ring rewards staying at full health, while Pontiff’s Right Eye rewards consecutive attacks. Keep those bonuses secondary to surviving; chasing another hit during a short opening can cost far more damage than the ring adds.

Phase One: King of the Storm

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

Stay in Front and Aim for the Head

Position yourself a little beyond the mount’s beak. From here, you can watch both its head and the rider’s swordspear.

Avoid camping beneath its body. Attacks against the legs deal little damage, and moving underneath makes the downward fire breath harder to escape. Aim for the head whenever it drops into reach; repeated head hits can stagger the mount and open a critical attack.

Use an unlocked camera while fighting on the ground if lock-on keeps pulling your view upward. Briefly lock onto the rider during aerial attacks when that helps you track his lightning throw.

Punish Grounded Fire Breath

The grounded fire breath is your clearest damage opportunity. Watch for the mount to pull its head far back before breathing across the ground.

Sprint toward the side of its head, clear of the flames, and attack the head while the breath continues. This opening accommodates several fast attacks, but stop early enough to preserve stamina and reposition.

If your hits stagger it, move to the fallen head and perform a riposte. Use its recovery afterward to attack again, heal, or prepare your next buff.

Read the Rider’s Follow-Ups

The king can combine horizontal swings with overhead slams. Dodging the first swing does not guarantee an opening.

Attack	Tell	Response
Horizontal swordspear swings	The rider lifts his weapon before sweeping across you	Roll through the swing and watch for a return swing or overhead follow-up
Overhead slam	The weapon rises above the rider	Roll toward the head through the strike, then punish if the sequence has ended
Lightning-charged slam	Lightning gathers around the raised weapon	Wait through the longer windup and avoid both the slam and its lightning impact
Circling flight	The mount circles while the rider prepares lightning	Track the rider, dodge the bolt, then prepare separately for the swooping attack
Vertical takeoff and downward fire	The mount rises above its current position	Sprint away from beneath it immediately

After the circling flight, the mount turns and lands. Approach its head for a short punish only when you have kept track of the landing and rider.

When it hops or turns behind you on the ground, rotate your camera immediately. Expect an attack after it repositions.

Escape Downward Fire Early

A vertical takeoff is your signal to leave the space beneath the mount. Sprint outward instead of spending stamina on repeated rolls inside the flames.

Once it lands, return to your position in front of the beak. Keeping this spacing also makes the rider’s close-range thrusts easier to avoid.

Phase Two: Nameless King

Dodge the Swing, Not the Windup

The king often holds his weapon in a threatening position before releasing an attack. Rolling as soon as he raises it lets the strike catch your recovery.

Watch the weapon begin its committed movement, then dodge. His thrusts and aerial attacks have different timings, so learn their individual animations instead of applying one fixed countdown to every attack.

Stay close enough to read his movements and circle toward his left side—your right while facing him. This positioning helps you move around his attacks while keeping counterattack opportunities nearby.

Wait for These Two Openings

Start by attacking after two recognizable recoveries:

The final standing thrust. He can repeat thrusts before ending the sequence. Wait until his weapon remains extended and he begins the slower withdrawal animation. Take one or two fast attacks, or use the opening to heal.

The ordinary overhead slam. Dodge the downward strike and punish its recovery. Keep this separate from the lightning-charged version, which adds another hazard after impact.

With a slower weapon, take a single hit and reset. Even with Twinblades, resist extending your attack sequence just because the first hits connected.

Counter His Main Attacks

Attack	What to watch	How to respond
Horizontal slashes	A deliberate windup followed by a sweeping strike	Delay your dodge and roll through each swing; check for another attack before retaliating
Forward thrusts and charges	The swordspear draws back before a sudden lunge	Time your roll to the lunge itself and avoid retreating directly along its path
Wide wind shockwave	A horizontal weapon motion releases an expanding wave	Roll forward through the wave
Narrow wind shockwave	An overhead motion sends a narrower wave toward you	Dodge sideways out of its path
Aerial plunge	The king rises before diving toward your position	Track his descent and dodge the incoming strike; remain ready for a thrust follow-up
Lightning stomp or hand strike	Lightning accompanies a close-range ground impact	Time your dodge to the impact
Charged ground slam	Lightning gathers before the weapon hits the floor	Dodge the slam, then move clear of the lightning traveling outward along the ground
Falling lightning bolt	He charges his weapon and points it skyward	Wait through the gesture, then dodge the delayed bolt

For the charged ground slam, avoid ending your dodge directly along an outgoing lightning trail. At close range, rolling diagonally forward toward your right helps you move around the king while clearing the impact.

The aerial plunge also has a faster variation. Keep watching him at the top of the jump rather than assuming every airborne attack gives you the same delay.

Spend Recovery Windows on Healing

Treat healing as a substitute for attacking. After the final thrust or an ordinary overhead slam, choose whichever you need more.

Creating distance can also give you room to drink, but keep watching for lunges, shockwaves, and aerial approaches. Distance gives you time to react; it does not stop him from reaching you.

Put Estus in the first quick-item slot. Holding down on the D-pad selects that first item, saving you from cycling through resins and other consumables under pressure.

The king can stagger and drop to one knee. Move in for the riposte, then use his recovery to heal, reapply fire or dark damage, or land another attack.

Sorcery, Pyromancy, and Faith Strategies

Ranged attacks let you punish recovery from farther away, but casting still commits you to an animation. Cast after an avoided attack and keep enough stamina to escape his next approach.

Sorcery: Aim spells at the mount’s head during its stationary openings. In the duel, maintain enough distance to cast while tracking the king’s lunges and shockwaves. Crystal Soul Spear provides a strong damage option for an established Intelligence build.

Pyromancy: Use fire or dark damage against the king. Favor openings where you already know his combo has ended, particularly the final standing thrust. Avoid starting a slow cast immediately after an early horizontal swing.

Faith: Use lightning miracles such as Sunlight Spear against the King of the Storm. For the second phase, switch away from lightning and use a compatible weapon buffed with Dark Blade, or apply Human Pine Resin.

Bow users can attack while maintaining distance during the duel. Circle to preserve firing space and reposition before reaching the arena’s narrow edges. Keep the background buildings in view as landmarks while moving backward.

Rewards and What to Collect Afterward

Defeating the boss awards 80,000 souls in NG and the Soul of the Nameless King.

After the fight, explore the exposed area for a Titanite Slab.

Who Is the Nameless King?

The Nameless King is an ally of the ancient dragons and wields the Dragonslayer Swordspear, a weapon that serves as both sword and spear.

Ornstein’s spear and armor are found nearby in Archdragon Peak.

The stormdrake was the king’s companion through countless battles. That shared history gives the transition into the duel its weight: you have killed the creature that fought beside him.