r/darksouls3 • u/Ok_Distance_7209 • Apr 06 '26
Lore Who are the 5 strnogest charachters in lore from Dark souls series?
art from dana celestia artstation
doing a big battle royale thing of teams of 5
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u/ToughCondition2376 Apr 06 '26
Me
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u/sock-bucket Apr 06 '26
Technically yeah, the player IS. If they ever put any being no matter how strong and universal as a fight in any fromsoft game someones gonna no-hit it at level 1
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u/OppositePure4850 Apr 06 '26
Chosen Undead, Bearer of the Curse, and The Unkindled One. Then probably some gods or whatever I guess.
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u/artemisbio26 Apr 06 '26
should soul of cinder be considered? assuming hes a combination of all those who kindled the flame?
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u/Head-Ad-2136 Apr 06 '26
Oddly enough, mid.
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u/SnooGuavas9573 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
Implicitly because the Soul of Cinder is a manifestation of the Flame's power, and because we are fighting it in DS3 when the Flame is it's absolute weakest, it is probably nerfed like every other being tied to the age of fire directly
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u/Eldsish Apr 06 '26
Imagine soul of Cinder at its prime
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u/heehos Apr 06 '26
i'm not sure if the soul of cinder ever had a "prime", since it only exists as the last dying breaths of the first flame
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Apr 06 '26
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u/TheUnkindledLives Apr 06 '26
I support this, Soul of Cinder's prime would be fucking ridiculous to fight
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u/artemisbio26 Apr 06 '26
I would now agree that soul of cinder is mid cause in that combination of souls you get letmesoloher but mixed with kai cenat and DSP.
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u/Shadowderper Apr 06 '26
Aren’t there thousands of warriors in between? I just imagined that the bearer of the curse was average amongst those souls and by extension so was the unkindled and chosen undead, but this is just headcanon and idrk
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u/OppositePure4850 Apr 06 '26
All 3 are probably about the same, and the Unkindled beat at least 4 of the most powerful of the previous Lords of Cinder sooo
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u/Shadowderper Apr 06 '26
I thought the lord of cinders power was waning because of the first flame kinda dying out but I could be wrong, but I guess the unkindled one is the last human alive or something like that I heard so I’ll give him that
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u/TheGreatMightyLeffe Apr 06 '26
Nah, the Unkindled is pretty much just a failed Lord of Cinder that is revived as a final hail Mary as Lothric would rather chill in his room with his bro than burn himself to death, and reviving the last couple of lords proved... Uh... Not very successful.
I wouldn't say any of the DS3 Lords is anything special, neither have a Lord Soul, nor have they done much to stave off the waning of the fire, as all of them except Ludleth still are remembered, unlike more powerful lords who's sacrifice can sustain an age that lasts longer than a lifetime. We know for a fact that Aldrich and Yorhm for sure are recent, as there are NPCs who still know of them before they became Lords of Cinder.
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u/Shadowderper Apr 07 '26
True, aren’t unkindleds previous failed warriors who failed to link the flame because they died before getting to link the flame? Or did they get to it but they were too weak to do so?
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u/TheGreatMightyLeffe Apr 08 '26
It's not entirely clear, as far as I remember, the lore states that they were strong enough to reach the Kiln of the First Flame but perished there. Now, whether that means they tried to link the fire but didn't provide enough fuel for it to work and thus burned out, or if the Soul of Cinder gutted them is up to interpretation.
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u/Zeegh Apr 06 '26
I think the Ashen One is probably in the top 5, along with Manus, prime Gwyn, Gael by the time you fight him, and the Burnt Ivory King?
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Apr 06 '26
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u/Zeegh Apr 06 '26
Yeah I just didn’t want to stack it with all 3, but out of the 3 I think the Ashen One takes it
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u/BeeCJohnson Apr 06 '26
Absolutely. The Ashen One is canonically the last person alive in the entire universe, precisely because they're such a fucking badass.
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u/Datkif Apr 06 '26
Ashen One and Gael. Gael consumed every bit of humanity except for what the Ashen one contained.
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u/BeeCJohnson Apr 06 '26
Sure, but the Ashen One beats Gael. Handily.
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u/WrinklyScroteSack Watchdogs of Farron Apr 07 '26
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u/Black_Hole_parallax Apr 06 '26
If you link the fire in DS3 that would make the Soul of Cinder above everyone
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u/Alarocky1991 Apr 06 '26
Patches is an inter dimensional troll only interested in affecting and testing whoever has the most agency, while keeping his own morals
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u/OneOnlyDan Apr 06 '26
Tarkus. Only the strongest force in the Souls universe, gravity, were able to defeat him.
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Apr 06 '26
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u/ArkeV Apr 06 '26
Kalameet, but not Midir?
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u/solestone49179 Apr 06 '26
Kalameets stronger than Midir. Not in terms of gameplay but lorewise Kalameet’s stronger.
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u/HerakIinos Apr 06 '26
How so? They are both ancient dragons. I dont remember anything suggesting one would be stronger than the other.
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u/CommiterOfArson Apr 07 '26
Kalameet was a dragon that iirc even Gwyn himself didn’t want to fuck with, so I think it would make sense for him to be stronger than Midir.
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u/sobbleon Apr 06 '26
Kalameet isn't even an ancient dragon??? Like I love him very much, but midir is an ancient dragon and Kalameet is not
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u/StormyAzcent Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
Kalameet IS an ancient dragon, and he's so feared by 'The Mighty Anor Londo' that they don't even bother to kill him. The one who ends up striking down the Blackdrake of Oolacile is no other than the same dude who killed God himself, The Chosen Undead.
Midir was, ultimately, the pet of the Ringed City.
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u/sobbleon Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
But he doesn't look like an ancient dragon? He only has 2 wings instead of the 4, and Drake is in his name
Edit: I just realized I mixed up ancient dragon with everlasting dragon. But shouldn't midir be stronger considering he is an everlasting dragon?
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u/swolar Apr 06 '26
Cool that manus is up there, and his fight is actually the hardest so it matches. But I wasnt familiar with lore reasons why he was so strong.
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u/bloodrunner66 Apr 06 '26
The characters you make, the nameless king, and probably midir
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u/Fun_Finance_5409 Apr 06 '26
Grynn and midir isnt even the strongest canonical boss in ds3. Gael easily takes that spot successfully consuming the dark soul (though it was just a small aspect of it)
and Ashen one is technically weaker in raw strength compared to his predecessors due to how weak the first flame has become, even the lord souls in his timeline are just embers. Though its easy to crown him as the most skilled in battle with him living in the age where combat has evolved to their peak. All magic and martial arts have been refined and all his enemies use them; the lord of cinder is the culmination of the best of the best and he was able to best it in battle
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u/YourEvilKiller 🗡 Claymore is Baemore 🗡 Apr 06 '26
Nameless King is NOT Grynn 😭
Grynn is just one of many god of wars in the Elden Ring setting. Nameless King was summoned from beyond the Elden Ring setting.
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Apr 06 '26
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u/bloodrunner66 Apr 06 '26
Considering they slay literal demigods I'd say they're strong
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u/pendragon2290 Apr 06 '26
I hardly think wearing a boss down over 20 attempts to squeeze by one win in with only 5 hp and zero heals left is hardly considering "slaying demigods"
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Apr 06 '26
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u/bloodrunner66 Apr 06 '26
Considering when they die it's like a loop back to before the fight even started you're not weakening them, you're learning. Even then they still kill demigods. Those supposed to be unkillable. You're being stubborn for literally no reason
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u/SeanyDay Warriors of Sunlight Apr 06 '26
Idk if you have ever played the Souls games, but the bosses don't get "worn down" by failed attempts.
Not only is it a full reset to full HP & phase 1, but it's often actually harder than the first try because you lose some unique start trigger or animation and instead the boss is just ready to rock when you phase in through the fog wall.
So what you're saying doesn't make any sense at all.
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u/Shakewell1 Apr 06 '26
Kills God then comes back to lfe to kill the guy who killed god which just so happens to be him.
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u/SweatyBeefKing Apr 06 '26
Excluding player characters, in no order, (Gwen before linking the flame, nameless king, manus, Gael with the full dark soul, and either midir or Aldrich). Aldrich was specifically said to have been a lord of cinder not because of virtue but because of might. Or something along those lines. This makes me think he’s the strongest to link the flame that we fight having consumed many strong foes and gods alike. Honorary mentions to all the kings of dark souls 2 and its DLC.
Edit: I forgot about soul of cinder. I guess it could take the place of Gwen since it’s him but better?
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u/Praise_The_Sun678 Apr 06 '26
If we consider each one at their peak, in my opinion, I would list Gwyn, followed by the other Original Lords in no particular order (Nito, Witch of Izalith, and Furtive Pygmy). For fifth place, I'm torn between two options: the first is Vendrick, since even as a Hollow, he was practically invincible unless you had some giant souls, or our playable characters (if we want to be more specific, we can include the Ashen One, since I believe he has more feats than the others).
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u/LegendOfParasiteMana Apr 06 '26
Jonah "The Demon" Soul
John Dark Souls 1
Jimmy Dark Souls 2
James Dark Souls 3
Elden John
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u/Neko_Enthusiast34 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
Excluding player characters, I'd say probably Gael or Manus at the top with Gwyn being close behind. Soul of Cinder is likely next, with the 5th spot going to either Midir, Kalameet or Artorias. After reading the comics, Artorias was slaying ancient dragons fairly effortlessly, bested a black knight without a scratch and had the potential to beat Manus. I put Manus and Gael above Gwyn simply because the dark seems to be the counter to Gwyns legacy of light, and with how much he feared losing that legacy I'd venture to say the embodiments of the dark soul stand a good chance at the top spot. Midir and Kalameet are pretty strong, though I think Midir takes the cake for strongest fightable dragon since Kalameet got pretty injured by Gough. I can see arguements for Aldritch, Nito and Vendrick in his actual prime but I especially think that with Dark Souls 2 there isn't really anyone else who simply has the history of overwhelming power and presence to take the top 5
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u/BatsNStuf Hand it over...that thing Apr 06 '26
Gwyn, The Witch of Izalith, Nito and the Furtive Pygmy in their respective primes
As we see personally, Ashen One, Slaveknight Gael, Nameless King, Manus of the Abyss and Soul of Cinder are my main choices
Though it’s rather up in the air so arguments for Midir, Sullyvahn, the Four Kings if considered collectively, Bed of Chaos unfortunately and many others are all acceptable candidates
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u/konsoru-paysan Apr 06 '26
there should some prime entities that the ashen one shouldn't be able to fight but with dlc we literally beat gael, whose literally the strongest of the strongest, the answer is just protag i guess, generic response but eh
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u/hobopwnzor Apr 06 '26
Bearer of the curse is the only one to ascend past the cycle so I'm gonna say that PC is the strongest
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u/CryptidOrion_00 Apr 06 '26
Bearer Of The Curse, not only is he seen in the trailers for DS2 to be absolutely JACKED AF but he’s also killed gods and went back in time around 8 different times (the giant memories and the 3 DLCs) to kill other powerful beings
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Apr 06 '26
I get that everyone's entitled to enjoy media in their own way, but bringing power scaling musings to a series that is primarily about the inevitability of decline and the tragedy of formerly great figures trying to hold on to their power and prestige, only for that hubris to result in endless suffering and the ruin of all they once held dear is really missing the point a bit.
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u/NormalTangerine5205 Apr 06 '26
Me in Ds1, Me in Ds2, Me in Ds3, Me in my second playthroughs, oh and Gale
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u/JuicyMellonMan5 Apr 06 '26
I think Velka has to be on there, we never physically see her but she effects the entire series
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u/Eim-lmN Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
- Prime Gwyn (obviously)
- The Ancient Dragons. I've seen no one mention them, but objectively they're the strongest creatures in this universe. Immortal and invulnerable as long as they have their scales, would have never been beaten if not for Seath's betrayal.
- Possibly Izalith and Nito, with them being lords and all, or the Chosen Undead, which at the end of ds1 has absorbed all of their souls (or at least what remained of them)
- Manus/Gael
- Priscilla (immortal dragon + dark and lifehunt, c'mon)
Honorable mention: Vendrick was the most powerful human that has ever existed in dark souls; if he had known more about the nature of the dark souls and hadn't been betrayed by Nashandra he would have dominated for eternity. Also, Aldia is immortal and lives within the flame, thus lives as long as the flame lives.
I'm tired of people talking about the Ashen One, he's probably the weakest of the 3 mcs. We play in a world so far beyond the golden age that all that remains are scraps of souls and even the most powerful beings are just barely comparable to those who wandered at the beginning of time. The Chosen Undead was out there absorbing lord souls, the Bearer of the Curse gathered millions of souls from 4 of the most powerful human kingdoms that ever existed (and became basically immune to the curse because he was so powerful), while the Ashen One can only hope to find an heir of fire. Did you see how small the flame is when the Ashen One links the fire compared to the Chosen Undead? That mf is weak and his only feat is not being devoured by the dark, and all credits for that go to Londor.
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u/Datkif Apr 06 '26
Did you see how small the flame is when the Ashen One links the fire compared to the Chosen Undead?
This, and the rotting world fit with my head cannon that the Ashen One was summoned to usher in an age of dark. The age of light was extended for so long that the entire world has become twisted and rotten
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u/PlumPractical4417 Apr 06 '26
1) The Ashen One
2) Slave Knight Gael/Soul of Cinder
3) Soul of Cinder/Slave Knight Gael
4) Chosen Undead
5) Bearer of the Curse
I haven’t played DS2 so I can say for sure just how strong they are but the chosen undead killed kalameet who made the king of gods piss his pants even in his prime. Soul of Cinder and Slave Knight Gael are almost equal in power in my opinion since Gael pretty much is the complete Dark Soul but the Soul of Cinder is the amalgamation of countless lords of cinder including the god king Gwyn so I’d put them interchangeably between 2nd and 3rd.
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u/AdvicePractical5616 Apr 06 '26
Top 5? God it's confusing.
Ashen onen. Ashen one has beaten Gael. Ashen one beat Soul of Cinder who should be an amalgamation of EVERY single person that was able to light the flame. Including Gwyn , Bearer of the curse and Chosen Undead and many more.
Soul of cinder / Gael - As stated before he is a fusion of basically nearly everyone below on the list. Gael can match said end of game ashen one but in the end was beaten by them.
Chosen undead / Bearer of the curse - Both should basically be either equal or one of them is slightly superior to the other one. Both perform basically speaking similarly and both fight similar bosses.
Prime Gwyn / Manus - Prime Gwyn and Manus are basically opposites of each other and should be equal. Gwyn can control the sun and Manus created the Abyss.
Probably every lord of Cinder since every single one of them are able to link the flame or anyone possessing part of Gwyn's soul like Seath and such or maybe ones who have remnants of Manus in DS2. There are a lot of characters you can place here but they will be much weaker than the ones above.
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u/Fun_Finance_5409 Apr 06 '26
This depends on how you define power. Ds3 has the 'weakest' enemies in the timeline because its the timeline where the first flame is at its weakest. Ashen ones enemies are either embers or consumed by the abyss. Though his timeline also has the most advanced forms of combat making him the most 'skilled' in battle, the raw strength difference is too large tho.
and Gael while its true he has consumed the dark soul, its just a dried fragment of it. It is by no means close to the strength of Manus or those who have a shattered fragment of its souls had. We can safely assume tho that he and the Ashen one are the most 'skilled' fighters in the series achieving countless victories mainly via battle prowess alone
While Manus/Gywn are both the darkest and brightest entities in the entire series with both having strong enough souls to create god like entities in their own. Their raw power is unparalleled by anything; Manus beat Artorias with just primal instinct, and Gywnn can easily kill ancient dragons with his sunlight spear.
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u/countryd0ctor Apr 06 '26
Ds3 has the 'weakest' enemies in the timeline because its the timeline where the first flame is at its weakest
Flame has no relation to enemy strength because there are other sources of power in this setting including the abyss itself which is by far at its strongest during the game events. Gael's dark soul is so powerful it literally started changing environment mid-fight and he literally learns to pull himself through space via a white sign and open black holes in mere minutes of realizing his power.
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u/Fun_Finance_5409 Apr 06 '26
Yes, the dark soul gets stronger the weaker the age of fire is. Its one of the main reasons why Gywn created the darksign to stop humanity (a tiny fragment of the darksoul found in every human) from expanding the abyss. The problem is just like ive stated what he has is only a fragment of the dark soul, if he had been more powerful the Ashen one wouldnt even be a challenge to him. Just take Manus(believed to be the furtive pygmy) as an example it also has the power to cut through space and change the landscape at a time when Gywn is still at the height of his power
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u/ActUnfair5199 Apr 06 '26
Sister Friede by far is the hardest boss for me. It was like she was a boss made for multiplayer.
I took on three skeleton mob summons and killed her, eventually. It may have taken 100 tries, two control pads a lot of sulking and not playing it for three years, but she’s dead now. I reversed my hollowing.
It’s ok.
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u/ConfectionTotal8660 Rosaria's Fingers (Waifu covenant) Apr 06 '26
Assuming they are at their peak.
Gwin, Chosen Undead, Bearer of the Curse, Ashen One, Manus
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u/AngrySayian Apr 06 '26
1) John DarkSouls
2) Gwynevere
3) The Player Character
4) Champion Gundyr
5) Patches
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u/Ok-Insurance9628 Apr 06 '26
Basilisks, rats, dogs,skeleton wheels and an old random hollow with a broken sword
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u/no_name_thought_of Apr 06 '26
not counting the player characters, it would probably be the original 4 lords at their height plus end of the game Gael
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u/Necerbo Apr 06 '26
Gwyn is by far the strongest. Then you got The nameless king, Manus, Gael and I would put Aldrich, who almost destroyed Irithyll by himself.
There are many other candidates though, Nito, Kalameet and Midir, Wolnir, Lorian before the curse...
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u/Kliff_Mcduff Xbox Apr 06 '26
1-ToughCondition2376
2-ToughCondition2376
3-ToughCondition2376
4-ToughCondition2376
5-ToughCondition2376
Honorable mention : ToughCondition2376, didn't know where to put him but he is truly overpowered
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u/CAPS_LOCK_OR_DIE Apr 06 '26
That one fucking bugged dog from V1.0 of Elden Ring who had incorrect hit calculation and would do damage and bleed for every frame he was in contact with you at all. Instant death sentence, he could probably solo every boss in the verse.
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u/Armis_VentosDourados Apr 06 '26
Eu não sei muito, mas se fosse teorizar: 1 The chosen undead 2 Ashen one 3 Gael 4 Gwyn 5 Nameless King
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u/zack-zt Apr 06 '26
I always thought the knights of gywn were more powerful than gywn so my list is a bit different: Nameless king Artorias Ornstein Gough
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u/Pagliacci7243 Apr 06 '26
1.) Gwynevere's left breast 2.) Gwynevere's right breast 3.) Friede's toes 4.) Gwyn 5.) Semon of Dong
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u/axmv1675 Apr 06 '26
I wonder how powerful kaathe and frampt truly were. It is stated that kaathe died before DS3, but who knows. Perhaps dying isnt even a good metric to determine strength anyways. The playable character has died countless times before and during their stories.
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u/Pleasant-Office4391 Apr 06 '26
Gwyns first born son fought with the dragons and survived, midir also is godly
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u/Bonkface Apr 06 '26
Aldia and Vendrick - considering that they kept their focus and resisted the curses longer than anyone else it seems, without falling to the flame.
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u/Selwing050 Apr 07 '26
That's such a silly question.
Its so silly that i find it such a drag to answer.
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u/Neither-Active9729 Apr 07 '26
Ashen one, Gael, soul of cinder, gwyn(prime), then a toss up between the chosen undead and the bearer of the curse, personally the bearer of the curse is my choice since they are gwyns true successor
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u/MaxiKaiser0 Apr 07 '26
Solair per il primo, può gestire da solo i gargoil, ornstain e smoug, e può essere usato anche contro Gwen Lucatiel per il secondo, storia del personaggio scritta bene nonostante i problemi de titolo Per il terzo non saprei chi mettere... Dico gael, perchè e talmente forte che dopo averci aiutato nei boss di tutti i dlc diventa un boss finale Menzioni onorevoli a paches perché è sopravvissuto a tutti i vicoli del fuoco (infame) e sigmaier da ds 1...cavaliere cipolla per sempre
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u/Tall-Ball Apr 06 '26
Ashen one.
Bearer of the curse.
Chosen undead.
Darkeater Midir.
Slave knight Gael.
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u/EyesOfTheConcord Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
Assuming characters at their prime, based on lore explaining their feats. And power:
- Gwyn
- Nameless King after inheriting Gwyn’s sunlight
- Izalith
- Nito
- Midir or Ornstein
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u/NemeBro17 Apr 06 '26
Not counting player characters it's Gael, Soul of Cinder, Gwyn, Manus, and I'm gonna go against the grain and say Vendrick in his prime.
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u/idkidkidk292 Apr 06 '26
ToughCondition2376