FromSoftware’s challenging action RPGs have become a subgenre-defining and influential line of releases, but several of these titles have also encountered the same recurring issues which have followed them all the way intoElden Ring. When it comes to the iconic bosses ofFromSoft’s Soulsborne releases over the years, the issue of being unable to revisit these battles has remained consistent across entries ever sinceDark Souls 2already tackled this problem.
Advancements in gameplay mechanics in subsequent releases have made massive improvements, but there’s been a noticeable gap in development when it comes to a system like the Bonfire Ascetics, which added a modular element toDark Souls 2’s progression. Despite their ability to put difficulty adjustments in the player’s hands alongside replaying bosses, nothing in any FromSoft game since has come close to the same functionality of these items.
Bonfire Ascetics Provided an Innovative Way to Rematch Boss Fights
Integrating New Game Plus Mechanics into the Base Game
By burning a Bonfire Ascetic in a particular bonfire, players can make that entire area scale up toNew Game+ difficulty. This not only powers up all the enemies and their rewards, but also respawns the area boss if they have already been defeated. Theoretically, a boss encounter can be replayed as many times as an Ascetic is used, but that fight will continue to get more powerful each time. This goes up to the maximum difficulty of the seventh New Game+ cycle, after which further uses will only serve to respawn. This is not only useful for returning enemies and what they can drop, but farming the several items in levels which can also respawn with each cycle.
Found relatively frequently throughout Drangleic,Dark Souls 2’s Bonfire Asceticshave the potential to be farmed indefinitely by players with ambition. In allowing players to target specific zones to level up to New Game+ instead of requiring that the entire game world be reset,DS2was able to capture an element of replayability that its successors sorely lack. While a few design decisions have seemingly come close since, none have been able to deliver the same level of control to players who have already finished parts of a world.
The Absence of a System like Bonfire Ascetics in Other FromSoftware Releases
Sekiro’s Boss Rush Mode is the Only Analogue
WhileSekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s Boss Rush modecame in a post-launch update, it can fall short when compared to whatDark Souls 2was able to accomplish with Bonfire Ascetics.Sekirorequires the player to engage solely with its bosses during this mode, eliminating the traditional context of levels and their progression. These battles primarily serve to allow the player to practice against these foes within the game’s deeper combat system, but it misses out on the RPG elements that its developer is known for. In titles that came before and after, no real form of boss rematches exist at all.
Dark Souls 3ended up not having any semblance of Ascetics, strictly requiring players to start a brand-new New Game+ cycle if they ever want to replay a boss outside assisting in co-op, which comes with its own connectivity restrictions. The duplicate bosses that can be found in theChalice Dungeons ofBloodborneor the various catacombs acrossElden Ringcan at times qualify as rematches, but these new versions of the same bosses often include meaningful arena and stat changes that go well beyond the enhancements of a Bonfire Ascetic. Until FromSoft chooses to bring back a signature feature of one of its most underrated titles, a convenient system for replaying boss fights might be stuck inDark Souls 2alone.
Dark Souls 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Dark Souls 2, released in 2014, is the second title in From Software’s iconic Dark Souls series. Players create their own character, an “undead” who will one day become a zombie-like Hollow if players cannot break the curse by defeating a powerful enemy.
