Summary
The Four Kings remain an infamous part of theDark Soulsexperience, as it is the first time across the series that FromSoftware tasks players with dishing out enough damage to survive. More often than not, low damage weapons are plenty viable, even if it can drag out some fights, but evenDark Souls' biggest bossesdon’t punish a lack of DPS quite the same way that the Four Kings do.
Of course, while high DPS can trivialize most fights throughoutDark Souls, the Four Kings included, it isn’t strictly necessary to make it through to the end. As is often the case for FromSoftware’s catalog of brutally challenging titles, a player’s skill at the game can overtake the need to meet any damage threshold that a boss design might otherwise impose.
The Four Kings Flip the Script on the Standard DPS Check
Each of the Four Kings Holds a Strict Deadline to Defeat
The key to the DPS Check of the Four Kings is the way that the fight quickly gets out of hand if the player isn’t able to reach a certain threshold of damage for a period of time. At the start of the fight, the encounter is a one-on-one bout against one of the Four Kings, with the boss' moveset being surprisingly slow, even by the standards of theaged classic of theDark Soulsseries. However, as the fight continues, an exact copy of the first enemy appears, hinting at why the boss is called the Four Kings in the first place.
This escalation of adding more enemies as time goes on is what puts the strict deadline on when each of the Four Kings needs to be defeated before the player is overwhelmed. While the collective group shares the health bar at the bottom of the screen, each of the Four Kings also has their own individual health that when depleted will take them out of the rest of the fight. So, the key to the DPS Check is to focus on each of the Four Kings as they arrive and take them down before the next one can appear, or at least very soon after its backup spawns. It isn’t too difficult a task for some ofDark Souls' strongest weapons, but can certainly be a big ask for players who either find themselves in the fight early or without a meta-level build.
Dark Souls is Content to Leave Players who Fail the DPS Check to Struggle
For most players familiar with the concept of the DPS Check in MMOs where the term originates, failing to reach the threshold needed usually means a wipe during a raid or other high-stakes encounter. Sometimes this comes in terms of buffing up a boss to the point that they simply can’t be beaten, or instantly killing all players and ending an attempt right there. However, for a game that leans into overcoming challenges likeDark Souls' roster of difficult bosses, FromSoftware instead tasks players with an overwhelming task rather than resetting the fight all at once.
It is this mindset of ramping up the challenge that sets the Four Kings apart from other DPS Checks, as skilled players can still survive the onslaught of enemies. Even when the full number of enemies can technically break the Four Kings namesake and summon a total of five opponents to manage at once, this still isn’t a guaranteed fail-state, which is part of what keeps the fan-base coming back topraise the design ofDark Souls. Even the most imposing and overwhelming struggles can still be beaten by players with enough skill, something that has been key to the game’s longevity.
Dark Souls Remastered
WHERE TO PLAY
Re-experience the critically acclaimed, genre-defining game that started it all. Beautifully remastered, return to Lordran in stunning detail. DARK SOULS: REMASTERED includes the main game plus the Artorias of the Abyss DLC.Deep and Dark Universe— Delve into an epic dark fantasy universe stricken by the Curse. Explore its intricate world design, full of hidden passages, dungeons and secrets.Each End is a New Beginning— Each playthrough surprises you with new challenges and discoveries.Gameplay Richness and Possibilities— Use hundreds of unique weapon, armor, magic, and crafting combinations to create your own playstyle and gaming experience.The Way of the Multiplayer (up to 6 players)— Whatever your motivations are to play online – collaboration or confrontation, support or betrayal – you’ll find your true home among the nine covenants.
