The Lothric, Younger Prince battle is essentially a dual-boss fight. The fight itself is interesting, and the mood and the setting of the standoff just add to the atmosphere. How to defeat the boss? What is he weak to? What strategies can you use to beat it? All will be answered in this ultimate guide to beating Lothric, Younger Prince in Dark Souls 3.
The fight with Lothrim, Younger Prince, will actually commence in the second phase after you have taken down his twin, Lorian, Elder Prince, in the first phase. You only need to kill Lorian in the second phase, as he will revive his brother if he is killed. Two NPCs can be summoned to this fight, Sirris of the Sunless Realms and Orbeck of Vinheim.
Let’s take a detailed look at some of the best combat strategies and tips for defeating Lothric, Younger Prince in Dark Souls 3.
Is Lothric, Younger Prince Optional?
Lothric, Younger Prince is not an optional boss. He must be dealt with in order to progress.
Strategies for Defeating Lothric, Younger Prince
Here are some strategies for defeating Lothric, Younger Prince you can use depending on the build you opted for in Dark Souls 3:
Melee Strategy
In phase 1, you will face only Lorian. He will teleport and attack you, which at first seems extremely overpowered, but after a short while, you will soon realize his animations start over the second he teleports, giving you time to dodge his attacks.
You will want a good fire shield, like the Black Knight Shield, for this fight and will want to block or roll through his regular attacks and get in one or two hits. If he teleports, dodge, then attack if you can, or dodge again if he keeps swinging.
Every so often he will teleport far away and send a tremor from his blade at you. If you don’t locate him quickly enough this will kill you, so be sure to keep an eye out for it.
In phase 2 you will be fighting both Lorian and Lothric. This phase begins with Lothric casting homing projectiles and Lorian teleporting immediately to attack you.
At this point, you want to keep dodging until all projectiles are gone and resume the earlier strategy. The only real difference now is that Lothric will occasionally shoot some magic at you, but not often.
If you kill Lorian before you kill Lothric, Lothric will revive him to about half health, and the fight will continue, so it is best to try and attack Lothric as much as you can; however, killing Lorian is still better than only trying to kill Lothric.
You can get in several free hits when Lothric goes for the revive; just be careful to dodge the AoE. Continue this strategy you will eventually get Lothric down.
Magic Strategy
Since Lothric is resistant to Magic, Sorcerers will not be making huge differences in this fight. On top of that, Lorian will be constantly teleporting to your location, making it even harder to cast heavy-hitting spells.
Although Lorian is more susceptible to magic damage compared to his twin. Lothric will only take half of the damage from spells.
Your kit should include a shield with good physical and fire resistance; max fire-resist is preferred. This shield is for the erratic teleporting attack that Lorian performs.
Whenever you see him teleport to you, bring up your shield to block his first attack, you can roll, too if you like. If he doesn’t follow up with more attacks, then use a spell or two on him and get ready to block again.
Quick-firing ranged spells, like Great Heavy Soul Arrow, will only work during this fight. Other than the swift casting after the teleport, run to the other side of the room to get some distance between you two.
Doing so will force Lorian to crawl some distance and then teleport to you when in range; use the crawling time to pummel him with multiple GHSA. Reset this strategy once he gets too close.
The second phase strategy will remain relatively the same, however, you will have to keep an eye out for Lothric’s pesky projectiles. Instead of casting spells after running to the other end, try to dodge Lothric’s spells and then cast.
He will cast at a much lower rate so it is not a constant threat. Use the time when he is reviving his brother to fire some GHSA at him although you won’t be dealing much damage.
You need to excel at rolling through his attack, blocking, finding opportunities to cast, and reading his patterns.
Pyromancy Strategy
Pyrocmancers will suffer just like their Magic brethren simply because of Lorian’s teleporting onslaught. Keep using a similar strategy as discussed above, where you run to the other end to cast. Get gud at dodging Lorian’s attacks and use spells when you have the window.
Bring along with Chaos Bed Vestiges and/or Great Chaos Fire Orb with you. These spells have longer casting times but have the best result out of the rest of the pyromancies.
Phase two will make things more challenging since you will have to account for Lothric’s projectiles before attempting to lob your slower casting-time spells. Use the crawling phase of the boss when you are at a greater distance to fire off your spells.
Almost two of Lorian’s death and revive cycles will be sufficient to kill Lothric. Take advantage of the revive period to send out your maximum spell damage.
What is Lothric, Younger Prince Weak To?
Lothric, Younger Prince is weak to the following damage types:
- Lightning
- Frost
- Vow of Silence
- Magic (Only Lorian)
- Physical Damage (Only Lothric)
What is Lothric, Younger Prince Resistant / Immune to?
Lothric, Younger Prince is resistant and immune to the following damage types:
Resistant to:
- Dark
Immune to:
- Poison
- Toxic
Can You Parry Lothric, Younger Prince?
Lorian is the one that can be parried, not Lothric per see. It is difficult to parry him since the sword attacks can’t be parried, it is the arm that can be parried.
Also, he cannot be riposted after parrying, although he does receive extra damage during this time. On the other hand, he can also be poise-broken and riposted.
Can You Cheese Lothric, Younger Prince?
The second phase of this boss can be cheesed to high hell. Before you progress to the second phase, you need to be standing straight behind where Lorian spawns when you enter the arena.
The exact location can be seen in the picture above. Do not touch the stairs, move off the red carpet area, or just don’t generally move at all while standing at this point.
Before standing here, you must have whittled down Lorian’s health to just a few hits. You MUST HAVE A BOW FOR THIS CHEESE to work.
Finish off the boss and let the cutscene play. If you did it right and when the fight resumes, you will see that you are behind the boss and he is just standing there with his back facing you.
If you move or use any attack, the boss will aggro, and the fight carries out normally. Reset the fight if this happens.
Now at this point, you need to equip your bow and arrow and manually aim it to shoot Lothric in the back of the head. The exact target can be seen in the picture above. The boss will aggro if you hit Lorian or any other part of Lothric.
Keep shooting this point and watch as the boss takes it without flinching. Very soon, Lothric will die, taking his brother along with him.
Although the primary and required boss in this fight is Lothric, Younger Prince, it feels like it’s more of a fight against Lorian. Learning how to properly dodge Lorian’s teleporting attacks is more than half of the battle, so make sure all your inevitable deaths will at least teach you these patterns.