We have covered the Royal Rat Vanguard boss fight from Dark Souls 2 before, and now it is time to best the bigger and meaner Royal Rat Authority. Whatever their relationship is, all you need to know is how to take him out of the family tree.
In this article, we will cover how you can do just that and put down this rat-dog thing once and for all.
Fighting Royal Rat Authority in Dark Souls 2
As you enter the arena, you will witness four regular rat enemies standing in a line. They won’t attack you at first until you engage them. When you do initiate the fight, all of the rats will charge at you, and after a bit of delay, the boss, Royal Rat Authority, will jump in to fight you.
The smaller rats inflict Toxic. The boss doesn’t.
The Royal Rat Authority is essentially a giant dog masquerading as the leader of the rats. The boss has typical attacks of a beast-type enemy you have already faced many times in a souls-like. It includes bites, claw swipes, and charges.
The only surprise this guy has up his sleeve is his Acid Bile attack. This pool of acid regurgitation will eat away your equipment’s durability, and you will be forced to change gears mid-fight. Avoid at all costs.
Other than that, this boss fight is a pretty standard affair. The boss doesn’t have a wide range of attacks and is overall quite weak.
Here are some tips and tricks to consider when facing Royal Rat Authority in Darks Souls 2:
- This boss is weak to all kinds of physical damage; Strike, Slash, and Thrust.
- Fire does extra damage to the boss.
- He is susceptible to Bleed too.
- Neither NPCs nor online players can be summoned for this fight. You have to face this boss alone.
- Take out the small rats ASAP. They inflict Toxic and thus are more dangerous than the boss.
- Staying underneath the boss is the most effective way of dealing with him. None of his attacks will reach you when you are attacking under him.
- Do not lock on to the boss when attacking his hind legs. This will save you a lot of trouble.
- His acid vomit will destroy your equipment by dealing direct durability damage.
- You can immediately place trap spells right where he lands to deal significant damage.
- As the fight progresses and the boss gets damaged, he will start getting slower and weaker. He will attack all sickly. Best to end his misery quickly.
Boss Strategy
Before we dive into the strategy, you must carry some type of ranged option to take out the smaller rats in the arena. When you enter the arena the rats and the boss won’t be aggro’d so use this time to target each rat and either cast your spell or shoot your arrows to remove them from the fight.
As soon as the Royal Rat Authority enters the fight and to avoid danger, run and stand by the left hind leg of the boss and start attacking from there. It’s risky to stay in the middle or in front of the boss since these spots can be hazardous.
Additionally, you should prevent him from dodging or staying too far away since it can be dangerous for you.
If you manage to stay by the left hind leg, it’s nearly impossible to get hit unless the boss runs away and initiates the Charge Headbutt attack.
At this point, all you need to do is stick to and keep attacking the boss’s legs until its HP depletes.
For Pyromancers, it’s possible to take advantage of the fight’s initial passive state by setting up a wall of Lingering Flame orbs between yourself and the rats. This way, you can lure the rats to the orbs and watch them die immediately.
You can also apply the same tactic to the boss by placing multiple orbs where it lands, causing a massive explosion that annihilates its HP.
Moveset
These are all of Royal Rat Authority’s moveset in Dark Souls 2 and how you must react to them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Bite | Lowers his head and then performs a short lunge while biting in front. | Roll backward just as he is about to lunge at you. Or you can run towards his hind legs. |
| Swipes | Uses his right claw to swipe in front then his left claw to swipe again. | Roll underneath the boss when you see this attack coming. You can also block it with a shield. |
| Stomp | When you are close to his front side, he will raise his claw and try to squish you under it. | Dodge to the side and quickly move in behind him to attack. |
| Charge Headbutt | Lowers his head and gets ready to charge only to lunge at you performing a devastating swiping headbutt. | Roll backward just as he is about to lunge at you. If underneath him, roll towards his hind legs to get out of the hitbox. |
| Acid Bile | When his HP reaches 20%, he will lift up and puke on the floor under him. The puke will begin to spread slowly. The Acid deals tick damage to you if you stand in it and durability damage to your equipment. | Run away from the acid pool ASAP. |
Rewards for Defeating Royal Rat Authority
Here are all the stuff you get in Dark Souls 2 for taking out Royal Rat Authority:
- 14,000 Souls
- Royal Rat Authority Soul
- Rat Tail (Covenant Item)
Here’s a fun fact: Royal Rat Authority in DS2 is modeled after Sif, the Great Grey Wolf from the original Dark Souls. Keep that fight in mind if you have played that game cause this boss even fights like Sif, albeit with fewer attack variations.
You can very much replicate the strategy you used in that fight here and come out triumphant.