The Demon Prince boss fight is essentially fighting three bosses in The Ringed City DLC of Dark Souls 3. The bosses are challenging, to say the least, and having a backup is always recommended. 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 The Demon Prince in Dark Souls 3.
Before you face The Demon Prince, you must face the duo of Demon in Pain and Deom from Below. The last killed boss from this phase will transform into the Demon Prince. His moveset will depend on the demon it takes over from the previous phase. We advise you to summon Slave Knight Gael and/or Lapp for this fight to share some load.
Let’s take a detailed look at some of the best combat strategies and tips for defeating The Demon Prince in Dark Souls 3.
Is The Demon Prince Optional?
The Demon Prince is not an optional boss in The Ringed City DLC. However, defeating it is not required for the base game.
Strategies for Defeating The Demon Prince
Here are some strategies for defeating The Demon Prince you can use depending on the build you opted for in Dark Souls 3:
Melee Strategy
This fight always begins the same way with one demon leaping at you and the other firing off a purple projectile, dodge the leap and put some shots into the red demon. Dodge the projectiles and get in a couple more hits and dodge the next set of projectiles again.
At this point, the other demon will become aggressive as well. This will be the most challenging part of phase one. Once they are both aggressive, you will need to burn the one you’ve been attacking regardless if he is aggressive or in his burnout state.
Spare no expense in dealing damage to him even if it means risking your life to the other demon’s attacks. This is always a good strategy when outnumbered.
Once the first demon dies, the second will go down without much effort. You need to stick to its legs and watch out for the occasional overhead slam attack.
Lay into him and with the right leg work and attack pattern knowledge, you will come out victorious. However, the fight isn’t over yet.
Phase two of the fight with the actual Demon Prince is brutal. Try to perfect your phase one strategy so you may have plenty of Estus for the latter phase.
As soon as he transforms and gets off the ground you want to be aggressive, getting in a couple of hits just after he explodes and then rushing towards him when he leaps in the air, getting in a few more attacks after he lands.
Be sure to dodge his leaping slam attack or block it if you have a good fire shield and don’t mind taking a bit of damage.
He will summon floating fire orbs that shoot projectiles at you, and then he will channel a huge fireball-like meteors that will come crashing down on you.
The strategy for this meteor attack that kind of works but is risky is simply to get up into his chest, attack until he glows white, and then run away. You will take damage from the projectiles this way, but the meteor will not kill you.
Continue to press the attack, staying close to his legs and slightly behind him to the side of them when he leaps into the air. Always move towards him and block or dodge, you should be proficient with the melee attacks he does by this point because they are nearly identical to phase one.
A fire shield and fire resistance armor are suitable for this fight as is having some decent toxic resistance and Blooming Purple Moss Clump handy.
Don’t be afraid to gamble in phase one because you will need to have enough Estes for phase two. This fight can be frustrating, so try to stay patient and learn from your mistakes.
Magic/Pyromancy Strategy
Pyromancers will have to ditch their fire-based spells in favor of the Black Flame spells. Black Flame Orb should work fine. The bosses are resistant to fire so such spells won’t deal sufficient damage hence the need for other pyromancies.
Sorcerers should rely on the trusty Great Heavy Soul Arrows and Crystal Spears.
All three of the bosses are highly susceptible to the Bleed status effect so the Dorhys’ Gnawing miracle will be especially beneficial.
In the first phase, managing both bosses at the same time all the while maintaining distance to cast spells will be quite an ordeal. Thus we recommend summoning both or one of the NPC summons available for this fight. These fighters will attract the aggro of the boss, allowing you cast spells from safety.
Use the spell of your choice from the back while the NPCs fight the boss. Very rarely will the boss move their attention towards you so you will be relatively safe.
The Dorhys’ Gnawing will trigger bleed procs after every two to three successful hits, taking away massive chunks from the boss’s health. Equip the Farron Ring to cast more spells without running out of FP quickly. Although, having a good number of Ashen Flasks will be a godsend if you end up using a lot of spells.
The same strategy can be applied to the Demon Prince phase. The NPCs will grab the boss’s concentration, and you can simply lob your spells at him. Be on the lookout for the occasional wide-ranged attacks from him and keep following the same tactics and you will be good to go.
What is The Demon Prince Weak To?
The Demon Prince and the Demons before him are all weak to the following damage types:
- Bleed
- Slash Damage
- Black Knight Weapons
What is The Demon Prince Resistant / Immune to?
The Demon Prince and the Demons before him are all resistant and immune to the following damage types:
Resistant to:
- Fire
Immune to:
- Frost
- Poison
- Toxic
Can You Parry The Demon Prince?
The Demon Prince can not be parried. However, he can be staggered, opening up the possibility to execute a critical strike.
Can You Cheese The Demon Prince?
The cheese for this boss fight is similar to the Sorcerer/Pyromancy strategy above. All you need is the handy dandy Pestilent Mist spell and both the NPCs.
Let the NPCs hold the bosses in place while you sneak in and cast the Mist and move out. The bosses, including the Demon Prince, perform many stationary attacks and their hitbox is quite large, allowing the lingering mist to whittle away their HP. You can effectively passively kill the bosses without having to lift a weapon.
In the first phase, while each NPC has one boss locked in place, move in and cast the spell and move on to the other boss.
Keep alternating and reapplying the mist when it dissipates. These bosses will go down after some time and the second phase begins.
The second phase cheese is relatively the same and much easier since both the NPCs will be focused on the single boss.
Watch out for the occasionally far-reaching attacks. Move in from behind when the boss is standing and using melee attacks to cast the Mist, and this phase too will wither away.
This boss fight is hard to manage since there are three bosses to account for and each one is quite aggressive, specifically the Demon Prince. Luckily, the NPC summons will make things much easier for you and you should opt for their assistance if you are having a hard time solo.