The Skeleton Lords is by far the most squishiest boss battle in Dark Soul 2. These bony fools have nothing going for them other than one major trick that will get you if you are not aware. Don’t worry about it, for I’m about to spill all the Skeleton Lords’ beans, and there will be nothing that will catch you off guard.
Fighting Skeleton Lords in Dark Souls 2
As you enter the arena, you will see three royally-clad Skeleton Lords jump down from their thrones. Each one of them has different weapons and unique attacks:
- Great Scythe Skeleton Lord: He will be on the left and use his great scythe to cut you down a peg.
- Staff Skeleton Lord: He will be in the middle and cast pyromancies while staying in the center of the arena.
- Halberd Skeleton Lord: He is the one on the right and uses his halberd to pummel you.
Even though these lords are essentially made of glass, the real problem arises when one dies. With the fall of a lord, he spawns a group of lesser skeletons who will swarm you. Every lord spawns a unique bunch of skeletons:
- Killing Great Scythe Skeleton Lord spawns armored skeletons.
- Taking out Staff Skeleton Lord spawns wheel skeletons.
- Halberd Skeleton Lord spawns a huge number of weak swords/shields and dual sword skeletons.
Keep in mind, the single boss health bar displayed below is shared amongst all. This means that the Skeleton Lords and the lesser skeletons all have to be killed to finish the boss fight.
The Skeleton Lords make up for their frailty by drowning you in numbers.
Here are some tips and tricks to consider when facing Skeleton Lords in Darks Souls 2:
- These lords are extremely weak to Strike damage. A hammer or club will erase the bosses in just a few hits.
- They are also weak to Fire damage.
- The bosses can be parried and backstabbed.
- Items and spells like Alluring Skulls or Yearn that can create decoys are a godsend. They can distract the lesser skeletons while you can focus on the Skeleton Lords.
- A weapon with wide horizontal attacks such as greatswords and ultra greatswords will take out multiple skeletons with ease. Highly recommended.
- Large AoE sorceries and pyromancies will also plow through multiple skeletons.
- Don’t forget to use the pillars and thrones in the arena when the fight gets harder to manage.
- Creighton of Mirrah and Bashful Ray can be summoned as phantoms to even the odds in this fight.
- The Holy Water Urns, bought from Targray after you joined the Blue Sentinel Covenant, can two-shot the lords. Mini Cheese Strategy.
- Better to kill one lord then deal with its lesser skeleton spawns then move on to the next lord. If you kill two lords instantly, you are surely going to be overwhelmed.
Boss Strategy
The Skeleton Lords’ boss battle is already a pretty underwhelming one in Dark Souls 2. However, there is a specific order to killing them that makes it even more easy.
When you first walk into the arena, my recommendation is to kill the middle Staff Lord first. If you are fast enough and have a good blunt weapon, the Skeleton will go down before his feet hit the ground.
When you kill him, it will spawn the Wheel Skeletons who are the most annoying of the bunch. As they are spawning, run up to them and start attacking and try to kill them before they can actually fight.
If they manage to survive, run around the arena, be careful of the other Skeleton Lords’ attacks, and take out the rolling skeletons.
Use the pillars to take cover. You can even use it to clump up all the skeletons together and with a wide horizontal weapon in hand, you can take out multiple of them with ease.
Do not kill other Skeleton Lords while the lesser skeletons are active or else the next wave will gang up on you.
Once the wheel skeletons are dead, next we focus on the Halberd Skeleton Lord. Killing him will spawn the weaker but more in numbers dual swords and sword/shield skeletons.
Again, you must circle around the arena and try to group them together while periodically moving in and taking out numerous skeletons at the same time.
Now take out the final Great Scythe Skeleton Lord. He will bring forward only four armored skeletons. This time you can kill them as they are forming. Or just use the arena to pick them off one by one.
And you are done with this boss fight!
Moveset
These are all of Skeleton Lords’ attacks in Dark Souls 2 and how you must react to them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Great Scythe Skeleton Lord | Swings his scythe which causes bleed build-up if hit | Parry and backstab if you are confident. Or dodge to the sides. |
| Staff Skeleton Lord | Keeps firing various pyromancies at you from range. Usually a straight shot fire orb. | Dodge to the sides or outrun the spells |
| Halberd Skeleton Lord | Slams and swings his halberd | Parry and backstab if you are confident. Or dodge into the swings. |
| All Skeleton Lords Fire Orb | All of the lords can cast straight-shot fire orbs at you | Dodge to the sides right before the orb is about to hit. |
| Lesser Skeleton Attacks | Depending on the skeleton type there are a couple of attacks to flood out for: 1) Sword and Shield Skeleton charges towards you and slashes his sword that causes bleed build-up 2) Armored Skeleton runs up to you with a stabbing attack 3) Wheel Skeletons will begin rolling trying to run you over. | Their attacks and numbers make it harder to give proper reaction suggestions so you have to be very aware and kill them ASAP. |
Rewards for Defeating Skeleton Lords
You’ll unlock the following goodies in Dark Souls 2 after beating the Skeleton Lords:
- 15,000 Souls
- Skeleton Lord’s Soul
- Clear Bluestone Ring +2 (Only in New Game+)
The Skeleton Lords are one of those bosses in Dark Souls 2 who feel like they were made as mini-bosses but got promoted somehow. There is nothing to worry about in this boss fight other than getting ganked which you can manage easily if you follow our picking order strategy above.