Dark Souls III The Ringed City’s First Boss: How to Defeat the Demon Prince

Oh boy did From Software decide to rack up the difficulty with The Ringed City, as the Demon Prince (and the Demon from Below and Demon in Pain) is one of the hardest bosses in all of Dark Souls III. In order to defeat this terrifying duo, players will want to make sure that they can quickly roll out of the way, as playing super defensively may not be the smartest plan here. Treat this boss more like one from Bloodborne than Dark Souls as they hit fast and hard, making it difficult to tank damage. When the battle begins, you will want to keep your distance from the two as they will ignite and either glow red or orange depending on the demon.

This is a visual cue to inform the player that they are charged up and can use fire attacks, so we recommend keeping your distance during this part of the fight. Do some light poke damage, but wait until one performs a slam attack and loses his glow, as that means his fire moveset is temporarily disabled. The timing for this may not always be the same, so be aware that one demon may still have fire while the other does not. For now, try to only focus on damaging the non-glowing one. Once they lose their energy, that specific demon will begin using toxic attacks in an attempt to poison the player, but these are easily dodged. Most attacks are frontal only so wait for their attack and then roll behind them for some quick hits.

There’s a second part to this fight and what form the Demon Prince will take is entirely dependent on which boss you kill first, as this Dark Souls III boss will mimic the color of whichever is last. So, if you kill the Demon from Below first, the Demon Prince will grow red and use more pyromancy attacks while killing the Demon in Pain will lead to one that prefers beam attacks. You want the latter as it makes this second part way easier to manage since the wind-up for these lasers is rather long and you can easily get behind him. Try to bait these attacks by staying a healthy distance away, then spring towards the Demon Prince’s side to get a few hits in before he finishes. Keep repeating this technique and the mighty boss of The Ringed City will fall.

However, if you’re unlucky enough to fight the other variant, you’ll need to keep moving as his Chaos Orbs will rain down fire, so hide behind one of the few walls still standing up. Once there’s an opening, rush him and give him a few hits before retreating for cover as he typically will follow up with a flying dash attack. The move you really need to watch out for is a massive rain of fireballs that can almost kill you if they connect, so try to either outrun them or get under this move before it strikes the ground. Fighting this variant of the Demon Prince will take more time but if you have fire-resistant armor and a shield, it should be okay.

For those having trouble putting him down, try to put a Bleed effect via the Carthage Rogue consumable. Since these creatures don’t have a really good Bleed resistance, it can make this fight way easier if you’re using a fast weapon with low impact. Also, don’t be like me and charge into this battle with a fire based sword like Lorian’s Greatsword as you will do minimal damage against them. If you’re having trouble dealing with both consider sumoning Lapp before the jump, as he can tank a lot of damage and serves as a nice distraction for one of the two demons. With some patience and the right gear, these mighty beasts will fall before you. For slaying this monster, you will acquire the Soul of the Demon Prince, which is always nice to carry around, right?

For more guides, walkthroughs, and tips, make sure to visit our Dark Souls III The Ringed City wiki.