Nameless King and King of the Storm are an optional Boss in Dark Souls 3. This Dark Souls 3 Nameless King Guide features locations, strategies and videos on how to defeat the Nameless King and King of the Storm easily, as well as tips, weaknesses, trivia and lore notes for the Nameless King boss.
The Nameless King is an armored humanoid riding atop a blue wyvern and attacks players with his spear. During the first phase of the boss fight, his name is shown as "King of the Storm," until the wyvern he is riding is killed. This begins the second phase where his name changes to "Nameless King."
Players may find the fight against the Nameless King to be difficult, however, being familiar his moveset definitely makes it easier. This boss is optional and there are no NPC summons for this boss fight. Two things should be noted before summoning the boss. Hawkwood, if summoned, will use a Black Separation Crystal once the bell has rung, disabling summons. He may be killed before this encounter, allowing summons to be possible. Additionally, ringing the bell to summon the King of the Storm covers Archdragon Peak in a massive storm, which will disappear once the boss has been defeated. Twinkling Dragon Torso Stone (and therefore its partner, The Twinkling Dragon Head Stone) are still obtainable by emoting at the top of the hill as always during and after the storm.
Bosses are unique and challenging Enemies that drop Boss Souls capable of being transformed into powerful Weapons, Spells, and Items for the player.
Nameless King Location
Where to find the Nameless King in Dark Souls 3?
- Archdragon Peak, after ringing the large bell by the Great Belfry, he becomes available.
Nameless King Drops
What do you get from defeating the Nameless King in Dark Souls 3?
- Souls: NG (80,000) | NG+ (160,000) | NG++ (176,000) | NG+3 (180,000)
- Souls for Cooperator: NG (20,000) | NG+ (40,000) | NG++ (44,000)
- Soul of the Nameless King
King of Storm Tips
What should you know about fighting the King of Storm in Dark Souls 3?
- First phase of the battle.
- Attacks deal Fire Damage, Lightning Damage, Standard Damage, and Thrust Damage.
- Weak to Lightning Damage and Frostbite.
- Weak spots: Head, Neck, and Wings.
- Hits to the legs deal minimal damage.
- Resistant to Poison/Toxic, Bleed, and Fire Damage.
- Can't be parried, but can be staggered and riposted for massive damage. Recovery after the riposte animation is long.
- Can easily jump out of your camera view, a good strategy would be to increase camera sensitivity and do not lock on at all times.
Nameless King Tips
What should you know about fighting the Nameless King in Dark Souls 3?
- Second phase of the battle. If failed, the first phase must be repeated upon returning to the boss arena.
- Attacks deal Lightning Damage, Thrust Damage, and Standard Damage damage.
- Weak to Dark Damage and Fire Damage.
- Resistant to Bleed, Frost, and Lightning.
- Immune to Poison/Toxic.
- Can't be parried, but can be staggered which allows performing a riposte.
Nameless King & King of the Storm Stats
Playthrough | NG | NG + | NG ++ | NG +3 | NG +4 | NG +5 | NG +6 | NG +7 |
King of the Storm Health | 4,577 | 4,582 | 5,040 | 5,269 | 5,498 | 5,956 | 6,186 | 6,415 |
Nameless King Health | 7,100 | 7,108 | 7,818 | 8,174 | 8,529 | 9,240 | 9,595 | 9,951 |
Damage Type | Standard | Strike | Slash | Thrust | Magic | Fire | Lightning | Dark |
King of the Storm Absorptions | -4% | -7% | -3% | -27% | -17% | -16% | -70% | -30% |
Nameless King Absorptions | 21% | 19% | 22% | 20% | 24% | 23% | 83% | -8% |
Dark Souls 3 Nameless King Boss Guide & Strategies
DS3 Nameless King Video Strategies
Below are video strategies from our Youtube Partners:
- Bow+Heavy Weapon in KoS, Light Weapon+Buffs in NK (no healing)
- Nameless King Melee Co-Op Strategy Strength build, +5 Irithyll Sword, Cloranthy Ring, Prayer set
DS3 Nameless King & King of the Storm Attacks
First Phase (King of the Storm) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Aerial Fire Breath | Flies straight up into the air and spews fire straight down in a large area. It is possible to evade it, if you run away from him fast in the direction his head is pointing to. The attack has some tracking, so rolling around the dragon or behind him is likely to fail. | ||
Fire Breath | Drake breaths fire from front to his right side. Very good moment to use Weapon Art or land few hits. | ||
Air Wave | King of Storm Creates an air wave, which deals small physical damage, but can topple player(s). | ||
Circulation + attack from above | King of Storm circulates around arena, which ends with a sweep attack using King's weapon. During that move, King will try to hit target with Lightning Spear. Can be evaded by circling the other way (to the right) while moving forward (towards him). His follow-up spear thrust can also be avoided simply by walking backwards and to the left. Shield kept up as a safeguard is advised. | ||
Attack from above | The Kings drake will rise up and he will try to hit player from above, using his spear. | ||
Melee combo | King tries to hit the player with his spear up to 3 times. May end with Lightning explosion | ||
Lightning Explosion | King raises up his spear, then hits the ground beneath him, which causes a lightning explosion. While the attack deals moderate damage, even if you get hit, you can still circle to the right side of the Drake's neck to get 1-2 hits in before the next attack. | ||
Second Phase (Nameless King) | |||
King's Shockwave - wide | King attacks horizontally with his weapon, releasing an expanding shockwave. | ||
King's Shockwave - narrow | Kings slams his weapon into the ground, releasing a quick narrow shockwave. | ||
Attack from above | Kings goes up, then attacks swiftly with his spear up to 3 times. | ||
Rush + attack | King rushes towards players, then rotates and tries to hit him with his swordspear. | ||
Spear attack | King uses his spear to hit enemy in front of him up to 4 times. | ||
Lightning Stake | Nameless King performs a Lightning Stake miracle. | ||
Falling Bolt | The King slowly pulls out his weapon, creating a lightning strike on the player's location. | ||
Expanding Lightning | The King creates a sunlight spear, and strikes it into the ground. After a short while, smaller lightning bolts fire out from that location, traveling by the floor. | ||
Sword-Spear Stab | The King prepares a large stab, rushing towards you with great speed. If it lands, the player is lifted upwards and struck by lightning. This attack is very similar to Ornstein's attack from Dark Souls. | ||
Spear Charge |
King lifts his swordspear to shoulder-height and prepares a charge. He usually uses this attack 2-3 times in a row. Dodging backwards is a no-go, but rolling sideways after a few moments of him charging the attack works great. |
General Tips
- More than anything else, the Nameless King will open up the fight by flying over your head. This is just an intimidation tactic and meant to throw off your lock-on. Don't buy into it. Typically when entering he will land, making it seem like you can attack immediately. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Unless you’re right on top of him as he lands, you will not get it and there’s a high chance he can land a horizontal swipe on you.
- In the first phase, keep your lock on the King, and not his dragon, because he will be 90% of the opposition for his wider range of attacks, and frequency of attack. If he breaks your lock or it is messing with you, quickly unlock, rotate your camera, and then re-lock.
- Staying under the dragon may SEEM like a safe strategy, but it's not. His feet will stomp you, and you will look stupid. If you have a bleed effect, this becomes viable, because his stomp attack is not frequent, but the dragon will still try to blow flames on you.
- It is ideal to use no more than three Estus during the first phase of the fight. During the second phase, limit yourself to two Estus for when the Nameless King is above about 30% health because past that point, his arsenal of attacks widens up.
- If you hit the dragon's head, be prepared to immediately sprint, and then roll spam, because that makes him more prone to flying upward. Staying under the dragon's belly brings up the probability, too. The AOE is about fifty feet maximum from the point of impact, and it can be avoided by combining sprinting, jumping, and then rolling out of the edge of the AOE. The dragon telegraphs this by slightly bringing one of his knees down, as if he is kneeling, pushing down his tail and quickly flying up, letting out a scream, so as soon as he starts this telegraph with that slight kneel, get to evading with the fleetest of feet!
- If you miss an opening, be absolutely ready for the dragon to breathe fire downward. Again, this is because for every opening, he is very likely to do that attack!
- As for phase two, the Nameless King has a maximum combo of ten to eleven strikes (eleven has never been seen by this contributor, but it's a safe bet), more likely in the form of spear thrusts. Use this to get an opening.
- Nameless King has some very powerful spear attacks. When he stabs, it can go right through your shield most of the time, so it is befitting to roll backward, out of range, diagonal, or to the side. Dodge roll timing is much more precise than other attacks because the Nameless King waits for an opening, so the player really needs to have this down.
- For essential equipment, the player should have a Lothric Knight Shield (Easy to get by purchasing it from Greirat. Other options exist, as well), or another kind of lightning shield, Grass Crest Shield (second slot), Ring of Steel Protection, Thunder Stoneplate Ring, Estus Ring, and Lloyd's Shield Ring. This will mitigate a lot of damage, and these pieces are quick pick-ups, that are virtually hassle-free. By all means, the player can also stack some lightning armor, as well. If the player is using a Chloranthy Ring, the Grass Crest Shield nullifies the need for it, because switching to it is extremely fast, for a stamina boost. The Chloranthy Ring, at later levels (provided the melee build is done correctly by leveling Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity almost exclusively) becomes redundant for the pace of the game, including this boss fight, so the player should ditch it, and pick up the big boy toys (Plus, wearing flowers is hideous and cheap looking). Using an Ember will increase the effectiveness of the Estus Ring since it scales to a multiple of 20% more health.
- If the player really wants to survive with a lot of health, he should stay some feet out of range of the Nameless King's spear, so he will fly up, and do a plunging lightning attack. He doesn't regenerate health, so this way, the player can take advantage of that to take out his health.
- The Nameless King (second phase) has a lightning attack where he brings lightning down from the sky. Once his spear flashes with lightning, throw a double or triple dodge roll in rapid succession, and you should avoid it.
- The Nameless King's lightning AOE in his second phase tends to spread out a lot. This is a ruse, as the attack only does damage on impact, so use this to roll.
- One or two of the Nameless King's lightning attacks in his second phase has a post-attack where strands of lightning spread out. Roll into the region in-between these strands, and you will be good.
- In the first phase, the Nameless King is kind of an edgelord, and will surf on his dragon while it flies in a circular motion. You get a better chance of avoiding his lightning bolt if you roll in the direction the dragon is flying, because he likes to throw his lightning bolt into the opposite direction, in an attempt to seek on you. However, dodge rolling in basically any direction has a solid window, so this is not a big deal.
- In reference to excerpt 9, it seems like that equipment doesn't offer a big buff, but how it works on paper, and how it works in-game is different because you get more hits before you are in the red-zone for being thwarted and killed. So definitely work your build as a lightning and physical tank build, and you will be fine.
- The Nameless King has wind attacks. These are physical, and thus can be blocked with a 100% physical block shield, but rolling to the right or forward avoids them nicely. Like all the wind attacks, they move too slow to roll backward, so this is not advised, and please keep note that if you roll near the King, he will very likely try to hit you with his spear, so be ready to dodge roll.
- If you gauged this battle to be as hard as fighting Dragon Slayer Ornstein & Executioner Smough, or Manus, then you have got it spot-on, because that is how much danger that the Nameless King and his dragon are bringing.
How to fight and beat the Nameless King
Strategy 1 (Melee)
This boss deals a considerable amount of lightning damage in both phases, so any lightning-resistant gear or rings are a huge benefit in this fight. (Avoid metallic armors if possible.)
The first phase consists of the Nameless King riding atop his Stormdrake, the King of the Storm. This boss requires constant attention to camera angle. It is important to be aware of what both the rider and wyvern are doing at all times. Having the camera locked to one or the other at the wrong time is a recipe for doom. It is advised to keep the wyvern at some distance until you go in for one or two hits then retreat to be able to keep watch on both and time your responses appropriately. The wyvern will sometimes flip behind you, requiring you to adjust to maintain your relative position. The Nameless King will, at times, attempt to hit you with his swordspear. Depending on position, roll or block accordingly, keeping an eye for his two or three hit combos. The Stormdrake itself will bite at you and attempt to roast you with its flames. Avoid its attacks and aim for the Stormdrake's head, as damage to the legs and body does minimal damage compared to blows directly to the beast's head. A good way to get several hits on its vulnerable spot is when the Stormdrake is about to rear its head for a flame attack, rush towards its body, and hit the neck area just below the rider, ensuring that you keep your distance from the fire-spewing head. If the Stormdrake flies into the air, it will do one of two things: unleash a fiery breath attack directly beneath it, or circle around you while the Nameless King hurls Lightning Spears at you. If it stays in one spot in the air, move away, avoiding its breath attack, until it lands again. The breath attack hits almost directly below the drake's body, so a good rule of thumb to avoid it is to run in the direction its head was facing when it took off, since from where your character is likely standing, that's the shortest path to safe ground. If it begins to circle you, keep an eye on the Nameless King; his Lightning Spears are intimidating but can be dodged. Rinse and repeat until the Stormdrake is dead, whereupon a cutscene will signal the start of the second phase.
In the second phase of the fight, you will face the Nameless King himself. He is somewhat fast and deadly, so medium to light equipment load is recommended if you plan on roll dodging his attacks. With enough attacks dealt he will be staggered, allowing you to perform a riposte. He is vulnerable to additional attacks during the following recovery animation. Use this to get extra damage in or to heal up if you need it. Equipping the Carthus Bloodring and staying on his left side (your right) and continuously roll dodge his attacks until you see an opening to strike can be effective.
Be particularly wary of:
- His lightning strike attack. He telegraphs this by taking out his weapon and slowly brandishing it to the sky. With an approximately 1-second delay after he finishes, a lightning strike will be summoned directly over you, dealing heavy damage. This attack must either be dodged with perfect timing or blocked by a shield with high lightning resistance (which will drain all stamina). (An easy trick to avoiding this attack altogether is to unlock the camera and face both your character and the camera away from the boss until you hear both audio queues.)
- His waist-level charged lunge. This attack cannot be blocked or dodged sideways, though it can be rolled through.
Strategy 1.5 (Easy KotS Melee)
Using a two-handed Lightning Lothric Knight Greatsword +9, It is possible to kill the King of the Storm in just four hits, allowing you to more easily practice the much more difficult Nameless King fight, as well as save much of your estus for it. Landing two fully charged heavy attacks to his head will stagger him and allow you to riposte him. As he recovers from the riposte you will have just enough time to land a running light attack to his head, finishing him off. The best time to land fully charged heavy attacks is during the King of the Storm's grounded fire breath attack and right after the Nameless King's lightning slam attack after dodge rolling toward him. However, due to the Nameless King's high lightning defense the Lothric Knight Greatsword does very poorly against him and it is therefore recommended to have a different weapon to switch out to during the second phase of the fight.
Another easy strategy for ending this fight is to summon a friend(it’s fine if not) and while the King of The Storm is focused on the summon, use the dragon slayer great axe(acquired from the dragon slayer armor boss fight) weapon art against the head of the drake. It can be staggered in 3 hits if landed successfully. It can be done without a summon but makes it slightly harder. And easy way to do it solo is wait for a fire breath attack and you can perform 2, maybe 3 if you’re quick, weapon art slams. Since it is a heavy strength weapon, you might equip a long sword or lothric straight sword for the upcoming Nameless King fight.
Strategy 2 (Sorcerer)
This is one of the easiest bosses for sorcerers, since the dragon (phase 1) is highly vulnerable to magic damage, and the Nameless King itself (phase 2) not resistant to magic. Considering that this is endgame and assuming you have endgame stats and build (60 INT, Court Sorcerer's Staff +10, all the shiny sorcerer-rings, etc.), this boss is a walk in the park.
Phase 1: Stay out of the dragons range, lock on his head, fire Crystal Soul Spear's until he's dead. Should be around 4 Spears to kill him.
Phase 2: Basically do the same, but this time with the Nameless King. A little bit more tricky, since the King is more aggressive. But he has not so great range, so dodging him and getting out of the melee-zone should be no problem here. Since the Nameless King has pretty much one damage type here (Lightning), you could consider equipping the Thunder Stoneplate Ring if you have problems with your health.
Strategy 2 (Magic / Ranged)
Keeping away from the boss but able to lock onto him is key here. In the first phase learn to dodge his lightning spears and follow up air to ground attack. Lock onto HIM not his little pet's head, when you're rolling to dodge his landing attack. Aim to complete your roll to the side of, or under the dragons base of the neck. Lock onto his head and stay underneath and fire away. He may take flight sooner rather than later but at any time if you hear the audio cue (dragon scream) start to run away before he breathes his fire attack onto the ground. If you are lucky enough to keep him at range and the boss is only doing his flying attack straight at you, upon completion of his animation the dragons head will be motionless for a brief period and wide open for you to open fire.
In the second phase, just STAY AWAY and keep shooting. Run sideways as soon as you see him raise his dragonslayer swordspear to do the shockwave attacks because it is wide and difficult to outmaneuver. Early bird stays damage free here. I used a greatshield in my Melee completion and I was able to tank his shockwave attacks, so equip a great shield if you'd like to do less evading. The purpose of ranged combat is to pick him apart from a safe distance. There is a distance where he will be wide open for attacks as he slowly walks after you. Circle him to keep him at a range you are able to lock on and shoot. Watch the background. There are two buildings you need to keep an eye on. If you don't see one of them in the background while you are back-walking, you know you are headed towards the narrow edge of the map and may need to run to the side to re-center and get him back to a shooting range. If you feel he is too close, just watch for his telegraphed wind up attack and roll through it and keep rolling away as he recovers and you'll be back to sniping him to death. Good luck! and have fun.
Alternative Magic Phase 1 Strategy
If your build has a mixture of Intelligence and Faith (like a Pyromancer), the sorcery Dark Edge is extremely powerful in the first phase of the fight. Keep your target on the dragon's head as opposed to the rider and take advantage of the many possible openings. The possible openings for casting include after the aerial-to-ground strike (don't confuse this with the standing ground strike), after or during the fire breath (dodge roll to your right through the flames and get in close before casting), after the electric ground strike and after a second sideswipe. Unsafe times to cast would be after it leaps over you to land on your opposite side, after it lands from the aerial lightning spear->stab combo, after it lands from the aerial fire breath, after one standing ground strike (as this can combo into sideswipes) or after one sideswipe (as a return side swipe may follow). Don't get greedy and keep an eye out for the safe openings. With around 3 solid strikes to the head of the dragon, you can trigger the stagger animation and land another free blow.
Strategy 3 (Bow and Heavy Weapon in KoS, Light Weapon+Buffs in NK)
As soon as you enter the boss arena run forward for a while but not too close to the place where boss lands (half a stamina bar). This way boss won't attack you immediately and you have time to use your bow and try to hit the head of King of Storms. After boss flies behind you, change to your heavy hitting weapon and always go for the head.
When the second part of the fight starts, change to your light weapon (rapier or anything with high dps) and use Carthus Beacon pyromancy (consecutive hits boost damage). Also have the Pontiff's Right Eye ring (consecutive hits gives a dmg buff) and any other buffs you can. Nameless King is very tanky and has high health but if you can do good damage and fast you get two riposte opportunities which make this fight much easier. However you have to be very good at rolling and in stamina control. Still, usually do not attack more than once or twice if you have a good opening. Boss usually does 2-3 hit combos so after the second attack wait a while and take the opening little late just be sure he won't attack the third time.
Strategy 4 (Faith with Lightning and Dark Blade)
The King of Storm is weak to lightning. A high faith character (60) can annihilate the King of the Storm with Sunglight Spear or Lightning Arrow using the upgraded talisman or chime of their choice. Yorksha's Chime will provide the best buff, while Canvas Talisman will also provide an excellent buff and the unfaltering prayer weapon art.
Hurling the Spears or shooting the arrows at the King of Storm will end him very quickly. As noted elsewhere, a max Lothric Knight Great Sword on a faith strength character with a buff can kill him in four heavy attack hits with the riposte.
For the Nameless King, human pine resin or dark blade on a fast weapon will break him down quickly, particularly if you have the blindfold mask. Melee characters can rely on this as well, as I used the human pine resin on grave warden twin blades. However, at 60 faith with the sunlight straight sword on NG, this will hammer him. The Crucifix of the Mad King will also be rewarding if you have your timing down.
Nameless King Lore Theories
- The Nameless King is possibly Gwyn's firstborn: a fearsome, dragon-slaying war god, founder of the Covenant of Sunlight and master of Ornstein, from the time of the ancient lords that had his deific status revoked and his name stripped from the Annals after an unnamed incident.
- According to the lore of the nameless king's armor, soul, and weapons, he was a dragon-slaying god of war and heir of lightning that sacrificed everything to ally with the Ancient Dragons, taming a stormdrake who fought with him in countless battles. His weapon is the predecessor to both the spear and sword and his armor bears resemblance to that of the First Lord. These facts strongly support the idea that he is Gwyn's firstborn. Gwyn's firstborn being Ornsteins master explains both the similarity of their movesets and the armor found after beating The Nameless King. The statue of the Heirs to the Sun is a statue of Gwyn's Firstborn, which heads the covenant, and the statue carries what appears to be a swordspear, although it looks different from the Dragonslayer Swordspear.
- Faaram, the war god worshipped by the Forossan knights, could be the name of Gwyn's firstborn, and therefore The Nameless King, who is the only god of war mentioned in the series. The knights of Forossa were called the Lion Knights, fitting elements of both The Nameless King and Ornstein's designs. In Dark Souls 2 you can find lion-men in the Shaded Woods. Their manes are very similar to the hair of the Nameless King.
- Ornstein's spear and armor are found nearby, which could suggest that he was slain by The Nameless King (unlikely, since the armor isn't attached to a dead body), or that Ornstein forsook his duty as a dragonslayer after meeting him, as it is found in much the same way that Siegward's armor is found after Yorm is slain. Bizarrely, the absence of a body and the proximity of the armor to the Nameless King could indicate that the foe the player fights is not the man the armor describes, but instead Ornstein impersonating that man, although there is not much evidence to support this.
- It is unclear if the Stormdrake The Nameless King rides is The King of The Storm, being the primary force you fight in the first part of the battle, or if The King of The Storm is the title of the man you fight and by slaying his stormdrake you deprive him of this title, making him The Nameless King.
- Statues of The Nameless King abound in the area where The Ancient Wyvern is fought, indicating that he is a being of great worship among those that wish to become dragons.
- Due to the strange nature of Archdragon Peak, being a place cut off from the rest of the world and being reached through falling asleep while meditating, it is unclear if it or those within actually exist or are instead some kind of collective dream among those that desire to become dragons, as many elements of Dark Souls III, from the Forlorn to Miracles, come from stories being believed strongly enough to become real. Being sent into a dream of glorious conquest is the final answer Siegmeyer obtains from The Descendant of Dragons in Ash Lake in Dark Souls I, who is also the originator of the dragon covenant, and Archdragon Peak could be this or a similar dream.
- In this context, the ringing of the bell, awakening the dreamers, and its role in summoning The King of Storms is incredibly odd and open to multiple interpretations.
- It is possible, given the extremely surreal circumstances through which the player summons him, that The Nameless King the player fights is not the real Firstborn Son of Gwyn but some kind of collective conception of him by the dreamers, an idealized version called to defend the dream from destruction
- Alternatively, he could be the awakening from the dream, effectively a midpoint between nightmare and reality being called by the bell, representing both the slayer of dragons and the loss of those that worked with dragons.
- Of course, either of these could still be the case regardless of if The Nameless King is real or not.
- The player ringing the bell mimics how a bell was rung to rouse the player from the dead at the beginning of the game, perhaps implying that The Nameless King was dead and revived via a similar mechanism, or perhaps being simply a poetic parallel.
- Regardless of interpretation, the arrival of the player, the slaying of the Ancient Wyvern, and ringing of the Bell to destroy the dream of dragonhood strongly parallels the rise of those empowered by flame and their attempt to wipe out the dragons at the dawning of the age of fire, and the arrival of The Nameless King to fight the player mirrors his arrival to fight Gwyn during the war.
- In this context, the ringing of the bell, awakening the dreamers, and its role in summoning The King of Storms is incredibly odd and open to multiple interpretations.
- The hollowed appearance of The Nameless King and its implications is a detail of some significance. He does not speak, a trait shared by Hollows who have lost their sanity, but this on its own is not enough evidence. If he is the Firstborn son of Gwyn, this may be a result of him being stripped of his inheritance, as though the fire of his lordship were ripped from him, but this is contradicted by his ability to continue to use lightning. It is possible that he was branded with the sign of the undead, as this appears to be the case for all of the warriors that follow him.
- The Serpent-Men in the area could indicate that Sen's Fortress belonged to the nameless king, suggesting his name may have been Sen.
Nameless King Notes
- Dragonslayer Greatshield makes the fight much easier if your build supports it. A Spirit Tree Crest Shield or Lothric Knight Shield will also work if your build cannot support greatshields.
- Carthus Bloodring is effective for dodging lightning attacks' large hitboxes, as well as delayed melees.
- This boss uses physical, lightning, and fire abilities, making building an armor set against him difficult.
- Because each phase, King of Storms and Nameless King, is resistant to what the other is weak against, and each rewards and punishes close up and ranged fighting differently, creating a single build to navigate the fight is incredibly difficult.
- In the first phase of the fight, any weapon arts that have a large vertical hitbox can inflict normal damage to the stormdrake, as long as they are under the torso, an example is the Dragonslayer's Greataxe weapon art, which calls down a bolt of lightning and has a very high hitbox, but has a high FP cost.
- One would think that this would make the Stormruler effective against the first phase, just as The King of Storms was weak against the Storm Ruler in Demon's Souls, however, the extremely low damage of The Stormruler in Dark Souls III makes this not the case.
Nameless King Trivia
- The name King of Storms is a reference to the identically named King of Storms boss in Demon's Souls.
- Several of the Nameless King's abilities and armor pieces mirror Ornstein, Gwyn, and Artorias from Dark Souls I.
- The Nameless King's arena is in the sky, and its fog-gatelike floor is not counted as a normal floor by the game. Dropped souls will appear outside the boss room on the nearest solid land, along with messages. Summon signs cannot be used on this floor.
- Looking upon the bridge after the fight reveals several bloodstains from other players, suspended in the air.
- When the stormdrake dies, the Nameless King's hand shakes just before he stabs him.
- Only one God of War is definitively mentioned in the series lore, with there being no precedence of overlapping domains of deities, so the true identity of the Nameless King may be Faraam, the God of War, and the god depicted on the Wargod Shield, but this is not directly stated.
- The story of The Nameless King is very similar to that of the Japanese Storm god Susanoo, the son of the head god Izanagi that was banished from Heaven after offending his sister, Amaterasu, Goddess of The Sun. During his travels on earth, Susanoo famously slew the dragon Yamata-no-Orochi, and is therefore often known as The Dragonslayer, and the weapon he crafted from the dragon's tail, Kusanagi, was a large sword capable of generating whirlwinds, much like the swordspear of the Nameless King (as well as the dragon tail weapons in the series). The long flowing hair of The Nameless King and his wrapped garb, with him standing atop of clouds, is highly evocative of many depictions of Susanoo in ancient japanese artwork and the flowing white hair of the headpiece in particular resembles that used by actors in Kagura plays, which often retell the story of Susanoo slaying Yamata-No-Orochi.
- The sound The Nameless King's weapon makes when striking the ground is the same as the parry sound effect.
- Much like Ornstein, The Abyss Watchers, Yuria, and others, it is unclear if the fact that the character's hat comes with his hair attached means that it is decorative and the person is actually bald underneath.
- Curiously, the nature of the Nameless King, of a lightning-infused dragonslayer that instead slays only men, is paralleled and forshadowed in the description of The Dragonslayer Axe.
- The concept of a rag-wrapped individual that embodies sovereignty as they lack everything besides their kingly status, that exists and rules over a dreamlike place, who is embodied primarily in countless followers bearing his symbol and united by the idea of him, and whose appearance is heralded as one of coming destruction, is very similar to the character The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers, who is directly stated to be the inspiration for the design of The Old Monk and his Xanthous Robe seen throughout the Souls Series, as well as the design of the Bloodborne enemy Martyr Logarius, who in his file name is labeled "King in Blue".
Nameless King Gallery
- Anonymous
The first phase is terrible if trying to hit any part of the dragon except the head. Getting lightning blade + lothric knight greatsword specifically for the first phase (alternative - dragonslayer axe with innate lightning damage) and making hits at the head makes it much easier to complete in 3-4 landings. Staying at the feet of the dragon - recommended only for rebuffs or heals, attacking is pointless (I was doing ~1100 dmg at the head with heavy LKGS+LB per hit, compared to 190 (!) at the feet). Swipe fire breath is a great opportunity to do some damage, if fast enough to react and not too far away (run close to the head in diagonal to not get hit by the flames). If lucky - possible to poise break and fit in 1-2 hits before riposte.
- Anonymous
Literally the Polar Opposite of Radagon and Elden Beast, A Terrible, extremely annoying boss followed by a Fantastic one.
- Anonymous
To me this has to be one of the best bosses i've ever played ever (and i ****ing hate bosses in general). I adored mastering its move set. Yeah, the camera is ****, and its life bar takes ages to tickle down, but the move set is so fan to master. I wish all bosses were more like this.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
beating this guy was the last thing i did before ending the game. it was definitely the right move, what an awesome fight to end things on.
- Anonymous
Ok, for the first phase of the boss, **It is absolutely essential that you lock on!** Thats how that one was ment to be fought. They tested that one with one build and said "good enough".
For the second phase, dodge slightly before you think you should. The fast attacks and the typical fromsoft input delay make that the way to do it. He isnt hard, he's just bullshit.
- Anonymous
Dude was easier than basically everything else in this place lmao.
Black flame and +10 pyro flame absolutely obliterate him
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
They should just name this boss "Camera" because that's the main thing you're going to be fighting the entire battle.
- Anonymous
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- Anonymous
PHASE 2 Dorothy's gnawing IS a good method but...unless you have a holy rollers faith you might add
Ring of the sun's firstborn
Morne's ring
Priestess ring
Sage ring
Caitha's charm (preferably at least a +4)
Though personally I don't think of this as true cheese really as you are still in constant danger from NK, it's more like a higher damage Kraft single.
- Anonymous
A +5 dragonslayer spear will take the Drake out in less than a min, Bob and weave til his heads low ( keep an eye one NK though, cause your left open for a moment) zap him with with the WA, if you have the opportunity pop him some more but don't get greedy, for a big ass lizard it's got low poise so it'll stun em for a good poke, that should do it for the drake...and probably you too cause now NK is PISSED OFF...good luck.
- Anonymous
The first phase is so easy. In the second phase I die before hitting the Nameless King
- Anonymous
His second phase thrust attacks are the bane of my existence
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
He's definately easier than the hype if you play the game as is intended. Beat him under 25 min of tries with Hollowslayer GS +5 for the first time in NG+ couldnt find him in first playthrough lol.
A Genuinely fun boss with annoying hitboxes and satisfying crits.
Also, if anyone asks, Hollowslayer Greatsword was my build for the entire game, so.
- Anonymous
Looking through these comments, I might be the only person who actually enjoyed the 1st phase and hated the 2nd!!
It was so rewarding to bob & weave through his mounted attacks and smack the dragon in the head until the crit opens up. By the end of my attempts, I could get though phase 1 without taking damage. Phase 2 was another story and I just barely made it through with no flasks remaining and 1-2 hits left.
- Anonymous
When the 1s Phase is actually the harder one due to the camera LUL
- Anonymous
Phase 1: The camera is harder than the boss
Phase 2: Just dodge and hit his back
First Phase with King of the Storm Dragon:
Used Lightning Lothric Great sword +10, took 4 hits to the head and did a riposte and that phase was over within 3 min. I ran straight out of the gate toward where they land. They immediately get up and fly to the entrance and flew only one more time after a bonk or two. Highly suggest lightning greatsword.
Second Phase with The Nameless King:
Switched to Onyx Blade Great Sword +5 and light the blade with the black flame skill it has built in. I was worried his health pool was going to take ages to bring down, but that was because previous attempts was done with other weapons I just couldn't get results from. After what seemed like 6-8 hits, I got to riposte him and his health dropped to where I only had 3 hits left.
- Anonymous
phase 1 is real bad but my god phase to was good the weight of the attacks and the way it felt to roll them was perfect
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
boss is so overrated, phase 1 is an abomination that is less fun than taking a piss, phase 2 is good but not nearly enough to make up for its horrendous phase 1
- Anonymous
boss is so overrated, phase 1 is an abomination that is less fun than taking a piss, phase 2 is good but not nearly enough to make up for its horrendous phase 1
- Anonymous
I thought this was one of the worst bosses in the game until I got to phase 2 where it became one of the best
- Anonymous
there's a special place in hell for whoever made the hitboxes on this guy but they're janky enough to where you can just hug one of his sides and lay into him with a club until he staggers so long as you don't get stun locked when he does that little double swing
i hate that stupid chicken he rides on
This boss could be too easy if it was in sekiro,all attacks have lightning or thrust. With mikiri counter and lightning reversal he would go down faster than wolnir and pinwheel
- Anonymous
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WARNING: The Article tells you to use the Carthus Blood ring. DO NOT USE IT. In Phase 2 there is a attack that one hits you REGARDLESS OF WHAT ARMOUR YOU USE.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
He’s not really nameless if you consider his name is nameless king
- Anonymous
Another boss who is afflicted with the cool walk syndrome that seems to be endemic to DS3. He literally cannot do anything against crossbows other than walk like an arthritic 80 year old person.
- Anonymous
The 1st phase is like a bad amusement ride, but the 2nd is like a dance where your partner knows everything and you keep stepping on your own feet
- Anonymous
Vordt's Great Hammer totally destroys the dragon, the second phase was not that easy for me, thou.
Playing a tank, I didn't see use in trying to block with this boss, so I went 2-handed and just roll.
- Anonymous
I almost gave up on this boss and I kept looking for a summon sign .. but finally I said screw it and I learned the pattern and took him down myself! What a tough pain in the ass!
- Anonymous
this guy's first phase is an absolute slog and while the second phase is better it's still far too mediocre to make up for the drag that is phase 1
- Anonymous
In the first phase, the camera should be further away. You can change the target from a dragon to a king, which sometimes improves things a bit, but all too often you have trouble seeing what's happening on the screen.
- Anonymous
why can't this guy be parried? he's using a spear. that's like THE parryable weapon
- Anonymous
How are any of you hitting him in the head? He takes off the second I get in range then blows fire every time
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Fromsoft employees suffering from 3rd generation radiation when they make this sh*t
- Anonymous
I just beat him for the first time. I summoned 2 yellow phantom signs at the the belfry and we smashed him first try i couldnt believe it. I expected 2 hours of attempts
- Anonymous
This fight really sums up Souls combat for me. "I can't see anything, good thing I can just spam roll to make myself magically invulnerable without any need for awareness"
- Anonymous
Hardest part for me was definitely the dragon, but I was able to kill the Nameless King himself on my second attempt so yipppie
- Anonymous
Two-handed Black Knight UGS +5 will do easy job of the King of the Storm, he gets staggered in 3 hits on the head, the riposte will take all the reaming HP.
For the Nameless King switch to Lothric Knight Shield and just wait for his flying attack, roll forward and behind him, then charge the UGS thrust attack with R2, maximum charge delivered 730 dmg at 40 STR / 40 DEX.
Pull back and repeat, easiest way to defeat him.
- Anonymous
The Nameless King himself is an absolutely fantastic boss, but having to deal with the dumb giant blue pigeon everytime to get to the fun part is the only real complaint about this fight that i have, The King of the Storm isn't even that difficult just annoying.
- Anonymous
Decided to act like ymfah and do this before pontiff in first playthrough.died 25 times to him,serioursly enjoyed the second phase but got flattened by first phase' downward fire hadoken multiple times.used +10 buyswords with carthus flame arc. tip: KING OF STORM IS WEAK TO THRUSTS BUT THRUSTING WEAPONS LIKE DRAGONSLAYER SPEAR+5 (yes,I wasted a slab and a ****load of twinky titty on this) RARELY EVEN HIT IT BECAUZE OF NARROW HITBOX,so better off use your favourite weapon and just buff it with lightning,take a yellow bug pill for phase 2 and rub human resin on your weapon,dodge into his right(your left) armpit when he uses a thrust and you'll be safe for 3 seconds do anything you want. And when he wants to do an air hike roll under him and he'll land in front of you facing his back for a long time.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
the trick is to stay close to him, be confident, get to p2 with all your flasks and just r1, dodge, r1, dodge, r1, dodge, the attack where he goes into the air is your opportunity to either get a weapon art/charged heavy or safe estus heal depending on the situation, also sometimes he will thrust charge when you're close, thats another handy healing window
- Anonymous
breezed through the entire game no issues then got to this guy and he's handing my **** to me on a plate repeatedly
- Anonymous
The "arsenal of attacks widens up when below 30% health" is actually phase 3 kicking in, Like manus in ds1 he has more than one phase but he also has king of the storm on top of that.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Last year ı played DS3 and couldn't kill Nameless King. Today, I killed him on my second try. That's quite an achievement for me.
Also, why tf two-handed Man-Serpents are too strong?
- Anonymous
Honestly this boss would be more fun IMO if you didn't have to do the annoying wyvern phase every single time you fight the damn boss. I beat the wyvern phase like 10x already please let me fight the actual thing I came for here outright.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Really enjoyed this fight, lots of fun tense moments dodging around the place and learning the moves. I tried all the usual tips and tricks in this secion but ended up falling back on good old Fume UGS. Try to bait out the fire breathing attack and you can get a good charged hit on the head in phase 1 - makes it very easy to stagger and get some big damage. Phase 2 I just glued myself to the boss and kept moving to my right. Dodge the attacks then get in a hit, if he flies up and comes bombing down you can get in a charged heavy which usually staggers and opens up for even more damage plus whilst he's getting back up you can do another charged heavy and wipe out a ton of his health bar.
- Anonymous
I was struggling with this guy as a mage for a few hours. Finally just went and ground out a few levels and it became almost trivial.
Make sure you’re around level 60 intelligent and that you have all the magic rings, the scholar’s candle, and a fully upgraded staff. I used the court sorcerers staff. If you have all that it should only take 3-4 hits with crystal soul spear for the first phase and another 4-5 for the second phase.
- Anonymous
After around 20+ deaths, repetition started to set in, and it was starting to become a bit hopeless. And so co-op it was, whoever you are "BOLD" thanks for the help.
- Anonymous
He uses an armor made of dragon scales, which are resistant to fire but takes extra damage from fire sources, what
- Anonymous
Just beat him 6th or 7th try. First time doing it w/out co-op. Followed the tips here and in the comments (maxed my lightning defense, applied Dark to weapon for phase 2). It was pretty easy, but I'm also over-leveled (~145). Had a much harder time with the Dancer.
Anyone else notice that phase 2 feels similar to Champion Gundyr? I felt like used Gundyr strategies to take him out pretty quickly. Know his attacks, get used to his timing and sequences, and don't get greedy. I even staggered him with my maxed-out great axe with human pine resin applied and managed to get a front critical. I still had stamina after the crit, so I hit him again and rolled away.
Compare him to ER and no summons needed, no superweapon needed or one hundred buffs. You could evade him for hours without getting hit once. What was bad about that? Why throwing all this out the window for whatever is in ER going on?
- Anonymous
ngl i beat this guy first try with a +9 claymore and it was a lot harder than pontiff
- Anonymous
I did this third try and was overall pretty hard but epic fight. I used lothric knight set with claymore. I don't recommend using shields in this fight because dodging his attacks is much more effective and gives good opportunities to attack.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Who'd have thought that a bootleg ornstein riding a yian garuga from monster hunter could be such a strong foe...
- Anonymous
third try kill but watching tips :( hope i can undo my decision and relish the frustration
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
With how much everyone hyped his difficulty He’s Surprisingly easy. Move set is very readable. If you’re even remotely good at souls games you can learn it and rinse repeat him
- Anonymous
so far my least favorite boss in the game. even the nutsack tree was less infuriating
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Died before even killing the wyvern on my first try, somehow managed to win the whole fight on the second attempt. The camera is the real boss in this fight.
- Anonymous
first phase is a fight against the camera what a nightmare.... cant wait to reach the second phase for 10 seconds again before having to do first phase ONE MORE
- Anonymous
Carthus Bloodring and Carthus Milkring make this fight actually enjoyable. Would highly recommend if having issues with keeping up with his second phase
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
This fight would be fun as hell if you didn’t have to fight Ancient dragon 2.0 every time you wanted to challenge the actual boss
- Anonymous
I did this fight as a semi-pro with dark corvian scythe, while running in fear I rolled under the arm of a statue and he tried to chase me and got stuck, so I finished him off with black fire orb. No shame.
- Anonymous
The fact that this boss is optional kind of makes up for how bullshit this fight is.
I love the mechanics of the second phase but this guy just has too much health and resistance. It would work better without first having to fight your way through the dragon every time.
- Anonymous
To dodge his range attack that homes into your position just unlock your camera and look away from him
- Anonymous
phase 1: annihilate dragon with sunlight spear.
phase 2: kill nameless with a thousand bug bites aka dorhy's gnawing.
- Anonymous
My strategy for second phase:
Use Exile greatsword+5
Dodge majority of his attacks until he does the aerial dives
Get a few hits in
Repeat
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
If you have 35+ faith then just punish his excessive lore walking in phase 2 with dorhys’ gnawing
- Anonymous
I don't understand why people think this guy is hard. He was easier for me than Pontiff Sulyvahn. Nameless King's attacks are super readable and I dodge them with ease everytime. Though the camera for the first phase is frustrating.
- Anonymous
this guy and soul of cinder prepared me for elden ring. punishes panic rolls like he wants to actively make you suffer. I learned and grew
- Anonymous
If you're a Storm Ruler build I would recommend staying in twohanded mode with the WA active (cause it looks cool). you'll be able to get out two hits minimum when there's an opening. Whenever the bird is floating in the air he's using his fire breath so gg, it's unavoidable damage unless you're already a certain distance away. Anytime the bird makes any other movement you can run directly under it, but don't stay there. Always go for the head when attacking.
The Nameless King is more complicated but not by too much. All of his attacks are telegraphed from 10 years ago. And only two or three of his attacks actually combo. His combos rarely go over three and if dogde into his attacks and strafe behind him you can avoid all of it and punish sooner. don't panic when he leaps into the air and starts flying around like an *******, if he zips behind you simply roll backwards cause he's just trying to hit from the back. The Lightning Spear slam is the only other move you gotta worry about, and with that you just gotta learn the timing.
Hope this helps *smile
- Anonymous
If you're a Sellsword Twinblades DEX build, I would recommand to change your weapon for the first phase of this fight, as the Sellsword Twinblades's short reach (+ horrid camera angles) makes them very unpratical against the dragon.
I was having a hard time hitting him with this weapon, so I bought the Washing Pole from the Shrine Handmaid (she sells it once you give her the Easterner's Ashes, found shortly after the Pontiff Sulyvahn fight, on the way to Anor Londo), I've maxed-it up with Sharp infusion, and it allowed me to make short work of the dragon (you can apply Gold Pine resin to make it even more efficient).
The Washing Pole requires 18 STR, but you can 2-hands it with only 12 STR, which is my case.
Then for the second part of the fight, I switched back to my Sellsword Twinblades (as the Washing Pole was kinda slow for the King), with Human Pine resin for more damage, it's pretty easy to dodge his attacks and riposte with devastating combos :-)
So far, this boss has been the only instance where I found the Sellsword Twinblades unpratical (partly due to the horrid camera, the worst so far), but I guess if the situation comes again, the Washing Pole may be a great alternative, as you can 2-hands it with only 12 STR (I 2-hands pretty much all my melee weapons, as I use the Grass Crest Shield on my back only for the stamina recovery bonus), and it scales very well with DEX (A at +10 with Sharp infusion), has quite long reach as well as good vertical movement :-)
- Anonymous
Dragon fight: easy, breezy, beautiful.
The zeus wannabe MTHRFKR on top was a nightmare.
208 deaths to this epic bastard.
Final round, every estus vessel depleted, within an inch my life, and finally... sweet, sweet victory. Patience is everything in this game.
- Anonymous
This guy might as well be a game dev with how much he delays.
- Anonymous
Tbh, the dragon just ruins this fight, especially with the weird camera and that nigh unavoidable fire attack. It's just a horrible and unfun slog to fight through that dumb animal every time you die. The only saving grace is the Dragonslayer Greataxe wrecks it's ****. The King himself is a great challenge, but that dragon can rot.
- Anonymous
LOL, Dorothy's Gnawing kills nameless king very quickly, 2 hits bleeds him. Killed the drake with Great lighting spears and then just used Dorothy's Gnawing in phase 2. Surprisingly easy on full faith build
- Anonymous
Dear game devs, if you are going to put massive, fast, flying enemies in your game, make the camera zoom waaaay out. Like Shadow of The Colossus does.
- Anonymous
Man oh man was this boss fight a lot of mixed emotions, most of it being pretty positive though!
Phase 1 on the first attempt wasn't that bad. I will say, having such ludicrous reductions on any body part that isn't the head for a boss that moves so damn much is lame, and pretty much makes every fight of it the same: just hit the head. The camera is complete dogshit at points, and from the time I was fighting it to my kill never found a reliable way to get away from its flame breath attack. The king himself wasn't that bad, but I did notice that his lighting attack when he slams his spear into the ground had a massive hit box, but also felt very delayed, almost like a hitch was in his attack (subtle not so subtle foreshadowing). At least the Dragon dies quickly, and was actually the boss that taught me about riposte believe it or not.
Yes, I went damn near the entire game not knowing that bosses can be riposted, thinking it was a mech added in Elden Ring, but aside from that nugget of information, lets move on to the Nameless King himself.
For one, that cutscene where he pretty much absorbs the dragon was so damn cool and just stares you down, as if now you defeating his comrade now awoken the real warrior within him. Really allowed me to just think up dialogue he'd be saying during that. But on to the actual fight itself.
Delay is the name of the game, and I both like and dislike it. For one, with the entire game damn not feeling as if bosses had delays within their attacks, for him to pretty much thrown in a feint/hold his attack to roll catch you felt SO evil to me on my first attempt at him. He felt so different compared to every single boss I've fought up until now, he felt like an early prototype for an Elden Ring Boss, and I really didn't like that.
However, once I got a good strategy for Phase 1, and realized that pretty much every attack you need to roll LATER than what you may think, it clicked. Dancing around him trying to match his pace without overolling and wasting stamina, and the back and forth of him slow walking, and then deciding to turn up the pace and lunge, or even the equivalent of a backhand I found at some points, I realized why so many people found him fun to fight. I embered up, and with only 3 of my 12 estus left, I swung my trusty Longsword and beat him. The gamer scream afterwards felt liberating, he was the only boss up to this point that took more than a few hours of attempts, and honestly it was great, and I didn't really feel as if I was underleveled, although I probably was as I was only lvl 93.
Overall: 8.5/10. That first phase really does suck ass despite thinking otherwise at my first attempt, and the delays that Nameless King has does take getting used to. Yet even with that, my own headcannon aside, he felt so damn imposing and even with a narrative like Sister Friede, it was a great battle. Now all thats left is Slave Knight Gale and Soul of Cinder. Can't wait for it.
-Zero
(Also just realized that you can make an account for this place, so gonna do that so I dont have to sign it everytime :D)
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