Dark Souls 3 boss guide - how to defeat every top tier enemy

Lothric, Younger Prince 

High atop Lothric Castle lies the Grand Archives. Make your way through its many shelves and staircases to reach the home of Lothric, Younger Prince. Prepare for a tough fight.

The name and associated achievement/trophy associated with this fight is a bit of misnomer: this battle is actually against the Twin Princes. The battle begins with Lorian, the Elder Prince on his knees (he crawls through most of the battle).

Lorian attacks with sweeps and pierces from his flaming sword. These are actually quite easy to avoid if you simply stick close to him and roll to his side or rear – this also gives you a great chance to let loose with an attack of your own. He may also sweep his sword and summon some fire, but this is also avoidable with a backwards roll. If Lorian stands up, give him some space, as he’s going to slam his sword down for massive damage. Finally, he may raise his sword and as it fills with light. This attack can kill you in one hit depending on your HP, so dodging here is essential: to avoid the attack, you need to roll to the side the moment the sword actually smashes into the ground. This will get you out of the path of the light wave that rushes your way. And throughout all of this, Lorian will teleport after most sword combos, so stay locked on and ready to dodge.

After defeating Lorian, you’ll finally face the real boss here. Lothric, the Younger Prince will come down from his platform, revive Lorian, and climb onto his back. The goal here is to defeat Lothric, but actually attacking him is tricky. Lorian uses all the same attacks in this phase, so use the same manoeuvres to avoid damage. If you can dodge behind him, you’ll be able to damage both him and Lothric. If you happen to topple Lorian again – he has much less HP this time – Lothric will fall off his back, giving you a chance to pound on him. Just don’t stand near him too long, as he’ll revive Lorian (again) with a large burst of magic. You can repeat this process or attack Lothric on his brother’s back as you see fit.

The twist is that Lothric can use magic. His two spells include a fast moving white Soul Arrow and a series of small magic darts that fly at you in pairs. For the Soul Arrow, you’ll need to quickly dodge to the side. For the multiple darts, you’ll need to either create some major distance or mash that roll button to dodge the raining attacks – I prefer the latter, as this will also keep you dodging as Lorian teleports around.

This battle isn’t easy – it is the final Lord of Cinder fight, after all – so be prepared for a serious fight. But if you’re patient, careful with your endurance, and chip away at the boss(es) when possible, you’ll conquer the Twin Princes.

Jump to Boss:

Iudex Gundyr
Vordt of the Boreal Valley
Curse-Rotted Greatwood (Optional)
Crystal Sage
Abyss Watchers
Deacons of the Deep
High Lord Wolnir
Old Demon King (Optional)
Pontiff Sulyvahn
Yhorm the Giant
Aldrich, Devourer of Gods
Dancer of the Boreal Valley
Oceiros, the Consumed King (Optional)
Champion Gundyr (Optional)
Dragonslayer Armour
Lothric, Younger Prince
Ancient Wyvern (Optional)
Nameless King (Optional)
Soul of Cinder

Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.