Miscellaneous bosses

Take some time to defeat a number of optional bosses. Some of these bosses are easy even at SL1, while others are more challenging at SL1. Fighting these bosses should help you to learn their attack patterns and strategies to deal with gank bosses.

Executioner's Chariot

SL1 Executioner's Chariot, Dark Souls 2: SotFS

You must defeat this boss to reach Titchy Gren and obtain the best armour set for soul farming. The boss is weak against lightning and can be poisoned. The first phase of the fight is where you should get rid of Necromancer x 2. As long as the Necromancers are alive, they would continually revive any defeated skeletons. Toss an Alluring Skull to distract the skeletons. Upon killing both Necromancers, let the chariot take care of the skeletons for you. Wait for all skeletons to be killed, then pull a lever to stop the chariot horse from sprinting around the arena. Use the Lightning Short Bow and Poison Arrows to poison the chariot horse, then fight the horse itself.

Old Dragonslayer

SL1 Guardian Dragon at Heide's Tower of Flame, Dark Souls 2: SotFS

SL1 Old Dragonslayer, Dark Souls 2: SotFS

The fight against the Old Dragonslayer is unlocked after you have defeated the Guardian Dragon at Heide's Tower of Flame. The Old Dragonslayer is weak against lightning, fire, and magic. Use the Rapier and buff it with Gold Pine Resin or use a weapon that has been infused with a Boltstone. Defeating the boss would grant you the Leo Ring, an item that boosts the counter of your thrust attacks. In fact, you should defeat this boss for the Leo Ring itself since the ring can boost the damage output of the Rapier and Ice Rapier.

Belfry Gargoyles

SL1 Belfry Gargoyles, Dark Souls 2: SotFS

SL1 Belfry Gargoyles versus Avelyn, Dark Souls 2: SotFS

A gank boss that tests your patience. An effective strategy is to run in circles around the gargoyles, getting in one hit against the gargoyle nearest to you. The Avelyn with Magic Bolts is one way to handle the gank. Another effective strategy is to use the R2 attack of the Ice Rapier, which fires a magic projectile. The attack animation of the R2 of the Ice Rapier has a faster recovery time than firing the Avelyn. However, each R2 attack of the Ice Rapier depletes 10 durability points of the weapon. Bring plenty of Repair Powder into the fight.

Royal Rat Vanguard

SL1 Royal Rat Vanguard, Dark Souls 2: SotFS

This boss is weak against fire. Equip the Ash Knuckle Ring to boost your petrification resistance. Defeating the boss would grant you a Rat Tail, a requisite item for joining the Rat King covenant. Joining the covenant gives you access to the Rat King's shop, where you can purchase Dung Pies. Using a Dung Pie would cause your poison metre to build up, which is especially useful when you want to trigger the effect of the Red Tearstone Ring. The other benefit of being a member of the Rat King covenant is that all enemies at Doors of Pharros would be passive toward you, allowing you a speedy run to the area boss.

Royal Rat Authority

SL1 Royal Rat Authority, Dark Souls 2: SotFS

Another gank boss that is weak against fire. The rat minions can cause your petrification metre to build up. Equip the Ash Knuckle Ring to boost your petrification resistance. Upon entering the boss arena, you might want to use a bow and Fire Arrows to get rid of as many rat minions as possible prior to focusing on the boss itself.