imma try it now thanks
imma post it now
Parry that shit lol, parry first attack and then go to his left and try to get his parryable attack; he swings his sword from behind him , as for second phase just learn it
Eeeey, congrats man. Beating pontiff's butt is a great feeling.
Really close fight from the looks of it, good job.
Wait till you face nameless king
he was the hardest boss in the game for me personally
So close, bro, well done
Try to keep your own Hit points above zero while continuously reducing the boss' Hit points
please explain , im new here lmao
Hes just making a joke saying you hit the boss more than the boss hits you.
oh i see good joke tho
If you can learn to parry his initial jump, it will help you a lot. I spent a hour or two learning his parry windows & haven’t had a problem with him since. You got this Ashen One!
So, when you parry, how are you supposed to do that anyways? I've noticed I prefer the timing of the barehanded parry, but what could be better than that?
It’s up to preference & what you’ve learned with. On my first play through I didn’t know you could parry empty handed so I used a buckler/parry dagger. I believe the buckler has more parry frames.
how do i parry ? i play on ps5
I’d use a parry shield, or other shield you want to learn with. L2 when he’s at the apex of his swing. When you enter the room walk towards him & wait til he’s about to hit you. Imagine you’re swiping his hit away from you. It’ll take some getting used to, but you’ll love your life when you get it down!
Another easy way to hit the initial parry consistently is to listen to the footsteps. There will be 2 footstep sounds and you should press the parry button when the 3rd imaginary footstep would be.
I did not know this! That’s useful as hell
Get a buckler and L2 your way to victory
I found learning to parry was easier with uchgatana, you get it from the sword master to left of firelink shrine entrance. Hold L2 and press R2 to parry.
You need to learn to roll INTO him every time he takes a swing at you. I had to die like 6-7 times too before i beat him. Trust me you will get the hang of it, also make sure to upgrade your weapon
imma try it now but imma post my build first
I can’t remember which side but it’s also best for this boss to almost always roll left or right specifically.
stats
lvl 71
vigor 22
att 15
endurance 15
vitality 11
strength 27
dexterity 24
intelligence 8
faith 20
luck 11
weapon : uchigatana +7
shield : Silver Eagle kite Shield +1
rings :
1- life ring
2- magic clutch ring
3- carthus milkring
4- estus ring
Your stats are a bit all over the place for a katana build. What do you use the 20 faith for? Consider changing it for more dexterity. With all that strength you should also consider changing to a different weapon. Or see if you might get better damage from the Uchigatana if you use a refined or heavy gem. And that magic clutch ring lowers your absorbtions, might want to use a different ring if you die too easily.
Ps. I'm not an expert, so I can't guarantee my advice is top shelf. Just some stuff I noticed.
Edit: My bad, I notice the lightning spear now. Ignore me if you find the spell helpful.
first of all your advice is helpful , second i didnt know you can reset stats how ?
There's an npc in the cathedral of the deep that lets you reset your stats if you give her a pvp item, but you can get said item in a couple of places in the game without pvp
NPC in cathedral of the deep who can reset you for a PvP item you can get a few of throughout the game or whilst your part of her covenant and invading also there's a neat little trick that allows you to reset without spending a tongue although it's better to ask about that from someone who can actually explain shit
Also pontiff is easier than ya think because I beat him whilst I was offline without the npc summon and with a +7 astora straight sword on my third try whilst I was still a major shitter through brute forcing the fight
Wait. Magic clutch ring? I played as a mage. I know people have been helping you already but unless that ring is for something else I’m unaware of…caster is a great choice though!
I think since it’s your first play through that you should respec your stats and focus on a quality build (you are on the right track with your strength and dex). Also get your vigor and endurance up they are so low at the moment like get vigor to 30 and endurance to 20. What kind of armor are you wearing? Your vitality is also low and you don’t want to be too heavy so you are “fat rolling” when you dodge
What is your starter character class?
- Vigor check failed, you should have higher vigor already after vordt
Remove magic clutch ring
wait till the 2nd phase
there is 2nd phase ????
oh no
relax, 2nd phase is easier, you can check some sppedrunner's solution, hes got no RNG.
guys this my first time trying DS3 and it was fun until i got stuck in " yhorm the giant " i defeated him and after that went back to " irithyll of the boreal valley " to find out that i still didnt defeat Pontiff Sulyvahn and hes giving me a HARD time , i tried to defeat him 46 TIMES and i couldnt so if anyone would please help me defeat him please be my guest , i've started to think to quit tbh cuz he is unpredictable and also i really dont know what im doing
P.S : ive been going the whole time without a guide so please dont judge me
my psn id is : AseelOp
ember yourself and summon the 2 npcs that can help you.
Hi! I played it blind too. I kept tally marks of my deaths and it was a lot at this dude. NPC summons increase the boss’s health btw. Sometimes they’re very helpful and can be my Sun bro but other times…during that first playthrough they were fired. Pontiff- 106 I looked it up.
There are two npc summons outside this boss room you can kill him pretty quickly using them
Parrying makes this fight a breeze. Use a small shield, they have good timings.
plus i really dont have any past with any souls game before
I know I’m a bit late, but 22 vigor is pretty low for that far in
Anytime I play through a souls game now, I pretty much exclusively level vigor until I hit what I want with that character (except a few cases of a weapon is 3 levels of dex away or something)
There are always summons available outside the fog gate. Use them to tank. Finish him asap and keep enjoying life.
Hate that fker
Only one correct answer git gud
Theres 3 possible summons you can get if you do alvas story up to that point
Pontiff was my first skill wall in DS3. Still don’t know how I beat him and I am not looking forward to my next encounter with him.
I have a question, on my first play through I beat pontiff first try without parrying, I dont know if I am just wayy too cracked, got lucky, or if my build was too good? I played with zweihander. Is zweihander just broken or does it hard-counter pontiff or something?
Pontiff had me in tears bro you got thid
Bait out his lunging attack and parry, should have him down after 5-6 of them, maybe less
You have three allies to choose from outside 😅
I didn't use the parry technique on pontiff instead i baited his jump attacks, it sure takes a long time but it works
He’s tough. You can actually use the shield of want and just walk around him and not take any hits.
You don't have the right oh you don't have the right
If you follow anri questline you can summon her there
Pontiff is relatively high on defense so you may struggle with it you should be willing to only take damage when he split himself also if you could time your parries you could get some nice hits in
Dark pine resin on a FUGS +summon is like taking candy from a bsby
You know , first time I vs pontiff I wasted him , 2nd time I used the summons....it was such ass whooping I almost felt bad, pontiff reminds me of star wars revan ....tbh nun of ds3 bosses are hard outside the dlc , that said the only boss that gave me grief or really stopped me was the twin prince fight
Grab a buckler and press L2
Git gud
there is 3 summons (two if you cure the black seal/killed the black hand npc) in front of the boss door, they help a lot
you missed 50% of game nglxd
farm souls, and which weapon do you play, and what build
how bro ?
You might be under leveled or weapons are not refined.. Also if you don't mind summons there are some outside the gate
im lvl 71
but are the stats distributed correctly? I mean do they apply to your build? if yes then maybe try summons and refining your katana more, besides that it's just trial end error
tbh i dont know how to build
and my katana is +7
Seems fine to me. What's your vigor? About 30 should be fine for now, or even if it's at 27 but wouldn't recommend going any lower. It's probably your most important stat.
imma go farm some souls to lvl up my vigor and dex cuz the counter went from 46 to 62 now
edit : typo
i really dont know i just lvl up but i posted my stats u can see them
ME TOO RN lmfao
I have 9 estus. I guess I skipped one?
nah you get it after beating the dancer
I have 10 and I’m not to dancer yet but tbh I kind of got lost after the undead settlement and did cathedral of the deep and some of ariandel.
Did you get an Estus in Ariandel?
I can’t remember tbh I’ve been to a lot of areas I’m just not sure I’m doing it in order. I haven’t been to dancer yet. But definitely have 10.
Haven't been to this "dancer" either, but I got 9. I'm at Ithyrill, trying to beat Sulyvahn. Found out about the dungeon too, but haven't explored it yet. And Smouldering Lake too, which I unknowingly left behind.
we will beat him i swear
u got him ?
Okay, this is how you beat him.
Have a weight ratio less than 70%
Dont even try to parry. It's your first souls game, and you didn't know it was a thing until this thread. Just don't even try.
No sheild, two hand your katana.
Roll INTO his attacks. This is true for almost all ds3 enemys.
During his 2nd phase, the shadow will attack first, and then he'll do the same attack after, this makes him predictable.
Just like Dancer, his attacks are rhythmic. NEVER panic roll, you WILL die. Roll when you need to. Heal when it's safe, not immediately after you loose health, or you WILL die.
DUDE , i got his health so low after i took ur advice thanks man !
Hell ya! You'll get there man, on my first playthrough, he took me forever to beat, now... one of my favourites.
Anymore questions, im all open :)
Only thing I can add here is "greed kills".
No matter how low his health bar gets, resist the temptation to try and blitz him. Stick to the plan!
Ahah good try dude, you'll get there!
Not playing atm. I'll try again later. I managed to get him to lower health and clone phase in my last attempt. It was a progress. This boss is doable. Dunno when but I'll come through.
GOTEEEM
my maaannnnnn
Get good at parrying
he has 2 swords 7ft tall how ???
Incredibly possible. I love the Pontiff fight now that I can parry him. It was a nightmare for me before learning his parries. Just gotta practice it my friend.
First OP, we need to see your stats and loadout/items, without that information it seriously hinders anyones ability to properly assist you here with advice, I recommend taking some screenshots of your levels and equipped items (maybe inventory too) so folks can give you the rundown, but for now;
If you haven’t, watch some YouTube videos to get an idea of what the plan. If possible, use the area NPC summons and/or summon a friend to help.
Pontiff is a tough one for sure, he gave me a really hard time for a while too, i actually had to put the game down for a week or so lol.
Also, do some grinding/farming. Just keep killing the NPCs in the area for their loot and XP and get some more levels. If I ever had the chance, I preferred to be almost “over-leveled” lol, getting more stats can only serve to help you, so don’t be shy! (To a point)
Edit: Just to say I respect the hell out of your persistence! 46 attempts is enough for most people so just say flavored the whole game, and that a shame but understandable. Keep with it, you will figure it out. You’ve gotten THIS far, and you will get farther, Ashen one! Good luck:) eager to see the victory post.
And remember, DONT YOU DARE GO HOLLOW
thank you , i swear your words gave me a huge confidence boost
edit : imma post my build now
edit : its 49 now
edit : its 62 now
Ah yes, Pontiff Sulayman, my favourite boss
ur fav ?????
He is really cool but a pain in the ass to new players.
You'll appreciate him when you beat him, he was hell for me too
You’re missing a few estus shards, what level is your weapon?
+7
Ngl he's one of my fav bosses in ds3, but I've done early dancer route every run since my first, so I'm reasonably levelled by the time I'm there lol
“Are u winning son”
lmao but imma beat him now
I summoned an npc and went hit for hit with him. Works great👍
imma try without npcs first
Best way to do it🫡
rise ye ashen one taketh thine rightful victory trough blood and tears never give thine hope away
I remembered suffering so hard at the hands of this mercilles piece of crap. 10/10 boss fight would do agian.
At the yohrm the giant, there's a sword there next to where he was sitting take it, and then do a l2 and when it fully charges l2+r1, it'll take a ton from his health
You just need to ember yourself and bring in the 2 NPC summons outside the fog gate. Or join the Ds3 discord and there’s plenty of really great players in their willing to help 👍🏼
You want some help, i can just take aggro when he gets close to killing you so that it's less mean but you still get the fight out of it?
Apparently, this guy is way less aggressive in 2nd phase, just watch what his summon does - the boss will copy his summon's attacks with a delay. Basically, the fight becomes a rhythm game in 2nd phase.
As for 1st phase: stick close to him and try to circle around, don't roll away from him, either to the side or better into him, use sprint if needed - worked for me. I was using only 2-handed Irithyll straight sword (the one you get from Outrider Knight in the Undead Settlement) with medium equip load. This boss is resistant to frost, but that sword was the best weapon I could use.
The first time I got him to 2nd phase I was scared af, but after a couple of attempts I realized that he's actually easier in 2nd phase.
Also, his attacks deal fire and magic damage (in addition to physical) - so you might wanna use relevant rings against that and/or bug pellets.
I can help what console you play on ?
PS
Me too so are you still having trouble with the boss ?
First of all , how much damage do you do ?
-FIRST PHASE: Inp never try to parry this boss if youre a new player and never played ds before , it will just slow you down , instead try to keep the boss as close to your body as possible and always use a shield and just try to walk around the boss holding your shield up (this will help you a lot) and try to find a window where you can hit the boss without him punishing you in any way .
-SECOND PHASE: This time you wanna try to hold your distance and just wait on some window when you can hit the boss(the clone is always the first to attack and actual boss is the second one to attack , but with the same exact move), also dont forget to use your shield even if holding your distance back
pontif is hard. for me personally one of the if not the hardest fight in ds3 (without dlc). stormbro is really close but a think even cinder is not as hard as this fucker. the key to him is parry. parry his first jump-attack. and if he splits DONT BACK DOWN. hit those fuckers. hard.
Learn how to parry him and you’ll be set, just bite the bullet for a few tries until you get a feel for it. Good luck, skeleton!
What platform are you on pontiff is the second easiest npc to parry
SPOILERS FOR PONTIFFS SECOND PHASE IF YOU HAVENT GOTTEN HIM TO IT YET. For Pontiff use a 100 physical absorption medium shield and the Irithyll straight sword you get from the frost enemy just before entering the crucifixion woods area. Make sure you aren’t fat rolling and if you have any green blossom/budding green blossom. Allot all your estus to HP and buff the sword as much as you can. Ember and go into the boss fight with any summons you can outside the fog wall. They raise the bosses total HP but a distraction helps. Never dodge back from Pontiff’s attacks in first phase, only dodge toward or to the sides. Spend most of your time dodging, and when you have an opening use one light attack and resume dodging. When Pontiff grows shadowy and stops attacking for a moment back away for an AoE in all directions. Pontiff’s second phase will have a mimic of himself do every single action he does, so every time Pontiff attacks, the mimic will also do the attack. This means the boss attacks twice for every action. Treat it the same as first phase, dodging and only attacking when you have an opening and only one swing maybe two each opening. Pontiff’s mimic can be killed to lessen the danger so you can focus on only one problem but it will come back after a moment. Keep your lock on Pontiff the entire time and always keep your shield raised 24/7. Pontiff’s attacks are fast but not spontaneous, he has a clear arch in his posture or reel for each thrust and swing, so prepare accordingly for your dodge. That’s how I beat Pontiff. For Yhorm if you are still stuck, finish Siegward of Catarina’s quest so he can appear to help you and use the Storm Ruler as it is a weapon specifically designed to counter Yhorm’s immense health pool with it’s ability.
As a fellow faith main, good luck. I've never got good with pontiff. Just got lucky and learned how to roll. Don't feel bad using a summon from outside the fog. Even a npc summon can help. Especially if you're new or having trouble. Even miyazaki uses them and he lead the development of pretty much every souls game. Also go down and hit some walls and rails should find a nice miracle for bleed damage.
1st stage is best to dodge into him. After his thrust attack he does a wide slash, easy to dodge if you walk backwards after his thrust. I typically start to sprint into him to get an attack in. I don’t hit him more than once or twice each opening he has. Hope this helps with first stage
Get good.
Use an NPC summon and play defensively
the ultimate panic roll test, if u cant get pass him on you own thn it 'll only delay ur suffering
Learn to Parry him.
If you don't want to git good, ember up and summon outside - distracting him makes the fight far easier.
Or respec into a twinblade build and just rek him
Doesn’t yhorm have that nice little — spoiler — stormcaller at the back of his room?? Maybe I’m mistaken, but it makes this fight trivial to the point where it’s probably easier than vordt or the rotted tree… sorry if I ruined it for you, but if you’re really struggling, use that.
I defeated yhorm long ago
Oh I can’t figure out who you’re stuck on then. Good luck.
What platform are you on?
Parry makes this boss a joke.
Im new to the souls world
Welcome skeleton. I wish I was in your shoes. Getting to play these games again for the very first time.
2 parries skips the first phase. He always does the same jumping attack to kick off the fight, so once you've gotten that down, you effectively only need to parry him once. Watch for his slow dash to the side because he always does a telegraphed and easily parryable swing with his fire greatsword afterwards. When you're in phase 2, try to burst the clone down, but if you can't, keep your distance. The clone always predicts the attacks of the original, so you need to dodge each move twice. Wait for the end of a combo or the jump slash (the normal one, NOT the Super Smough 2.0 AOE one) and blast him.
Edit: Saw that OP won, but leaving this up in case anyone else has trouble
Git Gud
What are your stats and weapon?
If your stats are high and your weapon at least at lvl 6 you might as well just get good. There's also a summon nearby, it's an npc so it's always there. If you're good at parry you could also try that.