The Pursuer

Nothing to crow about (sorry, ugh)

 Another early boss (again, second or third?), and he’s the coolest one yet. He’s also the first challenging boss in the game, and definitely the most fun so far. He reminds me of equal parts False King Allant from Demon’s Souls (the way he effortlessly floats from afar right at you. That was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw him do this) and Artorias from the Dark Souls DLC (because of his fluid sword-work). I will say Pursuer is quite a bit easier than either of those bosses. And, between you and me, I haven’t beaten Artorias on my own. I had to summon help for that battle. It’s my secret shame (also I had to summon help for Manus. That DLC was no joke).

    He’s yet another knight in a line of knight (or knight-like) bosses, but he’s the best yet. He has a pretty cool looking shield and a sword he can wield like no one’s business (and a bizarrely small head). He’s not amazing to look at from a creativity standpoint (definitely better looking than Dragonrider), but he’s intimidating to say the least, especially when he starts gracefully slicing you up like deli meat. There’s a point earlier in this level (Forest Of Fallen Giants I’m pretty sure) where you can ascend a ladder on the side of a small building. There’s a hollow throwing firebombs down. When you climb up and get to the roof, a giant crow flies in and drops off the Pursuer. He only appears the very first time, and the first time I saw this big, scary knight fall from a crow, well I high-tailed it the hell back down the ladder. When you step through the fog gate to fight him proper, there’s a cutscene of a giant crow flying in and dropping him off. I didn’t even make the connection at first that this was the guy that had been dropped off at that building. Silly me. That little cutscene is pretty badass too. First his sword slams down from the sky and imbeds itself in the ground. Shortly after, he follows suit and slams down. He looks at you, and has this glowing red beam (laser??) from his helmet, which is just totally awesome. Perhaps he uses this to pursue? It reminds me of a cyborg.

    As far as my strategy I used, it was simple, and I really didn’t have a huge problem with him. Reading online, it seems some people were really stymied by him for awhile. I almost got him on my second try (he smoked me on my very first try), but I bested him on my third attempt. If you’re far from him, he’ll quickly float at you, and end with a sword swipe. This is very easy to dodge, then it sets you up to get a few hits. Hold your shield up after this, and don't stay too close to him. Try to get some distance again, and he’ll float and slice, which you can again roll away from and get some damage in. I don’t know if he alters this pattern much, but he basically stuck in this pattern for me, so it was fairly simple. He also has some forward slashes that can be rolled from. At some point, he may try an attack that turns his sword blue. If you’re close, you’ll get impaled. Try to avoid this because, a.) you’ll get some heavy damage dealt to you, and b.) I believe it curses you. I got hit with this, and I still carry that curse (I’m still unclear as to what exactly this does, however). There’s also two ballistas in the area you fight him in, and you can try to shoot giant arrows at him (and these things do some massive damage, like 900+ from what I saw). It takes a long time to shoot one, however, and he can usually just destroy them before you can even get a shot off. Not worth the trouble I’d say. But BE CAREFUL if you have shades/phantoms helping you, or you are a shade/phantom helping someone else. It seems people like to use the ballistas, and they don’t care if you are in the way. I was summoned into someone’s game to help them fight Pursuer, and I was meleeing him, showing him the business, and I got destroyed by one of those arrows, because I was just in the wrong place. If possible, try to coordinate with the people helping you. 

    Overall, this was the first boss that I really thought was cool, and I'd call him my favorite so far. I haven't encountered very many bosses, and I know there is a HUGE amount, so I'm sure he won't stay my favorite, but he's definitely awesome in the early goings. He's tough, but fun; he looks cool enough (if not the tiniest bit bland), and I really enjoy the fact that you can find him earlier and fight him (disappointing that you don't get anything special for beating him here) before you find him beyond the fog gate. 

Times I died: 3

Difficulty: 5/10

Overall rating: 7/10

Next up on the docket? Three tall, skinny living statues.  

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BOSS SOUL DESCRIPTION: "...who lurks in Drangleic; The Pursuer, who seeks the bearer of the sign, will not rest until his target is slain." 

 

Pursuer's Ultra Greatsword

 

Pursuer's Ultra Greatsword: "The Pursuer hunts down those branded by the curse, as if each Undead soul he claims will atone one of his sins."