r/darksouls • u/strahinjag • Feb 28 '26
Discussion Are the Black Knights the most iconic Dark Souls enemies?
I can't really think of another one that comes close, maybe the Basilisks?
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u/Huskystopsign Feb 28 '26
dunno, rando hollow #7 that landed apeshit attack from nowhere is pretty up there
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u/False_Pear1860 Feb 28 '26
Probably not the most iconic, but (dis)honorable mention to the Bonewheel Skeletons
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u/strahinjag Feb 28 '26
The best thing about them is that there's not many of them lol
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u/Bone_Wh33l Feb 28 '26
The amount of prejudice in this sub, I don’t know why I still stick around >:(
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u/Corn_Wholesaler Feb 28 '26
Nothing against you personally, I just happen to have a preference for boneless wheels.
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u/kodaxmax Aint this Nito Mar 02 '26
You don't stick around, thats part fot eh problem, rolling about everywhere
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u/kodaxmax Aint this Nito Mar 02 '26
except in the 2 places wheres there's liek a dozen of them together.
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u/Royal_Airport7940 Feb 28 '26
I'm going to honorably toss in Asylum Demon.
This character is the framework and baseline for so many boss characters across Fromsoft franchises.
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u/Lv1FogCloud Feb 28 '26
Part of me wants to say the silver knights especially with how infamous the archers are but I might be bias because I spend so much time there with being summoned.
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u/FrontEagle6098 Feb 28 '26
Either mimics or basilisks.
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u/AdhesiveNo-420 Feb 28 '26
I'd vote on mimics before basilisks. Every new dark souls player has died to them at least once
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u/strahinjag Feb 28 '26
Their grab attack still messes me up sometimes lol
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u/MechanicalDruid Feb 28 '26
The soccer kick feels like the first time I tried to fight a giant in Skyrim.
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u/DoctorBoomeranger Feb 28 '26
That kick felt so disrespectful, I started playing str builds over 10 years ago just so I could kill them faster
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u/Zarguthian Mar 01 '26
That's why you attack all chests so they don't grab you.
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u/strahinjag Mar 01 '26
I've gotten pretty good at recognizing which chests are mimics, there's a different shading to them.
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u/gunslinger_006 Feb 28 '26
The only issue with the mimics is they are straight from DnD.
Like, they were a dnd staple for years before dark souls came out.
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u/ChickenAndTelephone Feb 28 '26
Yeah, mimics were definitely used elsewhere before Dark Souls, totally different from Miyazaki's personal inventions, black knights and basilisks
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u/Zarguthian Mar 01 '26
Basilisks existed before Dark Souls but they have a different method of petrification.
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u/AdhesiveNo-420 Feb 28 '26
I mean sure. But couldn't you do this for most fantasy genres? Who had dragons first, DnD or some other fantasy franchise?
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u/Immediate_Stable Feb 28 '26
Yeah but DS really made its own unique thing out of them, making us panickedly hit every chest before opening.
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u/Aetol Feb 28 '26
... no it didn't, that's how mimics work in everything they're in.
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u/Immediate_Stable Feb 28 '26
Mimics certainly don't instakill you when you try to open them in other RPG I've played (though I haven't seen that many)
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u/Unique_Adeptness4413 Feb 28 '26
Mimic aren’t an instakill in any dark souls game either. They do a lot of damage which your level, armor, and defense scores then must absorb, but they are not an instakill. An instakill is 100% fatal no matter what, and mimics aren’t that.
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u/Immediate_Stable Feb 28 '26
You're nitpicking on the definition of "instakill". I meant that mimics will one-shot a character with average tankiness.
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u/The-Devilz-Advocate Feb 28 '26
People forget that in a DnD context, a level 1 PC is ALREADY standing above the rest of the average NPCs in a town or city.
The average NPC that encounters a mimic will get killed by their grab or bite.
The stat block of a commoner npc is 4 hit points.
The average damage a mimic does in DnD is 7.5 (1d8 + 3).
In the dark souls series, only the THIRD iteration has the main character be some kind of chosen being sent to do a major task. The other main characters are just random humans who managed to accomplish their objectives due to the ability to never truly die.
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u/AthosCF Feb 28 '26
DnD only had the PCs being "special" since the 3rd edition. The 1st and 2nd editions of DnD there was nothing special about your character unless you had some very lucky rolls, otherwise your lvl 1 char was as good or as crappy as the average person. So mimics could easily one shot the weaker classes(Thief and Mages) and even an unlucky Fighter.
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u/Zarguthian Mar 01 '26
Ashen Ones are undead who failed to link the flame in a previous age. They're not all that special.
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u/FrontEagle6098 Feb 28 '26
Someone hasn't played DND
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u/Immediate_Stable Feb 28 '26
I've played my fair share of DnD but haven't encountered mimics. To they reliably drop the HP of the person who opens them to 0?
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u/Kiyuya Feb 28 '26
At lower levels where they are appropriate enemies to fight, yes. 1d8+3 drops most characters who aren't fighters or barbarians unless the DM rolls really badly. And if the opening person survives, they are still grappled (stuck) on top of the teeth for another chew in the coming round(s) unless they manage to break free.
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u/False_Pear1860 Feb 28 '26
You could say the same thing about pretty much every creature/enemy in just about every modern fantasy game lol.
The point is that the specific versions that appear in the DS games are iconic in their own right.
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u/TheShadowKick Mar 01 '26
Mimics feel.too generic fantasy to be iconic to Dark Souls. At least the black knights are tied into the lore, and their weapon drops help them stand out from other black knights in fiction.
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u/AdhesiveNo-420 Mar 01 '26
Yeah but have you ever quite seen a mimic stand 7 feet tall on lengthy skinny limbs as he tries to eat you? That part is a bit different from generic fantasy
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u/SaltiestGatorade Feb 28 '26
Except for the few who were tipped off to make sure the chest wasn't breathing before opening (Mimics will barely open and close the lid of the chest if you pay attention)
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u/adorablexswitchblade Feb 28 '26
I was told off the bat how to spot a mimic and i wish i wasn't because I don't think i've ever died to a mimic. Or for thay matter, ever fallen for a mimics trap. :(
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u/Trorkin Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 02 '26
Didn't die to a single mimic in my first playthrough. In my second I actually managed to lose to one in combat to my eternal shame.
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u/100Blacktowers Feb 28 '26
Na Mimics are to universal, u dont think of DS immediatly. Or at least most people dont. I think the BK are more iconic to DS
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u/Rich_Zucchini2331 Mar 01 '26
getting cursed in DS1 means 5000 souls down the drain and a mental breakdown
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u/stillplane17 Feb 28 '26
Love how everyone in this comment section are saying different enemies. A LOT of Dark Souls enemies are iconic asf. Can’t compare can’t compete
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u/Fallen_Angel_Xaphan Feb 28 '26
I would honestly say Hollow Soldiers are more well known. They are not very threatening but they are extremely well known.
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u/JazzManJ52 Feb 28 '26
People seem to disagree, but yes. I think they are the most iconic enemy in the game. If you ask me to picture an enemy in Dark Souls, the Black Knights are at least one of the first three that come to my mind (along with beef jerky hollows and… Baldur Knights for some reason?)
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u/strahinjag Feb 28 '26
Yeah like I agree the mimics are iconic but they're also not originally from Dark Souls, the Black Knights are.
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u/No_Wallaby8104 Feb 28 '26
Balder knights are aura gods. They look way cooler than they have any right to considering how weak and irrelevant they are lol
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u/Jaggedbrace Feb 28 '26
No mention of the Titanite Demons?
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u/ThemeEvening9498 Mar 01 '26
Yeah they're definitely the most iconic imo
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u/Xerothor Mar 01 '26
Unless you fall down the pit in Sens you'll only see like 2 in a playthrough how the hell is it iconic lmao
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u/Massive_Grab_1874 Feb 28 '26
When I think of a Dark Souls enemy that you really don't want to mess with, I think of the Anor Londo Silver Knights. The bow wielding ones, to be exact. Those guys made me get good.
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u/BigIron2088 Feb 28 '26
Also the most iconic weapons. I remember beating 1 2 and 3 with a black knight's great sword. Man just talking about it makes me want to fire up all 3 again
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u/malikahmad22 Feb 28 '26
Mimic definitely. I knew they existed in darksouls before i even started playing darksouls . A lot of people know mimics and remember their first time dying to one
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u/strahinjag Feb 28 '26
That's fair. The reason I said Basilisks is bc I still remember getting cursed for the first time and having no idea what to do, lol
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u/Witch_King_ Feb 28 '26
Yes, from the viewpoint of Dark Souls as a series. They are present in 1 and 3. Mimics are in all 3 though.
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u/RobWrase Mar 01 '26
Black knight greatsword. My favorite weapon of all time.
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u/swords_again Mar 03 '26
I got super lucky my first playthrough apparently and managed to cheese one early on. That sword carried me through most of the game
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u/RobWrase Mar 03 '26
Haha same with me on my first playthrough ever! My 2nd fav of their weapons is the greataxe. I swung tha thing around ALOT in DS3
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u/A-Game-Of-Fate Feb 28 '26
Genuinely Iconic, or just “Well known and looks good”?
Because Black Knights are the latter, but the one enemy type that truly exemplifies the series is the basic Hollowed Undead.
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u/FreckledGuy444 Feb 28 '26
I’d say Basilisks.
Runners up would be Black Knights, Mimics, and (kinda cheating) the lesser Taurus demons.
Crystal Lizards are also great and very “Dark Souls”
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u/Office_Hendo Feb 28 '26
Idk, I heard way more about Bonewheel Skellys and Dogs before even getting into the series.
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u/Vijay2003 Feb 28 '26
I vote for Dogs
Dunno wtf Miyazaki feeding these fks but they are menace in Ds1/2/3 and Elden ring
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u/madmars Feb 28 '26
Black Knight = most iconic.
Basilisks have to be the most infamous though. How many people got to Ash Lake without the Lordvessal, got cursed, and dropped the game entirely. I'd love to see the stats on that.
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u/rocket20067 Mar 01 '26
I disagree, I am totally not salty that the greatsword one didn't drop his sword in my ultra greatsword only run
For real though when it comes to non bosses I do think they are the most iconic, as I think we all have been fucked by the one in the undead berg.
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u/Mysterious-Roll-5612 Mar 01 '26
Fromsoftware definitely though so, they're on the back of the games case, on the disc, on the background when hovering over the game and on the little card with the code for behind the scenes footage
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u/reverser89 Mar 01 '26
in my view they are the most "dark souls enemy". A big dark medival knight with a giant weapon, lifless eyes. He is scarry (when i played ds1 on ps3 i was like 7 yo, and this dude scared the shit out of me when i met him in undead burg)
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u/Any_Book_216 Mar 03 '26
Either them or the mimics I'd say. Your standard hollows are also iconic though and by that I mean not the crystal ones lol
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u/Ciappatos Feb 28 '26
Probably not as iconic as the basic hollow soldier (or even the basic hollow) but yeah, they're up there.
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u/tv_trooper Mar 01 '26
To me, it's the common enemies. The ones that are easy to underestimate but can demolish you in a few hits if you let your guard down.
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u/strangenautics Mar 01 '26
I feel like it's bone wheel skeletons. They are terrifying and ridiculous all in the same breath and as far as I know they are unique to the dark souls series.
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u/bostonbgreen Mar 01 '26
Anor Londo archers would like a word.
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u/monti9530 Mar 01 '26
As a person who hasnt played the games yet, the chest that attacks you is the most memorable enemy from the play throughs I have seen
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u/KingVape Mar 01 '26
All I know is one of my favorite bands, The Acacia Strain, are big souls fans and made a shirt with a bonewheel skeleton on it, as well as an Elden Ring themed shirt with Alexander on it
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u/Silent_Equivalent965 Mar 01 '26
For me it would be the hollow undeads. Weak alone but strong together .
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u/ale_nh Mar 01 '26
Are you nuts? The most iconic are the Silver Knight Archers throwing beach umbrellas at you in Anor Londo!
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u/Dickau Mar 01 '26
The "dogs" are the most consistant bullshit through soulsbourne + elden ring. Iconic, not really, but I feel like they kind of are the dark souls enemy.
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u/SnoopCheesus Mar 02 '26
Honestly there are too many to list. I'm sure there are some that are not iconic at all. The necromancers from the catacombs for example are pretty forgettable when they're not pestering you. Meanwhile every hollow variant from the Asylum to the Undead Parish is extremely memorable, and they're not even "special" in any way. Dark Souls is filled to the brim with great designs.
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u/swords_again Mar 03 '26
I've got a soft spot for these guys because my first playthrough of DS1 I didn't know what I was doing and early on I cheesed one in a guard tower. It dropped a sword that carried me through 75% of the game. It wasn't until another playthrough I realized what a lucky bastard I was that first time.
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u/Unable_Sail_4275 Mar 06 '26
Straight up yes, also imo best armor in the soul games. It sucks non dark souls games can't have it.
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u/DarkSoulsRedPhantom Feb 28 '26
The mimics in this game are so iconic they've become the gold standard for anime fantasy mimics.
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u/Hotline_Miami-Fan218 Feb 28 '26
Nah. I’d say the mimic is near close to the mascot of Dark Souls..but then again, they barley appear
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u/Ashlake_stonerdragon Feb 28 '26
I think the most iconic are the skeleton wheels and the dogs because they are so meme-able. In a second place I would but bothbthe black knights and the darkwraith knights
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u/Jierdan_Firkraag Feb 28 '26
Gravity is the most iconic enemy.