The Executioner's Chariot is a boss in Dark Souls II.
General information[]
Located in the Undead Purgatory, the Executioner's Chariot attempts to run over the player when encountered. It barrels through whatever is in its path, whether friend or foe. Upon killing the charioteer, the chariot's horse acts much like a Fang Boar from the original Dark Souls.
In Scholar of the First Sin, a chariot horse can be found in Drangleic Castle, in the hall previously filled with Alonne Knight Captains.
Summoning[]
In Scholar of the First Sin only, Creighton the Wanderer can be recruited as a phantom for this fight, once freed, and, if the player moves fast enough, the shade Bashful Ray may also join, which can help in keeping the skeletons at bay for a while.
Lore[]
The Executioner's Chariot was created with the sole purpose of tormenting and punishing the undead during the hunts organized by the Old Iron King. Although the Executioner appears to be the master of the chariot, it's actually the horse that controls the machine and carries out its creator's will to torture the undead.
Fight overview[]
There are two phases to this fight: the "chariot" phase and the "horse" phase.
As you enter the fog door, phase one begins. The chariot will circle around the arena and attempt to ram into you. This can be avoided by hiding in the openings along the walls, or with a well-timed roll. The corridor is littered with Skeletons that will continue to revive until the Necromancers, which are hiding in the gaps along the walls, are killed. The chariot progressively loses speed the more damage it is dealt, giving you more time between its laps to deal with the skeletons and necromancers.
There are two methods of approaching the first phase. The first is to make your way around the corridor to the other side of the pit and pull the lever, which will lower a gate the chariot will crash into. The second method is to continually hit it with ranged attacks until it reaches 25% of its health. At this point, the chariot will be unable to clear the gap and fall. It will dangle off the ledge helplessly until it is hit one final time, which will cause it to lose its grip and tumble into the pit. This method skips phase two entirely.
Phase two begins when the chariot bashes into the gate. The horse will be free as the chariot is completely destroyed and the charioteer is killed. The horse is very easy to fight and behaves similarly as the Fang Boar from the first Dark Souls. The horse has a charge attack where it bashes you with its head, this move is unblockable and does damage through your shield. If you linger behind the horse for too long, it will kick at you with its hind legs. If you are in front of it for too long, it will stand up on its hind legs and bash downwards on you. If you are at a medium distance away, the horse will spew a Dark fog that is unblockable and does heavy damage through your shield.
Strategy[]
Phase 1: The key here is to rush towards each of the two Necromancers and take them out before the Skeletons can catch up, avoiding the Chariot by hiding in alcoves as you go along. Bring a high stability shield if you can't run directly from one Necromancer to the other. Once the second Necromancer is killed, take out the Skeletons. Let the Chariot kill them if you wish. After the Necromancers and the Skeletons have been taken out, run to the lever and pull it.
- (Note: If you have the Yearn spell or some Alluring Skulls, this fight becomes almost trivial. Cast Yearn or toss a skull as soon as you enter the fog gate and the Skeletons will just ignore you, getting maimed by the Chariot. Find the first Necromancer and kill him quickly. Dispose of any of the three initial Skeletons left. Start running towards the lever. When you see the first Skeleton, cast Yearn again or throw another skull and move to the second Necromancer. After he and all the remaining Skeletons are dead, pull the lever for a very easy boss fight.)
Phase 2: At the start of phase two, the horse will fall over. This is the perfect time to use magic or pyromancy that has a long cast time for big damage. You don't want the horse to hit you as it does heavy damage and can deal damage through shields.
Circle around the horse and don't get too far away from it or it might use its breath attack which deals a lot of damage (but is easily dodged). Do not stay in front of the horse. Instead, stay behind it and try to bait it into kicking with its hind legs. Once it kicks and you successfully avoid it, move in quickly and hit the horse one or two times. The horse will then turn towards you and you should circle around it once again. You may also try to bait it into doing its front stomp attack or dodging its breath attack and then getting a few blows in. You don't want it to charge you as it is more difficult to dodge and can deal serious damage.
Alternate strategy (ranged or magic users)[]
After entering the arena, the player can choose to rush the first Necromancer and clean up the Skeletons, allowing the player to take cover in an alcove. Each time the chariot comes around, a well cast spell or a well timed arrow can deal damage to the chariot (a good spell to use is Homing Crystal Soulmass or just a simple Homing Soulmass. After casting, stand in one of the alcoves and wait). When the boss gets down to about 1/3 to 1/5 of its health, the chariot will stop circling the arena, most likely surprising the player.
Continuing around the arena, clearing out the remaining Necromancer and Skeletons, the player will notice that the chariot is being held above the pit by the two horses, while the charioteer dangles helplessly underneath. The player can now freely kill the boss without any resistance. A single attack will send the chariot tumbling into the abyss, finishing the boss fight.
If you are having trouble catching the Chariot as it goes by, try using a spell that shoots straight (like Lightning Spear or Soul Spear). Stand by one of the alcoves near the entrance to the boss fight and shoot it down the hall when you see the Chariot come around the corner. After you shoot it, you have plenty of time to dodge into the alcove. You can also use the binoculars if you like.
Alternate strategy (melee)[]
A version of the above strategy is also available for melee builds. Proceed as normal, working your way up the arena, and killing the two Necromancers, letting the chariot take care of the Skeletons (Alluring Skulls work well here). Once you kill the last Necromancer, instead of pulling the lever, wait for the chariot to pass and run to the edge of the pit. Stand with your back against the right hand wall, facing the opposite wall, and as close to the edge of the pit as you can safely be. Since the chariot is jumping, it cannot hit you here. Each time it lands you can take a swing at it, and whittle down its health bar. This works with most weapons, but a weapon with a wide swing is better as locking on is a very bad idea. The timings will vary, so some experimentation will be necessary. As an example, a Greatsword R1, triggered the instant the boss jumps will always connect and do decent damage.
This strategy will end the same way as the caster version. Once the bosses health is low enough, it will miss the jump and end up hanging off the pit. Walk up and hit it once to finish the fight.
Attacks[]
- (Note: These attacks are for the horse, as the rider doesn't have any attacks.)
- Dark Breath: Breathes a cloud of Dark flame at the player, slowly shifting left or right depending on the direction of the player. Normally uses this attack when the player is within melee range. Has a very slow turn rate, can be easily evaded and the opportunity used to attack it.
- Stomp: Rears up on its hind legs, and crashes down on the player. Has moderate tracking, but can be evaded with good roll timing. Can be blocked with a shield.
- Headbutt: The horse swings its head left or right, hitting the player for low damage. Usually executes this attack when the player is at close range, can be easily blocked.
- Back Kick: Using its hind legs to kick the player, normally if the player is near its rear or side arc. Unblockable and deals high damage and knockback, but has relatively short range and can be evaded by backing away.
- Charge: The horse lowers both its heads, then charges at the player. Unblockable and deals high damage and knockback. It can perform this attack at any range, but the attack can be dodged by rolling to the side, giving players an opportunity to counterattack.
Defenses
| Physical Defenses | |||
|
|
|
|
| 452 / 553 (Drangleic Castle) | 15% | 0% | 0% |
| Elemental Defenses | |||
|
|
|
|
| 30% | 15% | 15% | 50% |
| Resistances | |||
|
|
Can be Backstabbed | Can be Parried |
| 30% | 15% | No | No |
(Stats are from Param Studio and are not estimated)
Strike/Slash/Thrust defense are applied on top of Physical Defense.
Notes[]
- The horse acts like a Fang Boar from the previous Dark Souls, with the exception of having a forward stomp and a dark breath attack.
- The charge attack cannot be blocked, making dodging the only option.
- The lever can be difficult to see but it's on the opposite side of the last Necromancer at an angle.
- After defeating the boss, the player is given access to the Undead Purgatory bonfire and Titchy Gren.
- In order to fight this boss again via a Bonfire Ascetic, making it NG+, you must burn the Ascetic at the Undead Purgatory bonfire.
- It's possible to get past the Chariot without going into the alcoves by sticking to a wall and rolling when the chariot is about to hit the player. This requires near-perfect timing and can be made easier with a higher Adaptability stat.
- Stacking Dark resistance makes surviving being run over by the chariot easier, as most of the chariot's attacks are Dark based.
Drops[]
| Item |  Executioner's Chariot Soul |
 Chloranthy Ring +2 |
| Drop Rate | Guaranteed | Guaranteed (NG+) |
Trivia[]
- The Executioner's Chariot was originally named the Silver Chariot in the network test. This name was probably a reference to the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure/JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken.
Gallery[]
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