Vendrick is an optional boss in Dark Souls II. He is voiced by William Houston, who also voiced Marvelous Chester in Dark Souls and Oceiros in Dark Souls III.
Lore[]
- See Drangleic
Plot[]
Upon entering the Undead Crypt and defeating Velstadt, the Bearer of the Curse encounters the king, merely a shell of his former self. They may choose to spare the king, leaving him to wander endlessly, or slay him and end his misery.
Using the Ashen Mist Heart, the Bearer of the Curse may enter the Memory of the King, where they may interact with King Vendrick as he was before he became hollowed. Bitter and grieving his failures, Vendrick tells the Bearer to seek the crowns of old kings of yore. Once they have brought him all the crowns, Vendrick will unlock their power, making the Bearer of the Curse immune to the hollowing effects of the curse. He advises the Bearer of the Curse to seek a third path, beyond the light and dark.
Strategy[]
Vendrick has very high defense which likely will make this a very lengthy fight. His defense can be considerably lowered, however, by collecting up to five Souls of a Giant found throughout Drangleic. Each Soul of a Giant halves his defense. Without any souls, he has 32 times his base defense and takes almost negligible damage per hit. Even with the Souls of a Giant, Vendrick is not to be taken lightly. His attacks deal heavy damage, have good reach, and can stagger players who roll too early because of the windup for each one.
Vendrick holds his sword with the blade dragging behind him even as he winds up for the horizontal slash attacks. Staying close to him and strafing to his left will make it very hard for him to hit the player. He will sometimes jump back to put distance between him and the player. If he backs up into a wall, the player may back up in an attempt to get behind him again. Keeping a good shield in your inventory can help, but not always, as most of Vendrick's attacks have extremely high stamina damage.
A good way to approach the fight is to stay directly behind or next to his left foot. If he gets too close to a wall where any part of the player or him is bumping into it, try to lure him back out toward the center of the arena.
Attacks[]
Swiping: Swipes his sword across the ground two or three times in a row. This is his deadliest attack, as if it hits the player's shield it will drain all stamina and the player will then by severely damaged or killed by the following swing. Hugging his left foot while causes the attack to completely swing over the player's head, but rolling through the attacks works well too if the player learns Vendrick's moveset and timing.
Overhead Sword Slam: Raises his sword up and slams it onto the ground, sometimes done twice or even three times in a row. Easy to dodge by staying as close to him as possible.
Jump Attack: Will jump towards the player and slam his sword into the ground where they were standing the moment he jumped. There's a clear wind-up and it is fairly easy to dodge by moving out of the way when he gets airborne.
Single Sword Swing: Will swing the sword horizontally towards the player once, it has a long reach, and a slow wind-up that is exactly the same as the swiping. Fairly easy to dodge by sprinting towards his left side. He will also do this is the player is far away and will most likely kill them if their back is turned.
Charge: If the player starts really distancing themselves from Vendrick where he can not hit them with his swing, he will pick up speed. He will move much faster than his normal slow meander and will most likely catch the player off guard if they were healing or buffing their weapon. The best way to handle this is, if one has a shield, to raise it and sprint towards his left side. If one doesn't have a shield, sprint towards his left side and be prepared to roll for your life.
Curse Orb: Upon crossing the fog wall, Vendrick will scream and throw a dark red orb at the player, inflicting instant curse if it connects.
Defenses[]
| Physical Defenses | |||
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|
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| 581 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Elemental Defenses | |||
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| 30% | 30% | 30% | 50% |
| Resistances | |||
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Can be Backstabbed | Can be Parried |
| 100% | 30% | No | No |
Stats are from Param Studio and are not estimated
Strike/Slash/Thrust defense are applied on top of Physical Defense.
Note that the defenses are based on when the player has five Giant Souls.
Drops[]
Vendrick will not drop anything except the given amount of souls when he dies. However, his Soul of the King and his armor set can be found in the Shrine of Amana, behind a door that can only be opened after defeating him. The door is in the area between the first and second hut where the player can find a pathway leading to the door, however, they must be in human form to open it.
Using a Bonfire Ascetic instead of going to NG+ will not spawn these items anew in the Shrine of Amana.
Notes[]
- Vendrick is initially passive, and will aggro only upon taking enough damage from the player. This is affected by the number of Giant Souls in the player's possession, so attacking him in his initial encounter after the battle with Velstadt will not aggro him.
- By using a Bonfire Ascetic at the Undead Ditch bonfire, Vendrick can be respawned, but so will Velstadt.
- Upon download of the Crown of the Sunken King expansion and obtaining the Ashen Mist Heart, interacting with Vendrick's discarded clothing will bring the player to the Memory of the King, allowing them to speak with an unhollowed Vendrick.
- If Vendrick is killed before going and slaying Nashandra, the player will have to fight Aldia, Scholar of the First Sin, which can ultimately cause Aldia to be the third boss in a row, assuming the Throne Watcher and Defender are not yet defeated.
- If a player summoned for the Velstadt fight has any Souls of a Giant in their possession they will reduce Vendrick's defense immediately after the fight. If the area is abandoned or the player dies in that first fight he will reset and only calculate the player's Giant Souls.
Dialogue[]
| Click to see dialogue (contains spoilers) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Trivia[]
- There is an interesting irony when Vendrick is spoken to at the Memory of the King. He will claim that he "is no King", and that he is "more fit to be a jester". This is likely to be a subtle nod to the voice actor's previous role as Marvelous Chester in Dark Souls.
Gallery[]
