History Awesome / DarkSoulsII

*** As per company metrics, the Fume Knight is the boss with the highest success rate in the entire dark souls franchise...against players. In other words, the Fume Knight is thee most lethal dark souls boss and the frustration you get from being beaten from him is not uncommon and the revelry from defeating him is well earned.

** Something added in that doesn't require the DLC being bought in order to encounter: you can now use the Ashen Mist Heart on Vendrick's clothes/armor in the Undead Crypt and encounter him before he Hollowed...and he's [[PhysicalGod so stupendously powerful]] that your attacks, no matter your stats and equipment, ''[[NoSell don't even faze him]]''.

** Something added in that doesn't require the DLC being bought in order to encounter: you can now use the Ashen Mist Heart on Vendrick's clothes/armor in the Undead Crypt and encounter him before he Hollowed.

[-[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.deviantart.com/felipe-gewehr/art/Sir-Alonne-vs-Penetrator-492980596 Image]] by [[https://www.deviantart.com/felipe-gewehr Felipe-Gewehr]].]]-]

* Many of the vaugley human bosses (like the Lost Sinner and Ruin Sentinels) can be parried. This is naturally [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-erD3MW62uU&list=PLRO5vRlAx_HfGE6stb0I_YR1jy8e2HiWg incredibly satisfying.]]

** In the same area, going at the top of the Dragon Shrine will grant you an audience with an Ancient Dragon, who communicates with you telepathically and in an unforgettable BlackSpeech manner.
** Attacking the above [=NPC=] will trigger an unexpected and brutal BonusBoss. Many players shat in their pants when [[ShmuckBait they tried doing this]].

* An example on behalf of the player-base: ThatOneAttack from the BonusBoss Ancient Dragon has been thought to be a guaranteed one-hit kill. At least one canny player [[NoSell thought]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsmQjR7PZQs otherwise.]]

* One way The Pursuer engages you is to fly into the arena on a bird, drop down, and launch a SwordBeam at you. [[http://youtu.be/qphI53JCGzk?t=2m36s It's like that famous scene from]] Film/YorTheHunterFromTheFuture UpToEleven.

** The fight against dark spirit Jester Thomas. [[AscendedMeme Ascended]] MemeticBadass to the [[UpToEleven nth degree]], he is '''''the [[ArtificialBrilliance smartest]]''''' invading NPC phantom that From has made and the fans love it.

* So many of the areas are utterly breathtaking, and not just from specific views, either. Cardinal Tower, for instance, allows you to clime a huge, stone sword (with a severed stone hand attached) that's jutting out of the castle wall...and then you see two giant stone statues on either side of the castle wall. One is missing a hand--the one you're standing on--and the other is missing its head. Much, much later in the game, you find out what happened to the head...

* [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Like its predecessor]], beating the game becomes a good pat on the back after a tireless journey through several locations, with countless deaths in tow. [[spoiler:This time, you also get be crowned as the ruler of Drangleic!]]

** In the same area, going at the top of the Dragon Shrine will grant you an audience with [[spoiler:an Ancient Dragon, who communicates with you telepathically and in an unforgettable BlackSpeech maner]].
** Attacking the above [=NPC=] will trigger [[spoiler:an unexpected and brutal BonusBoss]]. Many players shat in their pants when [[ShmuckBait they tried doing this]].

** [[spoiler: The Ancient Dragon's Memories, a small look at the world in the Time of Ancients, before Gwyn. And in it, the immense corpse of an Everlasting Dragon. You can even use its soul to craft a weapon with a pretty awesome callback to the first game's intro.]]

* Fans of [[Videogame/DarkSouls the previous game]] get to see a CallBack as early as their trek in Heide's Tower of Flame. Once you make your way to the Blue Cathedral, prepare for a vicious church brawl against [[spoiler:the Old Dragonslayer,]] accompanied by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFrcmJQencc the ever brilliant soundtrack]]. It's just as awesome as it sounds.

* Illuminating the [[spoiler:Undead Crypt]]. Originally, it looks mostly featureless and black. But once the lights come on, [[SceneryPorn you see what you've been missing...]]
* It's heavily implied that [[spoiler:King Vendrick]] was behind all the barriers and measures blocking your way to [[spoiler:the Throne of Want]], in an effort to stop [[spoiler:Queen Nashandra]] from taking over. [[spoiler:Even if he ultimately became a mindless Hollow, he succeeded.]]

* The ending. Confronted with the choice of [[spoiler:Linking the Fire or abandoning it]], the Undead Hero [[spoiler:does not even hesitate to sit on the Throne of Want]].
** This changes in ''Scholar of the First Flame'', where the player [[spoiler:can walk away.]]

** The fight against dark spirit [[spoiler:Jester Thomas]]. [[AscendedMeme Ascended]] MemeticBadass to the [[UpToEleven nth degree]], he is '''''the [[ArtificialBrilliance smartest]]''''' invading NPC phantom that From has made and the fans love it.
** Facing [[spoiler:Elana]] is what the fight against [[spoiler:Nashandra]] ''should'' have been. A greater number of hexes to cast, she uses pyromancy, she can summon {{Mook}}s, she ''teleports''! And one of those mook summons? [[spoiler:Velstadt.]]
** Slaying [[spoiler:Sinh the Slumbering Dragon]] is like facing Kalameet all over again and it is ''glorious''. Combined with summoning Abbess Feeva, and using Lightning Spear yourself, it's like re-enacting the intro of the first ''Dark Souls''.
** Something added in that doesn't require the DLC being bought in order to encounter: [[spoiler:you can now use the Ashen Mist Heart on Vendrick's clothes/armor in the Undead Crypt and encounter him before he Hollowed.]]

** The Phantom Maldron the Assassin who challenges Jester Thomas for the position of smartest phantom, being the first one to [[spoiler:run away to get backup from other enemies and heal when the fighting gets tough]]. Yes that's right, the phantoms are learning OUR techniques.
*** However, [[spoiler: should you have a Seed Of a Tree Of Giants handy, you can [[HoistByHisOwnPetard turn the enemies on Maldron instead]], earning you an easy kill.]]

** The boss lurking at the bottom of the Brume Tower, [[spoiler:the Fume Knight (or Sir Raime the Rebel)]], puts you on the defensive right away with an ultra greatsword and longsword combo that strikes both fast and hard. Just when you think you have the the upper hand, [[spoiler:he ditches his smaller blade and sets his {{BFS}} on fire, gaining the ability to swipe half the arena with dark fire and shoot out a 360 degree Fire Orb attack that can cause OneHitKill if you aren't wearing good enough armour.]]
** The boss residing at the very top of the Brume Tower, [[spoiler:Sir Alonne]], is one of the fastest striking bosses in the ''Souls'' franchise. [[spoiler:Wielding a katana as big as he is, which is '''big''', he comes at you with tricky moves that require pinpoint dodging and the ability to carefully determine how much stamina you can afford to spend before being rendered defenseless. The very second you can't dodge in this fight, you have lost.]]

** And for the third and final boss, guess who's back? [[spoiler:The Smelter Demon! And he got an upgrade. This time you fight in a near pitch-dark arena, the only light source being the hauntingly beautiful blue flames coming out of the massive demon that's charging at you with an even bigger {{BFS}} than before that's made of blue fire, and who has brand new moves to trip you up and some new details added onto his armour to make him look even more intimidating than before.]]
** Returning to meet [[spoiler:Vendrick in the Memories again and learning that a true king, the one who will defeat the curse once and for all, will be able to harness both Fire and Dark. And that shadow, despite being dark, is a servant of Fire. The brighter the flame, the darker the shadow.]]
*** And it turns out that, according to ''{{VideoGame/Dark Souls III}}'', Vendrick was [[spoiler: right. The only way for humanity to defeat the curse, albeit with its own consequences, is to be someone who can harness both the Darksign and the First Flame.]]

** After defeating the final DLC boss and acquiring the titular crown, you bring all the crowns to Vendrick [[spoiler: and he imbues all of them with a special power that prevents hollowing and has infinite uses]]. Seems quite useful... then the FridgeBrilliance kicks in and you recall [[spoiler: that your character basically came to Drangleic in hopes to cure their undead curse - ''[[EarnYourHappyEnding and has just succeeded in doing so]]''. Sure, it's not perfect and the Undead Hero still will lose their souls after death, but as long they wear any of the crowns, they will not turn into a mindless monstrosity.]]

*** The Ivory King himself is one gigantic living SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. [[spoiler: He was a king of Forossa, meaning he was a badass among badasses. When the Old Chaos sprung up, he beat it back and built an entire city around it to contain it. He then situated his throne directly above the entrance to the Old Chaos so he would be the first line of defense against the ancient evil. He changed the heart of a Child of Dark out of sheer love and kindness and when he sensed the degradation of his own soul, he plunged into Chaos headfirst to go out in a blaze of glory.]] There's RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething, and then there's this guy.
*** For those looking [[GoodBadBugs for an easier fight]], it's entirely possible to [[spoiler: OneHitKO the boss by luring him close to a mirror that's about to be frozen]], as seen [[http://youtu.be/lpq8uMOM_eQ?t=1m3s here]].

* An example on behalf of the player-base: ThatOneAttack from the BonusBoss [[spoiler: Ancient Dragon]] has been thought to be a guaranteed one-hit kill. At least one canny player [[NoSell thought]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsmQjR7PZQs otherwise.]]

* The TrueFinalBoss of ''Scholar of the First Sin'': none other than [[spoiler:the title character, the previously unseen Aldia.]]
** In a sense, what said TrueFinalBoss did in the backstory can also count, albeit crossed with a very heavy dose of NightmareFuel. [[spoiler:Like his brother King Vendrick, Aldia sought to find a way to break the Undead curse, [[MadScientist though by far more heinous means]], and eventually decided that the only way to do so would be to [[{{Transhumanism}} leave humanity itself behind]]. Amazingly enough, he succeeded, and while he became something [[EldritchAbomination that wouldn't look out of place in Lovecraft horror]], it still stands that he ''broke the cycle of Light and Dark, life and death itself'', as evidenced by the fact he doesn't drop souls or ''his own Soul'' upon defeat and still speaks to the player]]. In the end, the [[spoiler:Scholar of the First Sin]] ''succeeded'' where only the [[PlayerCharacter Bearer of the Curse]] would surpass him.

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** Black Gulch, with its [[BioluminescenceIsCool luminescent]] [[SicklyGreenGlow neon green moss]], may invoke CreepyAwesome feel in exact the same way as [[Film/TheReturnOfTheKing Minas Morgul]] did. Especially in contrast to the [[DownInTheDumps previous area]].