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For the Dark Souls III variant, see Black Knight (Dark Souls III).

Black Knights are powerful enemies in Dark Souls.

Locations[]

With the exception of the final area, Black Knights are unique enemies that do not respawn. They can be found in the following locations throughout Lordran:

Description[]

Black Knights are encountered, individually, in many areas of the game as non-respawning challenges for players. At the Kiln of the First Flame, however, they do respawn.

They wield various slow hitting but powerful weapons, the Black Knight Shield and wear the Black Knight Set.

Lore[]

The Black Knights were once the proud Silver Knights of Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight. Long ago they fought chaos demons and were charred black, also giving them high Fire resistance.[1] Many traveled with Lord Gwyn to the Kiln of the First Flame, and were burned to ashes when he linked the First Flame, wandering the world as disembodied spirits ever after.[2] Their disembodied spirits can be seen roaming the stairs descending into the Kiln of the First Flame.

Strategy[]

It is usually not a good idea to take on Black Knights directly, as they have high Poise and can deal huge amounts of damage. Their attacks are slow, however, meaning that they are susceptible to backstabs and parries.

It's also advisable for lower level players to try and force them off ledges if possible (such as Undead Burg small bridge near bonfire or Darkroot Basin cliff) if killing them becomes problematic. This can either kill them or open them for a plunging attack to rack up some serious damage. One could also position themselves in front of a ledge, roll behind the knight as it attacks, and backstab it to knock it over the edge. If the knight dies from the fall, item drops will still be added to the players inventory like they would if the knight was killed normally.

Attacking them from where they cannot reach or where they will not attack the player will make it easy to kill the knights with ranged attacks, such as bows or firebombs.

Enemy information[]

Health and souls[]

Location Health Souls
NG NG+ NG NG+
Undead Burg 497 1,212 800 4,000
Undead Parish 532 1,219 800 3,200
Darkroot Basin 603 1,225 1,800 7,200
The Catacombs 710 1,299 1,200 3,600
Undead Asylum (Revisited) 745 1,304 1,200 6,000
Tomb of the Giants 887 1,393 1,200 4,800
Kiln of the First Flame 958 1,476 2,000 4,000

Characteristics[]

Respawn Yes & No
Backstab Yes
Damage Types Regular / Thrust / Strike / Slash - Dependent on weapon wielded
Abilities

Attacks[]

Attack Damage Attack Type Status Effect Parryable Tracking Attack Speed
Chop 399 Regular None Yes Both Medium
Double Chop 409 Regular None Yes Both Medium
Spinning Underhand 418 Regular None Yes Both Fast
Quick Upper Combo 513 Regular None Yes Both Medium
Smash 513 Regular None Yes Neither Fast
Power Uppercut 456 Regular None No Neither Fast
Dashing Smash 513 Regular None Yes Neither Fast
Leaping Smash 513 Regular None Yes Neither Fast
Shield Bash ??? Strike None No Both Medium

Attack Damage Attack Type Status Effect Parryable Tracking Attack Speed
4 Hit Combo 420 Regular None Yes Both Slow
Sword Pound 450 Regular None Yes Both Medium
Spinning Underhand 450 Regular None Yes Both Medium
Stab 413 Thrust None Yes Neither Medium
Charged Stab 420 Thrust None Yes Both Slow
Shield Bash 210 Strike None No Both Medium

Attack Damage Attack Type Status Effect Parryable Tracking Attack Speed
Thrust 272 Thrust None Yes Neither Fast
Double Thrust 281 Thrust None Yes Neither Fast
Spinning Slash 286 Thrust None Yes Both Fast
Spinning Combo 374 Thrust None Yes Both Medium
Dashing Thrust 391 Thrust None Yes Neither Fast
Shield Bash 340 Thrust None No Neither Fast
Swing 269 Regular None Yes Both Medium
Double Swing 289 Regular None Yes Both Medium

Attack Damage Attack Type Status Effect Parryable Tracking Attack Speed
Short Thrust 296 Thrust None Yes Both Medium
Triple Slash Combo 316 Regular None Yes Both Fast
Running Stab 371 Regular None Yes Both Medium
Shield Bash 193 Strike None No Both Medium

Defenses[]

Location Physical Defenses Elemental Defenses Resistances
Regular Defense Strike Defense Slash Defense Thrust Defense Magic Defense Fire Defense Lightning Defense Poison Toxic Bleed
The Catacombs 298 298 298 298 198 221 247 B B A
Kiln of the First Flame 281 281 281 281 266 295 318 B B A

These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.

Location Physical Defenses Elemental Defenses Resistances
Regular Defense Strike Defense Slash Defense Thrust Defense Magic Defense Fire Defense Lightning Defense Poison Toxic Bleed
Undead Parish 230 230 230 230 153 171 191 B B A
Kiln of the First Flame 384 384 384 384 255 285 318 B B A

These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.

Location Physical Defenses Elemental Defenses Resistances
Regular Defense Strike Defense Slash Defense Thrust Defense Magic Defense Fire Defense Lightning Defense Poison Toxic Bleed
Darkroot Garden 230 230 230 230 153 171 191 B B A
Tomb of the Giants 349 349 349 349 232 259 289 B B A
Kiln of the First Flame 384 384 384 384 255 285 318 B B A

These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.

Location Physical Defenses Elemental Defenses Resistances
Regular Defense Strike Defense Slash Defense Thrust Defense Magic Defense Fire Defense Lightning Defense Poison Toxic Bleed
Undead Burg 214 214 214 214 142 159 177 B B A
Undead Asylum (Revisited) 315 315 315 315 209 234 261 B B A
Kiln of the First Flame 384 384 384 384 255 285 318 B B A

These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.

Drops[]

Trivia[]


Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Black Knight Shield description.
  2. Black Knight Set descriptions.
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