Vordt of the Boreal Valley is a boss in Dark Souls III.
In-Game Description
- Vordt served as an outrider knight, never far from the fleeting dancer.
Description[]
Vordt is an armored man-turned-beast creature who guards the Wall of Lothric. He wields a large mace.
Location[]
Found at the bottom of the High Wall of Lothric, opposite to the castle and near the gate leading outside the city, toward the Undead Settlement.
Lore[]
Vordt is a distant descendant of the ancient gods[1] and as such he was among the Irithyllians, hybrids between the race of the gods of Anor Londo and humans, who inhabit Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, the city built for them on the ruins of Anor Londo[2]
After Sulyvahn imprisoned Dark Sun Gwyndolin, proclaimed himself pontiff and assumed control of the city[3], he was ordered to serve under the tyrant as a Boreal Outrider Knight, that was the equivalent to being exiled[4]. These knights, before being dispatched to foreign lands, were given the eye rings of the Pontiff, with the power to transform them into savage, raving warriors who only knew how to serve as mindless guards, thus ensuring Sulyvahn total control over them and preventing them from betraying[5].
After Prince Lothric refused to link the First Flame and his kingdom fell into ruin due to various internal problems[6], Vordt was thus sent to Lothric together with a division of Boreal Outrider Knights and with the orders to keep a watchful eye over the Dancer of the Boreal Valley.[7]. Here he positioned himself to guard the main gate leading inside the city[8]. Like other Outrider Knights, he would end up transformed into a frenzied beast by the rings of the Pontiff[9], causing his armor to be fused with his hide.[10]
Strategy[]
Vordt spends the first half of the fight making sweeping attacks and overhead strikes. These are well telegraphed, so the window for dodging is quite large. Blocking these attacks may lead to large stamina loss, meaning dodging is often more viable.
Attacking in short bursts may prove more effective, as it allows the player to deal sufficient damage and keep enough stamina to dodge away.
Vordt's AI does not know what to do if you get directly behind him. If you take advantage of this after each charge in phase one then you can get him into a loop of trying to turn and face you. His turns have gaps in between them that give you the chance to put in some punishment. If you follow his butt you can end the first phase, no hits taken.
Though Vordt can't close gaps instantly, he is still capable of charging over open terrain. If he lowers himself closer to the ground, he will likely charge the player, at which point the attack can be typically be dodged as easily as running to either side.
When down to about half health, Vordt will be surrounded by a glittering mist. He will then use a charge attack which he repeats three times in a row, dashing from one side of the arena to the other, and then back and forth. Attempting to block may lead to death, as the back-to-back charges deal substantial damage. Dodging is the most efficient way to avoid these attacks.
Now is your cue to change tactics. Be aggressive after each charge burst, three hits then roll away. Rinse and repeat this strategy until he begins to load up his freeze breath, now you must run round behind him and punish as much as you can. Using this strategy the fight will be over in no time.
He also uses a new ability after each set of charges. At the end of the third charge, he will stomp and take a deep breath of icy air and breath it out as a stream of ice that damages the player and inflicts Frost. This ability is cast horizontally left-to-right across his body. Standing behind Vordt will allow the player to attack him while avoiding the Frost effect.
Vordt starts using new attacks during the second half of the fight, including several small, faster strikes. The faster strikes are easier to block but they can still easily break the player's guard without sufficient care for stamina management.
Often, rolling directly underneath Vordt works well for avoiding his big attacks. However, staying there may cause him to perform a body slam.
Although Vordt is found too early in the game for the player to get any substantial Frost resistance; in future NG+ playthroughs, achieving higher frost resistance helps avoid Frostbite status.
Summons[]
- Lion Knight Albert - His summon sign is located just before the stairs leading to the boss arena (only if High Priestess Emma is still alive).
- Sword Master - If the player has defeated the Sword Master at Firelink Shrine, his summon sign will appear just before the entrance to the arena.
Drops[]
| Item |  Soul of Boreal Valley Vordt |
| Drop Rate | Guaranteed |
Notes[]
- Drops exactly the same amount of souls as Iudex Gundyr in all game cycles.
Trivia[]
- Unlike the armor used by the other Outrider Knights, Vordt's is unavailable to players.
- His mask, however, was originally going to be an item given to the player upon defeating him, but was cut out of the game before release. Its model can be seen in the unused files of the game.
- In Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, several ghosts of long dead knights can be seen wandering along the city streets. Two unique ghosts in particular, one male and the other female, can be seen departing from the cathedral. They heavily resemble Vordt and the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, both of which served together under Pontiff Sulyvahn's command.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Vordt (2).jpg (208 KB)")
.jpg "Vordt enraging (2).jpg (159 KB)")
Videos[]
Music[]
References[]
- ↑ "Irithyllian" Character Creation
- ↑ "Irithyllian" Character Creation
- ↑ Company Captain Yorshka dialogue.
- ↑ Soul of the Dancer description.
- ↑ Pontiff's Left Eye and Outrider Knight Set description.
- ↑ Grand Archives Key description and Emma, High Priestess of Lothric Castle dialogue and Opening (Dark Souls III)
- ↑ Soul of Boreal Valley Vordt description.
- ↑ Vordt of the Boreal Valley#Location
- ↑ Pontiff's Left Eye descriptions.
- ↑ Dancer's Set description.