- For the Dark Souls II variant, see Skeleton (Dark Souls II).
- For the Dark Souls III variant, see Skeleton (Dark Souls III).
Skeletons are enemies in Dark Souls.
Location[]
These foes are found in the graveyard area of Firelink Shrine, The Catacombs and at the end of the Tomb of the Giants, during the Gravelord Nito boss fight.
Description[]
Skeletons appear either as a patch of scattered bones that assemble when approached or already assembled and ready to fight. Their eye sockets glow with a white light, which make them easier to locate in darkened areas.
They wield either a Scimitar and Warrior's Round Shield, a Falchion and no shield, or a Longbow. Skeletons using the Scimitar or Falchion will inflict Bleed buildup with each of their attacks. Unlike many other enemies, skeletons can parry, riposte, and backstab.
In the graveyard at Firelink, their bones are scattered on the ground, and groups of them rise when the player character enters a specific space.
Skeletons in The Catacombs are tied to specific Necromancers and will repeatedly revive until their master dies or if slain with weapons that have a Divine auxiliary effect, such as the Silver Knight Spear, Astora's Straight Sword or weapons ascended down the Divine upgrade path. This is also true for the skeletons encountered during the boss fight with Gravelord Nito, except that they have no associated Necromancer.
Strategies[]
- Skeletons take extra damage from weapons with the Divine auxiliary effect, which also keeps them from reassembling.
- All weapons augmented with a Divine Ember have this effect, in addition to Astora's Straight Sword, Crescent Axe, Grant, Greatsword of Artorias (non-cursed version) and the Silver Knight Spear.
- While assembling, skeletons are vulnerable for a couple seconds.
- Inflicting a heavy attack on a skeleton will cause them to disassemble for a few seconds, leaving them exposed to further attacks (this makes for their stagger animations).
- If not equipped with a Divine weapon in The Catacombs, the player should find and kill the Necromancers controlling them or the skeletons will continue to reassemble whenever they are shattered apart. If no Necromancers can be found, dispatch skeletons with heavy attacks, shattering them for long enough to be able to escape.
Enemy information[]
Health and souls[]
Location | Health | Souls | ||
NG | NG+ | NG | NG+ | |
Firelink Shrine | 184 | 402 | 50 | 200 |
The Catacombs | 196 (sword & shield) 153 (bow) |
396 (sword & shield) 310 (bow) |
100 | 400 |
Characteristics[]
Respawn | Yes |
---|---|
Backstab | Yes |
Damage Types | Physical / Bleed |
Abilities | Can parry and riposte. Can resurrect. |
Attacks[]
Attack | Damage | Attack Type | Status Effect | Parryable | Tracking | Attack Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrow Shot | 204 | Thrust | None | No | Neither | Medium |
Attack | Damage | Attack Type | Status Effect | Parryable | Tracking | Attack Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Swing | 272 | Slash | Bleed: 30 | Yes | Both | Slow |
Two Handed Slash | 326 | Slash | Bleed: 30 | Yes | Both | Slow |
Roll | 182 | Slash | Bleed: 30 | No | Both | Fast |
Attack | Damage | Attack Type | Status Effect | Parryable | Tracking | Attack Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quick Swing Combo | 198 | Slash | Bleed: 30 | Yes | Both | Medium |
Overhead Slice | 210 | Slash | Bleed: 30 | Yes | Both | Medium |
Double Slice | 214 | Slash | Bleed: 30 | Yes | Both | Fast |
Spin Slash | 251 | Slash | Bleed: 30 | Yes | Both | Medium |
Defenses[]
Location | Physical Defenses | Elemental Defenses | Resistances | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Firelink Shrine | 247 | 173 | 247 | 309 | 191 | 168 | 255 | S | S | S |
The Catacombs | 264 | 185 | 264 | 330 | 204 | 179 | 284 | S | S | S |
These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.
Drops[]
Item | Scimitar |
Falchion |
Red & White Round Shield |
Short Bow |
Drop Rate | 2% (Sword and Shield Wielder) |
2% (Single Swordsman) |
1% (Sword and Shield Wielder) |
2% (Bowman) |
Trivia[]
- Bonewheel Skeletons are distinct enemies, and can be encountered in the Painted World of Ariamis.
- On rare occasions, when parried by a skeleton, a glitch may occur that sends the player falling through the ground.
- Despite dropping the Red & White Round Shield, skeletons only wield the Warrior's Round Shield.