Sister Friede

Sister Friede is a character and a boss in Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel.

Description
Friede wears the Ordained Set and is armed with a scythe. She has burn marks on the right side of her face.

Location
Sister Friede is found sitting on a chair in Ariandel Chapel in the Painted World of Ariandel.

Lore
Elfriede is the eldest of the three sisters who founded the Sable Church of Londor, the others being Yuria and Liliane. Sister Friede is an Ashen One, suggesting that she attempted to link the First Flame or usurp it but failed, resulting in her being resurrected as ash.

Having abandoned the Sable Church, she happened upon Ariandel's Painted World. There, she tricked Father Ariandel by convincing him that the only way to preserve the Painted World was by suppressing the fire with his own blood to prevent it from being burned to the ground, and resulting in the rot that afflicts it.

Despite giving ample warning, Sister Friede is ultimately forced to wield her scythe and confront the meddling Ashen One, not before asking the good Father to turn his gaze away from the imminent carnage. When she collapses the first time, an enraged Ariandel sparks the flame he bled so much to prevent in a desperate attempt to revive her. Now rekindled, she comes back from death to fight by his side. After falling a second time, Friede rises yet again and tinges her flame black with the Dark in one final struggle to defeat the second ash and prevent the painted world from being eventually replaced with a new one.

First Phase: Sister Friede
First of all, it is suggested to use a light weapon (such as a straight sword, a greatsword, etc.) to avoid the risk of being stun-locked by her fast attacks, and also a greatshield with high stability to minimize some stamina damage.

After the beginning of the fight, be careful and learn her attack patterns while blocking with your shield (be careful anyway, cause her scythe inflicts Magic damage).

The boss has very little poise and will be stun-locked from almost every attack by the player. You can give her two or three rapid hits, but be sure to keep an eye on the stamina bar to dodge her next attack. As this boss can be backstabbed, it is highly suggested to do some backstab-fishing, perhaps with a weapon with a high critical bonus.

After some time, she will become invisible and move rapidly through the room, and after a short time she will perform a quick attack that inflicts heavy damage if not stopped. The player can avoid this attack by listening carefully. Another way is to run straightforward at her when they see Sister Friede turning invisible, as being near to her will make her become visible again, then follow her movements while staying near to her (mostly her jump), and when she starts to build-up her attack, get behind her and give her a backstab or simply hit her a few times.

Second Phase: Father Ariandel and Friede


After killing Friede in her first phase, a cutscene will play in which Father Ariandel enters a berserk state, expands the arena, resurrects Friede, and begins to fight the player alongside Friede. During this phase, both Father Ariandel and Sister Friede will share the same health bar, and both will die once the health bar is depleted.

Sister Friede will fight the player just as she did in the first phase, and as such the same tactics will apply.

Father Ariandel fights by using his Bowl like a weapon, and uses it to try and crush the player. He also has several Area of effect attacks that are best avoided by staying either away from him, or behind him. He moves slowly and will charge at the player if they are too far away from him to be hit by any of his attacks.

-If the player has used Slave Knight Gael's summon sign, he will be summoned into the arena once the second phase begins.

-The first time the player defeats this phase, they will be rewarded with a Titanite Slab

Third Phase: Blackflame Friede


After defeating the second phase, Friede will resurrect a final time. She will now fight with two scythes. Her original scythe will typically be coated in "Black Flame", and will deal significantly more damage than before. Her secondary scythe will deal heavy frostbite damage. Many of her attacks will gain an area of effect and become incredibly damaging. She will also fight far more aggressively than before.

Trivia

 * She has been known as "Friede" and as "Elfriede", although the reason is not certain.
 * Blackflame Friede bears several attacks that practically mirror those of Lady Maria, a boss in Bloodborne.
 * Her sentence after killing the player is different if the player is cindered or Hollowed.