The Pursuer

The Pursuer is an optional boss and later an enemy in Dark Souls II.

Location
The Pursuer is dropped by a crow early in the Forest of Fallen Giants, serving as a generic enemy. If defeated here, you will not have to fight his boss version later. However, if the player dies to him or jumps down before killing him, he will have to be fought as a boss if the player wishes to fight him again. Another Pursuer can be found in the boss arena of the Smelter Demon after he is beaten. Two Pursuers appear simultaneously in the throne room behind Chancellor Wellager in Drangleic Castle in New Game+.

Scholar of the First Sin
The Pursuers appear in many more places in Scholar of the First Sin and they come already powered up (their eyes glow and they can cast Dark Seeker projectiles). The new Pursuers only drop Twinkling Titanite.
 * One can be found in Things Betwixt, near where the two Ogres are found.
 * The boss version of the Pursuer can still be fought early in the Forest of Fallen Giants, but be wary of the hollow soldiers that wake up after you kill it.
 * Four Pursuers can be found in The Lost Bastille:
 * One can be found where the chest containing the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring is located, near "The Tower Apart" bonfire.
 * One can be found just below the "Servants' Quarters" bonfire, accessed through the nearby ladder.
 * One can be found in the courtyard near to "McDuff's Workshop" bonfire. There's a gate blocking the way, though. To access this area, the player must come from the other side after completing No-Man's Wharf.
 * One can be found where the Bracing Knuckle Ring is found, in an area accessed after traversing two illusory walls.



Plot
The Pursuers are mysterious figures who relentlessly hunt the Bearer of the Curse. The Pursuer tracks the Bearer of the Curse to the Forest of Fallen Giants, the Iron Keep and lastly Drangleic Castle.

Attacks

 * Charge: At a distance the Pursuer will charge at the player with an upwards strike.
 * 3 Hit Combo: Performs 2 horizontal swipes and if all attacks are performed while the player is still near him, will follow it up with a full 360 degree spin attack or an overhead smash.
 * Shield Bash: He uses his shield and hits the player once with it, causes large stamina drain if blocked.
 * Curse Stab: The Pursuer's Blade glows blue and he lunges the sword at the player, if it connects, the player will be in an animation where the they are impaled on his sword and the player will then be cursed. This attack cannot be blocked.
 * Dark Seeker Projectiles: The Pursuer will lift into the air and vent Dark energy from its body. This will cause 3 to 5 projectiles to exit its body and fire towards the player after a short delay, similar to the Affinity Hex. The projectiles are slow but track extremely well and deal a moderate amount of damage. Typically, this attack occurs after he has dropped below 50% health, but on rare occasion it can happen before. To avoid it, simply run behind the Pursuer as soon as he starts casting it.
 * Spread Projectiles: Similar to the Seeker Projectiles this attack starts with the same animation, but it fires several waves of spreading hex like attacks. These attacks can be dodged by rolling backwards away from the Pursuer and the next attacks will follow the relative direction of the first blast. (the attack has a similar look to the Hex Dark Hail, but lighter in color.)
 * Energy Blast: Swings his sword and produces an energy blast in the players direction. Note: Only the two fought in Drangleic Castle and the one fought in Forest of Fallen Giants can perform this move.

Strategy
The Pursuer's combos mainly come in threes, with the third strike leaving him vulnerable to a few hits afterwards.

Although the Pursuer is an agile opponent, parrying him immobilizes him for several seconds. This allows ample time for a counterattack, and more importantly allows the player to employ ballistae against him. On NG, if all three ballista bolts hit, 90% of his health can be taken out. A sizable chunk of his health is taken off even if not all of the bolts hit. The Buckler received just before the second bonfire in the forest will make parrying easier.

Note that the Pursuer can be poisoned with weapons or two casts of the pyromancy Poison Mist. Having two weapons at your disposal is a good way to poison him then switch to your more powerful weapon, Poison Ricard's Rapier +10 with two strong attacks will poison him, hence then switching to your main weapon for further damage is a good strategy. At the start of the fight, you have time before he fully materializes to initiate a poison.

Most of his attacks can be evaded if the player rolls to the right (his shielded side). However, this is not advised when he uses his three-hit combo as the spinning slash can still strike the player from the side. In particular, evading his charge attack will leave him vulnerable to a counter offensive.

He is vulnerable to lightning damage and somewhat vulnerable to magic.

He is also capable of inflicting curse on the player. He telegraphs this attack by extending his arms and hovering slowly toward the player, his sword will glow blue and he will lunge forward, impaling the player, then lift him/her over his head and infect them with Curse. It is possible to avoid getting cursed if the player is killed by the initial lunge. Keep in mind that if he curses the player, he gets a power boost, evidenced by his eyes glowing red and black mist coming from his shoulder armor, and gains a black magic Pursuer attack. If any of the multiple black orbs connect with the player, they will not only deal massive damage, but also curse him/her further for every orb that hits.

For the third encounter in Drangleic Castle, an easier way of obtaining the Ring of Blades +2 is to defeat one of them, return to the King's Gate bonfire, then go back for a 1 versus 1 battle against the other. An even easier way (though rather unorthodox) is to allow one Pursuer to curse the player. This will cause the one that has cursed you to disappear leaving the last one for easy picking.

Trivia

 * The Pursuer's armor has several faces which appear to be contorted in agony carved into it. Whether these faces are symbols of previous enemies or just for decoration is unknown.
 * The Pursuer has several weapons bundled into a sheet on his back, forming a sort of quiver. These weapons are the size for a normal human's use, too small for him, so it is unclear what purpose these weapons serve.
 * Another interesting to note; the two Pursuers in Drangleic Castle are missing the 'quiver' of weapons on their backs.
 * It's vulnerable to Poison and Toxic.