- For the location, see Lothric.
Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince, also known as the Twin Princes, are a pair of bosses in Dark Souls III. They are the final of the five Lords of Cinder encountered by the Ashen One.
In-Game Description
- The two princes rejected their duty to become Lords of Cinder, and settled down far, far away to watch the fire fade from a distance. A curse makes their souls nearly inseparable.[1]
Location[]
The Twin Princes are found at the top of Lothric Castle, after clearing the Grand Archives. The player must cross the second of the great bridges, which is guarded by a large number of entrenched Hollow Soldiers, as well as blue-uniformed red-eyed Lothric Knights.
There are two accessible elevator shortcuts to this boss. The first is found at the end of the Grand Archives, immediately after defeating Lion Knight Albert, Black Hand Kamui and Daughter of Crystal Kriemhild, before the great bridge where the path diverges to allow the player to access Gertrude's prison. The elevator here takes the player down to the Grand Archives bonfire. The second is at the end of the great bridge and before entering Lothric's throne room, an elevator on the right will take the player down to the area beyond the castle keep, to the intersection that leads to the Dragonslayer Armour and Sunlight Altar. The second elevator is a double lift that contains a Titanite Slab at the bottom.
Description[]
Both brothers have lengthy gray silver hair, pale skin, similar to Irithyllians, and have lanky bodies.
Lorian is a knight with gold and black armor, armed with a flaming greatsword; his helmet has a crown-like design and covers his eyes, seemingly to no detriment. He is mute and crippled, with legs so weak that he is unable to stand upright for more than a second, requiring him to walk on his knees or crawl most of the time. He is extremely tall, with the Ashen One only barely passing his knees.
Lothric appears much more frail, and has noticeably dark veins, indicative of his disease, but still speaks as royalty with a formal and cold tone. Though shorter than his brother, he is still twice as tall as the Ashen One. He wears a black robe with golden decorations. During the second phase he will teleport down and hold on to his brother's back, using an unfamiliar holy light energy that functions like crystal sorceries of the highest level.
Lore[]
Lothric and Lorian are the sons of Oceiros, King of Lothric and Gwynevere, Queen of Lothric[2] and consequently the princes of the kingdom of Lothric.
Lorian, the crown prince, received the ancient brass armor handed down by the royal family, complete with a crown patterned with flame, a symbol of the kingdom's tradition of Firelinking.[3][4] Lorian was raised as a knight[4] and proved his incredible prowess on the battlefield, leading a war against the remnants of the Chaos Demons, even capturing some of them to serve as slaves for Lothric.[5] Lorian went on to face the Demon Prince, defeating him single-handedly in a battle that eternally scorched his greatsword with the flame of chaos[6] and stained his armor black.[4]
Lothric, the younger prince, was the destined Lord of Cinder, who would sacrifice himself as fuel for the First Flame to uphold the Age of Fire. The prince, born a sickly, frail child, was nevertheless viewed as the "last hope of his line", the culmination of generations of Lothric rulers obsessed with producing worthy Champions for the Flame.[7][8] For the anticipated journey of the young prince to the Kiln of the First Flame, a platinum sword was crafted and blessed with strong magic by the High Priestess, long before he was ready to fulfill his destiny.[9] Oceiros created extensive propaganda around Lothric,[10] not only giving him the name of the kingdom, but also building statues that depicted him with his sacred sword ready to complete his task,[11] as well as preparing his throne at the Firelink Shrine in advance.
However, the hopes of the royal family would soon fade, as Lothric remained a shriveled child from birth into adulthood, never even growing out of his baby clothes.[8] Furthermore, Aldia, the first of the Grand Archives scholars, seemingly became a private mentor to young Prince Lothric,[12][13] and likely divulged his skepticism on the nature of the Age of Fire to his student. The frail prince also demonstrated talent for sorcery, for which he did not need a medium—being the son of a deity—and learned several powerful and refined spells.[14]
When the royal family realized that Lothric would not improve from his condition, they resorted to repulsive acts in an attempt to obtain a worthy Champion: the rulers bound the souls of the two princes together with a curse.[7][15] Although the exact motive behind this act is unknown, it is likely that the rulers intended for Prince Lothric to share in the strength of his elder brother's soul, which could have allowed him to qualify as worthy Ash for the First Flame. It was even said that Lorian willingly submitted to the curse, even as it crippled him.[4] The resulting Soul of the Twin Princes was one worthy of providing kindling for the First Flame,[16] even as the princes were physically incapable of overcoming the obstacles involved in linking the Flame. Unable and unwilling to fulfill their destiny, the princes retreated to their chamber to await the end of the world.[15]
Meanwhile King Oceiros, consumed by his search for a "worthy heir" and driven to madness, would abandon the government to try to transform himself into a dragon,[10] condemning the kingdom to the consequences of the fading of the Flame,[17] as well as the chaos of a war of faith among the ranks of the army.[18]
When the First Flame began to fade and the time came for Prince Lothric to fulfill his destiny and become a Lord of Cinder, he refused the call.[15] After reflecting on his mentor's teachings,[12] the state of the kingdom and the world, his accursed life, and the atrocities committed for the Flame, the prince denounced the legacy of the Lords, and chose to await the Flame's death from the distance.[19][20] Him and Lorian retired to the peak of Lothric Castle, protected by their royal guard and the exponents of the Three Pillars: Lion Knight Albert, Black Hand Kamui and Daughter of Crystal Kriemhild.[21]
The prince's decision led the system managing the linking of the Flame to resort to an emergency measure: ringing the bells and awakening the Lords of Cinder of the past from their graves, beings who had previously linked the Flame, to unite their cinders and energize the fading Flame.[22][23][24] However, most of the awakened Lords of Cinder refused to sacrifice themselves again and returned to their lands, leaving their thrones at the Firelink Shrine empty.[19][22][24]
The ringing of the bells would also awaken the Unkindled, who would hunt down the Lords of Cinder and bring their cinders back to Firelink Shrine.[19][23][24][25] Many of these Unkindled attempted to storm the castle to slay Lothric, but were all killed by the royal guards or by his brother Lorian.[20]
Artifacts[]
- Cinders of a Lord
- Soul of the Twin Princes
- Twin Princes' Greatsword
- Prayer Set
- Lothric's Holy Sword
- Lorian's Greatsword
- Lorian's Greatsword
Fight overview[]
When the player enters the throne room, they will view a cutscene where Lothric, Younger Prince addresses them, stating his disdain for his duty to become a Lord of Cinder. During this Lorian, Elder Prince, will crawl from the shadows and prepare to fight the Ashen One.
The battle will begin with the player facing Lorian alone. While Lorian is crippled below the waist and has trouble moving by himself, he is aided by Lothric, who will use his magic to teleport Lorian around the arena, whether it is to a blind spot to the player's side or away to allow him to use his special attacks. All of Lorian's attacks deal moderate damage and inflict Fire damage, and he has numerous combos that can add up to quickly kill unwary players.
Lorian's most powerful attack has him teleport away from the player, and then begin charging his sword with holy energy; after a few seconds, he will slam his sword into the ground and unleash a ray of light at the player, dealing extreme amounts of damage. As this attack is capable of killing players in a single hit, it is imperative to roll to avoid it at all costs.
Once Lorian has been felled, another cutscene will take place with Lothric coming down from his bedstead to aid his brother, reviving him and then climbing onto his back. The battle will then recommence, with the player facing the Twin Princes.
During the second phase, Lorian will possess the same abilities that he did before, however now he will be aided by Lothric, who adds his own attacks on top of Lorian's. These include a holy version of Homing Soulmass, as well as Soul Spear.
Each brother has his own individual health bar, which can be damaged by attacking either target. As the Lord of Cinder is Lothric, the objective of the second phase is to focus all damage on him. If Lorian is killed again, Lothric will channel a spell to revive him; after a few seconds, he will unleash an area-of-effect explosion that will damage and knock back the player, and Lorian will be revived with most of his health, resuming the battle.
Once Lothric's health bar has been depleted, Lorian will automatically fall as well, ending the battle.
Attacks[]
Lorian, Elder Prince[]
- Sword Swings: Lorian has a myriad of attacks and combos that he will perform when the player is nearby. They are relatively well-telegraphed and can be rolled through to avoid, but have short recovery times that make it hard to get more than one or two attacks in on Lorian at a time. As well, he also has various retaliatory attacks that allow him to hit players who manage to get behind him. Lorian's most common combo is two horizontal swings, sometimes followed by an overhead smash, though occasionally he will perform a forward stab instead. Lorian has a blind spot on his left (player's right) side where his swings can have trouble connecting. As well, his attacks are somewhat elevated, so lowering the player's hitbox through overhead attacks or certain weapon arts such as that of the Farron Greatsword can sometimes cause his swings to miss completely. All of Lorian's attacks deal split Physical and Fire damage, so if blocking his attacks a shield with high fire reduction such as Dragon Crest Shield or Black Iron Greatshield is recommended.
- Lunging Overhead: If the player is in front of Lorian and not within immediate melee range, Lorian may quickly lunge forward and bring his sword down in an overhead slash. This attack has almost no tell (Lorian will lurch down slightly and bring his left hand to the ground), so quick reactions are necessary in order to avoid it. Lorian will often use this attack in an attempt to punish players who retreat away to drink Estus or cast a spell/buff, however it can be avoided by backing far enough away.
- Dropping Strike: Lorian will raise himself to his feet, and then bring the weight of his whole body down on his sword into one powerful strike. As this attack is well-telegraphed, it can be reliably dodged by rolling to the side when he begins his fall. It is also possible to utilize invincibility frames to roll forward through the attack and end up near Lorian to attack him while he is recovering.
- Teleport: Lothric will teleport Lorian around the battle arena, allowing Lorian to quickly bring his attacks to bear on the player or to attack them from a blind spot to the player's side or back. When this happens, it is important to read Lorian's tell right before he disappears, because he will always resume his attack with that tell when he emerges, allowing players to predict which attack he will use after a short delay. This means that with good timing, even attacks from behind the player can be predicted and dodged with good rolling. Additionally, whenever the player enters the arena beyond the first encounter, Lorian will often greet the player with a teleporting attack, but will not do so if the player does not move away from the entrance fog for the first few seconds of the fight.
- Plunging Attack: Sometimes, before executing the overhead part of his three-slash combo, Lorian will teleport away. When he emerges, it will be right above the player, where he will bring the sword down in a plunging attack. This attack can usually be predicted by the teleportation circle appearing extremely close to the player but with nothing emerging from it on the ground, indicating that Lorian is above them. The best course of action is to immediately roll away, as the plunge has a narrow hitbox and predictable timing. Lorian will take some time to recover from this, allowing the player to get some attacks in.
- Fire Wave: Lorian will bring himself upright, holding his sword up to his right with both hands. He will then bring the sword down behind him and slash forward after a short delay, casting a wide wave of fire in front of him. The fire has moderate range and can be rolled through with good timing, or avoided entirely by being far enough away. Beware that the sword swing itself can also hit players, dealing heavy damage and launching them skyward.
- Holy Ray: After teleporting away from the player, Lorian will hold his sword above his head with both hands and begin charging it; the charging sound can be heard and can alert players to his location. Once it is finished, Lorian will bring the sword down, launching a long-reaching white flash that will pass through all obstacles and deal extremely high damage, often enough to kill players in a single attack regardless of health. Despite its appearance, this attack deals Fire damage, so it is possible to block or mitigate it with a good fire resistance shield. The attack has extremely good tracking but is very narrow, and can be avoided by rolling to the side. From the moment Lorian teleports away to the instant he releases the wave, players will have roughly 3.5 seconds to locate Lorian and prepare to dodge. The best way to time the roll is to execute it exactly when Lorian's sword hits the ground. In the second phase, Lothric will follow this attack up with a Holy Soul Spear, so the player must be prepared to roll twice. The timing for Lothric's attack is very predictable, however, and can be easily avoided. This attack has moderate recovery, allowing the player to cast buffs or drink Estus immediately afterward.
Lothric, Younger Prince[]
- Holy Homing Soulmass: Lothric will wave his left arm, sending several white orbs into the air; he will always begin the second phase with this attack. After a short period of time, they will become active and home in on the player. They do not do much damage individually and have poor staggering potential, however they can quickly rack up damage if multiple orbs hit, especially if the player is also busy trying to avoid Lorian's sword swings. Lothric will usually cast this if the player tries to retreat to create distance. It is best to try to create some moderate distance away from the Twin Princes while dodging the orbs, but not so far as to trigger the teleportation. Try to bait Lorian into performing some sword swings, and then retreat out of range so that he cannot perform another attack while you are dodging the orbs. These orbs can be blocked by the pillars at the sides of the room.
- Holy Soul Spear: Lothric will charge energy in his left hand, and then send forward a spear of white light that can deal moderate damage to the player. He will usually perform this attack when the player is out of immediate range of any of Lorian's attacks. It has predictable timing and can be easy to dodge, however it can interrupt players attempting to create distance to use Estus or cast a spell. Lothric always follows up on Lorian's Holy Ray with this attack, meaning that the player must roll twice. Note that he cannot hit the player if he is in melee range of Lorian, as he cannot aim his spell downwards enough.
- Revive: Once Lorian's health bar has been depleted, Lothric will begin praying for a few seconds, during which he is extremely vulnerable to damage. However, at the end of his prayer he will unleash a Wrath of the Gods, damaging and knocking back any players who are still nearby. From the moment when Lorian has been felled to when the knockback is triggered, the player will have approximately 7.5 seconds to attack and retreat. Lorian will be revived with about 60% of his health, and Lothric will climb back onto his back, resuming the battle.
Strategy[]
During the first phase, the player must defeat Lorian by dodging his attacks and attacking him during his recoveries. Good rolling is mandatory, as Lorian's attacks all deal extremely heavy damage and inflict Fire damage, meaning that even greatshields cannot completely mitigate damage. As Lorian's recovery windows are quite small, fast-swinging weapons such as straight swords are highly recommended in order to leave the player less vulnerable when Lorian begins attacking again.
Lorian is extremely weak to Lightning damage, so use of Gold Pine Resin or Lightning Blade can allow players to quickly pass through the first phase. As well, dealing enough damage to Lorian in a short amount of time will stagger him, allowing the player to riposte him from the front.
Whenever Lorian teleports, keep an eye on his tells to see which attack he was about to perform. When he emerges after a short delay, he will resume with that attack. Good timing means that no matter where Lorian attacks from, whether it is in front of or behind the player, a roll can be executed to avoid damage. As well, keep in mind that when entering the arena via fog door after the first encounter, Lorian will always start by teleporting near the player and attack. However, if the player remains in place as they enter, when he teleports, he will end up doing so near his initial location, giving the player the option to start the encounter in a less compromising way.
The best way to fight Lorian is to always stay near him, giving him no opportunity to teleport to close the distance and attack the player from blind angles. Beware that using greatswords and larger is not recommended, as their long animations will give Lorian ample time to counter. Try to get in one or two quick swings, and then prepare to roll to dodge Lorian's retaliations.
During the second phase, the player must defeat Lothric by getting behind Lorian during his attacks and striking Lothric directly. Depending on the weapon being used, Lothric may take less damage than Lorian from attacks that hit them both; Lothric is weak to slash and thrust damage, so weapons like katanas or thrusting swords may work well. However, Lothric also has almost twice as much health as Lorian, so it is very difficult to avoid a situation where Lothric can be defeated without felling Lorian at least once.
As with the first phase, it is best to try to stay relatively close to the Twin Princes, as this gives Lothric less opportunity to cast his ranged spells. Bait Lorian's attacks, then roll in behind him and strike at Lothric whenever possible.
When Lorian falls, try to deal as much damage to Lothric as possible, but be ready to immediately retreat in order to avoid the area-of-effect knockback that occurs when he revives Lorian. There is a short period of time when Lothric is getting back on Lorian's back where he is vulnerable to attacks, so be ready to rush in once the resurrection spell is complete. Each time he is revived, Lorian will have less health, however the quickest path to victory is to try to defeat Lothric before he can revive Lorian more than once.
Summons[]
- Orbeck of Vinheim: after giving him all four sorcery scrolls and purchasing all of his available spells, he will disappear from Firelink Shrine, and will be available as a summon. His sign appears at the end of the great bridge, on a rampart to the left.
- Sirris of the Sunless Realms: after completing her questline by helping her defeat Holy Knight Hodrick and accepting her request to serve as your knight, her summon sign will appear to the left of the boss fog.
Dialogue[]
| Click to see dialogue | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Drops[]
| Item |  Soul of the Twin Princes |
 Cinders of a Lord |
| Drop Rate | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
Notes[]
- Lorian can be parried in both phases of the fight, although he cannot be riposted afterward. However, he can be poise-broken with continuous hits, allowing to perform a riposte on him.
- Lothric's "Soul Spear" can be spell-parried, but timing has to be perfect.
- If the player manage to complete first phase in position, where Lothric can't see him, they will remain inactive and engage the player only if either provoked or by getting in their line of sight.
- If the player is killed or exits the game during the second phase of the battle, they will have to start it again from the first phase on return.
Trivia[]
- Despite the message "Lord of Cinder Fallen" appearing when they die, the flaming state they have in the second phase, and Lothric having a throne dedicated to him in Firelink Shrine, the Twin Princes are thought to not have ever linked the flame. There are several points in the game that suggest this:
- The description of their soul implies that they never became Lords of Cinder.
- They are not shown in the opening cinematic, meaning they were not resurrected when the bell tolled, implying that Lothric never took his throne in the first place.
- Emma, High Priestess of Lothric Castle wishes for Lothric's soul to be saved by becoming a part of the firelinking ritual, implying again that Lothric never took his throne in the first place.
- After returning all Cinders of a Lord to their thrones, Lothric's head is the only one that still has its flesh.
- Prince Lothric is voiced by Harry Lister Smith, who also voiced Dark Sun Gwyndolin from Dark Souls.
- A glitch allows the player to lead Lorian out of the boss room. By quitting out at a precise time after Lothric is killed, when the player re-enters it will reward them with the cinders and soul, Lothric's dying dialogue will play and the fog wall will disappear, but the first phase will continue as normal. If the player leaves the boss room, Lorian can follow them out.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Music[]
References[]
- ↑ Soul of the Twin Princes description.
- ↑ Divine Blessing (Dark Souls III) and Projected Heal description.
- ↑ Lorian's Helm description.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lorian's Set description.
- ↑ Soul of a Stray Demon description.
- ↑ Lorian's Greatsword description.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cinders of a Lord (Prince Lothric) description.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Prayer Set description.
- ↑ Lothric's Holy Sword description.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Soul of Consumed Oceiros description.
- ↑ File:Lothric_Statue_Plaza.png
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Soul Stream description.
- ↑ File:Lothric_Aldia_Statue.jpg
- ↑ Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince#Attacks
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Soul of the Twin Princes description.
- ↑ Upon defeating the Twin Princes, the banner "Lord of Cinder Fallen" is displayed, despite the Princes having explicitly refused to link the Flame
- ↑ Grand Archives Key description.
- ↑ Divine Pillars of Light description.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Emma, High Priestess of Lothric Castle dialogue.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince dialogue.
- ↑ Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince#Location
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Opening (Dark Souls III) narration.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Cinders of a Lord descriptions.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Ludleth of Courland dialogue.
- ↑ Opening (Dark Souls III): "And so it is, that ash seeketh embers."
