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The Ruin Sentinels are an optional trio of bosses in Dark Souls II. They are also encountered later as respawning enemies in Drangleic Castle.

General information[]

The Ruin Sentinels can be found in The Lost Bastille past a large group of Royal Swordsmen. The boss fight is a three on one, and players must achieve victory through dividing and conquering, separating the individual Sentinels and defeating them one by one.

The summon sign of Pilgrim Bellclaire, an NPC white phantom, can be found in a cell in the hallway before the fog gate. In Scholar of the First Sin, a Shade summon in the form of Felicia the Brave can be found near a wall switch in the room prior to the jail cell hallway.

A total of five Ruin Sentinels appear as respawning enemies in Drangleic Castle. They are found behind several doors found past the King's Gate bonfire, with a high number of Stone Soldiers guarding the room. The doors require the release of nearby souls to open, so killing a Stone Soldier within their proximity will open the doors, forfeiting the souls in the process.

Lore[]

Creations of the jailer, the Ruin Sentinels are formless souls that haunt distinct suits of armor.[1][2] They seem to guard The Lost Bastille and Drangleic Castle which, combined with their nature as souls controlling a suit of armor, makes them similar to the Ironclad Soldiers that assumed positions in Drangleic's royal army.

Their design is based on the armor of a company of knights who were sent by an Old King to retrieve the Dark Soul from the Ringed City. However they were soundly defeated and a dark fable was written about their fate. The original company ended up serving the judicators of the Ringed City.[2]

Strategy[]

The Ruin Sentinels have hard-hitting attacks, however they can all be blocked with a good shield or dodged through rolling. As well, their attacks are easily telegraphed and most have long recovery times that allow players to inflict damage on them while they are immobilized. Care must be taken when fighting more than one at a time, as they can chain consecutive attacks together that can break a player's guard and leave them vulnerable to combos. Place priority in evading attacks and looking for opportunities to strike during their attack recovery, rather than going on the offensive.

When entering the boss room, players are initially faced with only Ruin Sentinel Yahim on an elevated platform above the rest of the arena; Alessia will be on the ground level on the opposite side of the room, while Ricce on another elevated platform. If the player does not leave the initial platform, Alessia and Ricce will not attempt to assist Yahim, making the fight considerably easier. Once Yahim is defeated, Alessia and Ricce will join the fight, both approaching to attack the player.

Bear in mind, the Ruin Sentinels are able to jump up to the starting platform from the ground below, performing a smashing or sweeping attack as they do so. Should Yahim fall off the platform mid-fight he will attempt to jump back on, while Alessia and Ricce can both jump up to the platform to engage the player once aggroed. When jumping off the platform, beware that fall damage will be incurred, so try to fall off when there is enough time and space to prevent a Sentinel from immediately attacking. As well, attempting to roll immediately following the fall can help in creating more distance, giving players time to use a healing item prior to re-engaging. If positioning makes it possible, a plunging attack on one of the Sentinels can inflict considerable damage.

When fighting Alessia and Ricce, try to separate them out or keep one behind the other, and attacking only when one is outside of attack range and the other is recovering after their own attack. Keep both within visual range at all times, and try to goad attacks from one or both in order to create windows of opportunity where both are recovering from attacks and counter-strikes can be made. The best way to achieve victory is to focus damage entirely on one of the Sentinels, as quickly removing one of them from the field will allow players to freely move around the arena and concentrate only on a single foe without worry of being hit from the side or behind by another one.

Keeping them both in view and managing their attack openings makes it easier to hit them between their slow attacks. All of their attacks deal physical damage, so a 100% physical blocking shield can be useful. Pilgrim Bellclaire is especially helpful with this fight, as she can inflict strong magical damage against them with her spells, provided that the player keeps the Sentinels' attention and allow her to cast uninterrupted.

Ruin Sentinels are very weak to both Strike and Lightning damage, so a good great hammer infused with Lightning will deal massive amounts of damage, capable of defeating each Sentinel in only three to four hits. It's also recommended to wear the Silvercat Ring before entering the fog gate, as it allows players to quickly jump down into the larger arena for more combat space without incurring fall damage.

In Drangleic Castle, the five Ruin Sentinels are far easier to deal with, as the Stone Soldiers can be dealt with at leisure, and the enclosed nature of their rooms allow players to aggro them one at a time. They will aggro only as far as the first part of the hallway into the room, giving players a guaranteed safe zone to retreat and heal. However, bear in mind that the inanimate Stone Soldiers can act as obstacles against movement, and that getting within the line of sight of any of the other Sentinels will immediately aggro them, so tread carefully.

The Ruin Sentinels can be parried, but not riposted nor backstabbed.

Attacks[]

Note: All attacks from all three Sentinels are the same.
  • Two-Handed Swipe: Grips their weapon with two hands and performs one clean horizontal swipe. This attack is telegraphed by the Sentinel bringing its weapon behind to its right (player's left) like a golf club, and has a moderate delay prior to swinging. Can be avoided by retreating away, or dodged by rolling through towards the left, but deals heavy damage if it hits, and causes minor recoil even if successfully blocked, temporarily immobilizing the player. Has a moderate recovery time after execution.
  • Double Swipe: Swings its weapon twice in a row, from left to right (player's perspective) and then in the reverse direction. Can be dodged by rolling through. Has poor tracking beyond the first swipe, so dodging behind the Sentinel during the first swing will cause the second to miss entirely, giving the player an opportunity to inflict damage. Blocking with a greatshield will cause either swipe to deflect, staggering the Sentinel but allowing it to act almost immediately afterward, negating any recovery time.
  • Thrust and Swipe: Brings the weapon back slightly, pointed forward, and then thrusts forward toward the player, followed by a step forward with a horizontal swipe left to right (player's perspective) after a short delay. The thrust can be sidestepped to the right or rolled to avoid, and like the Double Swipe above has poor tracking so escaping the Sentinel's forward arc after the thrust will cause the follow-up to miss. Beware that as the Ruin Sentinel takes a step forward for the swipe, it has more range and can catch players who decide to retreat backwards to avoid the attack. As above, a greatshield can inflict recoil upon the Sentinel by blocking the attacks but also negates any recovery time.
  • Overhead Slam: Telegraphed by a small flourish, the Sentinel grips its weapon with both hands and performs an overhead slam. This attack has a narrow hitbox, however it has good tracking so rolling may be necessary, as walking or running to the side may not be fast enough to dodge the attack. Has a relatively long recovery time that can be taken advantage of.
  • Shield Toss: Performed only by the Ruin Sentinels in the Lost Bastille. When outside of attack range, the Sentinel throws its shield, causing it to fly vertically towards its target; the shield can be dodged by rolling to the side. The shield embeds itself in a wall behind its target, and the Sentinel does not retrieve it afterward, preventing it from blocking attacks anymore.
  • Spin: If the Sentinel is not within attack range of the player, they may crouch down slightly and bring their weapon out to their side, and then spin around counter-clockwise four times while traveling towards the player. Has a long travel distance, the best way to avoid this is to retreat far enough away or try to dodge to the side of its path. Blocking all of the damage instances is not recommended, as it can drain large amounts of stamina, leaving the player vulnerable to attacks by any other Sentinels.
  • Running Lunge: Performed only by the Ruin Sentinels in the Lost Bastille. If there is a fair amount of distance between the player and the Sentinel, they may run at the player and perform a two-handed thrust attack. It is recommended to try to dodge to the side against this attack, as their forward momentum gives them very good reach which can catch players who try to back away. This attack deals a moderate amount of damage, but leaves the Sentinel vulnerable to follow-up.
  • Leap Slam: When the player has made some distance, the Sentinel will crouch down slightly and then perform a leap toward the player, slamming their weapon overhead into the ground with one hand. Can be dodged by running or rolling to the side, and has a long recovery time that allows players to freely inflict damage on the Sentinel. Beware that at close range, a Sentinel may backstep into a Leap Slam, so simply being close to a Ruin Sentinel is no guarantee that they will not perform this attack.
  • Somersaulting Smash: Performed only by the Ruin Sentinels in the Lost Bastille. After discarding their shields, the Sentinels are capable of performing a high-jumping smash attack. They will leap high into the air, spinning several times before bringing their hammers crashing down on top of the player; if it connects, it will deal heavy damage. This attack has relatively mediocre tracking and a thin vertical hitbox, so putting a large amount of distance away from them as they flip in the air, as well as moving to the side, can help greatly in avoiding the attack. Due to the low ceiling clearance within Drangleic Castle, they are incapable of performing this attack outside of the boss fight.

Defenses[]

Physical Defenses
Physical Defense Strike Defense Slash Defense Thrust Defense
454 / 553(Drangleic Castle) -35% 7% 7%
Elemental Defenses
Magic Defense Fire Defense Lightning Defense Dark Defense
30% 30% 15% 30%
Resistances
Poison Resist Bleed Resist Can be Backstabbed Can be Parried
30% 100% No Yes
(Stats are from Param Studio and are not estimated)
Strike/Slash/Thrust defense are applied on top of Physical Defense. -35% strike means taking 135% damage.

Drops[]

Item Boss Soul
Ruin Sentinel Soul
Ruin Helm
Ruin Helm
Ruin Armor
Ruin Armor
Ruin Gauntlets
Ruin Gauntlets
Ruin Leggings
Ruin Leggings
Drop Rate Guaranteed (boss) ??? ??? ??? ???

Notes[]

  • Each of the Ruin Sentinels have their own name. The first Ruin Sentinel encountered is Yahim. The second is Ricce, and the third is Alessia.
  • The Ruin Sentinels' armor set can be farmed in Drangleic Castle as they respawn multiple times. As with farming of any respawning enemy, it is recommended that the player joins the Company of Champions to make the Sentinels respawn indefinitely.
  • The armor descriptions of the Ruin Sentinels shows that they have no inner form and their souls only reside within their armor.
  • The Ruin Sentinels can be made optional by utilizing the Pharros' Lockstone mechanism accessed early by means of the Antiquated Key. However, skipping them means that the player cannot access Belfry Luna nor various areas locked behind gate mechanisms. This means that the player will be unable to get items like the Bastille Key,[3] which in turn prevents them from lighting up the Lost Sinner's boss room, making the fight more difficult.
  • Their weapon and shield cannot be acquired in game.
  • The Ruin Sentinels in Drangleic Castle can get stuck on the Stone Soldiers posted next to their chambers when retreating. That can make it easier to dispatch of them when farming for their set.

Trivia[]

  • Their armor seems to be heavily inspired by the German Stechzeug Plate, which was designed for Jousting.
  • The weapons they carry seem to be inspired by the Swiss Lucerne Hammer.
  • If making a comparison to the player's height. The Ruin Sentinels are at least 14–16 feet tall.
  • Their names seem be based on a variety of real world names that have meanings in different languages. Interestingly, all names represent a characteristic.
    • Yahim is an Indian last name of unknown meaning. It may also be derived from the Hebrew male first name, Yamin, which translates to "Right Hand" or "Blessed". In Sanskrit, Yamin is a unisex first name which translates to "Darkness".
    • Ricce may derive from the Norse female first name, Ricci, which translates to "Forever Strong".
    • Alessia is an Italian female first name which translates to "Defender".
  • The Ruin Sentinels share the same boss theme as the Smelter Demon.

Gallery[]

Music[]

Dark Souls 2 — Ruin Sentinel by Yuka Kitamura

References[]

  1. Ruin Sentinel Soul description.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Ruin Set description.
  3. In SotFS, the Bastille Key is located near the Servants' Quarters bonfire in the Lost Bastille.
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