Vendrick

Vendrick
Location	Undead Crypt
Drops	-
Health
NG	11,450
NG+	14,885
Souls
NG	90,000
NG+	180,000

Vendrick is an optional boss in Dark Souls II. He is voiced by William Houston, who also voiced Marvelous Chester in the Artorias of the Abyss expansion in Dark Souls.

Lore

The once great king of Drangleic. According to legend, a mysterious woman named Nashandra, said to be of unparalleled beauty, came to Vendrick long ago and warned him of a looming threat across the seas, in the land of the Giants. King Vendrick named Nashandra his queen and crossed the ocean with her to combat the Giants. During this conflict, he pillaged the Giant's lands and took an unspecified amount of them captive to experiment on back in Drangleic. This experimentation gave Vendrick a better understanding of the nature of souls and lead to the creation of the Golems. Using this acquired power, Vendrick created various types of Golems, who in turn built Drangleic Castle.

Seeking vengeance for the subjugation of his kingdom, the King of the Giants amassed an army in a vengeful counter-invasion of Drangleic. He also sought to avenge the deaths and horrendous treatment of the captive Giants Vendrick took. Unwilling to forgive the actions of Vendrick, the Giants crossed the sea and landed on the northern shores of Drangleic. They set siege to Drangleic Castle and relentlessly attacked various settlements, forts and keeps across the land for several generations.

Battles waged endlessly between Vendrick's forces and the Giants, and much of Drangleic's citizens fled the kingdom to escape the conflict. Ultimately, the Giants were defeated by an unnamed hero. In the aftermath, much of Drangleic had been reduced to rubble and visitors to the kingdom were rare.

He was eventually reduced to a hollow after becoming obsessed with finding the essence of the soul in a failed attempt to cure the Undead Curse. His queen, Nashandra, tricked him into continuing his experiments. He eventually realized the trickery and her connections with the Father of the Abyss and exiled himself to prevent her from obtaining his power or his ring.

Alongside a contingent of knights and his loyal right hand, Velstadt, Vendrick traveled to the Undead Crypt. Separated from his soul, the king wanders the halls, nothing more than a hollow husk while his loyal servants keep watch, protecting the king from those who would do him harm. The Bearer of the Curse may choose to spare the king, leaving him to wander endlessly, or slay him and end his misery.

Strategy

Vendrick has very high defense which likely will make this a very lengthy fight. His defense can be considerably lowered, however, by collecting up to five Souls of a Giant found throughout Drangleic. Each Soul of a Giant halves his defense. Without any souls, he has 32 times his base defense and takes almost negligible damage per hit. Even with the Souls of a Giant, Vendrick is not to be taken lightly. His attacks deal heavy damage, have good reach, and can stagger players who roll too early because of the windup for each one.

Vendrick holds his sword with the blade dragging behind him even as he winds up for the horizontal slash attacks. Staying close to him and strafing to his left will make it very hard for him to hit the player. He will sometimes jump back to put distance between him and the player. If he backs up into a wall, the player may back up in an attempt to get behind him again. Keeping a good shield in your inventory can help, but not always, as most of Vendrick's attacks have extremely high stamina damage.

A good way to approach the fight is to stay directly behind or next to his left foot. If he gets too close to a wall where any part of the player or him is bumping into it, try to lure him back out toward the center of the arena.

Attacks

Swiping: Swipes his sword across the ground two or three times in a row. This is his deadliest attack, as if it hits the player's shield it will drain all stamina and the player will then by severely damaged or killed by the following swing.  Hugging his left foot while causes the attack to completely swing over the player's head, but rolling through the attacks works well too if the player learns Vendrick's moveset and timing.

Overhead Sword Slam: Raises his sword up and slams it onto the ground, sometimes done twice or even three times in a row. Easy to dodge by staying as close to him as possible.

Jump Attack: Will jump towards the play and slam his sword into the ground where they were standing the moment he jumped. There's a clear wind-up and it is fairly easy to dodge by moving out of the way when he gets airborne.

Single Sword Swing: Will swing the sword horizontally towards the player once, it has a long reach, and a slow wind-up that is exactly the same as the swiping. Fairly easy to dodge by sprinting towards his left side. He will also do this is the player is far away and will most likely kill them is their back is turned.

Charge: If the player starts really distancing themselves from Vendrick where he can not hit them with his swing, he will pick up speed. He will move much faster than his normal slow meander and will most likely catch the player off guard if they were healing or buffing their weapon. The best way to handle this is, if one has a shield, to raise it and sprint towards his left side. If one doesn't have a shield, sprint towards his left side and be prepared to roll for your life.

Curse Orb: Upon crossing the fog wall, Vendrick will scream and throw a dark red orb at the player, inflicting instant curse if it connects.

Drops

Vendrick will not drop anything except the given amount of souls when he dies. However, his Soul of the King and his armor set can be found in the Shrine of Amana, behind a door that can only be opened after defeating him. The door is in the area between the first and second hut where the player can find a pathway leading to the door, however, they must be in human form to open it.

Using a Bonfire Ascetic instead of going to NG+ will not spawn these items anew in the Shrine of Amana.

Notes

• By using a Bonfire Ascetic at the Undead Ditch bonfire, Vendrick can be respawned, but so will Velstadt.

Trivia

• Upon download of the Crown of the Sunken King expansion and obtaining the Ashen Mist Heart, interacting with Vendrick's discarded clothing will bring the player to the Memory of the King, allowing them to speak with an unhollowed Vendrick.

Dialogue

Click to see Dialogue (contains spoilers)

Introduction Seeker of fire, coveter of the throne. I am Vendrick, ruler of Drangleic Greeting without a lost crown or having linked the fire As flame rises, so does it fade. Such is the way of things. Do you intend to link the fire? Then you must first take the throne. Prove your worth. Find the ancient crowns. Seek adversity, and they will be yours. And your wishes, granted. Greeting after having linked the fire x1 Seeker of fire, deliverer of crowns. What do you see in the flames? Find the crowns, and your own answers. The crowns hold the strength of lords from times long past. Seek adversity. As befits you, seeker of fire, coveter of the throne. Greeting after having linked the fire x2 I am no king. I am more fit to be a jester... I was unaware of my own blindness. We are feeble vessels, with feebler souls. We would cast aside the prop of life, only to face greater hardship. Are you another such fool, or something more? Greeting after having linked the fire x3 I fail to see your design, young moth. But I see very little, these days... Greeting after having obtained a lost crown x1 Seeker of fire, conqueror of Dark. I, too, sought fire, once. With fire, they say, a true king can harness the curse. A lie. But I knew no better... Seeker of fire, you know not the depths of Dark within you. It grows deeper still, the more flame you covet. Flame, oh, flame... Greeting after having obtained a lost crown x2 I am king of this wretched, unravelled kingdom. I subdued the Giants, and claimed their strength. So that I might step closer to fire... Drangleic will fall, the fire will fade, and the souls of old will reemerge. With Dark unshackled, a curse will be upon us... And men will take their true shape... Greeting after having obtained a second lost crown x1 Seeker of fire, I see you've subdued another foul creature. One of the Father of the Abyss' spawn, that confounded quintessence of humanity. The Abyss once had form, but then dissipated. And yet, traces of its existence endured. Each fragment, thirsting for power, spread Dark, with no relent. My dear Shandra... was one such fragment. A feeble, tiny thing that thirsted for power more than any other. Driven by insatiable lust for a worthy vessel. Greeting after having obtained a second lost crown x2 Fire came to be, and with it, Disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, Light and Dark. Greeting after having obtained a second lost crown x3 Dark was seen as a curse. Shadow is not cast, but born of fire. And, the brighter the flame, the deeper the shadow. Inherit fire, and harness the Dark. Such is the calling of a true leader... Greeting after having obtained the final lost crown One day, fire will fade, and Dark will become a curse. Men will be free from death, left to wander eternally. Dark will again be ours, and in our true shape... We can bury the false legends of yore... Only... Is this our only choice? Seeker of fire, coveter of the throne. Seek strength. The rest will follow... When attacked Foolish...

Gallery

King Vendrick's concept art

Vendrick in hollow form