The Executioner’s Chariot is one of the more unique boss designs in Dark Souls 2. You need to jump through some hoops before you actually get to face him. The boss itself might be easier to deal with but any misstep along the way will put you in an early grave.
Related: Dark Souls 2 Bosses Ranked by Difficulty
What are these hoops? What is it like facing the boss? How to identify his attacks? Are there any tips for beating this boss? Is there a way to cheese? All your questions will be answered in this detailed guide about beating the Executioner’s Chariot in DS2.
FightingExecutioner’s Chariot in Dark Souls 2
The fight against the Executioner’s Chariot is separated into two phases.
The first phase is where he will constantly charge around the circular arena. He will try to run you over and will kill you instantly if he actually tramples you.
At this point, you have to look for small openings or alcoves dotted on either side of the corridors to avoid getting flattened. To make matters worse, skeletons will keep on spawning and ganging up on you.
To stop these skeletons from coming, you must find and kill the two necromancers hiding in the farther alcoves.
After you are done with the necromancers, you’ll come across a lever that will put up a giant barrier in the boss’s path. When the Chariot hits this barrier, it will destroy the carriage that houses the Executioner, sending the horses loose.
The actual bosses are the horses. They are the ones who have the attacks and not the carriage rider.
The skeletal horses have pretty standard bestial attacks like charges, stomps, and backkicks. The only special attack they have is the Dark cloud they breathe out of their mouth.
Here are some tips and tricks to consider when facing Skeleton Lords in Darks Souls 2:
- You can summon two NPCs during this boss fight; Creighton the Wanderer and Bashful Ray.
- The use of Alluring Skulls item and Yearn spell are quite potent in this fight. It will help distract the skeletons while you focus on the primary task.
- The boss is weak to Fire and Lightning damage. He is also weak to Slash and Thrust attacks.
- He is also susceptible to Bleed.
- Dark-resistant armor and shield and any item like rings that boost your resistance to this damage type will save your hide in many instances.
- None of his attacks can be parried.
- Ranged builds can hit the boss while he is busy in his charging phase. You just have to be extra careful with your casting and dodging timing.
- You can hit the boss while he is in his charging phase.
Boss Strategy
When you enter the arena, go to the left side. Here you need to move forward while taking cover in the alcoves on the sides. Just be careful of the skeletons trying to swarm you and the boss charging towards you.
The charging chariot can insta-kill you so make sure to take cover in the alcoves before he reaches you.
Your primary goal is to locate the Necromancer summoning the skeletons and take them out. There are two of them in the arena. Take them out to put a halt to the skeleton production.
You don’t have to fight the skeletons for the most part. Stand inside the alcove with your shield up and soon the boss will trample them for you.
Once you are done with the necromancers and have taken out all of the straggling skeletons, it is time to interact with the lever. The lever is found after the second necromancer. Interact with it and the chariot will get destroyed.
Take cover in an alcove when the chariot gets ruined. The destroying animation will propel the boss forward and might end up killing you if you are standing in its path.
Now it’s time to face the boss directly.
When the horses fall and are squirming on the ground, it is a good opening to lay down some attacks. Equipping a light armor really helps out a lot when dueling the horses since dodging is a better mode of defense during this phase.
Keep an eye out for his Dark Spew attack. This is the best opening to deal damage if you can manage to move to its sides before the darkness hits you.
It is just a matter of counter-attacking after each of the horses’ attacks. The boss is really weak and will go down with persistent attacks.
Moveset
These are all of Executioner’s Chariot’s attacks in Dark Souls 2 and how you must react to them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Spew | Breathes a cloud of Dark at you. He can slowly track you while breathing. | Back off out of range. The better way of dealing with this attack is to run behind the boss as he begins the animation. The boss will remain locked in the attack while you can freely attack him. |
| Trample | Lowers their heads and charges towards you attempting to run you over. He performs this attack regardless of your distance. | Dodge towards the charge and to the side to avoid it. Use the recovery time to put in some damage. |
| Stomp | Lifts their front legs and slams them in front. | Can be blocked but you should dodge back before it lands. |
| Side Headbutt | When you are on his sides, the horses will swing their head horizontally to hit you. | Back off or move behind the boss to attack. |
| Horsekick | When you are behind the horses, uses their hindlegs to kick you to oblivion | This attack is unblockable. Dodge back to avoid it. |
How to Cheese the Executioner’s Chariot in Dark Soul 2
The cheese only works for ranged builds meaning bow users or sorcerers/pyromances. You also need to know that the Exectutioner’s Chariot can be damaged while in his charging phases and that can only be done with a ranged attack.
What you must do is take out the first necromancer and run back to the first alcove to avoid other skeletons from approaching you. From here, you need to attack the boss while he is busy charging. Here are a couple of ways to attack him during this point:
- Use a bow/crossbow and manually aim it towards the side where the boss charges in from. Whenever he appears on screen, fire an arrow and watch his HP go down with each hit. Having an upgraded bow and better arrows will expedite the process. Poison arrows work great, too, since they deal tick damage overtime.
- Cast Poison Mist and/or Dark Fog on the boss’s path and apply the debuff. You might need to cast it multiple times to apply the effect. Now just wait and let the spells east away his health.
- Long-range sorceries like Great Soul Arrow will work too. Quickly step out of the alcove, fire the sorcery when the boss shows his face on the other end of the arena, and immediately take cover.
To make this cheese work, your legwork is just as important. You need to constantly move in and out of cover to attack.
This is a long and tedious process, but soon, the boss’s HP will reach 20%, and he will stop charging. You have to now run to the other end of the arena to finish the job. Take out the rest of the skeletons and the other necromancer to reach the area after the lever.
Here you’ll see the Executioner’s Chariot is stuck on a ledge. Move in to attack, and within a hit or two, the boss will fall to his death.
Rewards for Defeating Executioner’s Chariot
Destroying the Executioner’s Chariot will unlock the following rewards in Dark Souls 2:
- 19,000 Souls
- Executioner’s Chariot Soul
- Chloranthy Ring +2 (Only in New Game+)
The Executioner’s Chariot is one of those gimmick bosses in Dark Souls 2. Hate to admit it but I got killed a couple of times before I figured out how to go about in this fight. Good thing you don’t have to suffer through this “figuring out” phase with the help of this guide.
