One of the key elements of any good soulslike is good enemy design. Imagine Demon’s Souls without the Mind Flayers, Bloodborne without the vicious werewolves that roam the streets of Yhanam, Dark Souls without those wheel skeletons… I actually I did imagine that last one, and that actually sounds kind of nice. The point is, imposing beasties and nasties are at the heart of this genre, and Lords of the Fallen is full of horrific denizes that reside in both Axiom and Umbral. Wanna see? Look no further than down below as we break down a handful of enemies that you’ll be facing up against in Lords of the Fallen.
Avowed
Laymen of the order, the next step for most pilgrims if they are successful in their efforts to join the Hallowed Sentinels. Although still yet to fully prove themselves and be invested with further Radiant power, they are decently armoured and employ a mace in combat, and most importantly are given a holy symbol to affix to their war garb. The basic melee unit of the Hallowed Sentinels, cannon fodder sitting at the vanguard.
Penitent
Wretches who are actually pilgrims found sinful in the eyes of the Hallowed Sentinels, their faces now hidden behind upside-down metal masks, chains dangling from their limbs. The mask signifies that they are currently undesirable, unworthy of the monastic fold. They are mostly harmless and beg for forgiveness, needing to atone for their sins with suffering, some quite keen for a worthy death by the sword.
Ardent Penitent:
Avowed who are keener of eye and steadier of hand, they employ crossbows and serve as very effective support to the indomitable melee champions of the order. Their head dress and garb hint of the disdain the Order have for their cowardly tactics, however useful as they may be.
Pilgrim
Some of these pilgrims were allowed to tread the holy grounds of the Hallowed Sentinels, to train and undertake the supplications necessary in becoming an avowed brother or sister. They wield a staff containing a fragment of Radiant power, but in terms of the order’s hierarchy even those deemed worthy enough to attempt membership remain bottom-feeders.
Corrupted Penitent
Pilgrims who arrived in Mournstead but were turned away or failed the trials of the Hallowed Sentinels. These wretches, still clinging to their Hallowed Sentinel cross (they bear heavy wooden crosses as they travel to Mournstead to show their piety and fortitude) now hide in the shadows, mad and frenzied, emaciated humanoids clutching obsessively at their crosses. A basic melee unit.
Corrupted Pilgrim
Another type of pilgrim, cloaked. As with the corrupted penitent above they are human wretches direly afflicted by the Rhogar corruption, their guts dangling from their mouths, but deformities aside, imbued by Rhogar power now they can conjure explosive guts to fling at the player. They act as a basic ranged unit, and sport a staff and a bell. The bell is also an important Hallowed Sentinel icon, ringing at every step so that Orius can bear witness to their ordeal.
Marksman
Avowed who are keener of eye and steadier of hand, they employ crossbows and serve as very effective support to the indomitable melee champions of the order. Their head dress and garb hint of the disdain the Order have for their cowardly tactics, however useful as they may be.
Proselyte
Hallowed Sentinels who were captured by the Rhogar and put through unimaginable pain and suffering, the Rhogar skinning them, hammering nails into their flesh and driving them mad, before pitting them against their former comrades. They have iconography of the Hallowed Sentinels sewn onto their backs as mockery and are also imbued with Rhogar fire, making them formidable, mindless berserkers. A melee-and-range hybrid best avoided early in the game.
Pureblade
The rank and file knight of the order, brother bulwark. They employ shields which they imbue with Radiant power, protecting those of their fold. They oversee and instruct the Avowed and pilgrims, who look upon them with reverence, hoping to soon be allowed to don their arms and trappings. A defensive archetype usually accompanied by ranged units – their task is to limit the player’s movement.
Radiant Hound
The Hallowed Sentinels use hounds to hunt in the wetlands for game and runaway heretic, and also employ them against Rhogar. These particular hounds are veteran bloodletters encased in sanctified armour, four-legged battering rams, light attacks bouncing off their headdresses, making them indomitable. However, they can be easily tripped with a timely parry when they lunge, and their head armour can be sundered with a charged heavy attack.
Raw Mangler
Rotting, corrupted humans who have been transformed into Rhogar thralls, wielding two axes and roaming the forlorn ruins of Mournstead. Their bodies and minds are twisted, with overgrown bones, protruding horns, broken rib-cages, pustules and tumours, and other corruptions of the flesh. Despite their condition they are deadly and merciless, butchering and killing all whom they encounter.
Remnant
These are the Umbral zombies, faceless and starved for vigor. These creatures are soulless, desiccated manifestations of the countless dead trapped in the Umbral web. Mindless and endless in numbers, they are attracted to the vigor of the living and keen to feed on it. (Vigor is Lords of the Fallen’s version of experience, what the player accrues when they kill enemies). All Umbral enemies are manifestations of unfulfilled mortal needs and wants, and while slow and unarmed, these Remnants can and will outnumber the player if ignored.
Shrouded Remnant
Cloaked in burial shrouds, they are the ranged unit variant of the Remnant above, throwing vigor-seeking ectoplasmic projectiles that wither the player’s HP. The Shrouded Remnant maintains distance during combat and while its damage is only withering in nature, it is still considerable, and the player always risks being hit by regular Remnants at the same time, and as such their combat involvement is quite significant.
Womb of Despair
A female Umbral moth-like creature that hovers in the air and lays eggs from which Remnants emerge. A manifestation of miscarriage, infanticide and unfulfilled motherhood. While not overly aggressive, she is very resilient to damage and will always disengage to draw the player deeper into her den, to be surrounded by Remnants. She has tremendous area-of-effect spells, a nasty withering spit and a grab that repositions the player at her back.
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