FromSoftware games are full of incredible characters, and most of them are likable or complex in some way. However, there's also an infamous cadre of characters that are so vile that the community hates them for one reason or another, living in infamy.
8 Most Loved FromSoftware Characters, Ranked
FromSoftware truly knows how to craft strangely lovable characters in its twisted worlds, and these are the best of them.
Whether it's devious tricksters who show up in almost every game or vile murderers, there are plenty of hateable characters in FromSoftware games. This list is ranked by just how hateable and vile they are.
8 Lautrec
Maiden Murderer
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Early in Dark Souls, every NPC seems to be a little weird. Yet one of the most charismatic and interesting is Lautrec of Carim, a knight in bronze armor who takes a bit of an unhealthy interest in the shrine maiden beneath your home bonfire.
Left unattended, Lautrec murders that shrine maiden for no good reason at all, robbing players of an upgrade path. Players can hunt him down again in Anor Londo and exact their revenge on the selfish knight consumed with his own quest for power. It's easily one of the darkest side quests in the Dark Souls games.
7 Nashandra
Queen Of Dark
Dark Souls 2
- Released
- March 11, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
For most of Dark Souls 2, players are told that the world fell to ruin when old King Vendrick abandoned his post and let his kingdom fall to pieces. High in his castle, players meet Nashandra, who seems to agree, and urges players to put Vendrick out of his misery.
However, it turns out that Vendrick has turned into a tragic hollowed husk, and his motivations were noble. Nashandra is the true evil, a manipulator and reincarnation of Manus of the Abyss, who seeks the Throne over all. She destroyed an entire kingdom to get her way, making her truly irredeemable.
6 Seath The Scaleless
Knowledge Hoarder
- Dark Souls
In the distant past of Dark Souls lore, the world was dominated by dragons with impenetrable scales. Gwyn, seeking to topple the dragons and install himself as the most powerful entity, sought the help of Seath the Scaleless, a betrayer dragon who revealed their greatest weakness.
Not only is Seath a betrayer, but when the player finds his lair, they discover a series of twisted experiments on innocents and Seath's pursuit of knowledge at all costs. Seath has very few redeeming qualities, is a massive hypocrite, and was an enabler of tyranny, making him very unpopular in the fan community.
5 Shabriri
The Grapes of Wrath
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
In Elden Ring, players soon learn that there are far more Gods out there than just the Greater Will, the current God in power. In fact, many Tarnished have sought the favor and ascension of the Lord of the Frenzied Flame, a chaos God who seeks to burn everything down and start anew.
Shabriri is a mysterious character who is one of the Frenzied Flame's greatest proponents. In the lore, Shabriri falsely framed the traders as being traitors to the Golden Order, causing a genocide, and one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire game when the player finds the results. Shabriri is a vicious and vile murderer, making him a terrifying prospect and a hated character by many.
4 Owl
Rotten Master
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Released
- March 22, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Sekiro is an orphan found on a battlefield and adopted by the shinobi owl, a strict teacher who teaches Sekiro everything he knows about combat and Shinobi arts. In the game, players are led to believe he's an ally, but that soon comes crashing down.
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It turns out, Owl really never cared about Sekiro at all, only using him for his own ends. Owl wants to steal the Dragon's Blood for Kuro and is more than willing to kill Sekiro to get it. He's a parental figure who couldn't care less about Sekiro, making him a truly vile human being.
3 Pontiff Sulyvahn
False Shepherd
Dark Souls 3
- Released
- March 24, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
In Dark Souls 3, the world is falling apart at the seams. Time is crashing together, and the people are looking for shelter anywhere they can, often in religion. Pontiff Sulyvahn exploited his power in the church and welcomed pilgrims in for truly evil ends.
Instead of offering them salvation, he used refugees to feed Aldrich, the Devouring God, and to feed his own power. He is a holy man who is far more evil than everything else in the game, making him particularly satisfying to beat later in the game.
2 Patches
The Trickster
- For Answer, Demon's Souls (original & remake), Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring
Patches is a divisive character. While some players love Patches for his antics in almost every FromSoftware game, others revile him for the constant betrayal, trickery, and duplicitous actions that he shows no remorse for doing, no matter how many times he comes close to death for it.
Often, Patches will trap players in dangerous areas, give false information, or cause as many issues as possible for literally no reason at all. He's a complete agent of chaos, making him a polarizing but understandably hated character among many in the community.
1 Loathsome Dung-Eater
Vile In All Aspects
- Elden Ring
In the many worlds FromSoftware have created, few characters are as vile and repellent as the Loathsome Dung-Eater (despite his ludicrous name). The Dung-Eater is only spoken about in whispers for most of the game until players make it to Leyndell.
There, they learn that the Dung Eater is a murderer, rapist, and torturer who defiles people he kidnaps for sadistic fun and pleasure. Though there is a cosmic purpose to his violence, he never shows any remorse, only pleasure in his disgusting acts. He's embraced evil like few other characters, making him easily hateable.
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FromSoftware has been the source of some truly groundbreaking games, but these particular examples are arguably the most ambitious.