Summary
Bethesdais a titan of the gaming industry, creating some of the most iconic games in recent memory. Bethesda’s in-house franchises, such asFalloutorThe Elder Scrolls, are household names, and they’ve published dozens of other titles.
One of the most prominent features of Bethesda’s games, both developed and published, are the bosses. The dragons ofSkyrim, Icon Of Sin fromDoom, or the Deathclaws ofFalloutare all iconic in their respective franchises, becoming indispensable to their games.Endlessly replayable, infinitely explorable, and full of monsters and villains for players to defeat, here are some of the most boss-filled games Bethesda currently offers.
Doom (2016)is strangely low on this list. For a game that opens with the unforgettable line “Rip and tear until it is done”,Doom’sbosses are few and far between.
Only three bosses appear throughout the game: The Cyberdemon, Hell Guards, and The Spider Mastermind. They’re memorable, but there aren’t many of them. However, each fight can be brutally difficult, especially in the game’s higher difficulties, and appear meaning despite their low numbers, each boss is ingrained into the mind of anyone who has playedDoom (2016).
Doom Eternalfeatures double the bosses of the series’ previous entry. Three times as many, if including the game’s two expansions.
WhileDoom (2016)’sbosses had iconic designs and were entertaining to fight,Doom Eternal’sbosses incorporate unique boss arenas and mechanical variety. When the colossal ‘Icon Of Sin’ charges players through the smoke, as tall as the building they’re standing on, or the Marauder steps from his portal, players will need to utilize every tool inDoomguy’s colossal arsenalto come through on top.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowindis a notoriously hard game and its bosses are no different.
Morrowind’sGaenor, Umbra, and The Missing Hand are all extremely tough boss fights. Not to mention the two gods in Dagoth Ur and Almalexia, although Dagoth Ur is quite easy if the player knows what to do. Morrowindkeeps the series’ tradition of dungeon crawling, offering dungeons for players to explore, but stray too deep, with too little experience, and they may find themselves at the mercy of an overleveled, deadly boss.
The first of Bethesda’s entries into theFalloutfranchise,Fallout 3’sboss fights are rare compared to later entries. Calling many of the game’s tougher enemies “bosses” wouldn’t be accurate. A majority areFallout 3’sregular enemies players will encounter later on or named NPCs that offer no real challenge.
But there are still dozens of bosses throughout the game: Super Mutant Behemoths, the Ant Queen, a simulated Chinese general. InFallout 3the player can discover bosses in a variety of ways, through world exploration,various side quests, and, of course, the main story.
Fallout: New Vegasis unique on this list in that the player can kill almost any NPC from the moment they leave Goodsprings, without breaking the story. Of course, this includes boss fights.
However, it is no easy task. A low level player probably won’t reach most bosses such as Tabitha or the Deathclaw Matriarch without a killer build. Not to mentionNew Vegas’expansions, which feature some of the hardest fights in the franchise. However, the extensive options forextremely powerful buildsand devastating weapon choices available make coming back to these bosses later on an extremely satisfying experience.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivionkeeps true to the series, featuring a bevy of dungeons and, of course, bosses. Unfortunately, we never get to fight Mehrunes Dagon, the game’s central antagonist, ourselves. That epic scale of a boss fight was still a few years away for Bethesda.
Fortunately,Oblivionis full of entertaining, thematic, boss battles. Jyggalag and Umaril cap off some of the games most memorable questlines with epic boss fights. There’s even a nod to thefirstElder Scrollsgame that culminates in the ‘Gray Prince’ boss fight. Meanwhile,Oblivion’smap offers over a hundred dungeons for players to fight their way through, dueling everything from feral vampires in their tombs, to goblin shamans in caves.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimis full to the brim with tombs, caves, and ruins for players to explore, and as is usual, they’re full of bosses.
Skyrim’sfront and center bosses are the dragons, massive cinematic fights that can occur randomly or through scripted events. But that isn’t all: Dragon priests, Hagraven dens, a daedra or two, all scattered throughout the world. SomeSkyrimbosses are eveninvolved in collection questscentered on defeating them. Not to mention the plethora of other boss fights in almost every questline in the game.
Fallout 4features an insane number of boss battles with endless replayability.
With improved stats, randomized rewards, and regenerating health, a legendary enemy can turn what would normally be a standard encounter into a struggle for survival. These enemies are completely random, appearing among virtually any band of raiders or ghoul horde, and rewarding players with unique weapons.Fallout 4’sstory and quest bossesfeature bands of minions, massive health pools, or extremely high damage that can easily overwhelm even the most prepared player on higher difficulties.
Fallout 76is Bethesda’s most recent MMO and features fifteen raid bosses for players to bring down together, and plenty of smaller boss fights too!
Fallout 76has gotten many major content updates since its launch in 2018. The game originally only featuredthe Scorchbeast Queen, a giant mutated bat that’s usually found being piled on by dozens of players. However,Fallout 76has since expanded its roster to include a variety of other raid bosses, on top of an expanded roster of legendary mini bosses and dungeon bosses that players can encounter on their travels together.
Elder Scrolls Onlineis perhaps Bethesda’s most expansive MMO and the sheer scope of the game allows for their highest number of bosses yet. Players can battleElder Scrolls’staples with their friends.
The Elder Scrolls Onlineholds the title of the most bosses in a Bethesda game. It contains over two hundred world boss encounters, dungeons, and trials, with plenty of loot to be collected. Players can go from swarming a boss in the overworld, to facing a dungeon’s final boss as a team, to colossal, complex raid bosses in a single play session.
