When the Dark Souls series first began, it was touted as one of the hardest RPGs to grace the gaming community. Sending many players into a fit of frustration after being taken out by the same boss for the 20th time, this cultivated a certain kind of fan base that became gluttons for punishment.

It was this gluttony that led to challenge runs, a way of taking an already challenging experience and making it so much harder. Taking away some of the most essential tools in the game and replacing them with restricting guidelines, some so unforgiving that hours of hard work could be wasted due to a split second mistake. While some act as a gateway into the challenge run world, most of them are meant for the most dedicated players to pick up the controller.

10 No Summoning

Summoning certain NPCs can really help in a battle, adding an extra body onto the field can both distract and weaken the enemy. Providing healing when situations get rough, it leaves a big advantage to the player without needing to grow in combat skills.

Getting through the boss battles without summoning is the very beginning of the challenge, some players don’t utilize this mechanic anyway. It introduces those who have just got their foot through the door an easy way to get acclimated to tighter rules.

9 Mundane Build

Sculpting the stats to accommodate a player’s style of battle is one of the key aspects of the game, discarding the less useful qualities of the character. Forced to level up the stats equally, players can’t lean on any one aspect of the game and build their gameplay as a whole.

Using skills that players don’t normally practice can level up skills very quickly, utilizing the entire battle gameplay. This becomes especially hard as the game progresses with bosses taking on different strengths and weaknesses that players will have to navigate with a jack of all trades character.

8 Specific Weapon

Depending on the weapon, this can either be an entry-level challenge run or one that’s reserved for the most experienced players. Opening up the difficulty levels, the weapons can vary from a broken sword to being restricted down to only fists.

This can either force the player to exploit boss weaknesses that could previously be overlooked or simply upgrade the skill level with a certain weapon class. Either way, the player will become a better warrior for having done it.

7 Fashion Run

Simply because some items are rarely dropped, the level of luck involved in this run can produce wildly different results. Forcing the player into equipping every new item that’s dropped from an enemy, the character’s stats will be jumping all over the map as the game progresses.

Never letting the player settle into one style of battle, both the effects and strengths of the items will continuously change and at a rapid pace. Upping the ante from the Mundane run, it gives no place for fans to build a style off, leading to a much more exciting and versatile game experience.

6 No Bonfires

Removing one of the most integral parts of the game is one of the most challenging runs available, cutting players off from so many important mechanics. From fast travelling around the map to repairing weapons, a bonfire-less run makes for an attention and time-consuming run.

This is one of those only for those who really want to prove something, breaking many players along the way. This makes the player get creative with how they maintain the many moving parts in Dark Souls, moving away from the path most travelled and into the outer reaches.

5 Bow Only

Using only a bow is more a test of resource management than anything, having to use some expensive ammo in the beginning of the game to take on the more challenging bosses. Taking away from the gear that most players need to make it through the starting fights, elemental arrows will have to make up for the lack of heavy sword.

Multi enemy fights will become dramatically more difficult, the low damage per second can really slow down a fight and lead to an ambush. Locating weak points is the only way to make it through the barrage, making sure to keep composure under the heaviest of fire.

4 Naked Run

While this is often one of the funnier moves around, the naked challenge run is one of the most effective tests of skill around. It leaves the player open to the elements and makes almost any damage taken an automatic death, especially considering armor’s importance in the later title.

Most good players will already realize that avoiding a hit is almost always better than blocking it, giving naked players a good base to start from. It also frees up the weight factor, letting the player equip the heaviest gear in the game with no speed issues and improving their space management skills.

3 No Hit

In a series that’s known for being difficult to even complete, a no-hit run is one of the most challenging runs that can be attempted. Only those that know every boss’s patterns and have to know the battles inside and out should even try, causing most to quit in pure frustration.

Usually done for bragging rights rather than any kind of skill development, it’s both a time commitment and a test of durability. Starting over every time the player gets nicked by an errant attack, players should get their blocks, rolls, and parry’s on point before crossing the start line.

2 Magic Only

Taking away any melee combat, this run provides a challenging and tedious set of rules to follow. Taking away all the swords and shields that most players bank on as their main source of damage, players will have to learn the magical ropes and find out what it has to offer.

The beginning of the game will be especially difficult on this run, using low-grade spells and having to take on some formidable foes with very low damage output. It’s here that most will stumble and quit the challenge, leaving victory for the true sorcerers among them.

1 Starter Kit

This one falls somewhere in the middle, allowing all the mechanics of the game  while heavily restricting the gear. Leaving the character at the starting gear of whatever class they choose at the beginning of the game.

This one is a little more lenient as it does allow for upgrades, just not the changing of any gear. Giving at least a small but consistent rise with the player as they move through the game, it actually makes for one of the smoothest transitions for players just getting into the challenge scene.

NEXT: Dark Souls 3: The 10 Best Side Quests In The Game, Ranked