If you’ve read our explainer and hands-on preview of The Duskbloods, you know that FromSoftware is cooking something pretty unique. A PvPvE experience that is unlike anything I’ve ever played, The Duskbloods is a stark departure from the Soulsborne titles fans are used to. It’s addictive, but in its own way.
Of course, when The Duskbloods was first revealed as a multiplayer-focused game, some were likely turned off by the concept. Although plenty of Soulsborne games have elements of PvP – specifically invasions – some players choose not to engage with those systems. And luckily for those players, The Duskbloods still has something for you.
While our hands-on experience with The Duskbloods was exclusively focused on the game’s core competitive modes, where 8 players (or 4 teams of 2) compete over the course of 4 phases to be the last one standing, FromSoftware did tease that there would be options in the game for a strictly PvE conclusion.
Will The Duskbloods Only Offer PvP Final Rounds?
According to The Duskbloods director Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game’s HUB area, the House of Night, will offer options to customize your experience within the game. It was unclear what exactly that means, but one detail that Miyazaki was willing to offer is that there is a final phase where the three remaining players take on a boss together, rather than face off in a 1v1v1 fight to the death.
“Currently in the Network Test, the final round is always going to be PvP between three players, but through customiztion you can choose to have, for example, that be a co-op encounter…You can pick if you have a preference for certain events or certain aspects of the gameplay.”
The Duskbloods has PvE bosses and mini-bosses dotted around its map called Trespassers, and these are available for one or all of the lobby to take on. In fact, if a player starts a battle with a Trespasser, the rest of the lobby is notified and can instantly warp to the fight to help out. If they are successful, then everyone still alive can claim a Virtue reward and an upgrade for their character’s current build.
For the PvE final phase, however, FromSoftware explained that this boss will not simply be another Trespasser, but a stronger boss designed specifically for that final phase. We didn’t get any more details, but it should pose quite a challenge. And it doesn’t sound like it’s an automatic win for anybody either; the 3 players will need to work together to defeat this formidable foe and claim victory. Maybe it will be even harder than the PvP finale, and players will prefer to take their chances with two human opponents.
Even if you do load into a match that culminates in the 3-player showdown, a lot of The Duskbloods does not have to be PvP-focused if you don’t want it to be. Yes, Phase 2 and 3 call you to the Ritual Site to face off, but there are also zones to collect that reward Virtue and an item called a Goldstone that gives you even more Virtue for holding one or more zones when the phase ends.
Collecting Virtue to climb up the leaderboard has a lot of different avenues, and in my time playing the game, I found that fighting other players often wasn’t the best course of action. That being said, there is something special about The Duskbloods’ brand of PvP that is unlike anything I’ve experienced before, even in a FromSoftware game. The movement is chaotic in the best way, the addition of AI-controlled Kin to help in fights, and the unique skills that each character possesses, all add up to make each fight different.
And just like a FromSoftware boss has those moments where you can see victory in your sights, but there is a lot of risk in going after those final slivers of an opponent’s HP bar, The Duskbloods gives that same feeling of elation when you successfully squeak out a win. Palms are sweaty, knees are shaking, but that victory cutscene is a sweet reward. I don’t know how winning a final PvP phase will compare to a 3-player PvE final phase like in Elden Ring Neightreign, but it’s nice to know that FromSoftware has put a lot of thought into making The Duskbloods as well-rounded as possible.
- Released
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2026
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Number of Players
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1-8 players
