Vordt

"Unkindled One. Head to the High Wall's base. Go through the great gate, and raise the banner to proceed. But beware. The dog keeps a close eye on things. The vile watchdog of the Boreal Valley."

- Emma on Vordt.

Vordt, also known as Vordt of the Boreal Valley is a supporting antagonist and boss in Dark Souls III. He is the brutish guard of the Undead Settlement.

Biography
Vordt was an Outrider Knight from the Boreal Valley in service to Pontiff Sulyvahn. He was appointed to guard the entrance to the Undead Settlement, the starting area to the undead's journey to Irithyll. Sulyvahn gave one of his Left Eye rings to Vordt, which greatly increased his powers at the cost of turning him into a monster. Prior to his transformation, Vordt was acquainted by the Dancer. Once his transformation was complete, Vordt became a bloated beast with elemental ice powers and the ability to warp through portals. Through his surveillance, the entrance to the Undead Settlement became impossible for anyone to go through. Nobody could enter, and nobody could get out.

When the Ashen One enters the gateway leading to the Undead Settlement from the High Wall of Lothric, the room is empty. That is until they interact with the entrance door, Vordt emerges from behind them from his portal and attacks. While he moves slow, his great hammer deals serious damage if it hits the player. Any of his attacks deal frost to the player, which if it fills up the bar, inflicts frostbite on the player, which slightly reduces health and stamina temporarily. His armor gives him a resistance to physical attacks, but like most of the frost inducing enemies, he is weak to fire.

Once he has lost a third of his health, Vordt becomes more aggressive, becoming much faster and stronger than before. If far away, he will lunge at the player at high speed. He also gains the ability to breath out ice to further increase the player's frost. Focus on dodging his attacks and stay behind him to deal additional damage. Once Vordt is defeated, he drops his soul and the gate leading to the Undead Settlement is opened. Giving his soul to Ludleth will create Vordt's Great Hammer or Pontiff's Left Eye.

Trivia

 * When the Ashen One first interacts with the door, Vordt will spawn on the opposite side of the room, where the fogwall is. If the player dies or exits the arena, Vordt will spawn in front of the door.
 * Vordt's armor is the only Outrider Knight set that cannot be obtained. Originally, Vordt was to drop his mask when he was defeated, but this was scrapped despite it being found in unused files for the game.
 * In the Alpha build of Dark Souls III, Vordt's textures had five babies made of ember clinging to his chest. What relevance they had or why they were removed is unknown.