Dancer (Dark Souls III)

The Dancer, also known as the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, is a minor antagonist and boss in Dark Souls III. She is one of Pontiff Sulyvahn's Outrider Knights, corrupted by the Pontiff's Right Eye ring.

Biography
The Dancer was once a distant relative to the royal family of Anor Londo, presumed to be a maiden who served Gwynevere. She lived in Irithyll of the Borean Valley until it was conquered by Pontiff Sulyvahn. While most of the residents were either turned into slaves or rallied up as food for Aldrich, Sulyvahn had the maiden become his dancer, later conscripting her as an Outrider Knight and given blades of power mirroring his own. Accompanied by Vordt, the Dancer guarded the High Wall of Lothric until she devolved into a monster through her Pontiff's Right Eye ring, thus losing her humanity and sanity.

The Dancer plays no role in the game until the first three Lords of Cinder (Abyss Watchers, Yhorm, and Aldrich) have been defeated. Upon collecting the third Cinder of a Lord, the player is warped to Emma in the High Wall of Lothric, dying from an unknown assailant. She bestows the player the Basin of Vows that leads to Lothric Castle before succumbing to her wounds. Before the Ashen One is able to place down the basin on the beheading knight, the Dancer emerges from a portal from the ceiling of the room.

While not a fast opponent, the Dancer can easily catch the player off guard with her combos. Her sword is embedded with fire, which can leave behind some flames on the ground. If she is able to grab the Ashen One, she can pin them down with her sword for a massive amount of damage. Her attacks hit hard, but are avoidable by staying to the back or side of the Dancer. First starting with only a sword enhanced with fire, she will not bring out a second sword enhanced with magic until a third of her health is depleted. With her second sword, she can perform a twirling combo that can quickly kill the player should they not focus on dodging. After enough hits, she can become staggered, allowing a riposte to head to deal massive damage. Once the Dancer goes down, the player can place the basin and climb a ladder leading to Lothric Castle.

Alternatively, the Dancer can be fought much earlier in the game by simply killing Emma to make her drop the basin. This allows early access to Lothric Castle, the Consumed King's Garden, and Untended Graves as long as the player defeats the Dancer. However, this is not recommended as the Dancer's attacks early in the game can easily one-shot the player unless they are experts in dodging her attacks.

Trivia

 * In Irihyll, several ghosts of knights can be seen wandering across the city. Two ghosts, one male and one female, can be seen departing from the cathedral at the end of the main street. They may be the Dancer and Vordt before their corruption.
 * An unused audio file found in the game's files depicts the Dancer laughing when she enters the fight.