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Five Souls of a Giant reduce Vendrick to normal defense, but you do not need all five to fight him. Each Soul halves his defense: four leave him at twice normal defense, while five bring it down to normal. Four is a practical stopping point; the fifth makes the battle easier but may mean pursuing another source.
How Giant Souls change Vendrick’s defense
According to the community-maintained Vendrick reference, he begins with 32 times his base defense, and each Soul of a Giant you hold halves that multiplier. The following values after zero through five Souls are calculated by repeatedly halving 32:
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| Souls held | Vendrick’s defense |
|---|---|
| 0 | 32× base defense |
| 1 | 16× base defense |
| 2 | 8× base defense |
| 3 | 4× base defense |
| 4 | 2× base defense |
| 5 | 1× base defense (normal) |
Five is the cap for this effect; holding more does not reduce his defense further. The reference recommends having at least four before the fight.
Is four Souls enough, or should you get five?
Four Souls are enough to make the fight substantially less punishing than it is with fewer. At four, Vendrick still has twice his base defense. The fifth Soul halves that remaining defense again, to normal.
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| Choice | Defense remaining | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Stop at four | 2× base defense | Matches the reference’s practical recommendation; avoids pursuing one more source. |
| Get five | 1× base defense | Provides the greatest defense reduction; requires obtaining the fifth Soul. |
The reference identifies the Ancient Dragon and the second Elite Giant killed in the hidden Black Gulch cave as sources beyond the three Giant Memories, but does not compare how difficult either is for a particular build. Treat four versus five as a personal effort-and-risk choice, not a universal rule.
Do you need a certain number to make Vendrick fight?
No fixed Soul count is established as an access requirement. The Vendrick reference describes him as initially docile and says he becomes aggressive after a damage threshold is reached; it identifies bleed or the intended use of Souls of a Giant as ways to reach that threshold. It does not give a universal minimum count that guarantees aggression across weapons, builds, or circumstances. The Soul count primarily determines how much defense he retains.
Where to find Souls of a Giant—and why to keep them
The community-maintained Soul of a Giant item entry lists five sources:
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- One dropped by the Ancient Dragon.
- One dropped by the second Elite Giant killed in the hidden cave in Black Gulch.
The item entry identifies the Ancient Dragon as the only farmable source among these. Souls held in your inventory reduce Vendrick’s defense; consuming one instead yields 10,000 souls. The entry cautions against consuming them, noting that Souls in the Giant Memories will not respawn. Keep the items in your inventory for the fight rather than using them for souls.
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What the item description says
“Soul of a Giant who came to conquer Drangleic. Will the Giants’ resentment for the King be pacified in death, or only emboldened?”
This is the Soul of a Giant item description as reproduced by the community-maintained item reference.
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