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Explaining a few examples of FromSoft pathfinding jank by visualizing the navigation mesh

Domo3000 investigates the underlying mechanics of AI navigation in Dark Souls by visualizing debug data. By examining navigation meshes, priority fields, and connectivity issues, this analysis explains why enemies often exhibit erratic movement patterns and struggle with environmental verticality throughout the game world.

• (00:37–01:31) The video introduces how enemy pathfinding in Dark Souls works through navigation meshes (navmeshes), visualized as connected triangles. Enemies don't move directly toward the player; instead, they follow paths between triangle centers, which explains strange zigzagging movement.
• (01:31–02:31) The creator explains "pink triangles," called outlet meshes or priority boundaries. These divide the map into connected regions, forcing enemies to first reach a designated transition point before entering another area. This often causes enemies to initially run away from the player before correcting course.
• (02:31–03:56) Examples from the Darkroot Garden and Taurus Demon encounters show how disconnected or incomplete navmeshes create bizarre behavior. Small gaps in the mesh can force enemies to take huge detours even when the player is only a few meters away.
• (03:56–04:41) Holes in the navmesh are sometimes intentional: they prevent enemies from getting trapped behind trees or obstacles. However, when developers forget to carve out obstacles correctly, enemies repeatedly run into objects or become stuck between trees and scenery.
• (04:41–05:31) Blue triangles represent jump/drop navigation areas. Enemies use them to descend safely, but because the system lacks directional restrictions, enemies can mistakenly try to move upward through "drop-only" routes, leading to comedic behavior where they run into walls hoping to "jump up."
• (06:01–06:56) Green "cliff" triangles are supposed to discourage enemies from falling off ledges, but the creator finds they barely work. Large unsafe triangles near cliffs cause enemies to sprint directly into pits once the AI switches from path-following to direct pursuit.
• (07:16–08:24) Several famous bugs are caused by broken vertical calculations. In areas like Firelink Shrine, enemies incorrectly assume the player is above or below them, causing them to run in completely wrong directions while trying to find the "closest" navigation triangle.
• (08:58–10:12) The video analyzes classic enemy suicides and staircase bugs. In some areas, enemies attempt to path toward distant pink boundary nodes rather than nearby routes, which makes them endlessly run into stairs or leap off cliffs.
• (11:19–12:32) One of the strangest cases occurs in Sen's Fortress, where an enemy takes an enormous detour through nearly the entire level instead of walking a few feet toward the player. The reason is again a poorly placed pink boundary triangle combined with the AI ignoring elevation differences.
• (13:12–13:57) The creator concludes that many famous FromSoftware AI quirks come from incomplete or fragmented navmeshes rather than "bad AI." The same underlying system likely exists across other Souls games, but Dark Souls provided the clearest visualization tools for analysis.