I find that in my game, that the four kings will all attack at once (or at least one will attack with another) after one of them has died. is this a bug or are others experiencing the same?

i'm in NG+ and loads of buffs are disabled for the 4k fight! wtf? i cant use power within or green blossoms or iron flesh -- is this a bug? sorcery still works but pyro buffs are all disabled!

I just realized -- if you have a transient curse active, you cant use stat-changing buffs. So long story short, wait for it to run out before you jump down if you plan on using stat-changing buffs.

Now, soloing the Four Kings can be, but is not always, frustrating enough in NG. In NG+, it can be almost impossible without careful preparation. First, there are five simple tips to follow while preparing for the fight:1. Have at least 24 Faith and two slots dedicated to Great Magic Barrier. If you have the extra space, take normal magic barrier as well. Additional useful spells include Homeward (but only if you are really screwed in the current fight) and replenishment (if the fight means that you run out of magic barriers).2. Take a secondary source of healing. This is not always applied to the fight itself as, due to a small army of Darkwraiths and Ghosts, getting to the fight with sufficient Estus (or other items) isn't always straightforward.3. Wear the heaviest magic-resistance armour you can (Havel and Smough's sets), the Giant armour has better Physical protection but will let you leak damage from the magic attacks.4. Find a fast two-handed weapon, or one that does heavy enough damage to be better (I chose to two hand the cursed Greatsword of Artorias, useful against the ghosts earlier on as well as Transient Curses can prevent the barrier spells later on).5. Don't bother using a shield for the most part, but have a strong Magic-Resist just in case (a fully upgraded Crystal Ring Shield is my reccomendation).For the actual fight, I have three suggestions:1. Don't heal unless your health goes south of 45%ish as that is when you are in real danger even with Great Magic Barrier (try to have between 18-20 +7 Estus flasks for best results).2. Blocking takes too much stamina. For this fight, if you have been using Havel's ring, swap it for the Chloranthy ring; the loss of speed is not really a problem and the faster recharge can be the difference between fighting one king and three.3. No matter how tempting, always stop a combo if magic barrier runs out lest you take ludicrous damage from something like their humanity drain attack. Otherwise, don't stop attacking (unless healing is required).For all those who aim to take on these living nightmares alone, as I was forced to by circumstance, I salute you: praise the sun!

I went at these guys with the shadow leggings and gauntlets, mask of the mother, and the gold-hemmed torso piece. I had a +4 Quelaag Furysword (which is now +5) and I took A TON of damage from the first king. My main problem is this fight makes me dizzy since it's just a infinite abyss you fight in and I couldn't tell what was going on.

For NG+, I worried about the rep, died in my black iron kit on round one, went back to the box, grabbed Havel's, my +15 zwei, power within, and grass crest shield. Two handed it and wrecked them. It was silly. I got confused they died so fast I would sit around and wonder when the next would come out. Like, huh? Where'd they go? No magic barrier, no green herb... just heavy steel and lots of endurance. Make sure you have your estus up for it, but other than that, they are not nearly as nasty as made out to be. I had 40 vit, 40 str, 38 or so end, and wore the ring of favor and protection.

I was killed AFTER the clip that plays when you kill the boss: the ranged purple magic attacks will keep coming at you after the battle if they're midair when you manage to strike the final blow. I was unlucky enough to have too little health to withstand it. Souls & humanity were still in the abyss though.

I swear there are not four, not even five, but SIX kings. I killed the first one with melee, killed the second with my Soul Spears, and then I panicked on the third and got ganked. As I died, I saw FOUR KINGS! Even tho I had already killed two. Unless my math is off, that equals six in total.

I can confirm what bukharajones said: full Havel's, upgraded Zwei (doesn't HAVE to be +15 but the higher the better), Grass Crest Shield on your back, and Power Within, they die so fast it's hilarious and I only had to kill 3 of them! Only used four +4 estus. I was on NG with 30 VIT/STR, 24 END, 20 DEX.