NOTE: This guide is an update of my original walkthrough, found here, and aims to guide new players (or returning players) around the slightly different world of Drangleic.
The Scholar of the First Sin version of the game includes different locations for enemies, NPC's, invaders and items. Plus, you will need to do a good portion of the extra DLC sections to get all spells - so I will add sections to guide you through those as well. I'll be updating the guide as I go along, so please bear with me. Any questions, fire away. I've saved a bunch of hidden posts for the guide itself.
I've moved all the other information, including info on starting classes, levelling, death, upgrading and souls etc to here.
If you need help finding specific Covenants or info on how to rank them up go here.
For a guide on finding ALL Spells, NPC's and Gestures go here.
This guide aims to spell out all of the items you can find, NPC's you can deal with, bosses and covenants. I'll highlight what to do in terms of getting achievements and where to go to find EVERYTHING you can, as far as possible.
the best order to do things, in terms of making the difficulty a gradual slope would be as follows (click on a location to go to the relevant post - be aware that the info for the area in question may start halfway down a post and then continue onto other posts):
Things Betwixt
Majula
Forest of Fallen Giants
Heide's Tower of Flame
Cathedral of Blue
No-Mans Wharf
Lost Bastille
Belfry Luna
Sinners Rise
Huntsmans Copse
Undead Purgatory
Harvest Valley
Earthen Peak
Iron Keep
Belfry Sol
Shaded Woods
Shaded Ruins
Doors of Pharros
Brightstone Cove Tseldora
Grave of Saints
The Gutter
Black Gulch
Shrine of Winter
Drangleic Castle
Dark Chasm of Old
King's Passage
Shrine of Amana
Undead Crypt
Throne of Want (Part 1)
Aldia's Keep
Dragon Aerie
Dragon Shrine
Memories of the Ancients
Throne of Want (Part 2)
Crown of the Sunken King - DLC
Crown of the Old Iron King - DLC
Crown of the Burnt Ivory King - DLC
NG+/NG++
Things Betwixt
You start face down on a stone, in the middle of a field, just run straight ahead (you can go on a ledge to your right before exiting the first clearing for a Rusted Coin) to the cottage but don't go in yet. There is a hidden path on the left, just before the bridge, that has some ominous footsteps after the entrance as it leads to a rather hefty Cyclops, that holds a Stone Ring (increases the damage you do to a foes poise = makes them easier to stagger), guarding a corpse that holds another item. Ignore that for now.
Instead go across the bridge and to the left and down a little hidden path to find a Smooth and Shiny pebble which will come in handy soon. Now head into the cottage. After a bit of pre-amble you can choose your class and starting gear - I would recommend getting the Petrified Something as your gift but it's up to you. Note that, for the purpose of this walkthrough I chose a Knight and used a melee build to fight ALL enemies. If you are a magician then you will need to alter your tactics accordingly - but I will point out enemies attack patterns. Once done (you'll get your first achievement), head up the stairs in here to find a chest with another Human Effigy.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The increase to 60fps (or thereabouts) has had an interesting side effect, as your weapons durability seems to drop a lot faster than it used to. For this reason try not to swing your equipped weapon through lots of dead bodies, scenery and such when you are attacking - as that will rapidly help to break it. For this reason try and always have a couple of backup weapons on you. Also, early on, only bother upgrading weapons rather than armour - as damage output is much preferred to the meagre boosts to your defence.
Now if you are feeling feisty you can head back to take on that Cyclops. Your best bet is to lure him back to the arch you go through to reach him. Hit him once and then roll away - don't get greedy as he has a grab move that will insta-kill you. I would generally recommend you leave him until you have a levelled up a bit or, better, found a nice ranged weapon and some ammo. If you do kill him then you'll get 1,000 souls and the ring I mentioned for your troubles and you can loot the nearby corpse.
Either way, head out of the back of the house and light the Things Betwixt bonfire. Smash the cart next to it and loot the corpse. Now follow the path to a tutorial section.
Enter the first tree via the mist on your left. The enemies here are fairly easy. If you choose the Knight then use the RB attack to kill them in two hits. Click the RS to lock onto foes and use B (while moving) roll out of the way or (while stood still) to hop backwards. You should be able to finish them without even getting hit and every enemy will give you souls which you can use to buy items, upgrade gear and level up. Follow the linear route around, killing all of the foes in your way and grabbing any items, until you come out above the path you started on.
Look to your left to spot a nest of some sort. Walk over to it and some voices should call out to you. Stand on the nest and then go into your inventory and select the Pebble you found earlier. DO NOT USE IT! Instead choose the Leave option and you will drop it in the nest. You'll get some more comments and then you can just pick the item back up, it will have been changed into another item (can be Titanite, a Raw Stone, Lifegem, Poison Stone etc). Handy. Remember this spot and bring any Shiny Pebbles you find back here. You can also use the Petrified Object here if you choose it as your starting item and it may give you a pretty good weapon/item.
Now from this ledge you can also carefully drop onto another ledge with a corpse to loot. Then drop down to the main path. Head back towards where you came and into the next mist shrouded tree. Kill a couple more enemies and then follow the path to a small hole you can jump over to loot another corpse. Jump back and notice a ladder to the left of the door you came through (just before the jump). Climb up and learn about falling attacks before dropping down to use your new skill and kill the other goons. There is a door in here you can open to find another loot heavy corpse. Follow the path back out to the main route (through more mist) and drop down again before heading to the last mist covered door.
Hang on though - there is a statue blocking your way. This is the first of many changes brought about exclusively for this addition (in future I'll just list what you have to do rather than pointing out each and every change). To get past this guy you need a Fragrant Branch of Yore which we will stumble across shortly. I'll let you know what lies ahead anyway so you can decide whether or not it is worth coming back.
If you depetrify the enemy you then have to kill him. Through the gate are a regular archer and some basilisks. Quickly retreat so you don't get cursed/turned to stone, then tackle the basilisks one at a time. If you come back with a bow/arrows then you can easily kill them from afar. Now kick down the tree on the right and head over to kill the other basilisk and archer if you didn't already. Look down the hole to spot a bunch of basilisks. Kill them from range for an easy time, as the pit is quite confined and you run the risk of being quickly cursed. Once they are dead lock onto the archer on the ledge that was slightly above them and shoot him to death too. Now you can drop into the hole and grab an Estus Flask Shard for your troubles. Head outside and kill the next guy to your left and kick down the tree to form a path back to the main route.
From here you can also see another Cyclops guarding a coffin on the beach. There is also a SECOND one of these creatures hidden behind the rocks on the right side at the foot of the ramp. If you want to kill them then be aware that the best way is to lure them up the ramp and back to the tree you just came out of. You can pin them in the door here and get in the odd hit after they do one of their lengthy attacks. Be aware that NONE of these creatures, or the earlier one, will respawn when dead. Again, it's probably not worth doing so just yet. The coffin holds nothing of interest and examining it at this point will just serve to respawn all local enemies and change your gender (that's all it does). However, if you kill the two creatures and go onto the beach you will cause the Pursuer to spawn. You can get a couple of hits in as he appears and then fall back on the usual tactics. He drops a bunch of souls and a Twinkling Titanite whenever you kill him at one of his bonus locations.
Assuming you ignored that statue for now then you've now done everything in this area so just follow the path up and head out into the sun of Majula, your first safe haven. Praise the sun!
Majula
Plenty to do here before we head onwards. Before heading to town, look to your far left as you head down the path and see another corpse you can loot for a Divine Blessing. Before heading under the arch go back to the cliff that was on your right as you entered and look for a break in the rocks about halfway down - if you look down you should see a ledge right below that you can drop to. Do so and loot the corpse behind you after you fall and then the other one further along (the Binoculars are handy for long range spell sniping). Then head along the path and drop down next to the torch. Now go to the first building on your left, there is a shopkeeper here but he has nothing of interest yet (his stock will increase as you spend souls with him AND as you defeat certain bosses so check back often). Hop up the ladder in the back left corner though to loot a chest with some titanite (used for upgrading weapons) but do note that the contents of this chest get better the longer you leave it - so if you open it now you might get a Titanite Shard, but later in the game (after lighting a number of Primal bonfires) you can get Twinkling Titanite. Go towards the big house and you'll spot a well with a rock balanced on it. Smack the rock and a corpse will turn up with your first Estus Shard. Great. Watch out though as some small pigs are nearby and they may lock onto you and try to kill you, so be alert.
Enter the next house along to meet a talking cat, she has a few things to sell and also lets you keep track of the various covenants you can join. Head back outside and go left again and into the stone tunnel. Follow it all the way to the bottom, looting a chest on your way and pull the cord on the wall on the platform left of the metal door in the water. You can now head through and loot a corpse. Follow this path all the way to Heide's Tower of Flame. As soon as you emerge you will see a large knight but also a bonfire down to his right. Quickly run past him, activate the bonfire and warp back to Majula - as we are not tough enough to tackle this area yet.
Back in Majula head back to that stone tunnel but this time follow the path up the cliff to the right of it, you'll find another lootable corpse and a monument. Examine the monument to have the option of joining the Champions Covenant (achievement unlocked) but DO NOT join this Covenant yet - you do have to say yes a couple of times before a final "are you sure ?" question pops up, just wait a second before saying yes a final time and the achievement should pop. Then select NO. Doing so ramps up the difficulty to NG+ levels for as long as you are a member and makes life harder than it needs to be. Just get the option and head back into town. Go towards the only building you haven't examined yet and find a blacksmith sat outside. Speak to him and he'll ask you to find a key.
As a rule of thumb ALWAYS keep speaking to every character until they start repeating themselves, as you will get more information/items this way.
Next head up to the big stone memorial right next to his house and meet the worlds saddest man Saulden (you can also examine the monument to see the total number of worldwide deaths just for giggles). Speak to him for the option to join the Way of the Blue Covenant (achievement unlocked) and accept the ring he gives you. Keep talking to him to learn a gesture (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) and all you can about the world. When he starts to repeat himself turn around and head down to the woman on the cliff by the bonfire. Speak to her and get your Estus Flask. Yay! You can also upgrade it with the shard you found, double yay! Light the Far Fire bonfire here and rest if you need to.
Now at this point I'm going to follow the path I took but at any point you can diverge and go back to the Flaming Tower of Heide if you want and explore that route. Your call. Or you can save up souls to buy the ring that reduces falling damage (from the cat) and try and drop down the hole in Majula to head that way (not advisable as there is an easier way down later on). Both of these are pretty tough when starting out so I wouldn't recommend it.
Forest of Fallen Giants
Now that you have done everything here head towards the path on your right (if you are looking out to sea with the bonfire right behind you) and into a stone section. There is a chest you can loot behind the small wall to your right on entering, so do so. Then follow the path and pull the switch you come to and head through the door.
You will end up in a cave, where you can head down a narrow strip of wood to another chest and from here you can run and jump to a lootable corpse. If you prefer the safe option you can go outside cave via the normal route and then double back up the river until you reach the corpse. Once done, head down into the Forest of the Giants. There will be another huge Cyclops here patrolling the river, but if you don't get too close he can safely be ignored. On the right side of the river is another collectible and another bonfire you can activate - so cross over and get both. The enemies here are pretty much the same as the earlier ones. Try and lure then into an attack and then hop back, once they finish their flailing you can step in and put them down. Alternatively just lure them one at a time and get two attacks in straight away, which should be enough. Watch out though as there are a number of them here so don't advance too far.
After killing the first two enemies (you can lure them one at a time) you will come around the bend and get shot at by an archer and have more goons come at you. Run back around the bend where you came from so the archer isn't in your way, and deal with the two guys that chase you. Then move forward, dodging the arrows, and cross the tree over the river to activate another guy on your right. Lure him back the same way. Once he is dead, just make your way to the archer as fast as you can and kill him. Don't climb the ladder just yet. To the left of where the archer was is a corpse by the river (assuming he didn't get up to attack you as well). Attack it and you should be able to kill the axeman before he gets up. Then go into this little dead end for another lootable corpse.
Now head into the tree and climb to the top. Watch out up here as there is a skeleton swordsman above you lobbing bombs, plus every corpse (barring the ones with items) is an enemy that will get up once you get close. Try to activate them one at a time and use the large tree to block the bombers line of sight to you. Once they are dead go through to arch on the right and look down. You should see a lootable corpse on a ledge just above the river you just came down. You can run and jump onto that ledge from here (make sure you have at least 50% health) to grab some throwing knives. Then climb back up and go through the same arch but this time head up the ladder on the wall.
As you head up the ladder an enemy will activate and start climbing down, so quickly hold B and slide to the bottom then kill him when he gets there. Head up to the top but don't go onto the inner ledge just yet. Walk up the right side of the broken wall to find another corpse to plunder. Then go until the inner wall and work your way around to kill that pesky skeleton. Then jump over the gap up here and loot the corpse.
Head back down to the central area and head towards the other exit. If there are still enemies laid around then kill them all and loot all of the items scattered around here.
Now you can head through the other exit. Ahead you will see a hole in the wall, in this room are two enemies (one slightly out of sight to the left of the hole) so hop in and kill them. But watch out as a third one will rush in to join the fray. Then loot the corpse in here and head out the other door. Look to your left straight away and see another foe. If you sneak up on him you should be able to use RB to get a critical attack and kill him.
Turn back around and see a skeleton swordsman down the corridor. There is also a regular enemy just around the corner to the right of the room you just came out of, so watch out for an ambush. These guys can be a pain if you aren't fast enough. Generally if you get in the first two hits on the skeleton you can kill them before they are an issue. Otherwise just lure them into an attack and hop out of reach - they can perform three hit combos so be wary. Dispatch them and head up the stairs to see an archer. Duck into the alcove halfway up to avoid his fire and then try and rush him as quickly as possible. DO NOT linger on the stairs as there is another skeleton above you that will drop firebombs on your head.
As you rush to kill the archer a knife wielding goon will also attack. Kill them both and run around to spot the swordsman stood over the stairs. Close the distance but be careful of him lobbing bombs. Smack him a couple of times to dislodge him and then finish him off. If he falls down the stairs you can use a falling attack to speed things up. From where he was look left and see a lootable corpse. Head over and steal the loot. Now turn around and head up the ladder near the top of the stairs. Watch out as a skeleton will rush around the corner in front of you to attack. SO be ready. Kill him and then go to where he came from to find a lootable corpse.
Now go in the doors up here and light the Cardinal Tower bonfire. You'll find Melentia here a merchant who sells the Blacksmiths Key and a Lockstone, buy both if you can, but the key is your priority for now. Important note: Once you have spent 10,000 souls with this merchant (either here or when she shifts to Majula) she will give you a Covetous Serpent Ring +1. Be sure to speak to her after the first boss so that she shifts to Majula (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT). She also sells a Fragrant Branch of Yore for 12,000 souls but that isn't a necessity for now. You can also use the fire to head back to Majula and level up via the woman who gave you the Estus Flask. Your call. If you don't have a shield by now (assuming you're a melee fighter) a good buy is the Twin Dragon shield for 2,000 souls from the shop keeper in the building next to the locked mansion. Plus you can use the Blacksmiths key to open his shop, then you can nab a Bow from his chest.
After that we can go get a pretty awesome sword. Go back outside the bonfire room and head to the crumbling wall opposite and look down. There is a wooden scaffold you can drop onto so do so. Move forward and look down again. There are two enemies on the next ledge, so lock onto one and use a falling attack to damage him. Quickly finish him off and deal with the other enemy that will rush in. Move along this ledge and use a running jump near the end to reach a lootable corpse. Then jump back and drop down to kill another enemy. From here follow the wooden ramp down and climb onto the tree branch that joins with it. Follow it down to an axeman at the bottom. Kill him quickly as two other weak enemies will rush to back him up. Now go back up the tree and you can do a running jump to an item on a ledge across from the main castle wall.
Down here there are a number of weak enemies wandering around, but there are also two large Ironclad enemies too, one in the first cave on your left and one just ahead of you. They have three basic attacks. Either they will raise their mace over their heads and crash it down directly in front of them, swipe once or do a long four hit combo. All of them have a large window of opportunity at the end for you to get a hit in. The key is to stay as close as you can, as if you get distance they will rush at you which is more troublesome. Lock onto them and step in to lure him into an attack then immediately roll backwards. If he does the downward smash, step in and then get one hit on him. If it is the solitary swipe, do the same. If he starts the long combo then roll back again and wait for him to be done (he does four swings remember) then step in for a hit. After each hit, hold your shield up and lure him to attack again then roll back and repeat until he dies. They are slow and easy to outflank but do a lot of damage at this early stage. So lure them and kill them one by one. Go in the first cave on your left (the one without flames) and head to the dead end to grab an item. Come back out and walk all the way to the opposite end from where you came to grab another item by the flaming barricade.
Now for the next bit you need to be fairly fast. Go into the cave that have flames on the floor, edge forward and grab the item, something then starts moving at the end so run back the way you came. A big ball of fire should explode behind you and two more soldiers should jump down to fight you. Kill these guys and then go back to the cave. About halfway down the tunnel there is a door you can open (on the left) so run down and open it but run back the way you came as soon as the animation lets you. You should avoid the fire this way. Now once the fireballs stop run back down the tunnel and straight into the door you opened. Inside is a chest with a nice flamesword, so grab it, wait for the fireballs to stop (DO NOT stand near the door) and then run back out the way you came. The thing that lobs fireballs at you is trapped in a dead end, so no reason to kill it.
Outside head left and climb up the ladder to the scaffolding you came down. Go right and jump through the hole in the wall to be back in the corridors that led up to the last bonfire. WATCH OUT as that first skeleton swordsman will now be waiting on your left. Head back up to the bonfire, carefully killing all the enemies on your way, and rest up. At this point you have now got a nice loop that you can use to grind for souls (if you want, but it is not really required). Basically you can use this bonfire to warp to the one by the river again. Kill all the foes there, climb the ladder and then work your way back to this bonfire killing everyone on the way (dropping down to where you got the fire sword for more kills). You can then rest at the bonfire to repair your weapon/heal and repeat as much as you like. I'll point out other good grind spots when you come to them.
NOTE: You do not NEED to grind for souls at any point in the game, though it can help to make your life easier (by levelling or upgrading equipment) and clear out some areas of enemies so you don't have to fight through them to reach a certain boss or area. Your choice entirely.
Regardless of whether you spend some time here, your next step is to head down the ladder by the bonfire. At the bottom turn left and don't move forward just yet. A spear wielder will wander across the stone bridge to engage you. Deal with him first and then quickly turn around as a skeleton slumped against the wall behind you will have now moved to attack. Head over the small bridge and look right. A skeleton is on the floor here. So swing away at him and you should kill him before he can stand. Then loot the corpse that is over here.
OPTIONAL: If you look down below you, you will spot a bunch of firedrakes and a lot of random treasure. This whole area is entirely optional, but you can take it on at any point if you have enough health, a good bow (with 200+ arrows), the Silvercat Ring (less falling damage, bought from cat in Majula) and a Homeward Bone. Alternatively you can wait until you get the Iron Keep key later on and open a door near the first boss. I'll run you through it here so you can decide if the loot is worth it. Essentially equip the ring that stops falling damage (or a similar item) and look down from the bridge to see a big pile of rubble that separates the drake area from the one outside (where you snagged the fire sword). Carefully drop onto this rubble. Immediately heal and then turn around to face into the room, there is a corpse you can loot right ahead of you if you are quick as the drakes will rapidly shoot three fireballs at you when they spot you. Move to your left to get behind the pillar. Look into the left corner to see a lootable corpse. You want to dash to this corpse and grab the Hawk Ring. Now quickly jump behind the pillar again before the drake incinerates you. Though if it does kill you, no big deal as long as you got the ring. If you avoided death, use a Homeward Bone to go back to the Cardinal Tower.
Now you can equip the Hawk Ring and take out the drakes from afar though you will need about 40+ arrows per drake (buy them for 10 souls a pop from the blacksmith) if you are using a non upgraded longbow with about 20 Dexterity. If you upgrade the bow or have higher/lower stats this could take less/more hits. Climb back down the ladder, kill the local skeletons and target the drake. Fire away until he dies and then carefully drop down the same way you did the first time. This time turn around and move to your right. Another drake will spawn ahead of you (he doesn't appear while you are up top) but if you stay to the right of the pillar and edge forward you can use LB to make the target reticule appear and fire back at him while he does nothing. Easy.
Now you can loot this whole area, open the nearby chest for a Quartz Ring, regain your souls if you died first time, and then head down the hole he was guarding. At the bottom of the ramp, to your right is another drake with his back to you. Shoot at him and then lure him back up the ramp you came down. Watch out as he has a charge attack and a long tongue strike. He will follow you so far and then head back down. If you shoot at him at this point he will get caught in a loop of walking away and walking towards you and you should be able to kill him from afar with no risk. If he does go all the way back down, just follow him carefully and lure him back up again. Once he is dead walk forward slowly and look into the left cavern to see another drake that you can shoot/lure in the same way. Do so and finish him off. You've cleared the cave now so loot the corpse for a VERY good Rebel Shield (block high amounts of magic and other damage, but isn't great vs physical) plus you get the Heavy Iron Key which is needed to access one of the DLC areas. The door in here is locked but you will find another exit back to where you got the flame sword. So go through here, fight off the foes and climb up the ladder on the left onto the platform.
Now if you do have the Silvercat Ring, you can get that item from the corpse on the platform opposite where you climb up. To do so you need to do a running jump from the wooden platform here, aiming for the base of the wooden tower opposite you. You should land, still take damage (so make sure you have full health) and be able to walk up to the corpse for some Twinkling Titanite. Again entirely optional (as you can reach that spot much later on in as more natural way) from where you were you can navigate back to the Cardinal Tower bonfire.
If you did/didn't do the above you can now head out of the room with the three skeletons and the small stone bridge (that looks down on the drakes) by going left, right into a small room. Another skeleton is slumped on the floor here, so dispatch him. Next look outside and you'll see a tree heading up. Run slightly outside and then head back where you came from. Wait here a minute and an axeman should run in to engage you.
Kill him first and then head up the tree. At the top there will be another Ironclad to your left, you can kill him by luring him into swiping at the explosive barrels (watch out for the blast though) then move forward and kill the archer on the left. IGNORE THE SMALL LADDER HERE FOR NOW. Go back down the tree. About halfway down, on your right is a small wooden ledge you can drop onto. Do so and head into the building to grab an item. Turn back to the ledge you dropped onto and drop down to the floor (you'll take a bit of damage).
There is an archer down here on the left on a small bit of land, so move towards him with your shield up (if you have one) until he switches to a knife. Then lure him back to the larger area to kill him. Climb up the ladder here but watch out as there will be an archer ahead of you and one off to your left. Go up the wooden ramp and lure the first skeleton back towards you until you reach the wall before fighting him as this stops the archers hitting you.
Once he is dead, move up the wooden ramp (shield up) and lure back the next one to kill in the same way. Now there is another skeleton up there with a bow, so wander up and kill him but sometimes he will fall down into the house. No problem. If he falls down into the house, carefully drop down after him (you will take some damage) and finish him off. When in the house you can see a corpse in a gated area by the wall (the one the other archer is on top of) so head towards it and grab the item. Then go back into the house and use the wooden ramps to drop back down to where you climbed the ladder.
For this next bit you are going to do a running jump. So make sure you have the timing down. Climb back onto the house that you dropped into and over the roof, there is an archer to your left so be careful. You need to run down the roof and leap onto here. It's easier than it sounds. Then go right and drop onto the next wooden platform and enter the cave to your left.
You'll see a corpse with an item straight ahead DON'T RUSH TO GET IT. Edge forward and a giant boulder will hurtle down and crush an enemy. You shouldn't have to leave the little entryway for it to trigger. There was only one boulder for me, so after that go and snag the item on the corpse. Head up to where the boulder came from and find a chipper map maker Cale the Cartographer. DON'T SPEAK TO HIM YET. Look left instead to spot that annoying archer from earlier, and kill him then grab the item he was stood on. Now speak to Cale repeatedly and agree that you just LOVE maps as much as he does and you will get the key to the mansion back in Majula and keep talking to him so he moves there too (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT). Then head back to where you entered the cave and climb the ladder outside. From here you can drop down and kill the last pesky archer. From here you can drop down to where you came from and cross a small wooden platform back to the foot of the tree you climbed up. You are done here so can either head back to the bonfire to rest up or continue on your way.
Assuming you continue, go back up the tree again. Ahead you'll see a skeleton on the wall to your left. You can shoot/magic him down or head up the nearby ladder to knock him off.
CAUTION: If you head up the ladder to knock him down you are likely to see a giant eagle holding a knight swoop overhead. It then comes back and drops The Pursuer on the roof. This guy is deadly. Regardless, hustle over to the skeleton and swipe him so that he falls off the ramparts.
IMPORTANT: If you head up the ladder to activate the Pursuer spawn and then immediately go straight back down, he will land on the roof and then de-spawn after a while. Saving you a death if you don't fancy taking him on. Also if you DO kill him here, he will not appear behind the fog gate I list later on.
If you want to take The Pursuer on then be aware of his various attacks. If you have a lot of distance he will charge towards you and do a large sweep attack. You can quickly roll past this (usually to his left, your right) and get in a quick hit. He can also do two and three hit combos, so my advice would be to always roll past his first attack, then put your shield up straight away and either hit him (only if he doesn't combo, usually obvious as he has a large pause) or get ready to roll again if he goes into a combo. Don't have your shield up the whole time as you will not regain stamina fast enough. His other main attack features a large, and obvious, wind up before he does a massive lunge forward. This is easy to dodge by rolling to his side while locked on and then you can get in a couple of hits if you have the stamina. If this attack catches you BEWARE as it will instantly curse you and he goes into a berserk state and does even more damage.
Basically lock onto him and use dodge rolls, rather than shield blocks, to evade his initial attacks then get in one hit (don't get greedy) before backing away to recharge your stamina. Have your shield up when you have full stamina, and before your roll, as it will help to mitigate damage if you mistime your dodge. This whole fight is a careful case of hit and run. If you do get damaged then ONLY use health after getting out of the way of one of his attacks. Doing so when he is just floating around is basically inviting him to kill you WHICH HE WILL. Don't fret too much if he does kill you here, as we'll get our revenge later.
If you died, you will need to head back up here and kill the skeletons on the way. Climb up the ladder to where the Pursuer dropped down and knock the skeleton off the roof. WATCH OUT THOUGH! As there are now four skeleton enemies up here that will activate and rush you, so take your time and kill them all before going and picking up all of the loot up here. A good tactic is to drop off the roof by the ladder and lure them one at a time. Once they are all dead and you have the items climb back down and finish off the guy you knocked off initially. Wait at the top of the stone steps and a spear wielding enemy should rush up to greet you, give him the death he deserves. There is another spear attacker stood to the right at the foot of those steps, he has no shield though so you should be able to kill him fairly quickly. A note on the barrels here, and elsewhere, as some of them will explode if you (or an enemy) attack them so the safe bet is to roll into them to break them if you need to.
At the far end of this area is a ladder to climb down, with a lootable corpse at the bottom. So head down and grab the item. Now approach the entrance to your right (a big hole in the wall) carefully, step inside and then immediately turn around and run back where you came from. A bunch of ballista arrows will fly through that hole and likely kill an enemy or two as well. Climb back up the ladder you came down and watch as three (or less) enemies rush out after you. They will mill around for a bit and then head back into the hole, go back down and you should be able to lure them out one at a time to deal with (much easier than taking on all three at once).
Once they are all dead, head into the room they came from and loot the corpses. There is a ladder behind the ballista so head down it. There is a chest in this room, so go ahead and open it for some swag (it has a poison trap so watch out). You'll also notice a weird face shaped formation on one of the walls. These are the points that require the Pharros Lockstone (that you can purchase from the vendor at the last bonfire or find around the world) so always be on the lookout for them. If you have the stone then choose to use it and another ghostly face will appear nearby, hit this with a weapon to reveal a secret room with more chests to loot (one of which has a Titanite Slab and the other a stamina recovery ring).
There is also a locked door down here. But if you stand nearby and try to attack it, then an enemy should open it from the inside. There are three spearmen in here, so be careful and try to lure them out one at a time. If you kill them all then you can head into that room for another item. Head back up the ladder you came down, out the hole and go to your immediate right. There is a gent here called Pate you can talk to so do so, run through everything you can think of until he repeats himself and then head through the arch next to him.
The first courtyard looks pretty empty but as soon as you move towards the next door you will be rushed by a mix of regular hollow attackers and skeletons. Try and bottle neck them in this door to stop getting overwhelmed, but take your time and you should have no issues. No go through the door to the bottom of the stairs and press A on the wall to the right at the bottom (as you face up the stairs) to open a hidden door, go in and open the chest. Now head back up and you will come out onto a wall, smash the cart etc and drop back down to where the guy you spoke to is sat. Speak to him again to get the White Soapstone - a vital item that you can use to be summoned to other peoples worlds. Talk to him until he repeats himself.
Now look right and see an open courtyard across from the ballista room. Don't rush in here just yet. You'll see a couple of skeleton enemies and A LOT of explosive barrels scattered around, plus there are skeleton warriors above you waiting to lob explosives on your head. Nice.
Move so you can see the right side of that area, where you will spot another unguarded archway. Run through it as quick as you can. There is a skeleton spearman slumped against the wall on your left, so kill him to prevent issues later. Then go into the next area where two more skeletons are beating up a tree. Kill them quickly and grab the lootable item behind the tree. Come back to where you killed the last skeleton and climb the ladder on your left. At the top go right for another item, and spot the enemies waiting in the windows. A ranged attacker could kill them from here, but if not go straight ahead and enter the building. Go around to your right and look down to see the two enemies you saw previously. There is also an enemy hidden underneath you on the right side. There is also a lootable item on the ledge in front of you (above the enemies) that you can jump to, or you can kill the enemies first and come back via the last ladder (just in case you fall). If you want to be safe, and have the equipment, you can kill them with spells/arrows/knives/firebombs from here. Then drop down to kill the last one.
Alternatively go to the left most opening and drop behind the chest. You should only activate the nearest enemy, kill him and then edge into his alcove which will (hopefully) activate the guy on the right that was stood under where you were. Kill him and then you can deal with the last one as you see fit. Turn around and grab the item from the chest. Then go to the right hand window and carefully drop down.
Now to deal with those skeletons. First of all, don't get too close and roll through as many of the explosive barrels as you can here to make room. In truth they are pretty simple, especially with a shield.
Go through the tunnel he was guarding and head right up some stairs to a lootable item. From here you can see two spearman a bit further down. Lure them one by one, possibly back to the area you just came from, and kill them. Ahead of where they were stood is a giant sword that you can go up, but watch out as there is another Ironclad to the left of that, overlooking the lootable item on the floor. Then look up the sword and see an enemy guarding an item. If you move too far forward a bunch of enemies will drop down onto the sword behind you. So edge forward until you can lock onto the first one then use a single ranged attack (magic/bow/knife etc) to damage him and make him rush you. Immediately go back down the sword into the hall and try and kill him ASAP as the rest will soon drop down after him. Once they are dealt with you can head up the sword to get the item.
Go back down to the door the two spearmen were guarding and head through. To your right is a doorway with a skeleton slumped against the wall nearby to kill, so make sure you do so. Go down the stairs at the back of the room to loot another corpse. Nothing else to see here so go out of this room and head right and unlock the door ahead of you. Hurrah - we just did a big loop back to where we started at the Cardinal Tower bonfire. Time for a detour.
Climb back up to bonfire to rest up and then travel to Majula. Use the key you got to enter the large house and search the room with the large books for another item. There are also a couple of items upstairs too. Then head down the stairs in the map room to meet an angry skeleton. You should have no problems dispatching him. Use the same method as the armoured guys, and just lure him into an attacks and block/dodge it then strike back. Once he is dead you can go down into the cellar and grab a lootable item here and open the chest for a Soul Vessel. This item is handy one, as if you head back to the witches at the start of the game they can use it to allow you to respec all of the levels you have applied. Please note: you can ONLY reapply levels that you bought with souls yourself, any attributes that you had AFTER choosing your starting class will remain the same. So if your starting class had 12 Intelligence, you can't reassign those 12 points. You will come across some more of this item, but they are very rare so use them wisely. Or not at all.
While here you can spend your points to level up or buy items. You have also created another good loop for grinding souls that starts and ends at the same bonfire you opened a short cut back to.
Time for our first proper boss fight (if we don't count that pesky Pursuer). Exciting. So level up and buy any items you want, as well as making sure you have handed any Estus Shards over. If you have died a lot and your health has a low max level then feel free to use a Human Effigy, though I would only really recommend this is you have lost a third or more or your starting health (depends on how many levels you allocate to health). Now head back to the Cardinal Tower bonfire.
Back down the ladder and then go through the door you unlocked on your right as you get to the bottom (watch out for the skeleton slumped in front of it). You'll see a lift on your left as you come through the door, so stand on the central button and head down. There is sometimes an enemy waiting at the bottom, but most of the time he will have been stood on the second platform and get sent up to the top, either way it's nothing you can't handle. A bit further along the corridor another enemy is guarding a locked door. Kill him and then make sure you are properly equipped before heading through the mist. If you are human there will be two summon signs here. One for Pate (assuming you spoke to him earlier) and a second one for a random NPC. Feel free to use both, if you do use Pate's (and he survives) then you can get his gear later on.
For this fight I would recommend you have gear that doesn't use up more than 50% of your equipment load (check your personal stats, bottom right corner) as that will give you freedom of movement. You also don't really need a shield, so feel free to use your weapon double handed if you like though a shield is always handy in a pinch. I personally used a levelled up Flame Sword (using the titanite I'd found/bought) and the Falconer armour my Knight started with.
Head through the mist to be met by the Last Giant. His size is intimidating but he is actually a fairly gentle introduction as boss fights go. He generally does three attacks: a large swipe which can be one or two hits, a footstamp that sends out a small shockwave and slows you down and a jumping attack. The basic strategy is simple, lock on and rush towards him and roll straight through his legs. He will swipe behind you, giving you the chance to get one or two hits on his ankles. Then you should IMMEDIATELY roll or run away from him, as he will start to stamp at where you were standing. Repeat until he is dead. By rushing at him and rolling past him you prevent him from doing the jumping attack pretty much, but if he does leap in the air just double roll out of the way to avoid it (or block if you are using your shield and have plenty of stamina).
If you get hit DO NOT just stand there and heal. Dodge an attack or roll through his legs as normal and THEN heal, rather than attacking him. If you play it safe you should be able to come through this battle first time. You'll be rewarded with a ton of souls, the Last Giants soul and the Soldiers Key AND achievement unlocked. You CAN use the Last Giant's soul to get even more souls, but I recommend you save it. Head back to the bonfire to rest and maybe back to Majula to spend some of those souls.
The Soldiers Key lets us access a few items so let's grab those first. Go to the Cardinals Tower bonfire and head up the stairs in this room, as you can now unlock the door up here. Enter and roll through the barrels to find a few items. There is a slumped skeleton on the floor by the door to the next room, so kill him. Go through the door, open the chest for another item. Then head down the ladder in the bonfire room. At the bottom look right and wait for the skeleton to cross the bridge, kill him and then the guy against the wall on your left. Cross the bridge and kill the skeleton on the floor then open this door and run straight ahead to a chest. Go back the way you came and then right up the steps. There is a chest and a lootable item here and a late game Royal Soldier (he will only attack if you get pretty close) so kill him or ignore him then go back the way you came and across the bridge.
Head right and into the small room, killing the skeleton slumped on the floor. Now open the door in here and head down the stairs (be aware that I had the games brightness a bit higher than recommended so could see fine down here without a torch). At the bottom two skeletons will start to form as you move down the corridor, they duel wield swords and can inflict bleed on you even if you block but they generally die in a couple of hits. Past them another two skeletons will form, then a final one before the exit door.
There are a few items in this area to collect so make sure you grab them all. Now open the door the skeleton was in front of and cross the small bridge (be careful) and open the door opposite you and head inside. Hang a left and lure the waiting axeman to attack you, kill him and look out for a nearby knifeman (if he didn't try and join in already) so kill him too. Roll through the boxes and grab the item.
Next part needs a bit of speed, but not like the Flash or anything. Open the door these guys were near and head outside and immediately turn left to kill and axeman. By now you should have activated another armoured guy so head back into the building you came from and lure him in there to deal with him.
Now I'd recommend going back inside that building and up the ladder at the end. There are three Ironclads up here and killing them can be tricky. Try and group them up and make them attack at the same time, then chip away at them but don't get greedy. The reason you want these guys dead now is so they don't ambush you shortly. Grab all of the items up here once they are dealt with.
From up here you can snipe the archer on the other side of the gap to clear out the area. Go back downstairs and grab the item by the gate. Then go through the building here but be ready for a fight. There is a bonfire inside the first room just to your left, but as you come out of the last building an invader will spawn. This guy is a pain. He uses sorcery and has rapid attacks too. I lured him all the way back to the dark corridor I came from, so I had more room, then ambushed him as he came in. But do whatever works for you. Once he dies you can go up the wooden stairs in the back corner and open a chest for some gear.
Now you have pretty much cleared out every area you can access. Plus, you have made another great grinding spot. Rest at the bonfire here and warp to Cardinals Tower, then make your way back to this bonfire clearing out every skeleton and armoured guy on the way. Once you are tired of that we can take on another, more difficult boss. The Pursuer again.
From the Cardinal Tower bonfire go down the ladder and head right. Past the lift and, when you reach a torch stand you can light, slowly move forward. The two spearmen hidden here can be lured one at a time until you kill them. Move through the opening they were guarding and look right to spot another door you can now unlock. Head over and open it up. Move up the stairs slowly and lure a new type of swordsman back down to the bottom to kill him off, he can do a large overhead attack, a thrust forward or a combo but all are easily blocked/dodged. Go back up and you should able to kill the swordsman on the next set of stairs pretty easily as he has no shield. Follow the stairs up and come to an area with grey mist blocking you, plus another swordsman and an archer. Lure the swordsman back down the stairs to kill him before tackling the archer.
Don't touch the mist yet. Instead go up the stairs to the right of it to find another item. Now you DON'T have to fight the boss at this point it is optional and gives you an alternate route to The Lost Bastille (and some great armour). You can go back to the Heide's Tower of Flame area and work through that, which is probably much easier at this point. That area eventually leads to the Lost Bastille too so it's entirely your call. If you are having trouble with the Pursuer then take that route. Just go down to that area in my guide and work from there.
If you choose to enter the mist here be sure to spend your souls on items or levelling as trying to kill The Pursuer first time is troublesome. Go through the mist and he will spawn ahead of you. As he rushes towards you, lock on and roll past him on the right (his left), hit him once and stay close. Every time he attacks roll past but give yourself a second before attacking as if he goes into his two/three hit combo you will want to roll again before getting clear. Have your shield up when waiting for his attacks (and you have max stamina) but make sure to put it down when you roll past, as you need all the stamina you can get and it recharges faster when you aren't blocking. A good idea is that if you dodge his attack but have no stamina left, use that time to replenish yourself. Same goes with healing, only heal when he has just missed an attack (and even then it's a risk).
There are ballista up here that you can fire and, if you hit him, he will be one-two strikes from death. It's tough to line up as he almost never stops in front of them and will likely kill you when you get stuck in the animation to fire them but it's an option if you get the timing down. So if you want to grind souls to make your life a bit easier then do the run from Cardinals Tower to Soldiers Rest a few times, or the loop from Cardinals Tower, up the tree branch and back through the fort to Cardinals Tower again.
Once he is dead (good luck) you will get a bunch of souls again, the Pursuers soul and probably let out a huge victory roar. Go through the opening opposite the way you came and you'll see two more skeletons beating up a tree (what is their deal?) so kill them and then head towards the gap in the floor. Look down to see an item you can collect (it's on your left) so carefully drop down the hole to get it, as you get a bunch of pretty great Drangleic armour. Watch out as you drop down again as the Ironclad and other enemies may be around if you didn't clear them out before facing the boss. Head back up to where you defeated the Pursuer and back to where you dropped down. Investigate the nest to be eagle-napped, and dropped in a brand new locale The Lost Bastille. Light the bonfire here, then open the two chests in this room. One of them has the Dull Ember which we'll need in a bit. Go out of the room and onto the ledge to your left. Follow it all the way left to a corpse you can loot. Then go back to the window you passed and carefully kill the guy stood there. Drop inside and nudge the barrel on this ledge over the edge. It should kill the dogs below you, if not drop down and finish them off.
Now you can go in the door down here. BE WARNED. A dark imbued Pursuer will spawn in the next room. You can despawn him be heading in there to activate him (you'll see him arrive) then immediately running back through this door. At which point he'll vanish again and you are free to loot the chest which has a Fragrant Branch of Yore. Alternatively you can beat him up for more souls and a Twinkling Titanite (watch out for the hole in here and his dark spells). Once that is done use a Homeward Bone and go back to Majula to tool up.
Be aware that after killing the Last Giant the trader that was sat by the Cardinal Tower bonfire will relocate to Majula if you speak to her again. Also, try and talk to all the people in Majula (not just buy from them) at regular intervals. As the trader, blacksmith and Blue Covenant guy will all give you various items and accessories at one point or another.
Another interesting factor is that you can actually access another area at this point, if you want to risk it. If you speak to the cat in the house to the right of the big hole you can buy a Silvercat Ring for 13,400 souls. This reduces fall damage and means you can (with enough health) carefully drop down the ledges in the large hole outside of said house. I would recommend you have at least 1,200 health and a good number of Estus/healing items. Though this is not required as there is a safer route down later on.
However, we'll come back to that area later so for now we'll head to go to Heide's Tower of Flame. Though you are free to go back to the Lost Bastille if you like as well. Before heading to Heide it is very helpful to have a bow and PLENTY of arrows. You'll see why.
Heide's Tower of Flame
In Majula use the bonfire to head to Heide's Tower of Flame. If you didn't go here earlier, then head down the stone tunnel in Majula (next to the cats house) and go down the stairs all the way to the bottom. There is a pulley to the left of the metal door. Follow this route all the way there. Either way, once you arrive you'll notice a white Heide Knight sat nearby. At a low level this guy will just sit there unless you attack, they drop a range of gear so farming them is handy. They have a series of rapid attacks and can attack directly behind them if you manage to get back there. Take your time and hit and roll away. To be super safe you can equip a bow and lure them down the steps in the tunnel that leads here - as they will only follow so far and you can kill them easily. This works on ALL the smaller Heide Knights around here.
There is also big knight nearby (with a second Heide knight sat just behind him). These guys pack a punch, so hopefully you have a decent shield that has 100% physical resist (or near enough) as they will help you block most of it. One on one you should have few problems.
They mainly stick to a long three hit combo, and you can usually dodge roll past the first strike and then land one or two hits as they pause at the end. With a good shield you can probably just block/tank the first hit or so while sidestepping around them to get in position. If you play it safe and go for a hit when you can then he should pose no problems. Be aware that sometimes they will pull out a jumping attack if you are far away, or just do one large hit.
Move forward to another knight (or kill the Heide knight if you fancy), this time with a large sword. The Greatsword Knight has no shield but packs a hefty punch, he generally does one massive overhead swing that you can dodge and counter, but it can sometimes turn into a two hit combo so be careful.
Once he is dead you can also loot the corpse hanging from the railing here. Move ahead to face another sword and shield Knight. Once he falls you will also notice that, after you kill certain groups of knights, a small control panel will emerge. Whenever this happens be sure to pull the lever - as this will make your life easier on an upcoming boss. There is also a corpse behind the door you came through.
There's a group of three knights up ahead. Taking on all three at once can be painful so try and lure them one at a time (use a ranged weapon to do so, if you have one. Or walk into the room and then back out the door at which point only the Greatsword Knight will follow) and dispatch them individually. You should get a lever pop up after they are dead. From here go out the door to your left to see another Sword and Shield knight plus a white Heide knight who will get up to engage you as soon as you enter this area. Lure them back to the last large area to kill them both.
Head back to where they were and down the broken steps on the left for an item. Then look up the steps that were straight ahead to see another Heide knight sat down. Don't rush up there, as the dragon off to the left will ruin your day. Instead shoot him from afar with arrows to activate him. This guy has a spear and uses it to attack with very rapid combos, try and circle him with your shield up until his starts a combo then get a hit or two in. Once he is dead you can run up to where he was, across the bridge and under the dragon before it gets up and crisps you. Then you can attack him from this point and risk being thrown off this small platform.
Let's do it the easy way instead. From the bottom of the steps where the spear Heide knight was, use your bow and aim with the LB button. Shoot the dragon twice, then hop behind the wall that leads up the steps. He'll shoot a fireball that explodes harmlessly. Repeat until he dies. A stress free way to kill him off. After he is dead you can pull a lever to lower the nearby drawbridge. Head up the drawbridge to find another corpse to loot and a chest to open. Plus, a mist door. Feel free to use any summon signs before you head through.
Blue Cathedral
The boss behind the mist is entirely optional, but will open up the route to a new Covenant (that you probably can't join yet) and a couple of chests. Plus, you get another boss soul and a bunch of souls for killing him. Plus, he's not THAT hard anyway (in my opinion). It's your call.
I'll assume you want to be a badass and went through the mist. You are face to face with the Old Dragonslayer (who may look familiar to people that played the first game). He uses spear attacks and has a wide range and some pretty damaging moves. Up close he will either thrust directly at you, or go into a two/three hit combo both or which can easily be blocked/dodged and then countered. He will also leap into the air and then land on you. Even with full stamina and while blocking this can do a LOT of damage, so avoid it by any means. He will get stuck in the floor after this so use the time wisely. After you have done enough damage he will add lightning elements to his strikes, which can be deadly, so heal when you need to and don't stand directly in front of his attacks as some of them will unleash a blast wave that will do damage even when blocking. By the time he gets to this point he should be almost dead thankfully, so finish him off to get your rewards.
Go through the other door and speak to Targray there to join the Blue Sentinels (achievement unlocked), you will need a Token of Fidelity to do so (found by either using the White Soapstone to help other players beat a boss OR in Huntsmans Copse on a corpse) and then loot the chests here. Note: you HAVE to join this Covenant at some point in order for Targray to teach you a gesture (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) so make sure to do so once you have a Token of Fidelity. Go down some stone steps to find another bonfire to light.
Heide's Tower of Flame
Go back out and down the drawbridge. Go through the room that had three knights in previously but this time take the other exit. This leads down to another Heide knight, so kill him (or ignore him if you are low level) and head down to another Greatsword knight. Kill him off and you'll see another Heide knight sat in front of a chest (one that has a handy ring) you will have to kill this guy to get the loot so it's up to you if it's worth it or not. Now you have another mist door to deal with - at this point you SHOULD have killed all other knights and pulled the two levers (not including the one that drops the Cathedral drawbridge). Make sure you have levelled up etc and head on through.
This time you have the shiny NEW Dragonslayer. Who is less bothersome than the old version, the levers you pulled will have increased the area you have available to fight him in so you aren't at risk of falling in the water. As with the old slayer, he has a spear and does the usual one and three hit combos plus a large thrust attack - all of which can be easily tanked with a good shield. Then strike him back and repeat. Don't attack him when he is using his shield and, if you are close, watch out for his shield bash that can leave you vulnerable. Other than that, you should have little problem strafing around him for victory. Once he is dead head up the outside of the tower and activate another bonfire and rest up. Speak to the Licia up here and learn all you can. You can also buy various items and miracles from her which is pretty handy, make sure she starts to repeat herself as we need her back in Majula (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) - then you can cross the bridge up here to another tower.
Go down the spiral steps in here (grab the item at the bottom) to a corridor. You'll enter an open area with a Greatsword wielder off to your right. Deal with him first and then head down the corridor here for a bunch of corpses for you to loot. Go back to where the Greatsword Knight was and through the door, then down the stairs. There is another knight down here so kill him and head left to another slightly advanced Royal Guard in front on an item. He should be no real trouble so dispatch him then go back right to a lift, head down it. You'll come to a watery corridor. Head along here but watch up for an enemy popping out of the water on your right a short way in. You'll then get to an opening on your left. There is a basilisk in here plus two more enemies that stand up out of the water, you can run right past if you like. If you have a Fragrant Branch of Yore you can kill them and depetrify the statue behind them. Head up the stairs and kill another large knight then grab the Estus Flash Shard from the corpse and gear from the chest. Now back down to the watery corridor but this time head left and down into the rocky tunnel.
No-Mans Wharf
This leads to a bonfire where you can rest and heal up.
Immediately go to your left (kill the enemy playing dead here) and over the bridge, the building ahead will have two weak enemies to your left as you enter and another will rush down the stairs. Kill them all and loot the room. Go up the stairs in here to find another foe (if he didn't rush down) and an item you can grab outside. Go back outside and then left over the wooden walkway. An archer will fire at you and a swordsman will run towards you, plus a dog may wander over to spoil your day. These guys either have two weapons OR a sword and shield, plus they occasionally lob firebombs. The double sword guys can launch into a four hit combo that does a lot of damage without knocking you down, if a couple of them trap you this way it can be trouble so try and take them on individually. Careful blocking, strafing and striking should see you unharmed.
After killing the archer, you may see a summon sign on the floor here but ignore it for now, look left to see a corpse to loot in the water and two more buildings either side of some steps. There is a swordsman on the roof of the left hand building, and two more in each of them. You can back off and try to thin them out or rush one of the weaker foes to kill them quickly and then group the other two together to deal with. Search each building for loot when they are dead. Then look to the right of the building on the right of the stone steps (as you face the steps) to see a stone building with a hole in the wall. Head inside to find an item.
Now head out of here and up the stairs. Go to your right first to come to an area with a swordsman and a number of dogs, try and kill the dogs first as they should only take one or two hits. Be sure not to stary too far into the open area as there are archers above you. There is a Pharros Lockstone point to the right here, using it will ignite the massive light and make the large ape creatures cower inside buildings. This is handy if you want to shoot them from afar (as they won't fight back) but not entirely required - you can drop off the edge where the device is to find a ledge with another item on it (then drop down from here and head back up the stairs to where you were). Go in the building here to find three slumbering guards, you can backstab one with ease and then finish off the others. There is also a chest in the corner behind the wooden bar. Go back outside and then right to the building on the other side of the stairs.
Go up the stairs here and you'll meet Lucatiel who you can chat to, make sure to do so (NEEDED FOR ACHIEVEMENT). Once she starts repeating herself grab the item up here hidden behind the bookcase. You can then go outside and head left carefully.
Here you will spot the swordsman that was stood at the very top of the stone stairway. There is also a dog here and another swordsman in a little alcove on the left hand side. Try and kill the dog from afar and then lure the swordsman as best you can. Then grab the item in the room he was in. From here you can head up another flight of steps and go right.
There are three ape creatures patrolling this ridge (if you didn't use the Lockstone) so lure them one at a time. These long armed beasts do either an overhead smash, sometimes after leaping, or a two hit combo. Even if you block they can rapidly cause the Bleeding ailment which severely diminishes your stamina. Try and strafe around their swipes and get a hit in when you can. Then loot the corpse up here.
Moving forward you will see another room with two more of these creatures, plus another will drop down from above. Don't go into the room to engage them as you will get swamped. So dash back outside and make them follow. Head upstairs to kill one final ape creature (if he didn't also drop down) and then go into the room next door to open two chests (one has a trap).
Out of this building and head up the path ahead of you to reach a large bell, make sure to pull the lever directly under it before dropping down. It will summon a ship. You can then drop down to the stone roof for an item, turn around and drop down again. WATCH OUT THOUGH. As a couple of Suspicious Shadow enemies will pop out of nowhere up here to attack you. They have pretty fast combos but fairly low health, so just block/dodge until the do a combo then step in an d get a hit.
Open the door here and enter the room, grab the item on the steps and watch out for the two apes. Outside you can go into a nearby door. Watch out for the jars full of poison but clear them away to reveal some loot (including a Fragrant Branch of Yore) and a wall you can smash with a heavy weapon for more items. Back outside you can move ahead to find a wooden door near a torch, open it and hit A on the wall ahead of you to find a hidden area and some items. Head up some stairs to meet a merchant, Gavlan, that will buy your old equipment in exchange for souls. Be sure to ONLY sell your junk items that you will not need again, as if you sell a unique item there is no getting it back until a second playthrough. After you deal with him here he will vanish and then turn up at other points in the game.
Back out the way you came and down the steps to the wharf and look right (in the building) to see two more ape monsters to kill, as well as another swordsman in the water here. Finish them off and search their room for loot. From here if you pull out a bow, you can look under either side of the wooden wharfs up ahead to spot some enemies waiting to jump up. Shoot them once and they'll fall to their deaths with ease. Go onto the wooden wharf but don't head towards the ship just yet. Go along the other path and kick down a ramp at the end to make a shortcut back to the first summon point, then head up the steps near here to meet a sorcerer named Carhillion.
He will sell you magic and items, as well as teach you a gesture, but ONLY if you have at least 8 Intelligence. If you don't have the required level you can come back here at any time when you do. Once you have successfully spoken to him he will move to Majula (after you beat the boss here) and be sat under a tree looking out to sea (bottom left of the large memorial) so make sure to do so (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT).
Now head towards the ship and you will notice a summon sign for Lucatiel along the way, ignore it for now, immediately go on the ship and up the left hand steps to kill an archer (there is one on either side). Watch out as other enemies may join in, so feel free to just snipe them from afar.
Once they are all dead head inside the ship. Grab the loot in the first room and spot a mist door. Before entering go back and summon Lucatiel as you need her for this fight, (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) MAKE SURE SHE SURVIVES IN ORDER TO GET CREDIT TOWARDS GETTING HER GEAR. You can also go over the shortcut bridge you kicked down to summon a second phantom if you wish. Once you are read guide them back to the mist door and step through to meet a Flexile Swordsman. He is impossible to flank and will do large sweeping attacks with both sides, as well as leaping towards you. Lucatiel and the other phantom can distract him and do serious damage while you come at it from the side. If you are on your own then use the pillar in here as a buffer when you need to heal or regain stamina. You should have no problem whittling its health away.
After it dies head up the ladder and look behind you to find chest with a Pyromancy Flame. If you interact with the large compass in here you will sail to the Exile Cells at the foot of the Lost Bastille. Head off the ship and into a cave with two slumbering swordsmen, kill them both and grab the items in here. Then ride the lift up. Once it gets to the top, immediately step on the button again but dash out of the lift before the door closes. Jump on the roof and ride it down to find a cave you can enter for an item. Then ride back up and search the rooms around the lift for some items. Head up the steps, searching open cells for items, and find a bonfire in one of the cells. Light it and rest up/head to Majula if you need to.
The Lost Bastille
Either way, warp to the Tower Apart bonfire for now. There is only one way out of the room you are in, so take it.
Out of this door is a bulky new enemy. He has a few moves and can take a bit of punishment, depending on your level. He will generally move towards you when he sees you and perform either a slash attack (he can turn this into a combo so watch out) or a big lunge forward. He sometimes pulls one hand back and tries to grab you too, so make sure you dodge past that move. Easiest way to kill him is to keep your shield up, wait until he swings and then get in one hit. You can back away with your shield down to get some stamina back, but with a shield you should easily negate most of his attacks. Once he is down to about 1/3 health, dodge his attack as normal and then step in and use as many attacks as you can to finish him quickly.
Continue on into the tower to meet Lucatiel. Speak to her constantly (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) and she will grow fond of your random babbling and agree to help you out in future battles (so keep an eye out for her summon sign). Grab the item in here too. Now head out the opposite door and immediately turn around to see a ladder on the left wall of that tower, carefully edge onto the stone outcrop and head up here to snag another item. Then go back down. There is another big guy straight ahead, but it's dangerous to fight him with all these holes around you. Wander down and give him a smack or two in the back then retreat back to the tower you were just in (don't lock on just yet as you can't see where you are going). He'll follow you back there and be easier to kill off.
Wander down the path then take a left just before the next big guy to an item bearing corpse. Now approach the next big guy and lure him back to the last tower you were at to kill him - trying to avoid him exploding the barrel in front of him.
Once he is dead, approach the barrel and push it straight down the steps (don't attack or roll - just walk into it) which will blow a whopping big hole in the wall nearby and revealing a bonfire you can light (if it doesn't explode you can smack it with full health to do the same). Head down and kill the dogs then go into McDuffs workshop and speak with the blacksmith as much as possible, he will take the Ember you found earlier so that you can now imbue weapons here, then open all the chests you can. Head back out to the bonfire and light a torch and use it to light the unlit torch in the forge. Now the next time you come back here (it was after I'd warped elsewhere via a bonfire first) the blacksmith will have moved from the chest he was sat on and you can snag what was in there.
(After you give the ember to Blacksmith McDuff in the Lost Bastille, be sure to come back when you can and spend at least 14,000 souls on infusing weapons (can be any weapon but you will need specific stones to do so) and then use the regular Talk command afterwards. He will give you a Titanite Slab and (achievement unlocked). Some have reported that buying items from him works as well.)
Now go back to where you killed the first big guy and look right. You can walk across a stone here to get to a small area with a bunch of barrels and two sword wielding guards. Once you kill them you'll see a statue blocking the door ahead. If you have a Fragrant Branch you can depetrify him and open the door. If not then you can use the bonfire by McDuffs to warp to the Exile Holding Cells and continue from there (I'll point out where that is). If you do open this door then slowly edge forward while looking to your left. You should activate some knights. Run back outside to take them on.
A good method to use here is to look left when you get back to the area with the barrels and you'll see a break in the wall where you can drop back to the other walkway and run back to the tower (one that had the NPC woman, again). Do this and they should follow you. Only sometimes some of them will just drop to their deaths, and more often they will get more spread out meaning you can take them on one at a time.
These guys are fairly weak but be careful. They can do a big overhead swing, a single strike (that can sometimes become a combo) or a shield bash to break your guard. Use the same tactics as ever. Lock on, lure them until a strike and then step in to deal damage.
Once these three are dead head back to where they came from and step inside the door again to activate two more guys from the area just in front and below you. Lure them back to your killing zone.
Then go in the room and straight ahead and down the stairs all the way to the bottom. Down here you will find a big ladder and a corpse with an item you can grab. Ignore the ladder and head back up the stairs you came down. Instead go up the stairs to where you came in and take the door that is now on your left.
Be careful as you will activate two more guys in here. Lure them back outside to kill them though sometimes they attack the explosive barrels in that room and kill themselves. Once dead go back into the room they came from and pull the switch on the wall to open the gate. Two more guys will come after you (again they MAY strike the explosives) so deal with them the same way.
Back into the corridor they came from and you will see a familiar mist up ahead. Check the cells here for items and then make sure you have levelled up appropriately. You have created another good soul grinding loop: from the first tower, in through the windows, along the path killing all dogs/big guys and then killing all the knights up to this area before saving/warping at the bonfire by McDuffs forge. There are two more phantom summon signs in the corridor/cells here so use them both if you like.
I found this battle was easier to rely on blocking and good armour than dodging, as the enemy attacks cover huge areas at times so just rolling is not always possible. So I saddled up with my Drangleic armour, the Twin Dragon shield and my Flame sword. You are facing THREE Ruin Guardians, but you can take on the first one solo. If you are struggling then you can try grinding for souls.
As soon as you enter the mist you will have a short fall and immediately be attacked from your left by the first Ruin Sentinel. As soon as you fall hold the button to block, and lock onto the enemy ASAP. DO NOT DROP OFF THIS PLATFORM.
He has a number of attacks. He will do a big sweeping strike in front of himself (this can turn into a combo), he will also do a big lunge straight forward which you can dodge by constantly moving sideways or a large overhead strike that you can easily block/dodge. Sometimes he will swing himself off the ledge - if this happens just back into the corner by the two walls and block facing the main room, he will soon jump back up and you can lock on again. The key here is stamina preservation.
As ever you want to block his attack and, if it is just a one off move, step in and strike him. The most important thing is to drop your guard when you don't need to block and then raise your shield when he starts ANY of his attacking motions (they are all well telegraphed). If you find your stamina getting low then move away from one of his attacks and then drop your shield to max it out. With patience you should get through this first guy without taking any real damage. If you summoned the other phantoms it will be a breeze. At this point use healing if you need to as the other guys will be activated then drop to the floor, your phantoms should follow.
Now it gets trickier. The other two Sentinels should drop down, but you should be able to do a good bit of damage to the first one before the second one joins in. Plus, your allies can distract them significantly. Now the Sentinels will use a number of other attacks in addition to the ones above. They will do a big spinning attack that you can easily block but could leave you low on stamina, they will also jump in the air and slam down where you were if you are too far away (DODGE ROLL this as soon as you see them jump) or (rarely) they will throw their shield at you which you can avoid by just moving sideways.
The attacks are fairly straightforward but the trick is to keep the two enemies as close together as you can, assuming you are alone. If they are separate then it is much more likely that one of them will get behind you and attack from where your block is useless. Keep BOTH of them in front of you at all times, regardless of which one you are locked onto. Only attack when they have both done an attack and you KNOW you have a clear window. Again, stamina is key as is constantly moving away from their attacks - only block if you have to but always keep your shield UP unless you are recovering stamina. Same goes for healing, do so only when they have both attacked rather than the second you take damage. If your allies can distract one enemy while you deal with another it will make your life much easier.
Once you kill one of them the fight becomes much easier. Just treat the last guy like one of the earlier armoured guys. Stay in close and lure him into his one or two hit combo then get a hit in. Repeat.
For the death of these annoying sods you will get a bunch of souls and the Ruin Guardian soul to boot. Yay us. Also, be sure to keep the Ruin Sentinel soul and give it to Straid in the Lost Bastille and swap it for a spell you can't get anywhere else (needed for an achievement). Before you go, run around the room and hit A on every wall to find 4-5 secret rooms with items in most (you can climb a ladder in one and find ANOTHER fake wall to get the item on a ledge in the main room). Now head through the door down here and up the stairs to the top level - there is another fake wall on the left with an item. Now go through the door up here and grab an item in one of the cells. Then move into the Servants Quarters and hit up the bonfire on your left.
If you feel up to it (why wouldn't you?) we can take a short detour assuming you have a Pharros Lockstone in your inventory and are up for taking on another boss. If so, then go down the ladder opposite the bonfire and turn left at the bottom. WATCH OUT - as this is another of The Pursuers spawn points, though you can despawn him by heading back up the ladder. Now you can insert the Lockstone into the device on the wall and swipe open the highlighting area. This will lead you to Belfry Luna.
Belfry Luna
Go over the little bridge and open the door here. Speak to the little dude on your right and he will let you join the Bellkeeper Covenant (achievement unlocked) and give you a ring if you choose to do so. Joining the Covenant doesn't stop you being attacked in here.
Now follow the corridor around and upstairs to meet a new foe. These little dwarf fighters generally either do a one hit strike or a three hit combo, but are fairly easy to kill. Finish him off and then look for a hole in the floor that lets you drop into an area with a chest below you. Grab the loot and then head back up the stairs again. Go up the next flight of stairs and activate a nearby dwarf and lure him down the stairs to finish him off. Then you can move up into that room to take on the next dwarf behind the boxes (he sometimes shoots at you with arrows, sometimes not). Then grab the items around here.
You'll see a ladder in this topmost room, if you carefully climb up it you can stop just short of the top and pan the camera around. You'll spot three blue dwarfs nearby. There is also another blue dwarf behind the column to the front left of where you come up. If you get swarmed here it can be trouble and you will likely die. Your best bet is to try and group all of your attackers together and also try and use the ladder exit as a neat funnel. Climb up and don't lock onto anyone straight away, instead move back and lure all the attackers into a group. Then try and steer them around near the ladder and walk across the small gap between it and the wall. If you aren't rushing, and they are clumped they should follow. This helps thin them out and lets you get some hits in. The blue guys should only take about 3-4 hits at this stage so focus on killing them first. After this kill the last blue guy, assuming you didn't activate him yet.
Did you have fun? Now they are all dead you can open the treasure chest up here, loot a corpse behind one of the pillars and (most importantly) pull the big lever here that will ring the bell. This in turn will open up the mist shrouded gate that was in the room below. The next boss (or bosses) are a pain if you don't prepare correctly but also will be fairly familiar to anyone that played the first game. So level up, or grind souls, if you want to and then save at the bonfire. You will only have to kill three of the blue dwarfs to get here, or you can run past them all and just click on the mist. There is another phantom summon spot just under the staircase that leads to the room with the mist door - so use it to make your life a bit easier.
Behind the fog is a sloped roof full of Gargoyles. Remember them? What fun. Only this time there are SIX of the buggers to take on. At first only two will activate, but if you take too long to kill one of them then another will join the fray. I only ever face three at once but frankly even that is a situation you want to try and avoid. The most important thing to remember here is that these guys are made of stone, so your sword might not cut it (literally). Instead I went with a Craftsmans Hammer. As this did plenty of damage for me and meant I could still use my shield. Each gargoyle, depending on your level, will take about 6-7 hits to kill as they have their own health bar as well as sharing the boss gauge shown on screen. They are also fairly vulnerable to Lightning if you have that available.
They have a number of attacks depending on where you are. If you are fairly distant they like to fly up into the air and then swoop at you (can be blocked or dodged) and if you are behind them they will try and swipe you with their tails. As ever they have a one hit swipe that covers a large area and a more annoying three hit combo that tracks you slightly. Lastly they will start to breathe fire when low on health, but this is well telegraphed. The problem here is not the enemies themselves, as they are fairly easy to counter, but rather the numbers. As with the Ruin Guardians TRY and keep all the enemies in front of you where you can see them, though this can be hard due to the fact the gargoyles can activate at different times depending on how you fare.
As soon as you come through the smoke, look left and target the gargoyle that awakens there. Move towards him and, after his start up animation, get an attack in. Block his next attack and try and get a couple more strikes in. With any luck you can kill this one BEFORE the other one comes into play. If not, then get them close together and chip away at them until one dies. By this time another one is likely to have activated. So lure the two close together before resuming your attack, remembering to recuperate stamina as and when you can rather than blocking all of the time.
Recovering health here can be tricky. My recommendation is to lure one/both/ALL the gargoyles to one side of the sloped roof to attack (making sure they all do so) and then rush as far as you can onto the other slope before healing. Lifegems can be handy here as they still offer you limited movement, so use them when you have lost 1/4 of your health or more but only as and when you can. Again, once you get down to the very last gargoyle things become a breeze and killing him will net you souls, the Gargoyle soul. Plus, you can grab some loot off the various bodies up here. Go through the door at the far end, down some stairs and drop off at the end to open a chest. Out of this door is another bonfire you can activate and rest at.
Next to the bonfire is a ladder. Looking down you can see a whole bunch of dogs roaming about. Enough to swarm you certainly and potentially poison you if they hit you enough. Though at this stage I could now kill them in one hit (even two hits is good enough here). The other issue is that when you get to the bottom you will also face another scripted red invader. Your best options are to go down the ladder and move behind the cart/barrels at the bottom to funnel the foes or run up the small stone steps down here and funnel them that way.
Once the dogs are dead the red invader is a fairly simple melee attacker that shouldn't take much killing. After that you can loot the various corpses down here for the Bastille Key and then you will need to head back up to the bonfire and either warp to Majula (to spend your souls) or to the Servants Quarters to proceed.
From the Servants Quarters head to the door to your far right and outside. Cross the little bridge and look left to find another lootable corpse. Then close or break the door you came through to find another item hidden there. Head into the tower to find a swordsman to kill then go left.
We'll take a bit of a detour now as this next area is semi-optional. From here you can head down the stone path and then right onto a rooftop. Go right onto the roof to find a corpse to loot, then jump to the roof opposite to grab another item that you can spy from up here, but watch out for the swordsman lurking around. Look down below to see a bunch of dogs. Try to thin their numbers with arrows/firebombs/magic if you have it, and drop down to kill the rest. Their are some items to snag in this area so do so. Then hit the rock on the well and a bunch of new enemies should appear in a lift. If you wait by the well you should be able to swing away and kill them before they can get out and trouble you. These guys are a pain in groups as they do a lunging attack that results in a big blast that can do severe damage. If you have a good shield/stamina you can block it, but it's not recommended with a group of them.
Now there are two doors in here. With your back to the well, take the one on your left (need the Antiquated Key from near to where you spoke to Lucatiel in the Lost Bastille). There is a swordsman in here so kill him off. You will also find another little door that has two more of the annoying bandaged prisoners and some loot. After killing them there is a breakable wall in the far corner. Head through here to see more dogs. Watch out though as there are archers up above and this is yet ANOTHER spawn point for The Pursuer. Either kill him or despawn him by heading back in the room you came from. Break the other platform in here to drop another item. Then look opposite where you entered. There is a wall with routes left and right. The left path (behind some crates) leads to a chest you can loot while the right leads to another dog and a lever you can pull to create a route back to McDuffs bonfire. Rest if you need to.
Now go back to where you just killed the dogs and archers (watch out for The Pursuer if you used the bonfire) and there is a ladder in a room on the right hand wall. Climb up here to meet another knight. Go left of where he was and carefully drop off the end of the wall, head right along the small pathway to find a hidden area with an item in it. You can now drop down into the area you climbed the ladder and head up it again. Only this time go right and follow the corridor down to another bonfire in a cell - this is the Exile Cell bonfire you activated earlier and if you come to this location via No-Mans Wharf this is where you begin.
(ALTERNATE ROUTE: Assuming you cannot depetrify the guy leading to the Ruin Sentinels, then you will have to start in the Exile Cell. Go up to the battlements from there and then down the ladder, head left past the dogs and open the gate near McDuffs. Then go up the path to where Lucatiel is and grab the Antiquated Key. Then go all the way back to where you opened the gate, through that area and smash the boards into the next room. You can now use the key on the door in here to proceed through the Bastille as normal. You will need to fight the Sentinels at some point as you need their soul for a spell.)
Now head all the way back to where you fought the guys that came out of the well but don't go through the other door. Instead climb the ladder on the same building and attack the crossbow guy in the left window (as you face them). Once he is dead go into the other window and guy the crossbow guy in here - watch where you swing as the barrels will explode, though if they do so it will reveal a secret room on the right that has an item in it. So once you kill these guys try and blow open this wall.
Either way drop down and kill the third swordsman, or he sometimes climbs up to you. Now climb up the ladder in the area he was in and grab an item before dropping back down to where you killed the second crossbow guy. Go through the passage behind the barrels here and be ready for another Suspicious Shadow enemy to pop out of nowhere. Once he is dead, loot the chests and use a Lockstone (if you have one) to make a ghostly face appear. Hit it to find more chests to loot.
Now you can exit the large room in the opposite direction and follow the tunnels as the way back to the path near McDuff's Workshop. Use the bonfire here to warp to the Servants Quarters again. Or you can ride you metal lift up to an area later on by the entrance to Sinners Rise (you HAVE to do this if you cannot depetrify the enemy by the Ruin Sentinels).
From here go back outside, over the little bridge and into the tower to your right. This time go up the stairs on your right to the top and enter a room full of barrels. There is a guy sat behind the ones on the left, so rush over and kill him quickly, then immediately kill the next one sat just ahead of him on the steps and then loot the room (the door in here leads nowhere). Now edge down the corridor and pull the lever. Then move forward, hugging the left wall, until you see and activate another bandaged guy.
Lure him back where you came from and finish him off. Repeat this process twice more to lure the other two enemies stood around that corner, one at a time. Once they are dead I recommend you edge forward and look to your right. You'll see bunch of giant pots and a guy on a shelf above you waiting to pounce.
The best method here is to run into the room, behind the pots, and then start attacking them. As two more enemies will soon emerge from their midst. With luck you can kill them before they are fully able to do anything, at which point the third enemy will have dropped down and you can deal with him one on one. Sometimes he doesn't drop down, in which case you can wander onto the ledge behind him to activate him and then drop down to finish him off. Face the gated area and go into the room next to it and hit A on the back wall to open a secret room, press A again on the wall halfway down in the room that opened to get to an area with two lootable corpses (one you have to jump to). WATCH OUT though as there is yet another spawn point for The Pursuer out here. Doesn't that guy have a hobby?
Move up to the next floor slowly and spot an enemy slumped on the wall ahead of you. Rush up to him and kill him before he can stand, at which point you will want to turn around ready for the guy sat against the back wall (sometimes he will charge in and sometimes he will sit there until you get closer). Kill him too and open the door in here for an item, plus you can carefully drop down to the floor below for another item though this leads to a slight detour in order to work your way back up here.
You can now pull the lever that was in the last room to open a gate leading to a bridge. Don't cross this yet. Instead go slowly up the stone steps in here and try and lure one or two enemies at a time down to the room below (there are five of them to kill). A good method is to hit the guy you want to lure with arranged attack and he will then rush you while the rest just stand there waiting their turn.
Once they are all dead you will notice a statue in here. This is Straid, a powerful wizard. He will sell you very good spells, as well as converting boss souls into weapons/armour/spells (for a price) but we don't have any way to help him just yet. Use the Bastille Key on the other cell for an item then go back down to the bridge. Once out the door, immediately go right to find a hidden swordsman guarding an item you can swipe. There is a big guy guarding the bridge and archers above him, so get close so they aren't a problem and finish him off.
Sinner's Rise
Go through the mist (no boss yet) then go through the door on your right and up the ladder to your right on the ledge. There should be one archer left up here, so kill him off and then activate the bonfire. BE WARNED: if you rest here, the archers will immediately respawn up here when you stand up so get ready to kill them. You can also grab an item from just inside one of the doorways up here. Another swordsman may run up the ladder behind you so watch out.
Now back down the ladder near the bonfire and follow the stone path around the outside of the tower to another archer. Kill him and go just around the corner to find an item. Inside the room he was guarding are more bowmen. You can either deal with them in the room using a shield, or get close enough to one so it changes to its sword and then lure it out of the room to deal with.
Once they are all dead take the lift down to the bottom, as it gets closer to the floor you will notice a wooden ledge that you can drop onto for an item, do that and then drop down onto the lift again (try to avoid hitting the button to send it back up). If you are human there will be a summon sign for Lucatiel down here, but you may want to hold off on using it just yet until you clear out the enemies.
Walk into the water but watch out as there is another Flexile Sentry down here and dealing with him in the water is tricky. Use the same tactics as earlier, or lure him back to the lift room and pepper him with arrows from afar.
Once he is dead, move forward and move up the steps to the right. Another prisoner is sat here so rush and kill him before he stands. Then search the cells here. Go back to the water and up the opposite side to kill another lounging prisoner and search those rooms. You can also find some items in the areas near the lift but it made sense to kill the enemies first.
From here you can see two doors on each side in the water below. The prisoners like to hide underwater in there, so approach each door carefully to lure them out. Bear in mind that if you get spotted by one in the room behind you they will rush at you. So try and only investigate each set of rooms one at a time and lure the enemies back into the main corridor or up the stairs where it will be easier. Once you kill them all you can scour the rooms for items.
Go back to where you entered the water and stand with your back to the lift. Go into the watery room on your right and press A on the wall in front of you. It will open and you can edge out and grab an item on your left side (don't go too far out).
Open the big gates down here (and the little ones with the Bastille Key if you like) and head over the narrow bridge. At the end you can go along the walls, inside the stairs, to find some items. Then climb the stairs and use the Bastille Key to find some more items (including some Shiny Stones that you can take back to the nest in Things Betwixt). You can use a torch to light the liquid in both rooms to make the boss fight a bit easier. Once that is done make sure you are ready for another tough boss.
Use a Homeward Bone if you want to get back to a bonfire to rest up, but remember the nearest place you can spawn is the top of Sinner's Rise. To get back here with minimum fuss, run down to the lift, kill the guy outside and the three inside. Call the lift and head down. At the bottom, run straight ahead into the water (stay to the middle) and then left up the stairs to the cells. Run straight past the prisoner sat here and out the door at the end (assuming you unlocked it). Drop carefully off the edge and then run across the bridge. At which point any pursuing enemies will retreat.
When you are ready go back and summon Lucatiel from the bottom of the elevator (NEEDED FOR ACHIEVEMENT) head into the mist and meet the Lost Sinner. This lady packs a hefty punch with a variety of attacks so let's run through them. To begin with she will charge at you and do a massive thrust attack straight forward so be ready to dodge or block ASAP. She then has large one hit swing, and more rapid two/three hit combos (the arch on these is very large so can hit you even when you are almost right behind him). At times she will do a large jumping attack that can be devastating so be ready to dodge rather than block. She has a moment after every attack where she momentarily pauses so this is when you strike. But only go for one hit at a time, or two if you are right on top of her.
The issue is that she is quite relentless, rather like the Pursuer. So only strike when you will leave yourself with enough stamina to still block/dodge afterwards. Again you sometimes need to forgo attacking her in order to get stamina back or heal, and healing is very risky to say the least. I found that lifegems were very handy here is they still let me move away from her slightly and then immediately block (while my health was still going up) once the animation was over. Whereas the Estus Flash generally left me stationary and very exposed. Be aware that Lucatiel HAS to survive the fight in order for you to get credit towards getting her gear.
Once she is dead you will get her soul and a bunch of other souls (save hers for trading). Then go through the new door that opened to find a Fragrant Branch of Yore. Keep hold of this for now (though you can use it on Straid if you like, but I wouldn't recommend it just yet). Go ahead and light the Primal Bonfire here (achievement unlocked) and warp back to Majula. You're a big damn hero. Be aware that the shopkeeper that sells armour will now have some new (and expensive) Lost Sinner gear.
Now at this point you can go a few ways so EITHER buy the Silvercat Ring and drop down the tunnels (but if you wait until later there is a much safer way down) or head out of Majula towards Things Betwixt but take the RIGHT hand tunnel instead. Following that will lead you to Jugo (blue sword). Speak to him until he repeats himself (he will talk about a statue up ahead). Then go in the building in front of you. Open the door on your left and kill the guy inside (we'll call them testicle guys - for obvious reasons) and do the same on the other door opposite. This will stop them rushing you shortly. These guys are pretty easy to kill by now, they just have regular one hit or three hit combos, though they can start to cause poison even when you block so watch out.
If you have been diligently killing enemies then you should have quite an array of armour by now. Make sure you have a spare set of boots, gloves, armour and helmet - preferably ones you don't mind not getting back. Now use your tree root to un-petrify the lady blocking the door. Talk to her and she'll ask for some clothes, so move what you can spare from your inventory to hers when you get the chance and you get an achievement for your efforts. She also sells a number of handy spells and items if you have the souls to spare, and will then relocate to the bottom of the memorial (where the Blue Covenant guy sits) in Majula. She also lets you upgrade your Pyromancy flame and sells a bunch of seeds to do so. Handy for magicians. Now pull the lever she was blocking to be greeted by one of those rather annoying basilisks that petrify you. Kill him quick which should be easy as he either does a single swipe or a massive breath attack that you can avoid by being at his side or back.
Watch out as a bunch of testicle men will jump down to join in. Funnel them into the doorway and kill them all, then search their rooms for loot and activate the bonfire. Use it warp to Majula and then head back this way to speak to Jugo again (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT), he'll thank you and teach you a gesture (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) plus he'll be available for some bosses in future. After you are ready to move on, head down into the tunnel that leads to Heide's Flaming Tower and speak to the cleric Licia by the contraption in the first room (if she is not here then warp to the bonfire on the Tower of Flame and speak to her until she moves). You need 2,000 souls for her to open a new path.
Huntsmans Copse
Once she has done so head through and loot the corpse. There is a hex merchant, Felkin, ahead and to your right (on a chair in a small nook) but you need at least 8 Faith to speak to him. Right across from him is a bonfire you can light. Continue up the path killing a couple of basic hollows and through a butterfly infested cave (they can poison you so move quickly) to a church and enter it, watch out for the nimble knifeman next to you and the archer across the way (note: you can smash the wood covering the windows to let some light in). Kill the knife man (he does rapid combos and then springs away, but should only take two hits) and then drop down below you (AVOIDING THE GIANT HOLE IN THE MIDDLE) to fight some weak ghouls. They only take a hit or so to drop and have very short range attacks. Kill all of them and go up the steps to deal with the archer as well, then grab the items in here. Up the steps, in the back corner is a ladder you can climb to reach the roof so take it.
On the roof another knifeman will dash in to fight you and, once you engage him, a second one will hop onto the roof to join him. Kill them both and drop onto the ledge on the left side (where the second guy came from) to find an item and another enemy. Then drop back in front of the church. Go back inside and straight ahead to the door this time, which an enemy will smash in so be careful. Kill him and head outside. Carefully edge around the ledge to an area with a club wielding goon and an item. Then go back where you came out and down the ladder. At the bottom go right (if facing the ladder) and kick down the tree to form a shortcut and also light the bonfire under here. You can leap to the glowing item from here but there is a much safer way (especially if you have anything that reduces fall damage).
Go back outside and right into the copse, this is a wooded area that has plenty of loot and plenty of enemies. Of particular note are the butterflies that are perched around. They drop pollen on you that can rapidly cause poison, so if you see this happening retreat to a safe distance and use a bow/spell to quickly kill them. Ahead of you will be a torch carrying enemy and another knife wielding one, deal with them and look to the left before the bridge. There is an item you can grab here but watch out for the enemy nearby. Kill him THEN grab the loot. Now cross the bridge to meet a hefty Sickle wielding enemy. He only has a few moves, he will rush at you and do a horizontal swipe, he will do two swipes from one side to the other or he will do two overhead attacks where his sickles get stuck in the ground. Get too close and he will also bash you, leaving you open. In truth he is fairly easy to kill. Just dodge or block his attacks and get behind him for critical damage. There is also a ghoul behind him that will constantly run away from you, but always drops a Lifegem when killed.
There is a large area to the left of the bridge that has another sickle guy, as well as two butterflies up in the trees and a couple more regular enemies. Clear them all out, one at a time, and loot all the items you can find. As you do so you will be invaded by a red phantom called the Forlorn. He has a large sword but is actually pretty slow with not too much health, so is easy to kill. You should be able to enter a large cell at the bottom for some loot. Then go back to the first bridge, there is another cell here that you can drop into from above. So head up the path next to it, watch out for more of the thieves at the top, and drop in to grab the item then follow the tunnel outside. Go back up where the thieves were to see a large iron bridge and another cell. Watch out: as when you enter this one a thief will drop in to attack (you can see him from outside) deal with him and pull the lever to lower the bridge. Don't cross it yet, instead head back down to the first stone bridge and look to the left of it to see another bridge you can cross, do so.
Ahead is a Purgatory Guardian. These guys hit hard and fast, so try and strafe around them and open them up for counters when they finish a combo. You should never have to deal with more than one at a time if you follow my advice. Once he is dead loot the nearby corpse for a Notched Whip. They move up the path slowly. Around this corner are five more Guardians on pillars, but if you edge forward you can easily activate them one at a time and then drag them away from the others to deal with. Two of them have whips with a wide reach, but don't offer much more challenge than that. Kill them and head onto the bridge.
If you move forward carefully you will see two holes in the bridge, one of which drops you onto a platform right next to that item from earlier (that was across from the bonfire). Carefully drop onto this ledge and then aim at the ledge with the item - then run BUT DON'T JUMP and you should land right on it. Grab a Token of Fidelity (give it to Targray at the Blue Cathedral to be able to join his Covenant - achievement unlocked) and a Lockstone. From here you can drop down slightly and then jump to a ledge below the bonfire. Follow this path back into the butterfly cave (kill them from here if you can) and then grab the item at the end. You can now drop down using the mushrooms on the walls and deal with a giant basilisk in the water. Open the chest and then press A on the wall opposite to find a secret route back to the earlier church. From there head back up to the wooden bridge.
Undead Purgatory
This area is optional and only consists of two fairly tough fights, with your reward being a bonfire and the chance of joining the Brotherhood of Blood. You can skip it if you want to. Cross the bridge carefully (two weak enemies will hop up) and you will spot a red phantom ahead. This guy can deal some SERIOUS damage and has enough poise to shrug off even the best ultra greatswords. So lets deal with him the cheap way. Get close enough to activate him and then run back over the bridge, just before you reach the bit with the holes turn around. He will have followed you to a point but then start to retreat. At this point you can use a ranged weapon and constantly snipe him so that he re-engages then disengages until he dies. Cheap but effective.
If you don't have spells and arrows, then you will need to avoid his attacks the best you can and try to get a backstab after one of his big swings. Don't be afraid of running back over the bridge to heal as he can easily down you in a couple of hits. Once he is dead you can jump to the ledge on the right of the bridge (as you cross it) to grab an item. Then brace yourself for a boss fight. If you want some help then you can head back to the lowest domed cell in Huntsmans Copse to find a summon sign (if you didn't already use it). Call that guy after you've killed all the enemies leading here and he will follow you up here for the fight.
The Executioners Chariot is fairly simple if you know what you are doing. Basically the chariot will go round and round in circles until you stop it. To your right on entering is a pit so always go left, use the alcoves in the walls to hide from the chariot as it approaches and it should do you the favour of killing the skeletons. DON'T WASTE TIME GRABBING THE ITEMS - you can get them later. The skeletons will keep getting revived until you kill each of the two wizards in this zone (they are both tucked into alcoves. So basically ignore the skeletons unless you HAVE to kill them and stick to the alcoves. When you find a wizard kill them immediately and then the chariot should finish off their skeletons. Keep going to the next wizard and kill him. Then further around there will be a lever on the left hand side that you need to pull to drop a gate - if you reach the other side of the pit you've gone too far.
Once the gate is dropped you end up fighting the horse. I know right? But he is fairly easy to deal with. He does a few breath attacks in a large cone in front of him - so get to his flanks and deal massive damage while he does. He will also charge at you if you distance, do a head swipe up close or kick you with his hind legs if you are behind him. Frankly he should be a joke by now so kill him off and then grab all the nearby loot. Once that is done you can go up the stairs that have opened up, edge along the ledge at the top to find an item, then activate the nearby bonfire. You can also talk to Titchy Gren here to join the Brotherhood of Blood covenant IF you have a Token of Spite (acquired by invading other players or found in a chest just before The Gutter). Or just warp back here and do that when you have the right item. Leave here and head back to that iron bridge we lowered.
NOTE: The NG+ version of the Executioners Chariot drops the Chloranthy Ring +2 (which makes your stamina revive 25% faster. This item is great, feel free to get it now to make your run easier. Use a Bonfire Ascetic in the Purgatory bonfire then go to another bonfire in the Copse. Make your way back here (the enemies lurking on the pillars and the red phantom will respawn) and kill the boss. Use the phantom, as he draws away the skeletons. Once the mages are dead, mop up the skeletons before tackling the chariot. For an easy kill, stand next to an alcove near the lever - snipe the chariot as it comes around the corner and then duck into an alcove. Repeat until it's dead.
Huntsmans Copse
Cross the bridge and spot another cell with an NPC and a bonfire, but we need the key. Don't go in the cave just yet, instead head across the canyon and fight the nearby thief. Another one is nearby and then the path spilts. Head up the slope and you'll spot a corpse with the key in front of you. However, a red phantom will invade as you head up here so be ready (she uses miracles and has slow attacks but no shield so is not too tricky). Watch out for the poison butterflies up here too. Then grab the item and go to the edge that was on your right as you came up and look down. You can carefully drop to another ledge with an item here (and snipe the nearby thieves below). Drop back down to the lower path near to another cell, that has enemies inside and out. Kill them all and grab the items inside.
This path leads to a mist gate but ignore it for now and follow the path back around and into the caves. There is a wizard down the right hand path as you enter, so hustle down there and kill him, to stop him reviving the skeletons, then deal with the two or three skeletons. (You can also kill him from outside, across the ravine by shooting him with arrows). If you need breathing room then drag the skeletons back to kill them, finish off the wizard, and then deal with them again if they were revived. After he is dead grab the item he was stood on. Then go back into the cave and jump to the other item on the middle ledge. Now jump back and take the other path, which leads to another skeleton, a corpse you can loot and a lever to pull to open the gate. Do so and then go through into another cave with more skeletons and a wizard. Make him your priority again and then finish off the skeletons - break the cursed jars ASAP.
You can now grab the items in here and head into the next cave area to kill another skeleton and a dastardly cursed pot. Then exit the caves to be back at the locked cell. Open it and light the bonfire then speak to Creighton and do so until he teaches you a gesture (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) and starts to repeat himself. Once done you can head back to that mist gate.
Inside are the Skeleton Lords which is a pretty straightforward fight thanks to the piles of bones you can easily duck behind to heal. Each of the lords will use pyromancy spells to try and blast you, but you can use the mounds of bodies to block them or just roll out of the way. They have an individual life bar, that also ties in with the overall boss health. CONCENTRATE ON ONE LORD AT A TIME - this is important, as when you kill one they spilt apart into a bunch of lesser enemies. So if you kill all of the Lord's in quick succession you're liable to get swarmed. The enemies that spawn are not so tough, but the wheeled skeletons that roll across the arena can catch you unaware.
Just focus on one Lord until he dies, then lure the lesser skeletons that emerge out of the other Lord's line of fire and kill them. Then move onto the next Lord. If you have summoned another player to help, then make sure you attack the same people as them - as they have a habit of just trying to beat down EVERY Lord at once which makes this fight harder than it needs to be. Once they are all defeated you get the usual rewards and can go out of the new entrance. You'll end up at a bridge, pull the lever to lower it and head across, and down a short ladder, to a new area.
Harvest Valley
Straight ahead of you is a woman sat on a rock, this is Chloanne who sells you rare stones and titanite. Talk to her repeatedly until she says she needs to move on (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) at which point she will then move to Majula when you next rest. Her wares increase as the game goes on so be sure to check back with her from time to time. You can also go through some poison into a cave on the right, just before where she is sat, to find a bonfire to light. If you rest here is will get rid of the poison effect but you will get it reapplied on the way out so be careful.
This area is fairly short but is full of poison clouds and PLENTY of items. My method was just to let myself get poisoned, grab as many items as possible and then retreat to a safe place to heal until the poison wore off. You can also use Monastery Charms or Poison Moss to cure yourself (or Common Fruit to make yourself harder to poison) your choice. It also makes your life easier if you have plenty of arrows or ranged magic. From the bonfire follow the path ahead and round the corner to see a large enemy stood in a pool of green mist. A skeleton will also attack from the left so deal with him first.
The big guys are supremely simple to kill from afar, and also up close but that means getting poisoned. There will either swipe at you or, more likely, shoot a giant ball of dark magic that can do immense damage. From the ledge you are on ALL of these dark attacks will just hit below you, so you are perfectly safe just to fire away from afar until he dies. You can now see multiple corpses in the mist which can be looted for a bevy of items. Watch out as there are a number of hidden crawling enemies and skeletons that will spring to life down there too. Again I just ran into the mist with full health, got them all and let myself be poisoned. The poison meter will tick down even while you are still in the mists so grab everything you can (heal at half health) and then head out of the mist so the poison runs out and you can heal again. Repeat as needed to get everything.
Now you will spot an opening in the mist, just behind where the giant was stood. Head in here and be ready for another skeleton (there is a Fragrant Branch of Yore on a corpse here), then go around the corner to meet Gavlan (the Gyrm from No-Mans Wharf who buys your items) sell him whatever you like and talk to him as much as possible. After this point he will move to the Doors of Pharros and stay there - so be sure to stop by if you feel like selling stuff. Now open the chest next to him and grab the item. Turn around and you can drop into the small poison area below for another chest in the alcove (has a Fire Seed and Divine Blessing so be sure to grab it). Then exit this cave and up the ramp on your right as you go out. Loot the corpse here and continue onwards.
This new area has two flame spellcasters dead ahead and a ramp to your right to a ledge. The flame spells they use pack quite a hit so just use arrows to snipe them from afar. Then go up the ramp and deal with the three hollows that are prowling around on here, and up the ladder on the wall (also loot the corpse while you are up there). From this ledge you can snipe anything else with ranged attacks to save you any risk and they can't hit you at all. Once everything is dead climb up the ladder nearest the gate and pull a lever to open it. Head through and to your right to find another bonfire to light. Sweet.
This next area has a bunch of optional items to grab, most of which are in the poison fog, so be sure to have plenty of healing. Always heal at half health if you get poisoned, and you can always clear out an area then head back to the bonfire to fill up your flask. Don't drop down any of the holes in here. Instead go left and up the path to a boarded off area ahead. A giant will smash through as you approach so watch out. There is another boarded area BEHIND where he is, so you need to lure him into smashing that before you kill him. If you manage it, and then kill him, you can loot four corpses back here for some decent items. Go out of where the giant came from and go right into small area with a chest, open it and then go down into the hole (grab the item on the corpse down here) and run to the opposite end to climb out of the mist.
Now go back to the same path that led to the last giant but look on the right for an opening. Be careful as there are a bunch of the sickle wielding enemies through here that are little more than a pain. Go into the area and try to make them all drop down near you. Then run up the ramp on the left and head around it to the right you can loop these guys round this way, getting hits in when you can, to make it safer. You can also use an Alluring Skull to distract them if you like. The way out of here, if you fancy a quick retreat is through the board sin the top right corner as you entered (after you go up the ramp look right and then run straight ahead to smash them). The enemies will not follow you in here so you could use it as a nice choke point.
Once they are all dead smash all of the wooden boards in this area for a number of handy items. Then go to the exit tunnel go right to find another corpse with another item and drop into the main area. From here look down the holes to find one with a lootable corpse, drop in and grab the item then run to the exit (passing another item) to emerge in a poison pit with two giants. Run up the nearby ramp and heal up.
From here you can snipe the two giants to death and also spot a new hammer wielding foe up ahead, but be alert as an enemy up above will be tossing flame spells your way. The hammer guys can seriously stagger your poise and do massive damage, they generally do either a one or two hit downwards smash or a single horizontal swing. The good news is that you can usually strafe behind then after a smash for an easy backstab, plus they move fairly slowly in general so can be shot from afar. Once they are all dead you will see a number of items in the mist below, including the Chameleon spell (needed for an achievement), so be sure to grab them all. Head back up onto the wooden bridge that the hammer guy was on and go down the small path on the left.
Move on to find a broken down alter. Here you can join the Heirs of the Sun Covenant (achievement unlocked) and engage in jolly co-operation as well as learning a gesture (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT). I advise you to join this covenant ASAP and put down your summon sign at the entrance to 30 boss fights (and complete them successfully to get Sunlight Medals) as you need the max rank in this covenant to get a spell (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) plus when you hit max rank it will be achievement unlocked. A good spot is coming up and you need to bring all 30 medals back to this alter and offer them, one at a time, to rank up.
Head back out of here along the ledge but don't go left to where the pots are at the end. Instead go right and then left and follow the path around to a lower entrance. A manakin will drop down and attack. These guys dodge a lot and can inflict bleed with their claws and knives, but they are fairly frail so try and attack quickly and finish him off. Now go inside and a hammer guy will move towards you. Let him come outside and then deal with him there, as he will smash through some pots and probably poison himself to death. ALL of these pots can cause poison so be careful. Now go back outside and up to the other entrance to activate another hammer guy who, like the last one, will likely poison himself by walking through the nearby pots. Just back off until he dies or help finish him off.
Once he is dead go through the door into Earthen Peak.
Earthen Peak
Walk forward and activate another hammer dude, who you can poison to death by dragging him back through some of the pots in the last room. Now look to your right as you enter, there is a corridor in the bottom corner that we cannot go down yet but REMEMBER THIS SPOT. Lucatiel is down there and we HAVE to come back and speak to her later. For now look up to spot another spellcaster, back up to the entrance and snipe her to death. Then go up the small path. There are small purple enemies here that can release a poison cloud that will infect you rapidly, so quickly kill them (should only take one/two hits). There is a room to the right of the mist door with another manikin so be sure to kill him, then go in the room to the left of that and kill the smaller enemies. Don't go in just yet - stand to the right of the door to activate them and lure them out. Once they are dead you can head in but the chest in here is trapped and only holds a Torch, so it's up to you whether to grab it or not.
Go back outside and left (away from the mist) to the little patch of wood up here. Look down to see another poison enemy that you can drop down to kill, then there is an item right behind you. Carefully drop back on the path and then walk up to the next ledge. Turn around and you'll see a platform over the poisonous water pit. From here aim towards the opening above the platform and run towards it (no need to jump) and you should land on the platform. Kill the poison creature and smash the pots here for an item.
Watch out ahead as a scythe wielder is down the corridor so lure him back here and finish him off. Then move forward but don't stand on the pressure plate that sets off the trap. There is another manikin waiting in an alcove and some items and a chest to find. Move forward, avoiding the trap, and kill the enemies in each alcove before moving forward again. You can then head back to the platform and do a running jump to the exit on the left. Then up the ladder out here and back to the mist door. Time for a rumble.
In truth the Covetous Demon is supremely easy, as his attacks have MASSIVE wind ups and can be easily avoided - if you have a co-op buddy then this should be a cinch. He does have a couple of attacks that may cause you problems though so always obey the first rule: never stand in front of him. If you do so then he may do a grab attack that will do decent damage AND has the annoying effect of removing ALL of your equipped items. They aren't gone for good, just sat in your inventory, but it is troublesome to re-equip them while avoiding him.
Other than that he does a regular swipe if you are in front of him, plus an attack where he rolls onto his tail and slams forward. If you are alongside him he will sometimes roll sideways to flatten you (he will always do this move twice in a row, so if the first one hits run back out of the way). After that attack he sometimes flails around to right himself which can cause damage. He will also sometimes leap in the air and try to crush you. Try and stay behind him if possible and only attack when he has just attacked himself. His tail can be hit from some distance away so always aim for that but other than his roll move, which can catch you out if you are too close, you should have no problem putting him down as his health isn't that great. Once he is dead you should consider putting down your summon sign in the doorway just before this fight, as you will get called open plenty and it's a great way to get medals for the Sun Covenant.
Regardless you need to go out the other exit to a bonfire, activate it and rest up if you need to.
Head out of this room and up the stairs. Watch out: a knifeman is waiting for you at the top. Kill him and you'll see another one up ahead, plus (if you pull the nearby lever) the crucible in this room will raise up and reveal a hammer guy. Kill them both and grab the item. Then look at the other doorway. You'll see a spear knight up ahead, but there are also two archers on platforms to your right. Shoot the knight to activate him and then deal with him in this room. These guys do a big lunge attack, or a rapid combo, plus they like to stagger you with a shield bash if you get too close - though this one can easily be strafed around for an easy backstab. Once he is dead edge forward and use ranged attacks to kill the archers from the safety of your doorway (or from the room below this one). They fire poison arrows so be careful. Once they are dead you can cross the path and then go left. Then immediately run back down the narrow bridge you just crossed. Two manikins will have dropped in. They will eventually stand right in front of the door you just went into, so you can snipe them from afar. Now go back down there and head right, ignore the first door that leads to where the archers were (unless one dropped an item), and go in the next one.
Down the stairs is a ledge to a chest with a Pike, but as you get close another Manikin will hop out from behind it to attack. Go back the way you came and towards the ladder in the far corner and head up the ladder. Turn around to see another spear guy to dispatch, then go through the mist to his right to find a bonfire. Activate it and then light your torch. Turn around and head towards the windmill, you can go up a little ledge in front of you and to the right that lets you set it on fire (it's the spot exactly where the spearman was stood). DO THIS AS A MATTER OF URGENCY!
Now time for a detour. Go all the way back to where you first entered Earthen Peak and the room full of poison water (before the Covetous Demon) go out of the door with all the pots, down the ladder and into the other door that is directly over the pool of liquid. Burning the windmill has cleared some of the poison to your right and made a little path, go down here (watch out for a manikin) and grab an Estus Shard. Then go into the side room down here and speak to Lucatiel (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) assuming you already did so at No-Mans Wharf and the Lost Bastille. Once she repeats herself you can use a Lockstone on the contraption to reveal an image on the wall, attack it to reveal a chest. Now head back up to that last bonfire.
From the bonfire go up some stairs to your left but watch out for the manikin dropping down and then turn around at the top and kill the manikin behind the pots ahead of you (watch out for the bolt trap on the floor) then loot the corpse. Now head up the tall ladder, at the top there will be an archer shooting at you from the right and three manikins will hop up here as you pass certain points. Kill them all then head to where the archer was. Carefully poke your head around the corner and lock on to the spellcaster across from you, then snipe her to death. Then look down at the pots to the right of where she was and smash them to reveal some manikins, snipe them if you can but they may drop down. Look down the hole to spot another manikin, so drop down and kill him. Then break through the pots in this room (carefully as they have poison inside) and finish off the manikins you may have dislodged from above.
There is a spear guy down the corridor to your left, but ignore him for now, drop down to the wooden floor and then go out of the room to find a lever to pull. Do so and then run back into that room and ride the floor to a chest. Go back down and then pull the lever again, only this time don't ride the floor up. Wait and an item will be underneath, grab it and go up the nearby ladder so you don't get crushed. Then head back down to the lever and go past it, kill the manikin out here, and pull the next lever on the wall to open the previously closed gate. Now you can break the small wooden railings here to get to a small ledge. If you go right (while facing the railing) you will snag an item from a corpse. Then you can go left to met with Gilligan. Speak to him and he will sell you a ladder for 2,000 souls that leads to a Lockstone (I suggest you take it) and make sure you talk to him to learn a gesture and until he repeats himself (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT). You can also buy one of his miniatures for 6,399 souls (price goes up after he moves) which you will need later but is not vital right now.
Now go back to the room with the floor you could raise and up the ladder. Go down the hall to kill another spear knight and then head through the first door on the right (that was just before him). In here you will find Pate from earlier (if you spoke to him enough) so be sure to talk to him again. If you summoned him to fight the Last Giant and he survived then he will give you his gear. Out of here you can go left up the stairs to the other side of the hole you dropped down earlier. There is a trapped chest up here with an item in it. Now go back to the stairs and into the door that has you facing another spear guy, snipe him from here though he will probably raise his shield after one hit. You can see a corpse where he was and, with a running jump, you can JUST make the leap if you aim to the left. Grab the item and then jump back, before breaking the fence here and dropping down to the ledge with the locked door.
As soon as you land turn around and go into an alcove behind you to find a chest with a spell in it. Then go back and open the door. Step through and talk to Pate again until he repeats himself. Go back out of the door you came through and go right. Look off the edge to see a platform just below you that you can drop to. Do so and head under here to open a chest for yet another spell. Now turn around and from this platform you can see the item you passed early when crossing the narrow bridge just after the Covetous Demon fight. It is just below and to the left of this platform as you face into the main room. If you stand next to the wooden pillar and aim between the kind of boarded up door area (directly behind the item) then you can do a running jump to reach this item. You get a nice sword for your troubles and can either jump from here to another ledge nearby and work your way up or use a Homeward Bone to warp to the last bonfire.
Either way from the last bonfire head up the steps and turn around to climb the ladder. Go left at the top (the right path just loops back to where you've been) and look to your right as you go through the arch. There are three poison jars here guarding an illusionary wall, smash them carefully and press A to open the wall, there will be a spellcaster with their back to you so backstab them if you like, and go through to find an item. Now go up the stairs behind you and there will be another manikin and a fire mage to the right on a raised platform. Take your time and kill them from afar, or rush in close and end them quickly.
From this ledge you can see two more spearmen guarding a door opposite you, plus some crawling enemies in front of them, that's the path to the boss. You can snipe the guards one at a time to lure them towards you individually. Once they are dead, ignore the door they were guarding and go up the stairs here instead. Be careful as there is a manikin at the top waiting to ruin your day. The ledge he was on seems to lead nowhere, but if you press A on the wall to the left and right side of the poison jars (facing back the way you came) you will open two illusionary walls. One has a handy bonfire you can use and the other has a Petrified Something (remember to take this back to the nest in Things Betwixt when you can).
Now go back down the steps to the poison jar filled room that was halfway up, and carefully smash a few to gain entry (a spear is handy for this or some good ranged weapons). There are some more of the poison creatures in here so kill them all but DO NOT OPEN THE CHEST. It is a mimic, so be sure to attack it and it should perish before it can cause you grief. Grab the item it drops and the one from the corpse. The Lockstone contraption in here can be ignored - if you burned the windmill it will release healing water that also cures poison but with a bonfire so close by, what's the point
Now we can head down and go towards the boss room. There is a summon sign on one side if the stone steps leading to the fight (this guy uses pyromancy and is very helpful) and an item on the other. If you want to use two phantoms then you can head back down to the ledge where you found Gilligan, and there is a sign for Bashful Ray in that corridor - he will follow you back up here. Grab both if you like and then head through the mist - ONLY DO SO IF YOU HAVE BURNT THE WINDMILL NEAR THE SECOND BONFIRE, IF NOT GO AND DO THAT NOW.
Inside is Mytha the Baneful Queen and it's no surprise she is pissed off, as someone removed her head from her snaky body. Move forward straight away to get out of the ring of poison that surrounds the inner arena - if you didn't burn the windmill (YOU FOOL) then this whole area will be covered in poison that will quickly infect you and also heal her. If you did burn the windmill then this should be fairly easy.
Up close she will use her spear to launch a flurry of attacks or one big thrust, she also has a habit of casting soul arrow spells from her head when you are at range or even throwing her head at you (which causes a big explosion when it lands). She will then take a bit of time to go and pick her head up so feel free to get some free hits in. Melee fighters should just stay close to her to lure her into spear attacks and then counter when they can, a good shield will block all her physical attacks with no problems. Just be careful when you get close - as sometimes she will pull back for a big grab attacks, which does a lot of damage AND poisons you. So if you see her winding up for this then roll back out of the way. If you brought the NPC summons in with you then they will likely do significant fire/spell damage to her as well and this fight will be over before you know it.
Once she is dead you'll get the usual bunch of souls and a boss soul, plus you can head out of this room to an elevator leading to the Iron Keep.
Iron Keep
The Keep is a fairly linear area and as soon as you enter you can head down the steps on your left to reach a bonfire. You'll notice an item on the flaming rocks behind here (it's a Human Effigy) and a few more in the following areas. To get them you need a high fire resistance (equip items and rings to help) plus you can use the Flash Sweat spell and also douse yourself in water from pots and Lockstone devices. Even then you will take damage so use an Estus or Lifegem beforehand. I'll let you know when other items like this present themselves.
Go back up to the bridge and look right to spot another item across a bunch of flaming platforms in the distance. It's a Bonfire Ascetic and to get it you can drop of the bridge to a stone platform below then you need to time your leaps across (stopping at the non-flaming platforms to heal). It's probably not worth it but it's your call.
Across the bridge is a Alonne Knight. These guys like to rush you with a forward thrust, then follow up with a rapid combo after a brief pause. Once he is dead a red phantom NPC likes to invade as you enter the open area up ahead (or as you just set foot in the room after you open the doors). Try and deal with him out here as if you move into the room and see two more knights they will quickly rush to join in. If you kill the invader and then rest and come back here then a different red phantom will also invade you at this point, both give you a decent amount of souls and a human effigy each so it's worth killing each of them. Then move ahead and kill the two knights (one straight ahead and one from your right). You'll see an item under a head spitting flames but ignore it for now.
Instead go back to where you came in and go left (if you're facing the exit) down this corridor to the end. You meet Magerold who can burn the incenses you find to lower the requirements for spells, he also sells a Fragrant Branch of Yore and a few other handy items. If you spend a decent amount with him (10-15k) then he will give you a Covetous Serpent Ring +1 that makes it easier for foes to drop items. Leave his room and go right up the steps in the corridor to another Katana guy at the top. Kill him and grab the item from the corpse here - then press A in the alcove to the right of the steps to open an illusionary wall, go in here and grab the item from the corpse. Then press A on the wall opposite the ballista. This will reveal a knight so go behind the ballista and shoot him to death while laughing maniacally.
Now you can go back and get that item (Note: you can turn the flames from that head off ENTIRELY much later on but it will mean a bit of a slog to get back here - your call), go up to the area just before you opened the walls and spy some pots. These have water in them so slow down flame damage. Equip your most flame resistant armour, use an orange burr, use a Flame Quartz Ring, use Flash Sweat etc. THEN smash the pots and get wet. Now you can run back to the flame spitting head, take a swing of Estus or a Lifegem and try and snag the item. Its the Iron Keep Key. This key opens the door that was right next to the Last Giant boss fight, in the Forest of Fallen Giants, which in turn leads to four rather tough drakes and a bunch of decent treasure - so feel free to head back there at any time to check it out. (I also covered that area in the Forest of Fallen Giants section). If you don't want to risk it then just come back here later as it's not essential.
From the key head back up the stairs you just came down and then straight ahead to head outside. Falling off the edges of this area means an instant fire based death, so mind your step when fighting enemies. Straight ahead of you is an Alonne Knight with a greatbow. If you have arrows then now is a good time to kill him from afar to prevent him from being a pain as you proceed, as they fire great arrows that do a lot of poise damage and can easily stagger you while you try to fight other enemies. Once he is dead follow the path to the left to see another knight up ahead, he will rush towards you as you approach, so deal with him quickly and then go forward only to be rushed be another knight.
You'll reach some metal steps going down so head down there. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR HERE - UNLESS YOU'D LIKE A FIREY DEATH. Instead look right to spot another Alonne Knight who will rush at you, deal with him and then pull the lever here to partially lower the bridge. From this platform if you look left (after coming down the stairs) you will see another ledge you can drop onto to reach a ladder. Do so and then climb up the ladder, but be ready for an archer at the top. The archer will probably take his time shooting so close the distance and move to one side and get some hits in. These guys will switch to a damaging lightning sword when you get close, and generally will do one big attack (that you can block) and you will then have a chance to get 2-3 hits in before they attack again. If you are at distance they can do a very RAPID dashing attack that can do a lot of damage, so be warned.
You can now grab the loot up here and also snipe the enemy both across from you (as you came up the ladder) and up and to your left (though he may have already dropped down to rush you at some point). Feel free to do so as they have no way of fighting back. Now you can drop from this ledge back to the main path you were on earlier (before lowering the bridge) and head back there. A knight is on the half lowered bridge so lure him back to you and kill him off. Then hustle across the bridge but don't drop off at the end. Look left straight away as another greatbow knight will have you in his sights. Snipe him from the bridge then drop onto the ledge to the left at the end of the raised bridge for an item then jump to the ledge just below you. Another Alonne Knight will rush up to attack so kill him then use the round handle to turn off the flames in the room attached. From here you can go down some steps towards the lava to open a chest (remember: armour with high flame resistance, Flash Sweat, Orange Burr, Healing items) if you go for it then you have to open the chest AND grab the item before death. If you open the chest and then die it will just close again. A ring of Life Protection is useful here too, but the shield in the chest is not required so don't go crazy. You can then pull another lever on a ledge just below you to fully lower the bridge then head in the door down here and up a ladder. Grab the item behind the next ladder, then climb it but go left at the top and drop down to where you killed a bow knight earlier. Follow the path back to the bridge and head across.
Look right at the end and you'll see two other knights who drop down. Lure the fast one back over the bridge away from his arrow lobbing friend and kill him, then either snipe or melee the arrow guy. Head to where they jumped down and look right at the little stairway with a corpse on it, you need to do a running jump to land on that platform. Aim for the doorway and you should be fine. Grab the item from the corpse. Then head inside here and up the ladder to grab the Zweihander from the chest.
The Lockstone device here just releases water which can be handy if you need to reach items on hot areas but not really required, so you can leave it. Drop off the roof to where you were then head back to near the fog gate. Lucatiel's summon sign is nearby so call her in (needed for an achievement) this is the hardest fight for her to survive so if she already lasted through the Flexile Sentry and Lost Sinner then don't restart if she falls, as an easier boss is coming. If you do want her to survive I recommend trying to summon a second player to aid you - that's what worked for me and the boss died before she took much damage. Either way head through the mist when you are ready though note you can avoid this boss COMPLETELY by going up the ladder I told you to ignore. But why would we do that? Fighting the boss opens up the chance to get his awesome sword and armour.
In here is the Smelter Demon. He is actually a fairly bog standard fight if you have the Gyrm Shield (dropped regularly in the Doors of Pharros) or any shield that blocks 100% physical and high percentages of fire. He uses a couple of combos, either two or three hits, that can be blocked and then countered. He will also thrust towards you which can do serious damage if not blocked/dodged but leaves him open straight after. After taking some damage he will then partially set himself on fire, he then starts to do a jump attack which leaves him stuck in the ground. DO NOT ATTACK HIM AT THIS POINT - back away as he likes to send out a fire blast that will damage you even if blocking. With even more damage he will set himself on fire to the max and you WILL take damage just by being close to him - this is generally what kills Lucatiel - so at this point you want to try and rush to finish him off before she dies. Don't stick too close though as it will gradually chip away at your health. If you need to heal the best time is after his thrust attack or his jump (attack after you have backed out of blast range). He is susceptible to lightning so feel free to his a weapon with that element (or Gold Pine Resin) or any Faith based spells of that nature. Once he dies you get his soul (mwa ha ha!) and can head up the stairs behind him. Open the chest up here and light the bonfire.
Note: After resting at this bonfire (or any other) if you go BACK into the Smelter Demon room the Pursuer will spawn again (even if you killed him earlier). This is not a boss fight in the traditional sense and is entirely optional. He has the same amount of health and follows the EXACT same pattern as before. If you kill him here you will get a lot of souls and the Ring of Blades +1 which boosts your attack. I'd recommend killing him as he is much easier when you know what you're doing. You can normally get a hit in while he spawns and his first move is pretty much ALWAYS the cursed sword thrust so be sure to dodge it. Otherwise just dodge past his charge attacks to the right, hit him once and repeat. By now you can even block most of his strikes (barring the curse attack) if you have a decent shield/stamina.
From the bonfire you can open the door and be face to face with another Knight (if you rested), be sure to deal with him ASAP and watch out as he will happily follow you into the bonfire room. The ladder here leads back to where you came from so don't bother going down there unless you want to farm for souls. All of the knights in the preceding area give out a lot of souls, so feel free to kill them repeatedly if you like.
The next true port of call is the little arch up here that leads to an ironclad soldier and some more Alonne Knights. Lure the knights back to you first then rush the ironclad before he can smash the floor away. If you snipe the Ironclad with arrows/spells he won't smash the floor and will move towards you as well. Your choice. It is best to lure them back to where you came from as the platform there has more room, one casual mistake on the bridge they occupy and you are lava bound. The Ironclad here have the exact same attack patterns as their counterparts in the Forest of Fallen Giants. So get in close, bait them into a single swing or overhead, hop back and then step in for an attack. Repeat until they die.
Cross their bridge (watching out for the hole if there is one). In the next room there are plenty of archers around you so watch out. Snipe the archers around you. Then pull the lever on the right side of this platform. It will drop the middle section into the lava (potentially killing some enemies but lowering some more). Use a bow or spells to deal with the remaining enemies if you like. Time for an optional jaunt.
Go in the door on the left of this first platform to find a Lockstone device. Activate it (you should have plenty if you haven't been using them) and smack the wall it highlights to get to Belfry Sol.
Belfry Sol
Head up the ladder to find a bonfire you can activate and rest at. Then go up the next ladder to find the Bellkeeper (you can join his Covenant again here if you choose to - I would recommend doing so if you have finished up your 30 Sunlight Medals). Before you wander out of the fog door you MAY want to join a party (just set one up by yourself) which will drag you into offline mode and prevent you getting invaded - as that happens A LOT in the Bellkeeper zones.
Now go through the fog door but be ready for an attack, a black phantom Bellkeeper and another in the form of a witch will attack you. The Bellkeeper has pretty short range so try and deal with the witch first (if you have the Grym shield it will block most of her flame spells) but don't lure them into the tower as you may hit the Covenant guy and anger him. There is a white phantom you can summon just around the right corner of the building you come out of too, so feel free to use him.
Once they are dead there are two more dwarf phantoms behind the pillars on your left (from where you came in) then another dwarf phantom and a large sword wielding phantom just ahead of them. Feel free to snipe them from afar to lure them in. You MAY also see a Red Phantom wielding two swords stood by the wall straight ahead - this guy is a random spawn, and can spawn INFINITELY (as long as you are in the Bell Keeper Covenant) even if you farm the other enemies here to extinction. Also bear in mind that all the black phantoms that AREN'T the small Bellkeepers will only appear once also. Now the good thing about this Red Phantom is that killing him DOES count towards ranking up the Bellkeeper Covenant and you HAVE to get that one to level 2 in order to get the Hidden Weapon spell (needed for an achievement).
Regardless of if he is there or not, snipe the small Bellkeeper first and lure him towards you to finish him. Do the same with the Red Phantom if he is there, this guy has a lot of rapid combos but has a weird quirk. If you hit him during a combo, he will then start a combo going AWAY from you (happens 90% of the time) at which point you can run behind him and backstab him pretty much every time. Once they are dead you can deal with the sword phantom, who does have a hefty attack but can be quickly caught in a combo and finished off with relatively few issues.
Ring the bell in one tower and then head down the side of the other for an item you can grab, before going back inside and up the ladder. At the top is a crossbow wielding phantom, he is easy to dispatch at close range but can fire three bolts at a time so be aware of that if blocking. You may also get invaded by a scripted enemy while up here (he will appear in the same room that you can activate the bell) so feel free to go back down and kill him if you like, he is just a red version of the dwarf phantoms. Up here you can go down the right side of the roof (after coming up the ladder) for another item you can grab. You'll notice two more dwarf phantoms and a sword phantom in the courtyard below and, if you get close they will be activated. The dwarves will start firing arrows while the sword guy will climb a small ladder and chase you onto the roof. Let him come to you while you use the roof to keep out of range of the arrows. Once he is dead you can snipe the others from afar or go down to deal with them. Either way go into their area for an item and then through the door to find a chest you can loot for a unique spell (needed for an achievement).
Go down the stairs to find another corpse to loot and go along the narrow corridor to be back in Iron Keep. Turn right near the end and then press A on the wall here to open it up (this is before you drop down) then head in to loot two chests. Now you can drop down near where you first climbed up to Belfry Sol and grab another chest straight ahead. I would then recommend going back to the Belfry Sol bonfire and farming the Red Phantom with two swords that I mentioned earlier. You need to kill him 30 times (or kill 30 Grey Phantoms while online - it's EITHER/OR the number is cumulative with both). He doesn't appear every time, sometimes he will appear four times in a row, sometime she won't appear 10 times in a row. To get him to spawn just rest at this bonfire, climb the ladder, run to the ballista and look left. If he is there - kill him, if not go and rest at the bonfire again then try again.
Before you drop down I would recommend equipping a Southern Ritual Band (only if you DON'T have attunement slots) and the Flash Sweat spell. You should still have the Pryomancy Flame you got from No Man's Wharf as well.
Iron Keep
Once you are done with Belfry Sol and, assuming you've rested, the central platform our here will have reset itself. You can also snipe all of the archers from the top of the ladder leading back to the Iron Keep if you so wish. Then go back down and pull the lever to again. Go up the stairs here and straight ahead is a Crystal Lizard that will run into the lava if you don't kill it fast. Be careful of the square platforms up here as each has a black button on the walkway nearby that will cause it to drop permanently (good for killing enemies, but bad for navigating around). Down to the left side, past the Crystal lizard is another archer in the far corner and a corpse to loot. Leading up to him are three more trap buttons that activate lava flows DO NOT PRESS THESE. Kill the archer and spot an item and a chest on the flaming platforms near him. Ignore those for now. Head back up the stairs to the main platforms and edge past the flaming heads that you lowered. On the left hand side is a corpse with an item and in the middle is a ladder you can climb.
Go up here and DO NOT SMASH THE WATER HOLDERS YET. Instead head towards the chest and give it a smack first as it is another Mimic, you should be able to kill it before it can bother you and then grab the items it drops. Now to go and get that chest on the flame path as it has a spell we cannot get anywhere else (needed for an achievement). Equip any gear you have with high flame defence, plus a Flame Quartz Ring if possible, and be sure to have Flash Sweat (a spell that can be bought from Rosabeth), if you don't have any attunement slots you can equip a Southern Ritual Band (one in Belfry Luna or Brightstone Cove) then attune the spell at a bonfire. Now roll through the water containers up this ladder and then head back down and drop onto the steps to your left (as you face the bottom of the ladder) just before the flame platform. Now use ALL of your Flash Sweat spells at once and you should be able to cross this platform and open the chest with no issues, heal as you head back and grab the other item near the steps for good measure. Once done you can head back up to the ladder to where you killed the mimic.
Go up the stairs here to find another chest, but watch out as another red phantom will invade you at this point. He has a lot of health but with a bigger weapon (I had the Zweihander) he can be easily stun locked to death and continue up into a room with a Lockstone contraption (don't bother activating it) if you go up the stairs in here you will end up outside with three archers. Try and pick them off from the stairwell before dropping down as it makes your life much easier. Now drop into their area and open the chest here and grab the item from the corpse for good measure. Now look into the central hole to see beams you can drop onto. Do so carefully and you'll find a corpse to loot as you go down. You will eventually be on a beam above a melting pot with an item bearing corpse, from here you can easily snipe a couple of Knights on beams below you. Do so to make your life easier, then carefully drop onto the rim of the pot and grab the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring (you can get the +1 version of this by spending over 15k with Magerold in the Iron Keep). Then you can drop onto the beam the enemy was on and traverse it to the end to drop down near the door.
Feel free to go through the fog gate here if you like (it leads back to the other room) and then head down these stairs into a corridor with an Ironclad. It is easy to bait him into using his overhead attack in this narrow area so do so, then deal with him as normal. Then pull the switch he was near to open the gate and head under it go ahead to another Ironclad RIGHT AROUND THE NEXT CORNER. Run back the way you came and under the barrier you raised. If you bait him into an attack while he is under it, it will eventually drop and crush him. Or you can use it to block him off and snipe him from the other side. Once he is dead you can enter a room with fire breathing statues. Ignore the item in here for now and go past the flames and up the ladder in the back left corner (from where you enter). At the top cross to a second ladder and go up to find a bonfire you can activate and a switch you can pull. Do so to turn off all the fire breathing heads. You can now get the item in the room below AND head back to the first Iron Keep bonfire, then cross the bridge and get the Iron Keep key in that first room (which lets you clear out the optional area in the Forest of Fallen Giants that I spoke about here).
Once you have rested up go back down the ladders and out the exit near the bottom ladder to meet another Ironclad. Kill him and then get ready for a boss. Follow the path to the fog gate and be prepared. You can summon a white phantom from the rooms just after the last bonfire if you need a hand. Again a good recommendation for this fight is the Gyrm Shield as it blocks 100% fire damage, though be warned that the bosses crushing downward attacks are unblockable and will do severe damage.
Summon an ally if you can and then head through the gate to meet the Old Iron King. This guy wades towards you and will stay in the same spot UNLESS you hide behind the walls of the house too long, at which point he will resurface near to where you are stood (you can use this to position him where you want). Ducking behind the edges of the stone walls is a good idea for healing but note that his flame breath and flame laser (for want of a better term) attacks CAN hit you through the walls and push you into the lava. Better to heal while he is recovering from a combo or big attack.
Anyway he is generally not that hard. Feel free to two hand your weapon and only pull a shield if you want to block his flame breath. He will do a single horizontal swing, that you can roll under, followed by an overhead one handed smash, that you can dodge. He will then be open for a couple of counter hits. He also like to do a flame breath attack that starts on one side of the area and sweeps across the arena and he will do this more often the further away you are. If you are stood far enough to one side it will stop before reaching you, but be warned that it can easily push you backwards into the lava even if blocked. If you do block it will nullify the damage but you will loss a LOT of stamina, though you will have plenty of time to regain it. He also does a massive double handed smash attack that cannot be blocked, so be sure to dodge this and then counter while he recovers. Once he has lost a bit of health this attack will gain a massive fire splash effect too, so don't try your luck.
His other attack sees him draw back one hand and then push it forward to fire a flame beam at you, this is easy to dodge BUT it can go through walls and if you walk into his hand while he is doing this it will mean an inst-death so watch out. Other than that, stick close to him and roll through his swings and away from his smashes then pick him off while he recovers. Use a shield to block his flame breathe and you'll be fine, most of the time he will not even do the beam attack if you are close by and his overhead smash can be dodged by running away as soon as he telegraphs it - then coming back to deal some damage once he recovers.
Once he dies you will get his soul, and a bunch of souls of course, then you can go into the small ruined building here and open the chest. Then down the stairs to light yet another Primal Bonfire (achievement unlocked) plus you'll notice another room behind here that leads to one of the DLC areas, but for now warp back to Majula. If this is the first time you have returned to Majula since speaking to Gilligan in Earthen Peak (shame on you) then you will get Gathering of Exiles (achievement unlocked) upon your return for upping the local population (if this didn't happen then you missed someone, check here to be sure). After that achievement pops you can also speak to Crestfallen Saulden to perk him up a bit and get a Soul Vessel for bringing him some buddies. Yay!
Shaded Woods
Now head back to where you freed Rosabeth. Once back at the bonfire head up the stairs and out of the door. The path here is linear but watch out for enemies on your way. Eventually two of them will rush you, while two more throw things at you from a ledge above and to the left. Kill the first two and then head up to finish off the stone throwers (they are pretty weak) and grab an item. Continue on this path to find a big group of enemies and a few more objects, just take your time and kill them one by one. Eventually you will come to another bonfire so activate it and rest if you need to. This room has some steps going upwards and three exits. Go for the one on your left (if facing the bonfire from where you entered).
You'll see some Falconer enemies ahead. These guys move awkwardly and have rapid combos so be careful. Fall back to the bonfire room if needs be. Once they are dead move forward under the big stone arch and then look left. You'll see two more Falconers you can kill here, plus one off to your right. Kill them and loot the corpse up here.
Go back to the path you were on. At the end you will spy a white phantom by a rock. You can't lock onto these enemies and they use bow and melee attacks, so snipe him from afar or rush in close and finish him. If you go for melee then watch out for the path to the left that has another enemy who will rush to attack you as you move past him. Once he is dead you can loot the corpse he was guarding. The side path leads to the Shrine of Winter which will only open when you have activated the four primal bonfires.
Now head back to the last bonfire and take the next door to your left, follow it to a white tree but look out for the little cursed dogs on the way. Around the corner is a hefty Cyclops so just arrow him to death while backing away for an easy time and then grab the item behind where he was. The Red Tearstone Ring is useful when used correctly, but does leave you vulnerable (as you need low health to benefit). You can follow this path to another late game enemy for some bonus souls if you like. Nothing else this way so head back to the last door, which leads to a misty forest.
This area can be frustrating. The enemies are invisible and CANNOT be locked onto. Depending on your screen settings you might be able to see them though (I could) and if you do damage them then their health bar will pop up on screen making them easier to deal with. The foes all have swords and crossbows and the first you know about them will usually be when they attack you. Keep your shield up as you move to get through quickly. I will guide you to the major items.
As soon as you enter move forward and follow the right hand wall, it will lead you to an item on a corpse. Keep following this wall until you come up a small incline to a chest - open it but watch out for enemies while you do so. There is a cliff edge on the other side of the chest so be careful. Now turn and keep the cliff on your right side, then move forward until you hit another wall. Put that on your right again and move forward up another small ledge to a second chest. Grab what is in there and drop off, still following that same wall along and around until you come out of the mist and see some stone steps leading up to your left. Don't leave here just yet.
Turn away from the steps and follow the wall to your right again, it will eventually lead you up another incline to a ruined stone circle with some pillars. Look behind the circular wall, on the opposite side of where you came in for an item, then examine/speak to the pile of bones here. This is Vengarl and he has an interesting story. Keep speaking to him and he will give you his helmet (achievement unlocked) then you can learn a gesture (needed for an achievement), buy items and will be told of his headless body roaming around. Once he repeats himself, go back the way you came and follow the left hand wall back to the stone steps. At this point you can turn around and head STRAIGHT into the mist to find a cursed pot and another item nearby if you like. After that, come back here and go up the steps into the Shaded Ruins and activate the bonfire behind the green ramp to your right. It might be helpful at this point, if you have enough souls, to head back to Majula and buy the Ring of Whispers from the cat as we will need it shortly.
Shaded Ruins
Head up the ramp here to find an item at the top plus another of those annoying invisible enemies. If you look to your left you will see a small stone bridge. You can do a running jump to this area from up here. Once you land you can go into the ruins to your left to face another pesky basilisk and find a corpse to loot. The way through here is blocked by a stone (you MAY be able to free him but don't bother). Instead turn around and face the stone bridge you jumped onto, from here you can jump back onto the main bridge and into a room with a chest. Grab the item and then jump out the opposite window onto a small slope.
Move up it to your left and you will start to get cursed. Immediately smash the nearby evil pot - that's right EVIL POTS WANT TO CURSE YOU! There are a few of them in this area and you should try and smash them before they become a hassle. Facing where the pot was go left, past an opening you can't reach, to find a corpse you can loot at the end. Now go back the other way and spot another petrified lion guy. Kick down the rotten tree near him to form a bridge back to the bonfire. If you have some Tree Root (you should have) you can use it on this gentleman. He is NOT happy to see you. Your best bet is to go over the tree you just kicked down and lure him back to the much wider bridge.
His attacks can cause a build up of the curse ailment (which drops your max health of that bar goes from red/yellow to green/purple) even if you block. Plus he can do a LOT of damage with a successful hit. Luckily they are easy to lure into a loop of the same attack. Keep your shield up and step in, he should start a big solitary swipe. Immediately hop/roll back and then step in to hit him, then repeat until he dies. You shouldn't really get hit if you get the timing down, but a shield will prevent that being an issue. Just remember to manage your stamina if you do block. Sometimes they do a multiple hit combo but with this method it is VERY rare. Once he dies he will drop a Fang Key which will be handy shortly.
Now you can head down the bridge (there is a small ramp down to some loot about halfway across) but watch out for the gap in the middle. The next bit needs a bit of speed to make your life easier so follow closely. Before you reach the end of this bridge there is a cursed pot on the ledge above you.
Go to the end of the bridge and out the door on the left (you should have started getting cursed) immediately go right and then right again to double back on yourself. There is an open stone door leading to the top level of the bridge. You want to RUN through this door and jump to the left hand platform where the pot is, breaking it as you land. Grab the chest at the end of this top section and then turn around.
Jump back across and look right. You'll see a wooden covered pit with an item across it (this will collapse if you stand on it so watch out). However, of more immediate concern are the two cursed post to your right with another invisible guy sat near them. Smash the pots before fighting him. Then edge around the wood floor to grab the item. Now look past where the last enemy was stood to see another cursed pot against a stone wall on the left. Go and smash this first. Then look back above where you got the last item to see two more invisible guys on the ledge overlooking it. You don't have to attack these guys if you don't feel like it.
There is another cursed pot (and an item in a large barrel) in the ruins to the right of the exit here (a slope leading up). There is also another petrified guy you can heal (need Fragrant Branch of Yore but if you have one then I recommend using it here) to open up an area to another chest, which gives you another Fragrant Branch of Yore plus armour, so go for it. Now look at the stone arch and go in the right hand doorway and all the way up the stairs to find some items to snag as well as Creighton of Mirrah to talk to (do so until he repeats). Go back down to the bottom and, with those steps at your back, go left. Hidden in the grass here is a wooden floor that you can fall down into an area with a chest and a certain Darkdiver Grandahl. Speak to him (needed for an achievement) and he refuses you. You need to find him twice more in other places to join his Covenant.
Look off the ledge here. Below you are a number of orange pools - DO NOT STAND IN THEM, as they will rapidly break your armour and rings which can only then be repaired at a blacksmith. Drop down carefully and go up the right hand passage, avoiding the liquid. There are five basilisks up here that run out from the left and right caves. Lure them back into the bigger cave below and you should be able to take them on one at a time. If you are struggling you can drop out of the hole in the wall and it leads back to the bonfire. Once they are all dead, grab the loot in their caves, and use the Fang Key to open the wooden door. Grab the item in here (another Fragrant Branch of Yore, replacing the one we used to get the key) and speak to Ornifex. Keep talking until she tells you to meet her up ahead. She is a very handy addition.
Go back through the caves and up to the top of the bridge again. This time go left. There are a couple of cursed pots and a petrified lion man in the ruins to the right of here. You need to open the chest behind where the petrified lion man was as it has a unique spell, Repair (needed for an achievement). So if you have used a branch to get the chest (with replacement branch) and Fang Key (with replacement branch) in this area feel free to nab this chest right now. Turn around from where that was and you should see another cursed pot under the tree. Smash the pot.
Go to the other side of the building behind that pot to find a corpse to loot along with another nearly invisible enemy then get ready to rush inside. There are three cursed post in here. One above the entrance (that you can only get by ranged attacks) one on the same floor you go in and one down the stairs beneath you. Run in and kill the first pot to your left then drop down the stairs. WATCH OUT as there is another invisible guy waiting for you. Turn around and you'll see a bunch of barrels, the next pot is behind them on the right so smash it. Destroy the barrels for an item too. Head outside here to find an open area and some ruins to your left, go into the ruins to smash another pot, and around the corner to find a Titanite Bug you can quickly kill for some loot. Then drop down and speak to Manscorpion Tark - the only way to get him to talk to you is to have the Ring of Whispers equipped (which is purchased from the cat in Majula) he will then ask you to kill the nearby boss for him. Go up the stairs opposite him and into the other bit of those ruins to find an item. If you follow the stone passage next to those steps it leads to a petrified lion man, behind him is the body of Vengarl - if you kill his body you get some gear, then you can talk to Vengarl for some more items and he will be available for certain bosses too. Then head back to the main area.
Directly opposite where you first entered this whole area are some ruins with three more Lion Warriors, some cursed pots and a bunch of items. Lure the lions out into the main area so they are easier to fight then smash all the pots and grab the loot in the ruins here. There is yet ANOTHER petrified lion guy in the back corner here, who will drop a unique mask when killed but it is not vital so leave him if you want to save your branches.
Side note: Fragrant Branches of Yore. There are enough of these in the game to depetrify most statues you will come across but it is worth doing them in a certain order of importance. The first Branch should be used to free Rosabeth, then the second can be used to get both the Fang Key and Repair spell in the Shaded Woods (as the branch is replaced each time), after that I would recommend you free Straid in the Lost Bastille for his spells/weapons, then use the next two in either/or Things Betwixt and Heide's Tower of Flame - as both lead to an Estus Shard. You'll grab two in The Gutter up ahead and be sure to save ONE of those to get to Lucatiels last summon point. The rest you can do with as you wish. Though I would save one for the Shrine of Amana later on.
For now go back to the stone arch near to where we fell down to speak with the Darkdiver and head up through it to a mist gate. Before going through you should be as ready as possible. The Scorpioness Najka boss behind the mist does a mixture of melee and magic attacks, so having appropriate equipment can help a lot. I personally used the Bell Keepers shield which I acquired from Belfry Luna while killing the grey phantoms there (not sure if it's a random drop or a reward for killing the red phantom that is scripted to spawn). This shield blocks 80% of magic damage so is ideal, though if you have anything with better stats than that then go with that instead. I tended to have two shields equipped - one that blocked 90%+ physical and one that blocked 80%+ magic. Go in with the magic one equipped at first.
Also, if you spoke to the nearby Scorpion man he will be available for you to summon outside of the mist gate (assuming you are human) so be sure to do so, there is a second summon sign here as well so feel free to use them both if you like.
Once you enter the mist you will see Najka buried in the sand shooting magic at you. You will also notice a corpse (with an item) stuck on a tree in the back left corner - the ONLY way to get this down is if the boss attacks the tree during the fight so try and lure her over there. Though it is only a Flame Butterfly so no big deal if not. Block her spells and move towards her (or edge around behind her) so that she emerges from the sand fully.
She will now switch between magic and physical attacks, but the magic ones are well telegraphed by her summoning glowing blue balls around her or charging up a rapid fire magic blast. When she does either of these switch to your magic blocking shield (you can also dodge them with good timing) but at all other times use your physical resistant shield remember to switch with the d-pad depending on her attacks..
Her physical attacks come in a few forms. She will do a one hit slash in front of her, a thrust move and a three hit combo. She will also do a tail swipe if you are behind her, and has two other attacks with her tail that strike in front of her. One of them has a big wind up so be sure to get out of the way - otherwise she will impale you with her tail and then pump poison into you. The other is a two hit tail attack that leaves her exposed for a good time. Finally she will occasionally jump in the air and burrow underground, then try and burst out underneath you. When this happens keep as much distance as you can as this move cannot be blocked and does a ton of damage. You can see her progress by the dust she throws up while moving underground.
Stick close to her and block/dodge her regular attacks. When she over commits and you have a clear opening you can strike and you best bet (for 2/3 hits at a time) are after either of her tail attacks. Remember to block/dodge her magic (easier if locked on) and keep away from her when she goes underground and you should be fine. Once she dies it will be another batch of souls and another boss soul trophy. Hurrah! Also, be sure to take Scorpioness Najka's soul to Straid in the Lost Bastille and swap it for a spell you can't get anywhere else (needed for an achievement).
Grab the loot from the corpse (if she knocked it down) and be sure to head back to Manscorpion Tark to report your success (you WILL need to rest at a bonfire in order for him to reappear) he will give you a Fragrant Branch of Yore AND teach you a gesture (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT). Then head back here and out the newly opened doorway.
Doors of Pharros
This next area can either be incredibly quick or a slog towards an optional boss (and the first chance to join the Rat King Covenant) so it is up to you. I'll assume you want to kill EVERYTHING you can so we'll take on the boss.
After following a winding corridor into this area you will see a large elephant like creature ahead of you. These guards can pack quite a punch but are similar to the big knights from earlier. They have a one hit swipe or a thrust, plus a two hit swing and a big wind up where they attack you with their trunk. All of which can be easily stepped around/blocked while you strike back from the sides. Once he is dead look up the stairs on the left side of the room and you'll see a dwarf with a large shield. This guy generally does a one of hammer attack or a rapid three hit attack (watch out as it can do a lot of damage) but should be easy to dispatch. These guys can drop a GREAT shield which blocks 100% physical and 100% fire damage and can be very useful.
He was stood by a torch so look left of that to see another enemy with his back to you by a chest. Backstab him to death and open the chest for some loot. At this point you can continue up these stairs to the exit or drop back down into the water to explore further. We'll do the latter. Drop into the water and you'll see an opening to your left so go under the archway to find a bonfire to activate and rest at.
Go through the other arch in this bonfire room to reach a new area, full of Pharros Lockstone doors. Some of these doors lead to treasure, some lead to enemies and some lead to absolutely nothing. I didn't have enough stones to open EVERY lock so don't have a definitive list of which area leads to rewards or not. Also be aware that you can often be pulled into fights with Rat Covenant players, so if you want to just continue let them kill you and you'll be warped back to exactly where you were before being summoned.
Interesting point to note: if you are a member of the Rat King Covenant NONE of the enemies in here will attack you or can BE attacked in turn.
For now head forward to meet another Elephant guard, there is also a rat that will rush in to attack and he can quickly poison you even if you block. Try and kill him first if possible and then finish off the Elephant. On the left side of this room (as you enter) you can find an alcove that will lead you up to a lootable body in this area.
Drop back down to the water and you will see a Lockstone door straight ahead - it's a big one that requires three stones to fully open. However, I just used one (on the middle device on the floor in the water) which opened the lowest part of the door and gave me access. There is another Elephant inside and then a chest with a handy weapon. But that is entirely optional.
If you did/didn't open that device go left to another item on a corpse (from the area where you dropped down from the lootable corpse) then go through the door and more rats will rush to attack you. Finish them off and climb the ladder here. There are two dwarf guards at the top, but you should be able to deal with them one at a time. From the top of the ladder (facing away from it) go left to a narrow passage leading to a dwarf and chest (watch out as he can activate spikes on the wall leading to him if you aren't fast). Kill him and open the chest. Then follow the ledge to some small steps, there is a corpse on the far side, then head up them.
Through here you can cross a ledge ahead to more dwarf enemies and more lockstone areas (most are useless) then follow the path around to a final dwarf, kill him and go into the door near where he was. This is an entrance leading to a bonfire and a mist door. The boss in here is entirely optional and pretty annoying, plus you only get the usual soul/boss soul rewards and the chance to join the Rat King Covenant afterwards so the choice is yours.
Enter the mist if you want to face the Royal Rat Authority and nothing will immediately happen. You'll see four of the small poison rats directly ahead of you and they will charge you when you attack/get close, and on the ledge high above them is the giant rat boss himself. He will hop down to face you about 10-20 seconds after you activate his minions. The trick here is to kill the minions AS FAST AS POSSIBLE without getting poisoned. Which can be a challenge on its own. Ideally they should all be dead before the boss engages you, but this is not always possible depending on how they group up. Remember that they can poison you even if you block so try and have some Common Fruit or Green Moss handy to heal it.
At some point the boss will probably come barrelling in towards you and, if you are locked onto the smaller rats, do a lot of damage. Once the smaller rats are dead you can focus on him. He does only a few attacks but they can be troublesome. When you are close he will generally do a two hit swipe attack, once with each front leg, or rarely a big bite. This is usually your best chance to attack as while he goes for this you can roll between his legs, like the Last Giant, and get under his body then swing away at either his back legs or the front leg he isn't swiping with. Be aware that sometimes he will try and stamp on you when you get under him, but he has a VERY obvious tell for this move so you can easily roll away.
After most attacks he will jump away from you and this is where the problem comes in. He will either then jump back and go for the usual attacks again or, more annoyingly, do a massive charge attack towards you which locks on slightly and is hard to dodge. You can block this to avoid all damage but it wipes out ALL of your stamina so if he follows it up with another attack straight after you may be in trouble.
Your best strategy is to stay as close as you possibly can (which can be hard due to his erratic hopping around) and reduce the number of charge attacks he does. When he goes for one of his swipes, then dodge under him and get some attacks in. He doesn't have a ton of energy if you are well equipped but it is tricky to heal thanks to him attacking in clusters. Try and heal up when you roll under him rather than attacking if needs be. Once dead you get the usual loot and can head out of the newly opened exit. Follow this path into a new room and look to your left to meet the Rat King, who will let you join his Rat King Covenant (achievement unlocked) if you want to in exchange for the tail you just got. Also, be sure to take the Royal Rat Authority soul to Straid in the Lost Bastille and swap it for a spell you can't get anywhere else (needed for an achievement).
After that just drop out of the opening to be back near the entrance to the Doors of Pharros, with the first dwarf on your right (if you have rested since killing him). Kill/ignore him and then go left from where you dropped down. This leads you into a room with a spiral, stone staircase which will also have Gavlan in it (if you have met him in his two other spots by now) so grab the item and feel free to wheel and deal as you see fit, then head up the stairs and along a corridor until you see an axe wielding dwarf at the end.
He will throw BOTH of those giant axes at you, one at a time, so be careful as they do mega damage if they connect. Luckily they move pretty slowly so should be easy to dodge and, once he is weaponless, you should have no problem killing him off. Another titanite creature is behind him but will probably fling itself off the edge before you can kill it (it's better to come back here from the other side after you've rested - as he will have respawned and be easier to kill). In the corridor to the right of that beastie is another dwarf with his back to you, so backstab him for critical damage. Back into the main corridor and go right to deal with the last dwarf, though try not to fight him on the narrow ledges if you can help it. After he dies you can follow the pathway straight ahead to a broken fountain and some pots you can smash for items. Do so and enter Brightstone Cove Tseldora.
Brightstone Cove Tseldora
You'll find yourself at the Royal Army Campsite, so look to your left and spot a bonfire you can light/rest at. The camp has a bunch of Falconers wandering around, plus three in towers/higher ground as archers. Pick off the archers first - WATCH OUT as they like to rapid fire two arrows at a time which can be pretty damaging. Then snipe one Falconer enemy at a time and they will rush you for a fight. Two of the tents also have Falconer guys hidden inside, but you can snipe then through the tent flaps to activate them. There is also an enemy digging up the ground near a bunch of items. Go over and kill him quickly. He is a slightly tougher version of the earlier enemies, with more health and a weapon that can cause ailments even if you block. They generally do a big, and slow, swing or a flurry of attacks. Both of which are easily dodged/blocked. If you didn't kill all of the Falconers then another enemy may rush in while you are fighting so be careful. Once they are dead loot the items and then smash the wooden platforms near to you. One will drop a corpse with an item and another has a further enemy on it.
Nearby you should spot a couple of large pigs that will try and attack you. They will rush forward and throw themselves at you, leaving them wide open for a counter, or do single attacks from the front and back. No real concern. Once they are all dead go up the ramp in the corner, by the well, and grab the item. You can then jump off the top and into the well but be sure to have a SMALL weapon equipped first, as there is another pig at the bottom and you won't be able to swing a big sword in the narrow corridor. Sometimes you might just break the roof, so try again. Kill the pig and grab the item then head up the ladder at the end. Roll through the crates up here but beware as the chest is another Mimic and it's pretty enclosed. Kill him and grab the loot. There is an NPC summon point in a tent here IF you're human, but it's best to hold off using it for a while.
First of all follow the path out of the camp and spot some boulders above you and corpse on the edge of the cliff, next to an enemy. DON'T LOOT IT YET. Instead run past the enemy to the ladder and climb up. One of the idiots above you will kill himself with the boulder, then kill the other two enemies up here (and the wooden thing holding the other boulder). Grab the item from up here. You can also use this vantage point to snipe the four enemies on the path ahead of you - or try and lure them one by one (they will NOT climb the ladder). Your choice but be careful of getting swarmed. Follow the path around and come to a cliff edge. To your right is a corpse with an item and to your left are three more goons - they will rush you as soon as they see you. Kill them and then grab the item and open the doors.
Follow the path to a seemingly empty room - but if you stay in the door you can snipe three spiders from on the ceiling and walls. Then go down another path to a room with a chest in it. Again, look around to see a bunch of spiders you can snipe. Once you shoot one a LOT of them will drop down and hustle towards you, so back away and snipe them as you go or use a weapon/spell with a big reach to kill a bunch at once.
Once they are all dead open the chest and grab the item and go through the far door, look up before you enter to kill yet another spider. Another mist portal greets you and this one leads to an odd boss fight but ignore it for now. There is also an illusionary wall in this little room (directly opposite where you entered) that leads to a corpse you can loot, but watch out for a spider above it. Don't go through the mist - instead head back to the Royal Army campsite and find the summon sign for Benhart (it's in a tent that had a suit of armour stood in it) for the upcoming battle (NEEDED FOR AN ACHIEVEMENT) make sure he survives the boss fight in order for it to count. Also make sure he doesn't get stuck outside the mist as that won't count either, die if that happens.
Inside the mist are a Prowling Magus and his congregation - both of which have separate health bars. The key here is to keep moving. The congregation enemies only take a couple of hits but can easily swarm you, and the three magic users can zap you pretty easily. I tended to do laps of the room, sticking to the outside walls and swiping the magic users as I passed. Take down individual foes when you get the chance and only heal when ALL of the magic users have cast a spell. You can dodge most attacks by moving and just damage foes when the opportunity arises. It's a fairly easy fight but one that needs you to be on your toes. Once they die head through the door.
Look to your left immediately on exiting to find a ladder in the alcove. Head up it to meet an NPC (Cromwell) that will sell you spells and also take away your sin for invading other players, for a hefty fee. You can also grab all of the items up here (and kill some more spiders). Now go back down the ladder and into the cave ahead to find a bonfire on your left.
From here go down the steps and snipe the spider on the wall ahead of you then look behind you to find a corpse with an item (plus some more spiders). Then go into the next room and four more spiders will drop down (it's a real infestation here) with another item in a breakable pot. From here you will come out onto a ledge with a spellcaster so backstab him and you'll see a zipwire. We need to go a few different routes in order to get everything here, so first of all lets open up the nearby bonfire. From this ledge look to your right and drop to another ledge.
Go in the door on the ledge here and at the end of the corridor look left to spot two more wizards around a large hole, be careful not to fall. As a melee fighter I would get in close to one wizard and strafe him for a two/three hit kill - then move onto the other one. Or you can chip away at them using the corridor you can in for cover. There are a bunch of spiders sat on the walls of the hole in here, so kill as many as you can to make your life easier. Grab the item in here and then go through the opposite door to find a ladder. Head down it and look to your left as you enter to see more spiders kill them and then open the door in here (only opens from this side) then activate the bonfire. Go outside and snipe the wizard across from you and one off to your left. Some more spiders will rush you from the right so back up and deal with them. Once all of the above are dead go and loot the corpse on the far right.
Across the swirling sand pit (DO NOT FALL IN HERE) you will see a small red creature. This is another titanite beast but it will blow up if you stand too close to it for too long. Before that, to it's left, you will see a basilisk poking out of the sand. Shoot it from here or get up close to deal with it. The very next door on from the bonfire house houses Weaponsmith Ornifex (the creature you rescued with the Fang Key earlier) as well as a bunch of items hidden behind breakable objects (including a Lockstone). Grab everything and speak to her - she will convert some boss souls into weapons for a fee, but the first one is free. I suggest getting the Lost Sinner's sword if you can as it normally costs 5,000 souls which is her top charge. Go out of here and then left to the next door.
Open it and get ready to fight more spiders and a weird spider/human hybrid, these guys can do a lengthy five hit combo, or a big single swipe, but you should be fine blocking them, move in and deal with him quickly as there is a spider to the right of the door but he tends to get stuck on scenery at first. Smash the bookcase to reveal an opening with another spider and a chest to loot. Now head back to the bonfire and warp back up to the Chapel Bonfire - we have a few more items to get (you ideally need a Homeward Bone for one).
From here go out onto the ledge where you first entered this area and look left. You'll see a stone ledge. Drop onto here and then CAREFULLY drop into the opening at the front of this ledge (might be easier if you kill the wizards first) and grab the item in here. Use a Homeward Bone to return to the last bonfire. Now back to the ledge again. This time cross the zipline and quickly kill the titanite beast to your left. Then go right and drop onto the wooden ledge ahead of you (watch out for the spider above) and from there onto the stone roof and grab the item. Then carefully drop onto the stone ledge surrounding the building you are on and kill the wizard if he is still here, then go inside to grab another an item. From here drop down and head back to the nearby bonfire and again warp to the top.
Across the zipline again and this time go left and into the building here. You can open the door ahead of you but it just leads to a spider hidden behind some bookcases. If you have spoken to Pate/Creighton in ALL of their locations then they will be fighting here. You need to kill one of them to get rewarded. I recommend killing Pate (as you already have his gear) as you can then speak to Creighton and get his gear, plus a key you can use shortly. Grab the item and then left into the corridor. Follow it along and open the door at the end then loot left for another Titanite beast to quickly kill. Then kill the half man half spider guy and grab the item he was sat on. Go onto the little ledge on your left and around for another item. Then back onto the main ledge and move ahead to kill another spiderman. From him turn back on yourself and cross the wooden platform onto a lower stone ledge. The room on your right has more spiders so be careful. Kill them and pull the hidden lever to lower a chest you can loot. Follow this room outside to be on a ledge with and you should be able to jump to another item (that is next to where we had to use the Homeward Bone).
All done? Good. Now assuming you are back up where the spider guy (just after Pate/Creighton) was then drop down into the sandy area. Ahead and to the left is a door you can open, so head in here and up the pile of sand to loot a corpse (you can also enter this area via the hole in the wall from the room next to Weaponsmith Ornifex). Back outside and there are a couple more spider guys to deal with and a basilisk. Try and lure then back towards you and deal with them one at a time.
Now there is a door on the left before the arch that will not open. Make sure you have full health and then attack it, it will burst open and potentially damage you. Go inside and you can use the key from Pate/Creighton to open the next door. The chest on the left is trapped - so open it and roll away quickly, then return and loot both chests for stuff.
Through the arch are a bunch of peasants and some items, snipe them from afar to make them run through the crystals and damage themselves then finish them off. Take off your armour etc before you grab the items in the crystal (as it will wreck your durability) then open the door and look up. You'll see a ton spiders on the roof who will descend as you get closer or start to attack them with arrows. Funnel them back towards the door/bridge and deal with them. Then go back to the door and snipe any spiders that didn't drop. There is a corpse behind a bench on the right of this room, go near it and then run back as a spider will drop down (if you didn't snipe it already). Kill it and grab the item. The door here is locked and we need the Brightstone Key to open it, and you will have to trek here from the last bonfire. There are also some poison arrows in the post by the door you came in through. Ahead of you are two levers you can pull. Do the one on the right first to reveal a red phantom to fight and for an item and then the one on the left to reveal another spiderman. Kill him and then summon the NPC white phantom that is in this room, then climb the ladder.
You'll emerge in a large web filled room. Navigating this area to get all items can be tricky, plus there are a ton of spiders everywhere and a bunch of peasants with torches at the bottom too. To start drop down from the stone ledge you are on, left behind the pillar and then straight on to the end (by some pots). You can then walk across a narrow web bridge on your right, be careful as it slows your movement and a spider will climb up in front of you as you cross. Kill him and make it to the platform. There is a spider waiting to drop on you right above a corpse with an item, so dash under it to make it fall and then kill it and grab the item. Move all the way left (from where you first stood on this platform) to find another web bridge that crosses to a stone pillar. Cross it but before the stone pillar you should be able to safely drop down to another web. Careful when you do so as a bunch of spiders will move to attack you. It's best to dash past them so they all group together and then deal with them. You can follow this web up to another item, then down to the main floor with a further item right underneath it at this point. Search every corner for spiders and items then go to the mist door (spider to the right of it behind the pillar) but do NOT enter yet. Instead turn around and you'll see a pillar at the opposite side of the room (if your back is to the mist) behind here is a summon sign for a great NPC. I would recommend you summon him to make this fight much easier, plus hopefully your first summoned phantom will still be alive too.
Summon him, and another player if you like, then head on through. You'll meet Duke's Dear Freja a rather large spider. As soon as you start there will also be five smaller spiders right in front of you, so try and kill them as quickly as possible so they aren't an issue. Your NPC buddy will help you out. Be aware that Freja can summon more spiders to help, but this is fairly rare.
Freja herself has two heads, one either side of her body and can ONLY be damaged by hitting them. Your NPC should tank her for a while so try and attack the opposite head if possible for maximum results. She has a range of possible attacks but you can dodge most of them by staying close to her body on either side. If you are in front of either of her heads she may try and attack you with a one or two hit mandible attack, or draw her head back and lunge forward at you. These can both be blocked/dodged easily. She also tends to draw back her head and spit three balls of acid out in front of herself so make sure to dodge these. At times she will also do a multiple leg stamp on all sides - but if you are hugging her body this will never hit you.
Do enough damage to one head and it will get chopped off, leaving you to focus on the other one. If you need healing (and have the NPC) then just run as far as you can and then heal. If you are solo then a perfect time to heal is when she does the spit attack as, if you are off to one side, you will have plenty of time. The fight should be fairly easy by now, just block her attacks and give back one or two hits when you have the chance. When she dies you will get her soul and then need to interact with the nearby glowing orb to get the Great Soul. From here go out of the newly opened door and down a corridor to meet the Duke himself. You can normally just backstab him for an inst-kill, otherwise he just takes two hits and does basic attacks. You will get the Brightstone Cove Key from him.
Go down the other corridor here then light the Primal Bonfire (achievement unlocked) and go back to Majula.
Here you can level up, and have the option of going back to Brightstone Cove to unlock the door in the church just before climbing up the ladder to the web filled area. If you do so, be warned that there are 7/8 spiders that will ambush you once you go into that room and open the chest (plus all the spiders in the first room will have come back). The chest itself does have a very good weapon in it though, so it's worth the trek. I would also STRONGLY recommend you head back to the Shaded Ruins and speak to Manscorpion Tark again with the Ring of Whispers - as now the Duke/Freja are dead he will give you a pretty awesome ring - YOU WANT THIS RING.
The Pit
Time to head down that big hole in the ground. Speak to Laddersmith Gilligan who will now be sat next to it. You can buy three ladders from him (500 souls, 3,500 souls and 11,000 souls) so I'd suggest getting ALL of them if you can. Then use the talk option with him again and he will give you his sword (achievement unlocked). I would also recommend buying one of his ladder miniatures as you will need it for later on if you didn't already (it costs 7,999 souls). If you want all of the items on your way then I'd also recommend buying the Silvercat Ring from the cat in the house opposite.
If you buy the longest ladder then you can pretty much skip ALL of the Grave of Saints, but where is the fun in that? Equip the ring, have full health and then go down the smallest ladder to drop to a beam with a corpse and item. From here drop to another beam with an item and then to another one (be sure to heal when you need to). From this beam you will see a ledge lower down, on the opposite wall that you can get to be running towards it. Do so and then from here you can drop into a stone ledge. Go in here to find a bonfire you can activate and save at. If you want you can warp to Majula, take the second longest ladder and grab the other items from dropping from the ledge that one brings you to. Once you get to the lower stone ledge you can continue onwards to skip most of this part or use a Homeward Bone to warp back to the bonfire here.
Grave of Saints
Regardless of whether you get all of the items in the Pit, your aim is the first stone ledge on your way down. In here is a bonfire you can activate and then you can head down the paths (killing a couple of inanimate ghouls on your way) to a large circular room.
Note: If you already completed the Doors of Pharros AND joined the Rat Covenant after the optional boss there, then none of the regular enemies here will attack you. It's a short area though so this is not really required.
Watch out as you enter, as a bunch of rats will emerge from various holes around the walls. These guys will generally rush towards you and then do a small jump and try to bite you. Up close they merely go for the bite. Both attacks can cause poison even if you block, but they only take a couple of hits to kill so shouldn't be too much trouble. Their only really advantage is when they have numbers. Kill them all and grab the item on the other side of the circular wall in the middle (the item in there is out of reach for now). Go out the other side and up some steps.
There are a lot of Lockstone contraptions in this area but pretty much ALL of them are useless unless you are trying to kill PvP invaders. The only one you want to activate (for a couple of items including a spell you can't get elsewhere) is one on the floor here, opposite a raised bridge on the far wall. This will lower the bridge so cross over and grab the item on the corpse downstairs, then head up the stairs to grab the item up here. A bunch of rats may emerge to fight you as you do so. Kill them and head out the same way you came. If you do this then DON'T bother with any other Pharros contraptions in this area.
From where you entered this area (from the circular room with rats) go left to find an item to snag. Turn around and head down the corridor but watch out for rats dropping in to attack you from above. Go up the ladder at the end and get ready for an NPC invasion if you are playing Offline. This guy has pretty much no armour or poise, but he can do rapid combos and ranged attacks. Get in close with him and trap him in a combo for an easy kill, though watch our for rats joining in while you are distracted. If you go into the room all the way on the left up here you will find an item on one of the smaller corpses (and more rats) then go to the opposite end to find a bonfire and another fog gate.
Rest up and head through to one of the easiest boss fights in the game. The Royal Rat Vanguard will not appear at first but a ton of other rats will. You need to kill 10+ of these guys to make the boss show up, but don't just wade in as you will get surrounded. I found it easiest to run straight down to the opposite fog door, then turn around and pick off the stragglers near to you. As more head towards you, then run back to the first door and repeat. Eventually the Vanguard himself will show up but he is nothing more than a glorified rat with a Mohawk. He does pretty much the same attacks but hits a bit harder. You should be able to kill him with one decent combo or a good spell - he is that easy. Once he is dead the others will scarper but feel free to kill a few as they leave for some more souls. Also, be sure to take the Royal Rat Vanguard soul to Straid in the Lost Bastille and swap it for a spell you can't get anywhere else (needed for an achievement).
Exit out the other door to be in a room with the Rat King, once again you can join his Covenant here if you wish (achievement unlocked). Then head out the other door to a hole in the floor. Look down and drop to land within the circular section from earlier, grab the item from here and proceed down the hole, dropping from coffin to coffin. Eventually you drop to stone bridge with an item on it, grab this and then look below to drop to a wooden bridge.
Now do a running jump over the hole in the bridge to grab the item in the chest. From this side you can also carefully jump to the corpse on a ledge to one side (it only has a Cleric's Chime). Before attempting that though we can make our life easier. Jump back to the middle of the wooden bridge and you can see an enemy in the doorway below. These guys do the annoying exploding jump for a lot of damage.
With a good bow you can kill them from here, which in turn will lure their buddies out of the corridors for easy kills too. There are a few of them, but if you manage to kill two you should be fine. The drop from up here can still do some damage so you may want to equip the Silvercat Ring to be safe. If any of the tunnel enemies are still alive they will rush you at this point so deal with them BEFORE they can explode. Grab the items down here and look down one of the tunnels to see a Syan Knight. He does combos but is easy to strafe around and kill. Once he is dead open the chest behind him.
Then go into the other tunnel to eventually reach some wooden scaffolding. Go down the first ladder then head down to the right to reach a corpse with an item on it. You can then jump to the other side and head down to find another corpse to loot. Keep taking the ladders until you drop off the last one at the bottom. Open the chest here for a Token of Spite (needed for an achievement) which you can then take back to Titchy Gren in Undead Purgatory at any point for an offer to join the Brotherhood of Blood (achievement unlocked). Feel free to go there and back from the next bonfire which is just up ahead.
The Gutter
The Gutter is as poison filled, dark and annoying as Blightown was in Dark Souls. As you enter you will see a bunch of statues (BE SURE TO BREAK THESE WHENEVER YOU SEE THEM!). They spit poison when you walk in front of them and can fully afflict you in 2/3 hits. Use Poison Moss for an instant cure if you have it or heal until it wears off. Luckily the enemies down here are fairly weak.
From this ledge you can move forward onto a sloped roof. Head right and carefully drop down. If you walk up this slope it leads to a ledge with a ghoul (these guys have basic swipes and can be downed in a couple of hits) and an item, if you do go down that way, you will have to drop off the front of that ledge onto a wooden platform (aim away from the left side if you do so, as it will break). Assuming you stay in the sloped section head downwards and the floor will break to deposit you on a platform with a bonfire.
You can rest up (and use it to warp to the Undead Covenant now you have a Token of Spite - for the chance to join the Covenant there). You will notice a bunch of white stumps around this whole area, this are actually torch sconces and can be lit to help you navigate around. I'd recommend you do so, to make it easier to see where you've been (Flame Butterflys can help here so you aren't constantly going back and forth if you need to use a shield rather than your torch). There is also a jar you can break on here for an item.
Now you will see a bridge leading away in front of you. Head over here but DO NOT walk in the middle of the next platform, as the floor will collapse. Stick to the right hand side as you cross. Head over the next bridge to meet a new enemy. These big dogs do a lunging bite attack that can strike multiple times, it's easy enough to block and counter though. They also do short ranged swipes when you are up close but, other than that, are easy to dispatch. Due to the confined nature of the platforms and MANY drops, it's best to block rather than dodge so be sure to have a good shield. Ignore the small drop here and go right over the bridge instead to another platform with ghouls.
Up another ramp will lead to an area you can drop down into below you, there are a bunch of hollows down here and an item you can grab. There is a wooden bridge leading away from here, but instead head to the small stone platform that enables you to make a short jump to the building ahead. Head up the ladder here and you can jump to another platform (with a chest) from the roof. Do so and grab the loot. Around now you will get invaded by Melinda the Butcher, so be careful. Face the building from the chest and you can jump to a small ledge below for another chest. Go back to the platform we dropped onto earlier (where we went to the stone platform) and go up the wooden bridge to grab an item from the pots, you can now head back up the ledge from here and follow this stone path back to the initial bonfire (grabbing an item on your way).
Now go towards the breakable floor we avoided earlier and fall through. There are a few ghouls down here so finish them off and snag the item. From here you have to jump towards the platform with the torch carrying ghoul in front of you. Do so and kill them him. There is a ladder in one corner of this ledge - don't go up it yet, but remember it for later. Cross from this platform to the one in front of you and drop through the floor, watch out for ghouls in here, then cross the small bridge. Just before the next building there are some jars on your right, smash them for a Dark Pyromancy Flame then head into the building to deal with another big dog. Head up the ladder in here for some more enemies and then up another ladder to find a bunch of corpses one of which has a Fragrant Branch of Yore. You can drop down to a platform near the jars which leads to a long bridge.
When you cross this bridge there will be another ghoul (and a ghoul will drop down from above). So run halfway onto the bridge and then straight back to this platform to deal with him safely. Otherwise he is liable to knock you off the bridge to your doom. Once he is dead you can proceed across and meet another doggy (off to your right). Kill it and go up the first ladder you came to. Another ghoul is at the top (he sometimes drops down to fight you) and there is a chest here you can loot, plus another ghoul may drop down from above. Now go down the ladder and face it. Head to the right (watching out for poison statues) and to small beam over here. From here you can carefully drop to a ledge below, then to a platform with another ghoul. Go around the building here to find a jar with an item in it then head back where you were and drop into the room through the hole in the wall.
There is another bunch of items in the jar in here, then go to the left corner to jump to the stone platform ahead. You'll land right next to a Heide Knight, if you kill him he ALWAYS drops some gear, so it is worth the fight. Lure him to the right, near the ladder, so you have more room. From where he was sat if you go left you can light another sconce but more enemies will also climb up to attack. Your call. Go right and spot a ladder and a chest to open. Move back a bit and look up the ladder, as sometimes a ghoul will be heading down to get you. If the coast is clear then climb up and kill him and his buddy at the top. Smash the jars here for another item.
Go onto the small slanted area with the sconce and drop down to another ledge below, follow this around the corner then drop down to a ledge for an item. From here you can drop down to the chest we opened earlier. Head down the ladder and this time go across the little bridge here (into a lit room with some poison statues) and up this ladder.
On the roof will be a torch bearing enemy, so kill him and then approach the bridge. Another exploding goon will run across to meet you when you get partway, so be ready for him or run back here to deal with him. Watch out for holes in the floor over here, as they are big enough to fall through. Instead cross to the far side and the stone path. Follow this to a cave entrance and head inside. There are a bunch of enemies in here so deal with them first and then open the chest for some loot. Go back outside and then left to the end of the walkway. Look down to see a platform you can drop to (DO NOT DROP ONTO THE OUTER EDGE AS IT WILL BREAK) and another dog prowling around. Drop down and kill him, and the ghoul that joins in. Then break the nearby jars for some items. Ignore the fog for now and follow the path by the wall that leads to a large cave.
Inside is a large Ant and some poison ticks. Kill the little critters then make a choice. The Ant is harmless and the smoke it emits will cure you of poison (at the cost of degrading your gear). You can kill it for some souls and some Poison Moss - so the choice is yours. You can also snag some free items from the far wall. Now head back to the fog and go through.
As soon as you enter go straight forward towards to far wall. On the right side of this wall are some boards you can break, do so and then head through and left to light another bonfire. Now go back to where you broke through. Head inside to the far left corner (from where you face the broken wall when re-entering) and break the jars for an item. Head down the ladder just behind these jars and drop off to the right (onto some more jars) at the bottom, smash these for another item. Then drop off to the left for some more jars, before finally dropping off the right of this platform to a ledge with a chest to open.
Then go down the ladder on this chest and watch out for a bunch of ghouls at the bottom (there are five or so, some of which will attack ASAP and some are just sat around) kill them all and grab the x20 Lifegems from down here. Then break the normal jars here for a couple more items. You will also see some weird spiky jars blocking the exit. DO NOT ATTACK THESE UP CLOSE. They will rapidly destroy your gear. So either get naked (including rings) and roll into them, or use a bow and some Iron arrows/bolts to smash them from afar. Once the are all gone just run through that gap to drop to a ledge below (you may take damage so be careful). Then grab the Fragrant Branch of Yore that is on this ledge as soon as you land. DO NOT USE THIS BRANCH ELSEWHERE - As we need it up ahead.
Now follow the path up ahead to enter the next area.
Black Gulch
This area is fairly short, but can be annoying due to the CRAP TON of poison statues that litter the area. TOP TIP: If you break the statues and then rest at the bonfire they will stay broken. If you break the statues and then DIE they will respawn. So be sure to abuse this to your advantage. Your best bet is to use a weapon you don't care about to break the statues as there are so many of them it will cause your best stuff to degrade and we have a boss fight up ahead. A good weapon to use is Santiers Spear (found in the Doors of Pharros) as it has a ton of durability and will smash the crap out of these pesky statues.
From where you enter go forward and keep an eye on the left side to spot a tunnel leading to a bonfire. Rest up and light a torch while you are here. Now head back outside. Smash statues as you progress but look off the cliff edge on the right just before you get to the pools of liquid (near a cluster of three statues). You should see a ledge below you that you can drop down to, so do so. Follow the path down here to meet up with Lucatiel again (needed for an achievement) speak to her until she repeats and she will now be available for the upcoming fight. Follow this tunnel around to come out behind a bunch of statues. Smash them all and then drop down and head right.
The pools here can degrade your equipment and hide annoying hand like beasts. If you see the water start to bubble then move away quickly as their grab attack is very damaging. Once they are out of the water they either do a spin attack, that can do a lot of stamina damage, or a rapid thrust towards you. Both are easily blocked but try and take the fight away from other pools to prevent additional enemies. The pools themselves can be burnt if hit with a torch or flame weapon. Once you have cleared out this area can you go into a cave on the right (as you face where you came in) for a chest.
Back out of there and head left again to where we dropped down after meeting Lucatiel. Up ahead are two big worms. These guys are easy to kill from afar as their only attacks are to shoot out of their hole and swing to attack either side. Even up close you can easily block and dish out massive damage. Once they are dead grab the items here and then go near the ledge between their holes and look down. With a torch you can see another ledge to drop to. Do so and you'll find a door you cannot open. Go right (while facing it) to drop to another ledge, then do a 180 to get to yet another ledge. From here you can enter a tunnel which has two giants at the end.
These guys hit hard, and can kill you in a couple of hits if you aren't careful. The easy way to kill them is with ranged attacks and you can always run back down the tunnel and take shelter in the nook on the right side (if you are looking OUT of the tunnel) just outside. If you do that they will reset their positions, so hit and run tactics are possible. You can also run into the main room and then duck into either of the two side rooms to do the same thing.
Once they are dead you will get the Forgotten Key and a Soul of a Giant (DO NOT USE THIS ITEM FOR SOULS - WE NEED IT TO DEFEAT VENDRICK LATER) both of which are key items. There are two doors in here. The first on is on the right and the other is straight ahead. Go in the latter first to snag some items, then the former to find another item (hug the back wall to get it) and an elevator up. Hop in and enjoy the ride.
You'll emerge above the main room (just after the worms) and as you do so a red phantom will invade. Snipe them from safety up here and, once they are dead, drop down and clear out all of the statues and poison hand creatures in this room. Then head back to where you dropped down to get the key. Drop down to the first ledge and this time open the door. Inside is Darkdiver Grandahl (needed for an achievement) so speak to him for the second time until he repeats. Then go back to the elevator and head up. Go to where the worms were and face the fog gate in the distance. If you go left against the wall there is another passage with an item you can grab (watch out for statues). Then go back to the worm spot again. Hug the cliff edge on your right and follow it onto a narrow ledge that leads to a statue. Use the Fragrant Branch we found just before entering the Black Gulch to free him, and then kill him. Behind that guy is a hidden bonfire. Rest up if you need to and be sure ALL poison statues between here and the fog gate are broken. You can also grab an item from the jars in this room.
Once all that is done you should find Lucatiel's summon sign on the floor in this room (needed for an achievement) so call her, remember that you need to be human to do so. There are also TWO other phantoms in this area you can use - one right by where the worms where and one in the big area just before the fog gate. So feel free to use all three but you MUST summon at least Lucatiel.
With your helpers in tow you can go through the fog gate to face The Rotten.
This guy is pretty straightforward as most of his attacks are very slow and easy to see coming. He wields a massive knife in one hand and will use this either for a horizontal combo, or a big vertical smash. Both leave big windows for a counter. If you are close he will also use his fist to smash the ground next to him OR try and grab you - BE WARNED THIS IS UNBLOCKABLE AND DOES MASSIVE DAMAGE. Once he has taken some damage he will use a few rarer attacks. He can spit sludge balls (usually two or three) in front of himself, blast out a huge cone of dark energy in front of himself OR do a large 360 degree dark blast (similar to the Smeltor Demons flame burst) that will do a lot of damage.
His regular knife and fist attacks can be blocked but sap stamina quickly, so it's easier just to doge then counter. Watch the ground as the flaming areas can quickly do a lot of damage (The Rotten and your NPC pals seem immune) so stick near to him, bait his attacks and then dodge and counter. Ranged players can easily rush to get a lot of distance and then unleash spells/arrows from afar. You can also chop off his arms if you do enough individual damage to them - making some of his moves completely redundant. BE SURE TO KEEP LUCATIEL ALIVE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY HAD HER SURVIVE THREE FIGHTS - this is her last chance barring the DLC or using Ascetics to respawn bosses.
Once he dies you will get a bunch of souls, and his souls of course, and can carefully edge to a Fire Seed on a corpse in here. They go through the small door into a tunnel, hang a left to find a chest with some Sublime Bone Dust then go and activate the Primal Bonfire (achievement unlocked). You will see another statue that warps you to a DLC area just behind the bonfire (ignore that for now). Be sure to warp back to Majula from here.
Before we head onwards we can use the Forgotten Key to get some decent new equipment as well as doing some other bits and pieces. Don't forget to check back in with the NPC's in Majula from time to time as well for some decent stuff:
Chloanne the Stone Trader - will upgrade her wares as you progress and give you a free Twinkling Titanite if you select TALK after spending 15k+ (easier to get later when she starts selling better Titanite and Dragon Bone pieces).
Lenigrast the Blacksmith - will give you a Blacksmiths Hammer if you select TALK after spending 8k+.
Crestfallen Saulden - gives you a Ring of Steel Protection if you TALK to him after dying 100+ times. Also gives you a Soul Vessel when you have every available NPC in Majula.
Maughlin the Armourer - ups his stock at 1,000 and 16,000 souls spent. Also, after spending 16,000 souls TALK to him when you have 0 souls currently held to get a free set of armour.
Melentia the Merchant Hag - gives you Covetous Serpent Ring +1 if you TALK to her after spending 10k+.
Licia of Lindeldt - TALK to her with a Faith stat of 30+ to get her armour set and weapon for free (also acquired if you invade her with the Crushed Eye Orb).
Carhillion of the Fold - TALK to him with an Int stat of 30+ to get a Northern Ritual Band +1.
Plus a couple of NPC's elsewhere:
Felkin the Outcast (Huntsmans Copse) - TALK to him with 20+ Int AND Faith to get his equipment.
Magerold of Lanifir (Iron Keep) - TALK to him after spending 10k+ souls with him to get the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring +1.
Cromwell the Pardoner (Brightstone Cove) - TALK to him with 35+ Faith to get Ring of Resistance.
A good way to get all of the items that require certain stats is to head back to the witches in Things Betwixt and use a Soul Vessel to respec and give yourself high Faith and Intelligence. Then go grab everything before heading back to them to correct the changes. You should have at least 3/4 Soul Vessels by now (I got 6 on my first run through NG) so feel free to use a couple.
Head down the SECOND longest ladder in The Pit, that you bought from Gilligan (or buy it now if not). It leads you to a platform with another ladder. Go up this one and use the Forgotten Key to open the door and find a bunch of chests with items to snag, also grab the key item on a corpse. Back to Majula and use the bonfire to go to the first bonfire in The Gutter. From here cross the wooden bridge and drop down into the room. Kill the enemies and jump to the platform with the torch bearing ghoul. On the left hand side of this platform is a ladder. Head up to find another door, with a couple of enemies too, you can open with the Forgotten Key. This leads to a room FULL of poison statues, so be careful as you break them. At the back you will find a jar to smash with an item in it - this is the full set of Havel's armour AND his awesome Greatshield too. Warp back to Majula once you have it. Now we can warp to the Ruined Fork Road bonfire in the Shaded Woods to continue.
Shrine of Winter
This is a fairly short area, and you may have done most of it if you followed my guide through the Shaded Woods earlier. But just in case I will cover the basics. From the Ruined Fork Road Bonfire you want to go up the stairs and take the left hand exit. Out here will be two Falconers up ahead, one melee and one archer. Go under the stone arch they were near and hang a left to find two more Falconer guys, but watch out for another coming from the right. Kill them and grab the item on this ledge (if you didn't already).
Then turn around and follow the path you were on. It leads to another of those invisible enemies, but you can easily snipe him from the top of the hill as soon as you can see him. As he will slowly run up there to engage you. If you do go down to do it hand to hand, watch out for the enemy on the left side as well. Grab the item that was behind him (again if you didn't already). Then head up the path the hidden enemy was on to reach the Shrine.
Now that you have all four souls this door will unlock (an easy one to miss is Freya at the end of Brightstone Cove which you have to MANUALLY collect in order for it to count). If you examine the weird statue you will be warped to a DLC area, but ignore it for now. Head through and drop down the path and head right. You'll find a corpse with an item. Go back the other way to find another item you can grab. Plus, some more of those invisible enemies to fight.
Go through the tunnel up ahead and onto the rainy path, up ahead you will come to a hill with three Royal Guards. Two of then will have crossbows to start but will draw swords if you get close. They are exactly the same as the guys in the Lost Bastille and you can always snipe a couple of them from the corner just in front. Once they are dead continue up the path to find another item, then a Crystal Lizard just before the giant bridge. Kill it and grab the items. Then turn around and spot an item behind a rock you just walked past.
The Emerald Herald is waiting for you at the bottom so chat with her (you can't level up here) then head up the steps. At the top are two seemingly stone Mastadon statues. They aren't stone at all (obviously) so feel free to shoot them from afar to prevent the archers behind them from ruining your day. You can kite them back down the steps to deal with, but watch out as they are stronger and more damage resistant than their rusty versions from the Doors of Pharros. Though they do have pretty much the same attack patterns. Once they are dead head up to the top.
To open the door ahead you need to kill Royal Swordsmen while they are stood near to the statues on either side (the statues will absorb the souls and then turn a lock). So if you lure the enemies too far away you will get the souls instead and the door stays closed. Enemies will respawn infinitely from the left side until this is accomplished. If you snipe both of the archers that start up here then you may be able to activate one or both devices with ease. Otherwise wait for the next batch of swordsmen to appear and then lure at least one near to a statue before killing them.
Don't stray to near to the bigger statues up here, as three of them will become Syan Knights that will attack you. Feel free to kill them for souls. Once both statues have turned blue and opened the door you can head around the right hand side (before entering) to find a chest with a spell. Then go to the left side and spot the passageway the soldiers came out of - attack the alcove to the left of that to kill a hidden enemy and get an item. Now you can head inside.
Drangleic Castle
This area is actually fairly linear but also has a few hidden secrets we can snag. In the entry hall you can head up the stairs to the ghost stood in the middle section, this is Chancellor Wellagar , speak to him repeatedly until you can access his menu and learn a gesture (needed for an achievement) and he will then sell you various items and spells if you like. The door behind him leads to the Throne Room but holds nothing of interest right now. Go back down the steps and then left (if facing them) and through a short tunnel into a new room. A Syan knight will cease being a statue and move to engage you. He tends to do a three hit combo, or a shield bash if you are close, and you can easily strafe around his attacks to line up a backstab.
Once he dies go into the room he was guarding for an item. The corridor has a bunch of other statues too, some of which are enemies so approach them one at a time so you don't get surrounded. Then go in the door at the other end of the corridor (one of the statues in here is a smaller swordsman, so watch out) and then down the ladder. None of the statues in the next room will attack so move forward and open the door.
Then open the door directly in front of you which leads to a bonfire, so head in here to activate it and rest up. Exiting that room, and looking left, will show us another King's Door that we will need to come back to later on (there is a Syan Knight you can kill down there as well). Head right instead.
Now this room can be a pain. The whole area is covered in stone knights, some of whom will activate when you get nearby. If you kill them near to the various doors they then it will also open. Each door (barring the one on your immediate right as you enter) hides a Ruin Sentinel (remember them?) plus maybe some items. The key is NOT to activate all of the enemies at once. Plus, if you kill an enemy near each of the large golems at the far end of the room they will light up and reveal a white phantom summon sign you can use. Your goal is to activate every door in here, though the only ones your really need are the first on the right (as you enter) and the last one on the left. Try and only go near one door at a time, and activate as few enemies at a time as you can.
Start by going to the first door on your right and immediately target one of the stone guys with attacks, so that he hopefully dies before fully awakening. These guys have spears with amazing range and can dash towards you rapidly. Their attacks can be blocked, but they can do a lot of rapid combos if you are not careful. If you kill at least one of them near to the door it will open, then lure the other back to the place you came in to finish it off. This door reveals the path onwards, but there are a few more things we need here first.
Now go to the first door on the left and repeat the same thing. Once the first guy dies (and activates the door) immediately move back to where you entered the room to deal with the other. This stops the Ruin Sentinel from activating instantly. Once the nearest enemies are dead move forward until the Sentinel spots you. He has exactly the same attacks as the bosses from the Bastille and, one on one, should be easy to deal with. Keep him back near where you came in so you DON'T activate any other statues. He generally does a thrust forward into a combo, an overhead smash or a leaping attack if you get too far away. You can easily block everything with a good shield and then counter after the combo or smash until he dies.
In order to get everything in this room you need to open all of the doors in this way. Alternate from the right side to left and only activate one set of stone enemies and the Ruin Sentinel behind them at a time. WARNING: IF YOU REST AT THE BONFIRE OR DIE THEN ALL OF THE ENEMIES IN HERE WILL RESPAWN, MAKING IT HARDER TO SINGLE THEM OUT. Ignore the back left chamber for now and search all of the others for items once the enemies are all dead. Now head to that back left room and walk in, the floor will give way and you'll drop down. Watch out as there is one of the long armed enemies (that you saw on No Man's Wharf) waiting for you, so kill him first. Then grab the armour set from the corpse down here and then activate the nearby bonfire and rest up if you need to. Go into the only other room down here to meet Darkdiver Grandahl again. If you have spoken to him in the Shaded Woods and Black Gulch he will now let you join the Pilgrims of the Dark (achievement unlocked).
Dark Chasm of Old (Pilgrims of the Dark)
You need to get this Covenant to Rank 3 for a unique spell so feel free to do so now (though it may be easier to try again later when you have levelled up some more). When you first join he will open a portal next to you. NOTE: you can complete this Covenant at any point BEFORE starting a NG+ (at which point you have to find Grandahl all three times again) so feel free to come back after you level up some more if you are struggling.
You need to enter this portal, kill the super strong enemies in there, light the beacon and then drop into the fog at the end. You then need to do the same thing at the other two locations you found him (Shaded Woods and Black Gulch). Only the first portal will be opened for free, at the other locations (and if you die while inside a portal) you will need to speak to Grandahl and give him a Human Effigy for him to open the portal. Once you have lit all three beacons and fallen into the fog in the third portal (they can be done in any order) you will be taken to a boss fight against the Darklurker. Speak to Grandahl after completing your first Chasm to Rank up, then again after lighting all three beacons to rank up a second time and again after killing the Darklurker to reach max rank (the last two may happen at the same time). NOTE: all the enemies in the chasm areas are susceptible to poison, so use that to your advantage. Plus, makes sure you have some Flame Butterflys with you - MOST IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not warp out of any of the chasms using a Homeward Bone, Aged Feather etc as this will potentially glitch your progress in the Covenant. The only way to leave is either to fall in the fog at the end of each area or die.
Let's assume you enter the Chasm in Drangleic Castle first (always enter the portal that is opened for free first, no matter which location it is in). You'll emerge as a Black Phantom in a room full of water. The rocks mark the path here, so watch your step to ensure you don't fall to your doom. You'll come to the main room with Dark Havel on your left. Your best bet is to aggro him near one of the numerous holes in here, then make him swing himself into it (or use the Force spell if you can, to push him in). His attacks do a ton of regular and stamina damage, so if you have decent spells (or a well levelled Pyromancy Flame and something like Flame Swathe) then they are recommended. You can also lure him back to where you started make him fall in the water behind that point while you go up the ramp, he will not follow so just shoot him to death (also works on the other melee fighters here). Once he is dead look to the left past where he was to see a magic using shade. Snipe him from afar if you can, poison arrows work a treat.
Now you can go up to where he was (watch out for the holes) and along the small ledge on the right to reach the first beacon. Use a Flame Butterfly to light your torch and then light the beacon. Head back the way you came and down the small path of the left to meet a Rapier wielding foe. If you are lucky you can backstab him before he notices you, or after some of his combos. This guy attacks rapidly so be wary as he can quickly wear out your stamina. Once he falls you can move past where he was into another tunnel. One last phantom is up ahead, a rather nimble assassin (stood on the other side of a hole so watch out). Snipe her from afar with poison and she should take a lot of damage before she gets close. Her attacks are much weaker than the others, mercifully, so you should have few problems with regular blocking and counter attacks. Once she dies go past where she was and fall into the fog at the end to complete this area. That's the hardest one out of the way first, trust me. You'll spawn next to Darkdiver Grandahl, so chat to him to rank up and then use the nearby bonfire to warp to the Black Gulch.
Head to the spot in the Black Gulch between the two worms and drop down to the door here, head inside and use an Effigy to activate the portal. In here you can move forward and look to your left to see an Ironclad phantom below. This guy has two hammers and hits hard, so try and snipe him to lure him up here - as if you go too far forward he will be joined by a spellcaster and that will ruin your day. Again try to poison him if possible, or use some strong pyromancy spells to end it quickly. Once he is down you can edge forward and look off the right hand edge of the ramp to spot another shade - you can snipe him with few risks from up here, so try to do so until it drops. You can then go down the ramp to face the pryomancy enemy. This guy has a LOT of strong spells to throw your way so the Gyrm shield with it's 100% fire resist is a must. Close the gap if you can and then trap him with physical attacks, which also interrupt his casts. You can also use your own spells on him to good effect too.
Again, use a Butterfly Flame in this area (once those three are dead) to light the beacon. Then you can head into the next section which has the same enemies once again. Yay. Lure the Ironclad up first and deal with him, then pick off the other two from afar. The shade should stay far enough back that you can kill the pyromancy user with few interruptions then you can deal with him. Once they are all dead head past where the shade was and fall into the cloud of fog again. You'll be back at the Black Gulch so use a Homeward Bone to go to the bonfire, then warp to the Shaded Ruins.
This is the last area so make sure you are ready before heading in. I had a maxed out Pyromancy Flame, a Southern Ritual Band +1 equipped (found in Brightstone Cove) then two lots of Flame Swathe (one from Straid and one dropped by the phantoms in Belfry Sol) attuned. Plus, I equipped some Amber Herbs for easy access. Then I had my usual melee gear and whatnot.
From the Ruins bonfire go straight down the bridge and out the door on the left (watch out for Lion men up here). Head up the little ramp and right, towards the path that led to the Scorpioness. Go past the arch leading to her and fall through the floor near the trees to find Darkdiver Grandahl again. Once more you will need to give him an effigy to open the portal so do so and then head in.
This is actually the easiest portal to complete, but it is handy to do it last as if you die on the final boss you have to REDO one of the dungeons again to reach it a second time (I found that out the hard way). So if that happens this will be your easiest route back. Go through the door ahead of where you spawn and look right to see the beacon and a bunch of phantoms. Use a ranged attack to annoy the nearest spirit and draw it back to the door. If you are careful the others shouldn't follow.
The nearest guy tends to try and use shield break when up close and has speedy combos, but is nothing too difficult by now. Just back off slightly when they go for the break and then step in and deal some damage. Once he dies it will upset the other phantom who has a bow to attack you from afar. If you trade ranged attacks with him from the doorway you can kill him without a scratch, then you can edge out a bit further and see one of the magic using shades further down the path. Snipe them too, but watch out for their blast spells that explode in a burst even if they miss you. Once that enemy falls you can light the last beacon in here. Then go down to the elevator ahead and head down to meet the final enemy of this area. This guy is exactly the same as the first phantom you killed and has no back up in a fairly large area. So take your time and kill him.
Now make sure you have a decent shield that can resist a good chunk of dark damage (Havel's is a good choice if you can manage it or the Rebel Greatshield) plus have your Pyromancy Flame equipped with Flame Swathe at the ready. Your only items should be your Estus Flask and Amber Herbs (or some other healing items if your flask is empty).
Drop into the fog to be transported to the boss, Darklurker. As soon as you can lock on and cast Flame Swathe to do massive damage (I only had 8 Int) but watch out for any of the enemies attacks. If you are close it will summon a dark greatsword to swing at you, or thrust one arm straight forward to blast you with a beam, more rarely it will pull back slightly and let out a massive 360 degree blast so be sure to roll away quickly. It's most annoying attacks are when it opens a small portal in front of itself and then sends either balls of darkness or fire through them to attack you. These have a habit of landing behind your defences - so find where the portal is and run away from it. Put your back to an opposite wall and then block with your shield.
The enemy has a rare habit of going invisible or teleporting away from you, then at 50% health it will split itself into two parts (both of which you can damage). Having said all of that we want this fight to be over in thirty seconds. Every attack they do has a big recovery. So your strategy should be to cast Flame Swathe ASAP, dodge/block the first attack and then cast Flame Swathe again. If you have two attuned then you get four casts and each Amber Herb will restore two more. At this point you will have nearly done 50% damage (if not use a Herb and then one more Swathe). The Darklurker will then stop and try and spilt, cast two more Flame Swathes ASAP and it should die before it gets the chance. Frankly any sorcery build with good spells should have no problems and this method means even melee builds have an easy time. If you do go pure melee, then do note that when it splits in two they still share ONE health bar so dodge attacks until you can hit either of them cleanly until they die.
Once he is dead you will end up back with Darkdiver Grandahl - speak to him repeatedly to max out the Covenant and get the Climax spell (needed for an achievement) plus you can buy all of the spells you need from his store option now too as a few of them can only be gotten here. If you didn't already max out the Heirs of the Sun you will also get (achievement unlocked) for reaching max rank in a Covenant. Also note that you should take the Darklurker's soul to Straid in the Lost Bastille to trade for a spell you can't get anywhere else (needed for an achievement). Now go back to the Shaded Ruins bonfire and warp back to the King's Gate bonfire in Drangleic Castle.
Drangleic Castle
Back at the castle bonfire, head out of this room and go right into the Ruin Sentinel room. But this time go straight through the first door on your right (watch out for enemies chasing you here). If they follow you into this room then deal with them ASAP. Once they are dead you can loot the chest in here. One of the swordsman statues will activate as you head up the first set of stairs here so kill him. Go up the stairs to come face to face with a large pool of orange liquid - this stuff will WRECK your gear, so if you want the couple of items that are hidden in it then it's time to get naked (watch out for archers shooting at you from above too). However, if you do go into the pool then two swordsman statues will activate and run in to get you - so be prepared to dodge them (tricky if trying to open the chest in the liquid) and head back where you came from. They won't follow you all the way, so you can re-equip and head back up to kill them.
Once you are done skinny dipping, suit up again and head up the stairs here. More statues will activate, so feel free to kill them. The next exit leads up some stairs to a room full of masks that will quickly poison and hurt you, plus a tempting item to grab. Snag the item and quickly head out the next door. WARNING: If you die up ahead and then come back up these stairs again (or just revisit this area) then the Forlorn NPC red phantom will spawn as you head up the stairs to the poison mask room.
Up the stairs here will lead to a room with three of the Syan knights. They are statues so you can activate them one at a time if you like. Stay away from the large picture of the queen in here, as it will rapidly curse you. Once they are dead you can exit through the door they were guarding and hang a right to head up some stairs. As you near the top you will be invaded by an NPC, the Nameless Usurper, so head back down where you came from and a Red Phantom will be waiting just outside the cursed picture room. She only has a dagger and does light attacks, so deal with her quickly as you need to kill her for a spell later (needed for an achievement).
Then back onto the stairs. If you look to your right and up, from the bottom here, you can see two archers. So feel free to snipe them both to make your life easier. If you carry on up the stairs then one of the Syan knights you passed will activate when you get to the top - so turn around and kill him. You will see a ladder along the left side of this walkway (at the top of the stairs you came up) leading down, so head down to find two more swordsmen and a corpse you can loot. Head down a second ladder here to find a chest with a pretty good bow in it (and another pesky enemy). Now climb back up the last ladder and press A on the wall just ahead and to the left of you - hey presto, we found a handy bonfire. There is a boss fight just ahead so be sure to rest if you need to revitalise your weapons and Estus Flask. Head back outside and up the ladder again, kill the enemies that will have re-emerged and then follow the path to meet with the Queen herself. Exchange some banter and then head out of the other door and around the corner to find a fog gate. Summon an ally if you can/need to. Then prepare to meet some familiar enemies.
Inside are TWO Dragonriders who will fight in exactly the same way as the one you fought in Heide's Tower of Flame earlier. The difference, at first, is that one will be camped on a ledge up to your left shooting greatarrows at you. The other will approach with a halberd and try to thrust, combo and shield bash you to death. Once to get EITHER of them down to half damage the bow man will jump down to attack, but may still use his bow if you get too far away.
The best method is to try and take down the bow wielder first, either with magic or arrows, as he has much less HP and shouldn't take much punishment. You can do this be just running from the slow moving red enemy to get distance and then taking pot shots at the one above you. If you have a decent spell (like Flame Swathe) then feel free to kill him with a few hits before he gets the chance to become a pain. After that you can just block, strafe and counter the second one to death at your own leisure. This is a fairly easy fight considering how far along you are. Should you need to heal while both enemies are still alive then only do so AFTER the archer has just fired an arrow and you have reasonable distance from his buddy.
Once they are both dead you can head through the door and follow the corridor to another bonfire. Be sure to light it and rest up and then speak to Benhart of Jugo (he will only be here if you spoke to him before/after freeing Rosabeth earlier) be sure to chat until he repeats himself (needed for an achievement). There are two exits from this room, so take the one that heads slightly downwards and ends up by a hole in the floor and a door you cannot open. Ignore those and climb up the ladder on the right hand wall.
At the top you will get to a doorway with a slight drop into a room with a stone golem in front of you. You will also notice a bunch of stone soldiers lining each wall, these guys don't actually do anything but you DO need to activate the golem in here. On your immediate right as you drop down is a door you can open and run through, do so, in the next room two manikins will appear as you get to the bottom of the steps. DON'T KILL THEM YET. Run back into the last room and stand near the golem, the enemies will follow and you can now kill them to activate the statue.
Once they are done, and the golem is activated, you can go out of the door into a room with two chests. Open both and grab the items then go out the next door. You'll spot a familiar enemy if you cleared out the Undead Purgatory. Yes, someone let a horse indoors for some reason. In truth he is fairly easy to kill in this big open room. Strafe around him and wait until he does an attack to get some hits in. Don't stand directly behind him or he will kick you which can do massive damage even if you block. If he does his dark breath attack then you can usually get a few good hits in. Feel free to retreat back to the room you came form if you need to heal.
Once he is dead look up the stairs. At the top is a knight with a giant mace, snipe him from afar for an easy kill or lure him back down the steps to finish him up close. With a good enough shield/stamina you can still block all of his attacks so it's not too bad. Now if you head up to either the left or right you will activate TWO more of these guys (one on each side) so run back down and snipe one to death, then deal with the other. Once they are dead you can open the chests on either side, WATCH OUT the one on the right (as you face down the central steps) is a mimic.
Now go downstairs and head through the door and the one following to end up on a rooftop. If you go outside and right up some steps to a blue door. You can go up a ladder on the left hand wall to get to an archers and kill him. If you drop onto his roof a gargoyle will activate (same abilities as the Belfry enemies earlier) so kill him. Go to the left side of this roof and drop down again and go down the short steps to a door you can open. Head in here and look left to see a bunch of spell casters, snipe them from the door or rush in to melee them (might be best killing at least one before trying that) and then grab the loot, before pulling the lever to open the grate over the door. You can now head down the steps to the last bonfire again. Rest up if need be and then go back down the initial path you took (before climbing the long ladder) to find an elevator.
Ride it up to the top and note the woman locked in the cage here (we will free her later). Open all of the chests in here for the King's Passage Key, a handy Soul Vessel and some other bits. Then go back down the elevator to the bottom and use that new found key to open the door right next to you.
King's Passage
This area is short and sweet, though does contain an annoying boss. Let's get to it. Move into the corridor and look to your right, next to a small knight head statue to find an item you can grab. Now up ahead are a bunch of kneeling knights, and two on each side will come to life when you get close. They have glowing red eyes and move VERY fast and can quickly overwhelm you. But why bother playing fair?
DON'T go into the room they are in just yet. Stay at the top of the small steps leading down there and pull out a bow. Zoom in and aim at the statues that still have heads (two on each side) and you can snipe them with impunity while they don't even move. You can tell when you hit them as a health bar will appear. Look behind the pillars and statues as you pass them as there are two items to snag (one on each side) before you reach the fog gate.
At the gate look to the left of it to see Benhart of Jugo's summon sign (needed for an achievement) so call him in and make sure he survives the fight ahead in order to get credit. There is also a second summon here you can use to double your fun. Remember that you can make your life easier by using the Redeye Ring or summoning another player to help out too. Now head through the fog gate to meet the Looking Glass Knight.
As soon as you enter this guy will do a small dash and then jump towards you, so be ready to dodge or block ASAP. He has a massive mirror shield and if you attack him from the front/side that shield is on you will do ZERO damage to him and he can deflect some magic with it, but you CAN eventually break the shield (your call). So always aim to strafe around to his back or side if you can. At distance he will generally leap towards you and up close he has the usual combos and a big overhead attack. He will also use lightning imbued strikes (he noticeably has to charge these up) and a lightning blast ahead of him.
Once he has taken enough damage he will smash his shield down in front of him and release a black phantom (this can be another player if they left a red summon sign near the statue in the last area so watch out). If he does this then leave your partner to distract him and deal with this enemy ASAP. He can do this more than once if you aren't quick enough so you want to try and focus as much damage on him as possible, so that he is down to about 30-40% health before this even happens. Then you can hopefully finish him off before he kills Benhart. If you do notice Benhart getting low on health then try for an all out assault, as the black phantoms will vanish once the boss is down. His attacks in general are fairly slow and easy to dodge so it is just his decent defence that may hold you up.
Once he dies move through the opposite exit but DON'T go down the lift yet. Carefully go around the edge and grab the chest on the left first and then step on the pad to go down the elevator. At the bottom follow the path to a torch in a root filled area, hack the wooden branches on the right for an item and then go the opposite way to head to a bonfire and the Shrine of Amana.
Shrine of Amana
After the bonfire go down some steps to a door on the right hand side, go through and look to your left to see a corpse hanging on a branch - give him a smack and the item will fall (we'll grab it shortly) carry along this path to a guardian that you can backstab or knock off the cliff. After him you'll reach an alcove with a solitary basilisk to kill and a chest to loot. Then head back the way you came and go down the stairs. Stop at the bottom and look ahead to see a strange golden glow over the water (like a bunch of fireflies). These are actually indicators of where an enemy is lurking beneath the water to attack.
With a bow or spells you can usually dispatch these lizards before they can emerge if you aim just below the golden clouds that give them away. Otherwise they do a standard big swipe or a two hit combo and are fairly weak by this point, just don't let a few of them swarm you as they can poison you even if you block. Anyway grab the item down here and kill the lizard. As you approach the exit a staff wielding priest will rush to attack you. These guys have some fairly rapid combos and can break your guard, but they can be blocked with minimal stamina loss and then countered when they leave an opening.
From the exit go right and hug the wall, carefully make your way past the broken rock/bone here and look right to see the item you knocked down earlier. Always keep an eye on the water here as it can often hide deadly drops. Grab the item and then navigate back to that cave entrance you emerged from. To the left of the path here is a chest you can grab as well. Now you can move forward over the marked path (watching out for enemies hidden in the water on either side) to the hut just ahead. Go in here and chat with the Milfanito woman here. DO NOT KILL THEM! Exhaust her dialogue to get an item, then head out the other door. Outside the hut go immediately right to find a chest near the side of the building (again watch out for enemies) and then head back to the path.
Up ahead you should see a group of priests waiting for you. You can snipe them to lure them to you and, if you head back into the building, they won't follow you all the way. Use this to thin them out and deal with them one by one. You can also pick off a bunch of submerged enemies from here. Now head towards the entrance they were guarding (grabbing the items on the way) but go just to the left of it for a chest first. Then go into the tunnel.
There will be a tick ahead of you, so kill him straight away. If you look to the left (just before the tick) you will see a cave FULL of the lizard creatures and a chest. If you stand outside the cave and just shoot them from afar then they literally will not move and it's a bunch of nice easy souls. Then you can go in and open that chest. Head back out and follow the path to an open area.
The enemies here are pretty annoying. As the mages can cast homing soul arrows from a great distance and they track you pretty well in the wide open spaces. A bow is a must really, or a bunch of good spells, as you can take them down from afar with 2-3 hits depending on your level. There is one of the casters straight ahead of you as soon as you enter this area so kill them ASAP. Then make your way into the ruins just to the right (watch out for the hidden lizard man by the steps) and head in there to activate a bonfire.
Go back out the way you came and then right to the corner of this building. Look straight forward to spy another spellcaster in the water up ahead (if you have the bonfire ruins on your right). Deal with him and then move onto the path. You can see a fallen stone that forms a ramp on the left, and if you look in the water on the left hand side of that you will see another lizard to kill AND a Lockstone device. Feel free to use this one as it opens up a way to a chest with a decent weapon. Then go back to the main path and follow it to the stone ruins with the torches, killing all the enemies in your way (one of which will be a large enemy with a mace so be wary as trying to kill him with spellcasters around is a nightmare).
If you look through the gap in the left hand side (while still on the path just before the ruins) you will spot another magician you can snipe so kill him ASAP. From here if you look to your left you'll see another Dragonrider stood on a submerged bridge. You can kill him if you like (try not to stand near edges as his attacks can knock you off) and go past where he was to open a door if you're human, but it doesn't lead anywhere right now.
We'll come back to this path later. For now head into the ruins for an item to grab and then go right down the middle path in here. At the end look left to see an Ogre you can snipe - so kill him from here if you can. Now, from where you are, you can kill a submerged enemy on the right and go down there for an item. Now you can head along a small path you can follow near where the ogre was stood (marked by the occasional stone pillar and ruin) that leads out into the water.
The path is fairly narrow and has a few spellcasters, and a couple of submerged enemies, along it. Take your time and keep an eye on the floor so you don't drop into a watery grave. There is an Estus Flask Shard at the end and a spell you can grab. Once you have both then carefully make your way back to where you killed the ogre, and go back into those ruins.
This time go into the middle and then right onto the path/islands that lead to the next hut. Kill the two guys stood outside (an easy way is to snipe them from the previous torch lit ruins) and then head to the hut. Inside is a summon sign for an NPC character if you need the help, and when you go out the next door you will be attacked by another priest so feel free to lure him back inside. From the doorway you should also be able to snipe another spellcaster off to your left as well so kill him too. Then look right as there is ANOTHER well hidden path that leads to a chest with a spell in it. So again take your time and make your way along it to get the item, then head back the way you came.
From the hut move towards the submerged stone path/bridge in the centre. From here you can snipe more spellcasters off to the left (there is always one, but sometimes two if one moves from their initial position). You may also get attacked by a lizard from the water just in front of you while you do this, but he has to take the long way around to get up onto this slightly raised area.
Look to the left side of the ruins you are in (if the exit is in front of you) to see some breakable branches, guarded by more enemies. Head over there through the water and smash your way through. An ogre is in here so deal with him however you like, though he will NOT follow you all the way back out so use that to your advantage if needs be. Once he is dead you can move past where he was to find a corpse you can loot. Then head back to the main path and look to the left, as there may be another spellcaster still alive back there - kill them if so. If not you will see three more enemies near the exit. Two of them are the melee types and the other is a healer. If you shoot them then the melee characters will rush you while the healer follows. Try and kill the healer from afar and then deal with the others up close. Or lure the melee guys back to the last building if you need to.
Once they are all dead you can approach the exit but don't go through yet. To the left side are some more sloping ruins with an item you can grab and to the right is a corpse at the end of a thin ledge (just grab the items from the FIRST corpse you see, the second one is attained from the other side). Once you have these then head through the fog.
Once through you'll be met be a bunch of the poison ticks. Try and kill them from afar if you can, as these variants emit a cloud that will degrade your gear rapidly. Then just past them is another bonfire on the left. Activate it and rest up if you need to. Further down the corridor you will see a few more smaller ticks and one GIANT one. This guy can degrade your equipment pretty quickly if you get too close, so stick to shooting them all full of holes from afar.
Head out of the exit behind them and hug the wall on your right, along a narrow ledge, to find an item. Then go back to that entrance. If you go left from the entrance you came through, along a narrow ledge, there is another caster to kill as well. Up ahead is a circular bunch of ruins with a spellcaster hidden on the right side (just edge forward to spot and snipe them) plus a couple of regular guys and a healer in the middle. There are also a few lizards hidden in the water here too, as shown by the golden glows. Kill them all and them go to the left hand exit to activate a troublesome NPC invader that will rush to attack you.
The invader uses strong pyro/sorcery spells and can be tricky to manage in the water. Drag him back to the bonfire cave you came from and hide in the bonfire nook. He will come after you and you will be able to get in melee range with no fear of being blown apart. If you have spells/ranged attacks then feel free to duel him outside and use the pillars for cover. But watch out for the various lizards joining in.
Once he is dead, face the stone circle from the bonfire cave and you will see a corpse hanging over a fallen bit of the ruin straight ahead. You can only grab the item from the other side, so edge around one of the pillars on either side of the corpse to get the unique spell here (needed for an achievement). Then you can follow the path on the left (if looking at the circle from the cave) to continue onwards. You'll come to another hut with a second Milfanito who will vanish when you speak to her (make sure to speak to her). Then go through the other door and down the path to the next fog gate and a boss battle.
The Demon of Song is fairly similar to the Covetous Demon boss from Earthen Peak, as he mainly does physical attacks and crushing attacks that can bash straight through your blocks. He can ONLY be damaged on his face (when it is revealed) and arms, so there is little point in strafing around him as his back/sides cannot be hurt though you do want to be just off to one side of him to dodge his charge attacks easily.
Instead you best bet is to bait him into his sweeping combos, then counter while he recovers. If you have summoned a helper who can distract him then ranged battle works a treat here too - as you can lock on and then fire arrows/spells from afar for decent damage and no risk.
Up close he will either charge straight ahead, rear backwards on his legs and then slam forwards (don't try and block this), try and grab you (very damaging), do a water spit attack up to three times (fairly rare and generally only if you are at a distance) or go for a general slap attack (1-3 hits). If you stay just in front of him (not too close to grab) and off to one side then you can pretty much bait the generic slap attacks until he is dead. He may occasionally rear back for the belly slam, but this has a massive telegraphed movement and can be easily dodged. Once he is dead you get his soul and the Key to the Embedded which we'll use shortly.
Head out of the new exit and follow the path to a door up ahead (with a Syan knight in front) but don't go through. Instead look off to the right to see a ruined tower you can reach, plus three basilisks that you might want to snipe from here. Again navigate the water here carefully to prevent a sudden drop, before you go up the small steps into the tower you can go around the right side for a chest. Then head inside to activate a bonfire. From here warp to the Central Drangleic Castle bonfire. Go down the path that leads to King's Passage and then up the circular elevator you come to. At the top go into the room with the trapped woman and interact with the Embedded - you can then use the key to open the door here. Do so and speak to the trapped Milfanito that was in there until she vanishes. (You can now speak to the other Milfanito that you met in Amana to get a Divine Blessing from each.) Then go back down the elevator, back to the bonfire and warp back to the last bonfire in the Shrine of Amana.
Now you need to die or, to be more accurate, be hollow. If you aren't already then just jump into the water next to the tower you are in (take off any Life Protection rings if you have them) then respawn at the bonfire and grab your souls. Now head up the stairs and open the Door of the Dead. There will be some undead supplicants on the other side, so kill them quickly. Then further down the path is a pyro magic user. If you have a Gyrm Shield this fight is a doddle. He will try and shoot you with fire magic, so feel free to trade arrows/spells with him. Or you can rush up close and finish him off with melee (he is pretty easy to kill either way).
Now follow the path to the large fire and speak to the last Milfanito there. If you rescued the others then keep taking to her for a few items (including a Fire Seed). Interestingly if you helped them out, and don't have a large amount of sin, then you can pray in front of this fire while hollowed to become human again. THIS ONLY WORKS IF YOU HAVE NO EFFIGIES IN YOUR POSSESSION OR ITEM BOX.
Head down the stairs to find another Pyro user at the bottom, then a Fire Seed in the cave behind where he was. Then you can go out of the door here to activate a third pyro attacker, kill him and then drop to your left (from right by the exit) to find a chest. Then navigate the ledge back to the middle and go out the opposite side for another item. Once you have both go all the way back to the last bonfire and into the door leading to the Undead Crypt. Stand on the elevator to make your way down.
Undead Crypt
The first rule of Fight Club......I mean, the Undead Crypt is DON'T LIGHT A TORCH! It will only make your life harder and it is really not required (if you do so, then prepare for more enemies/invaders and you lose a merchant/summon). As soon as you enter go under the large set of stairs (on the left hand side) to find a bonfire you can activate and rest up at. There is a corpse with an item on the other side. Then head up the stairs and straight ahead into the room ahead. You'll see a ghoul foolishly carrying a torch (he obviously doesn't know about the first rule) so just get behind him for an easy backstab.
The door out of this room is blocked by a huge shield wielding enemy. This guy hits hard and does three/four hit combos. He also does a big overhead slam that can pancake you. But he is pretty slow so just roll away from his attacks and step in to get a hit in, then repeat. The door he was blocking leads to a darker room that has two dark spellcasters at the far end and a few ghouls in front of them. One ghoul is right next to the door, so watch out as you enter. Step inside to activate him and drag him back to the last room to finish him off. Now you can use arrows/spells to snipe the magicians from the doorway if you like. They generally use a few of the Hex spells, all of which have some homing ability but they can just be blocked by stepping out of the line of sight. If you do want to get up close then the are supremely weak against melee and can be easily knocked out of their casting animation.
You may also notice black jars dotted around this room and the upcoming rooms - DO NOT BREAK THESE. They can quickly break your equipment and poison you to boot, none of them hold any valuables so just try to avoid them. There is also a white phantom summon sign in here, but ignore it for now. Once you make your way through the last room a voice will call out to you (again DO NOT LIGHT A TORCH). Follow the path past a doorway and up some stairs to a room with some Grave Wardens just chilling out. If you light a torch they WILL become hostile, so don't bother. Instead speak to the guy leaning in the alcove at the back, this is Grave Warden Agdayne.
Go through all of his dialogue and he will then teach you the penultimate gesture you need to have them all (needed for an achievement). You can also buy a number of items and spells from him and grab the loot from the corpse nearby.
Now head back down to the door and go through it. Up the stairs look off the edge directly opposite the top of the stairs to see a ladder. You can't grab it from here, but put on a Silvercat Ring (if you have it) and carefully drop down to the ledge it starts at. Quickly do a 180 turn and kill the ghouls down here and then grab the item from the corpse. Now go up the ladder, but WATCH OUT as a ghost will pop out and attack you just past where you dropped down. Wait for him to swing and then climb past him, as if he hits you then you'll be knocked off and possibly die. At the top you'll find another enemy to kill, then a chest to loot. Be sure to grab this - it has the Crushed Eye Orb which you need for a unique spell (needed for an achievement). Once you have it drop back down to the bridge (kill the ghost from here if you like) then head over towards a mist gate.
The mist door here leads to an interesting room. Inside you will see small stone graves you can break, but also larger stone statues (with a knight on them) that take a few hits to destroy. These larger statues will keep spawning magic users if you don't break them AND ghouls will constantly dig up from the graves around you. There are also a number of stone bells that enemies like to ring to summon enemies (you can ring them too if you hit them while attacking, so be careful). So you can quickly get overwhelmed unless you smash stuff quickly. Each time you attack one of the larger stone statues an enemy WILL spawn, but you can usually trap them in the same swings that are destroying the statue and finish them before they can react. If you die then ALL the large statues you have broken will remain so, so don't fret too much about getting them all at once. The phantoms spawned by the large statues can use sword strikes, but are more likely to cast annoying sorceries too.
Knowing that, head through the mist. This first room has a statue to break on your right as you enter, so smash that and the another in the left corner opposite a door. Break both of those and then head into that room to activate a bonfire. Head back outside and grab the items from the two corpses in this area (watching out for ghouls spawning) and then go back outside to where you entered the mist and go right to the edge, you can carefully drop to a ledge from up here (Silvercat Ring again) and then follow it to a room with another big shield guy and an item, then climb the ladder near it to be back in the last bonfire room.
Go out of the bonfire room and then right, and you can see a ladder going up in the right hand corner (rather than going through the doorway) so head up here to find another hex user and a chest. Kill the enemy and grab the loot. From up here you can see more statues in the room below, so you can either drop down and deal with them or climb back down the ladder and deal with them from that side. Either way, once you smash both then grab the items in this room before going up the stairs into a new room.
Be careful in here. As ghostly enemies will pop out of the walls. Their only real strength is that element of surprise as they are stuck in place, have obvious attacks and can be killed in a couple of hits. Stay away from the walls for now and just move to the centre of the room to trigger a second NPC invasion from the Nameless Usurper (the same one you killed in Drangleic Castle). Again she is super weak with only basic knife attacks so you should be able to take her down in no time at all, you need to kill her to get a spell later (needed for an achievement) so be sure to do so.
Once she is dead I would suggest going around the edges of this room to clear out all of the ghosts on the walls (to make an upcoming fight easier). Then stand by the door you came in and face into the room. Go to the wall on the right side of the room and hit A to reveal an illusionary wall. There is another ghost guarding the chest in here so watch out, once he is dead you can grab the loot and head down the tunnel opposite.
Once in the tunnel you will see two large shield wielding enemies up ahead, but there are also three more of the ghosts hidden in the walls leading to them. The shield guys will not activate until you get really close or attack them. So lure out the ghosts first of all and kill them. Now you can use ranged attacks to annoy the shield guys (they won't do much damage) or get in close to strike them. Watch out as they do a lot of damage with their shields, so be ready to dodge back as soon as they start to move. You can lure them all the way back to the last room to make them easier to deal with.
Generally they will do a two hit combo, or a single strike, plus they will pull back one shield and then smash it into the ground. This last one leaves them open for a while so is the ideal time to strike. All their other attacks can sap stamina quickly, even with a good shield. So bait them into the combo or smash and then get out of the way, then step back in to deal damage. They don't actually have a ton of health and one of them usually gets stuck in the corridor if you lure the other back to the first room so you should be ok to take them our with a bit of patience.
Once they die you can move past them to a hole in the floor. Don't drop down yet, grab the item in here and kill an invisible enemy on either side of the hole as each will drop a Smooth and SIlky Stone. Down the hole there are more of the statues that need to be broken to stop the spellcasters from spawning, plus the spawning ghouls will try and ring a bell to instantly summon enemies from every statue. So you need to stop them without hitting the bell yourself. Drop down then turn around go in the corridor on the right to kill a ghoul by a bell, then head back to the main room and kill any other ghouls before you start clearing the statues. Then you need to systematically destroy the statues in here (Some are at the end of small alcoves) while also making sure no ghouls hit the bell. Kill a statue, then kill any ghouls, then kill another statue and so on.
Once they are all dead go to the wall opposite where you dropped in and press A to reveal an illusionary wall and then use a Lockstone on the contraption. This will reveal a face on the opposite wall, so head over to strike it and reveal a room with a chest. Grab the items and go back into the main room. Check the corridors for items, then go to the far left hand wall (from where you dropped down) for the exit. So go down there and then up the stairs on your left as you exit. Pull the lever here to create a shortcut back to the area with the last bonfire. Then you can go back down the stairs to that lever and left at the end to find a chest.
Now go through the massive doors and drop down to the left and go under the stairs. Quickly kill the ghoul here WITHOUT HITTING THE BELL to stop him ringing it. If he does ring it, or you smack the bell, then four of the magic using phantoms will appear further down the hallway. More ghouls appear next to the room as well, so watch out. If the bell gets hit then the enemies that spawn are all static at this point and can be lured towards you one at a time with a ranged attack. If you want the souls then be all means hit the bell yourself.
Once they are dead (or if you killed the ghouls quietly) then you will also notice two Syan knights and a Dragonrider up ahead. The boss is behind there so if you do fail to kill him then you have to slog through these guys each time to get back here which is a pain (though the Dragonrider doesn't respawn). You don't have to face them all at once, as you can normally just lure one or two with ranged attacks and deal with them back where you came in. Plus you can always go back to the room just before the Grave Warden and summon the white phantom to help out. Once they are dead you can loot all four chests either side of the fog gate steps. Then stand on the stairs on look up. On the right side you'll see a poison moth - snipe it from here for another item.
Also from here behind one of the pillars on your right (as you face back into the room) is Grave Warden Agdayne's summon sign. So feel free to call him now if you are human as he is quite handy. If you can summon another player from in front of the fog gate too that will make your life much easier as the boss can be handful on your own.
Go through the gate to meet the Royal Aegis, Velstadt. This guy is pretty slow moving, rather like the Smelter Demon from earlier, and has a fairly long reach with his weapon. His attacks are slow, but can be damaging if they connect, so be sure to dodge appropriately. You can also block most of his physical strikes but be mindful of stamina management if you do so. If you bring in the NPC summon he should take most of the heat and let you get behind Velstadt for some easy hits, but be careful as he can do a two hit combo that strikes directly in front of him and THEN directly behind. So be ready to dodge and don't get greedy.
Once you have him down to half health he will kneel down and chime his weapon. This will infuse his attacks with darkness, so you may take damage even when blocking (depending on how your shield fares). He will also cast dark spells if you are in front of him (or at your summon pals), and emit a dark blast on rare occasions. These attacks are sporadic though and you should be able to hit and run to good effect. If you do need to heal just run as far from him as you can and swig Estus (make sure he is not casting a spell first) as his slow movement is easy to exploit.
Once he dies you will get his soul and can go in the door opposite. Wait at the top for a moment and look down. You'll see King Vendrick moping around but DON'T ATTACK HIM YET (or go too close to him). He currently has ludicrous levels of defence and can kill you in one or two hits - so why make the battle harder than it needs to be? Steer clear of him and we'll come back to him later. Instead you will spot the familiar glow of an item at the back of the room, so navigate past the King and grab his ring (achievement unlocked). Then go back up the stairs and speak to the Emerald Herald who will have appeared here to further the story and give you a clue on where to go next. You can now either use a Homeward Bone to warp to a bonfire or lug it back to the last one on foot. Head back to Majula to level up, upgrade items, grab arrows etc. Now time for a slight detour.
Throne of Want (Part 1)
This part is purely optional but will make your life easier right at the end of the game, as we will kill off a boss now so you DON'T have to fight three of them back to back in the finale. Plus, you can use the boss souls you get to snag some decent equipment from Ornifex in Brightstone Cove if you like.
From any bonfire, warp to the King's Gate bonfire in Drangleic Castle. Head out of this room and go left to the big black door ahead of you (watch out for the right hand Syan statue activating). These doors can only be opened if you equip the King's Ring (secret tip: it also slightly boost your fire damage). So wear that bad boy (you can take it off once you go through) and head down the super long path to the fog gate at the end.
If you spoke to Vengarl (Shaded Woods) after killing his body behind the lion statue near Tark in the Shaded Ruins then his summon sign will be to the right of the gate. Likewise if you have been keeping up with Benhart of Jugo (and you SHOULD have been) then his summon sign is on the left. NOTE: Summoning Benhart for this fight does NOT count towards getting his gear. You need to summon him for the FINAL boss fight (also in this room) and have him survive that if you want credit. But he sure is helpful for THIS fight so feel free to summon one or both of them to help out.
Before you head through here is the most important detail: YOU HAVE TO KILL BOTH ENEMIES WITHIN 30 SECONDS OF EACH OTHER OR THEY WILL FULLY REVIVE EACH OTHER. So don't just focus on one enemy, try and get them both down to about 50% health (to take into account the NPC's damage) and then chip away at them equally. Only kill one when the other has less than 25% health - as you should easily be able to finish them off.
Head through the gate to meet the Throne Watcher and Throne Defender. These guys are the typical little and large act, with one being nimble and using quick thrusting attacks, while the other is much slower and does heavier double handed swings. Frankly, with two NPC allies, these guys should be a pushover by now. All of their attacks can easily be blocked or dodged and the NPC's will take a lot of the heat leaving you free to counter or even backstab. Watch out for the smaller enemy though, as they like to quickly somersault away after attacking making countering hard. The smaller foe also has less HP in total, so you might want to kill them last.
Either way chip away at them until 50% health then watch out as they then like to charge up their attacks with lightning. Make sure you switch between them and be mindful of the damage done by the NPC helpers. Once one of them falls you MUST go all out to kill the other one and prevent them from doing the revive move - you probably have 30 seconds, but that should be enough to do 50%+ damage to either assuming you have a decent weapon/spell set up, Let the NPC's distract them and move in for the kill. Once they are both down you get their souls and can then head back to the last bonfire (Homeward Bone is recommended to save you the long slog) and warp to the Ruined Fork Road in the Shaded Woods.
Aldia's Keep
This area is actually fairly small, but has plenty of decent items so let's grab them all. From the bonfire go up the small stairs and into the middle path (the left goes to the Shrine of Winter and the right to the Shaded Ruins). Follow this past a white tree (grab the item here if you didn't earlier), killing the two little dogs and the ogre on your way and up to another King's Gate. There will be a Syan Knight in front of the gate if you didn't kill him before now, so dispatch him then equip the King's ring once again and head on through to Aldia's Keep.
Off to your left is a corpse with some items, and there is another in the long grass by the trees. Watch out for the dogs in that area too as they CAN petrify you if you aren't quick, but they only take a couple of hits to kill. So snipe a couple from afar then deal with the rest up close. Just behind them, in the corner is a chest. DO NOT OPEN IT. It's another mimic, so go ahead and smack it to death before it can retaliate. Next to here is a small hut with a bonfire, so go ahead and light it.
If you've been keeping up with Lucatiel (and you really should have) then this is the LAST place she will appear. ONLY speak to her if you have summoned her for at least three boss fights (Flexile Sentry, Lost Sinner, Smelter Demon, The Rotten) that she SURVIVED. If you killed more than one of those bosses without her surviving them you will not get her gear or the achievement. In that case you have two choices before talking to her:
1) Use a Bonfire Ascetic at either No-Mans Wharf, Sinners Rise or Black Gulch (Hidden Bonfire) to reset one of those bosses and try to beat it again WITH Lucatiel. It CAN be a boss you have already beaten with her - it will still count. But be aware that doing so will make that area at NG++ level when you go through it again on NG+. Probably ONLY do this if she only needs to survive one more fight.
2) Just speak to her anyway and start her whole quest again on NG+. As two of her bosses HAVE to be beaten there anyway and the Flexile Sentry is quite easy as well. This means you aren't making areas even harder than they need to be next time around.
If you have had her survive three fights then go through all of her dialogue here. She will finish off her story and give you her gear (achievement unlocked) and we all feel a bit sad. Let's be fair, Lucatiel was awesome. The next time you rest at a bonfire she will vanish from this spot and never be seen again.
Leave the hut and go to the opposite side of the stairs to find a Fire Seed. Then head up the stairs twice and drop back down into the central water filled area for another item. Go back up the stairs, just before you dropped into the water, and into the left alcove for an item. Now head into the Keep. The first corridor will see you get invaded by none other than Lucatiel's errant brother (that scamp). If he swings at you near the locked carriage it will break and reveal a Basilisk. So keep away from that to make it easier on yourself. He has a long reach and will alternate between using a shield or going two handed. His attacks can be blocked so just chip away at him until he dies.
Go past him into the next room and the dragon skeleton ahead will start to move - ONLY KIDDING. It used to, but now we need to do a bit of work to get it to spring into action. Around this area are four sconces that you can light with a torch (watch out though as doing so will see you be invaded), after that is done you can head back down here and the dragon will start to move. Run all the way out of the keep - as if he hits you it's a one hit kill. Then head back to his body and grab the Aldia Key. I suggest you clear out this whole area of enemies and whatnot before doing this - as there is a handy white phantom summon that you can use to beat up the invaders. Though I'll point out the locations of the torches along the way.
For now walk past the dragon skeleton to the back of the room (not up the stairs), the first torch you can light is just in front of the arch and summons a red phantom Forlorn with a scythe (watch out as he can do damage even through a 100% physical resist shield) so feel free to light it and then head right. Follow this path round to an energy barrier and meet Navlaan who reacts depending on your current state. If you are human he will be fairly normal but tell you to leave him alone, whereas if you are hollow he will be evil and eventually ask you to kill a bunch of people. Accept his offer (you don't actually have to kill anyone if you don't want to) and you will get a bunch of items and spells from him, then he will also open up his shop to you once you are done. If you are human at this point then remember to come back here the next time you die.
If you follow this path to the opposite side you will find a lever that will release him. DO NOT PULL THIS - as he then starts to invade you at annoying times and you miss out on his quest and items.
The people he wants you to kill (and the way around them - unless you want to KILL them for the items but it is not recommended) are as follows, and you only need to show him the item in your possession (he doesn't take it):
1) Laddersmith Gilligan - just buy one of his ladder miniatures and show it to Navlaan. Reward: Dispelling Ring.
2) Cartographer Cale - he will give you his helmet AFTER you beat the final boss and light all of the flames on the map in Majula, so we can't complete this quest until then. Reward: Simpletons Spice.
3) Felkin the Outcast - in a chest near Tower Apart in Lost Bastille or speak to Felkin with 20 INT and FAI to get this (can use a Soul Vessel to respec and make this easier). Reward: Forbidden Sun (spell).
4) Emerald Herald - will give you the Ancient Feather shortly (plus killing her makes it annoying to level up). Reward: Unleash Magic (spell).
Once you have done all four you can buy items/spells from him without having to release him. I'll remind you to come back here later. NOTE: that you can only do one of his assignments at a time, so you can finish the Gilligan one NOW if you have his ladder miniature, then you'll be given the Cale one - which we can finish at the end of the game.
For now go back out to the main room and up the stairs. At the top go right and double back on yourself to find a chest. Grab the item and then head back the way you came into a room with a bunch of mirrors. There are three mirrors that will release black phantoms (one straight ahead as you enter this area, one from the only mirror on the wall opposite that and the last one in the far left corner). Activate them one at a time to save yourself a troublesome fight. When they emerge they take a moment to get oriented so rush behind them and swing away. You'll either kill them or do enough damage that they are almost dead. All three are slightly different in terms of weapons, but you can block and dodge their attacks as normal so it's nothing too troublesome. Once they are all dead you can grab the items from the corpses in here. Take note of the white phantom summon sign on the floor here as well, as we'll use it shortly. Then head back the way you came.
You now have two choices. You can head up the central stairs and use a Fragrant Branch of Yore to depetrify the ogre there (step back once you do so, as he falls forwards). If you do that then you can easily snipe him from the stairs until he dies as he will rarely follow you down there unless you get really close. Once he dies you will get a unique helmet. Otherwise you can go past the bottom of his stairs into an alcove on the left and up the staircase in there. Either way, head up to the top level where there is a basilisk in a cage.
If you stand in the doorway by the alcove staircase (the one that didn't have the stone ogre) you can just snipe away at the basilisk with impunity. He will break his cage once you attack, but won't get close enough to trouble you. If you want to go the melee route, then bait him into a breath attack and then get around his flanks and strike from there. His physical strikes can be easily blocked or dodged.
There is a corpse in front of it with an item you can snag, plus a chest down the side of the main stairs that you can loot (the second torch sconce is near to it). There are also two petrified statues up here that you can use Fragrant Branches on to get a few items (the one nearer the stairs has 2x Elizabeth Mushroom and a Petrified Something, and the other has 2x Bonfire Ascetics).
Once that's all done head through the door behind where the basilisk was and pull the cord hanging from the dragons mouth. This opens the door up ahead. Head through and spot a Lockstone contraption (it just lights up the area, so ignore it).
As you move forward you will notice large paintings on the walls on either side (plus an ogre in a cage - ignore him for now, but feel free to kill him once the acolytes are dead). Give the paintings a smack to reveal the Acolyte's behind them, then wait for them to drop down before finishing them off. These guys have fairly slow combos and are easily blocked and taken down. There is one on the left before the ogre, then another on the right and finally a third on the left again.
Past the initial caged ogre is a second ogre in a cage. Now look to the left of where he is to see a dead end corridor that is securely locked. You need to shoot the ogre in the cage ahead, which will cause him to break free, then lure him back here and make him hit THAT wall. Once he has done that you can kill him and open the chest that was hidden in there. Yet another torch sconce is located in this short corridor too (it summons greatsword Forlorn).
Now go back to the door on the left hand wall (from where you entered this area) near to where the first ogre was and head in here. Note that you can lure both ogres back to this doorway for easy kills. Smack the shelves on your right as you enter to find an item. Go halfway down the stairs in the corner and then press A on the left hand wall to reveal a room with a bonfire. Rest up if you need to and then go down the stairs. At the bottom is a cage with two of the large dogs (from the Gutter). DON'T GO IN JUST YET! If you have arrows you can actually snipe them both to death through the bars which is a good idea. Otherwise open the cage door and lure them out - again DO NOT GO IN THERE. There is also another torch sconce to light next to the cage (it summons greatsword Forlorn).
Once they are dead you should remove all armour/rings and THEN go in the room to grab the items from the various corpses. The orange liquid here will make short work of your equipment so don't risk it. You will find the one and only Soul Geyser spell (needed for an achievement) so be sure to grab it. Then head back up the stairs and out of the door.
Now that everything in the vicinity is dead we can deal with all of those torches (if you didn't already). Go back to the mirror enemy room in the first part of the keep and summon the white phantom. Then go and light the torches. The two in the first area (one at the bottom floor, behind the dragon, and one at the top on the right near the chest) both summon Forlorn with scythes so deal with each of them. Then head into the second area past the dragon statue with the pulley. There are sconces to light by the pit full of orange liquid (just down from the bonfire) and by the wall that the second ogre could smash to reveal a chest. Both of these Forlorn enemies have greatswords instead, which can be fully blocked with a good shield, so are a bit easier to kill. Once they are dead head ALL the way back to where you came into the keep. As you come down the stairs and pass the dragon skeleton it will start to move, run forward towards the exit and duck around the corner (so you can still see into the room). The dragon will lunge at you but do no damage and then you get Aldia's Key. Watch out, as it may have smashed open the basilisk cage just around the corner from you, so deal with that guy if so.
Now go back up the steps and through the pulley door, then down the corridor and look on the right hand wall. You should see another door which required the key to open. Let's head on in.
Backstab the Acolyte ahead of you and then another will rush to engage you as well. Once they are dealt with you can grab the item from the corpse on the table in front of you. Look left to see another gargoyle in a cage, plus more Acolytes looking at chests (all three chests in here are mimics) and a spellcaster right at the back. Your best bet is to snipe the gargoyle so he breaks out of his cage then run back through the door, he'll follow and you can shoot him easily (as he can't get through the door). If he wanders back into the room then just pop in and shoot him until he follows you again. After that you can snipe the other Acolytes and the spell user from afar. Then snipe one of the chests at a time (again you can lure the mimics back to the door you came in as they cannot fit through). Kill all three mimics and grab what they drop.
Smash the jars to the right of the gargoyles cage for another item. Then you can pull a lever in here to lower the cages outside - there are two mimics, a large tick and a mutated undead, so be careful out there (one of the mimics drops a Fragrant Branch of Yore when killed). If you go out the other door from the one you entered then you also end up behind another ogre. Feel free to snipe him from here. Then you can snipe the nearest mimic and lure him back to the door you came through to kill him. Repeat for the other enemies for easy kills.
Alternatively go back into the last room and out of the door you initially entered (clear out the other enemies first). Head right to the end of the hall and that troll will smash through the door. You can now snipe him while retreating down this hall for an easy kill. If you go back to where he smashed through you will see a door on the left (just before where the ogre burst through) you can head through here to find another Acolyte (but nothing else). Then head into the ogre room. Move forward through the arch and be ready for ANOTHER ogre to burst through the wall up ahead. Lure him back the same way and kill him (or take cover in one of the side rooms).
Once he is dead you can move past him and straight ahead to the next fog gate and a, fairly easy, boss fight. Head through the gate to meet a Guardian Dragon. This guy only has a few attacks and they are all easily dodged. It also helps if you have the Gyrm Shield for its 100% Fire resistance but it's not mandatory.
He will breathe fire in a cone in front of him, you can block this but it is easier just to strafe to the side of him and then you can get some attacks in. He can also hover in the air and blast fire down in front of him, if you have the Gyrm shield then get distance and block towards him (with at least 20 END you should take no damage). If you are close to him he will do a one or two hit horizontal bite attack. If you get near to his feet then he will try and raise the leg and stamp on you. If you get behind him he will try and smash you with his tail (you can cut his tail off). Finally, he has a habit of flying up onto the walls and shooting fireballs at you. Just run close to where he is hanging, or off to the side he is not facing, to dodge this easily - but watch out that you don't get underneath him when he lands again.
In truth this is supremely easy, especially for melee fighters. Run in close to his feet and bait him into the stomp move. Get out of range when he raises a leg, then dash in for some strikes once he is recovering. You can pretty much trap him in a cycle of this one attack until he dies. He may rarely go for a bite attack so keep your shield handy. Plus, he will hop onto the walls to breathe fire once or twice, but just move away and wait for him to come back down before repeating. He should die in no time. Once he is dead you get his soul and can hustle out of the opposite door. Look right when you exit to find a corpse you can loot then head into the lift and go to the next area.
Dragon Aerie
This area is actually pretty light on enemies, but there is plenty of loot to be had and a LOT of Crystal Lizards. It is in your interests to hunt down as many of these as you can if you are interested in upgrading your gear - as at this point most of them will drop Petrified Dragon Bones and Twinkling Titanite amongst other things.
Remember if they disappear BEFORE you kill them then they will respawn once you rest at a bonfire. It's easy to clear out the major enemies here and then just run through to kill all of the lizards for their stuff.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The long wobbly bridge at the end of this section will get broken by a dragon if you spend too long crossing. The amount of time you get to cross depends on how many dragon eggs you break beforehand. In order to get all items we will break a lot of eggs - but you can then reset the egg counter by resting at a bonfire so feel free to break ALL the eggs you need as you go through here to get items, lizards etc. I'll tell you when to rest to reset them. If you break NO eggs you have infinite time to cross that bridge.
As soon as you enter this area follow the path to the right and speak to the Emerald Herald up ahead. She tells you a bit more of the story AND will give you the Ancient Feather. Do not sell or give away this item as it is basically an infinite version of the Homeward Bone, plus you can use it to complete Navlaan's quest (he doesn't take it from you either).
Now turn 180 degrees and go down the small path that is now on your right. This leads to a bonfire you can rest at, so do so. You now have two potential routes, depending on if you have a Fragrant Branch of Yore (you should have got one from the last mimic in the Keep). But if not you can head up the ladder by the bonfire across a zipline and be at the final long bridge in no time. From there you can traverse this section in reverse, but it's not really recommended. I'll assume you kept that branch instead.
To start we'll go up the ladder anyway. Go down the ramp near to the zipline but look to the left of it to see a ledge you can drop to. Do so carefully and grab an item then use the Aged Feather to warp back to the bonfire. Head back up there again, and go to the zipline (equip the Silvercat Ring first) and look ahead of you, you'll see a bridge that runs almost in line with the ziplien and one that goes across it. You want to use the zipline and then drop off it (press B) just as you move across that SECOND bridge. Do it right and you'll drop to a ledge with an item, and then can warp back to the bonfire again. Now, from the bonfire, go outside and follow the path up to a bridge. Cross this and depetrify/kill the statue then go across the next bridge. As soon as you go into the cave here look on the left hand wall and quickly kill the exploding zombie stood there.
Ahead of you is another enemy just behind the big rock as soon as you enter (on the left) so kill him quickly too. There is a ramp up on the left here, then an alcove with an item and a Crystal Lizard to the right of that (so kill that lizard quickly). If you go down the path to the right of THAT cave (left as you exit it) then you'll come out to a ledge with another exploding enemy plus a red phantom will invade as you get near the bridge. You can kill her for souls and an effigy as ever (watch our for her rapid attacks and stretchy sword) but don't need to go that way so feel free to ignore it.
Back in the initial cave go up the left hand path (from where you initially entered) to meet another Guardian Dragon. He is slumbering as you come up, so (from the entrance) take a minute to snipe the exploding guys around the area. One is in a nook on the right just as you come up, one is on a higher ledge to the left of the area and two are in a little cave up on the right. Again there are a number of Crystal Lizards up here, so kill what you can but don't be afraid of just heading to the bonfire to reset them if you have to. Let's deal with the dragon first, as you can get a bunch of attacks on him before he even gets up. This guy has the exact same patterns as the earlier one, except he obviously has no walls to attach to. Take him out in the same way OR shoot him with arrows from where you came up and duck back down when he uses flame attacks.
Once he is dead you can come up and kill the remaining Crystal Lizards up here. Sometimes they will scatter while you fight the dragon but he will not respawn so you can come back here at your leisure. There is one to the right of where you enter, one on the left side, one straight ahead that runs towards some eggs and one up the ramp on the right near an alcove with more eggs. Also, if you didn't kill the exploding guys they will jump down and RUSH YOU when the dragon is dead, so take care as they can wreck your gear.
Also search the eggs opposite of where you enter for an item and grab the one from the corpse hanging into one of the holes. Now head over the wooden bridge up here (on the left as you entered to face the dragon) but watch out for another exploding zombie just around the corner as you reach the opposite side. Once he is dead, THREE MORE will drop down from the right of where he was so quickly kill them too. Once they are dead you'll see a second bridge to cross, snipe the exploding guys (three of them) on the far side before you cross.
Go up the ramp here and then double back on yourself down the path to your right (in front of the bones) to find an item in the alcove. Then go back where you came from and head in the entrance to meet a third dragon. Same rules apply, though it is harder to snipe this one as his flames go through the bone walls so don't use them for cover. Also a rather annoying priest will appear on the ledge on the right side of here when you start the fight. Try and dodge his projectiles and focus on the dragon, then kill him afterwards.
Once they are dead this area also has a couple of Crystal Lizards to kill (if they didn't run off) plus a couple of corpses to loot. There are two paths exiting this area but you should take the right hand one. This leads up to a ledge overlooking your final dragon fight (watch out for another exploding guy near the exit). If you stand up here you can use arrows and spells with no chance of damage in return. Once he dies use this point to snipe MORE exploding enemies (one is on a ledge to your left, another down to your left on the floor and a couple of the other exits at floor level), though some may be out of sight.
Drop down to a ledge on your left where the enemy was and then drop from there to your right for a ledge with a Crystal Lizard, smack him quickly as he has a habit of running of the ledge. If he does that then drop off quickly and finish him. Once you drop to the floor there will be another Crystal Lizard on your right (it may have already started to run) and another to your left.
Grab the items from the various corpses in here and then take the path to the left (as your dropped down) and smash through some eggs to get through. As you go up this path to the last area you can look off to right side of the path and you will see a ledge you can drop to (if you look down). Do so carefully and grab the two items, then use the Ancient Feather to return to the last bonfire. Then you need to make your way to where you killed the last dragon (remembering the explosive guys and mopping up any Lizards you missed).
Now take the other exit and cross the bridge, there will be two more exploding guys over here and you may get invaded by a Forlorn red phantom yet again. At the other side there is a zipline on your left. If you go across it you'll land back near the bonfire. This time be sure to REST at the bonfire to reset any broken eggs. Then climb the ladder again and take the zipline back across. Now approach the large and ominous wooden bridge and head across it (it should never break if you reset the eggs).
Dragon Shrine
After the bridge go into the building ahead to find a bonfire you can activate and rest at then head back outside and go left. Go up the stairs and you'll see three dragon knights.
IMPORTANT: You can make this whole area as easy or hard as you like. As the smaller dragon knight enemies will only attack if you attack them first (attacking one will cause all his nearby chums to become hostile too). So you can theoretically ignore them, just kill the bigger knights and grab all of the items in this area with minimal effort. However, with a Silver Serpent Ring +1 equipped these guys drop 2,640 souls each. So it can be worth offing them. I'll assume you are greedy and want to slay these guys, but feel free to ignore them.
The bigger guys are similar to the knights in Heide's Tower but their combos and recovery are faster AND they can use lightning blasts that strike in front of them. If you stay halfway down the stairs and snipe him with arrows he won't even get close. Once he is dead you now have two of the most annoying enemies to deal with. The smaller dragon knights move insanely fast, have some very damaging attacks and can recover from staggers or roll out of attacks with ease. A lazy, but effective, way to deal with ALL of the knights in this area. Is to snipe them once or twice with an arrow and then run back onto the bridge you crossed (not too far, about 7/8 steps on) then turn around. They'll follow you down here and then start heading back up, but you can usually lock onto them and snipe them to death before they can do so. Follow them back up the path slightly to finish them off. It's cheap but effective if you are having trouble and there are a LOT of enemies here so it may come in handy.
Once the first three enemies are dead, go into the room right of where they were for a chest. Then head back outside and under the stairs in front of you to find a Lockstone device. Use a Pharros stone here to reveal the usual face in the alcove under the stairs and give it a whack to reveal a chest. Grab the loot and then head up the stairs.
At the top is another knight with a mace, plus two more of those bloody dragon knights. Snipe the knights and kite them to the bridge for easy kills. If you do that the big knight will follow partway down the staircase you came up, but stop halfway, you can snipe him from the courtyard below and he'll die with ease. No go back up and under the arches on the left. Then go up the stairs in this little alcove. At the top turn around and see some more steps leading out into the open. Run up these and look right, across the stone bridge, to some more steps leading to a circular tower and a greatbow wielding knight and his melee friend. Snipe the melee user and run back down the stairs so he'll follow you. Take him to your favourite killing spot, then come back up here and snipe the greatbow user while using the ledge next to the stairs for cover. Then go up and grab the chest directly behind where you emerge then head to where the bow user was and grab the item off the corpse up here, now do a running jump to the ledge opposite.
Grab the item in the chest up here and then drop down and head back up to the tower you jumped from (not up the stairs here). You can see two more dragon knights ahead and another big guy, snipe them from here and they will rush down. They may come all the way to the tower - if so just jump across to the ledge opposite and they can't follow, allowing you to look back and snipe them with ease. You can do this trick with a LOT of the upcoming enemies with ease, so remember this spot as it will make your life much easier.
Once all three enemies are dealt with head up the steps to where they were and look to the right to see a ledge to ends in a drop. You can drop down to a stone ledge from here, and then down again to a chest. There is a white phantom summon point down here too (if you're human) so use it, as it'll come in handy up ahead. Go through the door in this room and you'll see another dragon knight ahead plus a big guy on the right. Snipe the smaller one from the door but watch out if he gets close, then just kite him back to the last room where your phantom can help out. Then go back to that doorway and snipe the big guy, or head in to beat him up in person. Once he is dead you can go into his room and look in the little alcove on the left for an item. Then head through the door that knight was guarding to find a chest with a SUPERB ring in it (Third Dragon Ring). As soon as you open this chest you will be invaded by an NPC. Don't be alarmed - he is in the room at the top of the spiral staircase.
Let's head up there to deal with him, making sure to drag our phantom along. Be warned the he has some rapid and damaging attacks but if you catch him in a combo you can do significant damage, then just back off and recover stamina before either blocking his attacks and waiting for an opening or catching him in a combo before he can start an attack. Personally I found that a fairly constant offence would quickly wear him down and enable me to kill him. Once he is dead go up to the altar in here and grab the Petrified Egg (needed for an achievement) as well as the item to the right side of the altar and the chest up here which contains the Great Magic Weapon spell (needed for an achievement). Then from here you can drop down to another ledge with a wooden chest with another Fragrant Branch of Yore before finally dropping back to the courtyard you were in BEFORE dropping down to that chest earlier. Go right when you drop down and open the door.
This little corridor is a handy nook so feel free to use it as a safe haven for sniping or healing (if sniping be aware that the enemies will gradually retreat out of your line of sight).
Head up through the next door to a large staircase. At the top of the first lot of stairs you can see a LOT of the small dragon knights lining each side up ahead. Plus there is a unique dragon knight a bit higher up too (watch out for him as he is a slightly different colour and has a lot of health). Phew. You can usually lure the knights by sniping them with arrows, then retreat back to the last corridor when they get too close - repeat until they are dead. Watch out though as they will happily follow you all they way into the corridor and beyond if you shoot them, so feel free to kite them back to the tower (with the ledge you can jump to) for easy kills. If you do that then the other knights will be milling around at the bottom of the long stairs near the door as you come back up, so repeat as required. Once you kill all of the knights near the door go up the stairs again and snipe any stragglers to lure them down the same way - including the speedy, unique knight. It's best just to kite him back to the tower so you don't have any issues and then fill him full of arrows.
Once they are all dead proceed to the top of the stairs and through the door ahead to meet the Ancient Dragon. Most important: DO NOT ATTACK HIM YET! Instead move towards him until he starts to speak to you, go through his dialogue until you get the Ashen Mist Heart (achievement unlocked) which is needed for story progression. Now once that is out of the way we need to kill this guy in order to get his soul so that we can easily kill King Vendrick.
He will not become hostile until you do about 2k worth of damage, but then he gets mad. He actually only has a few attacks. He will jump in the air and blast fire down in a large area, he will lean back and then forward shooting fire in a cone in front of him, he will shoot fire UNDERNEATH his own body (if you get underneath/behind him) or he will use physical attacks in the form of bites or tail attacks depending on where you are. The key to defeating him is to bait the same couple of attacks and then counter.
The only equipment you really need is the Gyrm Shield (enemy drop in Doors of Pharros) due to it's 100% Fire resist. Plus, having at least 30 Endurance is advisable (especially for melee users).
Now your ideal position wants to be in front of him (just off to one side) about a metre in front of his head and be sure to lock on. Too close and he will use physical attacks, so it should be easy to tell. Now from the correct position he will ONLY use two attacks.
1) He will jump in the air and breathe fire in front of himself - at which point you want to duel wield the Gyrm Shield (HOLD Y to duel wield if the shield is in your left hand) and slowly walk away from him. You should take two hits but your shield/endurance will absorb it all. Once you have taken that second hit lower the shield to get your stamina back and get back in position. Magic users or people without the shield/endurance should locate the tip of his tail when he leaps in the air and position themselves next to it to avoid damage (just don't let him squash you when he lands.
2) He will lean back and shoot fire in front of himself. Strafe to his side to avoid it and then run to his front foot to get 1/2 attacks in. Magic users should duck to the side and then cast a spell ASAP. Once you have hit him then get ready to pull the shield out and go back in position.
After both you then want to get back to the sweet spot in front of him and get your stamina back, then get your shield ready again. Just keep repeating this process and you will chip away at him with minimal risk - be aware that he may do the same move two/three times so there is no guarantee he will alternate between them one at a time. Once he dies you will get a Soul of a Giant. DO NOT USE THIS ITEM - YOU NEED ALL FIVE IN YOUR INVENTORY TO LOWER VENDRICK'S DEFENCE. You should now have TWO of this item in your inventory if you hung onto the one from the giants that gave you the Forgotten Key in the Black Gulch. You can now use the Ancient Feather to warp to the last bonfire. Then you can go to Majula and level up, buy items etc. You should also warp to the first bonfire in the Iron Keep, cross the bridge and hang a right in the first room then follow the corridor to the end to speak to Magerold. He will ask you for the Petrified Egg you found, give it to him and you can then join the Dragon Covenant (achievement unlocked).
Now that's done we can mop up a few other tasks before we hit up the endgame content. If you like you can skip the DLC at this point and do it AFTER we have killed the final boss. However, I thought it would make sense (story wise) to do it all at this point. DO NOTE that you only need to do the DLC content in order to get certain spells (needed for achievements) if you are purely going for the 1,000g. I'll detail the entire areas and boss fights of each anyway as there is some decent loot/weapons that may make you life easier on subsequent run-throughs.
Let's get started. Warp to the Lower Brightstone Cove bonfire and head back to the room you defeated Freja in (over the wooden bridge surrounded by crystals, into the chapel, up the ladder and then down through the web filled room). You can now use the Ashen Mist Heart to interact with the weird stone sculpture in this room. It will warp you to a memory, which you usually have limited time in but this one is fairly straightforward. Just head forward towards the dying dragon in front of you and interact with it to get the Ancient Dragon Soul (you can trade this with Ornifex for a great sword). Then interact again to leave this place. Then head down to the Primal Bonfire near here to warp back to Things Betwixt.
By now you should have at least 2 Soul Vessels on you (I had about six at this point) if you've followed the guide, plus you've be a reasonably high level. What we are going to do is max out certain stats to get a bunch of free items - then you can revert back to your current build. If you were a mage then you may have done all of this already, so can ignore this bit. Speak to the middle witch and first select the talk option to get 6x Human Effigy then use a Soul Vessel to respec so you have 50 Faith and Intelligence (rest can be anything as we aren't doing any fighting yet). Then go and speak to the following people for free loot:
Licia (by path to Huntsmans Copse in Majula), Carhillion (looking out to sea near to the blacksmith in Majula, if you moved him from No Man's Wharf). Felkin (by first bonfire in Huntsman's Copse) and Cromwell (up ladder at exit of the church next to the first Brightstone Cove bonfire). Each of them will give you gear for being so awesome. As you have the King's Ring you can also visit Grave Warden Agdayne in Undead Crypt (while you are here, interact with Vendricks armour again now you have the Ashen Mist Heart to speak to him and learn some more) for some free weapons as well. Now you can warp back to the witches to go back to your preferred build.
Now we can kill that pesky Licia to get a spell (needed for an achievement). As you enter the room with her, assuming you have the Crushed Eye Orb from Undead Crypt (and killed the Nameless Usurper red phantom both there and at Drangliec Castle), you will get a message saying the orb is stirring. That's because she is the villain that has been invading you. Make sure you have bought all of the spells and items you want/need from her, then use the orb in this room. You appear as in invader in her world. She casts a lot of potent miracles so try and interrupt her casts with timed attacks. If you need to heal get the central pillar between you and her first. Also be warned that when she gets down to about 25-30% health she will start to heal herself, so make sure you have enough stamina to finish her off before she can do so. Once she is dead you'll get her gear and that spell we need. Now you can choose whether to soldier on with the last few story missions OR do the DLC. Your call but I went with the DLC first, so feel free to skip the following if you do the same.
Memories of the Ancients
Our next progression destination is the Cardinal Tower bonfire in the Forest of Fallen Giants. Remember that place? Nostalgia. Head there when you are ready. It is worth noting that whenever you enter any of the memory segments you only have a limited amount of time to do everything. The only items you NEED to get are the Souls of a Giant, plus defeating the boss. Everything else is optional but you are free to repeat the memories as many times as you like to get everything. I'll guide you towards all the bits and pieces but don't get too frustrated if you run out of time. Just pick up where you left off.
From the Cardinal Tower bonfire head down the ladder and then go right, past the elevators that led down to the Last Giant and through the arch up ahead (there may be two spear wielding guards here if you didn't farm them earlier, so watch out). Go right and then right again to end up in a tunnel behind an Ironclad soldier. Kill him and then run through the arch on the left side of the courtyard he was stood in (to stop the enemies above lobbing firebombs on you). Kill the spear wielder in the next courtyard if you like and then head into the courtyard just ahead where a dead giant stands. Interact with him to be pulled into the Memory of Vammar.
Run straight ahead until you reach an area with two doors (one ahead and one to your left) and speak to Captain Drummond who is laid on the ground to your right. Go through the full range of options until he starts to repeat himself and he will teach you the last gesture you require (achievement unlocked). He also makes it so that the Royal Soldiers in the memories will not attack you but BE WARNED: if you accidentally attack them while trying to take down the giants (likely to happen) they will all turn hostile.
If the achievement doesn't pop upon learning the Hurrah gesture here, then you have missed one. Check the list here to see what you might have overlooked. To see what gestures you have just hit the BACK button and then select the option to swap one of the current gestures.
Once you have done with him go through the left hand door (directly opposite Drummond) to grab a chest with a bunch of Smooth and Silky Stones (remember to take them back to the nest in Things Betwixt when you can). Then go back and open the other door and head through.
Be careful in this corridor as a giant will smash through the left hand wall about halfway down. These guys hit HARD even if you are SL 150 or more, so be ready to dodge their attacks and try for a backstab if you can. They are also vulnerable to poison but have a ton of HP so it may take a while (and you are on a time limit). Watch out for their three hit combo and their combo that hits directly in front AND behind. Otherwise treat them like any other large enemy and dodge their attacks and counter when you can.
Once he is dead do not go through the hole he made, instead follow the corridor around for a Fire Seed. Then head back to that hole and look through. Out here are two more giants, one with a large club and the other one with poison attacks. If you snipe the club enemy he will move towards you (and usually fall over near the door for some reason, giving you a free hit). Deal with him first and then move up to take on the poison guy. He has less health and doesn't hit as hard but, obviously, can poison you. Once they are both dead you can grab an item on the scaffold in the far left corner. Then head out of the door in the right corner.
Look left out here to see a bunch of soldiers fighting two giants. With two fireball casting giants on the lefthand roof above them AND an even bigger club wielding giant further down the street. It's a pain to kill them all in the allotted time UNLESS you have some amazing spells or get some handy backstabs.
You can usually kill the two on the ground while they are distracted by the soldiers (be quick) then retreat to get out of range of the mages. You can then snipe them from back near the entrance, though they often jump off the roof after you. At some point the bigger giant will also wander over to try and pummel you. You can roll past his swings fairly easily but watch out as he can do a lot of damage if you botch the timing and his attacks will damage you if you block (SO DON'T).
Assuming everyone is dead (or you run past them all) there is a building with an open door at the end of this street. Go left from in front of it to find a chest. Go right from that door to find an item in the right corner (Giant Club). Then go through that door to find a ladder you can climb to reach the roof with the fire users (and another Soul of a Great Hero). Now go back into the last tower and out of the back door head left to spot another corpse you can loot in an alcove and then you'll see another large giant waiting for you at the top of the stairs. Either kill him or snipe him and lure him down to the bottom, then just run past him. At the top is another item you can grab and then you need to examine the Giant slumped in the doorway to get another Soul of a Giant (that should be your third. Again: DO NOT USE THEM). Examine him a second time to leave the memory.
Now you probably can't do ALL of that in one run. So feel free to chip away at the various items on as many trips as you need. Note that on subsequent visits the giant that burst through the wall at the start will instead try and smash though the door near Drummond - so be ready. Plus, you can kill him and then run past the next two giants, before legging it past the street of giants to the tower, so you only have to fight (or lure) the final giant to reach the soul. Your choice.
Once you are done here we need to go back to where we killed the Pursuer (past his fog gate). Back track the way you came, through the courtyward with all the barrels and right there. Head through the small corridor and then go right and through the door that led to the Pursuer fog gate. Go up these stairs (killing the two enemies) and onto the battlements (more enemies here). Follow the path straight ahead and you will see Benhart of Jugo sat in front of the next giant. Be sure to speak to him until he repeats himself (needed for an achievement) and then you can approach the giant and enter the Memory of Orro.
This area is also timed and has a ton of items. So I'll map out where everything is and you can approach it how you like. As soon as you spawn go straight ahead to meet our pal Benhart of Jugo again. So speak to him until he repeats himself. Then go up the steps to his left.
The next room will have some Royal Soldiers in it, who will be hostile if you attacked some of them in the last memory OR if you didn't speak to Drummond. They are tougher than their hollowed versions but still easy to block and counter. So kill them if you have to. Grab the item from the corpse in here and then use a Pharros Lockstone on the contraption on the wall. As ever smack the ghostly face that appears to find a secret room with a chest you can loot.
There is also ANOTHER Lockstone contraption in here but DO NOT USE IT! It will activate an annoying trap. Instead press A on the wall just to the right of it to open an illusionary wall, head inside to find two more chests to loot. Now go back into the room that had the soldiers and continue up the stairs at the far end.
At the top you will see two giants fighting soldiers on ballistas. The closest one is a fire user so try and kill him ASAP but watch out, as sometimes he can seem to be targeting the soldiers and will actually launch a spell behind himself to hit you. Use the Gyrm shield to block his spells and keep out of the line of sight of the ballistas. You should be able to kill the spell user while his friend is distracted with the soldiers. Then you can sneak up on the other giant and get some free hits in. If the ballista guy survived (and is hostile) then feel free to kill him too.
Now destroy the wooden blocks in front of the cranes up here to lower some platforms. Then edge to the gap near the right hand one (if you are looking down to the courtyard below). You should be able to see the small wooden platform the crane lowered below and to your right. Equip the Silvercat Ring and carefully drop onto this. Then do a 180 to see a hole in the wall. You need to JUMP into here (tricky with the small platform). When you do so there will be a giant to fight and a couple of chests with a nice weapon to loot. Then drop through the wall behind where the giant was and back down to the courtyard, you should be able to grab a Soul Vessel and Soul of Great Hero from a corpse here too.
Head back inside to where Benhart of Jugo was and go all the way up the stairs again. Once at the top you can drop onto a stone ledge (further left of where you jumped down previously) to snag another Soul of a Great Hero. The cross the ledge to drop to a small roof on the far side. From here you can snipe the large giant and the two guys on ballistas below (it's easier to drop down and backstab them both once the giant is dead). You can now run into the central courtyard and climb the ladder on your right (it will be on your left if you come out of the right hand passage by Benhart of Jugo). Kill the archers at the top and grab the item up here, and follow it around to drop onto a roof with another item (if you didn't get it earlier). Now you can head back to the main courtyard, past where the two ballistas are at the end and up the stairs on the left to reach a slumped giant and your fourth Soul of a Giant (I will KEEP reminding you NOT to use these). Examine him again to leave the memory.
If you just want the soul then here is the quick route. Spawn and talk to Benhart (if this is your first trip here) and then go all the way to the top of the stairs. Kill the fire user and then drop onto the stone ledge just past him, then go to the end and drop onto the roof on your right. Then from here drop behind the ballista guys and go and grab the Soul of a Giant. Easy.
Ok time for the final memory. Head back to the ladder that leads up to the Cardinal Tower bonfire and move past it watching out for the enemy coming over the bridge and the other slumped by the wall. Kill them both and head over the bridge the spearman was crossing, then right at the end (watch out for the enemy laid on the floor here) and through the door. Immediately go left and up the stairs here to another King's Door. Equip the King's Ring to open it and head through to find another bonfire to activate and rest at.
Head past the bonfire and look ahead to see the next giant. Note: that you can drop down to the left here to find a corpse with some Twinkling Titanite. Then you have to drop down to the valley floor (it's where we got the Fire Longsword way back when) and head up the ladder on the left and follow the scaffold to a hole in the wall and then the steps back up to the Cardinal Tower. I'll wait a minute while you do all that and head back here. Ready? Good. Make sure you are human before heading in (IMPORTANT).
Examine the giant to access the Memory of Jeigh, this section is pretty short so the time limit shouldn't be an issue. As soon as you enter you will see Captain Drummonds summon sign on the floor IGNORE IT. Instead head down the small steps near the fog gate to find the summon sign for Benhart of Jugo (needed for an achievement). It is tough to get him to survive the upcoming fight so follow the next few steps accordingly.
Press to summon him and then IMMEDIATELY run up and activate the fog gate (don't wait for him to spawn). Take a step forward and wait for a large fireball to land in front of you. Once it does RUN straight away down the right hand side (ignoring the enemies) until the head of a large statue falls down on the left side. Once it does stand next to the right hand wall, facing out to sea, with the Gyrm shield held up. This prevents fireball damage. If you do get hit you are stood too far forward.
What SHOULD happen is this. The head will roll past you and crush the giants and soldiers, but Benhart will have been delayed enough by your quick movement (and the fact he wasn't fully summoned when you entered) that he should have taken no damage. If he dies then you need to get yourself killed and make another attempt (Ring of Life Protection is handy so you don't lose souls or waste effigies). Assuming you can see his health bar with full health then you are fine. Wait for a fireball to land just ahead of you and then move forward to face the Giant Lord.
As you approach he is likely to do a sword lunge in your direction (that also emits a forward blast) so be ready to dodge to the side to avoid it. Close the distance ASAP so the fireballs aren't an issue and you can bait his attacks. As with the Last Giant you can stay close to his legs and he will only do one of two things.
1) A slash with his sword, which can be up to 2 or 3 hits. Be careful as this can reach slightly to the side and behind him, so be ready to roll when he does this.
2) A stomp attack. He will raise his leg upwards BUT it will actually come down just in front of where he raises it so try and stay behind him.
Stick close to his legs and when he swipes just dodge or block (it drains a lot of stamina though) and if he stomps strafe behind him and attack his other leg. No need to lock on as it can make dodging in the small area a bit of a pain. If you duel wield a decent weapon you can quickly do a lot of damage. Once Benhart arrives he will also take some heat but MAKE SURE HE SURVIVES. If Benhart is taking too much damage then go for all out offence as, by this point, you should have the weapons and abilities to take him down in about 10/15 hits max - probably fewer if you are a magician with the best spells. If you do use magic then feel free to let Benhart distract the boss while you go up on the ledge to the left of him for a better view.
Once he dies you will get the Giant Lord's soul and the Giants Kinship item. DO NOT USE THE GIANT LORD SOUL - you need to trade it with Straid for a unique spell (needed for an achievement). You can go up the ledge near the boss for a corpse with an item plus you can dodge the fireballs and head back to a similar ledge (just to the left of where you entered through the fog gate) for a bunch of Bonfire Ascetics. Once you have those go through the door behind where the Giant Lord was and down to find another fallen giant you can examine for your fifth Soul of a Giant (FINAL WARNING - do not use any of these yet).
Before we do anything else we need to head back to a couple of the memories for achievements. Go back to the Memory of Vamaar first (in the courtyard near the ballista room) and go down the initial corridor and speak to Captain Drummond again. Now the Giant Lord is dead he will give you his helmet (achievement unlocked). You can just use the Ancient Feather to exit the memory.
Next up head to the Memory of Orro (the giant by the crows nest after the Pursuer fight) and speak to Benhart of Jugo in this first room. If he has survived THREE boss fights up to this point (Prowling Magus, Mirror Knight, Giant Lord) then he will give you his equipment (achievement unlocked). If he has only survived two fights then you have ONE more chance to get the required victory on the final boss. Unlike Lucatiel he will not vanish from this spot once you talk to him. If he has only survived one fight then it's up to you whether to use Bonfire Ascetics to make the bosses respawn (Royal Army Campsite, Central Castle Drangleic, Place Unbeknownst) or just try again on NG+. As ALL of his required fights are mandatory, you may as well go for NG+ rather than making life harder on yourself. Again once you are done here you can use the Ancient Feather to exit the memory.
Once you have spoken to them both you can now FINALLY deal with King Vendrick. Be sure to do this BEFORE the final boss fight or you won't get the chance. With all five Souls of a Giant in hand (you DIDN'T use any of them right?) you can use a bonfire to warp to the second bonfire in the Undead Crypt. Go out of this room and then right, then right again out of that door. Head over the shortcut bridge you raised (on your right - again) and through the big door ahead. Drop down from the top of the stairs and kill the ghoul underneath to stop him ringing the bell and then deal with all of the knights up ahead however you like.
Once they are dead you can move past them, through the next room and into Vendricks room. (Note: If he kills you a fog gate will spawn in front of his area when you come back). He will only become hostile when you deal enough damage but the fight itself is quite easy.
Vendrick only has a few attacks. At range he will either do a leaping attack towards you which you can dodge by rolling to the side, or release a ball of cursed energy form his ring (this is quite rare). Up close he will either do a single vertical slash or a combo of horizontal slashes. The only real danger is that, depending on your health and armour, he can kill you in one hit. But his attacks are so slow and easy to dodge this shouldn't be a problem. Plus, by having all five giant souls you will do a normal amount of damage to him rather than practically nothing if you didn't have any.
Simply stick close to HIS left leg and strafe around to the back of him. If he does a vertical slash it will miss and you can counter, if he does a horizontal slash then roll past him and be ready to roll again if he starts a combo. If he doesn't combo then counter, if he does roll again and then counter when he stops. Repeat until he dies - it's that simple. Only go for one hit at a time to be safe and you should have no problems. If you do have a lot of endurance and a good shield then you can block his strikes but it saps that much stamina that you will be unable to strike back. So just duel wield a weapon and dodge instead. Occasionally he will jump backwards when you stay close to him for a while, so just follow him to prevent his ranged moves and repeat the same formula. If he does hit you (and you don't die) then only heal when he does a vertical strike or you double roll past his combo.
Once he dies (achievement unlocked) you will get a bunch of souls but not HIS soul. But we can soon solve that. Head to the Crumbled Ruin bonfire in the Shrine of Amana (it's the second one). From here head to the main path (watch out for the magicians and goons) and then follow it to the ruins ahead with torches. To the left of those ruins is another Dragonrider on a water covered platform. Kill him and follow the path to the left side of this platform to a door. Now the King is dead (and IF you are human) you can open this door and go inside to get the Soul of the King, then there is a little side passage that will take you to a chest with his armour too. You can also take a detour to see the ghostly Chancellor Wellagar (in the entrance to Drangleic Castle) and he will give you his weapons for defeating the Giant Lord.
Throne of Want (Part 2)
Once you have done that it is time for the final boss. Head back to the King's Gate bonfire in Drangleic and hang a left out of that room. Open the King's Door and speak to the Emerald Herald (she is just inside to the left) for a last snippet of story progression. Make the trek back to the fog gate up ahead (assuming you came here earlier).
NOTE: If you didn't fight the Throne Watcher and Defender earlier then you will have to fight them now AND then fight the last boss straight away afterwards. That's not ideal so hopefully you did everything in order.
Once again if you spoke to Vengarl after killing his body his summon sign will be on the right and if you have been keeping up with Benhart of Jugo his sign will be on the left - feel free to summon them both. If you still haven't gotten Benhart's gear then this fight WILL count if you just need one more so try and make sure he survives if that is the case. A solid tip is to equip curse reducing items and have some Effigies on your item belt for quick use in the battle ahead.
Head through the fog gate to meet Nashandra, who looks a bit different this time around. Her primary attack is to deposit a bunch of cursed balls around herself, these will curse you rapidly if you go near them (but can be destroyed with an attack) so try and wait for her to move away from them. Your NPC buddies seem immune to this effect so feel free to let them get close and then you can use spells/arrows from afar. Her other attacks see her summon a dark blade to combo you with if you get close, she will also do large dark blast attack all around herself when you are close too. At mid range see likes to do a curse beam: either down into the ground in front of herself and then straight up OR going from left to right horizontally (you can roll through this with good timing).
She moves VERY slowly though and you can heal or cure your cursed status just after you bait her into doing a vertical beam attack or when she is replenishing the cursed balls. If time isn't an issue then feel free to just chip away at her with ranged attacks and then run away to maintain distance. You should kill her without a hitch. If you want to speed things up (especially it you need Benhart to survive) then feel free to get in close, dodge her dark sword attacks and do good damage. Just watch for when she crosses her arms to do the dark blast as you want to roll away quickly.
Once she dies you will get her soul as ever but assuming you said YES whenever Aldia popped up to ask you a question then you'll have to fight him as well. The best advice for this fight is that he almost exclusively uses pyromancy spells, so if you have a Grym Greatshield equipped then it will be almost trivial as you can block everything. You can only attack him when his flame shield is down (you'll hurt yourself otherwise) so wait until he is charging an attack, or recovering, and then strike - also be aware that he can teleport around the area at times. Once he is dead you are now confined in this room so HAVE to end the game. Walk towards the dome to get the final cutscene (achievement unlocked) or walk away from it for an alternate ending, up to you. DO NOT GO TO NG+ STRAIGHT AWAY. Instead let the credits end and you will be warped back to Majula - now we can finish up a few things.
First go into the mansion in Majula and speak to Cale the Cartographer. Killing the last boss will have lit up all of the fires on his map, so keep speaking to him to get his gear (achievement unlocked). Now warp back to the first bonfire in Aldia's Keep and head inside. Go straight ahead and under the large stairs and around to your right to speak to Navlaan (make sure you are hollow remember). With Cale's helmet you should now have ALL the items you need to complete his assassination quests and get all the items and spells he has (remember you need to be hollow for him to give you the quests) two of which are unique to him (needed for achievement). Once all four are done (see earlier for the items you need) you can access his shop and buy any spells you may not have already.
Now you want to do anything you can at this point: max out a weapon to +10 (if you haven't already) for an achievement, invade Licia with the Crushed Eye Orb (if you haven't already) for her unique spell, max out the Heirs of the Sun Covenant (if you haven't already) for their unique spell, get the Bellkeeper Covenant to Rank 2 (if you haven't already) for their unique spell and finish the Pilgrims of the Dark Covenant (if you haven't already) for their spell. Then check this list for all the spells you should have in your possession by now.
The only ones you should need going into NG+ (barring the ones available in the DLC) and beyond are as follows:
Great Chaos Fireball - Chancellor Wellager (New Game ++) – 17,400 souls
Flame Weapon - Trade Old Witch Soul with Straid of Olaphis (New Game +) – 5,000 souls
Numbness - Trade Old Dead One Soul with Straid of Olaphis (New Game +) – 5,000 souls
Blinding Bolt - Trade Old King Soul with Straid of Olaphis (New Game +) – 10,000 souls
Crystal Soul Spear - Trade Old Paledrake Soul with Straid of Olaphis (New Game +) – 10,000 souls
Bountiful Sunlight - Chancellor Wellager (New Game ++) – 11,000 souls
Wrath of the Gods - Chancellor Wellager (New Game ++) – 8,200 souls
Once you have all of the spells and achievements you can get (you should JUST be missing the four spell achievements and the Dark Soul achievement) then feel free to grab all of the souls and items you think you will need. Many of the smiths and merchants will sell unlimited amounts of certain items (and Chloanne has a good supply of a number of rare crafting materials) so buy what you need. Be warned that if you think now is the ideal time to kill NPC's for their stuff you are right AND wrong. As even if you purge your sins via Cromwell (Brightstone Cove) you will still be more likely to get invaded by Blue Sentinels and the like on NG+ so it probably isn't worth it. You SHOULD have gotten a copy of all their gear legit by now anyway and duplicates aren't really worth it.
Now if you didn't do so earlier we can tackle the DLC segments. I'll highlight where you HAVE to go to get the spells you need, but feel free to explore them entirely to get all the items and gear possible.
Crown of the Sunken King DLC
Shulva - Sanctum City
To access this segment you need the Dragon Talon, which you should have picked up earlier. If not then you need the Forgotten Key from killing the two giants at the bottom of Black Gulch. Then go down the longest of Gilligan's ladders down the pit in Majula, and up the one next to it. Open the door here with the key and grab the item from a corpse. Now we can warp back to the Hidden bonfire in Black Gulch - then proceed into the room that had The Rotten and through it to the Primal Bonfire area. Interact with the statue at the back of this area to warp to the DLC.
In the new room just go straight ahead to open the doors, then move forward (look behind you as you go through the next arch for an item) and follow the linear path. Eventually you'll reach a dragon who will sit up and fly off, and then a bonfire you can light. Go down the steps next to this bonfire for another item, then back up and head left following the path. Ahead you will see a soldier slumped against the wall. He isn't fooling anyone. Rush in and try to kill him before he stands.
These guys are pretty tough, even for basic enemies, and can deal a lot of damage with a couple of hits. You can block their attacks easily enough with a big shield (Grym or Havel's for sure) as dodging on this cliff edge is a risky business, then strafe around their slow attacks for an easy backstab. Past him are more enemies. Equip a bow and shoot the weird obelisk near them instead (they are triangular pillars with blue runes on them, and will sink into the ground when hit) this will move some scenery and damage a bunch of these guys. Finish off the survivors and there will be some more archers behind them, snipe them from afar then go up to where they were for an item. There is another obelisk up here, smack it and drop onto the platform that starts to move near it. Ride it to the top and you can jump to another ledge with a great ring to pick up. Then back to the floor - it helps to have the Silvercat Ring equipped while doing some of these areas, but it's not totally required.
From up here you should see some enemies patrolling (or sleeping below) so feel free to snipe them from relative safety. Now hit the same obelisk that just raised that platform but this time go down the hole. At the bottom kill any enemies you missed then go right to loot another body. There is another obelisk here so smack it and jump on the structure as it rises to grab another item. Now drop down again and face the small stairs.
There may be some enemies around (especially an archer ahead of you) so kill them first, then look into the building on the left. It is full of egg sacks, so snipe them from afar plus there are three egg crawlers enemies in there so watch out. They only take a couple of hits to kill, but if they gang up on you they can trap you in endless attacks with no escape plus they can emit a cloud of gas that will damage your equipment. Which is annoying. Once they are dead grab the item and head for the left hand exit from where you entered. Hit the obelisk out here and a platform will pop up so you can cross into the next building. Watch out as a Sanctum soldier is waiting for you.
Head up the stairs once he is dead and move towards the item, but turn around before you pick it up as another egg crawler will be sneaking up on you. Kill it and grab the ring. Now head back to the egg cluster building but don't go inside, instead go around the ledge outside and drop off on the back to get another item. Then jump to the stairs ahead of you. Go up them and you'll see another obelisk so smack it and then look right to see an item down the left side of the next set of steps so grab that too. Now go up these steps and into the building on the left (the one that isn't the egg crawler one) and go through the other door to smack a further obelisk. This finishes building a new path so head over and hit the next obelisk for fun. Now you can smash through the vases into the building ahead of you.
Up the stairs in here are a bunch of egg crawlers again, so kill them quickly, then look at onto one of the ledges for an item. You'll also see a bunch of archers that you can snipe from here so feel free to do so to make your life easier. Now go to the other window and jump back to the ledge below, then head forward and left down the stairs. At the bottom is a weird new enemy. It is a little creature with a bunch of poison statues on top of it. You have to snipe the bits of the creature that are poking out to kill them, so do that quickly. Then grab the items that were nearby. Just to the left of where that statue was, down a dead end, is another soldier that will activate when you come into view. So kill him now to prevent him sneaking up on you.
Now down the stairs and hit the obelisk on the main path. Watch out as there are a couple of sleeping enemies on this path (plus those archers if you didn't kill them earlier) so kill them and THEN pick up the items scattered around. There is a building with another poison statues creature inside, kill it, but then go around the building rather than into it and hit the obelisk. Now go back to the entrance to this building and look right to see a cave, just to the right of that are some red eyed statues. With a greatbow and arrows (or spells) you can smash these and hit the obelisk behind them. Or fall onto the platform in front, and below, you to shoot it without breaking them.
Now cross to the cave and grab the item. Kill the three poison statue clusters inside and you'll meet a weird tree. Ignore it for now and grab the items in here, a whip and a hex spell: Promised Path of Peace (needed for an achievement). Now if you use the whip on the tree is will restore durability to all of your equipped items, which is nice. Alternatively you can kill if by hitting its eyes (like the MONSTER you are) for some Dried Root (a healing item), though you don't need it so leave the poor thing alone.
Now head outside and just down the slope near to the first obelisk in this little area. The first platform should be lowered, hit the obelisk to do so if not. Then go to the third movable platform and get on top of it. There is a platform on the left with a corpse and an item you can jump to, do so and then jump back. Now from this platform you can shoot an arrow to raise it, as it starts to move you want to jump to the middle floor of the raised platform next to it for yet another item. It's pretty confusing but if you raise/lower all three platforms you can get your bearings of what you need to do. Once you have everything raise all THREE platforms then you can either ride one to the top, or climb the ladder in the building just before the cave, and cross them to a new room with a handy new bonfire to light.
Now head out the other door in here to a ledge, drop down to the right and grab the item but watch out as there is a Sanctum soldier inside the room you drop next to. So kill him before he can sneak up on you, then go through his room and follow the ledge to grab another item. At this point I was then charged by two more soldiers (though it may be because I used the bonfire) so deal with them if so. Then go back to where you dropped down initially. From up here you can sometimes snipe another enemy just below you (straight ahead from where you dropped down). If not, drop down again and kill him anyway and then cross the narrow bridge here.
Cross over and enter the building up ahead for another item. Come back out and approach the next bridge, at which point a dragon will roast the two enemies so don't get too close. Note: this is a one off event so if you come back across this bridge in future you'll have to kill these guys yourself. DON'T CROSS THE BRIDGE YET. Instead go around the ledge (past some vases) to your right) if you are facing the bridge) to find yet another spell that we need: Focus Souls (needed for achievement) so grab it.
Now cross the bridge ahead to enter the next area.
Dragon's Sanctum
Plenty more to see and do in here so get ready. In the first room ignore the door (but remember it for later) and go down the corridor. You'll come to another room with a stone switch on the left, you can smack this one but some are out of the way so a bow/arrows would be helpful (can just be regular arrows). Once you hit this it opens an alcove with an item you can grab. Yay.
Now look into the right most room. You'll see a ghostly figure ahead DO NOT ATTACK HIM. Instead check out the corpse that is glowing red just past him. Shoot that instead with arrows to make him visible, then shoot him to lure him back to this room. DO NOT GO DOWN THERE YET. Once he comes up he does a series of quick combos, but they can be blocked and countered with relative ease. However, he does take a couple of greatsword hits to stagger so don't expect to finish him off in one combo. Once he is dead go back into his room and get as close to the edge of the raised area as you can and look left - you should be able to snipe a second body. Now try and snipe the guy from here, or sneak down there and try to backstab him. Either way, once he is dead you can loot the ton of chests in this room.
Edge forward to the other exit and you'll see an enemy on the left, plus another will rush you from the right (there is also a crossbow trap, denoted by the raised stone just through this doorway). Lure these two guys back to you but watch out - the green mist around them will slowly poison you so don't stay too close (it disappears when they die). Once they are dead edge into their room (watching out for that trap) and look right. You'll see two more slumped enemies. If you run to the first one you can probably kill him before he stands, then lure the other back to the last room so you can avoid the dark magic user.
Once they are both dead go into that room again and look into the lower section (don't go down their yet) to see another soldier and a spelluser. You can snipe them both to death from up here in complete safety. Then go and open the chest at the end of this raised area (it's a TRAP! So be careful). You'll notice another stone switch on the ceiling here too, so shoot it and grab the loot it uncovers.
Now drop down to the lower area and grab the item, look at the round stone and snipe the enemy you can see through the top hole and then use the pressure plate in front of it to rotate it so you can get through. Go forward and then right, down the corridor until you hit another junction. Go left here for an item, then back to the middle. Go forward slowly to spot the hole in the floor. Leap over it and go forward. There is a closed door with a switch in the hole next to it, so shoot it but don't go in yet. Instead carry on down this corridor and look up near the end - as there is another switch you need to shoot.
Now go back to the door you opened and kill the soldier in there (he's waiting on the left) and move to the top of some stairs. THEY ARE TRAPPED! The raised stone is at the top, fairly central, though feel free to snipe the enemies at the bottom and then use the trap on them as they come up. Mwa ha ha! Then head down there and open the chest and loot the bodies for a bunch of good stuff.
Now head all the way back to the hole you jumped over and drop down it. Turn around and kill the bug just around the corner, but don't go down the hole behind him yet. Instead try and snipe as many bugs and egg sacks as you can from up here to make your life easier (I killed at least four from up here). Be sure to equip the Silvercat Ring or something else that will mitigate fall damage and then drop in. Rush past the enemies down here and up the stairs (watch out for bugs coming down) as that stops you getting swarmed and creates a chokepoint. If you can't kill them all on the stairs then drop back down and pick them off as they come back to you. Once they are all dead (check the walls/ceiling for any that didn't drop in) you can loot all of the bodies in here for stuff. Then back up the stairs and up the ladder at the top to find a chest with a ring in it. Then drop down to the corridor with the hole in the floor.
Down that hole again, but go the opposite way this time and you'll come to a room with spikes on the floor. THIS WHOLE SECTION IS PRETTY ANNOYING SO DON'T GO CRAZY. Don't go fully into the room yet. As from up where you start you can snipe a priestess on the higher ledges, do so to make your future slightly less awful. Also from here you can spot another stone button on the wall of one of the arches at the opposite end of the room, snipe it from here.
This next bit requires speed and a bit of luck. DON'T WALK ON THE SPIKES. There is a ghostly knight stood just around the corner of the wall on the left of this room (on the spikes) then another in the room past the archway. What you need to do is dash towards the archway then, once through go immediately left (you may have to detour onto the spikes to get around the next ghost knight) and up a stone ladder on this wall. As soon as you get to the ladder press A to climb and then hold B and UP to move faster as otherwise you may get knocked down. If you made it up here CONGRATS but the awfulness isn't over yet.
From up here there is a switch in the ceiling, shoot it to get rid of the spikes. Then edge across the stone bridge (stay on the right side) to spot another priestess you can snipe in the room ahead. DO NOT GO IN THERE YET! Shoot the switch in here to open a shortcut. Now for another annoying bit. Go back to where you climbed up and face away from the ladder. If you look down to your right from here you will see some steps going down. There is another stone switch to shoot on the wall right under your feet. So you need to drop down, go slightly down the steps (not too far as you'll activate another ghost knight) and shoot that switch. Be sure to look down to your left first to make sure one of the other ghost knights isn't waiting for you. Drop off, shoot the switch and then run like a crazy person back to that ladder to climb up here (from where you drop down you go back up the stairs, left through the arch and follow the left wall to the ladder again).
Now when you get back up the ladder the wall opposite will have opened and you can jump through it, go around the corner and light a bonfire. Then grab the item a bit further on. YAY! Now jump back across the gap, and go right over the bridge. Activate the ghost knight and then run back the way you came and jump over to the bonfire nook. Turn around and stand close to the edge with your shield up and he should move towards you. Eventually he should just drop off. Feel free to repeat this trick with the enemies up ahead. Now jump back over the gap and go into the room he was in, loot the chest (another trap I'm afraid) and then go through the other door and over a bridge (ignore the chest on the left side of this for now) to some stairs.
Time for more fun and games. Down these steps are THREE more ghost knights, plus a bunch of statues on the walls that you need to smash (you'll know the ones as they have the same red glow as the corpses from earlier). So you need to run in, hang a left and smash the statues you see then run around the room doing the same while avoiding the enemies. You can try luring them back to the last bonfire and making them drop off the ledge to make your life easier - or pushing them into the holes in here (good luck with that). Once you smash all of the statues these guys become visible and you can FINALLY kill them so feel free to do so. Also any statues you smashed stay smashed even if you die - so that's a relief. Right?
Once all the statues are broken and these three guys are dead, grab the two items in here. One is the Eternal Sanctum Key which we'll need shortly. Go back to near the ladder from earlier and snipe all the annoying knights below you until they are dead, dead, dead. Then go back to the top of the stairs, just before the room with the statues, and drop to the chest on the left for a ring. Drop down and head into the room with the ladder and open the chest near it (opened by shooting that first stone switch as we entered this whole terrible area) for the Dragon Stone.
Now up the ladder again and left. In the middle of the bridge look through the round stone to your left and shoot the floor panel, then drop down and shoot it again then climb back up and go to the right of the bridge to shoot it a third time. Then drop down and go into this room to find a chest with yet another spell we need: Denial (needed for an achievement).
Now from here go back through the arches and right, down the steps where we opened the bonfire room and kill the knight on your right side. Follow the path from here, down the stairs into the corridor and down more stairs. Grab the item here and go forward down more steps to a watery area where you'll be invaded by Jester Thomas (that traitor, so much for helping us).
If you have a Grym Shield then this fight is a joke. Keep your shield raised and it will block EVERY spell he uses. Then you can get a hit in once he has cast something (make sure it's not a lingering spell or an AOE one though). Once he gets low on health he likes to cast a healing bubble, so smack him out of it and finish him off.
Past him is a fog gate, but don't fret as you can run back here if you like. Inside that room is a lot of water that will slow you down and about five or so Imperfects, which are large dragon like creatures. They like to dash at you or lob giant balls of darkness with a massive splash effect. They will also leap high in the air and try and squish you for fun. Frankly I was having none of that and would just snipe them from afar, kite them back to the initial entrance and then pepper them with arrows from safety (while watching out for there dark spit attack). It was cowardly but it worked. In the back right corner as you enter is a bonfire but BE WARNED if you rest here all the Imperfects respawn. So light it and move on. Scour the whole area as there are a bunch of corpses lining the waters edge with decent loot.
Then move forward to little island with a stone monument on it. Use the Dragon Stone here to create a path to the next area. Then follow this path into the next room and hit the obelisk to activate the lift, don't go up yet though, as if you go out of the opposite entrance you can follow a path to find a decent weapon. Then come back here and take the lift up a floor. If you go up the stairs here you'll find an exit to the next area, where the two main bosses are. THAT ROUTE IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. If you are purely after achievements then we just have one more spell to get in this area and then you can leave. I'll map out how to do that first, and then map out the boss area if you are feeling feisty (and you DO get some decent souls and weapons).
Instead of going up the stairs then you can go up the other elevator in this room to be back near the first bonfire. From here, warp to the Tower of Prayer bonfire in Sanctum City. Out the door and make your way back to the bridge the dragon attacked earlier (remember there is an enemy in the room as you drop down, another below him and two more on the bridge itself). Then head over the bridge and use the Eternal Sanctum Key on the door on the left wall in the first room. Move to one side as it opens as there is a priestess on the other side. Snipe her to death and then edge into the room and look left to see a second one. Kill her as well and then open all of these lovely chests.
Go up the ladder in the far corner and then mover forward to a second ladder. Go up here but watch out for a bug ambush at the top (they come from both sides and behind you). Dash towards the next ladder ahead and then turn around to kill them, once they are dead you can go up this next ladder for another item. Then go back down to where they were. I'd recommend equipping a good bow and some poison arrows if you have them.
Move towards the bridge while aiming and a red phantom will invade ahead of you. Snipe him from afar to poison him and by the time he gets close he should be nearly dead (I used the Dragonrider Bow, maxed out, and he flinched at every hit). Once he dies go past him to light another bonfire. Hit the obelisk here to activate the elevator, then get on and ride it down but roll/walk/jump onto the ledge halfway down. On the right side is a body with an item then you can follow the path outside the building to a chest with the Hex: Dark Greatsword (needed for an achievement) which is the last spell we need in this DLC so feel free to get the hell out of here if you like.
If you head back up to the bonfire you just lit you can carry on forward to the Cave of the Dead. This area was ideally meant for co-op play but you can summon NPC's after you drop down the first ledge. The rooms are dark and full of statues that can cause petrification, Sanctum soldiers, poison statue clusters and then it ends up with a boss fight against three quasi-invaders. These guys can quickly trap and gank you, so if you are solo then you should kite them all around the area and snipe them from afar when you get a chance. In truth the area is fairly short (if you know where you are going) but the rewards are not so great. There are some Brightbugs, Bonfire Ascetics and a bunch of crafting materials, plus the unique Flower Skirt armour. So only go in there if you want a challenge and like annoying areas.
Dragon's Rest
If you want to fight the main bosses here, go back to the very first bonfire in Sanctum City, down the elevator nearby and then up the stairs in the room it stops at to the exit to Dragon's Rest. Through the door turn right and drop down to the next ledge (there are a lot of drops in here, so having the Silvercat Ring equipped will be a help).
Drop to the next platform and then go through a doorway, then drop right to a broken bridge. Go to the end of the bridge and drop down again. Go up the small steps here and head left and then right into the first room. The Drakeblood Knights in this area can do rapid combos and recover from being stunned FAST. But you can block their attacks with a good shield and they don't have a ton of health (can be killed in 3/4 hits with a good greatsword). Now there are two switches in here. The left hand one (as you enter) just uncovers an enemy (you can actually snipe him to death through the hole without pressing the switch). The right one releases FOUR Crystal Lizards that will drop from the top hole and run across the room as soon as you press the switch. It's tough to kill them all quickly, so you may need to come back a few times to get all of the loot.
Head out of here and down the corridor to another broken bridge, drop down and head right into a building and there is body ahead with an item to grab. Carry on down that path to find another knight, once he is dead go down the broken staircase on the right side. Then turn left at the bottom and a further left to head down a corridor. There is an illusionary wall on the left side of this corridor hiding a bonfire, so be sure to open it and activate it as you WILL need it.
Out of the bonfire room and head left and around the corner to find two more knights to deal with. Go down to where they were and head into a room with a bunch of open chest, but also a body you can loot for some armour. Now go back past the bonfire and right at the end. Then go forward until you see yet another broken bridge on your left side. Drop down here, then down some steps and drop again. Now if you drop down yet again you'll see an area you can jump to off to your left, so leap over there. Go to your right as you land, and then left. You'll see a body with an item up ahead, DON'T GRAB IT YET.
Approach the corner near the item and use the camera to look down the next corridor and see more knights, slowly edge out and snipe the nearest one to lure him back here to kill him. Then grab the item. Now snipe the other guy and kill him as well, then grab the rest of the items in the corridor they were in. Then go down there and left at the next turn for another body, then left at the end to be back where you started - then jump across to where you came from when you get to a suitable ledge.
Now you can carefully drop down to the bottom level. The fog gate up ahead leads to a boss, there are also two summon signs down here. One near the gate and one near the back of the area (away from the gate) that is for Benhart of Jugo (if he survives this fight it WILL count towards getting his gear). Feel free to summon both or neither, or summon other players (as they will probably be more useful).
Head through the gate and expect a tough fight against Elena, the Squalid Queen. She is a tricky boss as she likes to teleport often (which breaks your lock on) and then immediately attack or cast a spell while you try and find her. Her physical attacks are slow and easily dodged/blocked, but can be devastating if she catches you unaware after a teleport. She also charges up a 360 degree dark blast if you stay too close which can be brutal, plus she uses Flame Swathe (and can cast two at once) which can be a real pain but can be simply run away from.
None of this is the major problem though, as you can tank/dodge most of her attacks with ease with the right gear. The main problem is that she will often summon extra enemies to ruin your day. This can include five small pigs (sounds stupid but they are a PAIN to kill due to their small size), a group of skeletons (easy to kill, but can cause bleed and distract you from the boss) or, and worst of all, a replica of Velstadt (the boss from Undead Crypt) who is a lot weaker but still a pain to deal with. When minions turn up, kill them first but do it carefully as you need one eye on Elena. Other summons can help with this as they will distract her, or kill the weaker enemies while you focus on her.
Once she is dead the wall will open and lead to another bonfire and a fog gate. Heal up and get ready for an even worse fight against Sinh the Slumbering Dragon. He is immune to fire and poison, but dark weapons work well. However, his weird ass hide will quickly lower the durability of your weapon every time you hit him (it's like hitting rock) so having a Bracing Knuckle +2 will help, as will having Repair Powder too, as the odds of manually switching weapons in this fight happening are zero.
The problem is the fact he is relentless and VERY fast for such a large creature. He has some rapid combo strikes up close, can do a charge attack that can smash through a Havel Shield and 130 stamina with ease and does a range of flame attacks that ALSO cause/leave poison. He also flies up into the air and fireballs you from afar and then likes to slam down on top of you for fun.
Your best strategy is similar to the Ancient Dragon, keep a slight distance so he doesn't do melee attacks and bait the flame breath - then run in and do ONE attack before retreating. Even this is not guaranteed as he is a lot faster and more unpredictable than the Ancient Dragon. So good luck. Remember that this boss fight (and the one before it) are purely optional and not needed for an achievements, so don't feel obliged to take him down. If you do kill him then you get his soul which can be made into an AWESOME spear with Ornifex, plus you can pick up the Crown of the Sunken King and Yorgh's Ring from his room. Warp back to Majula to rest, level up etc.
Crown of the Old Iron King - DLC
In order to access this DLC we need the Heavy Iron Key which you should have already if you followed the guide. If not then it is in the Forest of Fallen Giants, down the central fire pit full of salamanders. You can get down here using the Iron Keep Key (found on a corpse under a flaming statue in the first room of Iron Keep) on the door near to the Last Giant fight or by dropping in from above using the Silvercat Ring. Either way, kill all of the salamanders and loot the corpse in this area for the Rebel Greatshield and the key.
Then head to the last bonfire in Iron Keep and down the ladders, make you way to the Primal Bonfire and head into the room behind it to find the statue you need to interact with. Do so and you'll warp to Brume Tower.
Brume Tower
Open the door and hop on the elevator then head up to a mist gate, go through it (no boss fights yet so don't worry) and then turn right and go up the stairs. At the top will be a lot of bodies and a destroyed statue with an item. Grab this to get 6x Smelter Wedges which will be a very important item up ahead. The whole of Brume Tower contains 11 Ashen Idols which can only be destroyed by examining them and choosing to use a wedge (we'll get more wedges later). You HAVE to destroy them all, as doing so causes each one to drop a Soul Fragment of Nadalia. There is a twelfth fragment dropped by beating the Fume Knight as well and once you have all 12 you are then given the full Soul of Nadalia which we can trade with Straid for a unique spell we need (it also costs 45k souls). These Idols also have a nasty habit of either causing spells to go off nearby, buffing or healing enemies and possibly cursing you. So you really want to destroy them to make your life easier. NOTE: If you destroy an idol but die before picking up the fragment the idol will stay destroyed and the fragment will STAY where it dropped.
For now head over the large chain and activate the first bonfire at the other side. Then head up the steps to spot the first glowing red Ashen Idol. However, DO NOT use a Smelter Wedge on this one as it doesn't really impede your progress and is easy to get to later - though watch out for the fire storm it causes when you get near. Instead look left to see a doorway with steps going down, but go past that to the NEXT set of steps. Head down these to find a ring at the bottom, then go back up and through that other door.
Drop to the stationary elevator at the end and then to the central round cog to grab an item, then drop down again and head through the door to an ash field. An Ashen Warrior will pop up nearby, these guys come in various flavours (sword and shield, spear, twin axe, bow/sword) but all can be easily blocked and killed. Try not to get swarmed and watch out for them lobbing firebombs from a distance. If they are on their own they can often be killed before they even attack. Kill this one and grab the item, then run through the ash figures so that one drops another one (do this for all the ash figures you find).
Down the ramp three more warriors will pop up, so feel free to funnel them back to the last area so you don't get surrounded. Go back to where the were and look down the side of the ramp you came down to see an item. WATCH OUT as another warrior will emerge behind you as you go to pick it up.
Kill him and head through the next doorway. Go down the ladder and then head left around the structure to find another one to head down, then grab the item at the bottom, carry on to the next ladder and head down. Look behind you for a corpse with a weapon you can snag. Then go through the doorway up ahead to find another item on a body and a chest further on with a Titanite Slab. The next ladder leads down to a room with an Ashen Idol and a bunch of Ashen Warriors. The Idol will buff/heal the other enemies so try and snipe them one at a time and lure them back to where you came down the ladder to finish them off. WATCH OUT as an Ashen Warrior may run out from a room on the right (just behind and to the right as you first come down the ladder) so be wary.
Once the immediate enemies are dead, head into that back right room to find another enemy (two if one didn't rush you) and then grab the spell: Dance of Fire (needed for an achievement). Back into the main room and you can examine/destroy the idol and grab your first Soul Fragment (1) then mop up any other enemies in here.
At the end of the room on the left side is a metal door with a lever next to it, pull it to head through. Turn left as you come out and you'll see an item, but there are two more ashen warriors that will pop out to say "HI" on this path, so kill them first and then grab the items. Opposite the lower item bearing corpse here is a fake wall, so press A to open it and head inside to find two chest to loot (one of them has 2x Soul Vessel which may come in handy). Now go back up to the door and carry on past it along the other path.
Open the next door to find a new enemy, kind of. The Barrel Carriers will not attack you unless to attack them first, but they are also carrying a big old explosive barrel and will often run into nearby flames and blow up. If you go near them they will scamper away, so in some cases you can use them to blow up enemies or blow open hidden walls. Either wait for these guys to blow themselves up or risk a dash past them to the ladder on the left then head down.
Down the steps ahead of you is a body with an item, but as you get close a Possessed Armour will emerge. These guys have a flaming sword and a hefty bow, so can damage you from any range. Their attacks are easily blocked though, and they often do a spinning attack that leaves them laid out for an easy counter. It's worth mentioning now that SOME of these enemies later on will be quickly revived by nearby Ashen Idols, so if you kill one and it's empty health bar stays on screen (and you don't get any souls) then you'll know if will get back up. Dispatch this one and grab the item.
There are more Barrel Carriers past here (and OBVIOUSLY some naked flames, what gives?) so be careful or wait for them to kill themselves and head through the door onto a balcony. There is a ladder here leading down, but you can often snipe the Ashen Warrior on the next level if you position yourself correctly. On the level he was on you can do the same to two more Ashen Warriors at the bottom of the next ladder (though watch out for them lobbing bombs back at you) then go down to where they were and open the chest for a weapon. Head into the next doorway to find yet another bonfire to rest at.
Head forward from here to a metal door but go left before you get to it to find a chest with some Twinkling Titanite in, then go back to the bonfire room and take the right path instead to a mist door. Turn right and down another ladder then follow the path to a room filled with dead bodies and a door at the end, on the right. Open it and head through (more barrel guys in here) and then loot the items around here.
Now there is a ladder here, but as you can see through the caged area there are plenty of enemies below you. You can usually snipe a LOT of them (at least three) by using the gap where the ladder is to aim at their legs. Alternatively go down the ladder and then climb back up, which will draw a bunch of enemies close to the ladder for you to easily snipe. There is a big new Iron Warrior down here, he hits hard but you can block all of his attacks. Though he also randomly spits out lava around himself which can interrupt your strikes so be careful. If you arrow him to death from above, then it's simple enough. Once you've killed the enemies you can, head down the ladder and kill the rest nearby. Look up to the right (with your back to the ladder) to see an archer/firebomb guy above - so kill him too. Then go and use a Smelter Wedge on the Ashen Idol in here to destroy it and get a Soul Fragment (2). You can also loot the bodies in here once of which will have the great Flame Quartz Ring +3. Now pull the lever on the big metal door in here to open it.
As you head through the door there will be a bunch of bodies with loot ahead, but don't grab the items yet as a Possessed Armour pops up - so kill him first and then pick everything up. Go slightly around the next corner and see a Fume Sorcerer up ahead, try and snipe and kill them from here as if you go much further forward two more warriors will spawn and dealing with all three can be tricky. Feel free to also go forward, bait the warrior spawn and then kite them back to where you grabbed all the loot for an easier time. Once those three are dead, move up the path but watch out as there is another Sorcerer waiting for you and a another warrior (sometimes this one spawns earlier with the others). Kill them and grab the item where the first sorcerer was stood. Then move forward to a ladder.
As soon as you go down this ladder an Ashen Warrior will rush you from behind (as you face the ladder) plus three more will attack from your right as well. It's easy to get overwhelmed. So I slid to the bottom of the ladder to activate them all and then immediately climbed back up, I could then use a bow to snipe the enemies as they milled at the foot of the ladder and then go back down to finish the stragglers.
Once they are dead, face the bottom of the ladder and look right to see the ash field most of them came from. There are a bunch of items to collect out there, some dropping from ash figures you can break, but watch out for two Ashen Warriors that will jump out of the left hand wall to attack you as you do so. Bait their spawn one at a time and they will be easy to kill, then grab the loot. Now head back to where the ladder was and down the steps ahead of it, go outside the building and then left for an item. There is a huge chain to cross here but the area ahead is cursed so we'll come back later.
For now go back up the stairs and then left to the mist gate and head through. Go down the stairs and then right at the bottom, carry on past a metal door to find another bonfire. Go past here and look on your right for an item to snag from a corpse, then take the next right turn which leads to a ladder. Go down here and pull the lever to open the nearest metal bars.
This area has a couple of destructible walls that you can ONLY destroy by blowing up a Barrel Carrier nearby (either by setting them on fire when close or melee attacking them). The loot is worth it so we'll try and get it done.
There will be a flame spitting head near where you enter and a sorcerer just past it. Shoot or smack the head to move it and burn the spell user, then finish them off from afar. Go down to where the were and then left, move forward and the wall you are facing is the breakable one (you should be able to see the difference) so try and lure a nearby Barrel Carrier down here and then kill it nearby to blow up the wall - this maybe easier once you've opened all of the gates in the area. The chest inside has 8x Petrified Dragon Bone so is certainly handy.
There is another lever near to that wall so pull it, and again smack the nearby flame head to send it towards the next sorcerer. Then finish them however you like. Opposite where the flame head stops is another breakable wall (which has some Catarina Armour, in case you want to be an Onion Knight) so again lure or chase a Barrel Carrier over here to access it. Around the corner from this you'll find another lever and a big Iron Warrior to kill (you can lure him back to the flame head too). Once he is dead pull the levers near to where he was stood to open the last few gates in here. Now to can try you best to wrangle the nearby Barrel guys into blowing up those walls.
Once you are done here, go past where the Iron Warrior was stood and head outside. Go left and then left again through a doorway. Go down here and left at the end to find a small room with a ladder, head up it and pull the lever to create a route back to the last bonfire and grab the item nearby. Then head back outside to where you were, and across the big chain that's there.
Enter the mist gate on the ledge you cross to and look left. There is a new enemy here, the Ashen Crawler, these guys edge towards you and seem sluggish. But don't be fooled as they like to suddenly speed up and then leap at you and flatten you. Feel free to snipe them from afar and kite them back to the door you came through for easy kills. There are five of them here so kill them all and grab the item at the end of the corridor.
Head through the doorway and spot the ladder ahead. Don't go down it yet, go to one side and look slightly down, you'll see a ledge you can drop to (by running forward into the hole) that has an item on - plus it has another crawler to kill. Now don't drop down from here yet. Look into the room before and spot some oil covered sconces - shoot them with fire arrows/bolts or a spell and light them up. They'll come in handy shortly.
As you dropped down you may have been invaded, if not you will be when you reach the bottom. Equip the Silvercat Ring and drop down. Now let's get rid id this invader with zero effort, assuming you lit the sconces. Lock onto her and then strafe behind one of the lit sconces, WATCH OUT as they also lit up the floor slightly around each sconce but that is what we are counting on. Now simply strafe her around and around the sconces and she will walk right into the flames and literally kill herself. It's satisfying and hilarious.
Now she is dealt with we can open some of the doors in here. Two of them are linked by a corridor that just contains two Ashen Crawlers, so kill them as quickly as you can. Another has two corpses with items on them but DON'T GRAB THEM YET. Walk into that room and then run back out as a Sorcerer will quickly spawn behind you. Kill them off and then grab the items, one of which is a hex we need: Recollection (needed for an achievement). Now find the door that leads to a ladder and head down, try and have some Alluring skulls equipped if possible.
Follow the path ahead to a big door you can open. Inside are a bunch of flaming Ashen Crawlers that will ignore you until you attack or head in there. These guys like to rush near you and then blow up for massive damage so let's use that against them. Have your skulls handy and then shoot the nearest crawler, then immediately throw a skull in there. A bunch of them should blow each other up. Retreat back to the ladder and throw another skull at any that follow you. Head up the ladder if need be and throw a skull down to kill any at the bottom. Once the coast is clear, go back down and deal with any stragglers. A regular Ashen Crawler will also come into that room from the right side as well, so kill him too. Then go up to the central pedestal in the room the were in to grab the Scorching Iron Sceptre.
Now go through the other doorway, activate the nearby elevator and kill the Crawler that comes down on it. Then head up and follow the path out of here. Alternatively, just use the Aged Feather to go back to the last bonfire.
From here you want to head down the corridor to the central room with all of the stationary lifts. Check the alcoves in here for a corpse holding a ring, and then find the slightly raised platform with another pedestal on it - examine it and choose to insert the Sceptre. This will activate all of the lifts in this entire area. Hop on the nearest one heading down.
At the bottom, enter the left hand doorway and ignore the Barrel guys for now (they may blow themselves up regardless). Through the door in front of you is another ash field, but don't rush too far in as three Iron Warriors will spawn. Bait the spawns one at a time and lure them back to the last room to kill them (they can't fit down that initial corridor so use that to your advantage). Once them are all dead, go back outside and smash all the ash people and grab the items, especially the Tower Key.
Now go back to the lift that came down here and open the locked door that was opposite. Follow the path down the stairs to a body with an item. If you take the next elevator down it leads to a totally optional area - The Iron Passage. There are no specific spells or items that we need down there, and it is designed as a co-op area primarily.
As a brief runthrough. Once you go down the lift you will find another bonfire to light. Then you can drop down to the next floor and summon either two NPC allies or any other players you like (I'd recommend you do so). Continue on and you'll see lever with two other paths (one left and one ahead of you). Now if you pull the lever it will open the cells ahead of you and you can kill four warriors and loot some items OR you can run past the cells towards the flame throwing lizard and get through the grate before it closes.
Each route is different and to get all of the items from both will require numerous trips back to the bonfire to reset things, most of the items are just generic things so don't feel obliged to do so.
Let's assume you pulled the lever and chose to kill the warriors. Now go down the other path near the lever and drop down the hole, then head to a room with two more warriors and a sorcerer to kill. Go through the next door and drop down, then drop down again to a room with another warrior. The next main room you enter will have a sorcerer, two warriors and a Possessed Armour so be careful (one of them is directly to the right as you enter too). Then go to the next drop point and get ready for an Iron Warrior, Possessed Armour and Sorcerer at the bottom. Assuming you kill them all you can grab the item in here and head through the mist gate to fight the Aged Smelter Demon.
Let's hope some of your summons made it along with you as this fight is tough. He has exactly the same moves and attacks as the Demon you fought in Iron Keep, HOWEVER, his attacks and continuous damage is all magic rather than fire so is slightly harder to guard against. If you kill him you get his soul and can grab the useful Pharros Mask in the next room. Then follow the path back to the start of this area and exit.
Whether you visit that area or not, next you want to head to the Foyer bonfire in Brume Tower. Ride the elevator in front of this bonfire that goes down, then ride the next one down as well. Don't get off at the bottom - instead wait for it to go back up and jump off at the next ledge up (that it doesn't stop at) and follow the path here to a room with a chest that has a ring inside. Look down the hole in here and snipe the Ashen Warrior (or drop down and kill him) then drop down.
WATCH OUT HERE. You'll notice that patches of the floor are different colours, do NOT walk on those areas or you'll have a long and potentially fatal drop to the bottom. Drop down the next hole and kill another warrior. The next hole has two more warriors underneath (you can usually snipe them before dropping down) so deal with them - there is an item in the same area they are in. Drop to the next ledge and try and snipe the Iron Warrior from up here, or drop down to his level and kill him directly. Then pull the lever near the door to open it.
In the next area are TWO Possessed Armours but both tend to revive themselves after you kill them (due to a nearby Ashen Idol that you can't reach yet). Past them is another Ashen Warrior too. Try and snipe him from afar or lure the Armours back to the last area, kill them, and run back to here while they revive. Past the warrior are two rooms. Go into the right hand one for a chest with a ring first then into the other and down the elevator at the end (the Armours will not follow you if you go to the back of this room).
You'll emerge into a room with an ash floor. Go forward and then right and an Iron Warrior will emerge, kill him and continue in this direction to spawn another one. Once that one is dead too you will find a bonfire in the far right corner from where you entered (caution: resting here will reset the two Iron Warriors so be careful). Now from the bonfire go around the domed area in front of you (that had the mist gate) and kill FOUR Ashen Idols and be sure to grab the Soul Fragments (6) they drop.
The mist gate here leads to the boss, but we'll come back for him shortly. Instead we should mop up the rest of the Tower first of all for some handy loot and the rest of the Ashen Idols.
Warp to the Foyer bonfire, then go left and take the elevator going up. As you go up you will see a gated area you can jump to (just before the first main ledge you come to) so leap over there (it takes good timing) and go around the corner to find a Crystal Lizard you can kill for some items and a chest to snag. Then warp back to the Foyer bonfire and get on that same elevator but this time at the top go left and onto the next elevator going up but immediately press forward against the wall facing you and keep pressing A as it goes up. This will open an illusionary wall, so ride straight back down and go in to snag the Hollow Skin. This item has terrible stats but makes you totally IMMUNE to being Cursed and is required for some other areas in here. So be sure to wear it when required.
Now go back out of this room onto the elevator and ride it to the top and then go right and open the door. Kill the Possessed Armour in here (he won't revive) and search the nearby alcoves for an item. Head up the stairs and kill the next Possessed enemy, then there are two Ashen Warriors and two more Possessed Armours further along. So try and snipe them one at a time and bait them towards you (and the flaming head in front of you) to kill them. Once they are all dead open the chest at the end of this corridor to find 4x Smelter Wedges. Now you will have noticed a breakable wall opposite the first flame head at the top of the stairs leading up here. So go back down the steps and then usher a Barrel Carrier up here and into the flame, he'll blow the wall and you can open the chest inside for a Dispelling Ring +1 (great against all types of magic).
Now go back out to the elevator area and open the door on the other path up here using the Tower Key. BE SURE TO WEAR THE HOLLOW SKIN. The next area is cursed and pretty dark. As you go down the stairs watch out for two Ashen Warriors rushing you (kite them back to the doorway if you like), go back down the steps to the first level and then head left. Go into the room down here for an item. Down the next stairs are two more Ashen Warriors and a Possessed Armour that will keep getting revived, try and lure the warriors back up the stairs and kill them first (as they don't get back up). Then kill the Armour and run all the way to the bottom of the steps. Go left here and open the door on the left wall and quickly destroy the Ashen Idol then grab the Soul Fragment (7). Now kill the Armour again if it managed to revive. Then grab the item off the body nearby and go to the other end of this downstairs corridor to find yet another spell we need: Fire Snake (needed for an achievement).
Now warp back to a bonfire using the Ancient Feather and warp to the very first bonfire in Brume Tower. Rotate the camera to see a body with an item you can't reach - until the elevator comes up that is, and you can simply walk across to it and pick it up (it's a handy ring).
From the Upper Floor bonfire go into the room with the elevators and go right, wait for an elevator to be going up and drop onto it. Then immediately cross onto the platform opposite where you were and open the metal door here. Kill the Iron Warrior in here and open the door with the red glow emanating through it to find another Ashen Idol to destroy, do so and grab the Soul Fragment (8). Grab the chest near the end of initial room for a Life Ring +3, then open the first door for another item - but also smash the crates in that room to reveal a ledge with a further item hidden on it. Then open the last door next to where the Idol was for a bunch of bodies to loot. Then head back to the elevator room.
Once again drop onto the nearby elevator as it goes up. Now as it goes back down you'll see a smaller platform you can jump/roll to (underneath the one you were on initially) so do that and grab the chest there. Now get back on that same elevator but ride it up and step through the door at the top. You'll end up in a room with a Possessed Armour and two flame spitting heads back to back (if you shoot/hit them they slowly revolve) so kill the enemy and revolve the heads to grab the item underneath the first one. Then revolve them again and run to the door behind the second one, open it and grab the ring from the corpse inside.
Now go back to a bonfire and warp to the Foyer bonfire again. Go down into the elevator room and head left, past the first metal door and up the next set of steps on this side. Go left at the top and kill the Ashen Warrior - then double back on yourself and go down the stairs and outside (sometimes some Ashen Warriors will follow you down here but they turn around quickly if you don't engage them).
Ahead is another metal chain. You'll need the Hollow Skin equipped again for the next area as it is super cursed for reasons best known to whoever built this place. As you cross the chain you will be invaded. The invader is up ahead, on the left side in an alcove at the top of the stairs. He is also super annoying to kill as he has a lance that does rapid combos and, when he loses health he likes to run down the steps like a chicken and be healed by the Ashen Idol. I found that smashing him to the floor with a duel wielding greatsword worked a treat, as I could effectively trap him with the right timing. If he does run off then it makes life a bit harder for us.
Either way grab the item up here and then go down the steps. Look left near the top of the stairs and you'll see two warriors on a cog below you. Snipe them from up here (they'll lob firebombs back and sometimes fall off) then run and drop onto their platform. Now from here you can snipe a Possessed Armour below you but he will just revive, so try and kite him up the stairs first. Then go down to near where he was and snipe the next Warrior on the cog in the middle, then run onto his platform from above for an item. From up here you can see the next Ashen Idol, but if the red phantom survived he will be right next to it - plus there is another Possessed Armour to the left of him too, and the first one may have revived by now.
What fun. Your best bet is to try and distract them all long enough so you can get a clean run at the Ashen Idol and quickly examine and destroy it (you are invincible while doing the destruction animation) then grab the Soul Fragment (9) if you can. Don't worry if you die as the Idol will stay destroyed and the Fragment will be sat where it fell. If that happens just make your way back down here, killing the red phantom (if he wasn't dead), the warriors and the Armours (who will now stay dead) along the way. Then grab the Fragment and head to the bottom of the steps. There is a chest down here but as you get near it THREE more Ashen Warriors will spawn, feel free to bait their spawn and then run up the stairs, drop onto the central cog and snipe them with impunity. Once they are all dead loot the chest for a weapon.
You should now have nine Soul Fragments and one Smelter Wedge in your possession - so keep that for now. Let's TRY to kill the Fume Knight. Head to the Lower Floor bonfire and left from the bonfire, then clear out the two Iron Warriors that will spawn on your way to the mist gate.
This boss is brutal. There are two NPC summons (Carhillion just outside the mist gate, and Ellie in the bonfire room down here) if you are human but both are pretty useless - as each summon will boost the Knights health by 100% (so with both he has 300% health) and neither does significant damage whilst dying pretty rapidly. If you can find other human players to summon DO IT. I managed this fight with two other people, who both survived, as they knew what they were doing.
Head through the mist gate when ready. As soon as you get through he will not spawn straight away, so use any resins, spells, buffs etc now. (Note: you can't use a Brightbug if you have summoned help). When you are ready rush over to him get a hit or two on him as he gets up.
Now the battle gets fun. He seems slow and ponderous but his relentless nature and damaging hits are what make this battle tough solo. He will do a two hit combo with his smaller sword and then a third slower swing with his greatsword (the reach on this is huge and goes almost all the way around him). The timing on these is tricky to dodge. You can block them with a decent greatshield though at extreme stamina loss. If you get close then he will also do a quick sweep with either weapon to the side you are stood on (he partially spins to face you as he does this). If you have distance then he may charge at you and thrust straight forward with the greatsword - roll to the side rather than blocking and then get a hit in as this has a long recovery time. The best advice is to ONLY go for one hit at a time to be safe as his recovery can be surprising, also be aware that he cannot be poisoned.
This first section is made MUCH easier by having other players helping as if you do get hit, you can back off and wait for him to lock onto someone else before healing. If you are solo, then your only chance to heal will be if you dodge the last swing of the combo or a thrust forward.
Once you get him down to about 50% health then things get much worse. He will pause and charge his blade with dark flames, this can do damage even if you have a 100% physical shield. The Gyrm shield negates the flames but not the dark - while Havel's shield (at +5) will stop way more dark damage at a cost of taking some flame damage. He can also kneel down once he has charged his blade and fire out flame/dark orbs at you which can be punishing, as well as doing a charged swipe attack that has a lengthy range (you can roll under it with good timing).
Basically you want to use any items, rings, shields that negate fire/dark damage and try to two hand your weapon before striking him (then switch back to a shield) for maximum results. Other players can help distract him and give you more chances to heal but the NPC's will die so quickly that it is never a viable strategy to use them. Instead go solo or use summoned players, then use maximum buffs and roll from most of his attacks but have a shield handy in case you are unsure of the timing (a shield with good dark/fire resist is even better). Once he dies you will get another Soul Fragment (10) and can go to the back of this room to grab the Crown of the Old Iron King.
However, we still need the last two Soul Fragments for a spell so we are not quite done here. Go rest up at the bonfire and then warp to the Foyer bonfire, go left into the room and take the elevator up and then the next elevator up as well. At the top go left and open the door with the Tower Key. Now go up the next elevator and turn right to be invaded by the Prowlers. There are essentially five red phantoms that all behave in the same way as the Mad Warrior phantom from Belfry Sol, they have rapid attacks and if you take them all on at once you risk being overwhelmed. If you die before killing them then all FIVE respawn.
Kill the first one solo, as the others don't appear yet. Then destroy the Ashen Idol in this room and grab the Soul Fragment (11). Now head to the bottom of the steps and through the door and the other Prowlers will spawn. Immediately run back to the elevator. It may not be there yet in which case face back the way you came with your shield out. The enemies should rush you, but hop on the elevator as soon as it gets near and ride it back down then straight back up.
The enemies will have now backed off and will not all rush you at once. Go back into the room where the Idol was and look at the bottom of the steps as one may be stood there. They can be poisoned so poison arrows are great for killing them quickly, repeat for the other three guys (falling back to the elevator if you have to) and head up the stairs once they are dead.
At the top is a glowing suit of armour (note you need the Ashen Mist Heart and to have killed the Fume Knight to access this area) but ignore it for now and go to the other side to activate the bonfire first of all. The memory here is timed (like the others for the Giants) but doesn't feel as rushed so don't get careless.
Memory of the Old Iron King
Examine the armour to enter the memory. The first room you end up in will have two NPC summon signs, plus the signs for any other human players, but ignore them all for now. Instead go down the corridor and look left at the end. You'll see an Alonne Knight behind the pillar there, so snipe him and draw him over to you. The enemies here are just like those in Iron Keep so you should be able to block their attacks with a good shield and kill them in two/three hits with ease. Once the first enemy dies move forward and look on the right hand wall to see a Salamander looking into the room - snipe him from back here and he won't do anything. Then go further right and look ahead and left to see another Knight you can shoot and lure back here. There are two more Knights (one a Captain) straight ahead and a Salamander to the right of them. So arrow the knights individually to lure them to you and kill them off, and then arrow the Salamander to death.
Then move to the left hand wall and follow it forward to an archway, go inside and follow it to end up behind a knight you can backstab. Grab the item from in here. From where he was look across and to the left to see another knight (if not then drop down and move slightly left to activate him) then kill him before grabbing the items in the middle of this room. Then move forward slightly so you can snipe the last Salamander that's right ahead of you. He is stood above a hole you can drop down BUT DON'T DO IT YET.
Instead run back to the starting area and summon two other players or the two NPC's that were there. Then run back here and drop down the hole. Go down the corridor in the room you land in, but watch out as two more knights may rush you. Lure them back up this passage to the last area and your buddies will help you finish them off.
Now go back to that last room but be careful. There are two archers at the far end with greatbows (one either side) and another knight, plus a Salamander shooting fire from below you. Use the pillar in front of you as you enter for cover and snipe the archers to death, they may rush you if you do this so kill them up close. DO NOT RUSH THEM as your allies will get blasted by fireballs.
Once the knights are dead you can carefully snipe the Salamander using a hole in the floor (to the left of that first pillar) then grab the items in here. You can also go down the steps to meet three more knights and find a weapon to grab. Then go back up top and proceed through the door opposite where you entered to a mist gate.
Head through to face Sir Alonne. This guy is a less brutal version of the Fume Knight as his attacks are faster but do way less damage, plus he doesn't suddenly buff himself through the fight. As ever try and block his attacks and then counter (one hit at a time as he likes to suddenly leap back and then thrust forward). He generally does a three hit combo or a dashing uppercut attack, but as he loses health he will start to do a jumping stab attack that can be a pain if he lands on you.
Occasionally he will also do a dark wave attack which is a horizontal sweep with his sword doing dark damage across a fairly wide area, plus he will sometimes charge up an attack and then lunge forward to try and skewer you. This can't be blocked so roll away quickly, as it does a lot of damage and buffs his sword on top of that.
If you have two other people running interference then you should be able to easily chip away at him carefully, smack him in the back when he swipes at the others but don't get greedy as he is quick to turn on you. Only heal when they are distracted. If you need to heal solo then use the pillars around the edges for slight cover (as if he is close they confuse him) or dodge his jump attack then heal.
Once he dies you get his soul and can go into the room that opens up. Interact with the chair in here to get the final Smelter Wedge we need, then examine the chair again to exit the memory.
Now use the bonfire here and warp to the very first bonfire in Brume Tower again - up the steps to the Ashen Idol we left earlier (watch out for the flames) then destroy it and get the final Soul Fragment (12). You should now be given the full Soul of Nadalia which you should take to Straid in the Lost Bastille (along with 45k worth of souls, but you should have more than that for killing Sir Alonne) to get the spell: Outcry (needed for an achievement). So go and do that now.
DO NOT TRADE THE SOUL WITH ORNIFEX IN BRIGHTSONE COVE BY MISTAKE - AS SHE CAN GIVE YOU A WEAPON FOR IT, BUT IF YOU DO THAT THEN YOU WILL NEED TO REDO THIS ENTIRE DLC ON NG+.
Once that is done you have done everything you need to in this DLC. Only one more to go.
Crown of the Burnt Ivory King - DLC
Warp to the Ruined Fork Road bonfire in Shaded Woods and head out the left hand exit (as you face the stairs leading up). Take the path to the Shrine of Winter, killing the Falconer enemies that stand in your way and the invisible guy and testicle man as well. Once you get to the Shrine you can interact with it to be transported to a snowy field.
As ever we need a unique item to open this door and, as ever, you should already have the Frozen Flower in your possession if you've followed the guide. If not then you need to go to the King's Gate bonfire in Drangleic Castle. Then head right into the room full of statues and Ruin Sentinels. Clear them all out and search the alcoves where the Sentinels were stood to get the Flower. Easy.
Frozen Eleum Loyce
Once that is in hand go up to the big doors in the field and open them, then head through and straight ahead to find the first bonfire in this area. Past here you will be warned to turn back - but pay no attention and carry on through the door. If you look to your left through here you'll see some steps leading to a mist gate - DO NOT GO IN THERE YET. The boss in that area is pretty much invisible until you get a certain item.
Now this whole area is pretty foggy and hard to see, so don't rush ahead as a lot of enemies like to hide around corners and ambush you. On the plus side you CAN get all of the spells required for the achievements without fighting any of the bosses here, so once you have them you are free to leave as the rest is optional, but I'll detail the area anyway.
From the door you came through go right instead and down some steps to meet your first enemy. The Rampart Soldiers do regular combo attacks that can all be blocked, plus they are pretty slow and vulnerable to backstabs as they recover. Watch out from afar though as they can also shoot a magic missile that has slight homing properties. Kill this guy and head into the misty door next to him to find his friend. Kill him and a third enemy will rush up the stairs to greet you as well. Once they are dead you can grab the item in here.
Head down the stairs and get ready for another enemy on your left at the bottom. There are two exits here. The right hand one leads to one of the spells we need (but is blocked for now) so remember this location, but for now take the left hand exit.
You'll notice that there are Rampart Retainers sat around this whole area (one should be just on the path here) but they will not attack you yet so don't fret. You can kill them for souls and loot if you like though. Up ahead is another Rampart soldier to kill, so do so and grab the item in the area he was in. Another soldier will attack you as you head outside so kill him as well and follow the stairs down.
As you go down the steps look to your right as there is a yard with three dogs in there, they are hard to see as they blend in with the snow but if you stand near the top of the steps you can snipe them and draw them up to you. Once all of them are dead go to where they were and find a weapon on a body in the corner. Now follow the main path down a few steps and turn fully left to see an item hidden on a small ledge.
Now take the right path (halfway down you will notice ice boulders to your left - these can be melted to reveal items later on, same as a number of other areas here). It will lead you to an area with a frozen fountain in the middle. There will be two guards by it, two more further back and then two more beyond them under the arch. If you don't venture too far forward you can usually snipe them and lure them one at a time. Watch out - as a few of them are hidden in nooks off to the side. There is also a body on the left side you can loot.
Follow the main path to some buildings and there will be two more enemies on the left side, either snipe them from here or go up where they are to kill them. Then enter the misty doorway on this building and head up the stairs. Watch out as there are a number of enemies (three soldiers and a dog) hiding behind the crates so try and lure them one at a time, or bunch them up for maximum damage. Once they are dead open the door at the end of this room and head up the stairs to meet another two enemies up ahead.
There are two buildings here so go in the left hand one first and kill the weak ghoul, then smash the crates and head into the icy cave. Follow the path to meet a Rampart Lancer, these guys have good range and like to do leaping attacks towards you - however, their recovery time after these attacks is HUGE so go for a backstab to finish them quickly. Further down the path another one will emerge so kill him too and then grab the item from the corpse. Then head all the way back through the cave and outside, into the other building.
Drop down in here and light the bonfire below you. Head outside and meet a new enemy the Ice Golem. These guys have powerful but slow attacks, watch out for their thrust attack as it has a deceptive range as they summon extra ice when performing it. Yet again they leave themselves super vulnerable for backstabs, so go for them when you can, otherwise just block and counter as ever.
Past him on the left side is another Golem so kill him as well, then go up the ramp and look right to see a third Golem to kill. Then grab the item on the right side up here. Past where that Golem was is another Rampart soldier (who will probably be shooting energy blasts at you as you get close). Try and snipe him from afar as there is a further Golem hidden to the right of the steps the soldier is at the top of). Once the Soldier is dead then move up and deal with the Golem too.
Now on the right side (as you came up here) you will see a path between two buildings, so head down it and go left at the end to find a ledge with a ring you can grab. Then go back to the ledge and go past the path you came down and then right again at the end to navigate to a small raised area (with two of the Retainers sat around) that has a hex we need: Dark Dance (needed for an achievement).
Now just drop down off this ledge to be back where you killed the last enemies, then head up the stairs. You'll come to an archway on the left side, head through and kill the Lancer stationed by the gate up ahead. Grab the item in this area and then pull the lever to open it.
Head through and then go right up the spiral stairs to meet another Lancer at the top. Kill him and then move forward and turn left at the next junction, then take the next left you come to as well once you go into a building. Cross the next path into another building and there will be an enemy in the corridor to your left, kill him and then pull the lever here (IMPORTANT: it gives us access to a spell).
Back to where you entered this corridor and go left to end up outside. If you look to your left there is another Lancer, but we want to go right and up some stairs. IGNORE THE DOOR HERE. Instead you want to go past it and use A on the wall just around the corner (attached to the same building as the door) to find an invisible ladder to climb. If you cannot find it then don't worry, as we'll grab an item soon that makes it visible - so feel free to come back then - but you can access the ladder now for a shorter trip.
Climb up it and then look left at the top, there is an enemy just down some broken steps, so backstab him for an easy kill. Then go back up and open the chest for a miracle we need: Splintering Lightning Spear (needed for an achievement). From here you can go back to the broken steps and snipe the multiple enemies below, there are a number of dogs and soldiers, then jump to the stairs in front and out of the open door for an item. Then back inside and down the steps to where the enemies were for another item - then use this door to be back outside near the invisible ladder (it's the door we ignored earlier).
Now go straight forward and finally kill that Lancer and grab the item nearby. Do a 180 degree turn and look down the steps to see another soldier up ahead (feel free to snipe him from here). Once he is dead head down to where he was stood and through the door. Drop down slightly and follow the path to a body with an item and head outside.
You'll see a well lit structure off to your right as you exit, so head over there and up the small steps at the side of it. Then grab the Eye of the Priestess from the altar. This item helps you to see previously invisible things around here - such as that ladder I mentioned and the first boss. Now head back outside and then right, before following the left hand path. Up ahead is an enemy with a rather large hammer, so snipe him from here (poison is great) or rush in and kill him off. Then follow the path past him to eventually come to two bodies with items you can plunder. You'll then come to a fog door you can enter, do so and light the bonfire.
Now face back where you came and look down the left hand corridor to see a spellcaster and soldier you can snipe to death (I recommend you do so before pulling the next lever), once they are dead take the other path and pull the lever. This leads to a little corridor with another room on the left, full of sorcerers and soldiers to fight (or snipe from the doorway). Kill them and head through the room, then go right up the stairs but watch out for more enemies up here before grabbing the item.
At this point you'll also be invaded, but the invader is hidden up ahead so don't worry too much yet. For now go carefully up the next stairs as there are more soldiers and a sorcerer at the top - try and kite them back down the steps for easy kills (the sorcerer tends not to follow) and then rush up and kill the magic user up close.
Now take the other doorway and move carefully up the stairs but STOP at the top. The corridor up ahead has a lot of barrels and one of them is the invader (for me it was the second one on the right side) so feel free to shoot them full of arrows/spells to teach him a lesson then finish him off up close. Then go past where he was and open the chest. Now take the doorway in this corridor and follow the path until you drop back down near the start of this entire area.
From where you drop down go right again, down the stairs (killing the enemy here if you have rested)
and through the door behind him. Once again kill the guy who is in here and the one that rushes up to meet you, then down the steps to kill the guy at the bottom. Now we are back to where the path was blocked earlier, only this time we have pulled the lever. So go into the right hand door and open the chest in the next room (there is also a ladder in here you can climb up for an armour set too) to find the very last spell we need from the DLC: Soul Flash (needed for an achievement).
Now you have that the rest of this area is entirely optional, so it is up to you how to proceed. Feel free to warp back to Majula and either finish the game or head to NG+ if you now have all of the spells available to you in a single playthrough.
For those that are staying, head back up the stairs the way you came and outside. Then go all the way left to find a fog gate. If you go left and back to the first bonfire you will find an NPC summon sign on that first big bridge and there is another here, so feel free to rest up and then summon either/both/neither of the phantoms before heading through to the boss.
Inside is the King's Pet, Aava who is more of a giant angry tiger than any kind of pet. She will be sat on a ledge ahead of you as you enter but will jump down to attack when you get close. So is very nimble and likes to randomly jump around which can make attacking a chore. Up close she tends to do rapid claw attacks (which can spin her to face you if you are behind/at the side of her) or she will charge briefly and let out a magic AOE attack near her. She also likes to jump back and then either charge forward to claw you OR charge forward with her mouth open to bite you. DO NOT let this latter attack connect (it can't be blocked either) as she will grab you and do massive damage. So quickly roll away from it. Her other attack is to charge up a number of magic homing missiles, at which point you want to get to the back/side of her so they all miss and get in some attacks.
Only go for one attack at a time and try to stay close to her as that will stop here doing the charging bite attack, the randomness of her movements is what makes this harder than it seems. Also try and use weapons with either fire/dark attributes as they do more damage then others. Once she is dead you can go up the stairs and into the Grand Cathedral.
Grand Cathedral
This area is pretty short and sweet. Head forward and light the bonfire to start with, and then follow the path and talk with the NPC at the end. Be sure to select "Yes" and a new area will open up, plus a lot of the main area will now be defrosted so new items can be found. DO NOT GO THROUGH THE FOG GATE IN HERE YET - it leads to the final boss of the area and we want to find some back up before we go ahead and challenge him. For now go back to the last bonfire and find the newly defrosted chest nearby to snag a decent shield. Then head back into Eleum Loyce.
Eleum Loyce (defrosted)
Now that the area is a bit less frosty you can explore more areas and grab a lot of items that were previously frozen over - however, there are also new enemies along the way, plus those previously passive retainers will now attack you. Also, be aware that if you kill enemies near the newly uncovered giants in certain areas you will cause them to come to life and attack you. Your main goal here is finding the three other uncorrupted Loyce Knights that will then help you with the final boss. So let's get to it. We'll be backtracking through areas we already covered so I'll just tell you to kill enemies as they come - and only highlight new ones/areas.
From where you fought the tiger head straight forward (past the door on your right that leads to the first bonfire) and kill the enemy ahead by the next door. Head in there and the kill the next guy and his friend that rushes up. Then down the stairs to kill another enemy. The right hand door leads to a spell (and item up the ladder in that room) if you didn't come back here already. Take the left hand door outside.
The enemy sat ahead of you will backstab you if you let him, so kill him now and the guy that rushes you as well. Then go past him and kill the guy on your left as soon as you get to the top of the stairs going down. Then snipe the three dogs below, or head down and kill them.
Then follow the path down another small set of stairs and along a snowy corridor. Halfway through will be a small crossroads. On your right are some bodies with loot but look left first to kill another enemy that is sat down - waiting to backstab you - then grab the items. Continue on to the courtyard with the fountain. Look right as you enter for a seated guy to kill, then snipe the two nearest warriors. Kill them and snipe the two that are further away, kill them and go to the right of the fountain to kill another guy sat down. There is now an unfrozen corpse on the left of this area so grab the item it holds, then go under the arch. Kill the guy ahead of you on the right, and snipe the guy on the stone area to your left. Look ahead to see ANOTHER seated enemy to kill and a bridge you can now access ahead of him. This is where we are headed.
Head to the nearest building and down the elevator. At the bottom go to the door and look right to see three new enemies. The Rampart Hedgehog is like the rolling skeleton (i.e. annoying) as they can do a lot of damage by rolling into you, plus they damage you even if you touch them while they aren't rolling. Best way to kill them is with arrows as they only take 2/3 hits. Snipe all three and loot the corpse they were sat on.
Now to the left of them is an area with plenty of pillars, which have a bunch of Hedgehogs sat behind them so proceed slowly and try and snipe them one at a time. There is also a summon sign on the left of the first area there for a friendly phantom if you need him. As you enter the first open area there will be three Witchtree spellcasters on ledges around you (one up to your left as you come out, then one on the right and another higher up on the right). To add insult to injury you will also be invaded by a red phantom who casts spells too. I'd recommend summoning the white phantom to help out then staying back in the first set of pillars to snipe the three Witchtree enemies (as if you go too far forward then MORE of the Hedgehog enemies will also roll in). Try and use poison arrows on the red phantom (four should poison him) and lure him to you so the white phantom can tank him too. Once they are all dead move forward SLOWLY, and try and clear out all of the hedgehogs around this lower area (and grab the items from the corpses too).
Now head up the ladder here. There is a chest we can grab, so do that, then head up the stairs. You'll see another white phantom already here but this guy is a total traitor (you may recognise him as a red phantom from Crown of the Old Iron King) so hopefully you still have you actual white phantom buddy to help here. Kill this guy but watch out for his rapid lance attacks as they can be a pain. Then head up the stairs and pull the lever on the ledge outside.
Now go back down the way you came and outside, but don't head for the open door just yet. Instead follow the upper ledges to the left to find a second building with a bonfire in it so go ahead and activate it (this will banish your phantom friend if he is still around), there is also a corpse on the ledge just outside that has an item. If you rest here then all of the spellcasters/hedgehogs will come back, so be sure to be ready for that. Then head back outside, drop down, and go through the door you opened.
Now follow the path to a cave, at the end there will be slight drop into an area with lots of bodies to loot. But don't grab anything just yet, as this area also has a White Covetous Demon for you to kill. He has the exact same attacks as the one you fought in Earthen Peak and is pretty easy to take down. If you have plenty of arrows then you can dispatch him with ease, as the large area and his super slow speed mean you can run around him and fill him full of arrows from distance with zero risk. Up close watch out for his giant slams and roll attacks (if he rolls onto his side then NEVER stand next to him). Also don't stand in front of him as his grab attack can strip all of your gear - which is fairly annoying. Once he is dead, loot all the items here and head out the only exit.
Watch out as there are two more Hedgehogs almost as soon as you enter the next tunnel (feel free to kite them back to the last big area to kill them). Past them you reach a junction, go left to open a shortcut door and then head back and go right. Outside you'll see a bunch of giants and some hedgehogs. Only the giants that glow blue will attack HOWEVER if you kill any enemy near to a non-blue giant it will activate as well. So be warned. Though you can also damage the stationary giants before they activate. You can also lure the giants back to the tunnel you came out of as they will not follow you inside.
Kill everything here and grab the items from the two corpses (one on the left as you enter and one ahead on the ledge by the next building) then go into the building and up the lift. At the top look left to see three enemies but ignore them for now. Go right and up the hill, kill the Ice Golem you meet and carry on up. Near the top are two Hedgehogs you can snipe, then another Ice Golem after them. There is an item on the left side of the open area here but don't grab it yet, go to the next corner and lure out the next Hedgehog to kill him and the Lancer that was behind him. Then grab the item and follow the path. Near the top you'll see a snowball, smack it off the cliff and it will kill/damage the enemies below and fill in the hole. Then go to the closed gate up here, open it up and interact with the Loyce Knight.
Once done head back down to the elevator and go past it. Finish off any enemies that survived and grab the items from the corpses before the hole the snowball filled in then cross the bridge to be back to where we started this new area. Now go right to the stone steps and up them (killing the enemy up here/two enemies if you rested). Then into the door. Up the stairs here and kill the three warriors and their dog in this room. Take the right hand door (as you came up the stairs) and kill the enemy in the next room too (plus a sneaky sitting enemy), then up the stairs here. At the top is another enemy and some chest to loot. Then look around to find a broken wall that you can drop down from (you should see an item below) and do so. Kill the seated enemy in this little area and then grab the two items, then head up the snow drift on the right side to be back near the bridge. Head in the nearby door again and up the stairs but go left this time and through the door.
Watch out for a seated enemy by the door as you exit and then kill the two enemies up ahead. Look at the right hand building and you'll see a snowy path to the left of it. Follow this to a door with four torch sconces, use a Flame Butterfly and light them all to open the door. Up ahead you will see a bunch of the seated Retainers on ledges, snipe them from here to lure them to you (don't go too far in). Once they are dead edge forward. You'll see a passage to your right and directly opposite that is a wall you can interact with - do so and head inside. If you look down the passage opposite from in here you'll see a Flexile Swordsman so feel free to snipe him from here. Then head up the ramp in the hidden area - there may be Retainers at the top if they didn't drop down so be ready. From up here you can snipe everything else in the room (including a second Flexile Swordsman down to your left on that main passage). Once they are all dead drop down to an item on this side, then down to the main path and head left. Grab the Garrison Key from the body, then head up the other path to drop down to another item. Then head back down the snowy path outside and into the building next to it - then drop down to a bonfire.
From here go outside and kill the Ice Golem up ahead, and the one after. There are plenty of Retainers sat around this area so snipe them from afar (check the higher ledges for them too) so they don't rush you all at once. Kill the next Golem, then snipe the soldier past him and kill the golem by the small set of stairs too. Then head up those stairs and follow the path to an arch on your left. Head through and kill the Lancer here. If you look to your left here you will see another Lancer and three weak enemies. Behind them is a locked door you can open with the Garrison Key. Inside that room you can rest in a coffin to be transported to the Frigid Outskirts. This area is mainly for co-op again and completely optional.
If you go there then you have to follow a generally linear path through a blizzard (keep the sun on your right to navigate) which is broken up by three buildings along the way that have items. You can summon allies near the start. As you progress you will be assaulted by Frozen Reindeer that dash out of the storm, if you kill enough of them in each area (between the buildings) then they'll stop coming but it requires at least 17+ (more after each building) to do so. At the end of the path you'll meet two more bosses - very similar to the tiger fight before the Cathedral - who can be a real pain to defeat. The items here are pretty generic barring a ring that is mainly useful for online play, so don't feel obliged to come here.
Anyway, back to where we came out of that archway. If you go right instead (away from the door to the Outskirts) you'll see a door at the bottom of some spiral stairs. Open it and kill the enemy inside. The rightmost chest (as you enter) is a mimic so watch out. Grab the loot here and head back outside and up the stairs. At the top go right and kill the two guys on ballista's (they were invisible before) but watch out as they have both ranged and heavy close attacks. Then go past them and use the Lockstone device to get to a chest. Go back the way you came but this time go right when you hit the crossroards and down some steps (killing and enemy on the way).
Exit the building ahead and you'll see two enemies across from you to snipe (they shoot back so watch out) then go down the steps and into the next building. The wooden floor here has a lot of holes so watch your step. Two enemies will shoot at you from the left, so deal with them. Then go across from where you entered to the first balcony and snipe the guy to your left (if he didn't rush out to attack you already) then search his balcony for an item. At the end of the wooden floor is another room with two ladders - head up to open a shortcut then back down again, and down the next ladder to meet a Lancer at the bottom. Kill him. Look out of the doorway he was next to so you can snipe another enemy below then head down the next ladder. There is another enemy at the bottom, so kill him then head onto the wooden area and check the lefthand balcony for a ring. Then go to the front edge of the wooden area and snipe the dogs below you. Then head down the ladder near here.
More dogs will come running from a room behind you so deal with them and go into that room for an item. Now go the other way and outside. Get a bow and some poison arrows ready if you have them. Go past the building on your left (with an elevator up) and down the narrow path to be invaded. Snipe her from afar with poison arrows (four should do it) and head back the way you came until the poison deals with her (you can shoot her as you go to help, or finish her off up close). Kill the Golem stood behind where she was and open the door he was guarding to meet another Loyce Knight. Now head back to that elevator and ride it up to come out near where you found the Eye of the Priestess. Follow the path straight ahead and into a building with a bonfire in front of you then kill the spelluser and spearman on your right as you entered.
Then go the other way, to a room with two spell casters and three soldiers - plus two frozen giants that may wake up if you kill the others close by. Kill them all - luring them back to the last corridor in small numbers works. Once they are dead you'll see two chests ONE OF WHICH IS A MIMIC. Kill it and grab the loot from both, then head through the next door and up the stairs. Up the next stairs are two more spearmen and another spellcaster plus THREE frozen giants. You need to kill the two giants blocking the chest if you want the loot (it's a Nil Greatsword) so clear them all out. Then turn around from where you came up the stairs and cross the small stone bridge to the back of the room and go left.
There are two more sleeping giants plus a spellcaster and a warrior. Kill them all (or lure the weaker enemies away) and then go down this corridor and right, open the doors here to find the last Loyce Knight. Then go up the stairs to open a shortcut to the Cathedral. Then head back down to his room, back through it and left. There is an item at the end of this corridor and you can interact with the right hand wall to open a door. Drop down and head forward then left up the stairs (kill the enemy) and open the chest at the top. Then go back down the stairs and back across the stone bridge then left.
There are two Lancers up ahead (lure one at a time) and a warrior will rush out just behind the second one. Kill all three and go onto the small ledge that the warrior was on, and look down to your right. Drop onto the bridge you seen and hit the enemy if you can then finish him off. Go past where he was and left to find a weapon to grab in a chest then drop off the ledge here to be back near the bonfire in this area. Warp back to the Grand Cathedral from here.
Grand Cathedral/Old Chaos
Now you should have four Loyce Knights ready to aid you (you got one for free, and we just tracked down the other three), you may also notice a bunch of summon signs around the bonfire so feel free so call in some help. There is also a summon sign for Lucatiel just up the stairs here (this DOES count for her achievement if she survives) and another for Twiggy Shei just on the right as you enter the main cathedral room. If you can summon two good helpers it makes this fight a doddle.
Head into the main room and straight ahead and you'll see your Loyce friends waiting around a portal. Head through and drop into Old Chaos. You'll see three portals ahead of you in the arena - out of which will spawn Burnt Loyce Knights at regular intervals. Don't take these guys too lightly as their combos can be damaging (especially if you get surrounded) but you can block their attacks and your other helpers and friendly Knights will distract them.
Once so many have died then one of your friendly Knights will sacrifice themselves to seal a portal by freezing it (don't stand too close), and the same will happen for the other two portals until you have one Knight left and any other allies. At this point the Ivory King will appear (he may also appear while one of the portals is still up, but a Knight will freeze it shortly after).
He is actually the easiest of the DLC bosses if you have company, as he is easily distracted by the other players and a number of his attacks have long recovery animations giving you ample time to heal. The MOST IMPORTANT thing to realise is that his sword has ENORMOUS range. That bright effect around it is not just for show. Also, if he pulls the sword back as if to thrust it then be ready to quickly roll to one side as if he skewers you with the charge move it can do massive damage. His other moves are regular combos that can be blocked and use your allies to distract him then get in hits from behind.
Once he dies grab the Crown of the Ivory King from the floor behind where he was and use the portal. NOTE: The Burnt Loyce Knights can drop their souls randomly when killed, which can be traded to the woman in the Cathedral for gear. So you can farm them - then use the Ancient Feather to escape before killing the boss - if you like.
With all THREE of the Crown's you can take them back to the Undead Crypt and speak to Vendrick in his memory. He will then give you a crown that will prevent you becoming Hollow for as long as you wear it - but it only lasts for your current playthrough.
NG+/NG++
Head back to Majula and use the bonfire here to find the option to start NG+. be sure YOU HAVE ALL THE SPELLS/ITEMS/WEAPONS YOU NEED BEFORE DOING THIS. You will carry the following over to a New Game+:
- Your soul level
- All souls currently carried
- Most items and equipment (including boss souls and Souls of a Giant)
- Any Bonfire Ascetics used will retain their effect (making areas on NG+ even harder)
- All Pyromancy, Sorcery, Hexes and Miracles
- Estus flask and its upgrade level
- Current covenant and all covenant levels
You will lose all keys, Fragrant Branches of Yore, the Dull Ember (if you want to imbue weapons with McDuff) and the Crushed Eye Orb will vanish if you didn't use it (which you SHOULD have).
Your only goal in your next two playthroughs is to find the last few spells you need. Note that enemies will do substantially more damage to you while taking less damage in return, however, their attacks and weaknesses remain the same otherwise.
You will also note that some NEW enemies (especially red phantoms) will appear:
Things Betwixt - the opening field will now have numerous Falconer enemies. These guys are basic swordsmen/archers BUT they also have hawks that they like to fling towards you. As you exit the next field (with the small kobolds) two red testicle men will invade as well.
Forest of Fallen Giants - two red invaders are by the King's Door (opposite the ladder down from Cardinal Tower) plus there is a red phantom Ironclad in the courtyard near the ballista room, and a further red phantom on the stairway in the room after Pate.
Heide's Tower of Flame - has numerous extra knights in addition to the normal ones. Plus, you will find three red invaders (that look like Blue Sentinels) scattered around.
No Man's Wharf - an extra red phantom on the ship at the end, plus the Flexile Sentry has two nimble Suspicious Shadow sidekicks.
Lost Bastille - most obvious addition is that the Lost Sinner will get TWO pyromancer sidekicks when you get her down to about 50% health. There will be large Undead Prisoners in the water area with the Flexile Sentry before that fight too. Plus red phantom versions of the large jailers, dogs and exploding enemies at various points.
The Gutter - two red phantoms on the dead end path just before the wooden scaffolding that leads to the Gutter (the area just after the Grave of Saints with the exploding guys in the water area).
Brightstone Cove - two large pigs in the Royal Campsite area, a red phantom cleric in the hidden alcove (just before Prowling Magus fight) a second red phantom by the arch before the crystal field that leads to the chapel before the boss.
Shrine of Winter - red phantom in the path leading to the Shrine, just to the left of the Flexile Sentry.
Drangleic Castle - red phantom by main entrance.
Aldia's Keep - red phantom acolyte in the last picture as you enter.
Regardless, your main goal here is to kill the FOUR bosses guarding the Primal bonfires - BUT DO NOT USE THE SOULS YOU GET. Instead take the new souls to Straid in the Lost Bastille to get a new spell for each of them (NOTE: Ornifex can ALSO take these souls and create weapons so be sure NOT to give them to her by mistake). The one's you need are as follows:
Flame Weapon - Trade Old Witch Soul with Straid of Olaphis (New Game +) – 5,000 souls
Numbness - Trade Old Dead One Soul with Straid of Olaphis (New Game +) – 5,000 souls
Blinding Bolt - Trade Old King Soul with Straid of Olaphis (New Game +) – 10,000 souls
Crystal Soul Spear - Trade Old Paledrake Soul with Straid of Olaphis (New Game +) – 10,000 souls
You will get all of the sorceries (achievement unlocked) and all hexes (achievement unlocked) once this is done. Then continue the game and complete it to get to NG++. You can skip the optional Rat Bosses, Smelter Demon, Vendrick and so on. Just kill the bosses you have to (unless you want the souls etc from the others) and get through the game ASAP.
Once you get to NG++ you can either play normally and grab the four souls AGAIN to unlock the Shrine of Winter or somehow rack up 3 million Soul Memory on this play through to do the same (using souls from your inventory counts towards this) then head to Drangleic Castle, open the gates and go and talk to Chancellor Wellagar. He will now sell the following spells:
Great Chaos Fireball - Chancellor Wellager (New Game ++) – 17,400 souls
Bountiful Sunlight - Chancellor Wellager (New Game ++) – 11,000 souls
Wrath of the Gods - Chancellor Wellager (New Game ++) – 8,200 souls
So buy them to get all pyromancies (achievement unlocked) and all miracles (achievement unlocked) and you will then have everything and get the Dark Soul (achievement unlocked).
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