Od Studios -- Dark Souls Missable Guide
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Dark Souls Missable Guide -- by sector24, 2011-10-21 |
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Related articles:
Dark Souls Master Key Looting Guide
Dark Souls Review
This guide aims to illuminate equipment and story events that can be missed on a playthrough of Dark Souls. This guide is not a walkthrough, and I am assuming that you know how to play the game and have some familiarity with the zones and characters. The order of events does not necessarily have to be followed to the letter. I chose an order that I thought made the most sense, although it differs from the wiki. I prefer to go to the forest before the depths and blighttown so that I can accumulate purple moss and Shiva will be in the swamp. Finally, this guide contains massive spoilers. You should already know that by now.
Character Creation
Master Key: The only gift that cannot be obtained within the game itself pre 1.04 is the Master Key. On subsequent playthroughs you do not get to pick another gift, so it has to be taken on a new character. You can also get the key by starting as a Thief and still choose another gift. If you choose to do so, the other two items that are difficult to obtain are the Pendant, and the Old Witch's Ring. Another good choice is the Black Firebombs to help you get the Demon's Great Hammer. After 1.04 you can purchase the key from Domnhall of Zena, but by the time you get to him the key's usefulness is diminished. It is still the best choice of gift because it allows you immediate access to portions of the game (and items in those areas) that are otherwise unobtainable for quite awhile.
Undead Asylum
Demon's Great Hammer: To obtain this weapon you must kill the Asylum Demon before you light the 2nd bonfire. There are several ways to do this:
Choose Black Firebombs as your gift and use them to defeat the Asylum Demon.
Beat the Asylum Demon to death with your Straight Sword Hilt or your bare hands. This is difficult, but possible. The demon telegraphs all his attacks and they are dodgeable.
Kill the Asylum Demon in NG+ (you will have access to all your stats and equipment)
Finally, you may trade a Sack to Snuggly the Crow for the Demon's Great Hammer, however the Sack is even more difficult to obtain so it is not recommended.
Firelink Shrine
There isn't anything missable here, just a reminder to loot everything. First take the elevator down to the New Londo Ruins. Grab the Estoc and speak to Rickert of Vinheim. For 6,500 souls you can become a full fledged sorcerer, and even if you are a sorcerer you can get more castings of the same spell. Return to Firelink Shrine and speak with Petrus of Thorolund who will give you a copper coin, teach you the Shrug gesture, and sell you miracles if you join the Way of White Covenant. It costs 5,000 souls to acquire his unique Thorolund Talisman, and 28,000 souls to buy all the spells (which can be obtained for less if you wait until much later in the game). If you continue to speak with him you can also learn about his undead mission for a small fee. Paying earns you an extra line of unique dialogue but does not otherwise affect the story. Loot the area under the elevator and the graveyard (Winged Spear, Zweihander, Binoculars, etc.). With the Master Key and advanced knowledge of the game you can even join the Gravelord Servant covenant, get into Blighttown, etc. This information is available in the Dark Souls Master Key Looting Guide
Upper Undead Burg
Undead Merchant (male): You should hang around the undead burg and save up a minimum of 3000 souls for the merchant. Buy the Residence Key, Orange Soapstone, Short Bow, and arrows (400-500 wooden arrows will last you the whole game). The Repairbox can be purchased for less from Blacksmith Andrei so skip it. Killing him will net you an Uchigatana very early in the game but he sells unique items that you cannot get anywhere else. Not everything here is unique though; items like short bows, scimitars, etc. can drop from enemies in the game world.
Repair Powder: 500 each
Lloyd's Talisman: 500 each (you obtain 4 of these in a chest but this is the only place you can buy more)
Orange Guidance Soapstone: 100 (you only need to buy 1, it is not a consumable item)
Residence Key: 1000 (even if you have the Master Key, you still need the Residence Key to save Griggs in the Lower Undead Burg)
Dagger: 300 (unless you start as a Sorcerer)
Hand Axe: 450 (unless you start as a Pyromancer)
Reinforced Club: 350
East-West Shield: 400 (unless you start as a Cleric)
Small Leather Shield: 600 (unless you start as a Sorcerer)
Leather Shield: 800 (unless you start as a Wanderer)
Heater Shield: 1000 (unless you start as a Warrior)
Warrior's Round Shield: 800
Chain Helm: 500
Chain Armor: 800
Leather Gauntlets: 500
Chain Leggings: 500
White Soapstone: After defeating the Taurus Demon but before crossing
the bridge with the Hellkite Wyvern, speak with Solaire of Astora to receive the White Soapstone and begin his questline. It should be noted that on subsequent playthroughs you cannot receive this item again because you already have it, and this causes Solaire's questline to be bugged. He will not appear in the game after this first introduction. Therefore I highly recommend you follow the guide and save Solaire on your first playthrough, and then if you want his equipment kill him here on a subsequent playthrough.
Drake Sword: Cut off the tail of the Hellkite Wyvern to receive this
weapon. This can be achieved from a sniper spot under the bridge with
a shortbow and 50-60 wooden arrows. You can then move to another
sniper spot near the rats to continually shoot the Hellkite Wyvern in
the head until it dies, netting you 10,000 souls and access to the
items on the bridge. This should take about 200 more arrows.
Undead parish
Fang Boar Helm: There is a chance for the armored tusk to drop this
item, but it is random. Maximize your item discovery with humanity,
and know that there are two more armored tusks later in the game if
you are unlucky.
Blacksmith Andrei: Andrei will teach you the Hurrah! gesture. You will need about 34,000 souls to clean out Andrei's inventory of unique items:
Crest of Artorias: 20,000 (opens a door in Darkroot Garden and almost immediately pays for itself)
Weapon Smithbox: 2000
Armor Smithbox: 2000
Repairbox: 2000
Broadsword: 1000 (unless you start as a Knight)
Bastard Sword: 3000 (not sure if you can get this anywhere else, please leave a comment if you have and tell me where you got it)
War Pick: 800
Caestus: 200
Pike: 2000 (not sure if you can get this anywhere else, please leave a comment if you have and tell me where you got it)
Large Leather Shield: 800 (unless you start as a Hunter)
Tower Kite Shield: 1000 (unless you start as a Knight)
Siegmeier of Catarina: Before ringing the second bell, go to the gate
in front of Sen's Fortress and speak with him to begin his questline.
Lautrec of Carim: Make sure that you rescue Lautrec personally from
his jail cell in the cathedral before you fight the Bell Gargoyles, otherwise you will miss out on a Sunlight Medal when he moves to Firelink Shrine. I recommend you collect it immediately before he disappears. Also, there is an easily a missable story event involving Petrus of Thorolund and Lautrec. In order to see it you must kill the Capra Demon before Lautrec leaves Firelink. The reason this event is easily missable is that Lautrec does not hang around for long and once he's gone the event cannot occur. The exact trigger for Lautrec's departure is not certain but he usually leaves if you visit too many unique zones or collect too many Firekeeper Souls. Once you free him it is best to proceed straight away with the main story (bell gargoyles, lower undead burg, capra demon) to ensure the event can occur.
Patches the Hyena: Before ringing the second bell, go to the Catacombs for a missable story event. Find the lever for the 2nd spiked bridge, next to the bonfire behind the illusory wall. Patches will ask you if you are a cleric, and you should say no. He will have already pushed the lever for you so that you can cross the bridge to the fog gate. However, when you get halfway across the bridge he'll pull the lever which will get you killed. Respawn at the bonfire and confront him. Say yes and he will give you 1 Humanity (and he won't try to kill you again at this point). Phil commented that this may not be accurate: "Patches only shows up in the catacombs if you go there before Rhea leaves Firelink Shrine. I actually missed this because I was following your guide which states he is there before you ring the second bell. Well, I went down there after Rhea left and before ringing the second bell and he wasn't there."
Bell Gargoyle: There are several missable items here. First of all,
you can cut off the gargoyle's tail to receive the Gargoyle Tail Axe.
There is also a chance of receiving the Gargoyle's Halberd, Gargoyle
Shield, or Gargoyle Helmet when you kill a gargoyle. In order to
guarantee that you get all 4 items, kill one of the two gargoyles and
pick up its item (if any) then run back to the entry door and jump off
the roof to your death. You will keep the item and get a chance to
kill the gargoyle again for another potential drop. When you have
what you need, reverse your hollowing before fighting the Bell
Gargoyle. Summon Solaire of Astora and he will reward you with a Sunlight
Medal upon defeating the boss.
Oswald of Carim: After ringing the bell, Oswald will be in the room at
the bottom of the ladder. He will teach you the Well! What is it! gesture. You need at least 71,200 souls to buy all the unique items he has, and I recommend buying all his Purging Stones because they are half price (3,000 souls each):
Indictment: 200 each
Book of the Guilty: 1000
Karmic Justice: 40,000
Velka's Talisman: 5,000
Bloodbite Ring: 10,000
Poisonbite Ring: 15,000
Lower Undead Burg
Griggs of Vinheim: Rescue Griggs using the Residence Key purchased from the undead merchant (male) in the upper undead burg. He will relocate to Firelink Shrine where he will sell you sorceries. It initially costs 65,500 souls to clear out his inventory. When you rescue Big Hat Logan and he later leaves, Griggs' inventory will change to sell you more sorceries. Finally, when you clean out his inventory he goes in search of Big Hat Logan and ends up going hollow in Sen's Fortress in the room that requires a key to access. In his hollow form he drops the Hush spell when he dies, but it is not unique so if you want to save Griggs' life then simply don't buy all his spells and he will never leave Firelink.
Fall Control: 1500
Aural Decoy: 1000
Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring: 20000
Lingering Dragoncrest Ring: 20000
Undead Merchant (female): She sells some unique consumable items:
Poison Knife: 100 each
Charcoal Pine Resin: 500 each
Rotting Pine Resin: 1000 each
Homeward Bone: 800 each (you obtain 6 of these in a chest but this is the only place you can buy more)
Fire Arrow: 100 each
Poison Arrow: 100 each
Reah of Thorolund
After you kill the Capra Demon, Reah and her entourage will appear at Firelink Shrine next to Petrus. Everyone's dialogue will be updated so speak with all the NPCs and learn about the pilgrimage, then quit and reload the game. Reah and her entourage should have left the area. Quit and reload the game again and only Petrus will return. (I had to quit and reload 3 times to get this to work) Speak with Lautrec and he will offer to sell you information (your level x100 souls). Do not speak with him unless you have the souls or the dialogue option will not be available again. He will give you a disturbing tip about Reah's fate. Speak with Petrus for even more disturbing dialogue.
Return to Undead Asylum
You don't necessarily have to do this now, but you will want the Rusted Iron Ring before you go to Blighttown and it is useful in other areas as well such as the Hydra fight in Darkroot Basin and the bottom of Sen's Fortress. To get the ring you need the key from the corpse on top of the building in Firelink Shrine. Jump off the elevator before it reaches the bottom of its path and stay to the right, then jump onto the tower with the crow on it. Get the key and then use the elevator again to reach the crow's nest. Curl up in a ball in the crow's nest to be taken back to the Undead Asylum. Nothing is missable other than the asylum itself, and don't forget to grab the Peculiar Doll from your cell.
Darkroot Garden
Technically you don't have to go here yet, but the Ents drop Purple
Moss Clumps so it seems like you should clear this area first before
you attempt to go to Blighttown. Storywise it also makes sense, since
Shiva will be down there if you join the Forest Hunter covenant.
Moonlight Butterfly: Reverse your hollowing before you enter the fog
gate. At the bottom of the stairs hidden in the bushes is a summon
sign for Beatrice. She will solo the butterfly for you. You need two
souls to complete all of the weapons, so you will have to kill this
boss again in another playthrough. I recommend creating the Crystal Ring Shield first, it is arguably one of the grossly overpowered items in the game.
Black Bow of Pharis: If you haven't already, now is the time to drop 20,000 souls on Blacksmith Andrei to get the Crest of Artorius and open the door next to the hidden bonfire. You can get your souls back pretty much instantly by farming here if you choose. One of the forest defenders is the legendary archer Pharis. Defeating him will allow you to loot his black bow and Pharis' Hat. He has an annoying habit of running off the edge of the cliff so be careful.
Forest Hunter Covenant: Talk to Alvina to join the Forest Hunter's Covenant and then immediately quit the game and rejoin to avoid a nasty bug in which the NPC walks off a cliff and you are credited with a betrayal. Once you quit your game and load it back up you should be ok. Make sure you talk to Shiva here or he will not appear in Blighttown. In order to get the coveted Ring of Fog, you must invade and defeat 3 opponents. If you defeat 5 then speak with Alvina for some missable dialogue about Sif. There is also a random chance to receive a Pendant as loot for any successful invasion. Make sure you do this at as low a level as possible, PvP at higher Slvls without an actual PvP character build is difficult.
Great Grey Wolf Sif: You need three souls to complete all of the
weapons, so you will have to kill this boss again in subsequent
playthroughs.
Darkroot Basin
Dusk of Oolacile: After you defeat the Hydra, quit the game and load it back up. In an alcove way in the back of the lake there should be a golden golem. Defeat it to release Dusk of Oolacile. She will allow you to summon her on the other side of the lake (on the shore near the regular golems). You can learn a Proper Bow and clean out her unique inventory for 19,000 souls. Quit the game again and load it back up, then return to where the golden golem was to loot Dusk's corpse for the Antiquated set and the Dusk Crown.
Oolacile Ivory Catalyst: 1000
Hidden Body: 2000
Cast Light: 1000
Repair: 10000
Chameleon: 3000
Invisible Weapon: 2000
Depths
Sack: There are two Butchers in The Depths, and each one has a chance
of dropping a Sack item. The only other way to get one is off Maneater Mildred, so maximize your item discovery with humanity and cross your fingers.
Laurentius: Rescue Laurentius by killing the butchers and rolling into
his barrel. He will sell you pyromancy spells at Firelink Shrine.
You need 11,300 souls for the spells, and he can also upgrade your
Pyromancy Flame to +15 which costs over 149,500 souls. You may want to get
everything you need from him before you visit Blighttown, because he
will ask who else has been teaching you. If you say "Yes" he will
disappear to Blighttown and go hollow down there, forcing you to kill
him.
Iron Flesh: 2000
Flash Sweat: 2000
Kirk, The Knight of Thorns: Reverse your hollowing so that Kirk will
invade you in The Depths. He will invade in the Basilisk area, and he may drop his Barbed Sword. He will invade you two more times, and if you defeat him in all three encounters you can loot his body for his unique armor set.
Domnhall of Zena: He is in the room with the door down to Blighttown
before the boss, and will teach you the Joy gesture. Initially you only need 47,000 souls to buy his unique inventory (the adventurer set), but as you kill more bosses, he offers you their armor sets. His location will change as the story progresses. Every time you purchase something from him, if you immediately talk to him after he will give you one game tip such as how to hit the ghosts in the New Londo Ruins.
Gaping Dragon: Reverse your hollowing so that you can summon Solaire for this fight. You can also summon Lautrec of Carim if he is still at Firelink Shrine. You can cut off Gaping Dragon's tail for a Dragon King Greataxe, and if you kill the boss while Solaire is still alive you will receive a Sunlight Medal (easier said than done).
Lautrec of Carim: While you are in The Depths, Lautrec may kill Anastacia at Firelink Shrine and disappear. Go to her cage in Firelink Shrine to pick up the Black Eye Orb. He may do this earlier or later in the game based on a variety factors.
Blighttown
Maneater Mildred: Reverse your hollowing so that Mildred will invade
you. She will invade immediately to the right of the bonfire in the
swamp. She has a chance of randomly dropping a Sack, so maximize your item discovery with humanity if you can. After you defeat her, you can summon her against Quelaag.
Shiva: Shiva will appear here if you are a member of the Forest
Hunter's Covenant and spoke with him topside. He will teach you the Look Skyward gesture. You will need at least 35,000 souls to buy his unique items (Washing Pole, Claw, East Wood Grain Ring) and more if you would rather buy the items that are otherwise hard to obtain like Demon Spear and Uchigatana. His bodyguard has a Dark Wood Grain Ring but you cannot obtain it until you decide to kill them both and leave the Forest Hunter's Covenant in a blaze of glory.
Flamberge: 10,000 (obtainable from Snake Magi in Sen's Fortress)
Stone Greatsword: 15,000 (obtainable from Stone Giants in Darkroot Garden)
Demon Great Machete: 10,000 (obtainable from Capra Demons in Demon Ruins)
Uchigatana: 5,000 (obtainable by killing the Undead Merchant (male))
Washing Pole: 20,000
Demon's Greataxe: 10,000 (obtainable from Taurus Demons in Demon Ruins)
Claw: 5,000
Demon's Spear: 15,000 (obtainable from White Gargoyles in Anor Londo)
East Wood Grain Ring: 10,000
Quelaag: Reverse your hollowing so that Mildred can be summoned to
help. You need two souls to complete all of the weapons, so you will
have to kill this boss again in another playthrough. I highly recommend you forge Quelaag's Fury Sword first as it is one of the best weapons in the game.
Toxic Mist: After defeating Quelaag, attack the illusory wall to gain
entrance to the Daughter of Chaos, but do not attack the Egg Burdened
blocking the way. Speak with Eingyi and say "Yes" you are a new
servant.
NOTE: This will not automatically join the covenant, and in
fact I suggest you hold off on that until you need to enter Lost Izalith.
He will now act as a merchant and you can upgrade your Pyromancy Flame here, but won't sell you Poison Mist or Toxic Mist yet. Now find an Egg Burdened and attack him without killing him. Let him use his infection attack on you. After several in-game minutes you will grow an egg on your head. Return to Eingyi and he will give you an Egg Vermifuge to cure your condition and sell
the Toxic Mist spell for 25,000 souls.
Quelana of Izalith: When your Pyromancy Flame is at +10 or higher, you will be able to see Quelana sitting by a concrete pillar between the Daughter
of Chaos and the wooden wheel. She will sell you a variety of unique
spells and she will ascend your pyromancy flame and upgrade it to an additional +5 for 191,000 souls in total. You need to clean out her entire inventory (94,300 souls) in order for her to ask a favor of you later in the game which is required to get the final pyromancy spell, Fire Tempest.
Fire Orb: 8,000
Great Fireball: 20,000
Firestorm: 30,000
Fire Whip: 10,000
Combustion: 500
Great Combustion: 15,000
Undead Rapport: 10,000
Fireball: 800
Demon Ruins
Now is a good time to kill Ceaseless Discharge and grab the Gold
Hemmed armor set. It is a gimmick fight which can be completed by even a level 1 character and the armor is one of the best sets you can wear at this point in the game. There is no need to proceed further into the Demon Ruins at
this time, you will be back later when the orange fog gate is down.
Sen's Fortress
Siegmeier of Catarina: Speak with Siegmeier. He will be located
inside Sen's fortress on the lower ledge where you first start seeing the
boulders fly past. From the door with the sleeping guard, just run straight and jump down. Normally there are snake soldiers down there but Siegmeier has killed them all. Missing this dialogue will not affect his questline.
Symbol of Avarice: There is a mimic that drops the Lightning Spear, and has a chance of dropping the Symbol of Avarice or "Mimic Head". Any mimic has a chance to drop it, so maximize your item discovery with humanity and the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring. Alternatively you can try a much more consistent but expensive method of obtaining what is arguably the rarest item in the game. Purchase as many Lloyd's Talismans as you can from the Undead Merchant (male) in Undead Burg for 500 souls each. Using this item on the mimic causes it to fall asleep and give you any treasure it has. Unequip your weapon and punch the mimic to activate it, then use Lloyd's Talisman to make it fall asleep. After its animation is finished check to see if there's anything in its mouth. If there is, congratulations, if not then punch it again and repeat the process. Item discovery helps here so make sure you get the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring first (it's right there if you follow the path the boulder rolls).
Big Hat Logan: Rotate the boulder machine one time to smash the wall
with the sleeping guard in front of it. To unlock the cell, use the Master Key or ascend to the top of Sen's Fortress and get the key from the snake at the bottom of the tower with the Crestfallen Merchant.
Crestfallen Merchant: You need about 64,000 souls to buy all of his
unique items:
Black Firebomb: 500 each
Green Blossom: 1000 each
Catarina Helm: 10,000
Catarina Armor: 10,000
Catarina Gauntlets: 7,000
Catarina Leggings: 7,000
Thunder Stoneplate Ring: 15,000
Magic Gem Ring: 15,000
Iron Golem: Reverse your hollowing and cross the small bridge to the
right of the fog gate to summon Iron Tarkus to assist you in the boss
fight. You need two souls to complete all of the weapons, so you will
have to kill this boss again in another playthrough.
Domnhall of Zena: After you defeat the Iron Golem, Domnhall of Zena
will sell you the Golem Armor set for 22,000 souls. He will have moved under the aqueduct at Firelink Shrine.
Anor Londo
Gargoyles: If you missed any of the items from the Bell Gargoyles,
there is another chance that you can get them from the gargoyles on
the bridge parallel to the cathedral. These enemies do not respawn, however.
Painted World of Ariamis
Xanthous King, Jeremiah: Reverse your hollowing so that Jeremiah will invade you. He will invade in the main courtyard, and drops a Notched Whip when defeated. His invasion can be finicky, so just run around until he appears. His body with his armor set will appear in the boos room on the left side of the plank right before you jump off to leave.
Priscilla's Dagger: Make sure to cut off Priscilla's tail before you
defeat her. This is harder than it sounds, Priscilla is fairly weak. She is not initially hostile, so a powerful attack to her backside or a Great Fireball may cut it off before the fight even begins. If you are in danger of killing her prematurely, just jump off the edge to your death and try again.
Anor Londo
Solaire of Astora: Talk to Solaire at the bonfire located in the main
building (after the infamous Silver Knight snipers). This will allow you to summon him to fight the Centipede Demon in the Demon Ruins and get another Sunlight Medal.
Havel's Armor: Just after the bonfire there is a room with a fake fireplace. Attacking the wall reveals a treasure room with Havel's set, an
occult club and a mimic.
Tiny Being's Ring: Speak with Siegmeier of Catarina. He will be
located at the bottom of a spiral staircase outside of a room with 3
Silver Knights. Speak with him, then defeat the Silver Knights and
speak with him again. He will give you the Tiny Being's Ring and
advance the questline.
Lautrec of Carim: If you have the Black Eye Orb, it will pulse in the
room before the boss where the giant golems are. By invading his
world and slaying him you will receive the Ring of Favor and
Protection and a Fire Keeper Soul. His body will be upstairs above the boss room in the back left corner, where you can pick up his armor set. You can choose to restore Anastacia at the Firelink Shrine, or upgrade your Estus Flask.
Giant Blacksmith: It costs 38,000 souls to purchase the Giant Blacksmith's unique inventory. He also sells Dragon Arrows for 500 souls each although they drop in small quantities from Silver Knight archers. The Giant's Halberd and Shield drop from Giant Golems and do not need to be purchased here.
Moonlight Arrow: 500 each
Lightning Bolt: 700 each
Giant's Helm: 6,000
Giant's Armor: 8,000
Giant's Gloves: 6,000
Giant's Leggings: 6,000
Ornstein and Smough: Whichever boss you defeat last is the boss whose
soul you collect, and the armor set that you can purchase from
Domnhall of Zena. You will have to play the game through again and
kill the other boss last to get the other items.
Lordvessel: Do not attack Gwynevere or Gwyndolin or you will miss the
ability to join the Princess' Guard and Darkmoon Covenants. Once you
have the Lordvessel, return to Firelink Shrine but do not speak to or
walk near Kingseeker Frampt or you may lose your ability to join the
Darkwraith Covenant and acquire the Dark Weapon and Armor set and the
Red Eye Orb. In order to join this covenant you must instead defeat
the Four Kings and speak with Kaathe.
NOTE: Saying "Yes" to Kaathe
does not affect the ending, but you do lose the ability to "sell"
items to Kingseeker Frampt for the remainder of the game.
Emit Force: After acquiring the Lordvessel, speak with Siegmeier of
Catarina at Firelink Shrine. Say "Yes" that you opened the gate to
Sen's Fortress and receive the Emit Force spell. Speak to him again to advance the questline.
Domnhall of Zena: After defeating Ornstein or Smough, Domnhall will
move to under the aqueduct on the way to Undead Burg. He will sell
the armor set of the boss you defeated last for 23,000 souls. In
order to get the other armor set you need to play through the game
another time and defeat the other boss last.
Solaire of Astora: Talk to Solaire at the Sunlight Altar, the small
room behind where the Hellkite Wyvern was perched to advance his
questline.
New Londo Ruins, Abyss, Valley of Drakes
Nothing is missable in these areas. Ingward sells the Resist Curse spell for 5,000 souls in New Londo Ruins. The Witch's Armor set and Beatrice's Catalyst are not available until after you defeat the Four Kings so there's no reason to visit the Valley of Drakes until after that point in the game.
Pierce Shield: Speak with Siegmeier in Blighttown near the leeches
outside the Great Hollow. Give him a Purple Moss Clump and he will
give you a Pierce Shield and advance the questline.
Duke's Archives
Fang Boar Helm: There is a chance for the armored tusks to drop this
item, but it is random. Maximize your item discovery with humanity
and the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring.
Seath the Scaleless: When you decide to take on Seath the Scaleless you
will quickly realize the fight is impossible and you are meant to die.
This is a great place to put on a Ring of Sacrifice because you may
not be able to get back here if it's your first time in the archives.
Big Hat Logan: He is trapped in the prison, but you cannot get the key
until you clear the whole area and find the room with the collapsable
staircase that leads to Crystal Cave. After rescuing him he will be in the room adjacent to the one with the key. After you purchase his entire inventory he will relocate to the room where you first encounter Seath the Scaleless. He will have hollowed and will attack you, allowing you to kill him
for his Big Hat, Tin Crystalization Catalyst, and White Dragon Breath
spell. Quit and reload your game, then return to where he was when you purchased his inventory. A treasure chest will be there with his armor set.
Siegmeier of Catarina: Defeat the golden golem outside of the archives
right before the entrance to Crystal Cave. Speak with Sieglinde of
Catarina and say "Yes" you have seen her father. Warp to Firelink
Shrine and speak to her again. Say "Yes" you have seen her father to advance the questline.
Crystal Cave
Moonlight Greatsword: Cut off the very tip of Seath the Scaleless'
middle tail before defeating him to receive this weapon.
Demon Ruins
Fire Tempest: Buy all of Quelana's stock and then talk to her.
Complete her favor by defeating The Bed of Chaos and then talk to her
again for the spell.
Kirk, The Knight of Thorns: Reverse your hollowing so that Kirk will
invade you in the Demon Ruins. He will invade in the narrow hallway
with the first Capra Demon and he may drop his Spiked Shield. He will invade you one more time, and if you defeat him in all three encounters you can loot his body for his unique armor set.
Solaire of Astora: Reverse your hollowing before the Centipede Demon so that you can summon Solaire. Upon successfully defeating the boss you will receive a Sunlight Medal. Speak with Solaire next to the bonfire after the
Centipede Demon but before Lost Izalith. Do not enter Lost Izalith.
In order to save Solaire from going hollow you must achieve rank 2
with the Chaos Covenant (this costs 30 humanity). This will open up a
shortcut to Lost Izalith.
NOTE: You can leave the covenant after you
open the shortcut, it will stay open. In the shortcut are 8 respawning sunlight maggots and one that does not respawn but drops the Sunlight Maggot helmet upon death which will be invaluable for navigating in the Tomb of Giants and can later be traded to Snuggly the Crow for the Old Witch's Ring. You must kill them all before you cross the zone into Lost Izalith. You can do this with the Ring of Fog which will keep them from seeing you, or corral them away from the stairs by running past them (they always try to move away from you). This will save Solaire's life and allow you to summon him in the final boss fight and receive a Sunlight Medal. On the flip side, if you want his equipment (Sunlight Straight Sword, Talisman of the Sun, Sunlight Shield, Iron Helm, Armor of the Sun, Iron Bracelet, Iron Leggings) then enter Lost Izalith without using the shortcut and when you get to that area he will be hostile to you.
Lost Izalith
Siegmeier of Catarina: When you find Siegmeier in the pit trap do not
speak with him. You have two options here. Option 1 is to kill all 4 demons in the pit and then speak with Siegmeier. He will reward you with the Stone Speckled Ring but it will end his questline and you may not be able to receive the Titanite Slab for taking things to completion. Option 2 is to kill three of the four demons in the pit, then speak with him. He will charge down there, and you should follow him. Kill the remaining demons and make sure that Siegmeier has 50% or more health. Speak with him one last time and then leave. Warp to Firelink Shrine and speak with Sieglinde. Warp to Ash Lake, and run to the first bonfire. Speak with Sieglinde to receive a Titanite Slab. If Siegmeier is alive, you can now kill him and his daughter for the Stone Speckled Ring.
NOTE: He was dead for me even though I saved him in Lost Izalith with over 50% health. It is currently unclear if you can get the Titanite Slab and the Stone Speckled Ring in the same playthrough.
Kirk, The Knight of Thorns: Reverse your hollowing so that Kirk will
invade you in Lost Izalith. He will invade near the fog wall leading
to The Bed of Chaos and he may drop his Barbed Sword and/or Spiked Shield if he hasn't already. If he invaded you all three times then you can finally loot his body in the room with the Daughter of Chaos.
Catacombs
Gravelord Servant Covenant: You must join the Gravelord Servant
covenant and offer 10 Eyes of Death before you kill Gravelord Nito in
the Tomb of Giants. This will net you the Gravelord Sword, Gravelord
Sword Dance, and Gravelord Greatsword Dance. It does require farming,
as there are only 9 Eyes of Death per playthrough, and you may not be
able to get the 3 from Patches the Hyena until after you kill Nito
(meaning you have to farm 4).
Darkmoon Covenant: Grab the Darkmoon Seance Ring which allows you to
join the Darkmoon Covenant. You need 10 Souvenirs of Reprisal to get
the Darkmoon Blade and Darkmoon Talisman. They are more easily farmed
from Harpies in the Painted World of Ariamis than they are gotten
legitimately through the Blue Eye Orb.
Paladin Leeroy: Reverse your hollowing and fall to the ledge with the
cleric's set above the bonewheel skeletons to summon Paladin Leeroy to
assist you with the boss.
Tomb of Giants
Patches the Hyena: When he asks you if you are a cleric, say "No". Look at the treasure down in the pit which will allow you to obtain the Skull
Lantern. Return to him and tell him that no, you are not "ok". He will give you 1 Twin Humanities as a peace offering. Due to a game bug you can kill him here if you want and even if you do he he will turn into a merchant at Firelink Shrine after you kill Gravelord Nito. He teaches you the Prostration gesture and it costs about 25,000 souls to clean out his inventory of unique items. I also recommend purchasing his 3 Eyes of Death for 9,000.
Crescent Axe: 10,000 (Due to a game bug, if you kill Patches in the Tomb of Giants he will drop a Crescent Axe but still miraculously appear topside as a merchant)
Mace: 3,000 (unless you start as a Cleric)
Cleric Helm: 5,000
Cleric Armor: 7,000
Cleric Gauntlets: 5,000
Cleric Leggings: 5,000
Paladin Leeroy: Reverse your hollowing so that Leeroy will invade you.
He will invade just past the fog gate that was removed when you
obtained the Lordvessel. He drops the Grant Hammer and Sanctus
Shield. His body and armor set will be in Gravelord Nito's boss room.
Reah of Thorolund: Rescuing Reah in the Tomb of Giants allows you to
purchase unique miracles from her in the cathedral in Undead Parish. She will also teach you the Prayer gesture if you did not already learn it from her earlier. If you do not immediately visit her in the chapel where the Firekeeper
Soul was, she will be killed by Petrus of Thorolund and you will not be
able to buy her spells. However, she will drop a Pendant and Petrus will drop her Ivory Talisman if you kill him. If you clean out her inventory, she will go to the Duke's Archives where she goes hollow and you will get the Ivory Talisman but no Pendant. The Pendant can be taken as a starting gift or received as a random drop from a successful invasion while working in the Forest Hunter's Covenant.
Endgame Wrap Up
I would save all of these activities for after you have farmed all of the humanity/souls/crafting materials that you need for your next playthrough. In particular I would make sure you have at least one maxed out endgame weapon such as Quelaag's Fury Sword +5 and a solid shield such as the Eagle Shield +15, or Silver Knight's Shield +5. Additionally, craft a maxed out weapon of each type for achievements/trophies: Standard, Raw, Lightning, Fire, Occult, Divine, Enchanted, Magic, Crystal, Chaos. You only get one blue and one red titanite slab per playthrough, but there's a trick/exploit to get both a magic/enchanted and chaos/fire weapon. In the upgrade screen, use the slab for one weapon and the achievement will immediately pop. Now quit the game without leaving the menu and when you reload the game you'll have your slab back (the autosave will not have triggered).
Standard: Pre 1.04 I suggest the Hollowed Soldier's Shield +15, which counts as a standard weapon and is arguably the best light shield in the game. After 1.04 the Eagle Shield +15 is good, or use it on a weapon such as the Murakumo +15 or Claymore +15.
Lightning: You receive a Lightning Spear from a mimic in Sen's Fortress it is a natural choice to take this to +5 which trivializes the difficulty of your first playthrough. It is not a particularly great NG+ weapon though, you may instead want to create a Lightning Claymore +5, a Lightning Iaito +5, or a Lightning Uchigatana +5 based on personal preference.
Occult: You receive an Occult Club in Anor Londo and it is a natural choice to take this to +5.
Divine: You can deconstruct your Occult Club +5 back to Divine +5 and then boost it to +10. However, it is not a very good divine weapon. If you want something useful for the Catacombs, a Divine Claymore +10 is a very good choice.
Enchanted: You receive an Enchanted Falchion from a mimic in the Duke's Archives and this is a natural choice to upgrade to +5.
Magic: You can deconstruct your Enchanted Falchion +5 to magic +5 and then take it to +10.
Crystal: You receive a Crystal Halberd in Anor Londo which you can take to +5.
Warrior of Sunlight Covenant: There are unique miracles that are only available through this covenant. You can't even join the covenant unless you have 50 Faith. For non-faith builds, the requirement is reduced by 5 for each time you join another player's game as a white phantom and defeat the area boss. Once you join the covenant you can learn the Praise the Sun gesture and get the Lightning Spear miracle. To get the others you need to obtain 10 Sunlight Medals and sacrifice Gwyn's Soul to the covenant. You can get a maximum of 9 per playthrough offline so you will have to get more in a subsequent playthrough or assist another player as a white phantom.
Old Witch's Ring: Trade the Sunlight Maggot to Snuggly for the Old Witch's Ring if you want to speak with the Daughter of Chaos. This is the only way to hear her otherwise missable dialogue.
Kill Gwyndolin: You need two souls to complete all of the weapons,
so you will have to kill this boss again in another playthrough. After you defeat him, Domnhall of Zena will sell his armor set for 40,000 souls.
Kill all NPCs: All NPCs will respawn in NG+, so you may as well kill them for their tasty tasty items. Only the blacksmiths are really worth the effort because they drop unique hammers.
Big Hat Logan - Firelink Shrine (if he didn't go to the Duke's Archives)
Griggs of Vinheim - Firelink Shrine (if he didn't go hollow in Sen's Fortress)
Ingward - Firelink Shrine, drops 1,000 souls
Laurentius - Firelink Shrine (if he didn't go hollow in Blighttown)
Patches the Hyena - Firelink Shrine, drops 2,000 souls
Petrus of Thorolund - Firelink Shrine (will drop Ivory Talisman if he killed Reah of Thorolund)
Domnhall of Zena - Aqueduct between Firelink Shrine and Undead Burg, drops 1,000 souls
Undead Merchant (female) - Aqueduct between Firelink Shrine and Lower Undead Burg, drops 60 souls
Undead Merchant (male) - Upper Undead Burg, drops 60 souls, 1 Humanity, Uchigatana
Reah of Thorolund - Undead Parish (if she wasn't killed by Petrus and didn't go hollow in the Duke's Archives)
Blacksmith Andrei - Undead Parish, drops 1,000 souls, 3 Humanity, Blacksmith Hammer
Oswald of Carim - Undead Parish, drops 2,000 souls, 2 Twin Humanities
Dusk of Oolacile - Darkroot Basin, drops 1,200 souls
Shiva - Darkroot Garden or Blighttown, depending on if you are a member of the Forest Hunter's Covenant (don't forget to kill his ninja bodyguard)
Quelana of Izalith - Blighttown
Eingyi - Blighttown, drops 2 Egg Vermifuge
Daughter of Chaos - Blighttown, drops 5,000 souls, Fire Keeper Soul
Crestfallen Merchant - Sen's Fortress, drops 1,000 souls
Firekeeper - Anor Londo
Giant Blacksmith - Anor Londo, drops 3,000 souls, Blacksmith Giant Hammer
Blacksmith Vamos - Catacombs, drops 1,000 souls, Hammer of Vamos, Royal Helm
Kiln of the First Flame
Gwyn: Reverse your hollowing so that you can summon Solaire of Astora and receive your final Sunlight Medal. You need two souls from the boss, so you will have to kill him again in another playthrough. One to create his unique weapon and another to give to the Sunlight Warrior Covenant. Make sure you choose a different ending than you did in your first playthrough to unlock both achievements/trophies.
The following gamefaqs users contributed invaluable information and made this a better guide for everyone:
Aftermathrar
BakusaiTenketsu
BeRizzle
cookie_kid
eiMil
IAmNotTyph
infinitexx
MunkehluvsJelly
tag545
wonzan
ZeldaGeek21
ZeroUnderOne
Sorry if I missed anyone!
Leave the author a comment:
Mark -- 2011-10-25
Tower kite shield is the starter shield of the knight | sector24 -- 2011-10-25
Thanks, Mark! I updated the guide with your information. | Kiros -- 2011-10-25
Enchanted falch from a chest in dukes archives in the room before the route to the crystal cave. | Darwin -- 2011-10-25
Fencer Balder Knights in the Undead Parish drop Rapiers. | Robffff -- 2011-10-25
A very well laid out guide, good work. So very helpful with the npc storyline stuff. | sector24 -- 2011-10-26
Thanks for the comments everyone! I have updated the Enchanted Falchion and Rapier locations. | UberData -- 2011-10-27
Might I suggest for the "Endgame Wrap Up" section you list all of the NPC to act as a checklist of sorts, with there drops would even be better. | Ampitere -- 2011-10-27
The Sage Robe you were asking about from Logan is picked up in The Duke's Archives, after Logan has hollowed. As are the Traveling Boots, I don't know where this chest is located though. | mark -- 2011-10-28
you can apparently summon her for the four kings fight if you had summoned her for the butterfly fight | Robffff -- 2011-10-30
In regards to the chest with Logans robes it is where he is sitting in the small library buy the shortcut to the last bonefire where you learn spells from him after freeing him. But you have to quit and reload after killing him in the room where you encounter Seath first | Jahames1 -- 2011-10-30
I got to say, thank you very much to all the people who contributed and wrote this information. | Verile -- 2011-11-06
I got my mimic head from the Duke's Archive. The one near Big Hat Logan by the last bonfire near the secret staircase. Took me nearly 90 Lloyd's talismans. | B -- 2011-12-13
This is a great guide, thanks! | bear -- 2012-04-27
"Any mimic except for the ones in the Duke's Archives have a chance to drop it"
I got symbol of avarice in the duke's archives | Phil -- 2012-08-29
This is a good guide but I have a correction. Patches only shows up in the catacombs if you go there before Rhea leaves Firelink Shrine. I actually missed this because I was following your guide which states he is there before you ring the second bell. Well, I went down there after Rhea left and before ringing the second bell and he wasn't there. :( | sector24 -- 2012-08-31
Thanks for your correction, Phil. Following the guide worked for me, but I don't fully understand all the triggers and this event may be time sensitive as you indicated. I edited that section to add your note so that future readers will be better informed. | Phil -- 2012-09-14
Yeah, Dark Souls has strange triggers for events and it can be hard to pinpoint them exactly. Its no big deal as all I missed was the humanity and I will just do it on my NG+. If I notice anything else I will make sure to post about it. I do appreciate this guide though! I like experiencing all of the dialogue and its hard to do that in Dark Souls without a guide like this. |
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