The fights you'll find inside the Tower of Flame are considerably tougher than those you'll have faced up until now. Fortunately, there are a few handy items you can collect on the way to the tower, and we'll make sure you grab each one as you make your way to the next area of Dark Souls 2.
How to find Heide's Tower of Flame
Make your way back to the hub of Majula and open that locked door to the hut that's near the Blacksmith. Once you're inside you should see a chest that you can loot to get hold of a Short Bow. After you've grabbed it, pop back outside and speak to the Blacksmith. Download intro template after effect. Now go to the decrepit house all the way over to the right and use the key you picked up earlier to open the door.
Go inside, then walk down the hallway until you're in another room. You'll find a Pharros' Lockstone by the pile of books in the corner of the room. Grab it, then make your way down the corridor that's to the left of the entrance to this building. Keep following the path as it veers to the left, then go up the stairs when you reach the end.
There's a room to your left which contains a chest. Go inside and open it up to get hold of a trio of Titanite Shards, and three more torches too. Go back downstairs and then head left when you reach the bottom. Keep going down the next set of stairs you come to, but be ready to fight a skeleton when you reach the next level down.
Up ahead of you is a very useful Estus Flask Shard. Make sure you pick it up, then go through the doorway to your left. Have a rummage around inside the coffer you find to get a Soul Vessel. Now exit the building completely and make your way into the chapel-like building that's over on your left.
How to open the door to Heide's Tower
Once you're inside, make your way downstairs and keep walking through the hallway to your right, then head down the second set of stairs. You'll find a lever at the bottom which opens a door when you pull it. Go through that door, and then take the stairs on your right. Once you've reached the top, you'll find yourself standing at the start of Heide's Tower of Flame.
Be ready for a fight the moment you step into the Heide's Tower area, and it's a fight that's considerably tougher than the rather timid enemies that populated the Forest of Fallen Giants. Even though the combat's tougher, just keep in mind that some of the monsters you demolish won't reappear - even after you've died or rested at a bonfire.
Heide's Tower of Flame guide
Cartao transporte estudante curitiba ecuador. Make your way along the path and get stuck into the first enemy. Keep as close to this enemy as you can, and dodge out of the way of its opening vertical attack. Get over to the right of the creature, then slip in behind it to avoid the next, horizontally-swinging attack.
Corel draw x6 download 64 bit. 'If your positioning is a little off - and it looks as though the enemy's about to launch a horizontal attack - dodge out of the way immediately.'
The third attack in the pattern is another horizontal swing, but it comes at you from the opposite direction this time. Maintain your position to the enemy's rear, but move over to the opposite side to survive the final part of the attack pattern.
You're now free to retaliate with your own damage, but keep an eye out for when the enemy gets ready to begin its combat pattern again. That pattern remains exactly the same as before, so just exercise a little patience, take your own swings whenever it's safe to do so, and the creature will eventually fall to the ground. That's one down.
Make your way down the path to the side of the platform and ignite the bonfire when you reach it. Now go up the stairs and be ready to fight the second, considerably trickier monster. This enemy fights very much like the first one, but its attacks are a little different. It'll either attempt two horizontal swings, followed by a vertical slice, or it'll come at you with a single or twin vertical assault.
The best way to handle this fight is to once again stay as close as you can to your opponent, but this time maintain a position in front of it. If you can manage to dance with it in such a way that you never veer to the enemy's left or right, you should force the monster to stick to using vertical attacks. As soon as they arrive, dart to one side, and then align yourself in the correct position immediately afterwards.
If you've managed to force it into an initial vertical swipe, your opponent will next turn just a little to begin the next attack. While it's turning, throw a couple of good whacks your opponent's way before getting safely back into position, and allowing it to begin its own offence once again.
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If your positioning is a little off - and it looks as though the enemy's about to launch a horizontal attack - dodge out of the way immediately, wait for the second and third parts of the attack pattern to play out, and then go in for another attempt at controlling the creature's combat.
Prepare for the Dragonrider fight
It's fiddly stuff, but when you've beaten the enemy you can carry on down the walkway to get your hands on both a Human Effigy and a Soul of a Nameless Soldier. Now make your way up the stairs and grab the item on the right-hand side of the door to get one more Lloyd's Talisman. There's a third enemy here which you're welcome to attack, but it's really not necessary - if you ignore him, he'll ignore you right back.
Carry on down the path and make your way into the circular section that's just ahead of you. There's a handful of enemies mooching around here, but you can once again take the pacifist approach and simply ignore them if you prefer to sneak your way around the region.
'The enemy in the middle will start attacking you as soon as you enter the area, but the other two enemies stay put if you simply ignore them.'
There's a doorway over to your right that you need to go through, but if you take the left-hand door first, you'll find a pair of enemies guarding a path to the left that grants a Divine Blessing. The enemy in the middle will start attacking you as soon as you enter the area, but the other two enemies stay put if you simply ignore them.
Head through the door on the right and then keep following the path until you get to a new area. Look to your right and you'll see a section tucked away that contains a Rubbish-bearing chest. Over on the opposite side is a creature guarding the mist. You can fight this enemy if you want to, but if you'd rather get stuck straight into the next boss fight, simply lure the guard away from the mist, then dart through as soon as you've got a clear path to it.
One thing to consider before you do, however: dodging all these guys is well and good, but if you have the patience to take them all out then you can activate switches located around the Heide's Tower of Flame area which will raise platforms in the boss fight to give you more space to work in.
For more entries in our complete Dark Souls 2 walkthrough, take a look through the first page of this article.
Part 4: Heide's Tower of Flame
And with that, we have caught up with the LP. The next (actual) update will probably be Saturday but from then on updates will get much rarer. So far I could keep a weekly schedule, but the official statement is 'when it's done'Finally, a new area. This one's a lot shorter. Mostly because the Forest of Fallen Giants is pretty much the biggest area of the game.
Hiltrud in New Game has switched to wearing the Drangleic torso piece but went for something lighter for the rest (except the gloves) because the Drangleic Armor is actually pretty heavy and personally I'm one of those people who never go above 70% equip burden to avoid having a slower roll. This is a great example of the game now having cloth physics by the way. The first game had some armors with pieces of cloth or even small capes, but they'd never move and it looked kind of awkward. But since this is a Souls game EVERYTHING has an in-game explanation that is not at all farfetched or even ridiculous. Surely, in the first game, they knew the ancient art of reinforcing cloth to make it block incoming attacks but they forgot this technique by the time Dark Souls II plays out. Because it was a dumb fad. Clearly, this is how it is.
in NG+ we're a feral warrior using large wooden chunks as weapons. Guy Diealot (his name, by the way) doesn't really have the body for this outfit since he's pretty skinny but he somehow pulls it off with the Bandit Armor, the Lion Warrior Skirt and the Gyrm Helm. Also some gloves that don't really matter.
Dark Souls 2 Tower Of Flame Wallpaper
DragonriderThe Dragonrider is a really easy boss. So easy, in fact, that I believed he'd just return as a normal enemy later on, which was the fate of a couple early bosses from the first game. He's a dude in armor with a big weapon so he might seem really scary at first, but if you just circlestrafe counter-clockwise you will be able to dodge the vast majority of his attacks. Sometimes you might want to roll, if only to be on the safe side. He doesn't really have any attacks that require special tactics but be aware that while he mostly does two or three hit combos, he has a rare chance to also add in a fourth hit.
He can be made slightly harder by just not enhancing the arena with one or both of the switches but unless this is your first time and you want to (and should) play it safe this isn't required at all.
Boss Weapons
Soul of a Dragonrider, who faithfully served King Vendrick.
Long ago, the dragonriders mounted wyrms, and were feared on the battlefield for their unparallelled strength.
Give this soul to Straid to make..
Dragonrider's Halberd
Moveset/Weapon Class: Halberd
Physical Damage (+0/+5): 100/250
Magic Damage (+0/+5): 90/120
Scales with (+0/+5): STR (C), DEX (C), INT (C)
Requirements: 18 STR, 17 DEX
Damage Type: Slash/Thrust + Magic
In-Game Description:
Halberd of the Dragonriders, King Vendrick's royal guard. A highly versatile weapon that can slash, sweep, and thrust when wielded numbly, and is also imbued with magic.
Demands great skill of its wielder, and thus served to test the worthiness of those who aspire to join the Dragonriders.
Dragonrider's Greatshield
Type: Greatshield
Stability (+0/+5): 70 / 78
Noteworthy Damage Reduction (+0/+5): 100% Physical, 75%/78.1% Fire and Lightning
Requirements: 35 STR
In-Game Description:
Greatshield of the Dragonriders, King Vendrick's royal guard.
The rank of Dragonrider was reserved for honorable warriors who helped found Drangleic. Together with the King, they crushed its former inhabitants and erected a magnificent kingdom upon their graves.
Dragonrider's Twinblade
Moveset/Weapon Class: Twinblade
Physical Damage (+0/+5): 60/150
Magic Damage (+0/+5): 80/100
Scales with (+0/+5): STR (C), DEX (C), Magic (C)
Requirements: 20 STR, 22 DEX
Damage Type: Slash/Thrust + Magic
In-Game Description:
Twinblade of the Dragonriders, King Vendrick's royal guard.
Twinblades are wielded with an unusual technique. This one strikes hard but is very heavy.
Demands great skill of its wielder, and thus served to test the worthiness of those who aspired to join the Dragonriders.
Dragonrider's Bow
Moveset/Weapon Class: Bow
Physical Damage (+0/+5): 72/180
Magic Damage (+0/+5): 80/100
Scales with (+0/+5): STR (B), DEX (D), INT (C)
Requirements: 20 STR, 18 DEX
Damage Type: Projectile + Magic
In-Game Description:
Bow wielded by Dragonrider, King Vendrick's royal guard. Merely drawing this bow requires inhuman strength, but each shot has deadly potential
Demands great skill of its wielder, and thus served to test the worthiness of those who aspired to join Dragonriders.
Note: This bow uses more Stamina to draw the string than any other bow class weapons. Excluding greatbows, of course. It's also one of the highest damaging bows.
Old Dragonslayer
Ah yes, good old Ornstein, or something that resembles him. Ornstein was a boss in the first game. He was together with some big dude called Smough and it was my favorite boss fight of the game.
In Dark Souls II he's alone and, frankly, I'm not too fond of him here. He's definitely a more fun boss than Dragonrider but it really seems more like he's been thrown in here as plain old fanservice.
Old Dragonslayer is literally just there. He has a pretty good variety of attacks. Even though he's using a Spear he will not only thrust but also sweep. He also has one thrust with a obvious but unassuming wind-up you should look out for. If it connects you'll be skewered and take quite a bit of damage.
At a range he can also fire dark homing magic,or close in with a dashing thrust or even a jump. Dodge timing on those can be a bit tricky. At least I tend to screw it up occasionally. Lastly, he has an attack from his old buddy Smough: He'll jump up and attempt to crush you with his mighty bottom. This also has an AoE effect so it's best to get as far away as you can unless you know exactly how far it reaches.
Of course, now I have to address why he is here with the game's Lore: I simply don't know. There really isn't anything that even tells us that this is in fact Ornstein so my own take is that this is just an animated suit of armor. But still, why would someone do that? One theory is posited by VaatiVidya, one of the guys on youtube who try to make sense of the lore of Dark Souls, in this video. Attention: it addresses and shows some things that I haven't mentioned yet so be wary of some overarching lore spoilers, I recommend only watching this video if you've already played through the game.
Anyway, VaatiVidya's theory is, that the cathedral may as well have been built in the image of the one in Anor Londo by Gwynevere (who, as we know if we thoroughly played Dark Souls, was not actually present in the first game seeing as the one we met there was an illusion) who was said to be married to a fire god called Flann. The gist is that Gwynevere moved to what is now known as Heide with Flann. And since Ornstein was tasked with protecting Gwynevere he went with her. Or she created something that resembles him. That's also a possible explanation for having a Cathedral with the same architecture as in Anor Londo as well as the Tower of Flame at the other end of the area. Personally, I lean more towards Dark Souls II being set in the same general area as the first game so it's also possible that this is an actual remnant of Anor Londo but since it was abandoned another city was built around it as time went on but the cathedral remained. Or perhaps, it is that Gwynevere returned here with Flann long after Anor Londo was gone and erected the cathedral there for old time's sake. OR maybe.. it's something completely different. This really is a part of the game we have very little information on, so we can speculate and theorize like crazy. And that's what makes it fun.
Boss Weapons
Soul of the Old Dragonslayer.
The Old Dragonslayer is reminiscent of a certain knight that appears in old legends.
Give it to Ornifex to make..
Dragonslayer Spear
Dark Souls 2 Tower Of Flame Dragon
Moveset/Weapon Class: Spear
Physical Damage (+0/+5): 52/130
Lightning Damage Damage (+0/+5): 60/105
Scales with (+0/+5): STR (E), DEX (B/A), FTH (C)
Requirements: 16 STR, 25 DEX
Damage Type: Thrust + Lightning
In-Game Description:
The spear of the knight known as the Dragonslayer was imbued with the power of lightning, and shattered the stone scales of dragons.
Strong attack unleashes its latent power.
Note: Strong attack will shoot lightning at the cost of durability both when one-handing and two-handing the weapon.
Covenants:
So far we've discovered three covenants. Two of which belong together. Those two are The Way of Blue and the Blue Sentinels. Essentially covenants reward players for doing specific things. As you level up your covenant devotions you will get access to new things.
Way of Blue (noob covenant)
Can be joined by talking to Saulden in Majula. The way of blue is meant to protect you from invaders.
To level up the covenant you happen to have to kill invaders.
For joining you get the blue seals, which will increase your health a bit and can be coupled with the life ring for an extra boost.
For 1 defeated invader you get the Bloodbite ring, which protects raises bleeding resistance.
For 5 defeated invaders you get the sorcery Hush which masks all noise you make for a short time
For 10 defeated invaders you get the Blue Tearstone Ring which increases your defense when low at health.
The Blue Sentinels (police covenant)
Can be joined by talking to Targray in the Cathedral of Blue with a Token of Fidelity in your inventory. The Blue Sentinels are the other side of the Way of Blue which means you'll get summoned to other player's worlds to help them fend off invaders. Additionally you can also engage in honorable duels with fellow Sentinels by praying at the Statues by the bonfire in the cathedral. To level this covenant up you.. uh.. need to kill a lot of people. Be they red phantoms, sinners you invade with a cracked blue eye orb or duels against other sentinels.
For joining you get the Guardian's Seal, which allows you to get summoned to members of the Way of Blue
For 50 kills you get the Spirit Tree Shield, which can parry spells.
For 150 kills you get Wrath of the Gods, a powerful AoE miracle.
For 500 FUCKING KILLS you get Bountiful Sunlight a miracle that slowly heals you and your allies. You'll also get Targrays Armor set. If you want his set just kill him and then buy it from Melentia. That's one kill vs. 500. You'll miss out on the other rewards, though.
Company of Champions (git gud covenant)
Can be joined by interacting with Victor's Stone in Majula. This is supposed to be a challenge covenant. It increases the amount of hits enemies take and also expands their aggro range, forcing you to fight multiple HP-sponges at the same time routinely. To level it up you need to collect Awestones and offer them to Victor's Stone. Awestones from Red Phantom invaders, be they human or NPC and also have a chance of dropping from various strong enemies.
For joining you get the Champion's Tablet which does nothing but tell you who else is in the Covenant.
For 10 Awestones you get Great Magic Weapon, a sorcery that buffs up your weapon to do magic damage.
For 25 Awestones you get the First Dragon Ring, which slightly increases numerous stats, making it very useful
For 50 Awestones you get the Vanquisher's Seal, a ring that makes your fists a valid choice of weapon by greatly increasing stat scaling for unarmed combat.
Item Descriptions
Sublime Bone Dust
Charred, ashen bones.
Cast them into the Far Fire in Majula to increase the HP restored with each use of your flask.
They say these are the remains of a saint who cast himself into the bonfire. But we will never know for sure, for soot and ashes tell no story.
Note:It's not clear whether it's referring to a saint who cast himself into any bonfire or someone who linked the fire. Linking the fire was one of the possible endings in Dark Souls. After lighting the final bonfire after the final boss the First Flame would be re-lit, burning the one who did it alive in the process. If it's referring to that it confirms that the Link the Fire ending is canon. However there's still more to learn about that later on.
Lloyd's Talisman
Dark Souls II: Talisman used by cleric knights. Blocks Estus recovery within a limited area.
It is said that the cleric knights used these talismans to hunt down accursed Undead.
Cleric knights fight with pride, and by blocking the recovery of the Undead, they can also fight with impunity.
Dark Souls: Talisman utilized by Allfather Lloyd's cleric knights to hunt down the Undead. Blocks Estus recovery within a limited area. In the outside world, the Undead are accursed creatures, and Lloyd's cleric knights are widely praised for their Undead hunts. This blessed talisman blocks Undead recovery, allowing the knights to fight with impunity.
Note: Allfather Lloyd was the brother of Gwyn, the highest ranking deity from Dark Souls. It's interesting to note that while other item descriptions make a point of obscuring origins, uses and other facts of items these two descriptions are remarkably similar. Coincidency? Probably. The only thing left out is Lloyd's name.
Old Knight Halberd
An undated halberd.
Wielded by a warrior from a time so ancient that there exists no record of his endeavors. Has extremely low durability. Sometimes, just as a thing falls to pieces, it unleashes its last flash of great power..
The “Souls” series has long been known for its difficulty. From Software has punished players over the years with their difficult role-playing games, Dark Souls 2 is no different. Well, it is different, but it’s still a punishing game that will take some getting acquainted to. Where should you go? What should you do? We’re here to get you off on the right foot with this Guide to Getting Started in Dark Souls 2. It covers a complete walkthrough from the start of the game, to your first boss fight, uncovering some early game items, and even a little early game soul farming to help you level up more quickly in Dark Souls 2.
Things Betwix
After a brief cutscene explaining some of the Dark Souls 2 story, you’ll start your adventure in Things Betwixt. Head towards the light. As you make your way towards the distant light, you’ll see a building much closer. This is your first objective. Here, you’ll create your Dark Souls 2 character. But, From Software has put a couple of hidden items for you to collect before you do that. When you go through the first passage, head right. A small cave is there, and has a Rusted Coin. You’ll need to cross a bridge to get to the building, but before you do, head left through the bushes. There’s another hidden path that has another item, with a massive cyclops guarding it. Head up the path, run past the cyclops, and on the right there will be a small stream that you can drop into. Drop down and collect the Small Smooth & Silky Stone.
Enter the building. You’ll be greeted with more cinematics, prompting you to create your character. This isn’t a character set-up guide, so choose a character that best suits you. This walkthrough was done with a Swordsman class. In this building there are four NPCs. Three old witches and one younger woman. You can kill all of these characters, and they’ll give you items. Killing the old witches will net you six Human Effigy. Killing the younger woman will net you three Human Effigy. Go upstairs, and there will be another Human Effigy in a treasure chest. Human Effigy is valuable in Dark Souls 2 because they allow you to revive to human form. In Dark Souls 2, when you die you become Undead. Each time you die your life bar will gradually get smaller and smaller, with less starting health for you to work with. Using the Human Effigy will allow you to restore your full health bar. You can also burn Human Effigy in a bonfire to ward off online invaders to your world.
Go out of the backdoor to the house, and you’ll find your first Bonfire. Lighting the Bonfire will mark this as your first checkpoint. Until you light another bonfire, this will be where you start when you die. You can perform various operations at Bonfires in Dark Souls 2. First off, the game now has a fast travel system between Bonfire locations. Since this is the first Bonfire you’ve lit, there aren’t any fast travel options just yet. You can burn items at the Bonfire as well, like the Human Effigy mentioned above, or other items that will give you various bonuses. You can also light torches at the Bonfires in Dark Souls 2. Press Y to toggle the functionality of the Bonfire, and press A to light a torch. Torches can be carried to light your path, or, they can be used to light sconces, which you will encounter when you head into the Dark Souls training grounds in the next area. You’ll need a torch to light first. Head to the right, and behind the cart next to the Bonfire, you’ll find your first Torch and your first Soul of a Lost Undead.
This corpse is one of many that you’ll find on your journey. Always be on the lookout for corpses like these, they contain souls, items, and more. Usually, the more obscure the location of the corpse, the better the loot. In this case, you got a valuable torch. And an even more valuable Soul of a Lost Undead. Using this soul in the items menu will automatically add souls to your inventory. These range in size, and come in a number of different denominations.
Head into the cave ahead of the bonfire, and you’ll begin a training exercise that runs you through the controls of the game. This area will contain a number of doors that prompt you to enter. Go ahead and start with the first door on the left, this will start the tutorial section of the game. This are should not give you much trouble at all. There are numerous corpses to loot in, and instructions are fairly straight forward. Though there are a couple of hidden items in this area. Two are at the top of the ladder. At the top of the ladder in this area there is a nest. When you reach it for the first time voices will ask you to give us smooth and silky. Remember that Smooth and Silky Stone you found just minutes ago. Find it in your items menu and leave it in the nest. It will be changed into something usable for you. Also, directly below you is another hidden item on a corpse. Drop down to scoop up your Soul of a Nameless Soldier. You also be given the opportunity to challenge a couple of Cyclops Monsters in the final door. The Cyclops Ogres can be killed fairly easily with a little kiting. Try to grab the attention of one of the monsters and lure them back up the ramp you came down on, and towards the wooden log bridge. The objective here is to get the Cyclops to go into a full attack combo animation on the bridge. Nine times out of ten, it will fall off the bridge. Now do it again with the second Cyclops, and you’ll earn 1000 souls for each of the beasts. Once both have been defeated, you can go back to the house with the three witches and receive the Handmaiden’s Ladel from Mildred (if you didn’t kill her). The coffin that the two cyclops were guarding can also now be used to change the gender of your character.
One of the brutal aspects of Dark Souls 2 is the ability to lose your souls if you can recover them. You can have all the souls in the world, but if you don’t bank them for items or leveling points, you could lose them at a moments notice. If you die, you’ll leave a bloodstain, marked by a glowing green light. If you can make it back to your bloodstain, you’ll be able to recover your souls. It’s always a good idea to carry a Homeward Bone that can get you out of a difficult area, instead of risking all your souls. Homeward Bones work in boss fights also.
Majula
After you’ve completed this tutorial section, you’ll head through the tunnel at the end of this cavern to make your way to Majula. This is the central hub area for Dark Souls 2. Coming out of the cave you’ll head towards the statue in the distance. To your immediate left is a tunnel and a corpse with a Divine Blessing. We can leave the tunnel for now, because there’s not much we can do at the moment.
In Majula, there are a number of items to find and features to unlock, as it’s the central hub for your adventure. Your first order of business should be to meet with the Emerald Herald. She’ll give you an Estus Flask, and will be your point of contact for leveling up your character going forward. Whenever you collect souls in Dark Souls 2, you can return them to the Emerald Herald to level your character. You can purchase points and build your character however you like. She’s just away from the bonfire, peering over the cliffside. Once you have your Estus Flask, you can start to take a look around.
At the statue just behind you, you can join the Blue Covenant, doing so will net you the Blue Seal.
Heading back down the stairs from the statue, or the right will be the Blacksmith. The Blacksmith is locked out of his shop, you’ll need to find a key to open the shop. (Which you’ll do shortly). To the right of the Blacksmith’s Shop, you’ll find a Soul of a Nameless Soldier and a Lifegem.You’ll also see three other buildings off in the distance. We’ll get there shortly, for now we’ll stay right and head away from the Blacksmith’s shop. Sticking to the side of the cliff, you’ll find a tunnel which leads to Heidi’s Tower of Flame and a path that ascends up the side of the cliff. We’ll head up for now. At the top, you’ll find another shrine, and the ability to join another covenant. Joining the Company of Champions will net you the Champion’s Tablet . The corpse on your left will give you a Homeward Bone, which warps you back to the last bonfire you rested at.
Before doing anything else, you should head over to the other three houses in Majula. One of them has an upgrade to your Estus Flask, giving you your first Estus Flask Shard. Simply head over the big house in the middle, there will be a well on the right side, attack the rock sitting on the ledge and it will drop into the well. Up will come your Estus Flask Shard. Take it back to the Emerald Herald at the Majula bonfire for an instant upgrade to your Estus Flask, giving you two heals instead of one. The Estus Flask should always be on your hotkey list. It allows you to heal your character, and you’ll be doing that a lot. Finding Estus Shards are one of the most beneficial items in the game.
Now’s time for a decision. Talking to the people in Majula, they lead you to a very specific path as your next objective. However, you can currently head into Heide’s Tower of Flame for some early game soul farming against some easy opposition. The choice is yours, but we racked up around 30,000 souls before heading into Valley of Giants.
Hiede’s Tower of Flame
The ramp you took to join the Company of Champions is right near the path to Hiede’s Tower of Flame. Simply take the stone doorway and head down the path into the sewers. You’ll need to pull one lever to open a gate, and you’re there. Hiede’s Tower of Flame is certainly daunting. It’s filled with giant Ancient Knights, with big sheilds, massive swords and clubs. But this is very doable. They are extremely slow, and can be kited. Each giant will net you four hundred souls, there are plenty of giants to go around, and they are so slow that it’s almost impossible to lose your souls even if you die. When you first head into the Tower of Flame area, you’ll want to stay to your right. There is a bonfire immediately on down the path on the right. In case you die, you’ll start here.
Now you can start harvesting souls. You can take a look at the video below to see one of our early game soul farming runs. It’s worth noting though, Dark Souls 2 is considerably different from previous games. The more times you farm an area, the more likely it is for enemies to start disappearing. After about 10 runs through Tower of Flame, enemies were pretty sparse. But it did give us a good start as far as leveling goes.
Soul Farming Dark Souls 2 – Hiedi’s Tower of Flame
Forest of Fallen Giants
Whether you decided to do some soul farming or not, you’re gonna head into the Forest of Fallen Giants now.
If you’re standing at the bonfire in Majul, the path to the Forest of Fallen Giants is on your left. Head down the path into the darkness. On your right, will be a treasure chest with another Rusted Coin. Head deeper into the hallway, and you’ll find a lever. Pull it to open the gate, and you’ll come across a wooden bridge. Go across the bride and take a left. If you go right, you’ll come out in the same place. But, if you go left there are a couple of items to find. Go across the wooden planks to find a treasure chest. In it is a Human Effigy. Leap across the chasm and collect another Homeward Bone and a Soul of a Lost Undead. Continue down the stream to enter the Forest of Fallen Giants.
If you used Heidi’s to level up before entering here, this shouldn’t be very hard. If not, these entry level mobs could give you some trouble. There are multiple enemy types in the first area. Some have knives, some have swords and shields, and there’s an archer in the distance. As is usually the case in Dark Souls, try luring one enemy at a time to you, unless you are strong enough to tackle multiple enemies at once. At this point, you’re probably not. In this wooded area there’s also a new bonfire to be lit. In an alcove on the right hand side is the bonfire. You should light it before taking on too many of these enemies. Resting at the Bonfire will also refill your Estus Flask.
Dispatch the seven or so undead in this area and then proceed up the path, where there will be a ladder awaiting you. Now’s a good time to note that holding B or Circle will allow you get up ladders more quickly in Dark Souls 2, but it does sap your stamina. When you get to the top you’ll have another set of undead to work on, and a knight when you’re ready. The best policy is to clear out all the weak enemies before tackling the harder ones. Take the guys out on the ground first. Next to the ladder you came up on there’s a hole leading outside, go out and up another ladder. When you get to the top of the ladder there will be two more undead to deal with. At the top of the staircase to the right will be a Soul of a Nameless Soldier. Now drop down and take out that pesky archer. Past the archer is yet another corpse with two items a Shortsword and Soul of a Lost Undead. Head back down to tackle the Knight. Targeting the Knight and dodging his attacks will be the way to take him down. Stay close, and when he goes for an attack, roll behind him. Defeating him will net you the Heide Knight Sword.
All enemies down and new swords in hand, you’re ready to enter the Mist into a new area. Heading down into this new area you’ll find multiple undead. One when you round the first corner. Two in the room to the right, and then another just down the hallway. Piece of cake. Heading towards the staircase you’ll find an archer. Where the archer is, there is a undead lobbing firebombs, and a third undead ready to knife you when you get to the top of the stairs. Taking out those three, you can grab the Buckler off the corpse in the back of this area, but be careful, there’s one more enemy waiting to ambush you. Ascend the ladder and open the door on your right. Congratulations, you made it to another bonfire.
Your next order of business should be to talk with the merchant at the bonfire. She can sell you a number of different things, but importantly, she can sell you the Blacksmith’s key. You should have enough souls to purchase it, so do so. Fast travel from the Bonfire to Marjul and open the Blacksmith’s shop for him. There’s a treasure chest inside the Blacksmith’s shop that contains a bow. In Dark Souls 2, the Blacksmith functions similarly to how it did in Dark Souls. The Blacksmith can reinforce your weapons and equipment, making them stronger if you have Titanite Shards and Chunks and Slabs. He can also repair damaged equipment and sell you numerous items. The Blacksmith won’t be available right away, so you can take the Bonfire back to The Forest of Fallen Giants. Blacksmithing has changed somewhat in Dark Souls 2. Well, weapon degradation has changed drastically. Weapons no longer persistently degrade with use. When you rest at a Bonfire, you’re weapon durability returns to full. If you break a weapon, you’ll need to get it repaired.
Head back out the doorway that you came in to get to the Bonfire, and drop down over the ledge. You’ll encounter two undead soldiers. Head along the wall and hop across the ledge for a Human Effigy. Drop straight down for another encounter with an undead soldier. Looking towards the ground from there, you’ll notice there’s a corpse on the tree to your left. Walk along the tree branches to collect another Torch and Soul of Lost Undead. There are quite a few undead at the bottom of this area. Try to tackle them in small groups. Once cleared, enter the small cave to on your left. Be careful. There’s a monster at the end of the tunnel spewing fireballs that can kill you almost instantly. There’s a door in the tunnel on your left that can be opened, and in it, the Fire Longsword. Head back to the Bonfire. You’ll need to go back the way you came in. Up the tree, over the ledge, and then through a hole in the wall. You’ll be back in a familiar area. Since you’ve rested at the last bonfire, this area will contain enemies again. One immediately on your left when you jump in the hole in the wall.
Now that you’ve made it back to the Bonfire, you’ll see that you have some options in this room. The obvious one is that there is a staircase. The staircase is a dead-end right now. You’ll need to beat the boss of this area to access the door at the top. To the right is a ladder heading down. That’s where you’ll go. If you’ve got the souls, you should also pick up the Pharros’ Lockstone. It’ll unlock a couple of valuable treasures in the next area. Head down the ladder and you’ll encounter a couple of new enemy types, as well as seeing the giant monster that’s been spewing fireballs at you. Don’t worry about the monster for now. Instead, you’ll be opening up a shortcut to get to the boss of this level. Dispatch the Hollowed Soldiers and head across the bridge for another Soul of Undead. Back across the bridge and to the right is a new area to enter. Enter the mist and you’ll find numerous archers and enemies lurking.
Head up the tree branch to the top of the wall. Here you’ll encounter numerous enemies, and probably encounter a massive Gryphon and The Pursuer. Don’t worry about them for now, you’re not strong enough to fight them anyway. You’ll get a chance to tackle The Pursuer a little later on. Instead, take out the first two Hallowed Warriors. Pass up the ladder and continue towards the firebombing Hallowed at the end of the wall. You can use this enemy to blow a hole in the wall for a shortcut back to the bonfire. You’ll need to stand in front of the cracked wall and hope that his aim is good. Heading down the stairs will find you facing off against two more Hallowed. Taking them out will give you some breathing room, and open three new areas for you to explore. Head down the ladder and you’ll find a man sitting on a bench at the end of this hallway. You’ll also find a door to your right, and a passage to your left.
The passage to your right is a trap. It has a number of ballista ready to go off when you enter. You can enter and exit quickly to make them go off without hitting you, but you’ll have four Hallowed to deal with. The Ballista might even take one of them out for you. It’s worth clearing out this room, as there is Blue Wooden Shield inside. There’s also a ladder at the back of this room that will take you to more treasure. The chest at the bottom of this room is trapped, but it has a Titanite Shard, so it’s well worth it. In the back of this room, you can also use the Pharros’ Lockstone to get even more hidden treasure when it opens a hidden room. In the room you’ll find two chests. Opening both will get you a Titanite Slab and Chloranthy Ring.
Head back up to the Ballistas and directly across from the exit of this room is your next objective. However, there’s a powerful Turtle Knight guarding our path. Head straight across to the Turtle Knight, but be careful there are also firebombing Hallowed above, so the best policy is to bait the Turtle Knight to come out. Lure the Knight to the Ballista room, and then use the Ballistas on him. They’ll kill him in two shots. He won’t follow you all the way in, so it’s safe to kite him inside as far as he’ll go. When he starts backtracking for the door. Fire on him. To fire the Ballista get behind it and press A or X.
Once the Turtle Knight is gone, you’re very close to opening a shortcut to the first boss. You’ll need to deal with only a handful of Hallowed. You can either do this the easy way or the hard way, but being this close it makes sense to do it the easy way. Entering the room the Turtle Knight was guarding you’ll find two Hallowed guarding the door you need to enter on your immediate left. You can try to bait them out one at a time for the easiest advance. Before you do, head right and up the stairs and you’ll find another corpse with a Lifegem and a Homeward Bone. If you’re really feeling adventurous, after you’ve cleared the two Hallowed guarding the door, you can head up the sword in the middle of this area to fight the Hallowed guarding a Halberd and Soul of a Nameless Soldier. You’ll have to deal with him, and another Hallowed that will drop down behind you, be warned.
Enter the mist that the Hallowed were guarding and head to the left to open the shortcut to the elevator. Where you entered this area, there’s also a Crystal Lizard which can be killed as well. In the room with the Lizard you’ll also have to deal with a Hallowed. Though the reward is a Large Leather Shield and a Lifegem.
Now that you’ve got the shortcuts opened up, you can start exploring this area more thoroughly for other items, or you can go ahead and tackle the first boss. We recommend at least getting the Majul mansion key and the items in the mansion before tackling the first boss, but if you’ve been collecting souls along the way, you should be properly leveled to tackle the first boss. He’s slow and predictable, a very easy kill.
The Mansion Key is fairly easy to get. You’ll need make a couple of well timed leaps across the rooftops, while archers are trying to pick you off. Not a problem. The video below shows off the path to get there. The Mansion Key will get you a couple of items. The important one being another Estus Shard, important to have in your upcoming battle.
Mansion Key Dark Souls 2
At this point, you should be feeling pretty confident in this area. If you want to farm souls, or explore for items that we didn’t mention in this guide, you should be adequately leveled to do so, and have plenty of shortcuts at your disposal. You’re also ready to tackle the first boss — The Last Giant.
The easiest way to beat The Last Giant is to roll under his legs every time he runs at you to attack you with his arms. Once you roll through his legs, attack his feet. Get in a couple of good attacks, and then get out of the way as he’s going to try and stomp on you. Put some distance between you and the giant, and he’ll charge you again, rinse and repeat.
Killing him will net you Soul of the Last Giant and Soldier Key. You’ll also get plenty of souls to spend on leveling your character. At this point, it’s wise to level up before you go looking for new doors to unlock with the Solider Key.
The Last Giant Boss Fight
Once you’ve banked your souls from this run, you’ll find that The Soldier Key opens a number of different areas for you to explore. It will allow you to more thoroughly explore this area, it opens up the boss fight with The Pursuer as well. You could also head back to Heidi’s Tower of Flame to start progressing through that area as the bosses there are probably well within your level now.
Made it through these early areas of Dark Souls 2? Learn where to get the four Great Souls and beat Dark Souls 2.
Key points of Dark Souls 2 - Heide's Tower of Flame
Passage to another location
Trap
Shortcut/Passage/Area
Landmark/Switch
Bonfire
NPC (friendly)
Item
Rare opponent/Boss
Lever 1 – Expands the boss arena .
Lever 2 – Expands the boss arena.
Lever (the bridge – Lowers the drawbridge and allows you to reach the Cathedral of Blue.
Old Knight (Sublime Bone Dust) – A knight armed with a club. Leaves the Sublime Bone Dust, which allows you to upgrade the Estus Flask
Boss - Old Dragonslayer
Boss - Dragonrider
Ring of Binding – After you cross the bridge; the ring is in the chest.
Knight Armor Set (floor I) – The set is in the chest, at the end of the corridor.
Licia of Lindeldt ( floor I) – After you have exhausted all of the dialogue options, he moves to Majula
Blue Sentinel Targray – Allows you to join the Blue Sentinels Covenant
Go get to the Heide'sTowerofFlame, you have to set off from Majula. The entrance to the location is situated behind the blacksmith. Go through the stairs all the way down. Along the way, you will stumble upon a chest - you can collect a CrimsonParm from it. After reaching a closed passage, pull the lever on the left side. A path leading through the canals will be opened. Pick up a soul and a BrokenThiefSword at the end of them. Exit through the tunnel and follow the trail down. Turn to the right behind the destroyed bridge and light the bonfire.
Afterwards, get back on the bridge and engage the enemy - a large knight equipped with a sword and a shield. Defeating him is rather simple. To deal higher damage, take your sword in both hands. The enemy's attack pattern consists of 3 strikes: two fast swings and one, slower but stronger smash. After his two fast swings, jump behind his back the moment he starts preparing for his slower attack. Perform a single strike and jump back. Rinse and repeat 5 or 6 times (depending on the damage that your character can deal).
Climb up the stairs to face another foe. He looks very similar, but he's equipped with a two-handed mace. He's a rather dangerous enemy. He has a few types of attacks at his disposal: a strong, overhead strike, a swing, or a series of attacks (two powerful overhead strikes). The best tactic for him is to circle around him with your weapon drawn. Beware, as when you see that he is preparing for a transverse cut, you must jump away from him - this attack can reach you even when you're behind him. After defeating him collect a SublimeBoneDust. What's important, the enemy won't be reborn again.
Collect souls and a HumanEffigy lying in the corner. Climb up the stairs and engage another enemy knight, wielding a sword and a shield. After getting rid of him, use the lever, which will raise a platform in a nearby tower. Also, collect a Lloyd'sTalisman. Go further through the destroyed bridge, until you reach a building. Inside, you will encounter three enemy knights: two wielding a sword and a shield, and one equipped with a two-handed sword. Try to fight them one-on-one, as engaging all three of them at the same time might be difficult. After the battle ends, go straight ahead to come out on the other side.
You will stumble upon two enemy knights: one equipped with a sword and a shield, and the other one with a two-handed sword. Try to engage them in a one-on-one combat. To the left there are destroyed stairs - climb them up and collect a DivineBlessing. Afterwards, climb the stairs and get on a platform occupied by a knight with a shield. After defeating him, a switch will appear, which will lower a drawbridge.
Go upstairs and collect the items on the left side - inside the corpse you will find a Old Radiant Lifegem, while a chest holds a RingofBinding and a HumanEffigy. Go through the mist, where an OldDragonslayer awaits you.
After the fight, go on the balcony and empty the chests, where you will find a CrackedBlueEye Orb, Heide'sKnightIronMask, and a TowerShield. You can also talk with the knight standing at the balustrade. Afterwards, go down the stairs and light up the bonfire.
Go back to the place occupied by the three knights. If you have recovered by the bonfire, the knights will be reborn. Use the passage on the left side and go down the stairs. Here, you will have to face an enemy equipped with a two-handed sword. You can also open up a chest, which holds a GreenBossom. Go through the mist to face the Dragonrider. After the fight, go up and light up the bonfire and unlock an access to a miracle vendor, LiciaofLindeldt.
The “Souls” series has long been known for its difficulty. From Software has punished players over the years with their difficult role-playing games, Dark Souls 2 is no different. Well, it is different, but it’s still a punishing game that will take some getting acquainted to. Where should you go? What should you do? We’re here to get you off on the right foot with this Guide to Getting Started in Dark Souls 2. It covers a complete walkthrough from the start of the game, to your first boss fight, uncovering some early game items, and even a little early game soul farming to help you level up more quickly in Dark Souls 2.
Things Betwix
After a brief cutscene explaining some of the Dark Souls 2 story, you’ll start your adventure in Things Betwixt. Head towards the light. As you make your way towards the distant light, you’ll see a building much closer. This is your first objective. Here, you’ll create your Dark Souls 2 character. But, From Software has put a couple of hidden items for you to collect before you do that. When you go through the first passage, head right. A small cave is there, and has a Rusted Coin. You’ll need to cross a bridge to get to the building, but before you do, head left through the bushes. There’s another hidden path that has another item, with a massive cyclops guarding it. Head up the path, run past the cyclops, and on the right there will be a small stream that you can drop into. Drop down and collect the Small Smooth & Silky Stone.
Enter the building. You’ll be greeted with more cinematics, prompting you to create your character. This isn’t a character set-up guide, so choose a character that best suits you. This walkthrough was done with a Swordsman class. In this building there are four NPCs. Three old witches and one younger woman. You can kill all of these characters, and they’ll give you items. Killing the old witches will net you six Human Effigy. Killing the younger woman will net you three Human Effigy. Go upstairs, and there will be another Human Effigy in a treasure chest. Human Effigy is valuable in Dark Souls 2 because they allow you to revive to human form. In Dark Souls 2, when you die you become Undead. Each time you die your life bar will gradually get smaller and smaller, with less starting health for you to work with. Using the Human Effigy will allow you to restore your full health bar. You can also burn Human Effigy in a bonfire to ward off online invaders to your world.
Go out of the backdoor to the house, and you’ll find your first Bonfire. Lighting the Bonfire will mark this as your first checkpoint. Until you light another bonfire, this will be where you start when you die. You can perform various operations at Bonfires in Dark Souls 2. First off, the game now has a fast travel system between Bonfire locations. Since this is the first Bonfire you’ve lit, there aren’t any fast travel options just yet. You can burn items at the Bonfire as well, like the Human Effigy mentioned above, or other items that will give you various bonuses. You can also light torches at the Bonfires in Dark Souls 2. Press Y to toggle the functionality of the Bonfire, and press A to light a torch. Torches can be carried to light your path, or, they can be used to light sconces, which you will encounter when you head into the Dark Souls training grounds in the next area. You’ll need a torch to light first. Head to the right, and behind the cart next to the Bonfire, you’ll find your first Torch and your first Soul of a Lost Undead.
This corpse is one of many that you’ll find on your journey. Always be on the lookout for corpses like these, they contain souls, items, and more. Usually, the more obscure the location of the corpse, the better the loot. In this case, you got a valuable torch. And an even more valuable Soul of a Lost Undead. Using this soul in the items menu will automatically add souls to your inventory. These range in size, and come in a number of different denominations.
Head into the cave ahead of the bonfire, and you’ll begin a training exercise that runs you through the controls of the game. This area will contain a number of doors that prompt you to enter. Go ahead and start with the first door on the left, this will start the tutorial section of the game. This are should not give you much trouble at all. There are numerous corpses to loot in, and instructions are fairly straight forward. Though there are a couple of hidden items in this area. Two are at the top of the ladder. At the top of the ladder in this area there is a nest. When you reach it for the first time voices will ask you to give us smooth and silky. Remember that Smooth and Silky Stone you found just minutes ago. Find it in your items menu and leave it in the nest. It will be changed into something usable for you. Also, directly below you is another hidden item on a corpse. Drop down to scoop up your Soul of a Nameless Soldier. You also be given the opportunity to challenge a couple of Cyclops Monsters in the final door. The Cyclops Ogres can be killed fairly easily with a little kiting. Try to grab the attention of one of the monsters and lure them back up the ramp you came down on, and towards the wooden log bridge. The objective here is to get the Cyclops to go into a full attack combo animation on the bridge. Nine times out of ten, it will fall off the bridge. Now do it again with the second Cyclops, and you’ll earn 1000 souls for each of the beasts. Once both have been defeated, you can go back to the house with the three witches and receive the Handmaiden’s Ladel from Mildred (if you didn’t kill her). The coffin that the two cyclops were guarding can also now be used to change the gender of your character.
One of the brutal aspects of Dark Souls 2 is the ability to lose your souls if you can recover them. You can have all the souls in the world, but if you don’t bank them for items or leveling points, you could lose them at a moments notice. If you die, you’ll leave a bloodstain, marked by a glowing green light. If you can make it back to your bloodstain, you’ll be able to recover your souls. It’s always a good idea to carry a Homeward Bone that can get you out of a difficult area, instead of risking all your souls. Homeward Bones work in boss fights also.
Majula
After you’ve completed this tutorial section, you’ll head through the tunnel at the end of this cavern to make your way to Majula. This is the central hub area for Dark Souls 2. Coming out of the cave you’ll head towards the statue in the distance. To your immediate left is a tunnel and a corpse with a Divine Blessing. We can leave the tunnel for now, because there’s not much we can do at the moment.
In Majula, there are a number of items to find and features to unlock, as it’s the central hub for your adventure. Your first order of business should be to meet with the Emerald Herald. She’ll give you an Estus Flask, and will be your point of contact for leveling up your character going forward. Whenever you collect souls in Dark Souls 2, you can return them to the Emerald Herald to level your character. You can purchase points and build your character however you like. She’s just away from the bonfire, peering over the cliffside. Once you have your Estus Flask, you can start to take a look around.
At the statue just behind you, you can join the Blue Covenant, doing so will net you the Blue Seal.
Heading back down the stairs from the statue, or the right will be the Blacksmith. The Blacksmith is locked out of his shop, you’ll need to find a key to open the shop. (Which you’ll do shortly). To the right of the Blacksmith’s Shop, you’ll find a Soul of a Nameless Soldier and a Lifegem.You’ll also see three other buildings off in the distance. We’ll get there shortly, for now we’ll stay right and head away from the Blacksmith’s shop. Sticking to the side of the cliff, you’ll find a tunnel which leads to Heidi’s Tower of Flame and a path that ascends up the side of the cliff. We’ll head up for now. At the top, you’ll find another shrine, and the ability to join another covenant. Joining the Company of Champions will net you the Champion’s Tablet . The corpse on your left will give you a Homeward Bone, which warps you back to the last bonfire you rested at.
Before doing anything else, you should head over to the other three houses in Majula. One of them has an upgrade to your Estus Flask, giving you your first Estus Flask Shard. Simply head over the big house in the middle, there will be a well on the right side, attack the rock sitting on the ledge and it will drop into the well. Up will come your Estus Flask Shard. Take it back to the Emerald Herald at the Majula bonfire for an instant upgrade to your Estus Flask, giving you two heals instead of one. The Estus Flask should always be on your hotkey list. It allows you to heal your character, and you’ll be doing that a lot. Finding Estus Shards are one of the most beneficial items in the game.
Now’s time for a decision. Talking to the people in Majula, they lead you to a very specific path as your next objective. However, you can currently head into Heide’s Tower of Flame for some early game soul farming against some easy opposition. The choice is yours, but we racked up around 30,000 souls before heading into Valley of Giants.
Hiede’s Tower of Flame
The ramp you took to join the Company of Champions is right near the path to Hiede’s Tower of Flame. Simply take the stone doorway and head down the path into the sewers. You’ll need to pull one lever to open a gate, and you’re there. Hiede’s Tower of Flame is certainly daunting. It’s filled with giant Ancient Knights, with big sheilds, massive swords and clubs. But this is very doable. They are extremely slow, and can be kited. Each giant will net you four hundred souls, there are plenty of giants to go around, and they are so slow that it’s almost impossible to lose your souls even if you die. When you first head into the Tower of Flame area, you’ll want to stay to your right. There is a bonfire immediately on down the path on the right. In case you die, you’ll start here.
Now you can start harvesting souls. You can take a look at the video below to see one of our early game soul farming runs. It’s worth noting though, Dark Souls 2 is considerably different from previous games. The more times you farm an area, the more likely it is for enemies to start disappearing. After about 10 runs through Tower of Flame, enemies were pretty sparse. But it did give us a good start as far as leveling goes.
Soul Farming Dark Souls 2 – Hiedi’s Tower of Flame
Forest of Fallen Giants
Whether you decided to do some soul farming or not, you’re gonna head into the Forest of Fallen Giants now.
If you’re standing at the bonfire in Majul, the path to the Forest of Fallen Giants is on your left. Head down the path into the darkness. On your right, will be a treasure chest with another Rusted Coin. Head deeper into the hallway, and you’ll find a lever. Pull it to open the gate, and you’ll come across a wooden bridge. Go across the bride and take a left. If you go right, you’ll come out in the same place. But, if you go left there are a couple of items to find. Go across the wooden planks to find a treasure chest. In it is a Human Effigy. Leap across the chasm and collect another Homeward Bone and a Soul of a Lost Undead. Continue down the stream to enter the Forest of Fallen Giants.
If you used Heidi’s to level up before entering here, this shouldn’t be very hard. If not, these entry level mobs could give you some trouble. There are multiple enemy types in the first area. Some have knives, some have swords and shields, and there’s an archer in the distance. As is usually the case in Dark Souls, try luring one enemy at a time to you, unless you are strong enough to tackle multiple enemies at once. At this point, you’re probably not. In this wooded area there’s also a new bonfire to be lit. In an alcove on the right hand side is the bonfire. You should light it before taking on too many of these enemies. Resting at the Bonfire will also refill your Estus Flask.
Dispatch the seven or so undead in this area and then proceed up the path, where there will be a ladder awaiting you. Now’s a good time to note that holding B or Circle will allow you get up ladders more quickly in Dark Souls 2, but it does sap your stamina. When you get to the top you’ll have another set of undead to work on, and a knight when you’re ready. The best policy is to clear out all the weak enemies before tackling the harder ones. Take the guys out on the ground first. Next to the ladder you came up on there’s a hole leading outside, go out and up another ladder. When you get to the top of the ladder there will be two more undead to deal with. At the top of the staircase to the right will be a Soul of a Nameless Soldier. Now drop down and take out that pesky archer. Past the archer is yet another corpse with two items a Shortsword and Soul of a Lost Undead. Head back down to tackle the Knight. Targeting the Knight and dodging his attacks will be the way to take him down. Stay close, and when he goes for an attack, roll behind him. Defeating him will net you the Heide Knight Sword.
All enemies down and new swords in hand, you’re ready to enter the Mist into a new area. Heading down into this new area you’ll find multiple undead. One when you round the first corner. Two in the room to the right, and then another just down the hallway. Piece of cake. Heading towards the staircase you’ll find an archer. Where the archer is, there is a undead lobbing firebombs, and a third undead ready to knife you when you get to the top of the stairs. Taking out those three, you can grab the Buckler off the corpse in the back of this area, but be careful, there’s one more enemy waiting to ambush you. Ascend the ladder and open the door on your right. Congratulations, you made it to another bonfire.
Your next order of business should be to talk with the merchant at the bonfire. She can sell you a number of different things, but importantly, she can sell you the Blacksmith’s key. You should have enough souls to purchase it, so do so. Fast travel from the Bonfire to Marjul and open the Blacksmith’s shop for him. There’s a treasure chest inside the Blacksmith’s shop that contains a bow. In Dark Souls 2, the Blacksmith functions similarly to how it did in Dark Souls. The Blacksmith can reinforce your weapons and equipment, making them stronger if you have Titanite Shards and Chunks and Slabs. He can also repair damaged equipment and sell you numerous items. The Blacksmith won’t be available right away, so you can take the Bonfire back to The Forest of Fallen Giants. Blacksmithing has changed somewhat in Dark Souls 2. Well, weapon degradation has changed drastically. Weapons no longer persistently degrade with use. When you rest at a Bonfire, you’re weapon durability returns to full. If you break a weapon, you’ll need to get it repaired.
Head back out the doorway that you came in to get to the Bonfire, and drop down over the ledge. You’ll encounter two undead soldiers. Head along the wall and hop across the ledge for a Human Effigy. Drop straight down for another encounter with an undead soldier. Looking towards the ground from there, you’ll notice there’s a corpse on the tree to your left. Walk along the tree branches to collect another Torch and Soul of Lost Undead. There are quite a few undead at the bottom of this area. Try to tackle them in small groups. Once cleared, enter the small cave to on your left. Be careful. There’s a monster at the end of the tunnel spewing fireballs that can kill you almost instantly. There’s a door in the tunnel on your left that can be opened, and in it, the Fire Longsword. Head back to the Bonfire. You’ll need to go back the way you came in. Up the tree, over the ledge, and then through a hole in the wall. You’ll be back in a familiar area. Since you’ve rested at the last bonfire, this area will contain enemies again. One immediately on your left when you jump in the hole in the wall.
Now that you’ve made it back to the Bonfire, you’ll see that you have some options in this room. The obvious one is that there is a staircase. The staircase is a dead-end right now. You’ll need to beat the boss of this area to access the door at the top. To the right is a ladder heading down. That’s where you’ll go. If you’ve got the souls, you should also pick up the Pharros’ Lockstone. It’ll unlock a couple of valuable treasures in the next area. Head down the ladder and you’ll encounter a couple of new enemy types, as well as seeing the giant monster that’s been spewing fireballs at you. Don’t worry about the monster for now. Instead, you’ll be opening up a shortcut to get to the boss of this level. Dispatch the Hollowed Soldiers and head across the bridge for another Soul of Undead. Back across the bridge and to the right is a new area to enter. Enter the mist and you’ll find numerous archers and enemies lurking.
Head up the tree branch to the top of the wall. Here you’ll encounter numerous enemies, and probably encounter a massive Gryphon and The Pursuer. Don’t worry about them for now, you’re not strong enough to fight them anyway. You’ll get a chance to tackle The Pursuer a little later on. Instead, take out the first two Hallowed Warriors. Pass up the ladder and continue towards the firebombing Hallowed at the end of the wall. You can use this enemy to blow a hole in the wall for a shortcut back to the bonfire. You’ll need to stand in front of the cracked wall and hope that his aim is good. Heading down the stairs will find you facing off against two more Hallowed. Taking them out will give you some breathing room, and open three new areas for you to explore. Head down the ladder and you’ll find a man sitting on a bench at the end of this hallway. You’ll also find a door to your right, and a passage to your left.
The passage to your right is a trap. It has a number of ballista ready to go off when you enter. You can enter and exit quickly to make them go off without hitting you, but you’ll have four Hallowed to deal with. The Ballista might even take one of them out for you. It’s worth clearing out this room, as there is Blue Wooden Shield inside. There’s also a ladder at the back of this room that will take you to more treasure. The chest at the bottom of this room is trapped, but it has a Titanite Shard, so it’s well worth it. In the back of this room, you can also use the Pharros’ Lockstone to get even more hidden treasure when it opens a hidden room. In the room you’ll find two chests. Opening both will get you a Titanite Slab and Chloranthy Ring.
Head back up to the Ballistas and directly across from the exit of this room is your next objective. However, there’s a powerful Turtle Knight guarding our path. Head straight across to the Turtle Knight, but be careful there are also firebombing Hallowed above, so the best policy is to bait the Turtle Knight to come out. Lure the Knight to the Ballista room, and then use the Ballistas on him. They’ll kill him in two shots. He won’t follow you all the way in, so it’s safe to kite him inside as far as he’ll go. When he starts backtracking for the door. Fire on him. To fire the Ballista get behind it and press A or X.
Once the Turtle Knight is gone, you’re very close to opening a shortcut to the first boss. You’ll need to deal with only a handful of Hallowed. You can either do this the easy way or the hard way, but being this close it makes sense to do it the easy way. Entering the room the Turtle Knight was guarding you’ll find two Hallowed guarding the door you need to enter on your immediate left. You can try to bait them out one at a time for the easiest advance. Before you do, head right and up the stairs and you’ll find another corpse with a Lifegem and a Homeward Bone. If you’re really feeling adventurous, after you’ve cleared the two Hallowed guarding the door, you can head up the sword in the middle of this area to fight the Hallowed guarding a Halberd and Soul of a Nameless Soldier. You’ll have to deal with him, and another Hallowed that will drop down behind you, be warned.
Enter the mist that the Hallowed were guarding and head to the left to open the shortcut to the elevator. Where you entered this area, there’s also a Crystal Lizard which can be killed as well. In the room with the Lizard you’ll also have to deal with a Hallowed. Though the reward is a Large Leather Shield and a Lifegem.
Now that you’ve got the shortcuts opened up, you can start exploring this area more thoroughly for other items, or you can go ahead and tackle the first boss. We recommend at least getting the Majul mansion key and the items in the mansion before tackling the first boss, but if you’ve been collecting souls along the way, you should be properly leveled to tackle the first boss. He’s slow and predictable, a very easy kill.
The Mansion Key is fairly easy to get. You’ll need make a couple of well timed leaps across the rooftops, while archers are trying to pick you off. Not a problem. The video below shows off the path to get there. The Mansion Key will get you a couple of items. The important one being another Estus Shard, important to have in your upcoming battle.
Mansion Key Dark Souls 2
At this point, you should be feeling pretty confident in this area. If you want to farm souls, or explore for items that we didn’t mention in this guide, you should be adequately leveled to do so, and have plenty of shortcuts at your disposal. You’re also ready to tackle the first boss — The Last Giant.
The easiest way to beat The Last Giant is to roll under his legs every time he runs at you to attack you with his arms. Once you roll through his legs, attack his feet. Get in a couple of good attacks, and then get out of the way as he’s going to try and stomp on you. Put some distance between you and the giant, and he’ll charge you again, rinse and repeat.
Killing him will net you Soul of the Last Giant and Soldier Key. You’ll also get plenty of souls to spend on leveling your character. At this point, it’s wise to level up before you go looking for new doors to unlock with the Solider Key.
The Last Giant Boss Fight
Once you’ve banked your souls from this run, you’ll find that The Soldier Key opens a number of different areas for you to explore. It will allow you to more thoroughly explore this area, it opens up the boss fight with The Pursuer as well. You could also head back to Heidi’s Tower of Flame to start progressing through that area as the bosses there are probably well within your level now.
Made it through these early areas of Dark Souls 2? Learn where to get the four Great Souls and beat Dark Souls 2.