Achievement Breakdown: (38)
Story Related: (11)
Side Quests: (9)
Covenants: (10)
Collectibles: (5)
Upgrades: (1)
Slay: (1)
Miscellaneous: (1)

To achieve 100% in Dark Souls 2 – Scholar of the First Sin we will have to complete two full playthroughs & a half playthrough all on the same character (NG++). This is an Open World game; you may earn some Achievements/Items sooner or later in the guide then I did. It is not perfect. The only missable Achievements are related to NPCs & certain Boss battles. Certain NPC Side Quests are difficult to locate or complete which makes their associated Achievements highly missable.

While class & play style do not matter, we DO in fact need at least 8 Intelligence & 8 Faith to speak to two merchants that sell Spells we need, so be sure to keep that in mind. Bonuses from Rings or Items unfortunately do not count towards this. There is an item called a Soul Vessel that will allow us to respec our character levels. If you find two you can work around this by respecing to have the Faith/Intelligence you need then reverting it back to your original build. There are more than a few Soul Vessels in the game so do not worry too much about it.

Certain Spells can be bought from merchants at our leisure so long as they remain alive. I usually farm souls & buy them once they become available, but there is no reason why you have to. You can wait till the end of the game when we reach the best farming areas for the fastest way to obtain them if you wish. If you see a Spell for sale but I do not mention to buy it, it means we can find it somewhere in the world. Save your souls.

For those interested, here is an organized list of all the Achievements/Secret Achievements. This is how I derive my Achievement Breakdowns & the first reference I create before I begin my 100% journeys. To progress through certain areas of this game, we need to be diligent in collecting Fragrant Branches of Yore to get into secret areas where NPC’s or Items we need are. There are exactly 17 Fragrant Branches in the game for each time you will have to use them. The locations of all 17 of them are included in the Achievement Checklist below...
https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2232792223&searchtext=checklist
Before You Play!: To unlock Achievements you have to be Online in Steam (not Online in Dark Souls but connected to Steam Online). If you are on Steam Offline, it will not register when you unlock an Achievement in game. Of course, due to the nature of Dark Souls, you cannot reload a Save to reply the event to unlock the Achievement. If you are Offline when this happens, the Achievement will be voided for the playthrough & can only be unlocked in the NG+ & so on.

*This guide contains major spoilers.

1. Complete Forest of Fallen Giants & Heide’s Tower of Flame
2. Covenants: Company of Champions, & Way of Blue
3. Gestures: 1/12
4. Miracles: 9/28
5. Sorcery: 2/31
6. Pyromancy: 0/24
7. Hexes: 0/23
8. Achievements: 5/38
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Achievement #1 – This is Dark Souls: Die for the first time.
This is inevitable, if you do not unlock this during the first few hours of playing you definitely will later on. If you somehow do not unlock this Achievement & earn all the others… that is some hardcore bragging rights right there. Probably the greatest Achievement to have never been earned while 100% a game.


Achievement #2 – Self Recollection: Reclaim flesh & set out as an Undead.
Speak with the three ancient Fire Keepers in their hut in Things Betwixt. You will become “human” & design you character during this Sequence. This is unmissable.



Achievement #3 – Covenant of the Fittest: Discover the Covenant of the Fittest.
Speak to the Victor’s Stone Monument & join the Company of Champions in Majula. This can be found to the left of Majula past all the buildings towards the passage to Heide’s Tower of Flame. To the right of this passage, along the cliff edge near the ocean, you will find the monument. There are no prerequisites for joining this Covenant.

Be warned that staying in this Covenant will drastically increase enemy health, damage, removes Phantom Summoning, & enemies no longer de-spawn.


Achievement #4 – Covenant of the Meek: Discover the Covenant of the Meek.
Overlooking the ocean in Majula there will be another large monument, the Monument of Global Deaths. At its base there will be a man sitting there, Crestfallen Saulden. Speak with him & he will eventually ask you to join the Way of Blue Covenant. Definitely stay in this Covenant if you do not want all the features the Company of Champions has to offer.

Gesture #1 – Welcome: Learned from Crestfallen Saulden. After exhausting all of Saulden’s dialogue, we can learn the first Gesture from him. “Welcome to Dark Souls”.


NPC – Melentia #1: In the room that has the Cardinal Tower Bonfire, there will be an Undead hag lady named Melentia. She will sell a lot of valuable items. Later when we kill the area boss, she will move to Majula.

Miracle #1 – Heal: This first Miracle can be purchased from Melentia for 1500 souls. Alternatively, it can be purchased from Licia when we find her in Heide’s Tower of Flame. It is also the starting Miracle for the Cleric Class.

Sorcery #1 – Soul Arrow: The first Sorcery can be purchased from Melentia as well for 1500 souls. It can also be bought from Carhillion & Magerold who we will meet later on in the game. This is also the Sorcery you will start with if you pick the Sorcerer Class.

NPC – Cale #1: From the Cardinal Tower Bonfire, head down the ladder & through the passage on your left. Through the Fog Gate, you will see an area with a large tree root & a wooden structure in the center. At the back end from that structure near the far wall on a scaffold will be a cave entrance. Enter the cave (being mindful of the Indiana Jones boulder that rolls down) & head up the passage to find a man sifting through some dirt.

This is Cale, he is navigating the continent to make a map. Speak with him & he will give you the key to the locked manor near the pit in Majula. Exhaust all his dialogue & he will tell you he will be returning to Majula where we can find him in the manor basement after we kill the area boss. We need Cale for the Curious Map & Gathering of Exiles Achievements.

Sorcery #2 – Great Soul Arrow: After heading up the large tree root & down the ladder along the walls, there will be a hole in the side wall to your right. Inside is a room filled with ballistae. The Sorcery is found on a corpse right in front them. This can alternatively be purchased from Carhillion or Magerold for 3000 souls.


Achievement #5 – Last Giant: Defeat the Last Giant.
In the depths of the Forest of Fallen Giants ruins we will find our first boss of the game. It is a fairly straight forward fight; it is weak to Fire & Lightning.

NPC – Melentia #2: Once the Last Giant is defeated, return to Melentia & she will tell you that she will be leaving somewhere else. Upon returning to Majula you will find she has taken up residence beside a broken wall near the path leading up to Things Betwixt & Shaded Woods. This is needed for the Gathering of Exiles Achievement.

Now it is time to head to Heide’s Tower of Flame, we can save the battle with the Pursuer after unlocking the first entrance to Lost Bastille.


NPC – Licia #1: After defeating the Dragon Rider boss, head up the stairs to the Tower of Flame Bonfire. Kneeling, overlooking the sea is a woman called Licia who will sell us Miracles we will need to acquire. Exhaust all her dialogue & she will leave to Majula, hanging out in the Rotunda that leads to Heide’s Tower of Flame & the Huntsman’s Copse which we need for the Gathering of Exiles Achievement.

Miracle #2 – Homeward: Purchased from Licia for 2400 souls.

Miracle #3 – Medium Heal: Purchased from Licia for 3000 souls.

Miracle #4 – Guidance: Purchased from Licia for 3700 souls.

Miracle #5 – Great Heal Excerpt: Purchased from Licia for 4500 souls.

Miracle #6 – Resplendent Life: Purchased from Licia for 4500 souls. Alternatively, it can be bought from Straid once we reach him in Lost Bastille.

Miracle #7 – Force: Purchased from Licia for 1800 souls. Alternatively, it can be bought from Cromwell when we meet him in Brightstone Cove Tseldora.

Miracle #8 – Caressing Prayer: Purchased from Licia for 2000 souls. This can also be purchased from Cromwell.

Miracle #9 – Replenishment: Purchased from Licia for 3000 souls. It can once again be purchased from Cromwell as well.


NPC – Targray #1: We can find Targray on a balcony overlooking the sea just after the Old Dragonslayer boss battle. This is the herald of the Blue Sentinel Covenant. We cannot join it just yet though; we need to collect an item from Huntsman’s Copse first.

If you use the White Soapstone given to us by Pate & help another player defeat a boss, you will get the same item we need. It is called a Token of Fidelity. So you may unlock the Achievement sooner if you get Summoned Online.

1. Complete No-Man’s Wharf & Lost Bastille
2. Fragrant Branch of Yore: Needed to progress through Lost Bastille
3. Gestures: 1/12
4. Miracles: 10/28
5. Sorcery: 8/31
6. Pyromancy: 1/24
7. Hexes: 0/23
8. Achievements: 5/38
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Follow the passages down from the Tower of Flame Bonfire & into the cave system. From there we will discover the next area, No-Man’s Wharf.

NPC – Lucatiel #1: Make your way through the Level until you get to a set of stone stairs leading upwards from the wharf. On the first tier, head left into a stone building. At the top of next set of steps inside, we can find a woman who is casually leaning up against a wall. This is Lucatiel, she has feather tipped hat & a silver mask covering her face. Exhaust all of her dialogue & she will tell us that she will assist us should we Summon her. We need Lucatiel to survive 3/4 of the boss battles she can be Summoned for to earn the Lucatiel Achievement.

Miracle #10 – Emit Force: Carry on up the next set of steps & head along the cliffs that takes you over the wharf. You will see a stone building ahead with a large hole in it with a bunch of Dark Dwellers hanging around. To the right of this building is a corpse at the cliff edge. Looting it will give you the Emit Force Miracle. This Miracle can also be purchased from Targray or Cromwell in Brightstone Cove for 4200 souls.

NPC – Carhillion #1: On the harbor leading up to the newly arrived pirate ship, head right, & there will be a shortcut we can trigger. From the shortcut head up the pier left, & we will find a man named Carhillion facing out to the water. We need at least 8 Intelligence (bonuses from rings unfortunately do not count) to even speak with him (prick), but once you do, he will sell us Sorceries we will need to purchase.

Sorcery #3 – Shockwave: Purchased from Carhillion for 1800 souls.

Sorcery #4 – Magic Weapon: Purchased from Carhillion for 2000 souls.

Sorcery #5 – Soul Spear Barrage: Purchased from Carhillion for 2600 souls.

Sorcery #6 – Yearn: Purchased from Carhillion for 3000 souls.

Sorcery #7 – Heavy Soul Arrow: Purchased from Carhillion for 2000 souls. This can also be bought from Magerold.

NPC – Lucatiel #2: If human, we can find Lucatiel’s Summon Sign on the pier that leads toward the pirate ship. We will need her for the boss battle with the Flexile Sentry.

Boss – Flexile Sentry: This boss is need for the Lucatiel Achievement. It is the easiest boss we will face with her. If you cannot seem to get her to survive any of the boss fights to come, return to No-Man’s Wharf & use a Bonfire Ascetic to revive this boss as many times as you need. Hopefully it will not come to that…

NPC – Carhillion #2: After killing the Flexile Sentry, return to Carhillion & exhaust his dialogue. He will now head to Majula & can be found to the left of the Monument of Global Deaths under a tree where we can purchase his Sorceries at our leisure & contribute to the Gathering of Exiles Achievement.

Pyromancy #1 – Fireball: Return to the ship & head past the boss room. We can find our first
Pyromancy in a chest up the ladder beside the navigation system. It can also be purchased from Rosabeth, a lady we meet later on for 1200 souls.


Now we sail to the Lost Bastille, head up the elevator & find the Exile Holding Cells Bonfire to your left. From here, return to Forest of Fallen Giants Cardinal Tower Bonfire, we will return to Lost Bastille afterwards from a different entrance…


From the Cardinal Tower Bonfire, head down the ladder & to the right through the metal gate shortcut you opened. Head past the two spear wielding Royal Soldiers & then right to the locked door. Using the Soldier Key we received from the Last Giant, unlock the door & head up to the boss room to defeat the Pursuer.

This is a pretty difficult boss battle. The biggest thing is memorizing his moves, get behind him & attack when he finishes a combo. He is weak to Lightning & Strike Damage. There is also two ballistae in the boss room as well which if you can line the shot up it is a quick way to knock down 8/10 of his health bar down.

The Shade, Ruined Alfis can be used for this boss fight if we lead him there; if you are Human, he is found at the beginning of the corridor full of Skeletons that leads to the area with the Soldier's Rest Bonfire. We can use the Soldier's Key to unlock the door to this corridor in the lower level below the Cardinal Tower Bonfire to the left, just before exiting into the outside area.


Item – Dull Ember: After arriving for the second time in Lost Bastille thanks to Big Bird, we should find the Tower Apart Bonfire right in front of us. To the left in this room, are two chests & in one, will be the Dull Ember. This is an item we need for an NPC related to the Smith For Life Achievement in this area.

NPC – Lucatiel #3: Carry on down the path along the wall & we will come to a door in a tower. Inside, we can find Lucatiel leaning against a wall. Exhaust all of her dialogue & she will give us a Human Effigy. She can now be Summoned for another boss battle further on in the game in Sinner’s Rise.

NPC – McDuff #1: The next NPC is a pain in the (censored by Steam). There are two ways we can go about this. One: we get the Bastille Key after fighting the area boss & just simply unlock his door. Or two: if we want to chip away at his Achievement sooner, we have to blow up a wall.

Leaving the Tower Apart Bonfire (carry Firebombs just in case) head down the path & through the tower. Carry on till you get to an Undead Jailer (giant mummy dude) standing in front of an exploding barrel. Aggro & kill him, leading him away from the barrel so that he/you do not set it off during the fight. Now, we must roll that barrel straight down the stairs & into the wall directly ahead at the bottom. If done right, it will explode & open an area that has McDuff’s Workshop Bonfire & of course, the NPC McDuff. Most likely though, it will roll & bounce off course, blowing up exactly where you do not want it to. This may take multiple tries to pull off & can be very frustrating. If it rolls to the wall & doesn’t explode, try throwing a Firebomb at it & blowing it up like that.

Eventually, you will get inside that area, & will find McDuff sitting on top of a treasure chest. Light a torch at the Bonfire & use it to light the sconce in McDuff's room. Rest at the Bonfire & you will find McDuff has moved. If you grabbed the Dull Ember (found in a chest beside the Tower Apart Bonfire) we can now have him Infuse our weapons & purchase equipment from him. We need to spend a whopping 14,000 souls on weapon/armor upgrades or Infusions to unlock the Smith For Life Achievement. The consensus is that its upgrades & Infusions, not on item purchases. This can be done at any time over our game when souls are no longer an issue. When the allotted soul amount has been spent, we will get his equipment & an Achievement when you speak with him.

Boss – Ruin Sentinel: This is the main boss of Lost Bastille. We will need its Boss Soul to trade in for the Heavy Homing Soul Arrow Sorcery from an NPC we meet later in Lost Bastille.

Sorcery #8 – Hush: There are many Illusionary Walls to be found in the Ruin Sentinel boss room. There are four on the bottom floor & two on the top floor. We can find the Hush Sorcery in a chest on the top floor behind one of them. Either open the wall up from the bottom floor & climb up the ladder or climb up to the top floor & jump across the gap to open up the wall from there.

1. Complete Belfry Luna, Lost Bastille, & Sinner’s Rise
2. Covenants: Bellkeeper
3. Fragrant Branch of Yore: Needed to unpetrify Straid of Olaphis
4. Gestures: 2/12
5. Miracles: 11/28
6. Sorcery: 11/31
7. Pyromancy: 3/24
8. Hexes: 2/23
9. Achievements: 7/38
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To get to Belfry Luna, head to the Servants' Quarters Bonfire in The Lost Bastille after defeating the Ruin Sentinels. Climb down the ladder found across from the Bonfire & use a Pharros' Lockstone on the contraption set into the wall (watch for the ambush by a Pursuer). Proceed through the wall & you will find a wooden door with a Bellkeeper sitting just inside.


Achievement #6 – Clangorous Covenant: Discover the Clangorous Covenant.
Speak with the Bellkeeper in Belfry Luna to join this Covenant. Being in this Covenant will grant you immunity from the Bellkeeper Invasions that happen in either Belfry, letting you be Summoned into other players worlds as an Invader.

There is an optional boss in this area as well, but they are very difficult. Ring the bell & enter the Boss Fog if you want...


Item – Bastille Key: From the Servants’ Quarters Bonfire, carry on further into the Bastille. Through the next wooden door & to the left along the broken wall will be a corpse holding the Bastille Key. This will let you in to see McDuff if you were not able to blow up the wall with the barrel.

NPC – Straid #1: The next NPC we will find is a man called Straid of Olaphis. He can be found at the top of the four-story building we progress through next, in the room with the five exploding Mummies. Unfortunately, he is petrified & will need a Fragrant Branch of Yore.

Gesture #2 – Mock: This can be learned from Straid of Olaphis, but he will need to be unpetrified. He will be located in the cell right next to the Exile Holding Cells Bonfire in the upper floor across from the bridge that leads over to Sinner’s Rise. Exhaust his dialogue & talk to him again to learn this Gesture.

Hex #1 – Dark Orb: This Hex can be purchased from Straid for 600 souls. It can also be purchased from two later NPC’s Felkin the Outcast & Darkdiver Grandahl.

Hex #2 – Dark Hail: This Hex can be purchased from Straid for 1500 souls. It can also be purchased from Magerold & Grandahl.

Miracle #11 – Unveil: Purchased from Straid for 2200 souls.

Pyromancy #2 – Lingering Flame: Purchased from Straid for 6700 souls. It is also a rare drop from the Undead Jailers (giant mummy dudes) in Lost Bastille.

Pyromancy #3 – Flame Swathe: Purchased from Straid for 9500 souls. It is also a rare drop from Bellkeepers in Belfry Sol, an area we will reach once we get into the Iron Keep.

Sorcery #9 – Homing Soul Arrow: Purchased from Straid for 6500 souls.

Sorcery #10 – Heavy Homing Soul Arrow: Using the Ruin Sentinel Soul we just collected, we can trade this in to Straid for a Sorcery. It will cost us an extra 1500 souls as well.

Sorcery #11 – Cast Light: Purchased from Straid for 3000 souls. It can also be purchased later from Grandahl.


Now we cross the bridge & head over to Sinner’s Rise.

NPC – Lucatiel #4: After taking the elevator down below the tower, we can find Lucatiel’s Summon Sign along the back wall of this small room. We need her to survive the boss battle for this area. Sinner’s Rise can be pretty tricky. Before Summoning, I would recommend clearing a way to the Fog Gate as the enemies can severely damage Lucatiel along the way.

Boss – Lost Sinner: If you light the two oil tracks on either side of the Fog Gate with a Torch, you will be able to lock-on to her. If you do not, the boss room will be completely dark & disable lock-on making the fight very difficult. She is weak to Lightning & is resistant to Fire. Purchasing the Red Eye Ring can be handy so that the Sinner focuses on you more than Lucatiel, keeping her alive. It can be bought from Shalquoir in Majula for 6700 souls.


Achievement #7 – Sinner’s Bonfire: Light the Primal Bonfire in Sinner's Rise.
After we defeat the Lost Sinner, carry on to the grand chamber beyond. There is a chest nearby containing a Fragrant Brach of Yore which you can use to unpetrify Straid of Olaphis if you haven’t already.

In the center of this room will be our first Primal Bonfire, lighting this will unlock the Achievement & teleport us back to Majula.

1. Complete Huntsman’s Copse & Undead Purgatory
2. Covenants: Blue Sentinels
3. Gestures: 3/12
4. Miracles: 13/28
5. Sorcery: 12/31
6. Pyromancy: 4/24
7. Hexes: 5/23
8. Achievements: 8/38
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Explore around & farm the last few items or Spells you are missing. When finished, head back to Majula & go see Licia of Lindelt in the Rotunda. For 2000 souls, she will change the passageway to Heide’s Tower of Flame & let us go to the Huntsman’s Copse instead.

NPC – Felkin #1: Before entering the actual, Huntsman’s Copse, look to your right at the cave mouth & you will see an NPC sitting in a chair. This is Felkin, we will have to buy some Hexes from him. The caveat is we need to have 8 Intelligence AND 8 Faith to speak with him this time. (Bonuses from rings do not count).

Hex #3 – Dark Weapon: Purchased from Felkin for 2700 souls.

Hex #4 – Resonant Flesh: Purchased from Felkin for 3400 souls.

Hex #5 – Resonant Weapon: Purchased from Felkin for 4000 souls.

Miracle #12 – Magic Barrier: Purchased from Felkin for 2700 souls. It can also be bought from an NPC called Vengarl who we shall meet in the Shaded Woods area.

Item – Token of Fidelity: There is an item we need for the Blue Sentinels Covenant here in Huntsman’s Copse. It can be found below the large wooden bridge above us leading out to the Undead Purgatory, just outside the Bridge Approach Bonfire.

If you want to avoid the risky fall down from the bridge itself, climb up the ladder leading above the Bridge Approach Bonfire's room (where the club wielding Undead is). Simply sprint off the ledge towards the corpse with the item. Jumping will take you too far & rolling won’t take you there at all.

Alternatively, Tokens of Fidelity can be earned by assisting someone using your White Soapstone as a Phantom in Online.

Sorcery #12 – Soul Spear: Across the first stone bridge of Huntsman’s Copse you can either carry on down a path uphill or go right, across another stone bridge. Follow the path forwards & it will lead you up to a large iron bridge you will have to lower. From that bridge, turn around & head to the left through the trees overlooking where you just walked up from. Below the cliff will be a hut with a hole in the roof. Drop down & fight off the Syan Soldier inside; one of the corpses in here will hold the Soul Spear Sorcery. This can alternatively be purchased from Grave Warden Agdayne in the Undead Crypt for 12,000 souls.

Item – Undead Lockaway Key: Now head across that iron bridge into the next section. Just across the bridge is a locked hut with a Bonfire inside it. Take the path along the cliffs to the left & follow it along until you reach a crossroad. Take the path left up the hill & you will find the key on a corpse in the center of a clearing. Watch out for the Red Phantom Invader!

NPC – Creighton #1: Take the Undead Lockaway Key back to the locked hut & you will see an NPC is slumped in the corner by the Bonfire. This is Creighton the Wanderer, wielder of the Dragonslayer’s Crescent Axe.

Gesture #3 – Fist Pump: Learned from Creighton the Wanderer. Exhaust his dialogue & talk to him again to learn this Gesture.

Pyromancy #4 – Combustion: Make your way down along the cliffs to the far end of the valley & loop under the waterfall. There you will see the rear entrance to the caves near the Undead Lockaway Bonfire. Inside the entrance to your right, you will find a Necromancer & a corpse which will be holding this Pyromancy at the end of the broken bridge. This can also be purchased from Rosabeth for 1500 souls.


From the Undead Lockaway make your way backwards across the iron bridge & to the area on the left across the second stone bridge. Fight your way through the slew of Executioners & across the rickety wooden bridge that will take you to Undead Purgatory.

NPC – Titchy Gren #1: After the exceptionally annoying boss battle, carry on & up the stairs to the left. You will find a small gremlin guy standing in between some candles. We won’t be able to join his Covenant without a Token of Spite, a key item we will find later on in the Grave of Saints. We at least now have a Bonfire we can warp back to once we find it.

Alternatively, if you play Online, you can receive this item sooner than I did using a Cracked Red Eye Orb. The Orb will allow you to Invade another players world. Defeat them, & you will be awarded souls & a Token of Spite.



Achievement #8 – Protector Covenant: Discover the Covenant of the Protectors.
With the Token of Fidelity we found in Huntsman’s Copse, take it to Targray in the Cathedral of Blue. With this item in our possession, Targray will ask us if we want to join the Blue Sentinels, unlocking the Achievement.

Gesture #4 – Duel Bow: After joining the Blue Sentinels, exhaust all of Targray’s dialogue & we can learn this Gesture from him.

Miracle #13 – Heavenly Thunder: As a Blue Sentinel, this Miracle can be purchased from Targray for 3300 souls. Alternatively, it can be purchased from Cromwell.

Return to Huntsman’s Copse & head down the valley back towards the waterfall & head through the next Fog Gate…

1. Complete Harvest Valley & Earthen Peak
2. Covenants: Warriors of Sunlight
3. Gestures: 6/12
4. Miracles: 15/28
5. Sorcery: 14/31
6. Pyromancy: 4/24
7. Hexes: 6/23
8. Achievements: 9/38
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NPC – Chloanne #1: Enter Harvest Valley & find the Poison Pool Bonfire. From there, head up the hill to find a woman sitting on a rock. This is Chloanne (Lenigrast the Blacksmith’s daughter). She will sell us a lot of super useful upgrade materials, unlocking more rare materials the further we get in the game. Simply exhaust all of her dialogue & she will leave for Majula. She can be found sitting on a rock in the center of town. She is another NPC needed for the Gathering of Exiles Achievement.

Hex #6 – Dead Again: This Hex can be purchased from Chloanne for 4000 souls. It is also a rare drop from the Crag Slippers (Hand worm things that hide in the oil pools) down in Black Gulch.

Miracle #14 – Soul Appease: Purchased from Chloanne for 8800 souls. It can also be purchased from Grave Warden Agdayne in the Undead Crypt.

Sorcery #13 – Chameleon: This Sorcery will be found beyond the Mines Bonfire. In the second large area with the poison gas & two Dark Magic Giants, there will be a cluster of four corpses in the far right corner of the gas. The Sorcery will be on one of those corpses.


Achievement #9 – Brilliant Covenant: Discover a most brilliant Covenant.
After The Mines Bonfire in the previously mentioned area, head across the wooden bridge past the Undead with the big hammer. Turn left after the bridge & head towards a small cave. Continue until you reach the end & you'll see a broken statue (a statue of the Nameless King cough* cough*). Pray to it, & you'll be asked to join the Covenant unlocking the Achievement.

We need to achieve Rank 3 in this Covenant for the Sunlight Spear Miracle which will require 30 Sunlight Medals. This can be done Online or Offline. Online is a lot easier if you can manage it, using your Soapstone & being summoned as a Warrior of Sunlight in someone else’s game. Defeat a Boss with your Host (& yourself) surviving the battle & you will earn a Sunlight Medal while in this Covenant. Just make it a habit of putting your Sign down as you explore new areas or farming for souls/items. This is best done as early as possible, the higher your Soul Memory; the less likely you will be Summoned as it matches you to people with similar Soul Memories.

The Offline method is a lot of farming. A lot. Of farming. There are only two enemy types in the game that drop Sunlight Medals & its very rare chance. In Harvest Valley, the Dark Magic Giants will drop them; there are four to be found. Shaded Woods has three Falconer’s that will drop them as well. Falconers are also found in Brightstone Cove; there are six to be found near the first Bonfire of that area.

In NG+ we can find four more Falconers in Things Betwixt.

I would suggest farming all of these enemies out, but refrain from using Bonfire Ascetics to respawn them. We have to make it NG++ anyways so just each playthrough, farm them out until we make it to NG++. If by then you still do not have enough Sunlight Medals, Bonfire Ascetic your heart away as it won’t over level the enemies in the area. Alternatively, if you join the Covenant of Champions, the enemies will not de-spawn & you can farm infinitely.

The best Item Discovery Gear is:
Jester’s Cap, Prisoner’s Tatters, & the Watchdragon Parma, as well as whichever version of the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring you have. Rusted Coins are a consumable item that can increase Item Discovery too, they last 5 minutes but do not stack if multiple are used at the same time.

Just keep all of this in mind as we progress through the playthroughs; something to chip away at. If it makes you feel any better… I chose the Offline method for all the Covenants in the game.

Gesture #5 – Praise the Sun: After joining the ‘Grossly Incandescent Covenant’ & becoming a Sun Bro, we will also receive this Gesture. PRAISE THE SUN!!!

NPC – Lucatiel #5: Now enter the large stone fortress from the right/lower entrance & step into a large room with poison pots. Head through the door & take a right down the stairs & through the poison water. Following the path down, there will be a room on your right with Lucatiel in her usual position. You know the drill, exhaust that dialogue!


Defeat the Boss of Harvest Valley & enter the Earthen Peak. Locate the Central Earthen Peak Bonfire through a Fog Gate. (Burn the windmill across from this Bonfire with your torch).

NPC – Gilligan #1: From the Central Earthen Peak Bonfire, head up the stairs to your left & out the corridor to the right. There will be wooden railings lining an overlook of Harvest Valley. Destroy one & go along the left-hand ledge to find an old man standing there named Gilligan. Speak with him & buy his ladder for 2000 souls & exhaust all his dialogue (this will get us a Gesture).

After the boss fight at the top of Earthen Peak, he will then move to Majula & contribute to Gathering of Exiles.

Gesture #6 – Prostration: If you purchased Gilligan’s 2000 ladder in Earthen Peak, when you climb back up the ladder & speak to him again, we should be able to acquire this Gesture. I have read this can also be earned if you speak to him after he has moved to Majula.

Sorcery #14 – Great Heavy Soul Arrow: From Gilligan, carry on back down the corridor & past the large wooden elevator. You will get to a passage with a Mannequin bowman at the end of it. Head to where he is & take a right, there will be a ledge looking into Earthen Peak; below it to the right is another ledge lower down. Drop down & there will be a door that opens to Pate’s room (we do not need him for anything). On this same ledge behind us, is a passage that ends with a chest with this Sorcery in it. It can also be purchased from Carhillion or Magerold for 4500 souls.

Miracle #15 – Lightning Spear: From the last Sorcery, head back out to the ledge. To the right of the doorway is a drop that leads to another ledge lower down. Drop down again, & you should see a chest in the corner behind you that contains this Miracle. This can also be purchased from Licia for 6000 souls.

If you burnt the windmill across from the Central Earthen Peak Bonfire, it will have removed a lot of the poison pool in the boss area. Defeat Mytha & carry on up to the first Iron Keep Bonfire. From here, I suggest we head back to Majula & go after a different Great One. Iron Keep is a very challenging area.

1. Complete Grave of Saints, The Gutter, & Black Gulch
2. Covenants: Covenant of Rodents
3. Fragrant Branch of Yore: Needed to open up the Hidden Chamber Bonfire
4. Gestures: 6/12
5. Miracles: 16/28
6. Sorcery: 15/31
7. Pyromancy: 4/24
8. Hexes: 9/23
9. Achievements: 12/38
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It is now time to descend into the ominous pit that is in the center of Majula. We must drop down the planks to the first cave entrance with two torches outside it. The Silvercat Ring purchased from Shalquoir can be very useful for this. Removing your armor also reduces damage taken from falls as well. But first speak with Gilligan the Laddersmith.


Achievement #10 – Garrulous Miser: Inherit Laddersmith Gilligan's equipment.
To get this Achievement, we must buy Gilligan’s most expensive ladder for 12,000 souls (or purchase the equivalent amount in items). Speak with him again & he will give you his Melu Scimitar. Gilligan sells an item called the Ladder Miniature; we will eventually have to buy this off him for a NPC Quest later on.

Hex #7 – Whisper of Despair: In the Grave of Saints, leave Harval’s Resting Place Bonfire & head past the circular chamber with the rats up the stairs. You should see a Pharos Lock right in front of you across from a raised bridge. Use a Lockstone & head across that bridge. The Hex will be on a body at the top of a stone staircase.

Be warned that aside from the Lockstone we just used, all the other ones in this area activate traps.

Boss – Royal Rat Vanguard: We will need the Royal Rat Vanguards Boss Soul to trade in to Straid for a Pyromancy.


Achievement #11 – Gnawing Covenant: Discover the Covenant of Rodents.
After defeating the Royal Rat Vanguard, carry on to the next room & there will be a rat NPC we can speak to. We need a Rat Tail to join this Covenant however, one will be earned after killing the last boss so that is not an issue.

Miracle #16 – Great Heal: After speaking with the Rat King, carry on & drop down into the area below. We will come to a flooded section with a broken stone bridge where exploding Mummies will ambush us. This Miracle can be found on a corpse in this area. It can also be purchased from Cromwell for 8000 souls.

Item – Token of Spite: After the flooded section, climb down all the ladders leading down towards The Gutter. At the very bottom of the scaffolds, there will be a chest in the back that has this item. We need this for the Brotherhood of Blood Covenant. These can also be acquired through more nefarious methods by killing a Host as a Red Phantom Invader.


Hex #8 – Dark Fog: Make your way through the Gutter & get to the Central Gutter Bonfire. From there, head down the many sets of ladders until you reach the ground below. To the left of the corrosive urns blocking the entrance to Black Gulch, are two large, hollow urns. Inside one is a corpse that has this Hex. This can also be purchased from Straid for 5200 souls.


This is a pretty irritating area, be sure to have lots of Poison Moss or other remedies for treating Poison. Using a whip or spear to deal with the Poison Statues is a good way to keep your distance from them without getting poisoned in the process.

Sorcery #15 – Great Magic Weapon: From the Black Gulch Mouth Bonfire, head down the path & you will come across some oil puddles. To the left on this landing will be a cave with a chest containing this Sorcery. This can also be purchased from Navlaan, an NPC we will meet in Aldia’s Keep later for 6000 souls. As well, this is the Rank 1 reward for the Covenant of Champions if you have progressed that far.

Hex #9 – Scraps of Life: Carry on down past the oil puddles a little ways & there will be a cluster of urns blocking the way. This Hex is found on a corpse underneath them. It can alternatively be purchased from Cromwell for 2200 souls.

NPC – Lucatiel #6: Back track towards the first landing with the puddles. Where the path starts becoming thinner heading back up towards the Black Gulch Mouth Bonfire, look down over the edge. You should be able to see a ledge below you in the darkness (turning up the brightness settings can help). Drop down to it & head through the tunnel entrance. You will find our Boo leaning against the wall as usual. Exhaust all of her dialogue & she can be Summoned for the area boss.

NPC – Darkdiver Grandahl #1: Make your way down to the second landing of Black Gulch. Along the cliff to the right you can find a petrified Hollow blocking a cave entrance. Unpetrify them, & you will have access to the Hidden Chamber Bonfire. From here, head over to the path leading back up to the first landing & look over the edge near the Crag Slipper hole. You should see a ledge in the gloom. Dropping down to it you should see a Stone Gate which will be locked. To open it, we need to drop down another two ledges where a large cave entrance will be. Inside the cave will be two Giants, killing them will give you the key to that door.

An easy method is sprinting in between the two Giants to find a small cave with a chest inside at the far end. From there, shoot them to death with a ranged weapon. You will receive the Forgotten Key after killing the last one & a Soul of a Giant. We will need to collect 5 Giant Souls in total scattered throughout the game, do not consume these. For every Giant Soul we collect a certain boss will become weaker making it possible to defeat them for an Achievement.

Return back to the Stone Gate with the Forgotten Key, & inside will be good ol’ Grandahl. We need to find Grandahl in all three of his locations before we can join his secret Cult. I mean Covenant…

Item – Soul of a Giant #1: Defeating the two Giants in the caves below Black Gulch will give you our first Soul of a Giant.

NPC – Lucatiel #7: We can summon Lucatiel for the boss battle with The Rotten, her Summon Sign can be found in the Hidden Chamber Bonfire room. If you killed the Flexile Sentry & the Lost Sinner bosses with her, this will be our final boss battle we have to worry about. There is a fourth, but it is very hard keeping her alive for it, so I suggest helping her survive this boss instead. Wearing the Red Eye Ring can be useful for that or Summoning the other two NPC’s in the area.

Boss – The Rotten: This boss is not too bad. Lucatiel will not do a lot of damage but she has a lot more health than the other Summons in the area. It is weak to Lightning & Magic damage.


Achievement #12 – Gulch Bonfire: Light the Primal Bonfire in the Black Gulch. After defeating the Rotten, there will be a tunnel at the back of the room. Inside, we will find the second Primal Bonfire we have to light, unlocking the Achievement. There is also the portal that will take us to the Sunken King DLC, so remember that, we will come back here later once we find the Dragon Talon key.

1. Complete Iron Keep & Belfry Sol
2. Covenant: Covenant of Blood
3. Gestures: 6/12
4. Miracles: 17/28
5. Sorcery: 17/31
6. Pyromancy: 8/24
7. Hexes: 10/23
8. Achievements: 14/38
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Miracle #17 – Great Lightning Spear: Now that we have the Forgotten Key head back to the Majula Pit, there is a Stone Door we can open in here with it. Use Gilligan’s 12,000 soul ladder or drop down (your funeral) & open the door. It will be found mid way down the pit; a ladder will be pressed into the wall leading up to an alcove. This can alternatively be purchased from Straid for 13,000 souls, but only after we have acquired the King’s Ring later on.

Sorcery #16 – Soul Vortex: This can be found in the same room as Great Lightning Spear. It can be purchased from Agdayne for 10,400. It can also be found in Brightstone Cove Tseldora from the Lower Cove Bonfire; if you go down some zip lines, you will find this behind a bookshelf.

Item – Dragon Talon: On a corpse in the left corner of this room is also the Dragon Talon, the key we need to access the Sunken King DLC.


Pyromancy #5 – Toxic Mist: Return to Straid in Lost Bastille & trade in the Royal Rat Vanguard soul along with 1500 souls for this Pyromancy.


With the Token of Spite we found in Grave of Saints, warp to Undead Purgatory next to unlock a new Covenant.


Achievement #13 – Sanguinary Covenant: Discover the Covenant of the Bloodthirsty.
Give Titchy Gren a Token of Spite & he will let us join him… as blood brothers. Forever…

Pyromancy #6 – Fire Whip: Purchased from Titchy Gren for 3800 souls. You can also farm this Pyromancy from the Bellkeepers as a rare drop in Belfry Sol.


Now we return to the Threshold Bridge Bonfire in Iron Keep.

NPC – Magerold #1: Head across the bridge leading into the Iron Keep from the Bonfire. Inside to your right is a passageway, follow it straight ahead & you will come to an alcove. Sitting on a “magic carpet” will be a man called Magerold. A merchant & herald for a Covenant we will find later.

Hex #10 – Darkstorm: This Hex can be purchased from Magerold for 4700 souls. Iron Keep is an amazing place to farm for souls to buy any Spells or items we need from the merchants found thus far. This can also be purchased from Grandahl.

Sorcery #17 – Fall Control: Purchased from Magerold for 4800 souls.

NPC – Lucatiel #8: We can find Lucatiel’s Summon Sign outside the Smelter Demon’s Boss Fog. This is the one battle where it is alright if she doesn’t survive. Unless you are exceptionally powerful by this point, there is a good chance she just won’t survive. That is okay. If you Summoned her for the boss battle with The Rotten, we already have all the battles we need to complete with her.


Pyromancy #7 – Immolation: From the Ironhearth Hall Bonfire, head across the bridge over the lava & into the next large area. From the lever in front of you, turn left & you will see a door. Inside & through the Pharos Lockstone wall will be ladder taking you up to Belfry Sol.

Head through Belfry Sol all the way around & back down to Iron Keep. When you get to the end you will find an iron chest with this Pyromancy inside it.


Pyromancy #8 – Chaos Storm: From the Ironhearth Bonfire, head back into the large room filled with lava. To the left is a series of stairs that will take you down to some smoldering stones that can be walked on. At the far end of these to the left is a chest with this Pyromancy inside. You will need to have high fire resistance to reach this without dying. Use the Fire Quartz Ring, Flash Sweat, soak yourself with the water filled urns & equip your best fire resistance gear. You probably will not be able to survive the return trip back to the stairs…


Achievement #14 – Iron Keep Bonfire: Light the Primal Bonfire in the Iron Keep. After we defeat the Old Iron King, head around behind the boss room & head down the stairs. At the very bottom we will find the third (or second) Primal Bonfire to light. In the room beyond is the access point for Iron King DLC, but we will need a key for that.

1. Complete Shaded Woods & Doors of Pharos
2. Fragrant Branch of Yore: Needed to release Rosabeth in Shaded Woods & another 2 in Shaded Ruins for various Spells or Items.
3. Gestures: 9/12
4. Miracles: 17/28
5. Sorcery: 19/31
6. Pyromancy: 12/24
7. Hexes: 11/23
8. Achievements: 17/38
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We are 3/4 Old Ones down, the last one we will find in Brightstone Cove Tseldora. To get there, head north of Majula back up the path towards Things Betwixt. There is a side passage just above the path covered in roots, this will take us to a stone building.

NPC – Benhart #1: Benhart of Jugo is a knight in a pickle sitting outside the ruins before releasing Rosabeth. We cannot help him quite yet.


Achievement #15 – Change of Clothes: Give Rosabeth of Melfia something to wear. Rosabeth, is the statue that is giving Benhart the willies. To release her, use a Fragrant Branch of Yore. Once she stops coughing, speak to her a few times & she will ask for clothes. Do the decent thing, & give her something to wear earning us the Achievement.

Be warned whatever you give her you cannot get back. After reviving her & leaving the area she will eventually travel to Majula as a new resident. We will always have the option of giving her clothes so if you didn’t have anything to give her during the first encounter you still can at any time once she relocates. She can be found below the Global Death Monument.

Gesture #7 – Joy:Now that the way is opened & Rosabeth is unpetrified, head back to tell Benhart we got rid of the statue so he can continue his quest to receive this Gesture. He will appear later in the game...

NPC – Benhart #2:There are four Boss Battles he will appear for & we need to have him survive at least three of them for the Moonlight Greatsword Achievement.


Achievement #16 – Gathering of Exiles: Increase the population of Majula to 12.
We need all people there at the same time or it won’t unlock, if any NPC is dead this will have to be done in NG+. This means we cannot invade Licia till after we get this Achievement. The first 5 will already be there: Emerald Herald, Crestfallen Saulden, Blacksmith Lenigrast, Sweet Kitty Cat, & Maughlin the Armorer. The last 7 we should have found along the way.

These characters are:
1. Cale the Cartographer (Forest of Fallen Giants)
2. Merchant Hag Melentia (Forest of Fallen Giants – Kill Last Giant)
3. Licia of Lindeldt (Heide’s Tower of Flame – Kill Dragon Rider)
4. Carhillion of the Fold (No Man’s Wharf – Need 8 INT)
5. Stone Trader Chloanne (Harvest Valley)
6. Laddersmith Gilligan (Earthen Peak)
7. Rosabeth of Melfia (Shaded Ruins – Unpetrify her)

I unlocked this Achievement before writing the guide so I can’t remember specifically when this unlocks; whether it is after the final NPC is sent to Majula or if you have to go there yourself first.

NPC – Rosabeth #1: Return to Rosabeth, & we can now purchase Pyromancies from her. You can also give her better clothes now that we have a Bonfire nearby in case you gave her… something less then desirable.

Pyromancy #9 – Flash Sweat: Purchased from Rosabeth for 2300 souls.

Pyromancy #10 – Fire Orb: Purchased from Rosabeth for 3400 souls.

Pyromancy #11 – Poison Mist: Purchased from Rosabeth for 3400 souls.

Pyromancy #12 – Iron Flesh: Purchased from Rosabeth for 3500 souls.

Item – Ring of Whispers: If have not already purchased this, we will need this Ring for an NPC in the Shaded Woods. It can be purchased from Sweet Shalquoir for 5800 souls.


Now carry on through the doorway we unlocked. Head to the Ruined Fork Road Bonfire, from there we will have three options. The path on the left will take us to Dragnleic Castle, the center path to Aldia’s Keep, & the path on the right will take us further into Shaded Woods.


Achievement #17 – Reflections on Disembodiment: Inherit equipment from the head of Vengarl.
From the Ruined Fork Road Bonfire, enter the ominous mist area & head along the left side of the area. Stick to the left & eventually you will come to a clearing with a circle of rubble. Inside the circle on the right will be a red lion-head helm that speaks, neato!

Listen to the whole tale of Vengarl. When his dialogue is fully exhausted, he will reward us for our patience with his helmet & what we really want, an Achievement. Be wary of the invisible assassins that may pursue you along the way!

Gesture #8 – Decapitate: At some point during our dialogue with Vengarl we will have the option of acquiring this Gesture from him. Decapitate, very funny Vengarl. Did he actually teach us this, or are we just mocking him?

Item – Fang Key: Carry on left through the misty area & head to the Shaded Ruins Bonfire. Now head further along these initial ruins until you see a hole in a wall on your right just over the edge. Leap down towards it & head up the path on your right to a petrified Lion Warrior. Release/kill him & we will receive the Fang Key.

NPC – Tark #1: Be sure to have the Ring of Whispers equipped. From the Shaded Ruins Bonfire, head left out of the ruins & left again into a broken building. Head down into the basement & you will see a pit of sand, inside is a Man-Scorpion. Using the Ring of Whispers, speak with him & he will tell you about his betrothed who he wants us to kill. She will be the boss for this area, & Tark can now be Summoned to help us fight her. We are rewarded with a Gesture returning to him after the fight.

NPC – Grandahl #2: Head along through the Level until you see two towers which lead up to the area boss. Instead of heading up the path, go straight past the towers towards a grassy patch & look for wooden boards. These will break when stepped on & you will fall into the upper level of the Basilisk Cave where none other than Grandahl will be. How did he get here?

Sorcery #18 – Homing Soul Mass: This Sorcery is found in a chest beside Grandahl.

Sorcery #19 – Repair: From the Shaded Ruins Bonfire, leave the ruins & head up to the right of the broken building we found Tark down in. You will see a petrified Lion Warrior blocking a chest. Use another Fragrant Branch of Yore & open the chest for the Sorcery.

Boss – Scorpioness Najka: We need this boss’s soul to trade for the Soul Shower Sorcery.

Gesture #9 – Warmup: After defeating the area boss, Scorpioness Najka, rest at a Bonfire & return to Tark with the Ring of Whispers. He will congratulate us & teach us this new Gesture as well as giving us a Fragrant Branch of Yore.


Now head on into the Doors of Pharos through Najka’s boss room.

Hex #11 – Twisted Barricade: From Gyrm's Respite Bonfire, head right through the bottom area into the water. Carry on to the far end until you have to climb up a ladder. At the top just to the left will be a corpse with this Hex.

Boss – Royal Rat Authority: We need this boss’s soul to trade for the Acid Surge Pyromancy.

After defeating the boss, we can leave the Doors of Pharos & go to Brightstone Cove.

1. Complete Brightstone Cove Tseldora, Drangleic Castle, & King’s Passage
2. Covenant: Abysmal Covenant
3. Gestures: 10/12
4. Miracles: 18/28
5. Sorcery: 23/31
6. Pyromancy: 16/24
7. Hexes: 12/23
8. Achievements: 22/38
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NPC – Benhart #2: If you spoke to Benhart in Shaded Woods, near the Royal Army Campsite Bonfire we can find his Summon Sign in the last tent on the left. We can use him in the battle with the boss, Prowling Magus & Congregation. This is a very, very, simple fight, especially with Benhart.

Boss – Prowling Magus & Congregation: This is the first boss that we can Summon Benhart into for the Moonlight Greatsword Achievement.

NPC – Cromwell #1: After defeating the Prowling Magus, head outside the temple & turn around to face it. To your left & right will be alcoves, the right one contains a ladder that heads up into the temple. Inside the room it leads to will be, at long last, Cromwell the Pardoner… who really is not all that important.

Miracle #18 – Perseverance: This is the only Miracle that has to be purchased from Cromwell as we probably have collected or will collect the other Spells from other sources. This Miracle costs 3500 souls.

Item – Brightstone Key: Collected from killing the Duke of Tseldora on the way to the Primal Bonfire just after defeating the Duke’s Dear Freja boss.


Achievement #18 – Brightstone Bonfire: Light the Primal Bonfire in Brightstone Cove Tseldora.
After defeating the Duke’s Dear Freja, we can light the final Primal Bonfire. After being warped to Majula, quickly warp back to the Chapel Threshold Bonfire in Brightstone Cove.

Pyromancy #13 – Great Fireball: With the Brightstone Key, return to the spider filled chapel that is across the bridge full of spikes. In the initial chamber with all the dropping Ducal Spiders, there is a locked door on our right. After going through a second locked door, the Pyromancy will be in an iron chest in the back.


Sorcery #20 – Soul Shower: Purchased from Straid with the Scorpioness Najka Soul & an extra 1500 souls.

Pyromancy #14 – Acid Surge: Purchased from Straid with the Royal Rat Authority Soul with an extra 1500 souls.


Achievement #19 – Smith for Life: Inherit Steady Hand McDuff's equipment.
By this point you may have spent enough souls or have enough places to farm them that we can get McDuff’s Stuffs. After spending 14,000 souls on Infusions or upgrades he will give us a Titanite Slab & a well-earned Achievement.


Achievement #20 – Supreme Weapon: Reinforce a weapon to its limit.
This will cost:
Lv.1: 1 Titanite Shard |--------| Lv.6: 3 Large Titanite Shards
Lv.2: 2 Titanite Shards |-------| Lv.7: 1 Titanite Chunk
Lv.3: 3 Titanite Shards |-------| Lv.8: 2 Titanite Chunks
Lv.4: 1 Large Titanite Shard | Lv.9: 3 Titanite Chunks
Lv.5: 2 Large Titanite Shards| Lv.10: 1 Titanite Slab

You probably unlocked this way earlier but just to be on the safe side I put it near the end of this Sequence. Titanite Chunks can be farmed from the Dark Suckers (hand-worm things) in Black Gulch or from the Gyrm Warriors in Doors of Pharos.


Now it is time to go to Drangleic Castle. Explore around any areas you have not been or farm for any of the remaining Spells you need. Then head to the Ruined Fork Road Bonfire in the Shaded Woods & take the left pathway through to the Shrine of Winter.

In here is where we will find the entrance to the Ivory King DLC, carry on past this & fight your way up into Drangleic Castle.


Gesture #10 – This One’s Me: After opening the Golem Doors, enter the castle at the main entrance & head up the stairs. We will then find Chancellor Wellager. Exhaust his dialogue & talk to him again to learn his Gesture. Wellager is a key NPC if you are going the Offline route. He will sell us the final Spells we need on NG++ that are otherwise only available from maxing out certain Covenants, a very handy work around.

Pyromancy #15 – Great Combustion: Turn around & head back outside the Drangleic front gates. To the left of them, in the back against the walls is an iron chest with this Pyromancy in it. It can also be purchased from Titchy Gren for 4800 souls.


Achievement #21 – Abysmal Covenant: Discover the Abysmal Covenant.
From the King’s Gate Bonfire, you will enter a room full of Stone Soldiers & doors. To open these doors, you must kill an enemy so their soul will unlock the door. Be warned, that there will be a Ruined Sentinel behind each one & the unlocked doors will stay open. The Ruin Sentinels will also respawn making this room a real nightmare if multiple doors get opened up. I found it easiest to farm them out for safety & some good Souls but that is very tedious to do. There are 6 stone doors in the area, three on either side of the room.

The last stone door on the far left side of the room will have collapsible flooring leading into a cavern below. Inside is the Faraam Set, the Under Castle Drangleic Bonfire, & of course, Grandahl who will ask us to join his cult of the Abyss. This is a purely Offline Covenant that ends with an optional boss battle whose soul we need to trade in for a Hex. We will save all of this for when we are much stronger, do not enter the portal that he opens up.

Hex #12 – Profound Still: This Hex can be purchased from Darkdiver Grandahl at any point we have met him. At this point he will appear at any of the three locations we have found him permanently & stop disappearing. This is a very expensive Hex; it costs 13,000 souls which is why I left it for later.

Item – Frozen Flower: From the King’s Gate Bonfire, open the first stone door on your right & head up the stairs. On your right is a skeleton who has this key. It will let us into the Ivory King DLC.

NPC – Benhart #3: After defeating the tandem Dragon Rider boss battle, carry on to the Central Castle Bonfire & you will see Benhart sitting against a wall. Exhaust his dialogue & he will leave, becoming a Summon for the Looking Glass Knight.

Sorcery #21 – Soul Greatsword: Leave the Central Castle Bonfire & head to the area with the de-activated elevator. Climb up the ladder to the right of the elevator & past the room with the Stone Soldiers. In the next room will be two iron chests, the Sorcery will be in the second one.

Pyromancy #16 – Firestorm: Carry on from here into the large room with the Chariot Horse. Up the stairs on the left & then taking a right at the top will lead you to a chest with this Pyromancy at the end. Alternatively, this can be purchased from Titchy Gren for 4500 souls.

Sorcery #22 – Strong Magic Shield: After activating the elevator, ride it up to the top. Enter the room & we will find this Sorcery in a chest on left side. It can also be purchased from Navlaan or Straid for 6300 souls.


NPC – Benhart #4: The Looking Glass Knight will be our second boss battle with Benhart. His Summon Sign is located just outside the Boss Fog to the right.


Achievement #22 – Looking Glass Knight: Defeat the Looking Glass Knight.
This will be a challenging Boss Battle, halfway through he will Summon an enemy Phantom or an Invader from his shield if you are playing Online. The Looking Glass Knight is weak to Dark, Poison, Toxic, & Strike Damage.

Sorcery #23 – Soul Bolt: After defeating the Looking Glass Knight, turn left before the elevator to see a chest containing this Sorcery.

1. Complete Shrine of Amana, Undead Crypt, & Aldia’s Keep
2. Gestures: 11/12
3. Miracles: 22/28
4. Sorcery: 25/31
5. Pyromancy: 18/24
6. Hexes: 13/23
7. Achievements: 24/38
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Miracle #19 – Sunlight Blade: Halfway through this area you will come to Crumbled Ruins Bonfire. From it, head right along the waters edge till you find an Ogre near a line of stone pillars. Keep heading right following these pillars along a narrow walkway (watch where you walk!) & you will find this Miracle in a chest at its end.

Pyromancy #17 – Fire Tempest: In the same area as the pillars, there will be a large cobble stone hut & a line of stone arches. Head from this hut’s right past a cluster of Cursed Urns towards the waters edge. There will be an iron chest containing this Pyromancy somewhere along the ledge.

Sorcery #24 – Homing Crystal Soul Mass: From the Rhoy’s Resting Place Bonfire, you will come across a large circular area with Mages & Archdrake Pilgrims. We will find this Sorcery on a broken pillar on the left side at the back.


NPC – Agdayne #1: Eventually as we progress through Undead Crypt, we will enter a room where someone will call out for us not “produce light”. We will find the NPC up some stairs on the right. Be sure to head through this area without a torch out as Agdayne will become hostile if we approach him or his men with light. He will sell us a few things as well as becoming an optional Summon for the area boss.

Gesture #11 – Have Mercy: Exhaust all of Agdayne’s dialogue & talk to him again to learn his Gesture.

Pyromancy #18 – Warmth: This can be purchased from Agdayne for 5200 souls.

Item – Crushed Eye Orb: After you pass Agdayne & enter the huge area with the bridge leading onwards, fall down to your immediate left beside the bridge. There will be two Hollows & a corpse. Along this path we will come to a ladder we can climb, (watch out for the Wall Ghost). At the top will be a chest that contains the Crushed Eye Orb. This is an important item that will let us Invade Licia when we get back to Majula. Do not do this unless you have purchased everything we need from her first!

Boss – Velstadt the Royal Aegis: We need this boss’s soul to trade for the Sacred Oath Miracle.


Achievement #23 – King's Ring: Acquire the King's Ring.
After the boss battle with Velstadt, we can find King Vendrick wandering around in a large room. He is not hostile. The King’s Ring can be found on his equipment piled at the back corner. We will kill him as a secret boss later on, however we need to collect 5 Giant Souls before we do to lower his health first.


Miracle #20 – Sacred Oath: Give the Soul of Velstadt to Straid along with 3000 souls & we can acquire this Miracle.


Miracle #21 – Soothing Sunlight: If you have purchased the 8 Miracles & anything else you need from Licia, we can now Invade her with the Crushed Eye Orb we found. She is actually surprisingly difficult, but once we kill her, we will receive the Soothing Sunlight Miracle. This will remove her from this game which will void the Gathering of Exiles Achievement if you have not already got it.


Return to Ruined Fork Road Bonfire in Shaded Woods & now head down the final unexplored road up to Aldia’s Keep.


Achievement #24 – Lucatiel: Inherit equipment from Lucatiel of Mirrah.
When you enter through the King’s Gate leading up to the keep, head towards a small wooden shack to the left in this area. Inside will be the Foregarden Bonfire & our final visit with Lucatiel. If you have not completed 3 boss battles with her do not talk to her, she will disappear from the game & will have to retry in NG+. We can use Bonfire Ascetics to farm boss battles with her if you need to (I would recommend fighting the Flexile Sentry). If you have the required battles done, speak with her & she will give us her gear & the Achievement.

Hex #13 – Affinity: This Hex is dropped from the Kobolds (fuzzy monkey things) scampering around outside of the Foregarden Bonfire. These enemies are good to farm as they drop a lot of rare items like Black Knight armaments. This can also be purchased from Straid for 11,500 souls.

NPC – Navlaan #1: When you enter the keep you will see a large dragon skeleton. Underneath it to the right is an NPC behind a barrier called Navlaan. If we are Hollow, he will offer us 4 assassination missions killing some of the NPCs we have met. For now, leave him be, you can accept the first quest if you want, but we will complete these near the very end of the game as we need the NPC’s alive for Achievements still. As well, DO NOT RELEASE HIM FROM PRISON. If we do, not only will he invade us in random locations in the game, but it will void completing the quests he offers.

Miracle #22 – Great Magic Barrier: From Navlaan, make your way up the first set of stairs then straight ahead to an area full of mirrors. Turn around & go to your right past a Red Crystal Lizard to the end to find a chest containing this Miracle. Alternatively, this can be purchased from Wellager for 9300 souls.

Sorcery #25 – Soul Geyser: This next Sorcery is found at the end of the hallway with all the cages containing monsters above you. Along the left wall of this hallway is a door. Enter & head down the stairs till you find a caged room full of acid. Remove your gear & enter the acid pool, you will find the Sorcery on a corpse to the right.

1. Complete Dragon Aerie & Dragon Shrine
2. Covenant: Dragon Covenant
3. Gestures: 11/12
4. Miracles: 22/28
5. Sorcery: 26/31
6. Pyromancy: 18/24
7. Hexes: 13/23
8. Achievements: 26/38
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There are no Spells or Achievements to be found in this area. Carry on till you reach the Dragon Shrine.


Item – Petrified Egg: From the Shrine Entrance Bonfire, go through the Level up the sets of stairs till you get to a plateau area with a small bridge on your left. Head across the bridge & break through the stacked crates down a gap straight ahead. Make your way through this lower level past the Drake Keeper Knight & into a tower. When we enter, we will be Invaded by a Phantom named Dragonfang Villard. At the top of the stairs we will enter a chamber with the Phantom who is guarding an alter. The Petrified Egg will be on this alter; it is a Covenant item we have to give to Magerold back in Iron Keep.

Sorcery #26 – Crystal Magic Weapon: After collecting the Petrified Egg, head over to the balcony overlooking the Dragon Shrine. Below it, will be a small ledge we can drop down to. Along the right of it, is a chest that contain this Sorcery.


Achievement #25 – Ancient Dragon: Acquire Ashen Mist Heart.
After fighting our way through this Level, we will find a MASSIVE dragon laying on a platform. Speak with it & receive the Ashen Mist Heart.

Item – Soul of a Giant #2: The Ancient Dragon is an optional Boss Battle should we choose it; it is very difficult. It will give you the second Soul of a Giant if you defeat it, but if there was any Soul to not collect it would be this one, 4/5 Souls is good enough. Each Soul of a Giant we have in our Inventory when we go to fight Vendrick will lower his maximum health, he is very difficult otherwise…

If you do decide to fight him, run back & forth between the toes of the dragons back feet. Attack in combos of three or four depending on weapon speed, run to the next foot before it tries stomping you. Its fire breath is an instant kill, when the dragon launches into the air or rears up, run out past its tail as fast as you can. This is a battle of endurance; it is weak to Magic & Lightning. The Ancient Dragon has a huge health bar, it would be good bringing Repair Powder… or back up weapons.



Achievement #26 – Covenant of Ancients: Discover an ancient Covenant.
Return to Magerold in Iron Keep & give him the Petrified Egg we collected. This will unlock the Covenant of Ancients & an Achievement for us.

1. Complete Memory of Vammar, Memory of Jeigh, & Memory of Orro
2. Gestures: 12/12
3. Miracles: 22/28
4. Sorcery: 26/31
5. Pyromancy: 18/24
6. Hexes: 13/23
7. Achievements: 30/38
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Now that we have the Ashen Mist Heart we can start entering the memories of Sleeping Giants. When we enter a Memory, we will only have 5 minutes before the Memory will fade so it my take multiple runs to fully explore each one.

Head to the Cardinal Tower Bonfire in the Forest of Fallen Giants. From the Bonfire, make your way to the area near where we found Pate & head into the large area with the exploding barrels/Royal Soldier Grenadiers. Going right from this area will take you to our first Sleeping Giant, Vammar.


NPC – Drummond #1: Enter the dream with the Ashen Mist heart & begin heading through the level. Near the very beginning before getting to a wooden door we have to open, there will be a man in the Drangleic Set lying on the ground with a bunch of dead Royal Soldiers. Speak with him & exhaust all his dialogue, we can get an Achievement from him later on…

Gesture #12 – Hurrah!: If you have exhausted all of Drummond’s dialogue he will teach us this Gesture. This should be our final Gesture to learn… Hurrah!


Achievement #27 – Gesture Maestro: Learn all 20 Gestures, 8 of which are already unlocked upon starting the game.

Item – Soul of a Giant #3: Fight your way through the Level, & past the area with all the Soldiers & Giants fighting. Exit a large stone building at the back of this area & you will find a river. Head left & up a set of stone stairs, past a Dual Club-Wielding Giant. Laying against a wooden door is a dead Giant with a purple hand who holds the Soul of a Giant. Pick it up & leave the Memory of Vammar.


NPC – Benhart #5: Make your way to the Pursuer’s old boss room. At the back end, sitting near the next Sleeping Giant will be Benhart. Speak with him there & exhaust his dialogue.

NPC – Benhart #6: Now use the Ashen Mist Heart & enter the Memory of Orro. We can now find Benhart in here... somehow… right near our spawn. Speak with him & exhaust his dialogue.

Item – Soul of a Giant #4: Exit the lower floor of the building you start in & head to the far end of the courtyard with the Royal Soldiers fighting the Giants. At the far back wall, head left & there will be a small set of stone stairs that will lead you up to anther Giant corpse that holds the Soul of a Giant.


NPC – Benhart #7: From the Cardinal Tower Bonfire, head down the ladder & across the stone bridge above the Fire Lizard pit. Through a wooden door using the Soldier Key & through a King’s Door we can find a new Bonfire.

This is The Place Unbeknownst (but now knownst’ to us) & where the final Sleeping Giant is. Entering will take us to the Memory of Jeigh, where we will have to fight the Giant Lord. There are two Summons here: Benhart & Captain Drummond. We cannot have both Summoned so only Summon Benhart for this.

Boss – Giant Lord: We need this boss’s soul to trade for the Repel Hex.

Item – Soul of a Giant #5: After defeating the Giant Lord, head down the newly accessible staircase & take a left. You will find the last Soul of a Giant on a corpse in a corner. We are now ready to fight King Vendrick.



Achievement #28 – Moonlight Greatsword: Inherit Benhart of Jugo’s equipment. After defeating the Giant Lord with Benhart, return to the Memory of Orro to find Benhart sitting there still. Talk to him, & he will give you all his belongings if he was used & survived in three boss battles.

He can still be Summoned two more times in the game so whenever you win three battles return to this Memory for the Achievement. Though they are very difficult bosses. If you still need him to survive a battle, use a Bonfire Ascetic to respawn a defeated boss & use him for the fight. (Easiest being Prowling Magus)
Memory of Vammar:


Achievement #29 – Holder of the Fort: Inherit Captain Drummond's equipment. Since we killed the Giant Lord, return to the Memory of Vammar now & speak with Drummond again. He will give us his equipment & unlock this Achievement for us.


Item – Heavy Iron Key: While we are in this area we might as well pick up the Key Item to access the Iron King DLC, return to the Cardinal Tower Bonfire. Be sure to grab fire resistant items/gear & the Silver Cat Ring, we are dropping down into the fire pit!

If you are able to, try & kill the only visible Flame Lizard from the ledge first with Spells or a bow. Head to the left along this ledge & drop down onto a large wooden blockade to mitigate our fall damage. Now proceed to the back-right corner of the pit into the next area below past another Flame Lizard. It is easiest to run past this one, these guys are very annoying to fight. You will enter a large chamber that has another two Flame Lizards in it. In the left corner of this chamber is an alcove with a skeleton that is holding the Heavy Iron Key & the Rebel’s Greatshield.



Achievement #30 – Vendrick: Defeat Vendrick.
After we have collected all 5 (or 4) Giant Souls, it is time to face down the forsaken King of Drangleic. With the Giant Souls in our inventory his maximum health will be significantly decreased. He is very slow but deals a lot of damage still if he hits you. There are no Summons for this battle; he is weak to Bleed.

1. Complete Dark Chasm of Old & The Throne of Want
2. Gestures: 12/12
3. Miracles: 22/28
4. Sorcery: 26/31
5. Pyromancy: 18/24
6. Hexes: 18/23
7. Achievements: 32/38
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It is now time to begin the Pilgrims of Dark Covenant quests. Head to the Hidden Chamber Bonfire in Black Gulch & climb down the cliff to get to Grandahl. Be sure to bring lots of Human Effigies & Flame Butterflies. Ask Grandahl to open the portal to the Dark Chasm of Old, it will cost one Human Effigy to open the portal which will close upon death.

Black Gulch Vessel: Enter the Dark Chasm of Old & fight your way through the Xanthous Pyromancer & Ironclad Phantoms. Follow the cave down stream & take a left when you reach a crossroads. You will find the Vessel in the back of the chamber, walk around the sides & light it with a torch.

Hex #14 – Resonant Soul: Speak to Grandahl after completing the first Pilgrims of Dark quest. This Hex is acquired from achieving Rank 1 in the Covenant. Alternatively, it can be purchased from Felkin for 1100 souls.


Drangleic Vessel: Warp to the Under Castle Drangleic Bonfire & head over to Grandahl. This will definitely be the hardest out of all the Chasms. Head across the flooded area & defeat the two Phantoms & Witchtree Spirit. To the left of this first area will be a tunnel that leads around a corner where you will find the second Vessel. If you use Miracles, the Emit Force Miracle can be very useful for blasting the Phantoms off of ledges instead of fighting them fairly.


Shaded Woods Vessel: Warp to the Shaded Ruins Bonfire & down into the Basilisk Cave to find Grandahl. In the Chasm, defeat the first two Phantoms & Witchtree Spirit, the Vessel is in that same room to the left. Head down the elevator & defeat the last Phantom to leave the Chasm…

Boss – Darklurker: After lighting all 3 Vessels, when you go to leave the final Chasm, we will be intercepted by the Darklurker. We will need to slay him if we want to reach Rank 3 in the Pilgrims of Dark. The Darklurker is very weak to lightning & fire damage. This is a very challenging boss, barring the DLC it is the hardest boss in the game.

After unlocking him, the Darklurker can now be fought in any of the three Chasms of Old, I found the easiest of those three to be the Shaded Woods portal. We need this boss’s soul to trade for the Life Drain Patch Hex.

Hex #15 – Great Resonant Soul: This is acquired from achieving Rank 2 in the Pilgrims of the Dark. Return to Grandahl after lighting all 3 Vessels & he will award us Rank 2 & this Hex. Alternatively, this Hex can be purchased from Felkin for 3400 souls.

Hex #16 – Climax: This is acquired from achieving Rank 3 in the Pilgrims of the Dark. After killing the Darklurker, return to Grandahl & we will have maxed out this Covenant.


Achievement #31 – Selfless Giver: Max-out devotion to a Covenant.
Reach Rank 3 in any Covenant. This can be done with any Covenant but might as well be done with the Abysmal Covenant since we need the Darklurker’s Soul for a different Achievement.


Hex #17 – Repel: Using the Giant Lord Soul, trade it in to Straid for this Hex. It costs an additional 5000 souls.

Hex #18 – Lifedrain Patch: Using the Darklurker Soul, trade it in to Straid for this Hex. It costs an additional 5000 souls.


NPC – Benhart #8: What MORE Benhart?! Yes, if you have made it this far without earning the Moonlight Greatsword Achievement, outside the Throne of Want boss room we can Summon Benhart to assist us. If he survives, this counts towards the three battles he has to live through. Just return to the Memory of Orro (back end of Pursuer’s boss room) to speak with him.


Achievement #32 – The Heir: See the ending.
The game will not end when we complete the Base Game & defeat the final boss. After the credits roll, we will be returned to Majula where we will carry on into the three DLC’s. You have an option at the Majula Bonfire to begin the Second Journey which will start NG+. Obviously don’t select that till we are finished with this playthrough.

1. Complete Shulva, the Sanctum City
2. Miracles: 23/28
3. Sorcery: 29/31
4. Pyromancy: 19/24
5. Hexes: 20/23
6. Achievements: 33/38
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Achievement #33 – Curious Map: Light all flames on the map in Majula.
After deciding the fate of the Throne of Want, return to Cale in the abandoned manor in Majula. When you speak with him, the Achievement should unlock. If you followed the guide up to this point, we should have met all the prerequisites for this Achievement.

Just in case, the Bonfires we need to have lit & bosses/items found are:
1. Forest of Fallen Giants: Cardinal Tower Bonfire & the Last Giant
2. Sinner’s Rise: The Saltfort Bonfire & the Lost Sinner
3. Black Gulch: Hidden Chamber Bonfire & the Rotten
4. Iron Keep: Eygil's Idol Bonfire & the Old Iron King
5. Brightstone Cove: Lower Brightstone Cove Bonfire & the Duke's Dear Freja
6. Undead Crypt: Undead Ditch Bonfire & collecting the King's Ring
7. Dragon Shrine: Shrine Entrance & collecting the Ashen Mist Heart
8. Drangleic Castle: King's Gate Bonfire & Throne Watcher/Throne Defender


NPC – Navlaan #2: Now it is finally time to work for Navlaan. Warp to the Foregarden Bonfire & go speak to Navlaan through his prison. He will only offer you his quests if you are Hollow.

Navlaan Quest #1: Bring the Ladder Miniature to Navlaan, either kill Laddersmith Gilligan for it or buy it from him for 6399 souls.

Navlaan Quest #2: Bring Cale’s Helmet to Navlaan, either kill Cale the Cartographer for it or receive it from him after completing the Curious Maps Achievement.

Navlaan Quest #3: Bring the Sunset Staff to Navlaan, either kill Felkin the Outcast for it or exhaust all his dialogue if you have 20 Int & 20 Faith. If you have all the Spells you need from him, Felkin has lived out his usefulness…

Pyromancy #19 – Forbidden Sun: Received from Royal Sorcerer Navlaan after completing his third quest. He will give you this if you show him the Sunset Staff from Felkin the Outcast.

Navlaan Quest #4: Bring the Aged Feather to Navlaan, either kill the Emerald Herald for it or if you spoke with her in the Dragon Aerie, we will have received this through the story.

Sorcery #27 – Unleash Magic: Received from Navlaan after completing his final quest. Show the Aged Feather to Navlaan for the Sorcery.

Sorcery #28 – Hidden Weapon: Obtained by reaching Rank 2 in the Bell Keeper Covenant. This can be obtained Online or Offline. To do this Online, kill 30 Invaders &/or by Invading & killing 30 hosts in the two Belfry areas. You have to wear the Bellkeeper ring to be Summoned into a Belfry.

For the Offline method you need to kill the Red Phantom known as Mad Warrior 30 times. Sounds simple enough, except for when you realize that he only has a chance to spawn. A small chance. To spawn. He can be found in Belfry Sol & will spawn around the corner to the left near the Bell Tower. This takes a long time, unfortunately this is the method I chose to do. Wearing the Delicate String ring purchased from Titchy Gren for 20,000 souls will increase your chances of being Invaded by Red Phantoms. 70% of the time when you head to look for him, he is not going to be there.

To save time, if you have 13 Faith, you can use the Unveil Miracle which will locate nearby enemies. It won’t work if there are still Bell Keepers around or enemies in the immediate area of Iron Keep. Farm out the Alonne Knights in Iron Keep near the Bonfire & the Bell Keepers above then equip Unveil. From the Belfry Sol Bonfire cast Unveil; if the light just floats straight above you without any direction, he is not there. Reset at the Bonfire & try again; if the light arcs towards the ladder & looks like it is homing in on something, the Mad Warrior has spawned.

There is a lot of speculation on how long this should take. Some people say they have killed him 30 times for 30 minutes of farming to 2 hours of farming. Me, I have 100% Dark Souls 2 three times now & every time I go to get this Sorcery it takes me a very, very long time. Stick with it, & eventually after 30 kills you will Rank up. Be sure to keep track how many times you kill him because the game won’t. If in doubt periodically talk to the little Bell Keeper at the top of the Belfry Sol ladder to see if you have Ranked up. After reaching Rank 2, you will be rewarded with the Hidden Weapon Sorcery.

It was brought to my attention that there is an extremely useful strategy for farming the Mad Warrior on Fextralife involving playing in Windowed Mode & the Windows Task Manager tool. Using this method should allow you to know if the Mad Warrior has spawned without actually climbing up the abysmal ladder a million times to check physically.

https://darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Mad+Warrior

I will be testing out this method out personally in the next few weeks to give a more detailed description for the guide. Massive thanks to the Achievement Hunter, Menace123, for bringing this to my/our collective attention!!!


It is now time for us to begin the Crown of the Sunken King DLC. Travel to the Hidden Chamber Bonfire in Black Gulch & head to the room with the Primordial Bonfire. Use the Dragon Talon (found in the Majula Pit behind a Forbidden Door) & begin the DLC.

Hex #19 – Promised Walk of Peace: From the Sanctum Walk Bonfire, head down through Shulva. Follow all the stairs down until you reach a long, winding pathway made of stone leading to a lone tower. Fight your way to the end of the pathway & stand outside the broken tower with the Poison Statue inside it. Across from the tower entrance on your right is a line of statues with red eyes, below them is a platform you can drop down to.

From below, look back up to the statues & shoot the wedge-shaped switch. It will raise the platform you’re on & from there you can now enter a secret cave. Head past the three Poison statues & you will find a strange tree. The Hex is found on one of the two corpses found to the left of the tree.

Sorcery #29 – Focus Souls: Make your way to the large bridge that leads to Dragon’s Sanctum (where Sinh the Dragon shoots fireballs at it) & head to the right of the bridge through the urns. Follow the ledge along & you will find the Sorcery on a corpse hanging off of the ledge.

Miracle #23 – Denial: In Dragon's Sanctum, head to the two floored room filled with spikes. From the stairs leading down into the room, follow the path along till you find a circular door in the right corner. Shoot the switch through that door three times to open the path into the room behind it. The Miracle will be in a chest.

Hex #20 – Dark Greatsword: In the upper floor of this room, you will find a path that brings you into a room with a lot of Ghost Sanctum Knights & their corpses. On a loot-able body in one of the wall sarcophaguses you will find Eternal Sanctum Key.

Return to the Tower of Prayer Bonfire & head back across the bridge to the Dragon’s Sanctum. As soon as you enter, open the locked door on your left using the key & make your way up the first two ladders. Defeat the Red Phantom Invader & find the Priestess’ Chamber Bonfire across the bridge.
Across from that Bonfire, hit the wedge-shaped switch close by & activate the elevator. Ride down it & roll off it when the room opens up & you see a ledge. Follow the path to the left & head down around the building to find a secret room with a with this Hex inside a chest.

That is all the Achievement related business to be done in Shulva. Beat as far as you like/can…

1. Complete Brume Tower
2. Miracles: 23/28
3. Sorcery: 29/31
4. Pyromancy: 22/24
5. Hexes: 21/23
6. Achievements: 33/38
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When you are ready to begin the Crown of the Iron King DLC, make your way to the Primordial Bonfire in Iron Keep. Using the Heavy Iron Key (found in the bottom caves of the Fire Lizard pit in Forest of Fallen Giants) you can enter the DLC.

Smelter Wedges #1-6: In this DLC, we need to collect all 12 Fragments of Nadalia’s Boss Soul to trade in to Straid for a Pyromancy. The fragments are found in Ashen Idols which can only be destroyed by using a Smelter Wedge. The first six Wedges are found right before crossing the iron chain into Brume Tower.

Soul Fragment #1: From the Throne Floor Bonfire, head up the stairs & into the throne room. Use a Smelter Wedge & destroy the Ashen Idol to claim our first Fragment.

Soul Fragment #2: Make your way down from the Throne Floor Bonfire now & climb down some ladders. Climb down a larger ladder & you will enter a room with the second Ashen Idol. Be careful, the Idol buffs nearby enemies making them a lot stronger. Either rush the Idol & destroy it or try luring the enemies away from the Idol before attacking.

Pyromancy #20 – Dance of Fire: In the same room as Soul Fragment #2, turn back around to the ladder & head into the room on the left. There will be a corpse in the back that is holding this Pyromancy.

Soul Fragment #3: From the Upper Floor Bonfire, head through the Fog Gate & down into the large room with the huge Iron Warrior in it. The third Ashen Idol is in the center of this room & will buff the enemies in it if not taken care of.

Hex #21 – Recollection: From the Foyer Bonfire, head through the room to your right & make your way outside across an iron chain to a small tower. You will climb down & have to fight off a Red Phantom Invader, this can be a really challenging fight. In this room there is a ring of doors in the wall. From the broken ledge facing back towards the doors, head to the second door from the right (adjacent to the ladder) & you will find a corpse with this Hex on it. Beware opening all the doors as they will be permanently open, some have quite a few annoying enemies behind them…

Item – Tower Key: After using the Scorching Scepter to activate all the elevators, take the lift down & head to the ashen cliff outside. There are three Iron Warriors in this room so be weary. The key is found at the far end of the cliff behind the massive mace wielding Iron Warrior.

Item – Hollow Skin: To find some items in this DLC we will have to enter areas that are full of Hollowing Gas created by certain Ashen Idols. While wearing the Hollow Skin you no longer can be affected be Curse. From the Foyer Bonfire after using the Scorching Scepter, take the lift up. As soon as you get off the lift there will be another smaller elevator in front of you. There is an Illusionary Wall in the center of the elevator shaft near the bottom. Keep interacting with the wall in between the two elevator wheels to open the door. The Hollow Skin will be found in a chest.

Soul Fragment #4: Return to the Foyer Bonfire & open the door behind where you placed the Scorching Scepter with the Tower Key. This area is filled with Hollowing Gas & the Hollow Skin can come in handy for this, but it is not mandatory. The fourth Idol is behind the locked door down the stairs & to the left.

Pyromancy #21 – Fire Snake: In the same area at the opposite end (right side) there will be a doorless room with a chest containing this Pyromancy.

Soul Fragment #5: From the Foyer Bonfire, head back up the first lift & follow the circular ledge around & it will take you to another elevator. Across from it at the far end is a locked door. Cross the gap & you will enter a room with an Iron Warrior & four doors. The fifth Ashen Idol is in the third door from left to right.

Smelter Wedges #7-10: In the same area above the Foyer Bonfire, head up the small elevator we found the Hollow Skin on & take it to the top. Take the path right & you will come to an iron door. Inside & up the second floor will be 4 more Smelter Wedges in a chest at the end of the hall.

Soul Fragment #6: Head back to the small elevator we came up & head across to the locked door on other side. Use the Tower Key & head up the next elevator. The sixth Ashen Idol will be found in the area where you are invaded by the Prowlers, on the way to the Smelter Throne Bonfire.

Soul Fragment #7-10: From the Foyer Bonfire take the lifts down & carry on through the DLC until you are outside the large boss room. The next four Ashen Idols are around the outside of the room before you enter it, they will heal the boss during the battle if he approaches them. There are two Idols on either side of the Fog Gate.

Boss – Fume Knight: We will receive a Soul Fragment for defeating this boss. He is weak to nothing, & has resistances to Lightning, Fire, Magic, Dark, Slash, & Thrust. The offline Summons are next to useless, if you can find an online Summon it could be handy. More often then not, you will have to defeat him on your own. Good luck.

Soul Fragment #11: The next Soul Fragment is dropped by the Fume Knight. He is a very difficult boss to fight, possibly the hardest boss in the game.

Smelter Wedge #11: Once the Fume Knight is dead, we will now have access to a secret area within the DLC. Head to the Smelter Throne Bonfire & enter the suit of armor’s Memory of the Old Iron King using the Ashen Mist Heart.

After the boss fight of this area, head into the small room off the right & examine the chair to receive the final Smelter Wedge.

Soul Fragment #12: Return to the Foyer Bonfire & take the stairs on your left leading up out of the room. At the top of the stairs will be a railing & another set of stairs leading down to a cliff edge. Out here, you can see a large iron chain spanning over to a broken tower. The final Ashen Idol is near the bottom of this tower, it can be very difficult to get to without the Hollow Skin. The Idol will curse you, & buff enemies health/damage as well as revive them until you destroy it. There is a Red Phantom Invader at the top of the tower near where you get off the iron chain, be careful.


Pyromancy #22 – Outcry: With all 12 Soul Shards collected you will receive the “true” boss soul, the Soul of Nadalia – Bride of Ash. Return to Straid in Lost Bastille along with a whopping 45,000 souls to purchase this Pyromancy.

1. Complete Frozen Eleum Loyce & NG
2. Miracles: 24/28
3. Sorcery: 30/31
4. Pyromancy: 22/24
5. Hexes: 22/23
6. Achievements: 33/38
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With Brume Tower completed we enter the final DLC of the game, The Crown of the Ivory King. Warp to the Ruined Fork Road Bonfire in Shaded Woods & make your way to the Shrine of Winter to enter the DLC with the Frozen Flower.

Hex #22 – Dark Dance: After the second Bonfire, follow the snowy path up until you reach a set of stone stairs. From there turn right & head down a small path between the buildings that leads to an overlook. Head right again & slip back between the buildings. The Hex will be found on a corpse up the path leading to two Retainer Rogues.

Sorcery #30 – Soul Flash: Eventually, you will reach a part of the walls that has ballistae on it. Carry on until a Rampart Spearman ambushes you from a small room on the left. In that room is a lever that will lift up an elevator holding some coffins. This just opened a secret room for us.

Warp back to the Outer Wall Bonfire & fight through the first three enemies of the DLC. In the room with the lit torch there is a small hall on the right where the elevator used to be. At the end of the hall is an iron chest with this Sorcery in it.

Miracle #24 – Splintering Lightning Spear: After collecting the Eye of the Priestess return to the second Bonfire. Make your way back to the same area we found that lever for the elevator past the ballistae wall. Instead of heading down the stairs where we found the Eye of the Priestess, take the stairs leading up to the tower. On the backside we can now see a ladder which will take us up to a room with an iron chest that has this Miracle.

Item - Symbol of Avarice: Our final Item to collect is the Symbol of Avarice. After we speak with the Ivory Queen, Aslanna, the blizzard around Eleum Loyce will cease. Go to the Inner Wall Bonfire, & pass down the hall into the first room where the Retainer Sorcerers & Crystal Golems are. Here we can find some Chest, one of which will be a Mimic so be careful. Kill the Mimic, & we will receive this Helmet that will boost are Item Discovery by a lot... this will be relevant later on.

That is the last Achievement related item found in this DLC.

After you finish with the DLC, double check to make sure you have completed everything up till this point. If you missed any NPC quests or Spells, you have an entire other playthrough you can try again & grab anything you missed.

1. Complete NG+
2. Miracles: 26/28
3. Sorcery: 31/31
4. Pyromancy: 23/24
5. Hexes: 23/23
6. Achievements: 35/38
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Ring - Covetous Gold Serpent Ring +2: We will receive this Ring upon killing the Belfry Gargoyles in NG+. Once again, this will be an invaluable farming Item that will help us out when it is time for the final grind.


Pyromancy #23 – Flame Weapon: Purchased from Straid with the Old Witch Soul for killing the Lost Sinner on NG+. It will cost an additional 10,000 souls.


Hex #23 – Numbness: Using the Old Dead One's Soul we acquired for killing the Rotten in NG+, we can now trade this in for the final Hex. It will cost an additional 5000 souls.


Achievement #34 – Master of Hexes: Learn all 23 Hexes.
This will be unlocked once you acquire the final Hex from Straid.


Miracle #25 – Blinding Bolt: Using the Old King Soul we acquired for killing the Old Iron King in NG+, we can now trade this in for this Miracle. It will cost an additional 10,000 souls.


Sorcery #31 – Crystal Soul Spear: Purchased from Straid with the Old Paledrake Soul, obtained for killing the Dukes Dear Freja on NG+. It will cost an additional 10,000 souls.


Achievement #35 – Master of Sorcery: Learn all 31 Sorceries.
This will be unlocked after giving the Old Paledrake Soul to Straid, the final Sorcery we need.


Farming Sunlight Medals: This is when I farmed for this, but this could take you well into NG++ depending on which method you decide to use.

Online is pretty straight forward, just pay attention to your Soul Memory & place your Summon Sign in high traffic areas, typically outside DLC boss rooms. Other good locations for Boss summons are the Demon of Song, Guardian Dragon, & the bridge approach to Undead Purgatory/Executioner Chariot. Offline is a whole other beast, & requires a few hours of farming.

For farming gear set up you will want: The Watchdragon Parma (+50 ID) which is found in a Chest just outside/before entering the Blue Cathedral (+50 ID), Covetous Gold Serpent Ring +2 (+100 ID), the Jesters Cap (+50 ID) sold by Magerald of Lanafir at Iron Keep, Prisoner's Tatters (+50) which is dropped by Hollow Prisoners found all across the game (The Gutter, Harvest Valley, Huntsman's Copse, Grave of Saints, etc.), & lastly the Rusted Coin consumable which gives us a temporary (+100 ID).

When farming, it is best to join the Covenant of Champions so that the enemies do not despawn & you have to use Bonfire Ascetics. The only two enemies that drop Sunlight Medals are the Dark Giants in Harvest Valley (bad to farm) & the Falconer's found in Things Betwixt (4 Falconers), Shaded Woods (3 Falconers), & Brightstone Cove Tseldora (6 Falconers). The Falconers at the Royal Army Campsite Bonfire are the best to farm since there are 6 potential chances for a drop. This... will still be a grind.


Miracle #26 – Sunlight Spear: Requires Rank 3 in Heirs of the Sun Covenant, which requires 30 Sunlight Medals. After you have painstakingly farmed your Sunlight Medals, we can now acquire this Miracle at the Sunlight Altar in Harvest Valley.

That is all we can do on NG+, now either playthrough the rest of the game at your own pace or speedrun to NG++.

Offline Sunlight Farming for Dark Souls 2 (Original) Users: This is a special note for any who are using this guide while playing the Original Dark Souls 2 (not Scholar of the First Sin Edition). Our best farming location in Brightstone Cove does not exist & you are forced to go to less than ideal locations for farming... making a bad situation worse.

SpaghettiBird came up with the best strategy I've heard, but it does require some pre-planning & us entering into NG+ (or NG++, etc.). Before entering NG+ be sure that: you are a part of the Covenant of Champions (most important preparation!), the Ring of Binding (also very important), you have all your Item Discovery farming Items in your Inventory, a stockpile of Rusted Coins (optional but still very useful), & the Aged Feather. Also be sure to equip whichever Spells/Miracles you want as we will not be able to change them once we begin.

With all these preparations, double check, & enter into your next NG. When you spawn, we will be surrounded by 4 Falconers. Kill them, & do not speak with the Firekeepers or light the Things Betwixt Bonfire! Instead, use the Aged Feather right afterwards, & we will respawn back at the central stone dais where we first started with the 4 Falconers respawned. This is your new grind: kill Falconers, use Aged Feather to respawn them. This is by far the fastest method for farming Sunlight Medals since the Covenant of Champions makes them infinite.

A caveat to this method, is that using the Aged Feather will not recharge your Spells or Estus Flasks. The only way we can do this is through death, which is why the Ring of Binding is important to lessen our Hollowing.

1. Complete NG++ Mop Up
2. Miracles: 28/28
3. Pyromancy: 24/24
4. Achievements: 38/38
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Our final order of buisness for NG++ (apart from mopping up any Achievements you may be missing) will be to purchase our last Miracles & Pyromancy from Chancellor Wellager in Drangelic Castle. Unfortunately, we need to pass through The Shrine of Winter to reach him. Naturally, we have to defeat all four Great Ones over again, but there is a workaround we can do instead. Instead of defeating the four Great Ones to unlock it, you can accumulate enough souls & bypass it. The caveat is that we need a cumulative total of 3 million souls collected on this playthrough for them to open; not 3 million Soul Memory, the souls have to be collected during this current playthrough. It is also accumulative 3 million souls; you do not need to have 3 million on you at the same time.

The best possible way to farm souls is actually accessible right from the start of the game, or close enough. It is farming the Rotten down in Black Gulch & using Bonfire Ascetics to keep respawning him. Depending on the farming gear you have equipped, he gives you around 200,000 - 310,000 souls per kill at Bonfire Level 8; around 10-15 kills to reach 3 million souls. Fortunately, it should only really take you an hour at most; depending on how often you die. While he himself is pretty easy... he will do insane damage if he hits you at all, so be careful!

Be sure to keep track of your souls before you start farming so you have an idea of how much farming you need to do.

When you have finished farming, you will need to purchase the Fragrant Branch of Yore from Melentia in the Forest of Fallen Giants so we can unpetrify Rosabeth & reach The Shrine of Winter...


The final 3 Spells we need for 100% can be purchased from Wellager for a total of 36,600 souls. On NG++ enemies will drop a lot more souls. If you farmed your way to 3 million you should have no shortage of souls for this.

Miracle #27 – Wrath of the Gods: Purchased from Wellager on NG++ for 8200 souls. This can alternatively be acquired from achieving Rank 2 in the Blue Sentinels Covenant. To achieve Rank 2 you need to win 150 Duels in the Blue Cathedral arenas… no thank you.

Miracle #28 – Bountiful Sunlight: Purchased from Wellager on NG++ for 11,000 souls. This can alternatively be acquired from achieving Rank 3 in the Blue Sentinels Covenant. To achieve Rank 3 you need to win 500 Duels in the Blue Cathedral arenas… who got time for that?


Achievement #36 – Master of Miracles: Learn all 28 Miracles.
We should have all the Miracles we need on NG++, if you went the Blue Sentinel method (which I doubt) you may have earned this Achievement sooner.

Pyromancy #24 – Great Chaos Fireball: Purchased from Wellager on NG++ for 17,400 souls. The other way of obtaining this earlier should you choose it is to achieve Rank 3 in the Brotherhood of Blood by dueling or killing Blue Phantoms 500 times.


Achievement #37– Master of Pyromancy: Learn all 24 Pyromancies.
Great Chaos Fireball should be the final Pyromancy you needed for this Achievement. It will unlock after you have acquired it.


Achievement #38 – The Dark Soul: Earn all 38 achievements!
That’s probably the longest 38 Achievements I have ever earned! Until we start Dark Souls 3…

There you have it, if you have made it this far & achieved 100%, hats off to you folks. You truly have what it takes to become the next Monarch. I absolutely adore the Dark Souls series & hoped you have as much fun playing it as I do. If this guide helped you achieve 100%, rate this guide or let me know in the comments. Helps me know if I am doing things right!


100% Complete!
Thank you for choosing Cynical Guides, & I will see you in the next one!
Praise the Sun!!!

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