Walkthrough - Guide for Dark Souls II

                                 DARK SOULS 2
 

                             W A L K T H R O U G H


                        AUTHOR: PAUL MICHAEL (VHAYSTE®)
                          CONTACT: [email protected]
             http://www.facebook.com/pages/vhayste/110018722374948


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THIS GUIDE WILL FEATURE THE WALKTHROUGH SECTION OF THE GAME ONLY. FOR BOSS 
BATTLE VIDEOS, SCREENSHOTS AND OTHER HELPFUL TIPS, PLEASE VISIT THE ONLINE
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE BELOW. 

Illustrated guide (with screenshots and videos) can be found at: 

http://www.supercheats.com/dark-souls-ii/walkthrough/
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                      T A B L E   OF   C O N T E N T S
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001 --------- THINGS BETWIXT
002 --------- MAJULA
003 --------- FOREST OF THE FALLEN GIANTS
004 --------- HEIDE'S TOWER OF FLAME
005 --------- NO-MAN'S WHARF
006 --------- LOST BASTILLE
007 --------- SINNER'S RISE









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+++++++++++ 001 THINGS BETWIXT ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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When you start the game, walk straight ahead. Don't bother with the
creatures here since they won't be hostile. Turn to the right as soon as
you get past the two stones and go through the crevice. You should see a
corpse near the edge of the cliff. Examine the body to get a Rusted Coin.

Backtrack to the main path and enter the hut ahead. You'll find some old
hags here. This is also the point where you'll customize your character.
Enter your name and you'll get a Human Effigy. These are used to  reverse
the effects of Hollowing and are really scarce at the early parts of the
game. Hold on to it and don't use it unless really necessary.

Next, you'll have to customize your character, select your class and your
gift. Once done, go the second floor and open the chest to get another
human effigy. Talk to the Fire Keepers and Millibeth several times if you
want then leave the hut. Before  crossing the bridge, go to the small
hidden path  beside a rock leading to a ledge right under the waterfall.
Loot a Small Smooth and Silky Stone from the corpse there.

(Optional)
Cross the bridge and turn to the right where you'll find a small opening
with some large footprints heading uphill. There's a large beast waiting
ahead. It will be hard to take down at the start but characters with ranged
weapons should be able to kite it and fall back to the crevice. Melee
characters can do some hit and run attacks; just don't be aggressive in
swinging your weapons since you won't have enough stamina to dodge. The
cyclops is slow but be careful of its long reach. You have to watch out of
its grab attack since it can instantly kill your character. Defeating it
will earn you 1000 souls and a Stone Ring. Equip it and continue uphill. If
you can't seem to defeat it, you can just leave it for now and come back
later. There's a corpse in the grass where the monster was standing
earlier. Loot it to get a Pine Gold Resin. The path past the wooden walkway
will lead you back to the Fire Keepers' hut.

Open the door beside the fireplace to find the first bonfire. Bonfires are
your resting place. They can restore your HP to full (but not 100% if
you're Hollowed), restore the durability of your weapons and equipment,
restore the use count of spells and miracles and they can used to
fast-travel between various bonfires as well. Resting in a bonfire however,
resets the enemies in area. 

Destroy the wagon nearby to a Torch and Soul of a Lost Undead (when used
this item gives +200 souls). Torches have a duration when they can remain
alight. Torches are very helpful in lighting up dark places. Some enemies
will also have a different reaction or even shy away from fire. Since
they're consumable, you have to make sure that you'll light up sconces you
encounter since they stay alight permanently. Light the bonfire and rest.
Once done, head through the tunnel to find a winding path will several
misted entrances.

Enter the first misted entrance to the left. You'll find several undead
along the way. They're slow so just attack and dodge their attacks. Don't
forget to light the other sconces to illuminate the corridors and to give
you nearby fire sources where you can light your torch again. Don't forget
to read the stone tablets along the way since they contain tutorial tips
that may help you.

Continue along the main path as it goes uphill. You'll find a corpse
hanging on the edge of the cliff. Loot a Dagger from it and continue forth.
There's an undead archer ahead so roll to evade its slow arrows and take
him out. Be careful since there's another undead in the same room with him.
Continue forth and you'll find another large room with an undead archer and
swordsman. Lure the swordsman back to the tunnel and defeat him there. Take
out the archer then loot the Lifegem from the nearby corpse. Go through the
misty exit.

There's a nest here where you can leave Small Smooth and Silky Stones on
the nest in exchange for some items. You should have one in your possession
right now so leave it there and wait for a few seconds before picking it
up. I got a Divine Blessing item in this trade. If you selected a Petrified
Something as your gift, you can leave it here as well and wait for a few
seconds before picking it up to get a random item. Kick the ladder here but
don't go down yet. Drop down the second ledge below to find another corpse.
Loot it to get a Soul of a Nameless Soldier (this item gives you +800
souls). Drop down to the main path and you can enter the next misty
entrance.

Be careful since there are two undead enemies inside. You can fall back
outside to avoid getting flanked. You can also rest anytime in the bonfire
outside the Fire Keepers' place. Once the enemies inside are defeated, head
to the next exit where there's a gap that you must jump over. Since the
sprint+jump using the L3 is a bit tricky. I suggest changing it to the X
button in the game options. Now press and hold the X button and run towards
the gap. Press X again to jump. This will allow you to reach the corpse
containing an Amber Herb in the ledge across. Return back and climb up the
ladder.

There are unwary enemies below. Read the tutorial stone blocks if you want
then use a plunging attack from above to deal heavy damage to the enemy
below. Take them out and open the door nearby to loot a Cracked Red Eye Orb
from the corpse. Clear the mist and leave the area.

Jump down to the main path below and enter the next misty entrance.
Approach the tree trunk and knock it down to create a bridge. Take out the
undead archer and look at the hole below. Position yourself above the
undead and do a plunging attack to take him out. Be careful since there's
an archer in the upper ledge. When you hear the bowstring being pulled,
prepare to dodge. Climb the ladder and take out the archer. Exit through
the next mist.

Take out the undead there. You can also lure the two cyclops then fall back
to the tree so you can defeat them safely. One of them is hiding right
after you go down the ledge. The best way to deal with them is lure them
back to the room where you came from and stay near the entrance just enough
to aggro them. For characters with ranged weapons, you can kite them safely
from here. For melee characters, you have to evade their attacks and hit
them when they're down. They carry 1000 souls each so killing them can be
rewarding early on. The coffin at the edge of the water can change your
gender if you sleep in there; other than that, it doesn't seem to have
anything else of interest. Sleeping in the coffin will reset the undead
enemies but not the cyclops.

When done, follow the path and kick the withered tree ahead to create a
pathway for you back to the main path. You can return to the bonfire to
rest if you want or kill all enemies again to get more souls. If you
managed to defeat all cyclopes, you can talk to Millibeth to receive a
Handmaid's Ladle. Once done, head to the end of the main path to reach the
next area.




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+++++++++++ 002 MAJULA +++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Follow the trail until you see a lootable corpse sitting under a dead tree
near the settlement's entrance. Get a Divine Blessing from it. Enter the
settlement and light the bonfire. From there, talk to the Emerald Herald
standing near the edge of the cliff. You'll receive an Estus Flask from
her. This helpful item restores HP and can be refilled by visiting a
bonfire. The Emerald Herald can also help you level up by trading souls
you've gathered. Just keep talking to her until she opens up the other
options.

If you head to the top of the hill where a broken statue stands, there's a
lone knight there named Saulden. Talk to him several times and he'll offer
you to join the Way of Blue covenant. You can also learn the "Welcome"
gesture from him. Join this covenant for now since this is really for
beginners. You'll also receive a Blue Seal ring which slightly increases
your max HP.

Head down the hill and find a corpse beside a rock near the edge of the
cliff. Loot it to get Soul of a Nameless Soldier and Lifegem x3. The smithy
beside that corpse is closed because the door is locked. You have to find
its key in order for the blacksmith to open his shop.

Head towards the other buildings and you should see another corpse inside a
tent. Loot a Lifegem from it then follow the path uphill along the edge of
the cliff. Loot the corpse there to get Homeward Bone x5. Be careful when
kneeling in the Victor's Stone; entering this Covenant will make you a
member of Company of Champions which increases the difficulty of the game
by making enemy attacks more damaging and become more sturdier with
increased HP.

The hole on the ground has some lootable corpses but you can't go down
there yet without a ladder.

The house beside the hole has a talking cat named Shalquoir. You can talk
to her to help you abandon your covenants and also buy items and
accessories from her. If you have spare souls, it will be good to buy a
Ring of the Evil Eye which enables you to absorb HP from each defeated foe.
This is vital since the game is quite unforgiving when it comes to enemy
damage and survival.

There are some annoying undead piglets beside the large building so don't
get there to avoid startling them and follow you around. They don't give
that much soul anyway upon defeat. You'll find Maughlin in the house across
Shalquoir's. He sells armors. Be careful with what you purchase; the NPCs
here doesn't buy items from you.

There's also a small well outside the large building in the middle. Knock
the stone on the edge of the well to pull up a hanging corpse with an Estus
Flask Shard. Bring it to the Emerald Herald to upgrade your Estus Flask
capacity.

Your next destination is the Forest of Fallen Giants. To access this, you
have to go through a tunnel which entrance is just a few steps away from
the bonfire. Once inside, turn to the right to find a chest. Get a Rusted
Coin from the chest then continue forth. Pull the switch on the wall to
raise the large gate.

Cross the wooden bridge and access the chest under it. Loot a Human Effigy
from the chest. Sprint and jump to reach the corpse containing a Homeward
Bone and Soul of a Lost Undead. From there, follow the stream to reach the
Forest of the Fallen Giants.




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+++++++++++ 003 FOREST OF THE FALLEN GIANTS +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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The Crestfallen's Retreat
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Be careful of the undead enemies here. They're fast and they unleash a
series of quick slashes so make sure to take them out one by one and avoid
getting surrounded. There's a corpse across the stream where you can get a
Lifegem. Just as the stream turns, you'll find a bonfire up the small
alcove to the right. Light the bonfire and continue forth.

Carefully cross the stream as there are two enemies here and an archer.
Lure the enemies behind the rocks to prevent the arrows from reaching you.
There's a lurking undead swordsman near the archer that you need to lure as
well so be ready not to get flanked. At the end of the stream is a corpse
that can be looted. However, be careful of the undead axeman that will
stand up and ambush you. Loot it to get a Soul of a Lost Undead.

Continue uphill through the giant tree roots and climb the ladder. There
are three enemies lurking around above so prepare for battle. You can lure
them towards the other ladder leading to a tower ruins and dispatch them
one by one. Loot the corpses here for a Lifegem and Human Effigy. There's
an archer in the ledge above so be careful not to get sniped. The white
knight sitting on the tree can be fought and defeated. Just make sure you
dispatch the archer on the ledge above. We'll get to that so just ignore
him for the meantime. Loot a Broken Straight Sword from the corpse beside
him.

Leave the area for now and head to the other exit where you'll find a
ladder attached to a ruined tower. Climb it and take out the two undead
soldiers along the stairs. Follow the path and  carefully go through a
narrow pathway near the edge. This will take you to a corpse containing a
Soul of a Nameless Soldier. Follow the path and you'll reach the ledge
where the undead archer is. Take him out and do a sprint-jump across the
gap to loot the corpse in the end of the ledge. Obtain a Shortsword and
Soul of a Lost Undead. Backtrack to the where the White Knight is sitting
and fight him if you want.

His attacks are slow but has a broad range so make sure you have enough
stamina to evade. You can always fall back to the ladder to reset his
position and do some annoying hit-and-run on him. Be wary of his charge
attack though as it can take you by surprise. Upon defeat, you'll get a
huge amount of souls and a Heide Knight Sword.

Once he is defeated, head to the misty entrance. Be careful of the corpse
near it since it will be reanimated and attack you. Go through the tunnel
DO NOT enter through the crack on the wall. Carefully turn to the left.
There's an undead axeman who will ambush you here so prepare to dodge away.
There are two undead in the room to the right so get their attention and
lure them. Enter the room they're in and destroy the bookcase to find a
corpse behind it. Loot it to get x20 Wood Bolt.

At the end of the corridor is an undead knight wielding a two-handed sword.
Defeat it and continue upstairs. There's an archer at the end of the path
so unless you're using a ranged weapon, you don't have any choice but to
rush to it. Be careful though since there are enemies waiting outside,
including an undead that lobs fire bombs. Don't hesitate to fall back to
the hallway as necessary. Once the archer is down, go up and get near the
undead swordsman. If you're at a distance, he'll throw fire bombs at you so
get near him so you can easily evade his melee attacks instead. Take out
the undead axeman and loot a Buckler from the corpse nearby.

Climb up the ladder near the stairs and head towards the corpse at the end
of the balcony. Be careful since there's an undead pikeman that will spring
back to life as soon as you get near. Pick up x5 Witching Urn from the
corpse and then open the door in the building to find a bonfire inside.



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Cardinal Tower
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Light it up and rest as necessary. There's also Merchant Hag Melentia
nearby. Among other things, you can purchase Lenigrast's Key from her which
can open up the smithy in Majula. You can fast-travel there after getting
the key and loot the chest inside to get a Short Bow. The room above the
bonfire is locked so ignore it for now. Aside from the common consumables,
Melentia also sells x5 Human Effigies for 1500 souls each and a Pharro's
Lockstone.

Before going down the ladder beside the bonfire, you can jump off from the
ledge of the balcony to reach land on the wooden scaffolding below.
Continue following the scaffolding along the wall to reach a hanging corpse
containing a Human Effigy. Go down and you'll find another lootable corpse
hanging on a fallen tree. Get a Torch and a Soul of the Lost Undead. Be
careful not to fall down below since there are a lot of enemies waiting
there. Lure them one by one and take them out.

Once clear, enter the smaller tunnel to reach a corpse containing a Hollow
Soldier Helm. Next, walk all the way towards the rubble at the end of the
courtyard to find a corpse containing Lifegem x3.

Backrack to the burning tunnel and enter it. Be careful since two undead
swordsman will attack you from behind. After taking care of them, loot the
Soul of a Proud Knight (Soul +2000) from the corpse along the way. There's
a chest right behind the door nearby that contains a Fire Longsword. You
must open it quickly enough so that when the salamander lobs a fire ball,
your opening animation will render you temporarily invulnerable.

Return to the bonfire in the Cardinal Tower using a Homeward Bone so you
don't have to walk all the way back. This item however, resets enemies so
might as well rest in the bonfire to replenish your HP, spells, Estus Flask
and repair your equipment. If you have opened  Lenigrast's shop the first
time around, you can go back there now and spend some souls in
strengthening your equipment.

Climb down the ladder and immediately attack the sitting undead. There's
another undead pikeman that will come your way so evade and take it out as
well. Cross the bridge and do not loot the corpse immediately. Hit the
undead swordsman that's pretending to be dead then loot a Soul of a Lost
Undead from the corpse. Both doors on this side and the side where you came
from is locked so backtrack to the bridge and enter the only open doorway
here.

Hit the undead at the base of the stairs and remove the mist to reach
another area of the castle. This is an annoying stage but necessary
nonetheless. First, be careful of the archers. There are two on the
scaffolding in the middle and one along the walls. Start by dropping off
the balcony to the right. Take out the axeman and the archer at ground
level then climb the ladder. Head to the middle scaffolding and lure the
undead pikeman out. Bring him to the rooftop where you came from and finish
him there. Next, defeat the undead longbowman.

Run across the middle platform and make your way to the broken tower to the
left. Defeat the undead guard there and loot a torch from the corpse. Drop
off the other end of the tower and climb up the roof again to make your way
back to the middle platform.

Now make your way to the rooftop in the middle and drop off from the
opening on the roof to the floor below. Drop off once more and find the
wooden pathway leading back to ground level. You should find a lootable
corpse beside a gate containing a Titanite Shard. Follow the wooden walkway
again to reach the ladder you used to climb back up the rooftop.

Head to the rooftop in the middle and do a sprint-jump to reach the other
platform. Jump on the lower ledge near the tunnel. Enter the tunnel and
carefully walkt towards the corpse. Don't run as a boulder will roll down
from the slope to the left. Loot the corpse nearby to get a Human Effigy.

Go up the slope and talk to the traveler named Cale. Keep talking to him to
retrieve the House Key. This is the very key needed to open the house in
Majula. Continue to the end of the tunnel to get an Amber Herb from the
corpse. Now leave the tunnel and climb up the ladder to your immediate
left. This will take you back to the starting point of the area.

Since you have the House Key, you can return to the bonfire in the Cardinal
Tower and travel back to Majula to loot the contents of the House. The
corpse in the first floor has a Pharros' Lockstone while the chest on the
second floor contains x3 Torches and x3 Titanite Shards. If you head down
to the basement of the house, you'll find a fast, green skeleton. The best
way to deal with this is to parry its attacks and do an immediate
counterattack. It can also drop a Human Effigy. Reach the bottom of the
mansion to get an Estus Flask Shard from the skeleton by the wall and a
Soul Vessel from the chest. Soul Vessels can be shown to the Fire Keepers
and allow you to re-allocate your level and skills.

Return to the Cardinal Tower and make your way to the same area where you
accessed the tunnel. This time, follow the root until you reach the other
side of the wall. There are enemies waiting ahead so take them out. There's
an enemy standing on the edge of the next ledge that can throw fire bombs
so climb the first ladder along the way and take it out.

Shortly after, a large knight called The Pursuer will drop from the sky.
This is an optional encounter so I suggest don't fight him for now. After
escaping him by leaving the platform, he will leave and you're free to
continue exploring the area as necessary.

Continue to the corner and climb down the ladder. Check the corpse beside
the stairs to find a Green Blossom. There's also an opening on the wall to
the right. Don't enter it yet since the ballistas will trigger and fire.
Wait for the enemies to chase after you and destroy them outside. Be
careful though since these undead guards are quite dangerous with their
lunge attack. Once done, loot the corpses in front of the ballista to get a
Great Soul Arrow, Blue Wooden Shield and Large Soul of a Lost Undead.

In the same room, climb down the ladder and defeat the undead inside. Open
the chest and immediately roll out to avoid getting caught in the poison
gas. Obtain a Titanite Shard from there. There's also a Pharros Contraption
here that will require a Pharros Lockstone to activate it. If you have one,
you can destroy the wall where the face appears and it will reveal two
chests inside containing a Chloranthy Ring and a Titanite Slab.

Climb back up. There are several smaller areas you can explore here.
There's a pikeman sitting near a gate ahead named Pate. If you enter the
the gate next to him, it will shut behind you, trapping you inside. Take
out the enemies in the small courtyard and more enemies inside the hallway.
Before you go to loot the corpse, a couple of undead pikemen will attack
you. Take them out and get the Aromatic Ooze x3 from the corpse.

More enemies are waiting upstairs. The dangerous of them are the shielded
undead spearmen. They'll deflect your attacks and counterattack with their
long spears. After clearing the hallway, you'll reach another section of
the wall. You can now go around the locked gate and continue exploring.

The heavy, maul-wielding knight guarding the gate can be lured towards you.
It's intimidating and can deal heavy damage but it can killed quite easily
as well. Just don't fight it on the same area since there are enemies
throwing fire-bombs at you.

After defeating the heavy knight, enter the small area to the right to find
a giant's remains (creepy-looking tree). Before going there, make sure to
hit and defeat the undead guard sitting on the wall. Behind the tree is a
corpse that has a Large Soul of the Lost Undead.

Climb the ladder nearby and loot the Light Crossbow from the corpse along
the way. Enter the room and sprint-jump on the ledge across to loot another
corpse containing a Soul of a Nameless Soldier and a Torch.

Be careful when falling below as there are three undead guards below. If
you have a ranged weapon or a thrown projectile you looted from enemies,
this is a good time to use them. Kill all enemies below then open the chest
to get a Mail Breaker and an Infrantry Helm.

Get past the heavy guard and take the stairs to the right to loot a Lifegem
and a Homeward Bone from the corpse. There are a couple of shielded
spearmen ahead so be careful when taking them out. Continue to the end of
the corridor to find another corpse. The nearby undead will rise so attack
it before it fully stands up. Loot a couple of Amber Herbs from the nearby
corpse.

Carefully climb up the sword statue and lure the spearman there. There is
also another undead swordsman that will attack you from behind so be
careful. Once they're taken care of, loot the Halberd and a Soul of a
Nameless Soldier from the corpse.

Go back down and enter the misty door. Head to the right first and kill the
enemy sitting on the wall along the way. Search the room to find a corpse
at the bottom of the stairs. Obtain a Lifegem and Large Leather Shield from
it. Head to the left this time and loot the corpse to get Fire Arrow x10.
Open the door that leads as a shortcut to the Cardinal Tower bonfire. Use
it and do what you need llike reinforcing your equipment, leveling up or
restocking healing items.

When ready, step on the lift. Once done, walk along the corridor and take
out the undead guard standing in front of the door to the left. Go through
the misty path and fight the boss.


###################################
###### Boss: The Last Giant #######
###################################


The Last Giant isn't a hard boss, as long as you know his attacks. His
basic attack include swiping the ground using his arm. The best move to
counter this is by rolling towards him and delivering at least two strikes
on his legs. Make sure you have enough stamina to roll away when he starts
to stomp. Sometimes, the boss will fall down. You have to clear out of the
way otherwise you'll get instantly killed. If you managed to get out of the
way in time, you should get free hits at the boss while it's down. Keep
doing this until he goes down to 50% HP.

At that level, he break off his left arm and use it as a club. His swiping
attacks have much longer range now so just rull towards him and avoid his
stomp. After the battle, you'll get the Soul of the Last Giant and Soldier
Key. Melentia will also move to Maluja after the battle.



***********************************
Post-Boss Exploration
***********************************


The Soldier Key allows you to open several previously locked doors in this
location. The first one is located on the top of the Cardinal Tower
bonfire. Loot the chest inside to get a Small Leather Shield and Repair
Powder. Defeat the guard sitting on the wall then loot the corpse behind
the wagon to get a Hand Axe and a Radiant Lifegem. Open the door to find
the lone chest containing an Estus Flask Shard and a Small White Sign
Soapstone. From there, peek through the hole to find a hanging corpse on
the tree root. Loot it to get a Diving Blessing.


The locked door across the burning pit with the salamander, right under the
bonfire. After opening the door, go straight and loot the chest there to
get a Ring of Restoration and Torch x3. Equip this ring immediately since
it will gradually recover your HP. If you head outside, there's a massive
black door that will tell you to "produce the symbol of the King". Just
take note of this place and leave for now.

Another locked door is found in the next room under the Cardinal Tower
bonfire, right before you reach the flooded open area with a tunnel. Go
downstairs and take out the undead sitting to your immediate left. This is
a long corridor filled with various enemies. In the corridor to the left
lies a corpse containing x3 Black Firebomb and a Homeward Bone. At the end
of the corridor you'll find another corpse containing a Torch.

Open the door which leads to an area outside. Enter the next door and take
out the mauler there. Climb the ladder to find a couple more maulers.
Defeat them then loot the corpse of nearby to get a Soul of a Nameless
Soldier and x3 Cracked Red Eye Orb.

Climb back down using the ladder where you came from and continue along the
corridor. Take out the undead there and loot the corpse to get a Bastard
Sword. Exit the room and defeat the mauler standing by the gate then loot
the corpse behind him a Green Blossom and Amber Herb.

Continue through the ruins and head to the next building. Enter the large
opening and you should be able to light up a new bonfire (Soldier's Rest).
Go up the platform in the corner to find a chest containing several items:
Large Soul of a Proud Knight, Hunter's Hat, Leather Armor, Leather Gloves,
and Leather Boots. That's all there is in this area so fast-travel using
the bonfire to leave the area.

The next locked door that can be opened by the Soldier Key is located in
the same corridor where a giant stone blade was found. You can access it
easily by fast-traveling to the Cardinal Tower bonfire and go to the left
past the lift.

After opening the door, continue upstairs. Beware of the shielded spearman
and pikeman. Continue upstairs and you'll find a misty door. Before
entering it, take the stairs to the right and loot the corpse for a Soul of
a Nameless Soldier and Lifegem x3. The enemy behind the misty door is The
Pursuer himself. Before fighting him, make sure that you've used your souls
already, especially if you stocked quite a bit after defeating the Last
Giant. If you killed while fighting The Pursuer, you don't have any way of
retrieving your dropped souls permanently until you defeat him.


###################################
######## Boss: The Pursuer ########
###################################


He is especially challenging because of his speed and his weapon's wide
range so when fighting him, you have to keep on the defensive and attack
him whenever there's an opening. This battle will be easier once you have
enough stamina to evade several times and land some attacks. Don't bother
blocking his attacks if your character is not efficient in handling shields
since it will consume a lot of stamina. When you see him readying for a
charge, move towards him and evade to his right side (to the left of your
character). This will ensure that you'll evade his upward slash and attack
him from behind.

There are ballistas here that can fatally wound him and allow you for a
quick kill but lining it up and timing your fire can be challenging, not to
mention that the ballistas can be destroyed. Your best hope is to evade and
attack as soon as his combos stop. When you have a stronger weapon and
higher stats, you should be able to defeat him and survive his attacks.

If you examine the nest in the area behind the Pursuer, you'll be taken by
a bird to Lost Bastille. Fortunately, there's a bonfire from where you'll
land that you can use to travel back if you selected it by mistake.

In the same area, carefully drop down the broken part of the wall to find a
corpse. Loot it to find a Drangleic Sword, Drangleic Shield and a Drangleic
armor set. The Drangleic Shield provides a 100% damage reduction rate,
perfect for some upcoming boss battles. Its low STR requirement makes it a
very good shield for almost any melee-based class early on.  




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++ 004 HEIDE'S TOWER OF FLAME ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Go downstairs through the opening between Shalquoir's shop and the path
leading to the Victory Stone. There's a contraption in the middle that you
can't operate for now so leave it for the meantime.

There's a chest along the way. Open it for a Crimson Parma. To open the
floodgate, keep walking to the right and you'll find the switch that you
can pull there. Continue forth and you'll find a corpse. Loot it for a Soul
of a Lost Undead and a Broken Thief Sword. Keep following the path until
you reach the next area.

There are bulky, powerful yet slow Old Knights here that you must fight.
They have the same, predictable 3-hit combo attack that can be easily
evaded. These knights can also be farmed for their good amount of souls
early on. There's also a bonfire (Heide's Ruin) to the right of the first
Old Knight.

Defeat the second Old Knight to get a Sublime Bone Dust. This item
permanently upgrades your Estus Flask when burned in the Far Fire in
Majula. Behind the second Old Knight lies a corpse hanging by the balcony.
Loot it for a Soul of a Nameless Soldier and a Human Effigy. Go upstairs
and defeat the third Old Knight. After defeating it, a lever will raise
behind him. Pull down the lever to raise the other platform in the tower
ahead. This will be very helpful in a boss battle later. Loot the corpse
behind the heavy door to get a Lloyd's Talisman.

Continue to the next tower where three more Old Knights are waiting. You
can snipe and agrro them one by one or lure them yourself. The Old Knight
in the middle is the most dangerous since his massive weapon can deal
massive damage to you. Make sure you lure him away and fight him in an open
space, like the area where the first and second Old Knight are located.
Once you've defeated the three, a lever near the broken pillars facing the
tower will be revealed. Pull it to raise another outer platform in the
tower. Like the other lever, this one will help a lot in a boss battle.

From here you have to two paths; the path to the left leads to the
Cathedral of Blue where you can fight the Old Dragonslayer boss while the
path to the right leads to a derelict tower beyond a misty door leads to
the Old Dragonrider boss. Defeating him will give you access to the Tower
of Flame bonfire, the cleric Licia, and the pathway leading to No-Man's
Wharf. Both of these bosses drop Boss Souls that can be used to purchase
powerful weapons through specific NPCs later on. You can also obtain a
large amount of souls after defeating them, making it easier for you to
level up a few notches.

On the way to the Dragonrider tower, you'll find a chest on a precarious
platform. Open it to get Green Blossom x3.


###################################
###### Boss: Old Dragonrider ######
###################################


He is slow but he has a long range of attack. The best moment to attack him
is when he finishes his lunge attack. Be careful when attacking him when
he's swinging his halberd. Also, keep circling him to his left. This will
allow you to move past his shield and deal heavier damage to his back.
Don't be greedy; its always safe to be sure. As long as you land hits and
avoid his attacks, you should be able to defeat him.

Another strategy to defeat him involves NOT operating the levers that will
raise the platforms in his area. Wait for him at the edge of the battle
area and evade when he uses his thrust attack. When done correctly, he
should fall down, instantly killing him. 



**********************************
The Tower of Flame
**********************************


After defeating the Dragonrider, go upstairs to find the second bonfire
(Tower of Flame) and Licia. You can buy various Faith based miracles from
her – very helpful if you're playing as a cleric. Talk to her and exhaust
her dialogue as well. This will prompt her to move to Majula, beside the
contraption you encountered earlier. You must pay 2000 souls to move it.

After clearing the alternate path, loot the corpse along the way to get a
Rogue Water. Continue following the straightforward path and you'll find an
NPC sitting on a chair. He doesn't seem have any significance for now so
continue ahead and you'll find a bonfire. This is a new area called
Huntsman's Copse. You don't need to explore it for now but lighting up the
bonfire will allow you to easily fast-travel there later on.



**********************************
Cathedral of Blue
**********************************


For now, return to the Tower of Flame bonfire and backtrack to the central
hall where there are three Old Knights waiting. Defeat them if you want
then continue to the path to the left. Two more Old Knights will be waiting
there so take them out then loot the corpse hanging by the broken staircase
to the left. Obtain a Divine Blessing from it.

Continue upstairs and take out the Old Knight there. This will reveal a
lever that you can operate to lower the drawbridge. Go up the drawbridge
and loot the chest and corpse to the left to find an Old Radiant Lifegem
and a Ring of Binding and Human Effigy x5 from the chest. The Ring of
Binding is a very important item as it significantly reduces the HP
reduction effects of Hollowing. Equip it immediately.  Beyond the misty
door is another boss. Make sure to prepare before entering.


###################################
##### Boss: Old Dragonslayer ######
###################################


This boss uses a spear and lunge attacks that can quickly close the
distance even if you try to stay away from him. One good strategy is to
keep close and keep circling around him, evading and counterattacking when
he swings his spear. He also has a projectile attack and an AoE
(area-of-effect) attack which you should avoid by staying away.

Timing your evasion can be tricky since the boss is fast as well. However,
as long as you learn his stance, you'll  be able to anticipate the
following attack and how to react to it.  Running out of stamina to evade
is always bad news so don't get cocky and hit more than 3 times in a row,
unless your stamina can accommodate it.

Defeating the Dragonslayer will give you 20,000 souls, Old Dragonslayer
Soul and Old Leo Ring. Go through the next door and you'll find two chests.
Loot them for Cracked Blue Orb x3 and Heide Knight Iron Mask and Tower
Shield in the next schest.

The NPC here is Targray of the Blue Sentinels. Bring him a Token of
Fidelity and he'll allow you to join the covenant. This is obtained by
helping another player defeat a boss as a phantom.

There's also a narrow staircase between the balcony where Targray is
standing and the Old Dragonslayer rooms. Go downstairs to find the
Cathedral of Blue bonfire. Light it up and use it to fast travel as
necessary. Make your preperations to leave for No-man's Wharf.


**********************************
Departure to No-Man's Wharf
**********************************


Fast-travel to Tower of Flame bonfire, continue ahead and go down the
spiral staircase. After reaching the base of the stairs, search the corpse
behind it to find a Monastery Charm. Defeat the two Old Knights here and
follow the path straight ahead to find three corpses containing Human
Effigy, Dark Troches, Soul of a Proud Knight, and Old Knight Halberd.

Enter the doorway in the middle and go downstairs. Take out the Old Knight
hanging right outside the next doorway and another one along the corridor
if you turn right. There's nothing of interest in the corridor to the left
so ignore it for now. Continue along the path until you find a lift. Ride
it down and follow the flooded tunnel.

Along the way, you'll find a small doorway guarded by an Old Knight. Defeat
it and continue upstairs. Turn to the right to find a chest in an alcove at
the end. Open it to get a Knight Armor Set. (Helm, Armor, Gauntlets and
Leggings)

Backtrack to the flooded tunnel and continue along the main path until you
reach another tunnel leading to a cavern. Follow the path and you'll find a
bonfire called No-Man's Wharf. There's also an NPC named Lucatiel. Exhaust
her dialogue during this conversation and she'll offer you assistance by
allowing you to summon her on specific areas of the game. (Sinner's Rise,
Iron Keep, No-man's Wharf, Black Gulch)

Continue along the path and you'll reach No-man's Wharf. Before going in,
make sure you have at least one Pharros Lockstone in your possession.




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++ 005 NO-MAN'S WHARF ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This area is crawling with undead. Start off by running to the left. Be
careful not to fall to the water since the area is poorly lit. Take note of
the gunpowder bombers. They won't do damage on their own but once you're
hit by a fire arrow, you'll die instantly. If you get hit by gunpowder,
make sure to wash it off by rolling in the water. Once you've reached the
house, eliminate the undead on the first floor and head to the second
floor. You'll find a chest there containing a Titanite Shard and a corpse
in the balcony that has a Soul of a Proud Knight.

Continue to the walkway and beware of the heavy swordsman that will come at
you. Defeat it and destroy the archer. Next, go down to the shallow water
and loot the Large Soul of a Lost Undead and a Lifegem from the submerged
corpse.

Carefully walk towards the destroyed houses to aggro the enemies and take
care of them one by one. Enter the first house to the left to find Dark
Pine Resin x3 from the corspe inside. Be careful when walking towards the
stone house since there's a lurking beast there that can cause Bleeding
damage. This enemy is afraid of the light so lighting up your torch when
fighting these things will help a lot.

Head inside the house where the beast is lurking to find a corpse that has
x10 Iron Arrow. Next, climb the stairs and turn to the first right. Get rid
of the enemies here including an undead hound. There is a couple of 
archers on the top of the building. Don't get inside the building yet since
there are a lot of undead skirmishers to deal with. Pick them off one by
one. Once clear, head inside the building and open the chest behind the
counter to get a Bandit Axe and Brigand armor set (Brigand Hood, Armor,
Gauntlets and Trousers)

Carefully go upstairs and take out the archers and another berserker. Loot
the Titanite Shard and Repair Powder from the chest. Leave the building and
operate the Pharros Contraption in front of it. This will light up a large
chandelier that will illuminate the area. From there, move forward a bit
and hop to the roof of the house earlier to find a corpse containing a
Large Soul of a Proud Knight and x3 Small Smooth and Silky Stone.

Return to the stairs and continue to higher ground. Defeat the two enemies
here and continue along the path. There's an undead hound and skirmisher
inside the house to the left. After dealing with them, follow the path and
take the next stairs again.


*******************************
Lonesome Gavlan
*******************************


Along the path you'll find another large building with several of those
pesky mutated primate beasts. The Pharros Contraption you activated earlier
will keep them at bay and will allow you to safely snipe them from a
distance. Don't forget to loot the Emit Force and Large Soul of a Lost
Undead from the corpse hanging by the edge of the cliff.

Take out the beasts and open the next room of the building. Quickly fall
back since there are three more of those beasts inside and they can destroy
the whole wall itself. After dealing with those three, enter the house
again and you'll find another beast on the second floor. Take it out and
open the next door. Here you'll find two chests. One of them is trapped so
quickly leave the room to avoid getting killed. Loot the Greatsword from
the safe chest and x2 Silver Talismans from the rigged chest.

The NPC here is named Gavlan and is the only NPC in the game that purchases
items from you. Another thing to note is that he will move from this
position after talking to him so make sure you have all your unnecessary
equipment with you before talking to him. He also sells various poison and
anti-poison items.



*******************************
Summoning the Derelict Ship
*******************************


After dealing with Gavlan, leave the building and continue forth to the
next set of wooden houses. There's an enemy waiting in the first and second
floors. Go upstairs and pull the lever there to make the ship move and
dock. After that jump off the ledge nearby and collect Lifegem x2 and a
Homeward Bone from the corpse.

Drop off another ledge and enter the house. Loot the Fire Arrow x10 from
the corpse along the stairs quickly. There are two of those beasts in the
lower floor so its up to you if you want to engage them or leave them.
Continue to the lower ground and make sure to enter the house beside the
tavern and go to the third floor. There's a switch here that you can pull
to open the iron gate beside the tarvern. This will serve as a shortcut in
case something unfortunate happens.


*******************************
Boarding the Ghost Ship
*******************************

There's also a house near near the ledge facing the docks that have two
undead soldiers inside and lots of poison vials. Destroy them from a
distance since poison in this game is a big deal. Open the chest to find an
Estus Flask Shard. The corpse behind the large rurns contain a Flame
Butterfly and Throwing Knives x7.

Take the stairs leading to the docks and you'll find a broken building with
more of those long-limbed beasts. There's nothing there so you can just run
past them. Loot a Human Effigy and Lifegem from the corpse near the shallow
water and continue along the walkway.

The walkway is divided to two paths. One leads to the ship the other leads
to an NPC, Carhillion. He is the merchant for sorcerers and he will only
talk to those with high enough INT. Next, approach the boat carefully.
Archers and swordsmen will appear and the best way to deal with them is
lure the swordsmen away and get rid of them before taking care of the
archers. Once done, go downstairs and go through the misty door to fight
the boss.


###################################
###### Boss: Flexible Sentry ######
###################################


This boss as two sides; one side has clubs as weapons while the other has
swords. The clubs are slower but can deal bleeding damage while the swords
are faster and has wider range. Use the pole in the middle to separate
yourself from the boss. Even with this limited space, you should be able to
keep a safe distance from them, especially if you're using spells or
miracles. Melee fighters can roll out towards the pole and it will stop the
bosses combos most of the time. Just anticipate their movement and evade at
the right time before their weapons connect.

You'll get the Flexible Sentry Soul after defeating it. Head to the next
room and loot the chest to get a Pyromancy Flame and Fireball. Next,
examine the compass to operate the ship and head to the next land.




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++ 006 LOST BASTILLE +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There are two ways in reaching this place; one is by using the ship in
No-man's Wharf. You can only use the ship after defeating the Flexible
Sentry. The other method is by defeating The Pursuer in the Forest of the
Fallen Giants which by then you'll have to examine the nest in the area
behind where you fought him and you'll be carried by an eagle to this
location.


****************************
Arrival via air
****************************


As soon as you land, you can light up the bonfire. Go to the main path and
follow the narrow ledge to the left. Before going to the balcony, keep
going left while carefully hugging the wall to find a corpse containing a
Large Titanite Shard and Radiant Lifegem.

Enter the next room through the window and take out the crossbowman. There
are a lot of hounds in the bottom floor and they do drop various Souls
items. You can also drop a gunpowder barrel from the ledge to kill all
enemies caught up with the explosion below. Make sure to fall back away
from the edge so you won't get caught in the explosion. Open the door and
loot the lone chest containing an Antiquated Key and Covetous Silver
Serpent Ring. The latter increases the amount of souls you can collect from
defeating enemies, enabling you to earn more souls when farming enemies.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Note: The Hounds drop various Souls and even Human Effigies when farmed.|
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make your way first towards the tower with a black door. Blow up the
gunpowder barrel and open it. This can only be opened from this side and
will you connect you to the path leading back to the dock which you will
access if you rode the ship from No-Man's Wharf. This door will remain open
permanently no matter which path you came from.

Now climb back up and enter the tower from the door you opened. You'll find
an NPC here named Lucatiel if you're able to talk to her and exhaust her
dialogue in the No-Man's Wharf bonfire. (she's a summon NPC on your way to
the boss in Sinner's Rise) You have to cross the broken pillar to the left
and enter the door there. This will lead to the sentinels boss area. Refer
to the "Making Way to the Sentinels" section below.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Note: If you have the Antiquated Key and Pharros Lockstone, you can     |
| SKIP the annoying and frustratingly hard Sentinel Boss Battle.          |
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------


****************************
Ship Arrival
****************************


Leave the dock and enter the bastion. Ride the lift up and inspect the
prison cell beside the lever to find a corpse containing a Soul of a Proud
Knight and Radiant Lifegem. Continue along the stairs and enter the broken
prison cell to your right. Loot the skeleton there to get Common Fruit x2.
A few steps from that, you'll find the area's bonfire inside a prison cell
to your left. Liht it up and continue forth.

Follow the walkway and you'll encounter a non-hostile white knight. You can
defeat him and get his Heide Spear. Be careful when fighting him since the
pathway's narrow and his spear has both range and wide reach.

Take the ladder down and prepare to encounter some hounds in the courtyard.
Destroy the scaffolding nearby to make the corpse fall down. Loot an
Alluring Skull from it. Break the wooden barricade to the right and destroy
the enemy inside. The door inside this room is locked and can only be
opened if you acquired the Antiquated Key outside the room near the Towers
Apart bonfire. (See above) There is a lootable corpse inside the small
room; beware of the two undead inside. Get x2 Flame Butterfly.

Leave the room and continue to the next path this time. There's a narrow
path beside the wall that's blocked by a wooden scaffolding. Destroy it and
follow the path to reach a chest containing a Estus Flask Shard and a Large
Titanite Shard.

Backtrack to the main path and you'll encounter a large gate. Open it by
pulling the contraption to the right. Kill the two hounds and carefully go
to the stairs. There's an enemy waiting above which will kick an explosive
barrel. Just go upstairs enough to make him react then fall back to avoid
the explosion. Kill off that enemy and continue forth.

Walk a bit and take out the hounds. There's also a lootable corpse in a
deadend to your right. Obtain a Gold Pine Resin from it. Lure the hound
towards you then kill the scythe-wielding enemy ahead. Continue to the
tower and if you have talked to  Lucatiel in the bonfire leading to
No-Man's Wharf, you'll find her inside the tower. Speak to her to get a
free Human Effigy. Exhaust her dialogue too.

Outside the tower where Lucatiel is a broken part of the path which you can
walk on and reach the ladder. Go up the ladder to find a corpse containing
a Large Titanite Shard.


****************************
Making Way to the Sentinels
****************************


Note: There’s a way to get past the sentinels and just come back for them
later. If you defeated The Pursuer in the Forest of the Fallen Giants and
arrived in Lost Bastille after getting carried by a giant eagle, you’ll
come across a room near the bonfire where several hounds and a hollow
crossbowman on a ledge. The door behind them will lead outside to a lone
chest containing an Antiquated Key. This key can be used to open a door
past the boarded doorway in the first courtyard, right after the white
knight’s location. You’ll traverse this area when you arrive via ship.

There's also a broken pillar outside the tower which will allow you to
access the heavy black door ahead. Be warned though; there are aroung 5-6
royal guards inside. Fighting them up close is suicide. Characters with
ranged attacks may be better of picking them off one by one. Melee fighters
can run around by jumping around the ledge and crossing the pillar again to
separate the enemies and engage them one at a time.

Go downstairs and take the ladder to the bottom floor and loot the corpse
beside it to get a Soul of a Proud Knight and a Human Effigy. Don't bother
opening the iron door at the base of the stairs since it leads to a free
fall. Climb back up the ladder and check the second prison cill to your
right. Loot x2 Radiant Lifegem from the skeleton there and you'll have to
go through the misty door this time.

Like any other boss fights, if you're carrying a lot of souls at the
moment, make sure to spend them; you don't want to keep getting distracted
retrieving your lost souls in the heat of a boss battle or risking of
losing it permanently. Just run through the enemies and do your best to
preserve your HP until you reach the bosses. Once you're ready to battle,
make your way to the misty door. The same prison cell that has a lootable
skeleton has a Summon Sign where you can get the help of a phantom. Take
note that you can only see this while you're human.


##############################################################
#### Boss: Sentinels of Ruin: Alessia, Ricce, and Yahim ######
##############################################################

You'll be fighting three sentinels in this room; all are fast, all are
powerful and all of them have long and wide range. These are pretty bad
news for melee characters. As soon as you enter the mist, Yahim will ambush
you. Block it with your shield or roll away to avoid damage. Do not fall
off the ledge; otherwise you'll have to take on the other two sentinels at
the same time. Time your attacks and heal whenever he finishes his swings.
If ever Yahim is thrown out of the ledge, watch him to see his position. He
will be able to jump back to the ledge and attack you at the same time.

It wil be tough dealing with them alone. One good strategy is to summon
mage NPC and tank the damage by using a shield. You should make sure that
Yahim is dealt with in the upper ledge; the battle will become harder if
you reach the ground and Yahim is still alive. Don't rush this battle; just
block/evade then attack only when necessary. They don't have that much HP
but their attacks make it a real problem.

If you're able to defeat Yahim, get the aggro of the remaining sentinels by
attacking them yourself. As long as the enemies are focused on you, your
summoned phantom should be able to hit them with their attacks. Remember to
attack whenever you can as well; the faster one of them goes down, the
better. This will also ensure that the aggro will remain on you.

If ever the phantom is vanquished before you can do some real damage,
you'll have to rely on proper timing of evasion or blocks to survive. The
spinning attack is probably the most dangerous as it leaves you with little
space to evade and it hits multiple times. Another problem is that if all
their attacks connect, your stamina will be depleted, leaving you
vulnerable.

Another attack to watch out is when a sentinel leaps in the air and slams
its halberd down. If hit, it deals tremendous damage and any following
attack will surely kill you unless you've healed. Just remember to attack
only after their attack land. Don't try to interrupt their attacks as it
will be disadvantegous to you.

This battle is frustrating and you will die several times because of your
miscalculations or the enemies are just plain unforgiving. Nevertheless,
you can still do it without a phantom ally. It's doable but really, really
frustrating, especially for other classes.


************************************
Accessing Pharros‘ Treasure Room
************************************


After defeating the sentinels, go through the exit and go upstairs. Jump to
the next ledge to reach the hanging corpse with x3 Homeward Bone. You can
reach this ledge by properly launching off the protruding debris along the
edge of the ledge you came from.

Go back and take the stairs again, this time enter the narrow corridor to
the right. As soon as you enter, pick up the Soul of a Nameless Soldier
from the skeleton to your right. There's also a exploding undead on the
last cell to the left so don't get caught unprepared. Finally, a much
needed bonfire is found here.

Take the ladder down and kill the hound. There's a corpse in the corner
containing a Large Club and a chest containing a Priest's Chime. There's
also a Pharros Contraption here. Put a Lockstone on it then destroy the
wall where the face appears to reveal the pathway leading to Belfry Luna.
Don't go there yet since there are still some areas to explore.

Leave the room and take out the sentry roaming around the walkway. Enter
the tower and take out another sentry waiting outside the next pathway to
the left. Go to the rooftops and loot the body to get x3 Flame Butterfly.
There are several hounds in the lower ground be careful when you fall down.
If you're a ranged character, snipe them from the rooftop. If you're a
melee character, make sure to fight them from a narrow corner so you won't
get cornered. Having a shield will be handy in preventing their bites.

Do not hit the stone by the well since will pull up a cage containing three
undead prisoners that can deal huge amounts of damage when they slam their
bodies on the ground. They can be killed quickly but you still need to take
caution in case you lifted their cage. If ever you die by their hands, it's
a relief to know that they won't respawn like the hounds.

One of the doors is locked (if you arrived via ship and didn't get the
Antiquated Key, this door is where you'll use it) and the other door near
the well has three enemies inside, including two undead crossbowmen. Climb
the ladder in the narrow alley instead and take out the crossbowman near
the window and then the other. The remaining royal guard will go to your
position using the ladder, enabling you to ambush it.

Climb the ladder to get a Large Soul of a Nameless Soldier and Green
Blossom from the corpse near the grate. Go through the narrow corridor and
lure one of the royal guards to your left. There's also another Pharros
Contraption here that you can operate if you have a Lockstone with you.

Defeat the royal guard and loot the chests to get a Bone Staff, Parrying
Dagger and Twinblade. If you used a Pharros Lockstone to activate the
contraption, destroying the walls with face symbols will reveal chests
contaning a Wilted Dusk Herb and a Soul Vessel.

Go up the ladder and continue upstairs. This will lead you back to the main
walkway leading back to the Sentinels' room. (Which you have traversed
already several times, depending on how many retries you did to defeat the
sentinels) Make your way back to the Servants' Quarters bonfire.


*****************
Back on track
*****************


Enter the tower again and go upstairs this time. Be careful of the undead
prisoner here since it can deal huge amounts of damage when it slams the
ground with its body. The door doesn't lead anywhere so ignore it. Pull the
switch but be careful; expect three of those undead prisoners again to rush
towards you. When you see them diving towards you, quickly roll out of the
way to avoid getting damaged.

Continue along but make sure to roll when you enter the next room; an
undead prisoner will leap to you from above. The concrete containers here
contain more prisoners; they will break free as soon as you go upstairs.
Going upstairs is a bad idea since there are more wainting there. The best
way to handle this is to backtrack to the previous hallway where you came
from so you can deal with them one or two at a time.

After clearing them all, continue to the second floor and pull the switch
to lift the gate leading to a misty doorway. Open the door under the stairs
to get a Skeptic's Spice. The corpse on the ledge below has a Bonfire
Ascetic; however, you won't have any way of climbing back. The ledge below
leads to the rooms that can be revealed by a Pharros Contraption, which we
already covered earlier. It's a pretty long drop and even with the
Silvercat Ring equipped, you won't survive it unless you have a lot of HP.
If you don't want to risk it, use a Homeward Bone to return to the last
bonfire, in exchange of enemy respawns.

In the same floor where you hit the switch leading to the pathway to
Sinner's Rise, don't go up the third floor carelessly since there are a lot
of those undead prisoners waiting. There's a bonfire there but a statue is
blocking the way in. Ignore it for now  go through the gate.

Before moving on, check your immediate right to find a royal guard guarding
a corpse. Defeat it and loot the corpse for x8 Lifegems. Run across the
walkway and avoid the bolts from the crossbowmen. Enter the white mist to
reach a new area.




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++ 007 SINNER'S RISE +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Exit through the doorway and take the ladder. Light up the bonfire and rest
if you want. Take note that if you rest, three crossbowmen will appear
since this is their default position. Don't forget to loot the corpse
hanging on a ledge beside the ladder to get a Large Soul of a Lost Undead.

Climb down the ladder and go downstairs. Loot the corpse hanging in the
broken staircase to get a Human Effigy. There are three crossbowmen inside
the lift area so its up to you how to deal with them. Ride the lift down
and look down. There's ledge you can jump onto to loot a corpse containing
x5 Lacerating Knife.

If you're in human form, you'll see a summoning sign which you can use to
summon Lucatiel. She's a very powerful ally at this point, able to deal
with those beasts quite easily. Just make sure to assist her as well.   The
next area has waist-deep waters, making it hard to move around. There's
also a new type of enemy here that can deal massive damage. It's slow but
its swipe attack can easily throw you off. The best way to deal with them
is to lure them back to the lift room, get close enough to trigger its
attack animation then roll away. This will push them into the pit below.
You can farm these monsters with her help since they drop 1600 souls upon
defeat which is faster if you have Lucatiel's aid.

Go to the water and loot the corpse to the left to get a Sublime Bone Dust.
There's two more monsters in the second alcoves to the left and right. Do
the same method to take them out; just lure them one by one. Now go to the
alcove to the right where the second beast is found to loot another corpse
containing a Large Soul of a Nameless Soldier.

Carefully continue ahead; there are those annoying agile undead prisoners.
There are more inside the flooded prison cells and a couple more on the
ledges above. Make sure you deal with them one by one to avoid problems as
it will be hard to avoid their explosions.

Make your way to the main gate and loot the corpse on the last cell to the
left to get a Pharros Lockstone and a Soul of a Proud Knight. Once you're
sure that the room is clear, pull the contraption to open the main gate.
The sound of the opening gate will get the attention of the nearby
prisoners so if you didn't kill them all, they'll come rushing towards you.

Further ahead you'll find another misty door. There's a boss that lies
ahead so be very careful. The stairs leading to the left and the right
rooms need the Bastille Key to be opened. This key is dropped by the Belfry
Gargoyle located in Belfry Luna. If you don't have it, check the gap to the
left to find a corpse containing a Radiant Lifegem. If you're carrying a
lot of souls at this point, it will be up to you to risk it or return to
Majula to spend them.



############################
##### Boss: Lost Sinner ####
############################


This boss is fast and aggressive. He won't let you get any rest and you'll
have a very small window to heal yourself if needed. He can close the
distance very quickly and punish you with his fast combos if he catches you
off guard. Be on the defensive and attack only after he finishes his
strike(s). One annoying thing about this enemy is that he will immediately
leap away, making you miss then counterattack. Be careful when using slow
weapons like the mace since missing an attack will leave you open for an
immediate counterattack.

For players that has at least 30 strength, you can use the Tower Shield
from the chest after defeating the Old Dragonslayer boss. This shield has
100% physical damage reduction rate and 70 stability, enabling you to
withstand the Sinner's attacks without getting damaged and consuming too
much stamina. Melee fighters will have to rely on this since they're mostly
STR-oriented.

Human players can also summon Lucatiel in the room with the lift. She's a
valuable ally that can distract who can tank the Sinner for a while so you
can pummel it with your own attacks. This is a good strategy for sorcerers
and ranged fighters. By the time Lucatiel is vanquished, the Sinner should
be well below 50% HP, provided that you're hitting him with all your
attacks. After that, it will tough since the Sinner can easily close the
distance with his speed and aggressiveness.

When fighting the Sinner, you have to keep circling around it by moving
leftward with your shield up. As soon as it finishes its attack, use this
chance to land a hit or two. Block only his wide-arc attacks; this will
conserve your stamina. If you need to recover stamina, lower your guard
just after you block his attack and raise it again to be on the defensive.

Keep an eye to your stamina; blocking his strong attacks will almost
instantly drain your stamina, leaving your helpless. The area is also dark,
unless you light up the torches. These torches are accessible from the
locked doors outside. Lock-on is very important in this battle since it
will keep you facing the Sinner and will enable you to see his next move.
The lock-on will disappear from time to time, especially if you're fighting
in the dark. Don't rush this battle; as long as you keep damaging him while
blocking his attacks, you'll survive. In case you need healing, wait for
him to finish his combo and as soon as the last attack lands, use an Estus
Flask.


After defeating it, open the door and loot the Fragrant Branch of Yore and
an Elizabeth Mushroom from the chest after the stairs. Light up the primal
bonfire to be transported back to Majula.

The Fragrant Branch of Yore can be used to un-pretrify some NPCs. The first
example is the wizard Straid, who is blocking a bonfire leading to Sinner's
Rise or the petrified Rosabeth of Melfia in Majula's Shaded Path.




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++ 008 BELFRY LUNA +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This area requires a Pharros Lockstone. You can find one in one of the
prison cells in the lowest level of Sinner's Rise. The entrance is also
conveniently located under the Servants' Quarters bonfire so you can travel
there as necessary.

There's a non-hostile dwarf on the right which will offer you to join the
Bell Keeper covenant if you exhaust his dialogue options. Continue upstairs
and defeat the dark spirit Bell Keeper. Loot the Skeptic's Spice from the
corpse as well.

Continue upstairs and find two more spirits. They hit hard so don't
underestimate them. Climb up the ladder and you'll face more dark spirits,
including a red one. Fortunately, there's a lot of room to run around.
Don't let them hit you with their arrows since they're accurate and can
fire quickly.

After dispatching them, loot the corper in the corner to get a Skeptic's
Spice then loot the Radiant Lifegem x2 and x2 Twilight Herb. Pull the lever
and this will raise the gate blocking the misty door below. The misty door
leads to another boss fight.


##############################
### Boss: Belfry Gargoyles ###
##############################


This is another fight where a reliable shield is a must. The gargoyles will
come to life one by one; at most you'll be fighting four at the same time.
Keep moving and avoid getting surrounded. These enemies are weak to
lightning so Clerics with good shields will have an advantage since they
can damage the gargoyles at a distance. Ranged characters won't have
problems either since they can keep distance and land a hit or two before
running away again. Lock-on must be turned on and off in the course of the
battle; this will ensure that you'll see your target while maintaining
awareness with your surroundings.

Melee characters can use long-range melee weapons to damage multiple
gargoyles. Since they're sharing the same life bar, this will deal a great
amount of damage. Take out the gargoyles one by one to make your job
easier. The gargoyles' fire breath attacks can be evaded and they'll be
vulnerable when using this. Sometimes, the other gargoyles will get stuck
by the fire breather so this is a good chance to pummel it with your ranged
attacks and spells or rush towards it away from its line of fire and
attack.

After the battle, loot the corpse near the edge of the roof to get a Soul
of a Proud Knight. Go to the next tower and go downstairs. Loot the
Southern Ritual Band from the chest then light up the bonfire.

Be careful before taking the ladder down. There's an invader there and
several hounds. If you have ranged attacks, you can snipe them from the top
of the ladder. Loot the corpse from the ground to get a Bastille Key and
the corpse on the top of the ledge to get an Enchanted Falchion.

The Bastille Key is required to open the locked door at the base of the
stairs outside, along the path from the first bonfire (Exile Holding Cells)
leading to the Sentinel Boss area. Opening this gate will lead you to a
chests containing Large Titanite Shard x2, Titanite Shard x5, Iron Arrow
x10, Heavy Bolt x10, McDuff himself and McDuff's Workshop bonfire. McDuff
is a merchant; however, you need to give him a Dull Ember to open up his
shop. This item is found in the Iron Keep.










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THIS GUIDE WILL FEATURE THE WALKTHROUGH SECTION OF THE GAME ONLY. FOR BOSS 
BATTLE VIDEOS, SCREENSHOTS AND OTHER HELPFUL TIPS, PLEASE VISIT THE ONLINE
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE BELOW. 

Illustrated guide (with screenshots and videos) can be found at: 

http://www.supercheats.com/dark-souls-ii/walkthrough/
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                        AUTHOR: PAUL MICHAEL (VHAYSTE)
                          CONTACT: [email protected]
             http://www.facebook.com/pages/vhayste/110018722374948
                            ALL RIGHTS RESERVED