This article offers a complete Dark Souls III walkthrough and guide to help you through every area of the game, find all the best items, defeat every boss, farm Embers, learn how to get the best endings , complete the Ashes of Ariandel DLC, and much more. As this guide evolves, more and more content will be added, including coverage of the Ashes of Ariandel DLC. Dark Souls III released on March 24, 2016 in Japan, and April 12, 2016 in the rest of the world. The game is available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Dark Souls III Tips
- If you’re new to Dark Souls or want an easier experience, it’s best to start as a Knight because your starting shield absorbs 100 percent of any physical damage taken. This means you can block any physical attack and you won’t sustain any damage so long as you had enough stamina to block the attack.
- Weight management is a key concern for many of the starting classes in Dark Souls III. It’s important to put a few skill points into Vitality during the early levels so you can increase the amount of weight you can carry, especially if you started as one of the classes with heavy armor.
- When you’re leveling up your character during the early portion of the game, for most classes you want to focus on Vigor, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity and Vitality. You can see a complete list of the attributes and what they do in the section below.
- The Embers of Dark Souls III have a similar function to the Human Effigies of Dark Souls II. When you’re empowered by an Ember you gain a boost to your health and are fully healed. You retain the effects of an Ember until you die. In addition, you can only summon people to help you or invade other worlds if an Ember if active. You automatically receive the power of an Ember after defeating a boss and can find Embers scattered throughout the world of Dark Souls III.
- Activate every bonfire you come across to create a fast-travel point, but do not rest at a bonfire unless you need to fast-travel or replenish your health and Estus Flasks. Any time you rest at a bonfire enemies respawn, with very few exceptions. If you just cleared an area, you may not want the enemies to respawn just yet.
- Dark Souls III adds the Ashen Estus Flask in addition to the traditional Estus Flask. While the normal Estus Flask still replenishes your health, the Ashen Estus Flask replenishes your FP meter, which is essentially your magic and special attack meter. You can speak with Andre the Blacksmith to allot these Estus Flasks however you like, even opting to go with only one type of Estus Flask (by setting the other to zero) if you so choose.
- To increase the amount of health and FP replenished by your Estus Flasks, use an Undead Bone Shard in the bonfire at the Firelink Shrine. To increase the number of Estus Flasks you can hold, give an Estus Shard to the Blacksmith at Firelink Shrine. These items impact the normal Estus Flask and Ashen Estus Flask simultaneously.
- There are very few healing items in Dark Souls III, which means a vast majority of your healing ability will come from Estus Flasks. The only way to replenish your Estus Flasks is by resting at a bonfire. Keep this in mind when playing and try to make it to the next bonfire before resting so you don’t burn through all of your Estus Flasks and then have to respawn all of the enemies to replenish your flasks.
- Pick up a ranged weapon as soon as possible. It makes the game much easier when you can attack from a distance or draw in enemies with ranged attacks to separate individual foes from a group of enemies.
- If you have difficulty defeating certain basic enemies, try using fire to defeat them. There are a large number of enemies in the game that are weak to fire, taking significant damage from firebombs, fire arrows, pyromancy spells and even your torch.
Dark Souls III The Ringed City DLC Guides
How to Start The Ringed City
Find out where you need to go to get started in the latest DLC.
How to Get Lapp’s Armor
Learn how to help Lapp learn his identity and get his armor.
How to Defeat The Demon Prince
Find out how to take down the first set of bosses in The Ringed City.
Dark Souls III Ashes of Ariandel DLC Walkthrough
How to Access the Ashes of Ariandel DLC
Find out how to get to the new Ashes of Ariandel DLC content in Dark Souls 3.
Find the PvP Arena Undead Match, Champion’s Bones
Find out how to access the Undead Match PvP Arena in the Ashes of Ariandel DLC.
Painted World of Ariandel – Find the Ethereal Oak Shield, Millwood Battle Axe, Captain’s Ashes
An in-progress walkthrough of the Ashes of Ariandel DLC in Dark Souls 3.
More coming soon!
Dark Souls III Ashes of Ariandel DLC Boss Battles
Defeat the Champion’s Gravetender and Greatwolf
Find out how to get to the first boss and how to defeat the Greatwolf and Gravetender.
More coming soon!
Dark Souls III Main Game Walkthrough
Cemetery of Ash – Find the East-West Shield
Make your way through the first area as you begin your long journey through Dark Souls 3.
Firelink Shrine – Find the Fire Keeper, Blacksmith Andre
Explore the hub area of Dark Souls III before you head out into the world to face new challenges.
Explore the Tower Behind the Firelink Shrine
Once you have at least 20,000 souls you can explore the tower for some great loot!
High Wall of Lothric – Find Greirat, Kill the Dragon, Defeat Vordt
There’s a lot to do in High Wall of Lothric, but if you’ve got the time you can slay the dragon and free Greirat!
Undead Settlement – Find Cornyx, Irina, Mortician’s Ashes, Grave Key
Explore all the side areas to add three more NPCs to the Firelink Shrine and find the Grave Key.
Road of Sacrifices – Find Orbeck of Vinheim, Horace and Anri of Astora
The Road of Sacrifices area has a lot to explore and a ton of loot to find, along with two more NPCs.
Cathedral of the Deep – Find Rosaria, Unbreakable Patches
Explore this side area to find a bevy of loot and learn how to reallocate your attributes or alter your appearance.
Farron Keep – Find the Golden Scroll, Defeat the Stray Demon
Make your way through this deadly swamp, finding loot at every turn and facing off against a Stray Demon.
Catacombs of Carthus – Beat the Demon, Find the Black Blade
Defeat the reanimating skeleton enemies as you make your way through the catacombs.
Smouldering Lake – Defeat the Carthus Sandworm, Find the Speckled Stoneplate Ring
In this optional area, make your way to the Old Demon King boss, taking down the Carthus Sandworm along the way!
Irithyll of the Boreal Valley – Find the Witchtree Branch, Dorhys’ Gnawing, Smough’s Great Hammer
Work your way through the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley area to find loot and fight Pontiff Sulyvahn!
How to Find Anor Londo, Ring of Favor, Chameleon Sorcery Spell
Once you’ve defeated Pontiff Sulyvahn you can head up to Anor Londo and gather a lot of loot along the way!
Anor Londo – Defeat Aldrich, Devourer of Gods
Make your way through Anor Londo to find and defeat Aldrich!
Irithyll Dungeon – Find the Dragon Torso Stone
Make your way through the dungeon so you can access the Profaned Capital and Archdragon Peak!
Profaned Capital – Find the Jailer’s Key Ring, Wrath of Gods Miracle
Complete both sides of the Profane Capital as you make your way toward Yhorm!
Dark Souls III Boss Battles
Defeat Iudex Gundyr, Heir of Fire
Work through the Cemetery of Ash to face off against the first boss, Iudex Gundyr
Defeat Vordt of the Boreal Valley
Go through the High Wall of Lothric to face off against the boss, Vordt of the Boreal Valley.
Defeat the Curse-rotted Greatwood, Find Siegward, Save Irina
After moving through the Undead Settlement, defeat the Curse-rotted Greatwood boss then explore the side areas!
Defeat the Crystal Sage
Continue through the Road of Sacrifices to defeat the Crystal Sage boss!
Defeat the Deacons of the Deep
After making your way through the Cathedral of the Deep, defeat the Deacons of the Deep boss!
Defeat the Abyss Watchers
Once you’ve explored Farron Keep it’s time to take on the Abyss Watchers boss!
Defeat the High Lord Wolnir
Work through the maze-like Catacombs of Carthus to face off against the High Lord Wolnir boss!
Defeat the Old Demon King
After going through Smouldering Lake, take on the Old Demon King boss!
Defeat Pontiff Sulyvahn
Cut through Irithyll of the Boreal Valley and learn how to defeat the boss, Pontiff Sulyvahn.
Defeat Aldrich, Devourer of Gods
Make your way through Anor Londo to find and defeat Aldrich!
Defeat Yhorm the Giant
This is the easiest boss battle in the game if you know what weapon to use!
Defeat the Dancer of the Boreal Valley
Head back to the High Wall of Lothric to defeat the Dancer!
Dark Souls III NPC Quests
Anri of Astora and Horace the Hushed
Find out how to get married and secure the best ending in Dark Souls 3.
Greirat the Thief
Find out how to keep Greirat alive and increase his inventory.
Giant in Undead Settlement
Learn how to stop the giant from shooting at you in three separate locations.
Irina of Carim
Find this NPC who will sell you miracles, but there’s a price to be paid if you give her the wrong tomes.
Orbeck of Vinheim
Find out how to recruit the sorcerer in the Road of Sacrifices area to sell you spells.
Sirris of the Sunless Realms
Find out how to make Sirris appear and what benefits you gain from speaking with her.
Dark Souls III Strategy Articles
How to Get the Best Ending
Find out how to get all four endings in Dark Souls 3, including the best and hardest to achieve!
How to Farm Embers and Souls
Discover the best ways to farm Embers and Souls in Dark Souls 3!
Find the Crow’s Nest and Exchange Items
A staple of the Dark Souls series is hidden on top of the Firelink Shrine in Dark Souls 3.
Yoel of Londor – Free Levels, Dark Sigil, Hollowing
You can draw out true power from Yoel, but it comes at a price, and you can only do it five times!
Best Character Class and Burial Gift Guide
Find out which starting class and burial gift best fits your play style and experience level!
Kill the High Wall of Lothric Dragon
Find out how to kill the dragon and grab the loot in the High Wall of Lothric area.
Stop the Ballista in Smouldering Lake
Find out how to stop the giant arrows from raining down upon you in Smouldering Lake.
Dark Souls III Attributes
When you speak with the Fire Keeper at Firelink Shrine, you can exchange souls for levels. In the following table you will see which attributes increase your various base and attack power, as well as how it impacts your defense.
Some attributes, such as Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence and Faith only increase your attack or spell power if you use certain weapons. For example, if you’re using a sword that has Strength as a base modifier (seen in the weapon stats), increasing Strength will increase the amount of damage that sword inflicts, but may not impact the damage of a sword with Dexterity as a base modifier. Luck improves your chances of enemies dropping items and improves the quality of items dropped.
| Dark Souls III Attribute Leveling | ||
| Attribute | Base and Attack Power | Defense |
| Attunement | Focus Points (FP) | Fire Defense |
| Dexterity | Attack Power (based on weapon) | Fire Defense |
| Endurance | Stamina | Fire and Lightning Defense |
| Faith | Spell Power (for some magic) | Fire and Dark Defense |
| Intelligence | Spell Power (for some magic) | Magic and Fire Defense |
| Luck | Item Discovery | Fire Defense |
| Strength | Attack Power (based on weapon) | All Physical Defense and Fire Defense |
| Vigor | Health Points (HP) | Fire Defense |
| Vitality | Equipment Load | All Physical Defense and Fire Defense |
Dark Souls III PC Requirements
Minimum Requirements
- OS: Windows 7 SP1 64bit, Windows 8.1 64bit Windows 10 64bit
- Processor: i3-2100 / AMD FX-6300
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti / ATI Radeon HD 7950
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 50 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 11 sound device
Recommended Requirements
- OS: Windows 7 SP1 64bit, Windows 8.1 64bit Windows 10 64bit
- Processor: i7-3770 / AMD FX-8350
- Memory: 8 GB
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 / ATI Radeon R9 Series
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 50 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 11 sound device
Dark Souls III Pre-Release Coverage
New FP System Combat Details
After a new look at what is essentially the final build, Dark Souls is getting more and more like the original Demon’s Souls.
Dark Souls 3 for a Bloodborne Player
If you’re accustomed to Bloodborne, find out how things will be different when you play Dark Souls III.
How Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne are Similar
Our time with the 30-minute Dark Souls III demo at E3 2015 shows some similarities to Bloodborne.
How to Stay Alive in Dark Souls 3
Dark Souls is one of the hardest series in recent memory. Find out a few useful tips to stay alive!
How to be Good at Dark Souls 3
We delve into the Dark Souls III E3 demo to give you some early tips to help you conquer the upcoming challenge!
Will Dark Souls 3 be the Final Chapter
Find out if Hidetaka Miyazaki is making Dark Souls III the last entry in the series.
Everything We Know About Dark Souls 3
The highly anticipated game will be here before you know it. Find out everything you need to know at this early stage!
With this free guide, you should have much less trouble beating Dark Souls III.
Published: Mar 29, 2017 09:29 pm