This article covers the Ashes of Ariandel DLC area, The Painted World of Ariandel, in Dark Souls 3. Our walkthrough and guide of the Ashes of Ariandel DLC will be evolving over the course of this week to include the location of the best items and all bonfires. All items are bolded, including the big items such as the Ethereal Oak Shield, Millwood Battle Axe, Frozen Weapon sorcery spell, Captain’s Ashes and more.
The Painted World of Ariandel Walkthrough
Once you gain access to the DLC area and watch the initial cutscene, turn around and examine the corpse to obtain two Rime-blue Moss Clumps. Head through the cave in the opposite direction to find the Snowfield bonfire ahead. Rest at the bonfire so you have a quick and easy way back to the DLC area. From the bonfire, if you run right along the mountain side you will be attacked by two knights from above. Avoid this area and instead run straight ahead toward the item corpse. Make note of the trees that look like people as they will come alive in the next portion of this area.
As you approach the item corpse you will be attacked from the right by a knight with a great spear. Dodge his attacks and defeat the knight, then collect the Large Soul of an Unknown Traveler from the corpse. Turn around and look up the hill to see five knights waiting for you. You can use arrows to draw them, over to you two at a time so you don’t have to take them all on at once.
There’s one more knight to the left of the hill near the next item corpse, but before you head toward that direction, move all the way to the far side (right if you’re facing the hill, left if you’re facing the corpse where picked up the Large Soul). Here you encounter one more knight and an ice bug. Take them out and collect the Poison Gem on the corpse at the end of the path.
As you approach the corpse, the ground falls out from under you and you drop down to the area just below. Collect the Rime-blue Moss Clump from the corpse, then you have a choice of how you proceed from here. If you head up the ice to the left you will run into a pack of wolves, several ice bugs and a number of living trees. You can skip some big items and quite a few enemies to reach the Rope Bridge Cave bonfire ahead and to the left (just before the rope bridge).
If you’re trying to collect everything, head to the far right. In this area there are a number of wolves spread out along the ice. If you encounter one, it will howl and alert the others to attack, so be ready to face a pack of wolves no matter where you go from here.
Finish off the wolves, then toward the middle of the ice to find an item corpse that holds a Rusted Coin. Further ahead there’s another item corpse in the distance to the left. As you approach the corpse, a much larger wolf appears. This is the Gravetender Greatwolf, who you will face off against during the first boss battle of this area.
For now all you have to do is get the Greatwolf down to about 60 percent health and it will disappear, leaving you three Large Titanite Shards. The Greatwolf has a few distinct attack patterns. If you stay moderately close to it, the wolf will use a single close-range biting attack, or two consecutive biting attacks that move the wolf forward slightly. Stay just out of range of these two attacks, then counter with your own attack.
If the wolf starts to charge up, one of two attacks will follow. It will quickly dash forward, or it will do a slightly shorter upward thrust with its nose that inflicts significant damage. Both attacks are easily dodged so long as you’re ready for them when the wolf begins to charge. Deplete the Greatwolf’s health, collect the Large Titanite Shards and continue forward to the item corpse to obtain the Large Soul of an Unknown Traveler.
Be careful as you approach because another pack of wolves waits just beyond the item corpse. Defeat the wolves then continue around the narrow cliff edge to find another item corpse by a tree that holds a Large Soul of an Unknown Traveler. Just ahead is a set of decrepit structures along with several large knights and a few wolves patrolling the area.
Defeat the first large knight to obtain a Heavy Gem, then proceed into the tower ahead. You can take down the other knights and wolves if you wish, or simply run past them. Most of the enemies drop various Titanite Shards, but there’s an item corpse to the far right that holds six Homeward Bones.
When you’re ready, be careful as you approach the tower as there are two knights perched above with greatbows. Just behind the last crumbling structure before you reach the tower, there’s another item corpse holding a Heavy Gem.
Inside the tower another large knight will run down the stairs to engage you. Take him out then collect the Soul of an Old Hand on the fallen knight corpse, then head up the stairs and continue up the ladder on the second floor. When you reach the top of the ladder there’s another knight standing in the opening to the side. Take him out, then take a small detour by heading down two flights of stairs to find another Crystal Lizard that gives you a Twinkling Titanite.
Once you have the item, move up to the small area between the two flights of stairs you just came down. In the corner is an item corpse that holds the Ethereal Oak Shield. Chances are this shield is better than the one you’re currently using as it absorbs 100 percent physical damage and slowly regenerates your health.
Continue up the next flight of stairs to reach the floor where the ladder ended. Now head up one more flight of stairs and look to the left to see another item corpse on the far ledge. Jump across the gap in the floor o collect the Millwood Battle Axe, then drop back down to the stairs and continue up to the top and outside. Climb up the ladder and collect the Soul of a Venerable Old Hand on the corpse to the right.
Walk across the nearby support beam and pick up the Captain’s Ashes from the second item corpse. This completes all of the items and enemies in the tower, so head back down to the ground level. To the right there’s a hill. Head up the hill to encounter the Greatwolf again. You can fight the wolf if you wish and collect three Large Titanite Shards again, but if you continue ahead the ground will give away again and you drop down to the area below.
Drop down from ledge to ledge until you reach the item corpse that holds a Large Soul of an Unknown Traveler. Collect the item, then drop down to the ground level and head to the right to see a rope bridge. At this point you are close to the Rope Bridge Cave bonfire. Head toward the rope bridge, then turn around to find a cave where the bonfire resides.
Light the bonfire, then head left up the hill if you haven’t gone this way already. This is where you would end up if you went up the hill to the left after the first time the ground gave out from under you near the beginning of the area. If you head up the hill you encounter several living trees, as well as an item corpse that holds two Black Firebombs.
Not all of the trees come alive, but both trees just beyond the item corpse does, so approach them carefully. To the left of the item corpse there’s a small open area with three ice bugs and another item corpse that holds the Frozen Weapon sorcery spell. At the very top of the hill there’s one more item corpse holding a Large Titanite Shard, but you’ll have to fight through several more living trees and a few wolves to get it. At this point you can head back to the Rope Bridge Cave bonfire.
From the bonfire you can go directly to the Gravetender Greatwolf and Champion’s Gravetender boss battle, or you can explore the other side of the DLC area. If you wish to fight the first boss now, head over to our guide on how to get to the boss and strategies for defeating it.
Stay tuned as well have the rest of the DLC area added to this walkthrough today and tomorrow! For now you can head back to our Dark Souls 3 walkthrough and guide.
Published: Oct 26, 2016 07:29 pm