Dark Souls 100 Percent Walkthrough
Priamo Gregory
I have decided to make a guide to help people who are new to the game and want to start as a caster, and especially a Sorcerer, or those of you who have already ran through the game and want to know how to build one.
I will tell you the order in which you should explore all of the different areas so you can get the best gear as soon as it becomes available to you. I will mention every item of interest and tell you where to get them, including all the best spells, rings, armor sets and weapons for each type of caster. I will also mention which boss souls can be traded for the strongest weapons and how to best infuse them.
I will mention 3 important milestones where you will have respectively achieved True Mage, Archmage and Battlemage status. You can stop following this guide at any of those milestones. The first one is easy to achieve, the second one not that far from the first, but the last milestone will take a lot of time and dedication.
The Lion Mage set, an incredible armor set that you will wear for most of the game and we'll hunt down ASAP, also looks much better on a female toon, even if it can be worn by males. Each piece of the set increases casting speed.
Finally, another very interesting set, the Throne Watcher set, has the best Magic RES of any heavy set except Havel's. You will get it by the end of the game, when you're strong enough, and it's also meant for females.
The first option is picking the Sorcerer class, of course. You will then start with a spell and a catalyst, but with a basic Dagger you will find in the intro level anyway. You will have very low survivability for a good while, since your starting build is focused on spell casting alone. So in time, you will have to invest points in STR, DEX, END, VIG and VIT to get more physical DEF and be able to deal better DMG with your Dagger, or the weapon you will replace your Dagger with.
The second option is actually picking the Knight class. You will get an excellent armor set (the Falconer set can keep you company for a very long time, honestly, plus it looks amazing), a good first weapon and good survivability. Then, ASAP, you will have to put points in INT and ATN to use sorceries or hexes as a back-up.
Also of note, any class can become a Pyromancer, since pyromancies can be used without any investment in INT, ATN or FAI. That being said, your Fire DMG and RES will be higher if you do invest in FAI and INT. Pyromancy is intended for physical builds who want a magical option without having to commit to anything. So Pyromancers can choose any starting class, really. I would pick a Knight or a Cleric, though.
Nothing is very interesting for us in the Things Betwixt, but explore a bit and go through the tutorial. You can snipe a strong Ogre for an average Stone Ring and grab a few Small Smooth and Silky Stones on the way.
Notice on the way that there is a petrified Wanderer on the left side, preventing you from accessing the coffin used to change your gender, and an Estus Flask Shard. You can come back here when you have a Fragrant Branch of Yore, but we will need the first 3 we find for other very important purposes.
I will make a lot of these titles. Please pay attention to the few paragraphs that follow to get tips about unique armor and weapon opportunities, how to upgrade your gear, what to buy at all costs and where to allocate your points next.
There it is, you now have every important item related to your class for this area, so you can go slay the Last Giant and continue exploring and farming until you get the stats I mentioned, or close.
After achieving victory, light the Tower of Flame bonfire next to Licia of Lindelt, and warp back to the Heide's Ruin bonfire in order to explore that distant cathedral.
As far as spells go, buy a new copy of Great Soul Arrow, and the extraordinary Great Heavy Soul Arrow (GHSA), your new boss killer. Heavy Soul Arrow and regular Soul Arrow copies are also a must, especially the first one.
Now, you should attune 2 Soul Arrow spells, 2 Great Soul Arrow, and 1 Great Heavy Soul Arrow. You should have 5 slots if you followed me this far. Use the weakest spells to dispatch weaker enemies or soften them up for your Shadow Dagger or Fire Longsword, keep the Heavy category spells for tough enemies, and the Great Heavy category for bosses or tough cookies like the Darkdwellers.
Now, in order, you need to reach the top right of the Copse, after the second bonfire, and up the slope (not across the bridge yet), to activate a lever in a hut and activate an iron bridge. On the right side of this slope, before the iron bridge in question, there is another hut you can drop into. You will have to fight a Syan Knight in there, protecting the Soul Spear spell, the second strongest sorcery in the game. You need 40 INT to equip it. Now you know why I advised you to get your INT as high as this if you could. This spell murders everything, but for now you only have 2 casts of it. You will get a third cast when your ATN reaches 40, so make this your priority after reaching 40 INT. Goals, goals, goals.
If you have Bonfire Ascetics, you can choose to burn them in the Bridge Approach bonfire. If it's your first run, you don't have any yet unless it was your gift, so remember this for later and come back after buying 1 from Chloanne or finishing Iron Keep. By then, you should have 4.
When you cross the metal bridge you activated, you will find the Undead Lockaway bonfire behind a locked gate. Before going to grab the key dropped in the next area by Roenna, you need to explore the dark cave system on the left. It is filled with Skeletons and cursed jars, but also home to a body holding the awesome Magic Mace (already infused with Magic, our strongest element). Build it ASAP unless you're a Cleric or a Pyromancer (then stick with your Fire Longsword +5), and when it gets to +5, replace your Fire Longsword +5 with it.
Your next goal is to bring INT at 40 if it isn't there already. It should be the main focus of Sorcerers and Hexers alike. Then, STR and DEX can be pumped at 15 or 20 to do more DMG with melee and tank more abuse. Clerics should reach 42 FAI ASAP to use Great Lightning Spear, which we'll grab very soon. Your ATN goal should be 30 so you have 7 slots. You have time, though, no rush.
After the Mines bonfire are more Large Titanite Shards and regular Shards, as well as 3 Crystal Lizards and a piece of Twinkling Titanite. This place is materials paradise for us, so you should have enough to upgrade your Magic Mace a little bit. Again, the Staff of Wisdom and the Sunset Staff both require Twinkling Titanite, not regular one, and the 2 best Chimes require respectively Twinkling Titanite and Petrified Dragon Bone, so feel free to upgrade your Magic Mace even if you plan on becoming a Hexer or a Cleric down the line.
If I were you, I would also join the Heirs of the Sun covenant in this area, so you can farm the Covetous Demon boss with other people until you get enough Sunlight Medals to get the Sunlight Spear miracle, the most damaging miracle in the game. You can do that any time, of course, since you need a whopping 55 FAI to use this miracle anyway.
Across the boss door, in the poison goo on the lower level, in a dead-end, you can also find our beloved Lucatiel who should give you the incredible Ring of Steel Protection +1 if you talked to her twice before that encounter. This amazing ring increases your physical DEF by 75. It will help you, a lot. I carry it pretty much at all times in its stronger version.
So, in this level, you should focus on finding a few things that will help Sorcerers and Clerics alike. The first one is the Mirrah Shield, to replace our old Large Leather Shield. It's on top of the elevator room, if I remember correctly. The second are materials, some Titanite and Twinkling Titanite, and finally a new copy of GHSA, your go-to spell. This one is hidden in a metal chest Pate will point you towards. It requires you to drop down after finding him.
If you drop down one more time after that, you will find another chest with the very first Great Lightning Spear miracle for our Cleric friends. This is getting real for them, since GLS does more DMG than Lightning Spear, but also a nice +18% AoE DMG around the target. You will need 42 FAI to use it, though, but if you're a Cleric, you should be there already or close to.
Now, go back to the petrified Wanderer, the one guarded by 2 Royal Swordsmen, and use your first Branch on him. Behind is a difficult area full of Royal Swordsmen, and the very punishing Ruin Sentinels boss fight. I would summon Bellclaire for this fight, and read a walkthrough. You will probably die here, so be patient, learn how to dodge, try to only cast after dodging or tanking with your shield, and stay as long as you can on the second floor you fell on to dispatch the Sentinels one by one, or at least kill the first before having to deal with the other 2. Their soul will allow you to access a decent spell, Heavy Homing Soul Arrow. More about it in a second.
On the right side of the Servants' Quarters bonfire, you will be able to access the rest of the Bastille, and make your way to Straid of Olaphis. Another Pursuer fight is on the way behind 2 illusory walls (grab that Twinkling Titanite or come back for it), as well as the Golden Wing Shield on top of the ramparts across the gap. Refer to a walkthrough for all of this. Un-petrify Straid when you reach him, and talk to him.
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