Dark Souls 3 Wiki
Menu
Fan-Made Community Wiki

DARK SOULS III

Rise as an Unkindled in the dying kingdom of Lothric and hunt down the Lords of Cinder. Fast, punishing combat, huge interconnected areas and some of the best boss fights in the series. Every death teaches you something.

  • Launched Apr 2016
  • Final DLC Mar 2017
  • 10M+ Copies Sold
  • 25 Bosses
  • Lv802 Cap
Start the Beginner Guide
DARK SOULS™ III gameplay screenshot
Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

Latest guides

DARK SOULS™ III — DARK SOULS 3 Builds: Stats, Weapons, and Class Guide
Builds

DARK SOULS 3 Builds: Stats, Weapons, and Class Guide

Explore DARK SOULS 3 builds for Strength, Dexterity, sorcery, and pyromancy. Choose your weapons, plan your stats, and match rings to your own playstyle.

DARK SOULS™ III — DARK SOULS 3 Ashes of Ariandel: DLC Walkthrough Guide
DLC

DARK SOULS 3 Ashes of Ariandel: DLC Walkthrough Guide

Explore DARK SOULS 3 Ashes of Ariandel with a detailed route through the Painted World, boss strategies, hidden gear, and steps to unlock the PvP arena.

DARK SOULS™ III — Dark Souls 3 DLC Guide: Order, Access, and What to Buy
DLC

DARK SOULS 3 DLC Guide: Order, Access, and What to Buy

Explore Dark Souls 3 DLC with entry locations, expansion order, boss tips, and edition details. Find out how Ashes of Ariandel connects to The Ringed City.

DARK SOULS™ III — Dark Souls 3 Fire Fades Edition: DLC & Buying Guide
DLC

DARK SOULS 3 Fire Fades Edition: DLC & Buying Guide

Dark Souls 3 Fire Fades Edition includes the base game and both DLC expansions. Compare editions, find DLC entrances, and plan a journey through Lothric.

DARK SOULS™ III — DARK SOULS 3 The Ringed City: Access and Boss Guide
DLC

DARK SOULS 3 The Ringed City: Access and Boss Guide

DARK SOULS 3 The Ringed City guide covering DLC access, recommended level, all four bosses, valuable rings, hidden paths, and Lapp's quest. Prepare to win.

DARK SOULS™ III — DARK SOULS 3 Map Guide: Area Order and Hidden Routes
Maps

DARK SOULS 3 Map Guide: Area Order and Hidden Routes

Explore the DARK SOULS 3 map with area progression, hidden entrances, bonfire shortcuts, and DLC routes to find your next destination and avoid dead ends.

Your First Hours in Dark Souls 3

  1. Pick a sturdy melee class such as the Knight, then pull the Coiled Sword from Iudex Gundyr in the Cemetery of Ash.
  2. Light the Firelink Shrine bonfire and spend your first souls on Vigor before damage stats.
  3. Bring Estus Shards to Blacksmith Andre for more flasks and burn Undead Bone Shards at the shrine bonfire to heal more per sip.
  4. Upgrade one main weapon with Titanite Shards instead of spreading materials across several weapons.

What is DARK SOULS III?

Dark Souls 3 is a dark fantasy action RPG from FromSoftware. You play as an Unkindled raised from the grave to bring the fugitive Lords of Cinder back to their thrones before the First Flame fades for good.

Faster dodges, weapon arts and the FP system make combat sharper than ever, and 25 bosses wait across the base game and the Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City expansions. Whether you are chasing a new build, hunting a rare ring or invading other worlds, Lothric always has more to find.

Developer
FromSoftware
Publisher
Bandai Namco
Platforms
PC / PS4 / Xbox One
Release Date
Apr 11, 2016
Bosses
25
Starting Classes
10

Explore the game

Dark Souls 3 Beginner Guide

The first hours of Dark Souls 3 shape your whole run. These steps take you from character creation to your first upgraded weapon and a steady Estus count, so the Cemetery of Ash and the High Wall of Lothric feel fair rather than brutal.

  1. 1

    Pick Knight for your first run. It has high Vigor, a solid longsword and a shield that blocks 100% of physical damage.

  2. 2

    Pull the Coiled Sword from Iudex Gundyr in the Cemetery of Ash. When he turns into a black sludge beast at half health, back off and punish his slow swings.

  3. 3

    Light the Firelink Shrine bonfire and level up with the Fire Keeper. Put early souls into Vigor before damage stats.

  4. 4

    Bring Estus Shards to Blacksmith Andre for more flasks. He also lets you split charges between Estus (HP) and Ashen Estus (FP).

  5. 5

    Burn Undead Bone Shards in the Firelink Shrine bonfire to make every Estus sip heal more.

  6. 6

    Use Titanite Shards at Andre to bring your main weapon to +3 early. One upgraded weapon beats five weapons at +0.

  7. 7

    Give Umbral Ashes to the Shrine Handmaid to unlock more stock, including upgrade materials and key consumables.

  8. 8

    Use an Ember before a hard boss. Embered state raises your max HP and lets you summon co-op phantoms from white soapstone signs.

Read the full guide

Dark Souls 3 Boss Order

This is the main-path boss order from the Cemetery of Ash to the Kiln of the First Flame. Use it to see where you are in the story and which Lord of Cinder to hunt next.

  1. 1

    Iudex Gundyr (Cemetery of Ash), then Vordt of the Boreal Valley (High Wall of Lothric).

  2. 2

    Curse-Rotted Greatwood (optional, Undead Settlement), then Crystal Sage (Road of Sacrifices).

  3. 3

    Deacons of the Deep (Cathedral of the Deep), then Abyss Watchers (Farron Keep). The Watchers are your first Lord of Cinder.

  4. 4

    High Lord Wolnir (Catacombs of Carthus) and the optional Old Demon King (Smouldering Lake).

  5. 5

    Pontiff Sulyvahn (Irithyll of the Boreal Valley), then Aldrich, Devourer of Gods (Anor Londo).

  6. 6

    Yhorm the Giant (Profaned Capital). Pick up the Storm Ruler in his arena to make the fight far easier.

  7. 7

    Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Dragonslayer Armour, then Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince (Lothric Castle and Grand Archives).

  8. 8

    Optional endgame bosses: Oceiros, Champion Gundyr, Ancient Wyvern and Nameless King. Then the final fight, Soul of Cinder, in the Kiln of the First Flame.

Read the full guide

Dark Souls 3 Weapon Tier List

These weapons carry a PvE run from start to finish, ranked by moveset, damage, scaling and how early you can get them. Higher tiers are faster and safer, but any weapon here can clear the game once it's fully upgraded.

S

Claymore, Lothric Knight Sword, Dark Sword, Sellsword Twinblades. Reach, speed and stagger with very few weaknesses.

A

Uchigatana, Irithyll Straight Sword, Farron Greatsword, Black Knight Sword, Exile Greatsword. Strong all-rounders with a few quirks.

B

Long Sword, Broadsword, Zweihander, Bandit's Knife. Reliable choices that fall a little behind the top picks in damage or utility.

C

Large Club, Pickaxe, and slow or awkward novelty weapons. Fun, but they need more commitment and better timing.

Read the full guide

Dark Souls 3 Starting Class Tier List

Your starting class sets your opening gear and stat spread. These ten classes are ranked by how smoothly they handle the early game and how efficiently they grow into an endgame build.

S

Knight (high Vigor, a strong shield, safest start) and Pyromancer (starts at level 1 with no wasted stats, plus early fire spells).

A

Mercenary (starts with the Sellsword Twinblades), Herald (spear, shield and the Heal miracle) and Sorcerer (strong ranged damage from the first area).

B

Warrior, Assassin and Cleric. Solid kits that need a bit more investment to shine.

C

Thief and Deprived. Thief has weak gear and low Vigor; Deprived is a pure challenge start with no real equipment.

Read the full guide

Dark Souls 3 Builds

These are the core build archetypes, from pure melee to full casters. Pick one, set your stat priorities early and spend your upgrade materials on gear that fits it.

Quality

Even Strength and Dexterity (around 40/40 at endgame) to get the most out of Refined infusions and weapons like the Claymore and Lothric Knight Sword.

Strength

Greatswords, greataxes and ultra greatswords that stagger enemies. Heavy infusions plus Vigor and Endurance.

Dexterity

Katanas, curved swords and twinblades with Sharp infusions. Fast, combo-heavy play.

Pyromancy

Intelligence and Faith with the Pyromancy Flame. Great Combustion and Chaos Bed Vestiges hit hard without a big stat cost.

Faith / Lightning

Lightning Spear miracles, Lightning infusions and Sunlight Blade buffs, with healing miracles for sustain.

Sorcery

High Intelligence with Soul Arrow spells, Crystal Soul Spear and Crystal Magic Weapon for strong damage at range.

Bleed / Dark

Blood and Dark infusions stack Bleed or Dark damage. Good with fast weapons and Hollow-path characters.

Read the full guide

Dark Souls 3 Endings

Dark Souls 3 has four endings, all decided in the final moments after Soul of Cinder falls. The alternate endings need NPC questlines or items you set up well before the Kiln, so plan ahead.

Link the Fire

The default ending. Defeat Soul of Cinder and interact with the bonfire to link the First Flame.

End of Fire

Give the Fire Keeper Eyes to the Fire Keeper, then summon her with her sign after Soul of Cinder to let the flame fade.

Usurpation of Fire

Finish Yoel and Yuria's Dark Sigil questline and Anri's wedding questline, then claim the flame as Lord of Hollows.

Lord of Hollows Variant

During the End of Fire ending, attack the Fire Keeper to trigger this darker alternate finale.

Dark Souls 3 DLC Guide

Dark Souls 3 has two expansions, Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City, both bundled in The Fire Fades Edition. Together they add new areas, some of the hardest bosses in the series, and many weapons, spells and armor sets.

Ashes of Ariandel →

Talk to Slave Knight Gael in the Cleansing Chapel in Cathedral of the Deep to reach the frozen Painted World of Ariandel. Best tackled after Pontiff Sulyvahn.

Ariandel Bosses

Champion's Gravetender and Gravetender Greatwolf, then Sister Friede, a multi-phase fight that ends against Father Ariandel and Blackflame Friede.

The Ringed City →

The final expansion and an endgame zone. It runs from the Dreg Heap down to the Ringed City at the end of the world.

Ringed City Bosses

Demon Prince, Halflight, Darkeater Midir (optional) and Slave Knight Gael, the closing boss of the trilogy.

Fire Fades Edition →

Bundles the base game with both DLCs. It's the easiest way to get everything in one purchase.

Read the full guide

Dark Souls 3 Covenants

Covenants decide how you interact with other players, whether that's helping in co-op, invading, or guarding an area. Equip the covenant item, rank up with offerings or online play, and unlock exclusive spells and gear.

Warrior of Sunlight

The co-op covenant. Help hosts beat bosses to earn Sunlight Medals for rewards such as the Lightning Blade.

Way of Blue

Automatically calls Blue Sentinels or Blades of the Darkmoon to defend you when you're invaded.

Blue Sentinels

Get summoned to defend Way of Blue players from invaders. Rewards come from Proof of a Concord Kept.

Blade of the Darkmoon

Hunts sinners and defends Way of Blue members. Join in Anor Londo.

Rosaria's Fingers

The invasion covenant, based in the Cathedral of the Deep. Offer Pale Tongues to Rosaria to rank up.

Mound-makers

A chaotic covenant whose members can attack both host and invaders. Earn Vertebra Shackles for rewards.

Watchdogs of Farron

Guards Farron Keep and the Road of Sacrifices. Members are summoned to fight anyone who trespasses.

Aldrich Faithful

Guards Anor Londo from intruders. Offerings unlock exclusive Aldrich-themed rewards.

Read the full guide

Frequently asked questions

When did Dark Souls 3 come out?

Dark Souls 3 launched on PC through Steam on April 11, 2016, and is also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. FromSoftware developed it and Bandai Namco Entertainment published it.

What DLC does Dark Souls 3 have?

Dark Souls 3 has two expansions: Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City, the final DLC released in March 2017. The Fire Fades Edition bundles the base game with both.

How many bosses are in Dark Souls 3?

Dark Souls 3 has 25 bosses across the base game and its two expansions, from Iudex Gundyr in the Cemetery of Ash to Slave Knight Gael at the end of The Ringed City.

What is the max level in Dark Souls 3?

The Dark Souls 3 soul level cap is 802, but most players stop far earlier and plan around stat soft caps instead.

Which Dark Souls 3 starting class is best for beginners?

The Knight is the easiest Dark Souls 3 starting class for a first run: high Vigor, a solid longsword and a shield that blocks all physical damage.

Ready to Master Dark Souls 3?

From your first steps in the Cemetery of Ash to the final duel at the end of The Ringed City, this wiki covers the bosses, builds and routes you need. Don't you dare go Hollow.

Read the Beginner Guide Buy on Steam