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

What DLC Does Dark Souls 3 Include?

Dark Souls 3 DLC takes your Ashen One into a decaying painted world and onward to a city at the world's end. The two expansions, Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City, add new areas, equipment, characters, and demanding boss fights. Their entrances appear within the campaign, so knowing where to go—and when to return—can save you an early encounter with enemies you're still poorly equipped to fight.

Expansion	Release date	Setting	Entry location
Ashes of Ariandel	October 25, 2016	Painted World of Ariandel	Cleansing Chapel in the Cathedral of the Deep
The Ringed City	March 28, 2017	Dreg Heap and Ringed City	Kiln of the First Flame

When choosing a purchase, distinguish between the following packages:

• Standard Edition: Includes the base game.
• Season Pass: Includes both expansions.
• Deluxe Edition: Includes the base game and Season Pass.
• The Fire Fades Edition: Includes the base game and both expansions.

If you already own the Standard Edition and want both adventures, choose the Season Pass. If you're buying the game for the first time, compare the complete packages before purchasing the expansions separately. PC players can explore purchasing options through the Dark Souls III Steam page.

Which Expansion Should You Play First?

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

Play Ashes of Ariandel before The Ringed City. That follows their release order and introduces the characters and painted-world story that connect the two adventures.

Save a serious attempt at Ariandel for late in the campaign. Its progression guidance points players toward clearing Lothric Castle before tackling the expansion, even though the entrance becomes available much earlier at the Cathedral of the Deep.

Use this sequence:

1. Progress through the main campaign and clear Lothric Castle.
2. Return to the Cleansing Chapel and enter Ashes of Ariandel.
3. Complete Ariandel's main storyline.
4. Continue into The Ringed City.

You can also enter The Ringed City directly from the Kiln of the First Flame without completing Ariandel. That route gives you access to the second expansion, but playing the painted world first gives Gael's journey more context.

The difficulty increase extends beyond bosses. Millwood Knights, aggressive Corvian Knights, and enemies attacking from several elevations can drain your healing before you reach the next checkpoint. Explore carefully, and open shortcuts before committing to repeated boss attempts.

How to Start Ashes of Ariandel

The entrance is at the Cleansing Chapel bonfire, within the Cathedral of the Deep. Use that specific destination rather than the earlier bonfire named Cathedral of the Deep.

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

To enter:

1. Purchase and install Ashes of Ariandel, or install it through a package that includes it.
2. Travel to the Cleansing Chapel.
3. Speak with Gael inside the chapel.
4. Accept his invitation and interact with the scrap of painting to enter Ariandel.

If you've already completed the events of The Ringed City, look for the painting scrap in the chapel's corner instead.

Once inside, expect snowfields, wolves, Farron Followers, and heavily armed Millwood Knights. The open landscape can conceal overlapping threats, particularly when an archer has a clear shot while you're fighting enemies below.

Deal with isolated opponents before advancing into another group's reach. When exploring around the Millwood tower, watch the elevated bowman instead of concentrating entirely on the enemies in front of you.

How to Start The Ringed City

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

Enter From the Kiln of the First Flame

After reaching the Kiln of the First Flame, find the additional travel bonfire before the Soul of Cinder encounter. Interact with it to travel to the Dreg Heap.

You don't need to defeat the Soul of Cinder to use this entrance.

The Dreg Heap immediately shifts the atmosphere from frozen woodland to collapsed kingdoms and steep drops. Later sections introduce aerial attacks and summoned archers, making cover and route planning especially useful.

Boss names and major story spoilers follow.

Ashes of Ariandel Bosses and Combat Tips

Ariandel's main confrontation is the battle against Sister Friede and Father Ariandel. The expansion also contains the Gravetender Greatwolf encounter.

Friede's fight is an endurance test: it has three phases, each with a fresh health bar. Keep healing available for the final phase.

Phase One: Sister Friede

Friede's disappearing attack is the mechanic to learn early. Once she vanishes, listen for movement and track where she lands.

Move toward her position to reveal her before the attack finishes charging. Catching her during this preparation creates an opening, including a chance to get behind her for a backstab.

Avoid rolling repeatedly without locating her. Find the direction of the threat first, then react to the attack.

Phase Two: Friede and Father Ariandel

The second phase adds Father Ariandel to the fight.

Focus attacks on Ariandel when there's an opening, but keep Friede in view. Chasing damage while losing track of her can leave you exposed to an attack from outside the camera.

Gael can assist through the second and third phases. If you're using his summon, help keep him alive during the shared encounter so he can continue dividing Friede's attention afterward.

Phase Three: Blackflame Friede

The final phase combines Friede's speed with black-flame attacks.

Let a sequence finish before attempting a punish, and preserve enough stamina to escape after attacking. When fighting alongside Gael, use the moments when she turns toward him to land attacks without exhausting your stamina.

The Greatwolf battle offers another encounter beyond the main storyline.

The Ringed City Bosses and Exploration Tips

The second expansion includes the Demon in Pain and Demon from Below encounter, the Demon Prince, Midir, and Slave Knight Gael. These encounters test different habits, from handling multiple enemies to recognizing openings against a huge dragon.

Demon Prince

Defeating the opening pair of demons doesn't end the encounter. The Demon Prince follows, so conserve healing during the first portion.

Stay close when his attacks allow it, then punish recoveries.

For pyromancy characters, the expansion also offers Demon's Scar, a weapon with pure fire damage suited to a build investing in Faith and Intelligence.

Midir

Midir demands patience.

Watch a complete attack sequence before committing. Use clear recovery windows, then reset your position instead of continuing to attack through the next windup.

Slave Knight Gael

Gael's battle develops through three phases, adding new threats as it progresses. Sword attacks remain central, but later portions introduce additional effects and lightning across the arena.

Learn where his sequences end before attacking. Keep checking your surroundings as the fight escalates, since standing clear of his sword doesn't account for every threat.

Outside the boss arenas, use solid cover against the summoned archers. In the Dreg Heap, seek out the bodies sustaining the aerial enemies so you can explore without constant fire from above.

How the Two Expansion Stories Connect

Ariandel is a refuge for the forlorn, but that refuge is rotting. Its inhabitants disagree over whether preserving their home is worth accepting its decay.

Sister Friede chooses preservation. Previously known as Elfriede, she is the eldest of the three sisters associated with Londor's Sable Church. Inside the painting, she adopts a new role and persuades Father Ariandel to suppress the flame.

Other inhabitants want the painting burned so something new can take its place. That conflict explains why some Corvians welcome your arrival while Friede and Sir Vilhelm urge you to leave.

The young painter provides the connection to the next expansion. She wants to create another world, and Gael leaves to find the pigment she needs.

The relationship between the expansions gives their journeys a personal purpose: the struggle inside one dying painting leads to a search for the material needed to create another.

Do You Need the Expansions for Achievements?

Neither expansion is required to earn every achievement or the PlayStation platinum trophy. Their equipment also doesn't expand the base game's collection requirements.

Completion detail	Requirement
Steam achievements	43
Expansions required for all achievements	No
Expansion rings required for Master of Rings	No
Expansion spells required for spell collection achievements	No

Keep your achievement checklist focused on the required base-game collectibles. Explore Ariandel and the Ringed City for their battles, equipment, and connected story whenever you're ready to take them on.