Overview
Estimated achievement difficulty: 8/10
Offline: 41/41 (1,000/1,000)
Online: 0/41 (0/1,000)
Approximate amount of time to 100080-120 hours
Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2 full, 1 partial playthroughs.
Number of missable achievements: 26 (Optional bosses, item crafting/hunting, covenants).
Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No cheats
Does difficulty affect achievements?: No
Glitchy achievements: None
Unobtainable achievements: None
Extra equipment needed?: None

Introduction:
Welcome to Dark Souls, a game legendary for being difficult. Prepare to die, as it will happen a lot. From being too low level to handle something to accidently falling off a cliff this game will kill you a lot. If you persevere through the first couple hours of the game and actually start to learn how the game operates it becomes much more manageable. Overall for the 1,000, it will take you roughly a minimum of 80 hours, with max out sitting around 125 hours on the high end of the spectrum. You will need to do 2 full playthroughs including the 2 optional bosses (Gwyndolin and Priscilla) and then a partial playthrough up through a portion of Anor Londo so that you can reach the giant black smith.

Missable achievements:
I am not going to list them all off, but I will tell you what kind of achievements are missable so that you know what to watch out for. I would recommend following a guide for the sorceries, pyromancies, miracles and rare weapons. A lot of the items for each achievement are quite missable. First NEVER swing a sword or use a damaging sorcery/miracle/pyromancy around any of the people that sell you these items as they will turn hostile until your next playthrough. All of them have something you need so BE CAREFUL. If you do happen to hit one of the people need to buy stuff from, just run, do not kill them. If you get away, go and talk to Oswald in the bell tower. You can pay him absolve your sins and make that person you accidentally hit not hostile anymore. The cost of absolution is 500 souls x your level, so it does get pretty costly especially later in the game.

I recommend buying the pyromancies, sorceries and miracles on playthrough 2 only really getting what you need for your character build. As you get many more souls on NG+ for killing enemies and bosses. This also allows you to focus your energy on leveling and getting the gear that you need for your build. This of course is optional, you can get all the pyromancies, and sorceries on your first run as long you make sure to follow the guide. Especially pay attention to your sorceries, as some of Big Hat Logan’s spells are missable. A critical mistake that can be made that makes pyromancies missable is saying no to the egg carrier right before the chaos servant covenant leader, make sure to say YES and do not kill him he sells you unique pyromancies. For miracles, make sure to follow through Onion Knight’s quest line through at least Anor Londo and pay close attention to the cleric quest line surrounding Petrus and the Tomb of Giants. This is covered more in depth in each achievements respective section.

You also need to get max reinforcement with each weapon type, these are not highly missable like miracles and sorceries are, but don’t forget to take care of them at some point during either full playthrough. You will need all the embers and at least 1 of each kind of slab (you can dashboard to get it back)

All the Covenant achievements are technically missable since you are never forced to join or find one for the story. The major one to look out for with this one is the Dark Wraiths. Do not talk to Frampt (Ugly snake thing that shows up after ringing the bells at fire link shrine) at all if you want to find the Dark Wraiths. Continue with the story beating Smough and Ornstein to get the Lord Vessel and then beating the four Kings (You need to have killed Sif to do this fight). Once you beat the four Kings and if you haven’t talked to Frampt, you will meet Dark Stalker Kaathe who will allow you join the Dark Wraiths.

The other two missables would be for killing Priscilla Crossbreed and Gwyndolin. Both bosses are optional and are not required to complete a playthrough. Priscilla gives you an option to leave without fighting, do not do this, and fight her. I would recommend waiting to fight Gwyndolin until you have received the item for reaching level two in his covenant so that you don’t have to worry about it later.

Playthrough 1: 
Pick your class and gifts. For your gift get the master key unless you’re a thief, this will make your playthrough slightly simpler. On this playthrough I would recommend focusing on your build and not worrying too much about collecting everything. You can grab all the sorceries and pyromancies in this playthrough if you desire. You can get all but 1 miracle this run and over half of the rare weapons. The only rare weapons you can’t get this run involve having multiples of boss souls which there are only 1 of each per playthrough. If you want to you can grind out the loot drop rare weapons during this run or the next but make sure to get the covetous snake ring from Sen’s Fortress before attempting the loot drop based rare weapons.

Make sure to kill Priscilla, The moonlight butterfly and Gwyndolin at some point during this playthrough. I recommend saving Gwyndolin for very late in your playthrough for reasons mentioned in the missable achievements section. 

There are 2 soul grinding spots in the game that are early enough in the game to really help out new players, which are posted here. The first one is really super early in the game and is a good way to level up for the twin gargoyle fight and get enough souls so you can access the grinding spot in the second video.


Playthrough 2: 
This run will be significantly easier and shorter than your first run as all your gear and level transfer to each subsequent playthrough. The enemies are all higher levels but you will breeze through the early parts with little to no issues. The main thing to watch out for difficulty wise is the Smough and Ornstein fight and the four Kings fight. If you didn’t find the Dark Wraiths in your first run then do so this run and make sure to join them at some point to get the rare weapon Dark Hand.

In fact, everything you didn’t pick up or find in your first playthrough needs to be done this run to save you the heart ache of doing more than you need to in your 3rd partial run. All the rare weapons need to be forged and found (minus the one you can’t get this run since you need a 3rd copy of Sif’s soul). All pyromancies, sorceries, and miracles collected. Everything! Also, make sure to pick the ending that you didn’t pick in your first playthrough so you can get the achievement for that ending.

Partial Playthrough:
This partial run should only take a few hours maximum; you should only need to do two major things. Forge Gwyn’s souls to a weapon or offer it to the Sunlight Covenant and kill Sif for a third time. After you have gotten Sif’s soul for the third time, you will need to get the Giant Black Smith in Anor Londo so he can forge the soul into a compatible weapon. Given that you have done everything else this should unlock your last two achievements and give you the completion.

Conclusion:
While this game is challenging and relentless at times it is completely doable as long you are willing to give it your attention and your time. If you’re just starting out, good luck and have fun. You can do it if you just stick with it and don't give up.

[x360a would like to thank KillerBEA for this RoadMap]

Dark Souls Achievement Guide

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There are 41 achievements with a total of 1000 points

  • All achievements completed. Congratulations!

    (103)  

    This achievement will unlock when you have unlocked all other achievements.

  • Acquire all rare weapons.

    (126)   

    There are MANY weapons in Dark Souls. All of them are useful for something in their own merit, but some of them are considered rare, and are needed for this achievement. To obtain all of the rare weapons, you must do a minimum 3 playthroughs for boss souls as well as cut the tails off applicable bosses and scour the world for all of the weapons. When you have the necessary ingredients to make these weapons, take them to the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo. Some general tips:

    - NEVER consume a boss soul unless you are sure you don’t need it for anything.
    - You do NOT need to upgrade any of these weapons, but if you like the weapon, I encourage you to max out it’s upgrade path.
    - The Giant blacksmith will stay there in Anor Londo even if it is dark.

    Boss Soul Crafted Weapons

    • Moonlight Butterfly Horn - Soul of a Moonlight Butterfly, any +10 spear or thrusting sword
    • Crystal Ring Shield - Soul of a Moonlight Butterfly, any +10 shield
    • Quelaag's Furysword - Soul of Quelaag, any +10 curved sword
    • Chaos Blade - Soul of Quelaag, any +10 katana (recommend using Washing Pole as it’s the worst katana, in my opinion)
    • Greatsword of Artorias (CURSED) - Soul of Sif, any +10 dagger, straightsword, or greatsword except Broken Straight Sword and Straight Sword Hilt
    • Greatsword of Artorias - Soul of Sif, +10 Straightsword Hilt or Broken Straight Sword
    • Greatshield of Artorias - Soul of Sif, any +10 shield
    • Golem Axe - Core of an Iron Golem, any +10 axe
    • Dragon Bone Fist - Core of an Iron Golem, any +10 fist weapon
    • Lifehunt Scythe - Soul of Priscilla, any +10 Halberd or Whip
    • Dragonslayer Spear - Soul of Ornstein (kill Smough first, then Ornstein), any +10 spear or thrusting sword
    • Smough's Hammer - Soul of Smough (kill Ornstein first, then Smough), any +10 hammer
    • Darkmoon Bow - Soul of Gwyndolin, any +10 bow
    • Tin Darkmoon Catalyst - Soul of Gwyndolin, any catalyst EXCEPT Demon Catlayst, Izalith Catalyst, Manus Catalyst, and Tin Darkmoon Catalyst
    • Great Lord Greatsword - Soul of Gwyn, any +10 dagger, greatsword, straightsword


    Tail Cut Weapons

    • Drakesword - Cut the tail of the Hellkite Dragon (red dragon guarding the bridge in Undead Burg). I recommend getting a bow and ~35 arrows and going beneath the bridge and sniping the tail off with your bow as it’s a trick tail cut with a melee weapon.
    • Dragon King Greataxe - Cut the tail off of the Gaping Dragon (boss in the Depths, requires key to Depths dropped by Capra Demon boss)
    • Priscilla's Dagger - Tail cut from Priscilla. This is one of the trickiest tail cuts. I recommend getting your hardest hitting weapon and then doing a two-handed strong attack while she isn’t hostile.
    • Moonlight Greatsword - Tail cut from Seath the Scaleless. If you’re having trouble with this, stand by the crystal that regenerates his health and wait for him to summon the crystals. When he does this, he’ll destroy the crystal and be stunned for about ~10 seconds, then run and attack the tip of his middle tail. It may take a few tries, but it’s the easiest way to get your hard-earned sword.
    • Dragon Greatsword - Cut the tail off of the Everlasting Dragon at the end of Ash Lake. I recommend doing this after you get the Lordvessel so you don’t have to run up the Great Hollow again. Either way, the dragon can’t get hostile and won’t fight no matter how much you hit, so just go hit the tail a couple of times and the sword is yours!
    • Gargoyle Tail Axe - Cut the tail off of the Belfry Gargoyle. This is the easiest tail cut since the tail is long and weak. If you miss this in the Undead Parish, you can cut the tail off of the FIRST gargoyle in Anor Londo.


    Covenant Weapons (Weapons gained from joining covenants)

    • Gravelord Sword - Join the Gravelord Servant covenant. See “Covenant: Gravelord Servant” on how to do this.
    • Dark Hand - Join the Darkwraith covenant OR uncommon drop from the Darkwraith enemies in New Londo Ruins. See “Covenant: Darkwraith” for how to do this.


    Enemy Dropped Weapons

    • Black Knight Sword - See ‘Black Knight Shield’ bullet point for where to farm these weapons.
    • Black Knight Greatsword - See ‘Black Knight Shield’ bullet point for where to farm these weapons.
    • Black Knight Greataxe - See 'Black Knight Shield' bullet point for where to farm these weapons.
    • Black Knight Halberd - See 'Black Knight Shield' bullet point for where to farm these weapons.
    • Black Knight Shield - At the end of the game, you are faced with an area known as Kiln of the First Flame. The black knights here all wield these weapons and are easy to kill, and most importantly, they respawn. Have 10 loose humanity and where the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring to maximize item discovery and minimize the farming time.
    • Channeler’s Trident - Dropped by Channelers. The first one you find is in the church of the Undead Parish. It’s the enemy that dances around and makes a taunting sound at you. The best way to farm this is to kill the two channelers that respawn in Duke’s Archives. Again, have 10 loose humanity and where the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring to minimize the farming time.
    • Crescent Axe - Dropped by Patches. Forgive him after he kicks you in the ditch (pick up the Skull Lantern in front of you since it makes the Tomb of the Giants less of a pain), exhaust his dialogue, and kill Nito to make him move to Firelink. He’ll sell this weapon after he’s in Firelink. (You can kill him and he will drop the axe, but he sells some spells to you after he moves, so I wouldn’t recommend killing him.)
    • Crest Shield - Dropped by Oscar of Astora (the knight who gives you the Estus Flask) on your return to the Undead Asylum. (I’d recommend killing the Stray Demon for the titanite slab and picking up the peculiar doll from the cell you started the game in for the Painted World of Ariamis)
    • Demon’s Catalyst - Dropped by the Demon Firesage boss.
    • Giant’s Halberd - Uncommon drop from the Royal Sentinels in Anor Londo. I’d recommend farming the ones at the beginning of Anor Londo since the ones outside Ornstein and Smough’s boss room are considerably harder.
    • Izalith Catalyst - Dropped by the Daughter of Chaos (pyromancy wielding enemy wearing the Gold-Hemmed Set) right in front of the Bed of Chaos boss fog.
    • Silver Knight Straight Sword - Dropped by Sword- Wielding Silver Knights in Anor Londo.
    • Silver Knight Spear - Dropped by Spear- Wielding Silver Knights in Anor Londo.
    • Silver Knight Shield - Dropped by Silver Knights in Anor Londo. It’s a rare drop, so boosting your item discovery with the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring and 10 loose humanity is highly recommended.
    • Stone Greatsword - Dropped by Stone Knights in Darkroot Garden or sold by Shiva of the East for 15000 souls. (Shiva of the East will only show up if you’re in the Forest Hunter Covenant and have exhausted his dialogue in Darkroot Garden, then he’ll show up in Blighttown and sell this weapon amongst others)
    • Stone Greatshield - Dropped by Stone Knights in Darkroot Garden.
    • Grant - See ‘Sanctus’ below.
    • Sanctus - This shield and the weapon Grant are both guaranteed drops by Paladin Leeroy. Paladin Leeroy will invade you on your way to Nito (must be human and Nito must be alive for him to invade) whether or not you summoned him for Pinwheel or not.


    Corpse/Chest Looted Weapons

    • Dragon Crest Shield - Picked up from a corpse right in front of the Undead Dragon in Valley of Drakes.
    • Havel’s Greatshield - See ‘Dragon Tooth’ below.
    • Dragon Tooth - This weapon and Havel’s Greatshield are both located in Anor Londo. From the bonfire in the room with Solaire, go past the sword wielding Silver Knight and go into the room on the left, then hit the fireplace to open up an illusory wall. These can be found on one of the mimics down there.
    • Dragonslayer Greatbow - This can be found in Anor Londo. In the room with Ornstein and Smough’s fog gate, go up the stairs and drop down through the window. The corpse contains this bow.
    • Velka’s Rapier - Found in the Painted World. First, get the Annex Key (found at the base of the well and then straight ahead to the end, then make a left and loot the corpse. BEWARE OF PINWHEEL SKELETONS!!!), then open up the door to the Annex. The Annex is the building to the right of the statue in the center). Go up the stairs, then hit the wooden planks, then go straight to the corpse and loot it for the weapon.
    • Astora’s Straight Sword - Found on the corpse right next to the Dragon Crest Shield.
    • Bloodshield - Found on a corpse in front of the Undead Dragon in the Painted World.
    • Black Iron Greatshield - Before entering the painting in Anor Londo for the Painted World, look left. Then loot the corpse you see for the shield along with the black iron set.
    • Effigy Shield - This is found in the Tomb of the Giants. On the plateau with the two skeleton beast and the skeleton archer there is a slope leading down. There is a Black Knight guarding the way to the corpse so kill him or circle around and go straight to the corpse for the shield.
  • Acquire all sorceries.

    (19)   

    There are many sorceries in Dark Souls. You need to obtain all of them for this achievement. Most of them are purchased from various merchants around Lordran. Below is a list of all the merchants in the game and how to find them or get them to sell the sorceries. The merchants that sell them (and their location/storyline) are below.

    Big Hat Logan
    Griggs of Vinheim
    Dusk of Oolacile 

    Merchant Sold Spells

    • Aural Decoy - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim.
    • Fall Control - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim.
    • Great Heavy Soul Arrow - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim/Big Hat Logan.
    • Great Soul Arrow - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim/Big Hat Logan.
    • Heavy Soul Arrow - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim/Big Hat Logan/Rickhert of Vinheim.
    • Homing Soulmass- Sold by Griggs of Vinheim (only after Logan leaves)
    • Magic Shield - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim/Big Hat Logan.
    • Magic Weapon - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim/Big Hat Logan.
    • Soul Spear - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim.
    • Soul Arrow - Sold by Griggs of Vinheim/Big Hat Logan/Rickhert of Vinheim.
    • Hidden Body - Sold by Dusk of Oolacile.
    • Cast Light - Sold by Dusk of Oolacile.
    • Repair - Sold by Dusk of Oolacile.
    • Chameleon - Sold by Dusk of Oolacile.
    • Hidden Weapon - Sold by Dusk of Oolacile.
    • Crystal Magic Weapon - Sold by Big Hat Logan, but only after he's moved to Duke's Archives. See herefor how to make him go there.
    • Crystal Soul Spear - Sold by Big Hat Logan, but only after he's moved to Duke's Archives. See here for how to make him go there.
    • Homing Crystal Soulmass - Sold by Big Hat Logan, but only after he's moved to Duke's Archives. Seehere for how to make him go there.
    • Resist Curse - Sold by Ingward (the guy in the Crimson armor set in New Londo Ruins. He is on top of the church and will give you the Key to the Seal while you are there).

    Enemy dropped/looted spells

    • Great Magic Weapon - Found on a corpse on the chandelier in the room full of Painting Guardians in Anor Londo. You must break the chain while you are walking on the beams overhead for it to come down.
    • Hush - Dropped by Griggs of Vinheim (after you purchase everything from him, he will go here. Kill him and he'll drop it.) OR it can be found on a corpse along with the Black Sorcerer Set and the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring. When you get to the room with the stone launching mechanism, launch it in another direction and go down the way you came. Then halfway down, drop onto the pillar and pick it up off the corpse.
    • Remedy - Found in a chest in Blighttown near the elevator. The quickest way to get there is the shortcut from the Valley of Drakes. Descend several ladders and watch out for a path on a root with some woods. Follow that root to the other side, past the cragspider, and directly next to a corpse will be the treasure chest with this spell.
    • Strong Magic Shield - Treasure from a chest in the Duke's Archives. Located at the top floor, at the far end of the walkway near the Channeler (requiring the rotating stairs to get to).
    • White Dragon Breath - Dropped by Big Hat Logan AT THE END OF HIS STORYLINE. See HERE for how to do this.
  • Acquire all pyromancies.

    (29)   

    There are nineteen pyromancies in total. Equip a Pyromancy Flame in either hand and assign it to an attunement slot to use them. Once you have obtained them all one character, the achievement will unlock. The various merchants that sell them are below.

    Eingyi
    Laurentius of the Great Swamp
    Quelaana of Izalith

    Merchant Sold Pyromancies

    • Combustion - Sold by Laurentius/Quelaana.
    • Fire Orb - Sold by Laurentius/Quelaana.
    • Fire Tempest - Sold by Quelaana.
    • Fire Whip - Sold by Quelaana.
    • Fireball - Sold by Laurentius/Quelaana.
    • Firestorm - Sold by Quelaana.
    • Flash Sweat - Sold by Laurentius.
    • Great Combustion - Sold by Quelaana.
    • Great Fireball - Sold by Quelaana.
    • Iron Flesh - Sold by Laurentius.
    • Poison Mist - Sold by Eingyi after gaining his trust.
    • Toxic Mist - Sold by Eingyi after gaining his trust.
    • Undead Rapport - Sold by Quelaana.

    Covenant Pyromancies

    • Great Chaos Fireball - Join the Chaos Servants covenant. See 'Covenant: Chaos Servant' for more details.
    • Chaos Storm - Reach rank 2 in the Chaos Servant Covenant. You need 30 humanity to do this, so you can farm the various rats in the Painted World, Depths, and Undead Parish. You can also farm the piasacas in the Duke's Archives.

    Corpse/Chest Looted Pyromancies

    • Acid Surge - Treasure on a corpse in the Painted World of Ariamis. Turn right after the huge door after the bonfire, into the wide open area covered in impaled corpses and crows, where there are several torch-wielding Hollows and where Xanthous King Jeremiah invades your world. Turn right again, the Acid Surge is tucked away behind an outcrop.
    • Chaos Fire Whip - Found in a chest right before the Bed of Chaos battle. After the sister of chaos attacks you, continue straight rather than turning left and kill the Chaos Eater to find the chest.
    • Fire Surge - Dropped by a special engorged zombie in the Painted World of Ariamis. Go down the well into the dark hallway with Pinwheel skeletons, then when you get to the first junction, take a left. Follow that until you get to another junction and take a left again, then go up the stairs to find the engorged zombie.
    • Power Within - Treasure from a hanging corpse next to the parasitic wall hugger in Blighttown.
  • Acquire all miracles.

    (34)   

    There are 23 miracles in total. To use a miracle, equip a talisman in either hand and have the required FTH to assign them to an attunement slot. There are two main merchants in the game who sell miracles, and they are below. 

    Rhea of Thorolund
    Petrus of Thorolund

    Merchant Sold Miracles

    • Great Heal Excerpt - Sold by Petrus/Rhea/Patches.
    • Great Heal - Sold by Rhea.
    • Heal - Sold by Petrus/Rhea/Patches.
    • Homeward - Sold by Petrus/Rhea.
    • Karmic Justice - Sold by Oswald of Carim. Oswald is the guy who you can request absolution from and he will be located at the bottom of the tower with the Bell of Awakening after ringing it.
    • Magic Barrier -Sold by Rhea.
    • Seek Guidance - Sold by Petrus/Rhea.
    • Wrath of the Gods - Sold by Rhea.
    • Force - Sold by Petrus/Rhea.

    Covenant Related Miracles

    • Darkmoon Blade - Reach rank 1 in the Darkmoon covenant. See 'Covenant: Blade of the Darkmoon' for how to join this covenant. You must give 10 Souvenirs of Reprisal's. These can be obtained by defeating the guilty world masters or by farming the crow demons in the Painted World of Ariamis.
    • Gravelord Greatsword Dance - Obtained by reaching rank 1 in the Gravelord Servant covenant. You need 10 Eyes of Death, which can be easily farmed from the basilisks in the Depths or the Great Hollow.
    • Gravelord Sword Dance - Join the Gravelord Servant covenant. See 'Covenant: Gravelord Servant' for how to do this.
    • Great Lightning Spear - Reach rank 1 in the Warriors of Sunlight Covenant. You must offer 10 sunlight medals, which can be farmed from the sunlight maggots in the Lost Izalith area or by helping other players successfully kill bosses while you're in the covenant.
    • Sunlight Spear - After reaching rank 1 in the Warriors of Sunlight covenant, give Gwyn's soul (can only be done on NG+) to the altar and you'll receive this miracle.
    • Lightning Spear - Join the Warriors of Sunlight covenant. See 'Covenant: Warriors of Sunlight' for how to do this.

    Gifted Miracles

    • Emit Force - Given by Siegmeyer of Catarina after you answer YES to his question. See here for how to follow his story up to that point.
    • Replenishment - Given by Rhea in the Tomb of the Giants. See here for how to follow her storyline to that point.

    Corpse/Chest Loot Miracles

    • Bountiful Sunlight - *see 'Soothing Sunlight'.
    • Great Magic Barrier - Treasure from a corpse in Ash Lake.
      Inside the hollow tree between the Stone Dragon and the hollow tree from which you entered the area. You must drop from the root walkway surrounding the tree into a hollowed-out tree trunk near the Basilisk.
    • Soothing Sunlight - This and Bountiful Sunlight are both guaranteed stops from the two non-respawning and non-hostile piasacas that are crying in front of the giant cell at the bottom of the Duke's Archives.
    • Sunlight Blade - Found on a corpse just past the Gywndolin boss battle. See 'Defeated Dark Sun Gwyndolin' for more details.
    • Tranquil Walk of Peace - Describing it in text will only confuse you. See this video for the location.
    • Vow of Silence - Found in the Painted World of Ariamis inside the Annex (requires Annex Key), at the top of building. Some crow demons will ambush you upon picking the miracle up.
  • Discover Way of White covenant.

    As soon as you reach Lordran, go into the building next to the one with the puddle of water and talk to the man named Petrus of Thorolund. After exhausting his dialogue, he’ll offer to teach/sell miracles and to join the Way of White. 

    NOTE: You don’t need to join the covenant, you just need to have the option to join for the achievement.

  • Discover Gravelord Servant covenant.

    This covenant is located in the Catacombs. From the first bonfire, go through the door and across the bridge. Before you go into the building with the necromancer, there is a ledge to your right. Drop down and land on the ledge below. Go through the door and you’ll find yourself in a long hallway with a Prowling Demon. Run past him and loot the corpse for the Eye’s of Death. Turn around and look for the coffin that sticks out more than the rest, you’ll be given a prompt to enter the coffin. Stay in the coffin for about 30 seconds to be transported into Nito’s room. Talk to him for the Covenant.

    NOTE: If you already defeated Nito, you won’t be able to join until your next playthrough.

  • Discover Chaos Servant covenant.

    After the Quelaag boss battle, go down the staircase after ringing the second Bell of Awakening. There is an illusory wall to the right of the already open wall. Hit it and talk to Eingyi and be sure to answer YES to his question. Then go up to Quelaana (looks just like Quelaag only she is praying and is sitting right in front of the bonfire) and talk to her and bring up the expanded menu. Choose the ‘Join Covenant’ option for the achievement.

  • Acquire best weapon through standard reinforcement.

    This is by far the most annoying crafting achievement simply because of how the game handles upgrading and ascending weapons. You need to get any regular weapon to +15. This will take a lot of patience and you can't get this until late game. 

    Required Embers and locations

    • Large Ember - Found in the first room of the Depths. First, grab the basement key on the other side of the gate in the Undead Parish, then go back to the beginning of the bridge guarded by the Hellkite Dragon. Then kill the Capra Demon boss in the Lower Undead Burg. This will give you the key to the Depths. Step back out of the boss fog once defeated and look to the left. Follow the path down and open the door. The ember is located in a chest to the left of the butcher's table.
    • Very Large Ember - Found in a chest in the end of New Londo Ruins. AFTER YOU'VE OPENED THE FLOOD GATES (get the key to the seal from Ingward) go down to the bottom of the area. There should be a well with a corpse containing six red eye orbs. Go into the building and beware of darkwraiths. The first mass of souls enemy can be found in this building. Go past him and go into the room to the right. Follow the path up the stairs to get to the chest with the ember.

    You need a lot of titanite for this. In the end, you'll need 9 titanite shards, 9 large titanite shards, 7 titanite chunks, and one slab. Slabs and chunks can be obtained using the methods described in the 'Lightning Weapon' achievement and the various titanite shards can be bought by the Giant Blacksmith in Anor Londo.

  • Acquire best weapon through crystal reinforcement.

    Crystal Ember: Found in the Duke's Archives. In the room with the staircase activated by the lever to get to the gardens, go behind the bookcase and open the chest to get the ember. Once you get the ember, bring it to the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo. 

    NOTE: Alternatively, you can get a Crystal Halberd from the mimic at the beginning of Anor Londo. 

    To ascend a weapon into a crystal ascension, you need to have any weapon at a +10 through standard path, then you take that weapon to the giant blacksmith and have him ascend it with a titanite chunk. You need 9 titanite chunks and a slab to get to +5 Crystal weapon. Refer to the lightning weapon achievement for methods on obtaining titanite chunks and slabs. 

  • Acquire best weapon through lightning reinforcement.

    You need to get any Lightning weapon to +5 for this achievement. To save resources, I recommend doing the Lightning Spear (dropped by mimic in Sen's Fortress) for this. You need 7 titanite chunks and 1 titanite slab for this. titanite chunks can be farmed by the Giant Sentinels in bright Anor Londo or the darkwraiths in New Londo. Titanite Slabs can be easily obtained by completing Siegmeyer's storyline (guide can be found here) and one is a guaranteed drop by the Stray Demon boss on your return visit to the Undead Asylum.

  • Acquire best weapon through raw reinforcement.

    You need to upgrade a raw weapon to +5 for this achievement. You need to have the Large Ember (kill Capra Demon boss for key to Depths, enter the depths and the chest next to the butcher's table in the first room to get the ember). After that, take it to Andre of Astora and use it to ascend a +5 weapon on the standard path. You need 7 titanite chunks and 1 slab. The best places to farm titanite chunks are the darkwraiths in New Londo and the giant sentinels in LIGHT Anor Londo. The easiest places to get Titanite Slabs are the Stray Demon boss on the return visit to the Undead Asylum. The second place is to complete Siegmeyer of Catarina's questline. See HEREfor a detailed guide explaining how to do Siegmeyer's story.

  • Acquire best weapon through magic reinforcement.

    Large Magic Ember: Found in the room where you fight Seath for the first time. The ember will be in a chest that will only appear AFTER Seath is defeated. 

    Rickhert of Vinheim: Located in New Londo Ruins. Right before you go into New Londo, go allthe way to the right and down the staircase to the left to see him locked up in a cage. He is safe and he will remain there forever (unless you attack him, in which case he will run back). Give the Large Magic Ember to him. 

    In order to get a +10 magic weapon, you need 10 green titanite shards (purchased from giant blacksmith in Anor Londo), 7 blue titanite chunks (farmed from blue crystal golems in Darkroot Basin/Crystal Caves/ Duke's Archives gardens), and a blue titanite slab (farmed from moonlight butterflies in Crystal Caves or found in the Crystal Caves. Drop down into the invisible path and turn around into the cave with 3 crystal lizards and follow the invisible path out of there to find the corpse with the slab).

  • Acquire best weapon through enchanted reinforcement.

    The Enchanted ember is needed to ascend weapons on the enchanted path. It can be found in a chest in a pond guarded by two large mushroom shaped enemies in Darkroot Garden. Alternatively you can find an Enchanted Falchion from the mimics drop in Duke's Archives (the one in the room with the crystal area after the bookcase shortcut). You need Blue Titanite Chunks (farm axe wielding Black Knight at the end of the game for those) and a Blue Titanite Slab to go from +4 to +5. The Blue Titanite Slabs can be farmed from the moonlight butterflies in Crystal Cave (don't worry about killing it over a chasm, slab will automatically get added to your inventory) or found on a corpse in the crystal caves (when you fall onto the invisible walkway, turn around and go through the small tunnel with 3 crystal lizards and follow the path that leads out of there for the corpse containing the slab). 

  • Acquire best weapon through divine reinforcement.

    Divine weapons are used on Undead and the pawns of necromancers (skeletons) and to get a divine weapon, you first need to ascend a +5 normal weapon to a Divine weapon.

    Divine Ember: Found on a dead blacksmith past the Moonlight Butterfly boss battle in the Darkroot Gardens.

    Large Divine Ember: Found on a dead blacksmith in the Tomb of the Giants. See this video for the location, as describing it in text will only confuse you.

    Once you have these embers, take them to Andre of Astora in the Undead Parish. Now you will need the materials. In the end you need:

    • 9 Titanite Shards - Purchased from Andre of Astora for 800 souls each.
    • 9 Green Titanite Shards - Purchased from the Giant Blacksmith in Anor Londo.
    • 8 White Titanite Chunks - Can be farmed by the Bone Towers or the Pinwheel Servants in the Tomb of the Giants, or the axe wielding Black Knight in the Kiln of the First Flame for a guaranteed drop.
    • 1 White Titanite Slab - See 'Occult Weapon' for how to get this.

    Once you get a +10 divine weapon, the achievement will unlock.

  • Acquire best weapon through fire reinforcement.

    You need a +10 fire weapon. This path adds fire damage to your weapon.

    Large Fire Ember: Found in the area between the Ceaseless Discharge boss and the Demon Firesage, to the left of the fog gate and it is guarded by two Taurus Demon mini bosses and four ambushing Burrowing Rockworms.

    After you have obtained this ember, you need to bring it to Vamos the blacksmith in the Catacombs. In the end, you need the materials listed below.

    • Titanite Shards x9 - Purchased from Andre of Astora in the Undead Parish.
    • Green Titanite Shards x10 - Purchased from the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo.
    • Red Titanite Chunks x7 - Farmed from Chaos Eaters in Lost Izalith or a guaranteed drop from the greatsword wielding Black Knight in the Kiln of the First Flame.
    • Red Titanite Slab - Obtained from a chest in Lost Izalith (VIDEO) or trade an upgraded Ascended Pyromancy Flame with Snuggly the Crow.
  • Acquire best weapon through chaos reinforcement.

    You need to get a +5 Chaos weapon. Chaos weapons scale with the amount of soft humanity you have (geared towards PvP).

    Chaos Fire Ember: Found in the Demon Ruins. This will be on a corpse in the middle of the lava past the Taurus Demon mini bosses. You can only access this part of the map after you have killed Ceaseless Discharge. I recommend having the Orange Charred Ring (defeat the Centipede Demon boss battle) or by putting on Flash Sweat and having high health. I recommend the former. After you have obtained the ember, bring it to Vamos the skeleton blacksmith in the Catacombs.

    You must first obtain a +5 normal weapon, then ascend it to a +5 fire weapon, then ascend it to the chaos path. When all is said and done, you need the materials below.

    • Titanite Shards x9 - Purchased from Andre of Astora in the Undead Parish.
    • Green Titanite Shards x10 - Purchased from the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo.
    • Red Titanite Chunks x8 - Farmed from Chaos Eaters in Lost Izalith or a guaranteed drop from the greatsword wielding Black Knight in the Kiln of the First Flame.
    • Red Titanite Slab - Obtained from a chest in Lost Izalith (VIDEO) or trade an upgraded Ascended Pyromancy Flame with Snuggly the Crow.

    After you have obtained a +5 chaos weapon, the achievement will unlock.

  • Light bonfire flame.

    In the tutorial area of the Undead Asylum you will eventually come across an unlit bonfire. Simply light the bonfire to earn this achievement.

  • Acquire Estus Flask.

    Story related, cannot be missed. As you go up the staircase in the Undead Asylum, a boulder will roll down and break the wall. Talk to Oscar (laying in the ground) and he’ll give you the Estus Flask and a key to open the door up the stairs. If you kill him, he’ll drop these items. Whatever you do, you’ll get this achievement.

  • Arrive in Lordran.

    You will earn this achievement after defeating the Asylum Demon and using the giant crow to take you away. When you arrive in Lordran the achievement will unlock.

  • Ring Bell of Awakening at Undead Church.

    This achievement is story related and cannot be missed. You must fight the Belfry Gargoyles for this. To make this fight easy, summon Knight Solaire (his summon sign is yellow and is right outside the boss fog) and be sure to cut the tail off of one of them for the rare weapon. Once finished with the gargoyles, climb the ladders of the bell tower and ring the bell.

  • Ring Bell of Awakening in Quelaag's domain.

    Story related. Cannot be missed. On NG, I strongly recommend triggering the Maneater Mildred invasion before entering Quelaag's boss battle (must be human). 

    Quelaag is a simple fight. She has a blind spot to her left where none of her attacks will hit you. Hug that spot and be sure to jump out of the way when she spits the fire at you! Also, when you see her character model bunch up, roll back 3 times so you can get away from the AoE attack. This attack will devastate you if you have lower VIT. Once you kill her, onto the little stair case and pull the lever to ring the bell and to get your achievement!

  • Acquire the Rite of Kindling.

    This is story related and cannot be missed. You will get this after defeating the Pinwheel boss in the Catacombs. Pinwheel is a very easy boss and to make it even easier by summoning Paladin Leeroy. Pretty much all the fight amounts to is dodging the spells and hitting the real Pinwheel. He doesn’t have very much health, so you can kill him very easily.

  • Acquire the Art of Abysswalking.

    Story related, cannot be missed. You will get this after defeating Sif, the Great Grey Wolf. Before you can fight this boss, you need to get the Crest of Artorias from Andre the Blacksmith for 20000 souls. Then go into Darkroot Garden and open the door (be sure to hit the wall to the left for a bonfire). Then traverse the area and get to Sif’s boss fog.

    Sif isn’t the hardest fight but it can still be tricky if you aren’t used to dodging. Just stay underneath him and attack while you're under him. Be sure to let your stamina to recover and heal when needed.

  • Arrive in Anor Londo.

    Story related, cannot be missed. After you ring the two Bells of Awakening, the gates to Sen's Fortress will open up. Go to the bonfire one story above Andre of Astora's workshop to get here. Once you get to the top of the area, carefully drop down off the small gap in the fence up the stairs at the top for a bonfire. Get through that area to face the Iron Golem boss battle. 

    The Iron Golem is a simple fight in and of itself but it can be made even easier by doing these two things:

    • Summoning Iron Tarkus. His summon sign can be found in the room across the small walkway to the right of the boss fog.
    • Killing the Giant who throws firebombs at you during the fight. From the boss fog, turn around and go up the staircase to get to the giant. Kill him for a titanite chunk and he won't throw firebombs at you during the fight. He won't respawn.

    The fight starts with Iron Golem blasting a wind vortex at you. You can dodge it or run behind the piece of debris in the center. Get underneath him and hug the backs of his left leg. Just focus on doing as much damage to him as possible do you can stagger him for an easy kill. Iron Tarkus can help greatly here as his attacks do large chunks of his health and stagger the Iron Golem. Simply keep attacking and moving out of the way of his very slow attacks and you'll win!

    After the fight, interact with the golden ring in the center of the boss arena to be taken to Anor Londo for the achievement.

  • Acquire the Lordvessel.

    Story related and cannot be missed. After defeating Ornstein and Smough, talk tonthe princess in her chamber and she'll give the Lordvessel to you. This allows you to fast travel and you must place it on the shrine in Firelink Altar (fall down the hole in the building with the puddle of water in Firelink Shrine). 

    Ornstein and Smough is a very hectic fight as you'll be fighting them both at once. Ornstein is fast and is easier to dodge but Smough is slow and he hits very hard. Circle the room and keep then both on the screen at the same time as much as possible. Attack when you are given an opportunity. Ornstein will stagger if 500 points of damage are done to him quickly so use this to get away. Upon killing one of them, the other will receive their power. If you kill Smough first, then Ornstein will get super big and will have an AoE and grab attack, both of which are devastating. If Ornstein is killed first, then Smough will become bigger and he will do lightning damage and have an AoE. Whenever you see them charge up their AoE's, roll away twice. You'll receive the soul of whoever you kill last. 

 

Secret achievements

  • Reach "To Link the Fire" ending.

    After collecting all four Lord Souls and placing them into the Lordvessel, the door behind it will open up so you may enter Gwyndolin's domain. Follow the path to him. Once defeated, light the bonfire in the center to end the game.

    NOTE: You can’t get this and "Dark Lord" in one playthrough. Two playthroughs are required.

  • Reach "The Dark Lord" ending.

    After collecting all four Lord Souls and placing them into the Lordvessel, the door behind it will open up so you may enter Gwyndolin's domain. Follow the path to him. Once defeated, leave the way you came to end the game.

    NOTE: You can’t get this and "To Link the Fire" in one playthrough. Two playthroughs are required.

  • Discover Path of the Dragon covenant.

    The Dragon Covenant is quite hard to get to as it requires traversing the Blighttown, Great Hollow, and Ash Lake. In Blighttown, go to the opposite end from Quelaag's Domain to a giant tree. Inside this tree keep hitting false walls and you will come into the Great Hollow. Make your way down to the bottom and outside into the Ash Lake. Next, dash across the sandbars all the way to the far end and speak with the Dragon to join.

    NOTE: I recommend doing this after you get the Lordvessel so you don't have to back up the Great Hollow. 

  • Discover Darkwraith covenant.

    This covenant requires a bit of planning and is very easy to miss. You need to talk to Kaathe to get the option to join this covenant. Kaathe can be found in the Abyss in front of the bonfire after defeating the Four Kings (see corresponding achievement if you're having trouble with that). He wil not appear at all of you:

    • Place the Lordvessel in Firelink Altar before talking to him.
    • Talk to Frampt whatsoever in your playthrough.

    If you haven't done these, then Kaate will appear and he will take you to Firelink Altar so you can place the Lordvessel and side with him. 

    NOTE: After talking to Kaathe, Frampt will leave Firelink for the rest of your playthrough. 

  • Discover Warrior of Sunlight covenant.

    This covenant is actually required for two of the miracles you need to obtain. First off, you need to have at least 25 faith OR you can lower the requirement by 1 for each boss you help someone successfully kill. Once you're eligible, interact with the statue at the Sunlight Altar bonfire for the achievement. 

    To rank up in this covenant and to get the two miracles, you need Sunlight Medals. You can get Sunlight Medals by helping people to successfully kill bosses (WHILE YOU'RE STILL IN THE COVENANT), 3x out of the chest in the room by the second bonfire in Anor Londo (guarded by spear wielding Silver Knight), or by farming the sunlight maggots at the end of Lost Izalith. Offer ten and you'll get the Great Lightning Spear miracle. You can also offer Gwyn's soul for the Sunlight spear miracle. 

  • Discover Forest Hunter covenant.

    This covenant isn't required for anything but it can be found in the Darkroot Garden. First off, buy the Crest of Artorias from Andre of Astora for 20000 souls. Then go through the door and kill all of the phantoms in the area (not required but you get a lot of souls as its the best soul grinding spot in the game). After you fight the axe wielding bandit in the Brigand set, go into the room directly in front of the area where he spawns and talk to the cat in the window. Exhaust her dialogue for the option to join the covenant and the achievement. 

  • Discover Princess's Guard covenant.

    The Princess Guard Covenant is rather small and not that hard to miss. You have to speak with its leader in order to obtain a story related item. After defeating Ornstein and Smough in Anor Londo, use one of the lifts in the back of the room to reach the Princess. Talk with here and she will give you the Lordvessel (if you don't already have it). Next, speak with here again and she will ask you to join. Upon joining you will receive the Sun Princess Ring. You will also be able to purchase the Miracle Bountiful Sunlight and Miracle Soothing Sunlight from Piscaca.

    NOTE: If you kill Princess Gwynevere’s illusion, Anor Londo will go dark and you won’t be able to join her covenant or the Darkmoon covenant until the next playthrough. 

  • Discover Blade of the Darkmoon covenant.

    To get to this covenant, you must get to the Darkmoon Seance Ring (see 'Defeated Dark Sun Gwyndolin' for location of the ring). After you get the ring, go to the statue at the bottom of Anor Londo by pushing the lever one more time. The statue is actually an illusory wall that will only disappear if you have the Darkmoon Seance Ring. Pray at the rug in front of the fog for the achievement. 

    NOTE: If you enter the fog, you won't be able to rank up or join the covenant if you haven't already for the rest of the playthrough. 

  • Acquire best weapon through occult reinforcement.

    You need to upgrade any occult weapon to +5. You can use the Occult Ember or the Occult Club (dropped by the mimic in the room with Havel's set in Anor Londo. The Occult Ember is found in the Painted World of Ariamis (use the Annex Key and follow the straight path after opening the door. The ember is down the stairs and on a statue that looks like Andre of Astora). If you are using the ember, give it to Andre and use it to ascend any +5 divine weapon to Occult. I'd personally recommend using the club so you don't have to waste resources.

    To get an Occult weapon to +5, you need 9 white titanite chunks (I'd recommend farming the axe wielding black knight at the end for them) and a white titanite slab. White titanite slabs are an incredibly rare drop from the pinwheel servants or you can find one in that area. Describing where it is will only confuse you, so see this videofor the location.

  • Defeat Dark Sun Gwyndolin, the Darkmoon God.

    Dark Sun Gwyndolin is a completely optional boss that is extremely easy to miss. There are two ways to go about being able to fight this boss. His boss arena/covenant is located at the bottom of Anor Londo. Push the elevator lever one more time to get there. There is a statue there but either method will make the statue invisible so you can proceed. The first method is killing Princess Gwynevere in the Chamber of the Princess. The second is by getting the Darkmoon Seance Ring from the Catacombs. I recommend the former, however. To get the ring, go across the bridge that was covered with spikes and through the door. Sprint through to the corpse in the grave for the ring. The statue in Anor Londo will disappear if you have this ring in your inventory. Entering the fog will also prevent you from tanking up in the Darkmoon covenant. 

    The fight itself has you chasing him down a seemingly endless hallway. He will cast spells at you and they are easy to dodge. The blue ball will devastate you but it will devastate you even if you are blocking. Simply move out of the way and it won't hit you. He'll also shoot a barrage of homing soul arrows. Hide behind the pillars so they don't hit you. When you get close, he'll shoot a burst of crossbow bolts at you. Block these arrows so they don't devastate you. Attack when you get close and when he teleports away. Repeat until defeated and the achievement will unlock. 

  • Defeat Crossbreed Priscilla, the Lifehunter.

    Priscilla is a completely optional boss that does require some steps to access. First, you must return to the Undead Asylum (go up the elevator to undead parish, but don't let it go all the way up and go onto the broken roof. Then roll onto te pillar and up the stairs to the crow's nest. A button prompt will appear that says ' to curl up like a ball'. Wait about 30 seconds to be taken back). Once you're there, go back to the cell where you started the game and pick up the Peculiar Doll. Then go to the painting in Anor Londo and interact with it. You'll be taken into the Painted World of Ariamis. 

    She won't be hostile when you enter the fog. Of you want to just leave the place, walk around her and jump off the edge to leave. However, for the achievement you must kill her. Before the fight actually starts, I recommend getting your hardest hitting weapon and doing a two handed strong attack on her tail for her tailcut weapon. She will aggro and turn invisible. Watch the ground for her footsteps and keep your shield up at all times. When you here her swing, look where her footsteps are and attack. After a few hits, she will become visible again. Rinse and repeat for the achievement. 

  • Defeat Seath the Scaleless, inheritors of souls.

    This boss is technically battled twice. The first encounter is in the Duke's Archives and is impossible to beat. You're supposed to die (you will lose everything as per norm, so I recommend a Ring of Sacrifice if you have a lot of souls on hand. 

    The second time you encounter him is in the Crystal Caves. The fight is pretty easy since he is a large boss. The general rule of thumb with large bosses is to stay as close to them as possible and hug them to
    minimize the chances of being hit. You need to destroy the Primordial Crystal so you can do damage to him. Then hug is front and hit him. He can curse you by breathing crystals on the ground. Simply run as far away as possible to avoid being cursed. Repeat until defeated. 

  • Defeat the Soul Lord Bed of Chaos.

    Get ready for the cheapest boss in the game! The Bed of Chaos is a multi stage boss battle that is composed of three stages. First, once you fall of the slide into her arena, sprint to the orange shield on her right side and attack the core of it. Now, save and quit. Yes, I said save and quit. Reload your game and you'll be placed right outside the fog. Then once you fall, hug the edge of the wall and jump the gap and go for the core of the shield of her left side. Now, save and quit once more. Reload your game. Once you fall this time, go for the center. The ground will collapse underneath you and you'll need to roll onto the trunk below. I recommend baiting her into doing her sweep attack on that area of the arena and then the second she finishes the attack animation, sprint and roll down. Now simply fall the path to the center of the boss and attack. The bug at the core will die in one hit. 

    NOTE: The stages don't reset if you die or save and quit.

  • Defeat the Four Kings, inheritors of souls.

    Before you do this fight, you need to have the Covenant of Artorias ring equipped (dropped by Sif so see 'Art of Abysswalking' for more info if you're having trouble with that fight) so that you'll be able to drop into the Abyss without dying. 

    The Abyss is endless blackness in which the Four Kings lurk in. Get in as close as possible to minimize the damage done to you and then you can either tank or dodge. If you have high poise, then tank, but if you have little to no poise, then dodge. Try to stay behind them and take them on one at a time. When you see one of them charge up a purple attack, it's either going to grab you or blast an AoE. Roll back three times to dose either of them. Attack dying the recovery animations in between one of their attacks. 

    NOTE: You can still hit one as it fades out and continue to do damage. If you are using a weapon that does higher damage for your character than you can technically only kill three and win. 

  • Defeat the Soul Lord Gravelord Nito.

    I strongly recommend a divine weapon for this fight. Nito himself is a necromancer, so divine weapons will ensure that the skeletons don't get back up. 

    When you drop down into the arena, drink Estus immediately to heal. Stay put and wait for the initial batch of skeletons to rush you. Kill them with the divine weapon and wait for Nito to come over to you (so you don't aggro the other skeletons). Nito is large and has a blind spot to his left. Attack when given the oppurtunity and be sure to either roll away or block his AoE. When you see him huddle over and hunch, he is about to do the AoE. If you are planning on rolling away, 3-4 rolls will get you away. Of you plan on blocking them, use a shield with high magic resist. 

    NOTE: If you kill Nito, then the Paladin Leeroy invasion will not occur and you won't be able to join the Gravelord Servants covenant for the rest of your playthrough.

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