The Catacombs - Dark Souls Guide - IGN (2024)

Now that you're done with the optional quests down in The Great Hollow and Ash Lake, the main quest can resume.

It's quite likely you're probably quite confused about what to do at this point, so here's a reminder. Your current aim is to acquire the souls of several bosses spread throughout Dark Soul's vast world. You're doing this because each soul is used to light the Lord Vessel, which you should have placed under Firelink Shrine by talking to Kingseeker Frampt.

At this point, the game really opens up. This guide follows the easiest route through the game, but it is perfectly acceptable to do the areas in whichever way you seem fit.

For the purposes of this guide you should head to the Catacombs, but you could also alternatively visit:

• The Duke's Archives
• New Londo Ruins
• Demon Ruins

Getting to the Catacombs

Start at Firelink Shrine's bonfire. Remember where the cemetery is? If not, head to where Kingseeker Frampt is snoozing away merrily and through the archway to his left.

Before we go deeper into the Catacombs, it may be worth collecting a few items in the cemetery. Once you're there, look down to the left. You should see a corpse near a cliff edge. Kill the two skeletons who guard this corpse then loot it for a Large Soul of a Lost Undead.

From here, head straight forwards (not as in off the cliff, obviously - turn around first) and move towards a fork in the path. Kill the two skeletons nearby then head up the right hand fork to find another corpse who's holding a Large Soul of a Lost Undead.

From here you should head up to the right, passing through a small gap between the headstones. Be careful - up here there's your first Giant Skeleton, and he's a much more dangerous foe than the little ones. Thankfully he doesn't have much health, so block/dodge his slow attacks and chip away whenever possible.

Once he's dead, continue up the path to find a corpse who holds the highly useful weapon Winged Spear. Once acquired, head back down to the fork. See where there's some stairs on the left? Look down a bit to the left and you'll spot another corpse! Loot this deceased fellow of his Caduceus Round Shield once you've killed his skeleton friends who guard against evil grave robbers like you.

From here, it's down the path again, and through some more skeletons. From here's there's two routes: one down, and the other to the right. The right hand path leads to an item that happens to be guarded by three normal skeletons, and a giant one thrown in for good measure. Kill them all and take your hard-earned Zweihander, an extremely powerful Greatsword. It is also possible to get round to this area from where you found the Winged Spear.

From here, look down to the right. See that dead chap on the edge of the cliff? Move towards him carefully and loot him for the highly pointless Binoculars. Admire the scenery with them if you wish, then move back to the fork in the path, head down and enter the Catacombs for the first time.

Respawning Skeletons, Necromancy and Exploding Heads

Head down into the Catacombs, passing down some stairs and into a darkened area.

Note: The skeletons in this area will continually respawn until you kill either the Necromancer who controls them. Alternately the Dragon Head Stone permanently kills the skeletons, and you could use a Divine weapon to strike them down as well - both methods prevent respawn. The Dragon Head Stone can be acquired down in Ash Lake; Divine Weapons require having delivered the correct Ember to the Parish blacksmith, a +5 normal weapon to serve as a base, and you'll need some Green Titanite Shards for the conversion and Divine upgrades. Green shards can be purchased from the Anor Londo giant blacksmith for 4800 souls each.

Shortly after entering you'll find a new enemy type called a Wisp. Wisps are floating skulls that explode when you get near them. Back away when they start their detonation to remain safe. You can also block the explosion damage with a shield, if you have sufficient stamina.

You'll encounter both Skeletons and Wisps as soon as you enter the Catacombs. If you lack a Divine weapon, your best bet is to sprint as fast as you can down the path, drop off a ledge (for minor damage), head immediately left through the corridor, then another quick left through a hole in the wall (see image below). In here you'll find a Necromancer, the enemy who's reanimating the skeletons.

Kill him, but be advised of two things. First, killing this Necromancer doesn't mean all the Skeletons in the Catacombs will now be killable - there are more Necromancers scattered throughout this area who also control other skeletons. Each handles their local minions. Necromancers remain dead once slain, so for all non-Divine weapon carriers, prioritize these targets to make your life easier.

Second, killing a Necromancer doesn't do a thing about the animated Skeletons in his area. Engage the collection of Skeletons who've no doubt followed you down to the Necromancer room. Take care while fighting, as Skeletons cause Bleed when their Scimitars land, and the shield-carrying variety are skilled at parrying.

The Necromancer room also has the Catacomb's first bonfire, huzzah! Rest up, then examine the mysterious statue nearby to find a switch you can pull. This will open up a new area outside the room.

Necromancer Hunting and the Second Bonfire

Head back up the ramp through the destroyed wall. Two Skeletons will have respawned here if you used the bonfire; put them down. Turn left from the top of the ramp and head through the newly opened door. Take note of the statues on either side of this corridor; later on, some of these will attack you with spikes when you pass.

As soon as you're outside, you should spot another Necromancer across from you to the right. He will likely be throwing fireballs in your direction. He's unfortunately across a massive chasm, however. If you have a bow or appropriate sorcery on hand, you can kill him across the chasm. If you're melee, head down the path handling the three skeletons on the way, turn right and follow the ramp up and go through the archway. Turn right again and take care - the Necromancer room contains a further 3 melee Skeletons, and there will be an archer Skeleton on a wall above and behind you. Kill the Necromancer and his Skeleton friends, and break line-of-sight to the archer.

Continue following the path inside the building. Going under the next archway will lead you to another melee Skeleton who will drop into the chamber to fight you. Once done, head into the nearby room on the right and prepare for battle with two more Skeletons (one is immediately left of the archway; the other animates as you enter). Once dead, loot the corpse in the alcove for a Lucerne.

Go out, continue along to the right. Deal with two more Skeletons hanging out here. As you head forward you'll see an archway on the left, but further ahead of you a third Skeleton is hiding out in the dark at the end of the crypt - handle him first. Go back to the archway, follow the path around to the left, and you'll see the archer Skeleton who was shooting at you earlier. He has one melee Skeleton guarding him; take down both. From the direction you entered, this chamber has one exit left (the drop back into the main room of this building), one exit forward through a broken wall (from the archer's platform, leading to just outside the building), and one exit right (the waterfall path). Make sure you check the crypts in this chamber before leaving so you can receive a Large Soul of a Nameless Soldier.

Exit the room through towards the waterfall path. You'll have a spiked bridge leading to your left with two Skeletons and one Necromancer on the far side. He'll be in range for fireballs, so take care. As you step out onto the platform you'll draw the attention of two Wisps to the right; consider luring them back towards the building to allow them to detonate.

Follow the open path around to the right. Mind the statues; they will have spikes that jut out. You can mitigate most of the damage by using a shield. As you advance down the path you'll trigger a third Wisp (careful!) and around four more Skeletons (two packs of two). Clear all of these and follow the path as it curves around. You'll find some breakable jars at the end with the Soul of a Proud Knight behind them.

Backtrack from the end to the tall switch and push the lever. This will lower the spikes that were blocking the route to the Necromancer. Continue to backtrack towards where you entered the waterfall area, but don't forget about those spike statues - they will always try to stab you. When you make it back to the formerly spiked bridge, you'll have to deal with two Skeletons at the far side, along with the local Necromancer. Take them all down.

The room at the end of the spiked bridge has two options available. First, there's a broken wall door to the right that leads to a pair of gravestones. The back corner of the left-most grave will fall away if you stand on it, dropping you in a lower chamber (moderate damage). You can run forward from here down a narrow hall flanked with spike statues to encounter two Crystal Lizards side-by-side. Kill them if you can for the loot, and proceed to the end of the corridor to find a ladder. The ladder will take you to another dead-end room with a fall-through grave; drop through there (no damage) and you'll wind up back at the tall switch by the waterfall. To get back to where you were, follow the path back to the spiked bridge and cross again.

This time from the room at the end of the spiked bridge, walk forward through the stone archway. You'll be at the top of a descending spiral staircase. Start heading down. There's a Necromancer in here, so if you want to rush down to find and kill him before following the guide, feel free! (Sometimes he also falls off the stairs and dies before you can get to him.)

As you head down the stairs, the first alcove on the right has one Skeleton inside waiting for you. The second alcove has the Soul of a Proud Knight, but ware the spike statue behind it. Next up comes a landing with two more Skeletons to fight. From the landing, you'll have a stone archway ahead of you with a slight downgrade beyond; this room contains three more Skeletons and one Soul of a Proud Knight (beware the statues again).

Come back to the landing room and follow the spiral staircase down further. Two more Skeletons await on the stairs. There's another stone archway towards the bottom with a tall switch inside. Push the switch here; it opens up the strange square part of the wall back up the spiral stairs in the landing room. Go back up to the landing and through the square door, then stop. There will be a path to your left and a dead-man's drop straight ahead. Turn left and take that pathway.

The pathway ends on another ledge. To your right is spiked bridge #2 with a fog door beyond it. To your left is the way you must proceed. Take that left turn and follow the path to the end and you'll find a ladder. To the left of the ladder (mind the statue!) is a wall you can strike to reveal a secret path. The secret path leads to a staircase, at the top of which is the area's second bonfire. Light that and rest.

From the second bonfire, head back down the stairs and exit that secret door (mind the statue!). Turn immediately left to the ladder, climb up, and you'll find another tall switch. Push this lever to lower the spikes on spike bridge #2, giving you access to the fog door. Remember that you rested and you'll have to keep your eyes open for respawned Skeletons through some of the zones you've already visited.

Fog Door beyond Spike Bridge #2

From the second bonfire, head back down the stairs, down the path, and across spike bridge #2. Pass through the fog door. This chamber has a downward stair that wraps along the wall; two Skeletons are at the bottom. Above is a broken wall where you may be able to see a Necromancer. Try to kill him with ranged or magic attacks if you can; it will make things simpler in the next section. Either way, deal with the Skeletons here, then take a look at the brick wall at the bottom of the staircase. This wall can be broken open with a weapon attack.

Through this wall is an oddly shaped vertical chamber. You'll have skeleton archers in here (possibly one just right of the door on a ledge, possibly up on high ledges as well). You can walk to the right and drop to a small ledge, then fall from there to the bottom of the room. The bottom of the room has two Skeletons to fight. Clear those, then head up the ladders as needed to clear the Skeleton Archers there.

Head back down to the bottom of the room and follow the only path out. You'll enter a long rectangular hall. As you walk through this room a Giant Skeleton will fall from the ceiling; take it apart. At the farthest end of the room is a crypt with a corpse holding the Darkmoon Seance Ring.

If you head back at this point you'll realize you can't get out the way you came in. Instead, in the hall with the Darkmoon Seance Ring you'll find a passage on one side through a broken brick wall. This leads to a room with an upward sloping ramp, then to a staircase beyond. Follow this all the way up to a chamber that has one Skeleton and the area's Necromancer (if not already dispatched). Take them down.

From here, leaping out the broken wall will put you back in the room beyond the fog door, but I recommend taking the ladder here up one more level. Follow the path (mind the statues!) and you'll find a corpse you can loot for Miracle: Tranquil Walk of Peace. This is a dead-end room with another drop-through grave. Take care if you exit this way, as the drop will put you back in the first building you had to clear - the one with the exit to the waterfall area. As you've probably used the second bonfire, you'll have a bunch of Skeletons to handle as soon as you fall through.

However you get through this section, you should probably stop by the second bonfire again to rest up.

The Great Scythe and the Prowling Demon

From the second bonfire, follow the path back towards the fog door, but hang a right into the entrance you used to get to this area. Take a left at the junction to reach the dead-man drop. From that drop, look down to your right. You should see a stone platform below you; walk off in that direction and you can land on it. Reverse your camera and you'll see another ledge below you, also easily walked to. This puts you on a platform with a corpse containing a Great Scythe. The path dead-ends after the Great Scythe room with another drop-through grave. Fall through here, but know that a few Wisps that will be right next to you when you land!

The landing platform below the Great Scythe is at the far end of the walk beyond the fog door at spike bridge #2. There are some Wisps and Skeletons along that path, though there isn't any reason to take it unless you wish to go back to the second bonfire at this time. Instead, I recommend heading through the square stone door you'll see here. You'll enter a tight hallway, and around the time you go under a second arch, you should be able to see a Prowling Demon standing in the distance. He's a little hard to target at first (you might have to smack him with a ranged attack to wake him up). The Prowling Demon's combat runs just like all the Titanite Demons you've fought so far. Take him down for a Demon Titanite. Beyond him, deeper in the passageway, you'll find a dead end with 3x Eye of Death waiting to be picked up.

On the Prowling Demon's side of this chamber you'll see one coffin that sticks out further than the rest. Getting near that coffin provides the option to "nestle in coffin". This coffin is used if you wish to join the Gravelord Servant coveneant. You'll have to lay in the coffin for around 30 seconds to get started, if that's your interest. Avoid laying in the coffin that long otherwise.

Head back the way you came as though you're exiting the Prowling Demon area, but keep your eyes open for a passage through a brick wall on the left. Just inside this room is a large square drop; a ladder will be positioned on your right near a corpse with a Soul of a Proud Knight on it. Take care; entering this room will lure two Skeletons up the ladder to your location. Dispatch them after they climb up, then loot the corpse for your prize.

Your next step is to head down the ladder. Take great care here, as the landing you're on will have two drop-through sections on the floor that are slightly off-color from the rest of the bricks. Avoid these for the moment. (If you fall through, you'll be in a fight with an axe-wielding Black Knight, which we'll cover shortly.) Instead of falling through, navigate carefully around to the passage through the brick wall. Take the ladder down and follow the path to find two Skeleton Archers and one more Necromancer. Take them apart. On your left will be a narrow exit through another brick wall into a large chamber. This is our next stop, but take great care - this is the Wheel Skeleton Room.

The Wheel Skeleton Room

This room features two Wisps on the side closest to the ladders, with a wide-open space beyond. Detonate the Wisps carefully, then proceed ahead. The open area has 7 to 8 Wheel Skeletons (as you fought in the Painted World of Ariamis). These are very dangerous as it's easy to pull more than one at a time inadvertently. Using a bow to trigger them at long range is optimal, but don't forget to switch back to your shield; you want to block all their hits before counter-attacking. Clear this room entirely.

The Wheel Skeleton room has three primary exits - the ladder side (where you should be entering from), a plain brick wall along the right side from the ladder entrance (the Blacksmith Entrance), and the far side of the room has the final fog door of the area. That door leads to the area boss, Pinwheel. You could arguably move along at this point to face the boss, but there are still items to loot if you're up for it, along with the path to unlock Blacksmith Vamos.

Optional: Black Axe Knight room

After the Wheel Skeleton room is clear, head back through the ladder entrance and follow the ladders and paths up to the crypt landing. Remember those floors you were avoiding? If your health is solid, drop through one - both lead to the same chamber. When you land immediately locate and lock on to the Black Knight in here, then handle him like all the others you've fought - he's an easy backstab target. Once he dies you'll receive a White Titanite Chunk, and there will also be a corpse here with another Soul of a Proud Knight. The only way out from the Black Knight's room is to step out on the ledge and work your way down a series of short-fall stairs. This puts you back in the Wheel Skeleton room, which is why it's valuable to clear that area first - dropping in on top of active Wheel Skellys is no one's idea of fun.

Next head back to the ladder entrance. Take that route up to the landing, then up again to the Prowling Demon's corridors. Head back out here through the square stone doorway; this puts you back on the landing below the Great Scythe room. Follow the ramp path up here, taking out the Skeletons along the way and watching out for Wisps and spike statues. The path winds up at another square door; this is the bottom of the chamber past the first fog door. Handle the Skeletons here (if any), then head up the stairs and across spike bridge #2 to reach the second bonfire again. It's advisable to rest up here as you've probably used a few Estus flasks.

It's Blacksmith time.

Vamos: One Unpleasant Blacksmith

From the second bonfire, head back down the path towards the second spike bridge, but take that right turn into the entrance passage again. Hang a right at the junction to reach the area's primary spiral staircase room. Clear any Skeletons that happen to show up here (usually at least three), then head down the staircase. Go past the tall switch room at the bottom, all the way down to that final broken stair, and swing your camera around for a look. You might be able to see a corpse a long way down, but you don't want to join him yet.

Instead, roll off towards the direction of the hump on the wall that you can see from the last stair. With luck you'll land on a small ledge just below that hump. From here you should be able to see the ledge below you with a corpse; the corpse holds a Green Titanite Shard. Roll out along the far wall here to hit a brickwork landing with a hole in the bottom. Drop down the hole and you'll have a cutscene where you meet a terrifying, hulking Cthulu-Skeleton - this is the Blacksmith Vamos, who wants nothing much to do with you.

The cutscene will show Vamos smashing a hole into the Wheel Skeleton room beyond. This crazy falling route must be followed to reach Vamos, and it opens up the shortcut through the brick wall in the Wheel Skeleton room, so it's worth getting done - particularly if you want access to any of Vamos' Ember-based upgrades later on.

Vamos can create Fire weapons out of +5 normals, and later will be able to ascend Chaos weapons once you acquire the relevant item from the Demon Ruins. Vamos can perform standard enhancements and repairs, and has a shop available:

• Homeward Bone - 500
• Titanite Shard - 800
• Standard Arrow - 10
• Large Arrow - 50
• Wooden Arrow - 3
• Standard Bolt - 30
• Heavy Bolt - 100
• Wood Bolt - 10

From the Blacksmith's room, head through the broken brick wall to the Wheel Skeleton room. If you rested at a bonfire, this room will have reset, and it will still suck. Clear it again, if needed.

At this point you have a decision to make. If you have plenty of health and Estus left, and just cleared the Wheel Skeleton room, there's one more set of items you can get from this zone. If you're low on health, you should hit the second bonfire again, then decide if you want the items bad enough to drop into a live Wheel Skeleton room for 'em. Either way the last things to do here are collect the final set of items and to fight the boss.

Optional: The Priest's Set

For the items, starting in the Wheel Skeleton room, go back through the ladder exit, all the way up to the Prowling Demon room, and to the landing below the Great Scythe.

From the landing under the Great Scythe room you'll have the square stone door to your left (leading to the Prowling Demon corridor), the ramp path to your right, and a goofy sort-of ramp just ahead that doesn't go anywhere. Walk out on that ramp, then look down and to your right. You should be able to see a corpse down there with an item on it. The drop here will cause moderate falling damage; the corpse has a Large Soul of a Nameless Soldier.

You'll be able to look down from here and see one more ledge with another corpse. Dropping here causes light falling damage, and the corpse has the Priest's set of gear: the Priest's Hat, Holy Robe, Traveling Gloves, Holy Trousers, and a Mace. This final landing will also have an NPC summon spot if you're here in Human form and wish to have help fighting the area boss.

From here the only way out is down into the Wheel Skeleton room. Is it safe? Are things alive down there? You know when you rested last! Take appropriate precautions. One big tip: If the room is live and you're ready for Pinwheel, run off towards the fog door as fast as you can and get through it post-haste! The Wheel Skeletons won't be able to follow through the fog door, leaving you safe on the far side.

If you need more time to prep, sprint your way over to the ladder exit, climb all the way back up, and find your way to the second bonfire again. You've been there a few times and should be a pro by now, but if you need the route, it's Wheel Skeleton room to ladder exit, to prowling demon room, to Grave Scythe landing, to ramp path, to fog door chamber, to spike bridge #2, to the path that leads straight back to the second bonfire.

Boss: Pinwheel

Walk forward to the edge of a large crypt. Drop through the ceiling - you will take some damage without Fall Control. A cutscene plays and the boss fight starts immediately after.

Pinwheel is a multi-armed, multi-masked caster. Lock on to him quickly, as he will begin to summon clones right away. Both Pinwheel and his clones have the ability to fling damaging fire magic at you at range.

Pinwheel is low on health (approximately 1200 in NG). One of the fastest ways to take him down is by rushing him. Lock on right away, run forward, and open up with everything you have. The clones evaporate after a shot or two, so consider switching to them if any are allowed to spawn. That should keep the damage down and combat relatively simple.

Another great tactic is to ignore the clones and rush the boss with everything you've got. His health is so low that he's a relatively fast kill; some minor dancing around incoming fireballs should keep you safe otherwise. After the challenges of the Catacombs, Pinwheel is a pretty simple engagement.

When you finish killing the boss, you will receive the Rite of Kindling. This lets you take bonfires past the normal 10 flask kindle limit. Pinwheel may also drop one of his masks as a reward.

A wall to the right of Pinwheel's altar will slide open. There is a ladder set into that alcove, leading to a second ladder. Ascend both and you will be on top of the cryptorium.

Take a quick detour back in the direction you came from (towards the Skeleton Wheel room) and climb a small hill to find the Soul of a Proud Knight on a corpse. Return back to the ladders, then start following the glowing dots on the ground. You may want to equip a light source at this point (such as the Skull Lantern or Sunlight Maggot). Keep moving on to pass into the Tomb of the Giants.