to Be Continued Dark Souls Skeleton

Welcome to IGN's Walkthrough and Guide for Dark Souls 3, continuing with the Catacombs of Carthus. These pages will seek to prepare you for what lies ahead in the game, which enemies you'll face, and how to best to defeat them.

This guide will also steer you into finding every collectible item you can find among the corpses of the fallen, and any secrets, shortcuts, and more.

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The Catacombs of Carthus

As you enter the catacombs, carefully step up onto the ledge and get a good look at what's in store: Below is a giant staircase patrolled by skeletons (note the boulder waiting at the top above the door). On the right is a large platform with a Crystal Lizard, and your immediate right has a ledge you can drop down to - but for the moment let's head left and prepare to face off against some patrolling skeletons. The first skeleton to rise may fall easily - but watch its health: if it doesn't completely reach 0, he'll rise after a few moments at full health. Another armored skeleton patrolling the bridge may intervene, and can deal large slashing attacks and even turn invisible while dodge-rolling toward you to strike - make sure to have your shield at the ready. Grab 2 Carthus Rouge at the end before moving to cross the bridge. As you near the end, two Skeletons will come charging out of the other side as a Skeleton archer rises on the platform above. Stay out of range of his arrows while you deal with the two before moving inside. The archer will still be able to follow you into this room on a ledge above, so carefully take out the one guarding the stairs and the archer near him, before climbing the stairs to take out the last archer. Taking the path to the right will lead past other Skeletons guarding a corpse holding a Soul of a Nameless Soldier. Down the stairs are two powerful red-eyed Skeletons, so try to lure them one at a time back up the stairs to engage them, then go down and grab 2 Titanite Shard where the second Skeleton was initially standing.

Time for a bit of backtracking - return to the first bridge and look along the ledge on the side for a platform to fall down to. Kill the archer as he rises, then carefully head in to block the ambush on the right from another Skeleton. Make sure he's dead before you grab the Carthus Pyromancy Tome at the end, then head right to a seemingly dead end. That doesn't make sense, does it? Strike the wall to reveal an illusory wall, leading to an area with another red-eyed Shotel-wielding Skeleton. This guy is extremely acrobatic, dashing to and fro while tossing knives your way, and using impressive dodges and spinning attacks to keep you guessing. When you kill him, grab the Sharp Gem he was guarding, and you can head left to find a Soul of a Nameless Soldier and a ladder leading back up to the area you cleared (watch for a pressure plate trap!), while going right will lead back to where you killed the two red-eyed Skeletons. Now you have another choice, head out onto the staircase, or explore the room beyond. The room beyond contains four Skeletons, and a path leading down to Anri, of all people, who has been separated from Horace. Since you haven't found Horace, all you can do is offer to pass on a message if you find him. The balcony beyond Anri has a Crystal Lizard who holds a Twinkling Titanite, and a body behind that holds 3Bloodred Moss Clump, but beware the archer on a platform from afar. If you want to get him, now is a good time to return to the entrance and drop down from the platforms above to surprise him and bypass the stairs.

No matter which route you take - beware the ball of bones that will drop down from the top of the stairs. This is no ordinary boulder, the ball of bones will scream down the stairs into the corridor and smash into a gate, and then launch itself back up the stairs! This means you'll have only a quick chance to grab the Ember on the stairs before diving down the corridor and making a hard left - as the switch to the Bonfire has been broken.

Look right as soon as you enter the corridor to spot an odd, docile, unarmed skeleton with a hat. If you strike him, he'll run down the path to get others to fight you - he's actually the one controlling the skeleton boulder. If you kill him, watch the boulder scream by and explode when it hits a wall! Now you can grab an Undead Bone Shard from the wreckage.

Down this next corridor are more skeletons, including one who will throw bombs that trigger dark magic that will seek you out to damage you greatly. If you can kill the Skeleton fast, the magic will fade - but be warned, most of these skeletons will rise again after being felled. Around the next corner is another bomb tossing Skeleton, as well as a huge area filled with urns, with an item in the back. However resist your urge to smash apart the urns - the covered ones will release more of those cursed orbs if you break them - so move carefully to the back to grab the Carthus Milkring and continue on. As you progress down the hall, keep a careful eye out for another arrow trap in the middle of the hall via a pressure plate. There's a drop down on the left, and two Skeletons plus a red-eyed curved sword-wielding Skeleton on the right - so try to get the red-eyed one on his own.

Heading right, there are two more sword and shield Skeletons patrolling a hall with a booby-trapped corpse holding a Large Soul of an Unknown Traveler (Watch out for the pressure plate!) At the end of the hall is a pit leading to some Bonewheel Skeletons, with an Ember across the pit. Going right through the door, enter slowly as another skeleton boulder trap will start passing to and fro. Quickly grab the LargeTitanite Shard on the left before sprinting forth and making a hard left to get to the Bonfire you saw earlier.

Now follow the path of the bone boulder into the waterlogged catacombs you might have seen up above in the earlier urn-filled corridor. There are plenty of Rats down here, as well as a Giant Rat hiding up on the right, and a Skeleton Assassin guarding 2 Titanite Shard on the left. If you take the right path, beware of Bonewheel Skeletons, and Slime creatures hanging from the ceilings. Be wary in particular of the three Slime creatures guarding 2 Titanite Shard. The Bonewheel Skeletons act as you might expect, they'll leap forward in an attempt to mow you down with their spiked wheels, so dodge to one side, and try to get them to bump into a wall near you so you can pound them to dust as they try and readjust. Up above you can make out the pit you avoided near the Bonfire, and just to the left is another Slime creature-filled hall leading to a Carthus Bloodring.

Back on the left there's three doors to go through. The closest one leads to a closed gate with an Ember, where you can see a room full of bones and items beyond. Beware, it's possible at this point you'll be invaded by Knight Slayer Tsorig, who will come in bearing a giant greatsword and greatshield. He deals a ton of damage with his long reach, driving it into the ground then swinging back up, or even planting his shield down and driving it forward in a strong bash. If you want to make things fun, lure him back into the room above and play chicken with the bone boulder, and he may just get squashed by it. Also, if you happen to defeat Tsorig, he will drop the Knight Slayer's Ring. If he kills you, you'll still receive the My Thanks! Emote, but if you don't win, don't worry, you'll get a rematch.

The second doorway leads up the stairs to a pretty nasty ambush: A mage Skeleton who is controlling the skeleton boulder below, a red-eyed archer with exploding flame arrows, and another Assassin wielding two shotels that can attack with bleeding strikes and slow leaps that need expert timing to dodge. Bring the Assassin back down to fight in the lower catacombs before going back to rush the archer (beware of the pressure trap he is near) and grab 3Carthus Rouge near the ruined balcony. Going in the other direction is another Assassin with throwing knives that can also be a tough fight - so get ready to cure bleeding and watch his dodges to strike when he's vulnerable. There's a Large Titanite Shard andGrave Warden's Ashes down the corridor the Assassin was patrolling, ending in stairs down to an illusory wall leading back below.

The farthest door here exits the catacombs into a more natural cave-like area. There's a Crystal Lizard here, but as always he'll run straight into trouble: A large curved sword-wielding Skeleton who can dish out some strong blows. If you got the Fire Gem from the lizard and the Skeleton didn't notice, you can sneak up on the cliff he's looking out over and backstab him off the side. Check a corpse on the side for 3 Yellow Bug Pellet and check the warning on the floor - the bridge ahead is wearing thin. From this distance you can also make out a figure in the distance, but you'll have to go right and through the bone filled area to get to the bridge. This room may look like a deathtrap, but only some of the bones here will rise...for now. Pull the lever on the right to open a shortcut. As you pick up the Large Soul of a Nameless Soldier, two regular Skeletons will emerge, so be ready for them. Grab the 2 Black Bug Pellet from the other corpse and head towards the bridge. Before you make it to the bridge, hang a right to find a little path going up towards Anri again, who still can't find Horace anywhere. Now when you reach the bridge, the entire previous room will fill with skeletons. Don't even think of going back now - run. When you get to the other side, carefully slice the sides of the bridge to cut it, causing the bridge to collapse and send any charging Skeletons into the pit below.

The path up here leads towards a large ominous door, that leads to the boss of the catacombs - but before we face him, why not head down the bridge-turned-ladder? At the bottom, take a peek over the ledge into the pit… is that Horace down there? When you enter the nearby room, you'll have a miniboss of sorts on your hands - a Demon. Much like the fiery creature you fought in the Undead Settlement, unfortunately Siegward will not be making an appearance. However, you can get some unexpected help. By charging down the stairs, several Skeletons in the area may rise, if you run back up, they may just end up helping you attack the beast, though they won't last for long. Use the distraction to hit him from behind, avoiding his giant axe swings, fire breath, and stomps. If you see him slowly raise his axe above his head - run. He'll bring it down with a massive detonating smash killing anything nearby.

When you've killed the Demon for his Soul of a Demon, head back up to the ledge and open the chest on the far side but don't be fooled - it's a Mimic. Strike first and ask questions later to kill it, and get the Black Blade from it's corpse. If you didn't lure the demon to the lower area, you'll have plenty of other Skeletons to contend with - try and lure them up a few at a time and make sure they stay dead. On the lower platform, grab the Large Titanite Shard, and Large Soul of a Nameless Soldier before moving down into the next room. Down the corridor, grab the Old Sage's Blindfold and Witch's Ring before heading right into a Bonfire room. The path beyond leads to a new area - The Smouldering Lake. You can head there if you wish, if not, it's time to return to the large door and face the boss. This large room has a sealed door at the end, and a very ominous goblet in the middle. Although you should have learned by now not to touch ominous things - you'll have to if you want to awaken High Lord Wolnir.

Boss: High Lord Wolnir

The moment you touch the goblet you'll be transported straight into the Abyss. It's a realm of total darkness - lit only by your aura and anything else on your person. The only thing you'll be able to make out is a corpse holding an item - the Grave Warden Pyromancy Tome. The moment you get to it, the room will brighten to reveal the giant form of High Lord Wolnir inches away from you, beginning the fight.

The Highlord is pretty much a giant upper torso of a large skeleton with huge arms that rests on a slight incline, and will use said arms to smash and swipe at you. These arms also have three glowing armlets that will be your primary targets - destroying them will destroy Wolnir. Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems, as his arms sometimes stay near his main body, which exudes damaging black smoke that you'll need to avoid. If you see him arch his head back, he's getting ready to belch more black smoke over a large area around him, so run back or stick to the sides until it has passed to continue attacking. Note that if you prefer ranged fighting, Wolnir will claw himself farther out of the abyss each time you destroy an armlet, putting your back against a wall all too soon - so be wary.

Wolnir will alternate several attacks as he claws his way out of the Abyss, reaching his hands up to smash down or swipe to the side. Usually most of his arm is raised, but after smashing down, sometimes his forearms will be lowered as well giving you more targets to work with. There's also a good chance he'll raise his hand to perform dark magic, slamming it into the ground to summon several skeletons. While it may seem risky, it's more dangerous to leave them alone as an ill-timed attack from them can cost you your life. The good news is Wolnir doesn't much care for his creations, and most of his attacks will damage and kill them as well - but don't expect him to do all the work. At half health, he'll even begin to summon Wheel Skeletons, who can make things an absolute pain if not dealt with.

His worst attacks come when you see him raise a hand over the ground and a golden glow fills the area, as he pulls his holy sword out of the ground. With sword in hand, he'll do a massive amount of damage with each swing and stab he throws in your direction - so watch for him to raise his arms to know when an attack is coming. After a few swipes and slams on either side, he'll bring his sword close to him and hold it downward, preparing to sheathe it into the ground. When you see the sword glow, run as far as you can away from him, as the resulting blast of him burying the blade will deal massive damage to anything in the area. The only good part of this is the fact that he'll be swordless for a while yet.

It's because of attacks like drawing his sword and summoning skeletons that speed is the name of this game. You can't waste any time rushing his arms and destroying the armlets to disrupt whatever he's planning. The longer you wait, the more time he'll have to unleash harder attacks on you.

When he's defeated, you'll be transported back to his chamber, with the Soul of High Lord Wolnir in your possession, and the way forward will be open. Unless you'd like to take a side trip through the Smouldering Lake, you can head through the door to exit the catacombs and enter Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. You did remember to get the Small Doll from the Cathedral of the Deep, didn't you?

Alternate Video walkthrough

Video walkthrough showing how to quickly navigate in catacombs to reach the Hight Lord Wolnir. Quick hit weapons like Hand Axe and aiming for collosal skeleton's bracelets is a good choice :

Up Next: Smouldering Lake

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