Dark Souls 3 Walkthrough#

The main story of Dark Souls III is not a single straight road: past the midpoint, you must choose the order in which you hunt down the Lords of Cinder, and since their domains are independent, you can push through them in any sequence. This walkthrough lays out the main path, key milestones, and pre-boss preparation in a recommended order, so you know where every step takes you and why.

Overview of the End Goal#

The final goal of Dark Souls III is to reach the Kiln of the First Flame, defeat the final boss, the Soul of Cinder, and make your ending choice. To open the road to the Kiln, you must hunt down and defeat the four Lords of Cinder scattered across the kingdom of Lothric, reclaiming the embers of the First Flame that still smolder within them. The four Lords are:

Once defeated, the first three return their cinders to the empty thrones in Firelink Shrine; with all three seated, the barrier sealing off the final area can be opened. The Princes Lothric are a special case — you can only challenge them once you have fought your way deep into Lothric Castle.

The Main Story, Phase by Phase#

Phase 1: Cemetery of Ash and Firelink Shrine#

You wake up in the Cemetery of Ash, which serves as the game’s tutorial area. Push forward and you will run into Iudex Gundyr, a teaching boss fight meant to drill you in the basic rhythm of rolling, blocking, and critical attacks. Beat Gundyr and you are whisked away to Firelink Shrine, the hub of the entire game.

This is where you establish your routine:

Early on, pour almost all of your Estus into red flasks and build up your survivability first. Only start adding blue flasks once you are regularly burning FP on weapon arts or spells.

Phase 2: High Wall of Lothric#

Leave the Shrine and pass through the wall to reach the High Wall of Lothric. Lothric Knights prowl this area, and their sword swings carry a long, obvious wind-up, so circling around their raised shields or rolling in for backstabs both work well. At the end of the area waits its boss, Vordt of the Boreal Valley, a frost-spewing beast. His weak point is his underside: get beneath him and attack his legs and belly to avoid most of his swings, and watch for his charge and frost breath once his health drops below half.

After Vordt falls, follow the road into the Undead Settlement — also one of the earliest places where you can pick up plenty of reinforcement materials and Estus Shards.

Phase 3: Undead Settlement and Road of Sacrifices#

The Undead Settlement is a cursed village crowded with torch-wielding villagers and scurrying hollows. Its boss, the Curse-Rotted Greatwood, is an optional fight that waits deep in the village: the weak points are the bulging white egg-shaped growths on its body, and popping these growths is the only way to cut its health down effectively. Defeating it rewards you with the Transposing Kiln, used to forge boss soul weapons, so it is worth taking down early.

Keep pushing on to the Road of Sacrifices, the swampy antechamber on the way to Farron Keep. The area boss, the Crystal Sage, loves to fling homing crystal sorceries and blink around the arena — closing in and circling for melee damage is far safer than trading spells at range.

Phase 4: Farron Keep and the Abyss Watchers#

Farron Keep is a poisoned swamp. While exploring, watch your footing, stick to stones and high ground wherever possible, and avoid lingering in the toxic water. Three flames burn within the Keep; extinguish all three to break the seal on the door leading to the Abyss Watchers.

The Abyss Watchers are the first Lord of Cinder. The fight has two phases:

Defeating them earns you your first cinder.

Phase 5: Cathedral of the Deep (Optional Detour)#

Before committing to the Lords of Cinder route, you can detour to the Cathedral of the Deep. Its boss, the Deacons of the Deep, is a group fight: one deacon on the field glows red as the leader, and the rest of the mob is mere cover — only killing the glowing leader actually chips the boss’s health. Deep inside, the cathedral connects to the Cleansing Chapel, where an important covenant-related NPC resides, along with the option to reset and redistribute your stats.

Phase 6: Catacombs of Carthus and High Lord Wolnir#

From Farron Keep you can reach the Catacombs of Carthus, crawling with skeletons. Blessed weapons stop them from reassembling after they are cut down. At the end of the catacombs waits the optional boss High Lord Wolnir — a colossal, many-armed creature.

His fight is the most technique-heavy so far: do not attack his body; attack the glowing golden bracelets on his wrists. Shatter all three bracelets and the fight ends. Mind his poison mist and his reaching arms, which can herd you into a corner — keep moving as much as you can.

Phase 7: Irithyll of the Boreal Valley and Pontiff Sulyvahn#

Past the catacombs you arrive at Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. The Silver Knights here cut with precision and snipe from a distance with arrows, so lean on cover as you advance. The area boss, Pontiff Sulyvahn, is where many players hit a wall:

Phase 8: Anor Londo and Aldrich#

With Sulyvahn defeated, you enter Anor Londo — a recreation of the classic area from the earlier games. Its boss, Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, is the second Lord of Cinder: a dark, mercury-sludge amalgam that unleashes homing arrow volleys and close-range sweeps.

Phase 9: Profaned Capital and Yhorm the Giant#

Follow the road from Irithyll down into the Profaned Capital, domain of the third Lord of Cinder, Yhorm the Giant. Yhorm is a story-driven special boss fight: trading blows head-on is nearly useless. A weapon called the Storm Ruler sits in a corner of the room — pick it up, charge its weapon art, and the resulting shockwave deals massive damage to Yhorm. A few hits and he falls.

If you accidentally burn through this weapon’s durability or miss the pickup window entirely, beating Yhorm becomes brutally hard, so make good use of it once you have it.

Phase 10: Lothric Castle and the Grand Archives#

With the cinders of three Lords in hand, warp back to the Shrine and enter Lothric Castle through the passage where the Dancer awaits. Deep inside the castle you will face, in order, the Dragonslayer Armour and the final Lord of Cinder, the Twin Princes Lothric.

The Twin Princes fight has two phases:

With the Twin Princes down, you hold all four cinders, and the road to the Kiln of the First Flame officially opens.

Phase 11: Kiln of the First Flame and the Endings#

The Kiln of the First Flame is the final area of the game. Its guardian, the Soul of Cinder, wields a coiled sword and shifts between multiple weapon forms (straight sword, curved sword, staff, and spear), and every form change opens a window for damage. Its second phase adds a flame enchantment with denser combos — be ready to dodge its continuous slashes and lightning attacks.

After the Soul of Cinder falls, you face the First Flame and make your ending choice. The main branches:

Your ending choice directly decides the story you get to see. If you want to collect every ending, back up your save before the final boss, or plan several playthroughs and experience them one by one.

Pre-Battle Preparation Checklist#

NG+ and Collection Planning#

After the credits, choosing to link or abandon the fire starts New Game+. Enemy HP and damage climb accordingly, but your level and equipment carry over, making the next cycle ideal for these goals:

For the first playthrough, put thorough exploration first and learn the layout of each area and the rhythm of its bosses; save collection and ending cleanup for later cycles.

Common Progression Questions#

Q: Can the four Lords of Cinder be fought in any order? Yes. The first three Lords — the Abyss Watchers, Aldrich, and Yhorm the Giant — are fully independent of one another, and the order you clear them in affects nothing; it is still recommended to follow the order above so your levels and gear keep climbing steadily. The Twin Princes Lothric, on the other hand, require a certain amount of progress before they can be challenged.

Q: How should I split red and blue Estus? Lean on red flasks early to guarantee survivability. Once you start using weapon arts or spells frequently and your health pool feels secure, increase blue flasks step by step. You can rebalance them with the Fire Keeper at any time, free of charge.

Q: I’m stuck at a wall — what now? First confirm that your main weapon’s reinforcement level matches the current area, then raise Vigor and Endurance. Most walls crumble once you follow the rule of watching the enemy’s opening patterns, striking only when it is safe, and never getting greedy.