Dark Souls 3

Dark Souls 3 gives an Unkindled a sword, a graveyard and no instructions, then spends forty hours punishing every assumption you brought from other games. Our coverage runs from the character creator to the last knight in The Ringed City, and this page puts it in the order a playthrough needs it: pick a class and a direction, learn the systems, work through the bosses, gather the gear, and then take on both expansions. Every bucket guide and standalone article we have on the game is linked from the section where you would go looking for it.

Choosing who to be

Your class is only your starting stats and kit; the build you grow into is a separate decision. Our class guide lays out all ten starting classes with their stats, playstyle and a burial gift to take with each, and it calls the Knight the best pick for newcomers and the Thief the one to avoid on a first run.

From there, our character builds guide sketches six directions: an all-rounder, a Knight-based sword-and-board build, a pure Strength tank, a Dexterity speed build, a Pyromancer, and a late-game Faith caster that respecs at Rosaria around level 50. Our playthrough checklist then walks the world area by area, from the Cemetery of Ash to the Kiln of the First Flame, flagging the mandatory bosses and the optional areas without spoiling names.

Learning the systems

The mechanics guide is the long read: the combat habits that keep you alive, how leveling and souls farming work, the Titanite tiers and every infusion in our reinforcement guide, and which NPCs to bring home to Firelink Shrine before their stories close. It also covers the two covenants we detail and every illusory wall in the game.

The bosses

Our bosses guide orders the eight fights we cover as you meet them: Iudex Gundyr in the tutorial, the Deacons of the Deep, the Dancer of the Boreal Valley and the Soul of Cinder in the base game, then the Demon Prince, Halflight, Darkeater Midir and Slave Knight Gael along The Ringed City's path, with a table of the NPC summons our pages record for each.

Gear and collectibles

The items guide pairs the 11 Estus Flask Upgrade Shards with the 10 Undead Bone Shards by area, sorts rings by what a build wants and by New Game Plus cycle, explains the four catalyst types, and groups the key items by the NPC who wants them. For the loadout itself, our weapons guide walks all 22 weapon classes with Weapon Arts and pickup spots, our shields guide explains standard, parry and great shields, and our armor sets guide covers where more than 70 sets come from, since armor cannot be upgraded and is finished the day you find it.

Fire and faith

Pyromancy is the school any build can borrow, because the Pyromancy Flame has no stat requirement. Our pyromancy locations guide lists every spell with its FP cost, slots and Intelligence and Faith needs, and which tome unlocks it at Cornyx or Karla; the staves, talismans and chimes for the other schools are on our catalysts page.

The expansions

Both DLCs open from the Cathedral of the Deep. Our DLC regions guide covers the route through the painting of Ariandel to Sister Friede and the Earthen Peak Ruins stretch of The Ringed City, and our NPCs guide tracks Lapp across the Ringed City and lists every NPC invader in the base game with their drops. The Ringed City's own covenant, the Spears of the Church, is in the mechanics guide.

Playing on PC

Dark Souls 3 wants a steady 60 frames per second and does not always deliver it. Our PC settings guide ranks each graphics option by its frame cost, and our PC fixes page works through crashes at the tutorial boss, crashes at 1440p and 4K, the DualShock 4 problems, the 60-second crash, screen tearing, slow motion above 60 frames and the rest. For a footnote from before launch, our report on Miyazaki's comments records his claim that the game is about the size of Dark Souls 2 but deeper, with 200 weapons.

Frequently asked questions

Which class should a first-time player pick?

The Knight. It starts with heavy armor, a shield that blocks all physical damage and stats that suit blocking and baiting, which our class guide calls the best combination for newcomers.

Can I change my build later?

Only by joining Rosaria's Fingers in the Cathedral of the Deep, which lets you redistribute stats and change your appearance. Our builds guide recommends doing this around level 50 for a caster.

Where do the DLCs begin?

At the Cleansing Chapel in the Cathedral of the Deep. An NPC at the altar takes you into Ashes of Ariandel, and The Ringed City continues from there into the Dreg Heap.