Mechanics

Dark Souls 3 teaches by killing you, and most of what it teaches is systems: why a dodge beats a block, why a +10 sword outscales a boss weapon, why the shrine fills with merchants for some players and stays empty for others. This guide gathers our eight Dark Souls 3 mechanics pages into one read, in roughly the order a new Unkindled needs them: how to fight, how to level and farm, how to upgrade what you swing, who to bring home to Firelink, which covenants we cover, where the walls are lying to you, and what changes after the credits. The items those systems consume are in the items guide.

Combat habits that survive every area

Our combat tips page reduces the game to patience. Bait first: let an enemy swing, make it miss with a dodge or parry, and take it down in the recovery, which works best on enemies with long cooldowns. Learn each moveset, because every enemy has a limited set of animations and bosses only feel unreadable until you have watched theirs; the transition when a boss changes form is a short window for free hits before you go back to studying. Never drink Estus inside melee range. Bait, dodge, open distance, then heal, or simply run and come back. Split groups by pulling a few enemies at a time with a ranged shot or a hit-and-run, and fight them on ground you choose rather than on cliffs.

On defence, the page ranks the options. Dodging costs less stamina than blocking and a sideways roll sets up your own attack, so it is the default. Shields still earn their weight against crossbows and against several enemies at once, as long as you step back to refill stamina afterwards. Parrying needs a shield that can parry (not all do; some pass your right-hand Weapon Art through instead) or a tool like the Parrying Dagger: lock on, stand in range, and press as the swing starts, practised on weak enemies early. Every weapon also carries a Weapon Art that spends FP, so FP is shared between arts and spells. Keep a bow in the second slot and pair it with bombs against heavy enemies, and give magic room, since casts take longer than swings.

Leveling and souls

Levels come from the Fire Keeper, who appears in Firelink Shrine after Iudex Gundyr, and each level puts souls into one attribute. Dying sends you back to the last bonfire, drops every soul you carried as a bloodstain, and respawns the area except for bosses and some hostile NPCs; die again before touching the stain and the souls are gone. Our leveling page warns against stacking one stat, since attributes have diminishing returns and a melee character should never be putting points into Faith or Intelligence ahead of Strength. It also names two farming spots.

Reinforcement and infusion

Andre in Firelink Shrine is the only blacksmith, and he handles both jobs for a little souls plus materials. Armor cannot be upgraded at all, which our reinforcement and infusion page counts as a mercy for your Titanite supply. Weapons fall into three upgrade tracks.

Infusion reshapes what a weapon scales with. It is off the table for almost everything upgraded with Twinkling Titanite, every boss weapon, weapons whose Weapon Art already buffs them (the Butcher Knife, the Sunlight Straight Sword) and anything with built-in elemental damage. Andre offers the basic infusions from the start and needs a coal for each further group.

Letter grades hide three sub-levels each, so an A on one weapon is not an A on another. Read the actual attack values on the right of Andre's menu while you scroll through infusions: an even Strength and Dexterity spread usually wants Refined, a Strength character holding a Dexterity weapon usually wants Heavy. Which stones and gems to hunt for is in the items guide, and the weapon classes themselves are on our weapons guide.

Who to bring home to Firelink

Firelink Shrine only fills up if you find its residents. Our NPC recruitment page follows each one from first meeting to the ways their story can end, several of them badly.

The same page lists the crow's trades on Firelink's roof, reached with the Tower Key. The ones players actually chase: a Coiled Sword Fragment becomes a Titanite Slab, Siegbräu becomes the Armor of the Sun, a Vertebra Shackle becomes Lucatiel's Mask, a Xanthous Crown becomes a Lightning Gem, and a Blacksmith Hammer or an Avelyn becomes a Titanite Scale.

Covenants

We cover two covenants in depth, one from each end of the game, and both follow the same shape: find the altar, equip the item, turn in tokens for two tiers of rewards.

Rosaria's Fingers is also the only place to redistribute stats or change your appearance, and joining it ends Sirris's story. Spears of the Church summons are rare; if none arrive, resurrecting Judicator Argo at the Purging Monument restarts the defence, which is dangerous but sometimes necessary once Halflight is already dead. Other covenants show up on our pages only through their rewards: the Darkmoon Ring from the Blades of the Darkmoon's first rank, the Wolf Ring from the Watchdogs of Farron's second, and the Warmth pyromancy from the Mound-Makers.

Illusory walls

A hit or a roll drops any fake wall, and our illusory walls page walks to every one, from the shrine roof to the Ringed City. What each area hides:

New Game Plus

After the credits the game asks whether to begin New Game Plus, and you can also start it later from any bonfire, so our NG+ page suggests sweeping every corner for rare items, levelling further and buying out the vendors first. Enemies are more numerous and tougher, and pay more souls and loot for it; finishing the cycle unlocks NG++ in turn.

Since NPCs and vendors return in the new cycle, the page adds that there is nothing to lose by killing them at the end of the old one, out of curiosity or for their drops. The rings that only exist from NG+ onward are listed in the items guide.

Frequently asked questions

Should I block or dodge?

Dodge by default; it costs less stamina and positions you for a counter. Raise the shield against crossbows and crowds, and only trust a shield with 100 percent physical block.

Can I fix a bad stat spread?

Only through Rosaria in the Cathedral of the Deep, which means joining Rosaria's Fingers. Our character builds page recommends respeccing there around level 50 if you want to switch to a Faith or Intelligence build.

What is the fastest way to farm souls?

The infinite spawn by the Dragon-Kiln Mausoleum in Archdragon Peak, at 5,280 souls a kill with the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring and Shield of Want equipped. Early on, befriend the Undead Settlement giant and farm under his spears instead.

Do I keep my covenant rank in New Game Plus?

Yes. Covenant pledges, along with weapons, stats and Estus level, carry over. Keys, gestures and bosses reset.