Dark Souls is a recognized masterpiece that left a bright mark on the history of the gaming industry and gave rise to many Easter eggs in other games. The game itself is full of hidden places, secrets and mysteries, from the mysterious pendant with which you start your journey to the fragmentary and rather vague plot that you are offered to put together into a single whole on your own.
Our selection today presents secrets that many players might not have guessed about. These are secret covenants, and other worlds, and optional boss battles, and even a whole lake hiding right under your nose. So, here are the most interesting secret places in Dark Souls.
Secret merchant
Shiva from the East can be seen for the first time at Alvina’s castle. If you join the Forest Hunters covenant, he and his bodyguard will go to the Plaguetown Swamp where he will start selling goods.
You can buy very useful weapons from him, such as the Katana or the Stone Greatsword. But his most interesting merchandise is the Oriental Wood Ring, which slows down weapon wear with use. This item will be especially useful if you are going to buy weapons from Shiva, because they are not very durable.
Olachil
DLC Artorias of the Abyss, and then in Dark Souls: Remastered, introduced Zarya Olachila, a princess imprisoned inside a golem. To get to it, you need to kill the Hydra in the Lake of Darkroots, and then go into the cave where the Hydra was before. A golem will appear, destroying which will free the princess.
But that’s not all. Go to the Duke’s Archives and get the Broken Pendant by killing the Crystal Golem. With the pendant, return to Zara, and she will take you to her homeland, to a time when Olachil has not completely disappeared yet. It’s a big area with four separate bosses and a bunch of items, and it’s the same level of difficulty as the final stages of the game, so prepare well before heading there.
Message from the developer
In Olacile, you can find a message from the developer. Get to the two-story building where the Sorcerer Olachil uses the magic of the Sphere of Darkness. When you walk along the stone parapet with a light source, a message from the developer will appear, and the illusory wall will disappear, behind which there will be a room with a reward.
If you’re curious about what this message says, and what the reward is, you’d better get to them yourself – the result is worth it to fight your way to this place..
Servant of Chaos
After killing the optional Queeleg boss in Plaguetown, return to her nest, hit the black wall and find a secret room. It contains an egg-covered creature named Engi, who will offer you to join the Servants of Chaos covenant.
Engi is the only one who can heal you from the Parasitic Egg, and you can also learn the powerful Chaos Fireball and Chaos Storm from him. Just keep in mind that by joining this group, you will not be able to live a normal life.
Ash Lake
How about a whole secret lake? When you reach the Plaguetown swamp, you can find a large tree that contains an illusory wall. Behind it is the entrance to the Cavity, at the bottom of which the Ash Lake is located.
In this location, you can fight the Hydra boss (optional) and join the PvP-oriented Path of the Dragon covenant by talking to the Everlasting Dragon. And if you also cut off his tail, you will get the Great Dragon Sword. Fortunately, he is not at all against such manipulations.
The painted world of Ariamis
The Painted World is a hidden location in Anor Londo, trapped in a large painting on the lower level of the chapel. To get there, you need to have a Strange Doll with you, which can be found in the room where you wake up at the beginning of the game.
Ariamis is full of dangerous enemies, but it also contains a Painter Guardian Set, a Yellowskin Set, and Velka’s Black Set, making it worth the trip. At the end of the path, the boss awaits you – Priscilla Half-Blood. This fight is optional: Priscilla is initially not hostile and will simply ask you to return home, after which it remains to either follow her advice and pass by, or attack first. If you decide to fight, then in case of victory you will receive another useful item – Priscilla’s Dagger.
Room with five chests
In another secret place of Anor Londo, you can find a real treasure, and if you do not fall into the trap guarding it, you can pick up some good loot. Next to the main fire there is a room with many chests and an unlit fireplace. In fact, the wall with the fireplace is illusory, and behind it is a passage to another room, where you will find five chests with loot. Be careful: one of the chests is actually a mimic.
Inside the chests are useful and interesting items, including a heavy, but with excellent balance and protection, a set of Havel’s armor, a powerful hammer called the Dragon’s Tooth, and Havel’s Great Shield.
Save Sif
This secret location is located in the Gorge of the Abyss, added in the DLC Artorias of the Abyss (also available in the remaster). At the first fork, go right, and if you have any light source with you, the floor will melt in the air, and you will fall down. After landing, follow the big cat named Alvina to the illusory wall, light it up and develop it.
Behind the wall there will be a secret room where the young Sif the Great Wolf lies, bound by a magical seal. Freeing him will give you the Greater Shield of Redemption, and when it’s time to fight him as a boss, your now-second encounter will look very different.
Dark Spirit Covenant
This is another PvP oriented covenant hidden in a secret location. To get to it, you need the Ring of Artorias, which you get after defeating Sif, the Great Gray Wolf, thus opening your way to the Abyss. In the Abyss, defeat the Four Kings, and then talk to Prime Serpent Kaas, who will offer to join the covenant.
Among the unique items of the covenant is the Black Hand, which can be equipped in the right hand and drain the humanity from opponents and other characters, or in the left hand, receiving an effective anti-magic shield that shimmers with the darkness of the Abyss.
Gwyndolin Dark Sun
Perhaps the most interesting secret place in the game, besides, it also opens up a new look at well-known events. In Anor Londo, there is a hidden duel with an optional boss, which can be accessed in two ways: either put on the Dark Moon ring, after which the wall with the statue of Gwyn will disappear behind the fire in the Dark Moon crypt and a passage to the stairs will open, or attack Guinevere, which will turn out to be an illusion, and the sun will disappear over Anor Londo.
Both options will lead you to Gwyndolin Darksun, the illegitimate son of Lord Gwyn, leader of the Blades of the Darkmoon covenant. Many fans believe that Naga Sith may be one of his parents, and that Gwyndolin is related to the Presence of the Moon from Bloodborne. Whatever it was, the fight will be difficult and will make you question everything you know about the history of the Dark Souls world.
A source: gamerant.com
