Catacombs

DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED guide · Accessed via the graveyard near Firelink Shrine

The Catacombs is an underground labyrinth filled with reanimating skeletons and Necromancers who keep them alive. You must navigate dark corridors, rotating spike bridges, and treacherous vertical drops to reach the Tomb of the Giants. Defeating the boss Pinwheel at the bottom awards the Rite of Kindling, which allows bonfires to be kindled up to twenty flasks.

Achievements here

Covenant: Gravelord Servant MissableWith an Eye of Death in your inventory, lie inside the open coffin near the Titanite Demon before defeating Nito, then pledge allegiance to Nito.

Rite of KindlingDefeat the boss Pinwheel located at the bottom of the Catacombs.

Chaos WeaponAscend a +5 fire weapon into a chaos weapon using the Chaos Flame Ember and Red Titanite Chunks, then reinforce it to +5 with Blacksmith Vamos using a Red Titanite Slab.

Fire WeaponAscend a +5 standard weapon into a fire weapon using Green Titanite Shards, then reinforce it to +10 with Blacksmith Vamos using the Large Flame Ember and a Red Titanite Slab.

Achievement guide and roadmap →

Items

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Skull Lantern: Dropped guaranteed by the last Necromancer killed in the areaDarkmoon Seance Ring: Found in a sarcophagus at the end of a hallway guarded by a giant skeletonGreat Scythe: Found on a small platform reached by jumping off the first rotating bridge after turning itLucerne: Found on a ledge in the chamber with the breakable wooden door and statuesRing of the Evil Eye: Found at the end of a long tunnel guarded by basilisksRite of Kindling: Obtained directly from defeating the boss, PinwheelMask of the Father, Mask of the Mother, or Mask of the Child: Dropped randomly upon defeating Pinwheel (one of the three)

Secrets

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Illusory wall next to the ladder near the second rotating bridge mechanism covers a hidden bonfire.Illusory wall behind a skeleton archer breaks to reveal a path to the Darkmoon Seance Ring and a Giant Skeleton trap.Entering the open coffin in the titanite demon crypt allows you to be transported to Gravelord Nito's chamber to join the Gravelord Servant covenant.Stepping off specific ledges during the vertical drops allows you to land safely on platforms below, skipping large sections of the area.

Enemies

Skeleton

Weak to Strike damage, Divine weapons

Will continuously resurrect until the Necromancer controlling the area is slain.

Necromancer

Weak to Physical damageSteal / drop Skull Lantern (rare or guaranteed on last kill)

Hurls fireballs and revives skeletons; does not respawn once killed.

Wheel Skeleton

Weak to Strike damage, shields with high stability

Rolls rapidly toward the player and can deal extreme multi-hit damage in seconds.

Exploding Skull

Weak to Physical damage

Floats toward the player and detonates after a short delay.

Titanite Demon

Weak to LightningSteal / drop Demon Titanite

Stationary miniboss located in a dark dead-end crypt near the coffin to Nito.

Pinwheel

Weak to Physical damage, FireSteal / drop Rite of Kindling, random Mask

The area boss; creates illusions of himself and possesses very low health.

Shops and people

Patches: Apologizes after flipping a bridge lever and later appears as an NPC merchant in Firelink Shrine if spared
Gravelord Nito: Offers the Gravelord Servant covenant, Gravelord Sword, and Gravelord Sword Dance miracles via the coffin
Vamos: Blacksmith who ascends weapons down the Fire and Chaos upgrade paths

Tips

Use a Divine weapon to permanently kill standard skeletons even while the Necromancer in the area is still alive.
A 100% physical block shield with high stability is essential for surviving Wheel Skeleton ambushes at the bottom canyon.
Do not rest at the lower bonfires early in the game without the Lordvessel, as climbing back out of the Catacombs is extremely difficult.

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Valley of Drakes

Tomb of the Giants

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