Mechanics

Blood Stains

There are two types of Blood Stains within the game.

Dark Blood Stains


Like Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, these dark Blood Stains show the last few moments of a player who perished at that spot. You can examine the stain in order to observe a phantom of that player reliving their death. If you see one, be wary of traps, falls, and difficult enemies.

Glowing Green Blood Stain


This blood stain is left after your death in your world. It will be on the spot where you died. If you died by fall damage or by falling down chasms, the blood stain will be on the spot ~5 seconds before the time of your death. This contains all of the souls that the player had on them at the time of death. A second player death will cause the previous blood stain and its accumulated souls to disappear and a new blood stain with the number of souls contained at the time of that second death to appear.

Notes


Scholar of the First Sin


Bonfires

FoldUnfold Table of Contents General Information Fast Travel Locations Burnable Items

General Information


Bonfires act as checkpoints in the world of Drangleic. While resting at a bonfire you may fast-travel to any previously lit bonfire, burn certain items, or access your Item Box. Unlike in the first Dark Souls, you do not actually have to rest at a bonfire to return to it after death — you only need to light the bonfire. This is useful if you do not want the enemies that you have killed to respawn.

Resting at a bonfire has several effects:

When resting, you can access the bonfire menu. The menu gives you access to several options:

There are a few instances where accessing the bonfire is impossible:

Fast Travel Locations


Area Name Bonfire Name Landmark Notable For… Nearby Areas…
Things Betwixt Fire Keepers' Dwelling Character Re-specialization (Soul Vessel required) Majula
Majula The Far Fire Central hub Company of Champions and Way of Blue covenant location Forest of Fallen Giants, Things Betwixt, Shaded Woods, Heide's Tower of Flame, Huntsman's Copse, Grave of Saints, The Gutter
Forest of Fallen Giants The Crestfallen's Retreat Majula, The Lost Bastille
Cardinal Tower
Soldier's Rest
The Place Unbeknownst
Heide's Tower of Flame Heide's Ruin Majula, Cathedral of Blue, No Man's Wharf
Tower of Flame
Cathedral of Blue The Blue Cathedral Blue Sentinels covenant location Heide's Tower of Flame
No Man's Wharf Unseen Path to Heide Heide's Tower of Flame, The Lost Bastille
The Lost Bastille Exile Holding Cells Forest of Fallen Giants, No Man's Wharf, Sinner's Rise, Belfry Luna
McDuff's Workshop Steady Hand McDuff blacksmith location
Servants' Quarters Access to Belfry Luna
Straid's Cell Straid Of Olaphis
The Tower Apart
Belfry Luna Upper Ramparts Bell Keepers covenant location The Lost Bastille
Sinner's Rise The Saltfort The Lost Bastille
Huntsman's Copse Undead Refuge Felkin the Outcast Majula, Undead Purgatory, Harvest Valley
Bridge Approach
Undead Lockaway
Undead Purgatory Undead Purgatory Brotherhood of Blood covenant location Huntsman's Copse
Harvest Valley Poison Pool Majula, Huntsman's Copse, Earthen Peak
The Mines Heirs of the Sun covenant location
Earthen Peak Lower Earthen Peak Harvest Valley, Iron Keep
Central Earthen Peak
Upper Earthen Peak
Iron Keep Threshold Bridge Dragon Remnants covenant location Earthen Peak, Belfry Sol
Ironheart Hall
Eygil's Idol
Belfry Sol Belfry Sol Bell Keepers covenant location
Shaded Woods Old Akelarre Doors of Pharros, Aldia's Keep, Shrine of Winter, Majula
Ruined Fork Road
Shaded Ruins
Doors of Pharros Gyrm's Respite Lonesome Gavlan Shaded Woods, Brightstone Cove Tseldora
Ordeal's End
Brightstone Cove Tseldora Royal Army Campsite Doors of Pharros
Chapel Threshold Cromwell The Pardoner
Lower Brightstone Cove Weaponsmith Ornifex
Grave of Saints Harval's Resting Place Majula, The Gutter
Grave Entrance Rat King Covenant location
The Gutter Upper Gutter Grave of Saints, Black Gulch
Central Gutter
Black Gulch Black Gulch Mouth The Gutter
Hidden Chamber
Drangleic Castle King's Gate Shrine of Winter, King's Passage, Throne of Want
Under Castle Drangleic
Forgotten Chamber
Central Castle Drangleic
Shrine of Amana Tower of Prayer King's Passage, Undead Crypt
Crumbled Ruins
Rhoy's Resting Place
Rise of the Dead
Undead Crypt Undead Crypt Entrance Shrine of Amana
Undead Ditch
Aldia's Keep Foregarden Shaded Woods, Dragon Aerie
Ritual Site
Dragon Aerie Dragon Aerie Aldia's Keep, Dragon Shrine
Dragon Shrine Shrine Entrance Dragon Aerie
Shulva, Sanctum City Sanctum Walk Dragon's Sanctum
Tower of Prayer Dragon's Sanctum
Priestess' Chamber Cave of the Dead, Dragon's Sanctum
Dragon's Sanctum Hidden Sanctum Chamber Dragon's Rest, Cave of the Dead
Lair of the Imperfect
Sanctum Interior
Dragon's Rest Sanctum Nadir
Brume Tower Throne Floor Iron Keep, Iron Passage, Memory of the Old Iron King
Upper Floor
Foyer
Lowermost Floor
The Smelter Throne
Iron Passage Iron Hallway Entrance Brume Tower
Frozen Eleum Loyce Outer Wall Shrine of Winter, Grand Cathedral, Frigid Outskirts
Abandoned Dwelling
Inner Wall
Lower Garrison
Expulsion Chamber
Grand Cathedral Grand Cathedral Frozen Eleum Loyce

Burnable Items


This is a list of burnable items and their effects:

Item Effect
Human Effigy Lower your chances of being invaded. It doesn't stop invasions, rather it resets your position to the bottom of the server queue.2
Bonfire Ascetic Increase difficulty of enemies in the surrounding area, similar to New Game+
Sublime Bone Dust3 Strengthens the Estus Flask, and increases the amount of HP recovered with each use.
Footnotes 1. Normal enemies will stop spawning after they have been killed around 10 to 15 times. This effect can be reversed by burning a Bonfire Ascetic. 2. This may only apply to certain kinds of invasions as well. Further testing is required, but it might not help against Bell Keepers invasions at all. 3. Only burnable at the Majula bonfire.

Counter Attack

To perform a Counter Attack, attack an enemy while the enemy is performing, or recovering from an attack. Counter attacks deal extra damage.

It doesn't matter if your attack interrupts the enemy's attack or not, you will still deal the counter damage.

Certain effecst boost counter damage such as Old Leo Ring.

Ripostes and backstabs are not counter attacks: they have their own damage calculations and are not boosted by effects that boost counter damage.

Critical Damage

FoldUnfold Table of Contents Description Damage Tips General Backstab Riposte Guard Break

Description


Critical damage is, like its name suggests, a damage much stronger than normal attack damage, often outright killing the target.

There are several ways to do critical damage: Backstab, Riposte, Guard Break and a situational Plunging attack.

Note that critical damage doesn't refer to counter attacks (an attack you deal during an enemy's attacking animation). Do not confuse counter damage (dealt by counter attacks) and critical damage (dealt by ripostes and backstabs and described on this page).
Backstabs and ripostes are not counter attacks and they are not boosted by effects that boost counter damage like Old Leo Ring.

NOTE: Keep in mind that you HAVE to be wielding the weapon you want to backstab with in your RIGHT hand. You cannot backstab with a weapon in the left hand.

When you do these moves, you and your target will enter a unique critical animation. The animation depends on the weapon used. For example, dagger users Backstab critical by punching then stabbing the target really hard, accompanied by a gush of blood, while shortsword users critical with a three hit combo followed by a downward slash. Excluding the critical, your target is temporarily invincible for the duration of the animation. You are still vulnerable from taking damage while performing both the Backstab and Riposte animations, but the damage you take will be greatly reduced.

Damage


The formula for the damage caused by a critical attack is currently unknown. That being said, here's what we know:

Tips


General


Backstab


Riposte


  1. Ground riposte: after you parry an enemy and they fall to the ground you need to stand in front of them and attack. You will stab them through.
  2. Standing riposte: after parrying an enemy you have to attack them while they're falling to the ground but not yet lying down. The timing is difficult and you may end up just attacking normally (and if you break the enemy's poise at this moment you will interrupt the staggered ready-for-riposte animation and will bring the enemy back to normal stance). Arguably deals more damage than ground riposte (although testing with Chaos Rapier showed negligible difference). (Test again; some weapons deal more damage on standing and guard-break ripostes than on ground ripostes, and vice versa. Strike-type weapons like the Mace, Iron King Hammer and Smelter Hammer seem to do best damage with Backstabs and Standing/Guard-Break Ripostes, while Slash-type weapons like the Longsword, Pursuer's Ultra Greatsword and Fume Ultra Greatsword deal best damage with Backstabs and Ground Ripostes. In fact, the Pursuer's UGS deals less Guard-Break Riposte damage than Backstab damage, and it's best to circle around for a Backstab if a Guard Break is performed if using said weapon.
  3. Guard break riposte: similar to standing riposte but activated after using guard break move (pushing away the enemy's shield; see below). Also has strict timing and requires standing as close as possible to the enemy.

Guard Break


Dual Wielding

Function


Dark Souls 2 expands the player's offensive ability in combat when using two weapons at the same time. When you equip compatible weapons in each hand, you can enter a power stance, which allows new attack animations and the opportunity to inflict greater damage on your opponents.

While in power stance, R1 and R2 will keep the regular attacks of your right hand weapon. Thrusting swords R2 becomes a parry(only the rapier parry which always does it). Your L1 will become a combo attack using both weapons and L2 will be a single powerful attack using both weapons.

Your power stance attacks will vary depending on held weapons. Some weapon types have priority on the power stance attacks type. (ex. dagger < curved sword = straight sword < greatsword)
If two weapons have the same priority (ex. curved sword and straight sword), the power stance attacks type will be dictated by the right hand weapon.


Requirements


In order to enter power stance, you will need to:

- Example of compatible weapons : Greatsword / Curved Sword, Thrusting Sword / Straight Sword, Dagger / Katana
- Spell tools (staffs, sacred chimes, pyromancy flames) may not be power stanced in any combination.

Right Hand Weapon
Left Hand Weapon Axes Claws Curved Swords Curved Greatswords Daggers Fists Greataxes Great Hammers Greatswords Halberds Hammers Katanas Lances Reapers Spears Straight Swords Thrusting Swords Twinblades Ultra Greatswords Whips
Axes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No No Yes No No No No
Claws No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Curved Swords Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Curved Greatswords No No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes No
Daggers No No Yes No Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Fists No Yes No No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Greataxes Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No Yes No
Great Hammers Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No Yes No
Greatswords No No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No Yes No No Yes No
Halberds No No No No No No No No No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes No No
Hammers Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No Yes No No No No
Katanas Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Lances No No Yes No Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Reapers No No No No No No No No No Yes No No No Yes No No No No No No
Spears No No Yes No Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Straight Swords Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Thrusting Swords No No Yes No Yes No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No* No No
Twinblades No No No No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No Yes* Yes No No
Ultra Greatswords No No No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No Yes No
Whips No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes

*Thrusting Sword and Twinblade can only be Power-Stanced with the Thrusting Sword in the right hand, it will not work the other way round.
*Crossbows can also be power stanced, though the one-handed damage drops to ~63% of what it would be non power stanced for only ~26% gain in damage for shooting both crossbows at once. You cannot power stance a repeating crossbow with a non repeating crossbow, though Avelyn can be power stanced with Sanctum Repeating Crossbow as the other crossbow. While power stanced you can't use the scope feature of 2 handed which also means you can't use the special ability of the sanctum crossbow and repeating crossbow when dual wielding without exiting power stance. (tested in Scholar of the First Sin while in Company of Champions covenant). Due to the drop in power it would be advised to only use the double shot feature of power stance and leave single crossbow fire for when not in power stance. Can be considered the "strong" for crossbows as it takes longer to do 2 power stance double shots than to fire one hand and then the opposite hand despite consuming the same amount of stamina
**Table is a work in progress. There are potentially exceptions for dual wield viability within each weapon type.


Tips


Here's the weapon hierarchy and what it means:

Spears/Lances
Axes/ Hammers
Straight Swords/ Curved Swords/ Katanas
Thrusting Swords
Daggers

The moveset works from the top to the bottom. If you have a spear in one hand and an axe in the other, you will have the spear power stance moveset. This is regardless of which hand the weapons are held in.

The hand in which the weapons are held only matters if they have the same spot in the hierarchy (such as curved swords and katanas, or lances and spears). Then they will take the moveset of the weapon in the right hand. If the weapon has a special attack, for example Ricard's Rapier, it can only be used if held in the right hand.

Note: Estoc/Mace does not work.


Different Strong Attack with Curved Swords in your Left Hand


A curved sword in your left hand can use a strong attack, instead of parrying as normal, when attacking with a weapon in you right hand first. Some of them also have attacks not normally found in the weapon's regular move set.

How do you use these 'different' strong attacks you might ask? Well, for example, say I have a Longsword equipped in my right hand and a Falchion in my left hand. To do the 'different' strong attack I would first need to do a regular attack (R1/RB) with my Longsword then quickly use the strong attack (L2/LT) with my Falchion. Instead of parrying like normal, the Falchion will actually use its R2/RT strong attack even though it is be held in the left hand.

Things to note:

Compatible Weapon Classes


Basically which weapons you can use in your right hand to override your left hand's curved sword parry animation. Testing was done on a 45 STR/DEX character with one weapon used from each category and using the Falchion as the left hand weapon.

Weapon Class Works? (Yes/No)
Axes Yes
Claws No
Curved Swords Yes
Curved Greatswords No
Daggers Yes
Fists No
Greataxes No
Great Hammers No
Greatswords Yes
Halberds No
Hammers Yes
Katanas Yes
Lances Yes
Reapers No
Spears Yes
Straightswords Yes
Thrusting Swords Yes
Twinblades No
Ultra Greatswords No
Whips No

Notes


Durability

Description


At zero, items break and become ineffective.
Durability is restored by resting at a bonfire, but a broken item must be repaired first.
1

During combat, the durability of equipped weapons and armor degrades. Weapons degrade when you hit something, armor and rings degrade when you are hit.

When an item reaches 0 durability, it is fully broken and it must be repaired at a blacksmith. Armor and rings lose all their stats while weapons suffer greatly reduced damage when they are broken.

Enviromental Causes of Durability Damage


Cause Location Damages
Weapons or Armor
Undead Citizen
(brown core)
Dragon Aerie Armor
Corrosive Ant Queen The Gutter Armor
Acid Horn Beetle Shrine of Amana Armor
Giant Acid Horn Beetle Shrine of Amana
Aldia's Keep
Armor
Corrosive Egg Insect Shulva, Sanctum City
Dragon's Sanctum
Both
Royal Rat Authority Doors of Pharros ?
Bradley of the Old Guard No-man's Wharf Armor
Maldron the Assassin Brume Tower Both
The Duke's Dear Freja Brightstone Cove Tseldora Armor
Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon Dragon's Rest Weapon
Pools of Acid Various Armor
Acid Jar No-man's Wharf
The Gutter
Armor
Egg Sack Shulva, Sanctum City
Dragon's Sanctum
Both

Player Causes of Durability Damage


Restoring Durability


Avoiding Excess Durability Damage


Notes


This is actually false.
Human enemies, such as human red phantoms and invading NPC's, can have equipment broken.
the two red phantoms at the kings door in FOTFG can be used to test this, as at least one of them has a low durability ring to break.

Footnotes 1. In-game description.

Equipment Load


In-Game Description


Maximum weight that can be equipped. Movement slows as your equipment load approaches maximum.

Influence of Attributes on Equipment Load


Attribute 4-29 30-49 50-69 70-98 99
Vitality +1.5 +1 +0.5 +0.5 per
2 points
+0.5

Maximum Equipment Load without any additional equipment is 120. All character types start with a base equipment load of 38.5 and the vitality adjustment is added on top of this. So, a Warrior, starting with 6 vitality has an equipment load of 38.5 + 6 x 1.5 = 47.5.

Equipment load impacts the rate at which your stamina recovers in a mostly linear fashion. This means that if you are at 47% max equipment load you recover stamina slightly faster than 48% equipment load. Going from 78% to 77% will help roughly the same as going from 38% to 37%. There are no predetermined numbers which cause a large change to your normal stamina recovery rate.

Equipment load also impacts the distance you travel when rolling. Again this increases in a mostly linear fashion like stamina recovery. However there is a change in how long the roll takes to complete at 70%. At that point you will perform what is referred to as a "fat roll" which will take significantly longer to finish than a regular roll. Once you reach 100% equip load, you will steadily get slower until it reaches 120%, it seems to change in a linear fashion. Also, at 120% equip load or higher, you will not be able to roll or backstep; you will instead be "stunned." Your movement will also be very slow. However, you are still able to execute rolling attacks and backstep attacks.

Equipment load does not impact how long you are invulnerable during a roll. Look at Adaptability to see how long your character will be invulnerable during a roll. Even when performing a fat roll it will result in the same amount of invulnerable time. However because the fat roll takes longer, you will be vulnerable for a greater percent of the time when compared to a normal roll.

Equipment load also increases the amount of Falling Damage you take.

Equipment which increase maximum Equipment Load


Item Increase
Royal Soldier's Ring 10/15/20%
Armor of Aurous (T) 1.5%
Leggings of Aurous (T) 1.5%
Gauntlets of Aurous (T) 1%
Helm of Aurous (T) 1%
Penal Mask 3%
First Dragon Ring 5%
Second Dragon Ring 10%
Third Dragon Ring 12.5%
Velstadt's Helm 1 VIT
Vengarl's Helm 2 VIT

Increases to max Equip Load stack. E.g. 100 base equip load + Royal Soldier's Ring +2 and Armor of Aurous = 100 * 1.2 * 1.015 = 121.8 = 21.8% larger max Equip Load.

Falling Damage

Description


Falling a non-negligible distance will cause players and monsters to take damage based on how fast they were traveling. Damage taken from falling is a set amount of damage, not a percent of max HP. Certain equipment can reduce the amount of damage you take from a fall, which can be very useful in areas like Brightstone Cove Tseldora and Earthen Peak, especially for invading. When incorporating falling damage reduction into your build, there are a few things to consider:

Equipment which reduce Falling Damage


Fall protection is a hidden stat in Dark Souls 2. There is a spell and several items that increase this stat by a certain amount. Multiplying the fall protection modifier of an item by 150 gives you the approximate damage reduction it will provide.

Item Fall Protection Modifier Approximate Damage Reduction
Fall Control 100 15000¹
Silvercat Ring 4 600
Flying Feline Boots 3 450
Lion Warrior Helm 1 150
Lion Warrior Cape 1 150
Red Lion Warrior Cape 2 300
Lion Warrior Cuffs 1 150
Lion Warrior Skirt 2 300
Jester's Tights 2 300
Moon Butterfly Wings ? ?
Moon Butterfly Skirt ? ?
Sanctum Knight Leggings 2 300

¹ Falls that would do more than about 1600 damage (with no load) will be fatal regardless of how much damage reduction you have

Information About how Load Affects Fall Damage


The heavier a player is, the more damage they will take from falls. The amount of extra damage is based on percent load, rather than weight alone. Fall damage reduction is also applied before load penalties, so fall protection potency is actually amplified somewhat when you're under more load.

The amount of damage increases linearly with percent load, though the rate of change increases dramatically after 100% load and drops to zero after 120% load. The equations for damage can thus be derived quite simply.

Equip Load Formula
Under 100% Base Damage * ( 1 + Equip Load / 6 )
Between 100% and 120% ² Base Damage * ( 1 + 1/6 + 4/5 * ( Equip Load - 1 ) )
Over 120% ² Base Damage * ( 1 + 1/6 + 4/5 * 0.2 )

² These equations are left unsimplified to show the similarities between the equations.

Note: In the equations, Equip Load is used as a proper percentage value, meaning that 100% is 1.0 and 0% is 0.0. Base Damage is the damage the player would take from the fall provided they had no equipment load. Fall damage reduction is applied prior to use in the equations.

Notes


Gestures

Used to communicate with other players. The gesture menu is accessed with the Select / Back button.

Motion sensing is enabled for the Playstation 3's SIXAXIS controller. In theory, when the player presses and holds the X button down the game will recognize the pattern of movement and perform the assigned gesture.

Image Gesture Description How to obtain
Point Player points forward Available at start
I Won't Bite Player gestures to come nearer Available at start
Bow Player performs a bow Available at start
Wave Player waves Available at start
Pumped Up Player gets pumped. Available at start
Warcry Player performs a warcry. Available at start
Righty-ho! Player performs a quick wave. Available at start
No way Player shakes their head and signals "No". Available at start
Welcome Player holds out their arms, welcoming those around. Given by Saulden the Crestfallen Warrior in Majula.
Mock Player shrugs mockingly. Given by Straid Of Olaphis in The Lost Bastille.
Fist Pump Player jumps with joy! Given by Creighton the Wanderer, found near Huntsman's Copse
Praise the Sun Player raises his arms toward the sun Learn it at the Heirs of the Sun altar in Harvest Valley
Prostration Player kneels down and bows energetically. Teachable after encountering Laddersmith Gilligan and spending 2000 souls. Found in Earthen Peak or Majula.
Decapitate Player taunts, signalling head removal. Given by Head of Vengarl in the Shaded Woods.
This one's me Player thumbs up with both hands towards himself. Speak to Chancellor Wellager in Drangleic Castle.
Warmup Player runs on the spot. Equip the Ring of Whispers and speak to Manscorpion Tark after fighting Scorpioness Najka. Found in the Shaded Woods
Joy Player raises their fist in excitement. Given by Benhart Of Jugo in Majula.
Have mercy! Player kneels down and bows frantically. Approach and speak to Grave Warden Agdayne without having a torch lit. Found in Undead Crypt.
Duel Bow Player performs a more respectable bow Given by Blue Sentinel Targray in Cathedral of Blue
Hurrah! Player leans up and cheers. In the Memory of Vammar, speak to Captain Drummond.

Gravestones

aka NPC Tombstones

FoldUnfold Table of Contents General Information Losing Special Services Maintaining Special Services NPC Revival Info Notes

General Information


Many important characters in Dark Souls 2 can be killed, accidentally or on purpose. Most of them can be revived, albeit temporarily, by interacting with their gravestones. Reviving costs souls. Their revival will only last until you load another area.

The amount of time it takes for a Gravestone to appear depends on the NPC. It can range from a couple of hours to several hours.

Losing Special Services


The purpose of the gravestones is so you can interact with NPCs after they've died. Sometimes this allows you to continue using their services uninhibited, asides from the revival cost, but this isn't always the case. In most situations where an NPC is killed before they've arrived at their final location, their gravestone will only spawn where they were killed. It will not move or have available services/ items updated. Here are a few specific examples (but not the only cases):

One important exception to this is the Emerald Herald. Regardless of where she is killed, her grave will appear in Majula and she will retain her normal interaction options.

Additionally, the following functions/ services are lost for all NPCs that apply:

Maintaining Special Services


In most cases where an NPC is at their final destination, their inventories will continue to update properly. A couple examples include:

Check the notes in the table below for more specifics or anomalies.

NPC Revival Info


Character Cost Initial Wait Notes
Merchants -
Blacksmith Lenigrast 2,000 3 Hours Offers full services, even if his house is unlocked after killing him.
Carhillion of the Fold 3,500 2.5 Hours
Cromwell the Pardoner 7,000 5 Hours Offers full services after death, including pardon.
Felkin the Outcast 7,500 5 Hours
Grave Warden Agdayne 3,000 2.5 Hours
Head of Vengarl 3,000 2.5 Hours
Laddersmith Gilligan 13,000 4 Hours Ceases to offer ladders, other interactions remain.1
Licia of Lindeldt 7,000 4 Hours
Lonesome Gavlan 3,500 3 Hours
Maughlin the Armourer 3,500 2.5 Hours Ability to update inventory after death depends.2
Merchant Hag Melentia 4,000 1.5 Hours Will update inventory if killed in Majula.
Rosabeth of Melfia 4,000 2.5 Hours Ghost form wears default ragged clothes, option to gift clothes is lost.
Royal Sorcerer Navlaan 9,000 3.5 Hours Lose out on missions, though able to purchase items.
Steady Hand McDuff 3,500 3 Hours Able to accept Dull Ember and offer services, even if killed right away.
Stone Trader Chloanne 2,500 2.5 Hours Will update inventory if killed in Majula.
Straid of Olaphis 14,000 5 Hours Will update inventory to sell Forlorn armor.
Weaponsmith Ornifex 11,000 4 Hours Offers services only if killed in Brightstone Cove Tseldora.
Covenant Leaders -
Belfry Guard 4,500 2 Hours Gravestone appears at both locations, regardless of location killed.
Blue Sentinel Targray 6,000 5 Hours
Darkdiver Grandahl 5,500 3.5 Hours Ability to join covenant depends.3
Magerold of Lanafir 8,500 4.5 Hours Able to accept the Petrified Egg after death and offers usual services.
The Rat King 3,500 3 Hours Grave appears only at location of death.
Saulden, the Crestfallen Warrior 500 10 Hours
Titchy Gren 6,000 5 Hours
Others -
Captain Drummond 1,500 1.5 Hours
Cale the Cartographer 2,000 1.5 Hours Able to gift House Key if killed in Forest of Fallen Giants.
Creighton the Wanderer 2,500 2 Hours
Benhart of Jugo 3,000 2.5 Hours
Emerald Herald 2,500 5 Hours Grave spawns in Majula, regardless of death location. Services remain.
Griant 1,000 2 Hours Reviving is pointless.
Lucatiel of Mirrah 3,500 1.5 Hours
Manscorpion Tark 2,500 2.5 Hours Able to gift event items.
Milfanito 2,500 3 Hours
Milfanito 4,000 3 Hours
Imprisoned Milfanito 2,000 4 Hours
Mild Mannered Pate 2,000 1 Hour Able to gift White Sign Soapstone if killed in Forest of Fallen Giants.
Morrel 1,000 2 Hours Reviving is pointless.
Housekeeper Milibeth 1,000 2 Hours
Strowen 15,000 2 Hours Found around the right side of hut's front entrance, accepts Soul Vessel.

Notes


Footnotes 1. If killed in Majula, Gilligan's tombstone relocates to behind the Majula monument. 2. If you spend enough souls (16,000) before you kill him, then Maughlin will update his inventory with the corresponding boss armors. However, if killed beforehand, spending souls won't cause him to upgrade to his next 'tier' of goods. Also note that if you spend the required amount of souls and then kill him immediately after, he won't upgrade his inventory either. He needs to have acknowledged that the spending requirement was met, which means seeing him move to his new sitting position before killing him (this occurs after reloading the area). 3. You are only able to re-join the covenant (and thus enter the Dark Chasm of Old) if you spoke with him in all three locations previously, and if you previously accepted joining the covenant while he was alive. This allows a Gravestone to appear at each entry to the Dark Chasm of Old. Otherwise, only one grave will appear where he died and you will be locked out of the covenant.

Headshot

Description


If a player is shot in the head by an enemy projectile (i.e. with a bow/crossbow), the player's poise will be broken and the player will be temporarily stunned.
This also applies to many humanoid enemies with little or no protection on their head.

Notes


Humanity

Bearer of the curse, seek misery, Till this frail hope shatters. Lest this land swallow you whole.
As it has so many others. The curse is a part of life itself.

Description


Your character in Dark Souls II is a cursed undead. Each playthrough starts with your character's full Humanity intact, but with each death a bit of Humanity is lost. This process is called "hollowing". Hollowing has several, mostly negative effects on gameplay:

Restoring Humantity


When you restore your Humanity, hollow status is fully reset and all negative effects are removed.

  1. Use a Human Effigy.
  2. Help other players in co-op kill bosses. Get summoned by placing a sign using the Small White Sign Soapstone or the White Sign Soapstone.
    You don't need to actually kill the area boss in order to restore your Humanity if you complete your duty before a boss fight.
  3. Pray to the Altar of Amana in Shrine of Amana in order to restore Humanity. Does not work if you have one or more Human Effigies in your inventory, in the item box, or on the ground.

Illusory Wall

General Information


An Illusory Wall is a type of fake wall that will disappear upon interacting with it (Interaction button is X on PS3, A on 360, and Enter key on PC).

Certain Illusory Walls only appear after activating them with a Pharros' Lockstone. Some also have to be destroyed with explosives or regular weapons.

Locations


Forest of Fallen Giants


No-man's Wharf


Lost Bastille


Sinner's Rise


Huntsman's Copse


Earthen Peak


Iron Keep


Brightstone Cove Tseldora


Undead Crypt


Drangleic Castle


Aldia's Keep


Memory of Orro


Dragon's Sanctum


Brume Tower


Frozen Eleum Loyce


New Game Plus

FoldUnfold Table of Contents General information Changes in NG+ Bonfire Intensity and Scaling

General information


New Game Plus in Dark Souls II offers new content that cannot be experienced in New Game, unlike Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.

After defeating the final boss, the final cutscene and credits roll after which the player is placed back in Majula, still in their current playthrough. To progress to NG+ you will need to rest at the Far Fire bonfire and select Journey 2 to Drangleic.

In addition to new content, enemies and bosses become harder and additional souls are rewarded for defeating them. All soul levels and inventory items (except items stated below) carry over to New Game Plus.

Items removed from your inventory when you start your next journey into Drangleic:

Before beginning Journey 2 to Drangleic


Changes in NG+


Bonfire Intensity and Scaling


Entering the next New Game Plus cycle will increase the intensity of all bonfires by 1, which increases the scaling of enemy stats. If no Bonfire Ascetics are used, all bonfires in NG+ will have an intensity of 2, and all bonfires in NG+7 will have an intensity of 8.

Bonfire Intensity can be increased to 99, though enemy stat increases max out at 8 (NG+7).
You can still burn Bonfire Ascetics after reaching Bonfire Intensity 99, everything will respawn as normal but the number will not go up anymore.

Enemy Souls Dropped

Bonfire Intensity Souls
1 x 1
2 x 2
3 x 2.5
4 x 2.75
5 x 3
6 x 3.25
7 x 3.5
8 x 4

Enemy HP

HP increase varies from enemy to enemy. Values found so far have either been equal to or less than the souls multiplier.

Online Matchmaking

FoldUnfold Table of Contents Online Play Soul Memory Ranges Tier List Multiplayer Item Ranges Other Notes Covenants Other Online Features Online Play Issues (ports) PS3 Xbox Live: Dark Souls II Server Ports:

Online Play


The summoning/invasion mechanics have changed slightly from Dark Souls. Below are items that facilitate online play:

Item Information
White Sign Soapstone This is required to summon other players and can be found by talking to Mild Mannered Pate in Forest of Fallen Giants. You need to complete the gauntlet in front of him to get the soapstone from him.
Red Sign Soapstone Sold by Titchy Gren in Undead Purgatory. Requires the defeat of the Executioner's Chariot to get to. Allows players to be summoned as a hostile phantom.
Small White Sign Soapstone Found in the room above Merchant Hag Melentia in Cardinal Tower, in Forest of Fallen Giants. Used to summon other player's as shades (shorter duration of summoning).
Black Separation Crystal Default Item. Used to banish friendly phantoms or to leave a host's world as a phantom.
Cracked Red Eye Orb Dropped by Enslaved Pig and won when winning a Brotherhood of Blood duel. Used to invade other worlds.
Cracked Blue Eye Orb Dropped by Old Knight. Won by winning a Blue Sentinel duel. Used to invade worlds of the guilty.
Guardian's Seal Given by Blue Sentinel Targray upon joining the Blue Sentinels covenant. Automatically summons you to other worlds to protect Way of Blue members when they are invaded.
Crest Of The Rat Given by the The Rat King upon joining the Rat King Covenant. Draws trespassers of the Rat King's territory into your world as gray spirits.
Bell Keeper's Seal Given by Belfry Guard upon joining the Bell Keepers covenant. Allows player to invade bell tower trespassers in Belfry Luna (The Lost Bastille) or Belfry Sol (Iron Keep).
Dragon Eye Given by Magerold of Lanafir upon joining the Dragon Remnants covenant. Allows members to lay a Dragon Soul Sign and be summoned as a hostile Dragon Spirit phantom in another player's world.

Soul Memory Ranges


Soul Memory is the total number of souls your character has ever obtained (regardless of what was done with them). It is used as a matchmaking requirement, as being within a certain Soul Memory range of another player allows you to connect. There are various tiers of Soul Memory, and the restrictions on multiplayer connections involve how many tiers you are away from another player.

Disclaimer: The specifics of the following information may be subject to change in the future. This was tested during Calibrations 1.05 and Ver. 1.04, on PS3 only.

Tier List


Tier # Soul Memory
1 0 - 9,999
2 10,000 - 19,999
3 20,000 - 29,999
4 30,000 - 39,999
5 40,000 - 49,999
6 50,000 - 69,999
7 70,000 - 89,999
8 90,000 - 109,999
9 110,000 - 129,999
10 130,000 - 149,999
11 150,000 - 179,999
12 180,000 - 209,999
13 210,000 - 239,999
14 240,000 - 269,999
15 270,000 - 299,999
16 300,000 - 349,999
17 350,000 - 399,999
18 400,000 - 449,999
19 450,000 - 499,999
20 500,000 - 599,999
21 600,000 - 699,999
22 700,000 - 799,999
23 800,000 - 899,999
24 900,000 - 999,999
25 1,000,000 - 1,099,999
26 1,100,000 - 1,199,999
27 1,200,000 - 1,299,999
28 1,300,000 - 1,399,999
29 1,400,000 - 1,499,999
30 1,500,000 - 1,749,999
31 1,750,000 - 1,999,999
32 2,000,000 - 2,249,999
33 2,250,000 - 2,499,999
34 2,500,000 - 2,749,999
35 2,750,000 - 2,999,999
36 3,000,000 - 4,999,999
37 5,000,000 - 6,999,999
38 7,000,000 - 8,999,999
39 9,000,000 - 11,999,999
40 12,000,000 - 14,999,999
41 15,000,000 - 19,999,999
42 20,000,000 - 29,999,999
43 30,000,000 - 44,999,999
44 45,000,000 - 359,999,999
45 360,000,000 - 999,999,999

Multiplayer Item Ranges


These ranges are calculated from the perspective of the player using the corresponding items.

Item Downward Range Upward Range Example
White Sign Soapstone -3 Tiers +1 Tier Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 17 - 21
White Sign Soapstone with Name-Engraved Ring -6 Tiers +4 Tiers Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 14 - 24
Small White Sign Soapstone -4 Tiers +2 Tiers Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 16 - 22
Small White Sign Soapstone with Name-Engraved Ring -7 Tiers +5 Tiers Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 13 - 25
Red Sign Soapstone -5 Tiers +2 Tiers Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 15 - 22
Dragon Eye -5 Tiers +5 Tiers Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 15 - 25
Cracked Red Eye Orb -0 Tiers +4 Tiers Player at tier 20 can invade a host in tiers 20 - 24
Cracked Blue Eye Orb -3 Tiers +3 Tiers Player at tier 20 can invade a host in tiers 17 - 23
Bell Keeper's Seal -1 Tier +3 Tiers Player at tier 20 can invade a host in tiers 19 - 23
Crest of the Rat -1 Tiers +3 Tiers Host at tier 20 can summon a phantom from tiers 19 - 23
Guardian's Seal -5 Tiers +4 Tiers Player at tier 20 can be summoned by a host in tiers 15 - 24

Item ranges will require retesting to find if anything has changed since Patch 1.10

Other Notes


* Brotherhood of Blood arena has been given Soul Level matchmaking as of Patch 1.10. Players who are within 5 levels with each other will have higher priority to match, (SL 150 will match with SL 145-155 faster than an SL 200 matching with an SL 150)

Covenants


Other Online Features


Online Play Issues (ports)


If you do not see any online features, then you may need to open certain ports in your firewall and your router. The ports to open are:

PS3


TCP 80
TCP 443
TCP 5223
UDP 3478
UDP 3479
UDP 3658

Xbox Live:


TCP 80
TCP 53
TCP 3074
UDP 88
UDP 3074
UDP 53

Dark Souls II Server Ports:


Dark Souls II server TCP/UDP ports:
TCP: 50000 - 50100
UDP: 50000 - 50100

Footnotes 1. There is a statement from Namco Bandai suggesting that players should be within 10 levels of each other if they want to co-op. This has been disproven through testing, no level proximity of any kind is required.

Parry

FoldUnfold Table of Contents General Information Parriable Attacks Physical Quirks Spells List of Parryable Spells Parryable Enemies Projectiles Parry-Capable Weapons Exact Frames Shields One-handed Weapons Two-handed Weapons Quirks Other Uses

General Information


A parry is a move that negates an attack and temporarily incapacitates an enemy, giving an opportunity for a riposte critical attack.

To parry, you must have a suitable weapon or shield in hand and face an incoming attack. Performing a "strong attack" with the shield or weapon (button for Left hand: L2/LT/Double Left Click, Right hand: R2/RT/Double Right Click) will begin the parry animation, which must be timed carefully as the successful window is very small. This usually involves predicting or baiting your enemy, especially in PvP.

If successful, the enemy will fall onto their back for a short time. Stand in front of them and perform a light attack with your right-hand weapon, this will execute the riposte critical attack, similarly to a backstab.

Parriable Attacks


Physical


Most physical attacks can be parried, except jumping attacks.

Quirks


Spells


Projectile spells can be parried by shields with the "spell parry" ability, which doesn't result in a riposte opportunity; instead, it nullifies the effect of the spell. If wearing Yorgh's Ring, any parry-capable tool will be able to parry spells.

List of Parryable Spells


+ Show Spells - Hide Spells

Parryable Enemies


These are 3 videos showing most (if not all) of the parryable enemies in Dark Souls 2.
Credit goes to the owner of the videos.

Projectiles


All arrows, bolts and greatarrows[needs verification] can be parried by any parry capable weapon or shield. Similarly to spell parrying, it negates their effect but doesn't result in a riposte opportunity.

Parry-Capable Weapons


All bows can't parry.

All spell tools can't parry except:

which can parry while two-handed.

All weapons can parry while two-handed except:

which simply block instead.

Some weapons can parry in the left hand:

Some weapons can parry in either hand:

All shields can parry in either hand except:

Some shields can parry both spells and physical attacks while in either hand:

Exact Frames


This information is for Scholar of the First Sin Patch 1.02 / Regulation 2.02.

The testing is not exhaustive; some categories may need to be split if they have different timing even though they use the same animation, and no testing has been done to see whether or not two-handing shields change the parry frames.

Startup and recovery time are extended when you don't meet the requirements for wielding a weapon.

Chart with visual comparison of the parry data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X3D2v27mAmXp4Pzmu9lfMzOIppeulHkFZpKqFezfB5A/pubchart?oid=1680025796&format=interactive
Back-up visual parry data obtained from Archive.org
https://web.archive.org/web/20210123044542/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X3D2v27mAmXp4Pzmu9lfMzOIppeulHkFZpKqFezfB5A/pubchart?oid=1680025796&format=interactive

Shields


Type Startup Active Recovery Total
Parry Small Shield1 11 16 52 79
Slow Small Shield2 15 12 52 79
Fast Small Shield 11 12 37 60
Medium Shields 15 8 41 64

One-handed Weapons


Type Startup Active Recovery Total
Fist 18 5 58 81
Caestus 16 7 58 81
Parrying Dagger 9 10 43 62
Curved Swords 14 4 51 69
Monastery Scimitar 8 10 51 69
Thrusting Swords3 13 14 45 72

Two-handed Weapons


Parry Type Startup Active Recovery Total
Hilt Parry4 17 6 37 60
Dagger 11 8 41 60
Greatswords 31 8 40 79
Curved Greatswords 25 11 40 76
Ultra Greatswords 39 9 49 97
Great Hammers 39 9 49 97

1 A "parry" small shield is designed specifically for parrying:

2 A "slow" small shield is worse than other small shields for parrying:

3 Specifically:

4 A "hilt parry" animation is used by many weapons when two-handed:

Quirks


Other Uses


Phantoms

FoldUnfold Table of Contents General Information List of Phantoms White Phantom Shade Gold Phantom Gray Phantom Red Phantom Blue Phantom Dragon Spirit Abyss Spirit NPC Phantoms Summons Invaders

General Information


When connected to other players online for co-op or PvP, players who are guests in a host's world will appear as a phantom.
Phantoms are designated a recognizable color to establish their friendliness or hostility to a host.

*Note*
Summoning Co-op Phantoms (Both User and NPC) decreases the amount of souls the host earns.

List of Phantoms


White Phantom


Method of Connection for the Phantom Method of Connection for the Host
The phantom sends their soul sign to the host by using the White Sign Soapstone. The host chooses to summon a phantom by activating a white Soul Sign.
Goal of the Phantom Purpose for the Host
Assist the host for co-op. To have assistance.
Obtain souls during the process, and a Token of Fidelity when the boss is defeated. -

Shade


Method of Connection for the Phantom Method of Connection for the Host
The phantom sends their soul sign to the host by using the Small White Sign Soapstone. The host chooses to summon a phantom by activating a small Soul Sign.
Goal of the Shade Purpose for the Host
Assists the host for co-op. To have assistance.
Obtain souls during the process, and a Smooth & Silky Stone when duty is fulfilled. -

Gold Phantom


a.k.a Sun Praisers, Heir of the sun
Method of Connection for the Phantom Method of Connection for the Host
The phantom sends their soul sign to the host by using the White Sign Soapstone
while being a member of the Heirs of the Sun covenant.
The host chooses to summon a phantom by activating a golden Soul Sign.
Goal of the Phantom Purpose for the Host
Assists the host for co-op. To have assistance.
Obtain souls during the process, and a Sunlight Medal when the boss is defeated. Obtain a Sunlight Medal when duty of phantom is fulfilled.

Gray Phantom


Method of Connection for the Phantom Method of Connection for the Host
Being in Bell Keepers covenant and wearing Bell Keeper's Seal. The host is in Belfry Luna or Belfry Sol.
Being summoned by member of Rat King covenant. Being in Rat King covenant covenant and wearing Crest of the Rat.
Goal of the Phantom Purpose for the Host
Engage the host, or any other phantom, for PvP Provides an enemy for PvP.
Obtain souls during the process, and a Titanite Chunk.
(Bell Keeper phantoms)
Win souls by defeating the phantom.
(Bell Keeper hosts)
Defeat the Host or run to the fog wall and win a Pharros Lockstone.
(Rat King phantoms)
Acquire Pharros Lockstones and Rat Tails by defeating summoned Gray Spirits.
(Rat King hosts)

Red Phantom


a.k.a. Invaders, disciples of Nahr Alma, brothers of blood
Method of connection for the Phantom Method of connection for the Host
Using a Cracked Red Eye Orb. Be online.
The phantom sends their soul sign to the host by using the Red Sign Soapstone. The host chooses to summon a phantom by activating a red Soul Sign.
Goal of the Phantom Purpose for the host
Engage the host, or any other phantom, for PvP. Provides an enemy for PvP.
Obtain souls killing other phantoms, obtain souls and Token of Spite by
killing the host.
Obtain souls by killing the phantom.

Blue Phantom


a.k.a. Blue Police, Blue sentinels
Method of connection for the Phantom Method of Connection for the Host
Being in Blue Sentinels covenant and using a Cracked Blue Eye Orb. The host has sinned.
Being in Blue Sentinels covenant and wearing Guardian's Seal. The host is being invaded by Dark Spirit.
Goal of the Phantom Purpose for the Host
Help the host to kill red phantom. To have assistance in killing red phantom.
Obtain souls by killing sinners. Provides an enemy for PvP.

Dragon Spirit


Method of connection for the Phantom Method of connection for the Host
Being in the Dragon Remnants covenant and sends a soul sign by using the
Dragon Eye.
Interacting with a Dragon soul sign.
Goal of the Phantom Purpose for the Host
Engage the host for PvP. Provides an enemy for PvP.
Obtain a Dragon Scale and souls by killing the host. Obtain a Dragon Scale and souls by killing the phantom.

Abyss Spirit


Method of connection for the Phantom Method of connection for the Host
Use a Cracked Red Eye Orb or Red Sign Soapstone inside a Dark Chasm of Old. Host is inside a Dark Chasm of Old.
Goal of the Phantom Purpose for the Host
Engage the host for PvP. Provides an enemy for PvP.
Obtain a Bonfire Ascetic and souls by personally killing the host or another invader. Obtain a Bonfire Ascetic and souls by personally killing the invader.

NPC Phantoms


You may summon or be invaded by several NPC phantoms, and you don't need to be online for this to happen.

Summons


Some NPC Soul Signs need certain events to happen before they appear.
Name Boss Notes
Mild Mannered Pate The Last Giant His sign will show up only after he gives you White Sign Soapstone
Masterless Glencour Dragonrider
Old Dragonslayer
Aava, the King's Pet
Pilgrim Bellclaire Ruin Sentinels
Lucatiel of Mirrah Flexile Sentry
The Lost Sinner
Smelter Demon
The Rotten
Burnt Ivory King
Her soul signs will show up only after you talk to her at one of her hangouts
Talk to her at Black Gulch for her soul sign to be available there
She and Lone Hunter Schmidt can be both summoned at the same time for The Rotten fight.
Jester Thomas Mytha The Baneful Queen His soul sign is hidden in pool of poison unless you burned windmill
Manscorpion Tark Scorpioness Najka Talk to him wearing Ring of Whispers for his soul sign to be available
Benhart of Jugo Prowling Magus & Congregation
Looking Glass Knight
Giant Lord
Throne Defender & Throne Watcher
Nashandra
Elana, Squalid Queen
Talk to him at Shaded Woods after unpetrifying Rosabeth of Melfia for his soul signs to be available
For Giant Lord you can summon him or Captain Drummond, not both
He and Head of Vengarl can be summoned for Throne Defender & Throne Watcher and Nashandra fight at the same time
Ashen Knight Boyd The Duke's Dear Freja
Lone Hunter Schmidt The Rotten He and Lucatiel of Mirrah can be both summoned at the same time.
Felicia the Brave Shrine of Amana
Grave Warden Agdayne Velstadt The Royal Aegis Talk to him at Undead Crypt
Captain Drummond Giant Lord Talk to him at Memory of Vammar for his soul sign to be available
You can summon him or Benhart of Jugo, not both
Head of Vengarl Throne Defender & Throne Watcher
Nashandra
Ancient Dragon
Lud, the King's Pet & Zallen, the King's Pet
Steelheart Ellie Elana, Squalid Queen
Fume Knight
Sir Alonne
Aava, the King's Pet
Transcendent Edde Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon He will bow to the player if he survives the fight
Abbess Feeva Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon
Lud, the King's Pet & Zallen, the King's Pet
Rapacious Andrei Afflicted Graverobber, Ancient Soldier Varg, Cerah the Old Explorer
Ruined Aflis Afflicted Graverobber, Ancient Soldier Varg, Cerah the Old Explorer
Carhillion of the Fold Fume Knight Has conditions?
Drifter Swordsman Aidel Smelter Demon (Iron King DLC)
Sir Alonne
Steel-willed Lorrie Smelter Demon (Iron King DLC)
Sir Alonne
Twiggy Shei Burnt Ivory King

Invaders


Name Location Notes
Royal Sorcerer Navlaan Forest of Fallen Giants
The Gutter
Brightstone Cove Tseldora
Drangleic Castle
Aldia's Keep
Dragon Aerie
He will invade only after pulling the lever in Aldia's Keep which will free him
Armorer Dennis Forest of Fallen Giants
Iron Keep
Fencer Sharron Iron Keep
Dragon Aerie
Bell Keeper Belfry Luna Will invade only if offline
Vorgol the Sinner Belfry Luna
Merciless Roenna Huntsman's Copse
Bowman Guthry Doors of Pharros Will invade only if offline
Rhoy the Explorer Grave of Saints Will invade only if offline
Melinda the Butcher The Gutter
Gutter Denizen The Gutter Will invade only after every sconce in The Gutter has been lit
Woodland Child Gully Black Gulch
Woodland Child Victor Black Gulch
Nameless Usurper Drangleic Castle
Undead Crypt
Peculiar Kindalur Shrine of Amana
Aslatiel of Mirrah Aldia's Keep
Dragonfang Villard Dragon Shrine
Jester Thomas Dragon's Sanctum
Rockshield Baldyr Shulva, Sanctum City
Quicksword Rachel Brume Tower
Maldron the Assassin Brume Tower
Prowlers Brume Tower Multiple invaders
Hexer Nicholai Frozen Eleum Loyce
Holy Knight Aurheim Frozen Eleum Loyce
Castaway Witch Donna Frozen Eleum Loyce

Poise

FoldUnfold Table of Contents In-Game Description Poise Basics Withstanding Attacks Poise Depletion and Regeneration Hyper Poise Increasing Poise Poise Breakpoints List By Breakpoints 10 Poise Damage Weapons 15 Poise Damage Weapons 20 Poise Damage Weapons 25 Poise Damage Weapons 30 Poise Damage Weapons Notes

In-Game Description


The ability to withstand the impact of attacks.

Poise Basics


If a player fails to withstand an attack, they will become stunned and vulnerable to subsequent attacks. Poise is the defensive stat that determines the player's ability to withstand various attacks.

Withstanding Attacks


If you have enough poise to withstand an attack, one of two things can occur depending on what you're doing:

While Attacking

If you take a hit and have sufficient poise while attacking, it is as if nothing happened and your attack animation will carry through without interruption.

While Idle or Moving

If you take a hit and have sufficient poise while standing still, walking, or running, you are put into a "half stagger" where movement speed is temporarily reduced. A player who is "half staggered" may still perform any usual action.

Poise Depletion and Regeneration


Poise essentially functions with an invisible meter that drains as hits are taken. This meter can be refilled in two ways:

Note that the regeneration rate for a non-instant refill is very slow, commonly requiring over 20 seconds in various scenarios. This means that if a player withstands a hit, and takes another soon after, they have not regained any significant amount of poise inbetween and are at risk for having poise completely drained during the subsequent attacks.

Hyper Poise


Hyper Poise is a hidden, innate feature that accompanies most great weapons and boosts the effectiveness of poise. Its general purpose is to make it harder to interrupt the attacks of larger weapons.

Hyper Poise is briefly triggered during the attacks of certain weapons, active during the latter-portion of an attack's wind up, through to a few frames after the attack has been completed. While it's active, incoming poise damage is reduced by 50%.

The following weapons and attacks trigger Hyper Poise:

Weapons Attacks
All Ultra Greatswords All attacks
All Greataxes All attacks
All Great Hammers All attacks excluding 1H Rolling and 2H R2 attacks
Most Halberds 1H R1, 1H R2, 1H Rolling, & 2H R1 attacks
Helix Halberd 1H R1, 1H Rolling, & 2H R1 attacks

Increasing Poise


Poise primarily comes from your armor, typically heavier armor has higher poise. You can also increase Poise through your stats. Endurance and Adaptability together increase innate Poise by a small amount. It is increased by 0.3 per level until the lowest of Endurance and Adaptability is 30, then 0.2 until level 50 and 0.1 per level thereafter.

How to achieve high Poise:

Method Increase
Iron Flesh 100
Ring of Giants 10/20/30
Minotaur Helm 30
Havel's Armor 51
Havel's Gauntlets 31
Havel's Leggings 31
Increase Adaptability See note above
Increase Endurance See note above

Poise Breakpoints


Different weapons are categorized by having different amounts of Poise Damage. A "Poise Breakpoint" refers to the minimum amount of poise needed to withstand a single hit from their various attack types:

List By Breakpoints


Breakpoint Withstands
36 1H R1 from 10 Poise Dmg Weapons
44 1H R2 from 10 Poise Dmg Weapons
46 1H R1 from 15 Poise Dmg Weapons
57 1H R2 from 15 Poise Dmg Weapons
61 1H R1 from 20 Poise Dmg Weapons
76 1H R1 from 25 Poise Dmg Weapons;
1H R2 from 20 Poise Dmg Weapons
91 1H R1 from 30 Poise Dmg Weapons
94 1H R2 from 25 Poise Dmg Weapons
95 2H R1 from 10 Poise Dmg Weapons
122 2H R1 from 15 Poise Dmg Weapons
163 2H R1 from 20 Poise Dmg Weapons
203 2H R1 from 25 Poise Dmg Weapons

A more detailed list of poise breakpoints can be found here

10 Poise Damage Weapons


Includes: Bandit's Knife, Black Scorpion Stinger, Chaos Rapier, Claws, Dagger, Espada Ropera, Handmaid's Ladle, Malformed Claws, Manikin Claws, Manikin Knife, Mytha's Bent Blade, Parrying Dagger, Rapier, Ricard's Rapier, Royal Dirk, Shadow Dagger, Spider Fang, Spider's Silk, Thief Dagger, Work Hook.

Attack Breakpoint
1H R1 36
2H R1 95
1H R2 44

15 Poise Damage Weapons


Includes: All Reapers (except Silverblack Sickle), All Whips (except Bloodied Whip), Broken Straight Sword, Broken Thief Sword, Caestus, Darkdrift, Mail Breaker, Manikin Sabre, Melu Scimitar, Monastery Scimitar, Shotel.

Attack Breakpoint
1H R1 46
2H R1 122
1H R2 57

20 Poise Damage Weapons


Includes: All Katanas (except Darkdrift), All Spears, Aldia Hammer, Black Dragon Sword, Bloodied Whip, Blue Flame, Broadsword, Estoc, Falchion, Heide Knight Sword, Longsword, Scimitar, Shortsword, Silverblack Sickle, Sun Sword, Varangian Sword, Yellow Quartz Longsword.

Attack Breakpoint
1H R1 61
2H R1 163
1H R2 76

25 Poise Damage Weapons


Includes: All Twinblades (except Red Iron Twinblade), Barbed Club, Black Dragon Warpick, Bound Hand Axe, Club, Drakekeeper's Sword, Foot Soldier Sword, Homunculus Mace, Infantry Axe, Mace of the Insolent, Red Rust Scimitar, Red Rust Sword, Reinforced Club, Warped Sword.

Attack Breakpoint
1H R1 76
2H R1 203
1H R2 94

30 Poise Damage Weapons


Includes: Bandit Axe, Battle Axe, Blacksmith's Hammer, Craftsman's Hammer, Crescent Axe, Dragonslayer's Crescent Axe, Gyrm Axe, Heide Greatlance, Heide Lance, Mace, Morning Star, Red Iron Twinblade.

Attack Breakpoint
1H R1 91
2H R1 None
1H R2 None

Notes


Projectile Deflection

Description


If timed right, one can, with the right weapon, deflect an incoming projectile like a Firebomb by swinging a melee weapon.

Resistance

FoldUnfold Table of Contents Introduction - Normal-Tier Enemy List - BOSS-Tier List - DLC Resistance Tiers - DLC-Tier Enemy List Results Notes

Introduction


This article is about Non-Player Enemies' Fire, Magic, Lightning and Dark Resistances, however, they share identical damage calculation formula as Player Elemental Defence
Every Tier has a corresponding Player-Elemental-Defense Number, see Tier-List for details.


Unlike Players who can adjust their Resistance with Gears, Spells and Consumables, Enemies in the game have fixed Resistance categorized into "Tiers". In total, there're 8 Tiers that are consistent for all enemies as well as elements, meaning:

As Tier increases, elemental damage are decreased at fixed percentage. See below for Tiers:

Resistance Tiers


Tier Reduction Player Defense
None N/A N/A(Players can't have less than 0)
Very Low 10% 0
Low 15% 50
Medium 30% 200
High 50% 400
Very High 70% 600
Extreme 85% 750
Immune 100% N/A
(Player Defense capped at 890->99%)

None means 100% damage of the spell cast, that tier can be used to determine one's Max-potential.
Water soaked enemies receive 300 Fire defense extra and -150 Lightning defense, thus Medium(200) would become Low(50).

Bosses have the same Tiers, only with an initial 15% reduction compared to Normal-TIER, see BOSS-TIER.

DLC Bosses and enemies follow a different set of tiers.


For exact numbers and test methods used, see Results.


- Normal-Tier Enemy List


Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
General
Invading Phantoms /
All Roaming Souls / Blue Phantoms
Med Med Med Med No matter what they wear
All BLACK PHANTOMS various various various various Same as their normal counterparts
Exceptions
Crystal Lizards ?!? ?!? ?!? ?!? DLC Resistance
Things Betwixt
Kobold Med Low Med Med
Undead Traveler Low Med Med Med
Ogre Med Low Med Med
Falconer Low Med Med Med
Majula
Enslaved Pig High Low High High
Skeleton Med Very Low Med Med
Forest of Fallen Giants
Hollow Infantry Very Low Med Med Med
Hollow Soldier Low Med Med Med
Old Ironclad Soldier High Med Low Med
Heide Knight Low Med Low Med
Flame Salamander Med Immune Med Med The only enemy with initial Immune-Tier
Heide's Tower of Flame
Old Knight High High High Med
No-man's Wharf
Varangian Sailor None None None None The only enemy with all None-Tier
Dark Stalker Med Very Low Med High
Stray Dog Med Low Med Med
Hollow Infantry Very Low Med Med Med
Suspicious Shadow Low Med > Very High— Med > Low Med Standing in water
The Lost Bastille
Heide Knight Low Med Low Med
Stray Dog Med Low Med Med
Undead Jailer Low Med Med Med
Royal Swordsman Low Med Low Med
Undead Citizen Very Low Med Med Med
Belfry Luna
Stray Dog Med Low Med Med
Bell Keepers Med Med Med Med
Sinner's Rise
Royal Swordsman Low Med Low Med
Undead Citizen Very Low Med > Very High— * Med > Low* Med *Only in Water
Enhanced Undead Very High Very High > Immune Very High > High— Very High Standing in Water
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Huntsman's Copse
Rogue Low Med Med Med
Captive Undead Very Low Med Med Med
Undead Laborer Very Low Med Med Med
Great Moth Med Low Med Med
Necromancer High Med Med Med
Skeleton Med Very Low Med Med
Armored Skeleton Med Very Low Med Med
Bonewheel Skeleton Med Very Low Med Med
Torturer Low Med Med Med
Artificial Undead Low Med Med Med
Undead Purgatory
Skeleton Med Very Low Med Med
Necromancer High Med Med Med
Harvest Valley
Skeleton Med Very Low Med Med
Undead Steelworker Very High Med Med Med
Poison Horn Beetle Med Very Low Med Med
Undead Laborer Very Low Med Med Med
Artificial Undead Low Med Med Med
Mounted Overseer Low Med Med Med
Earthen Peak
Undead Steelworker Very High Med Med Med
Poison Horn Beetle Med Very Low Med Med
Undead Laborer Very Low Med Med Med
Manikin Low Med Med Med
Grave Warden Med Med Low Med
Desert Sorceress Very High Very High Very High Very High
Mimic Med Very Low Med Med Wooden
Iron Keep
Alonne Knight Med Very High Low Med
Alonne Knight Captain Low Very High Low Med
Ironclad Soldier High Med Low Med
Mimic Med Med Very Low Med Metal
Belfry Sol
Bell Keepers Med Med Med Med
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Shaded Woods
Goblin Med Low Med Med
Basilisk Med Low Med Med
Giant Basilisk Med Low Med Med
Lion Clan Warrior Extreme Extreme Extreme Extreme The only enemy with all Extreme-Tier
Forest Guardian Med Med Med Med
Flexile Sentry Med Low Med Med Uses BOSS-TIER
Doors of Pharros
Primal Knight Low Low > High— * Low > None* Med *Only in Water
Gyrm Warrior Very Low Med Med Med
Gyrm Very Low Med > Very High— * Med > Low* Med *Only in Water
Dog Rat Med Very Low > Med+ Med > Low Med Standing in Water
Mimic Med Very Low > Med+ Med > Low Med Standing in Water, Wooden
Brightstone Cove Tseldora
Undead Peasant Very Low Med Med Med
Undead Boar Very High Low Very High Very High
Giant Undead Boar Med Low Med Med
Parasite Spider Med Low Med Med
Parasitized Undead Med Low Med Med
Basilisk Med Low Med Med
Hollow Mage High Med Med Med
Lord's Private Chamber
Duke Tseldora Very Low Med Med Med
Vengarl's Body Med Med Med Med
Grave of Saints
Captive Undead Very Low Med Med Med
Corpse Rat Med Very Low Med Med
Undead Citizen Very Low Med Med Med
The Gutter
Captive Undead Very Low Med Med Med
Hunting Dog Med Low Med Med
Undead Citizen Very Low Med Med Med
Poison Horn Beetle Med Very Low Med Med
Corrosive Ant Queen Med Med Low Med Not weak to Fire
Black Gulch
Coal Tar Med Very Low Med Med
Razorback Nightcrawler Med Very Low Med Med Uses DLC Tiers
Elite Giant Med Med Med Very Low
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Shrine of Winter
Goblin Med Low Med Med
Royal Swordsman Low Med Low Med
Heide Knight Low Med Low Med
Drangleic Castle
Primal Knight Low Low > High— * Low > None* Med *Only in Rain
Royal Swordsman Low Med > Very High— * Low > None* Med *Only in Rain
Royal Guard Low Med > Very High— * Low > None* Med *Only in Rain
Stone Soldier High High High Low
Ruin Sentinel Med Med Low Med Uses BOSS-TIER
Alonne Knight Captain Low Very High > Immune* Low > None* Med *Only in Rain
King's passage
Stone Knight High High High Low
Royal Guard Low Med Low Med
Shrine of Amana
Lindelt Cleric High Med > Very High— * Med > Low* Med *Only in Water
Amana Shrine Maiden High Med > Very High— * Med > Low* Med *Only in Water
Lizardman Low Med > Very High— * Med > Low* Med *Only in Water
Ogre Med Low > High— Med > Low Med Standing in Water
Acid Horn Beetle Med Very Low Med Med
Giant Acid Horn Beetle Med Very Low Med Med
Undead Supplicant Very Low Med Med Med
Prowling Magus High Med Very Low High
Undead Crypt
Undead Laborer Very Low Med Med Med
Grave Warden Med Med Low Med
Leydia Witch High Very High Very High Very High
Leydia Pyromancer High Med Low Med
Wall Warrior Med Med Very Low Med
Royal Guard Low Med Low Med
Imperious Knight Med Med Low Med
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Aldia's Keep
Kobold Med Low Med Med
Mimic Med Med Very Low Med Metal
Ogre Med Low Med Med
Dragon Acolyte Very High Very High Very High Very High
Basilisk Med Low Med Med
Giant Basilisk Med Low Med Med
Enhanced Undead Very High Very High Very High Very High
Hunting Dog Med Low Med Med
Giant Acid Horn Beetle Med Very Low Med Med
Dragon Aerie
Undead Citizen Very Low Med Med Med
Guardian Dragon Very Low High Med Very Low Uses BOSS-TIER
Dragon Shrine
Drakekeeper High Med High Med
Dark Priestess High Med High Med
Dragon Knight Med Med Med Med
Mimic Med Very Low Med Med Wooden
All Giant Memories
Royal Infantry Low Med Med Med
Royal Soldier Low Med Med Med
Giant Med Med Med Very Low
Elite Giant Med Med Med Very Low
Dark Chasm of Old
Forest Spirit Low Low Low Med

For example damage numbers and water affected scale, see Results


- BOSS-Tier List


BOSS-Tier means: 15% initial Resistance towards all 4 Elements, compared to Normal-Tier.
Boss Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
The Last Giant Med Med Med Very Low
The Pursuer Med Med Very Low High
Dragonrider Med Low Low Med
Old Dragonslayer Med Med Med High
Flexile Sentry Med Low > High— Med > Low Med Standing in Water
Ruin Sentinels Med Med Low Med
The Lost Sinner Low High Med Med
Belfry Gargoyles Low Med Med Med
Skeleton Lords High Very Low > Med+ * Med > Low* Med *only when Standing in Water
Excutioner's Chariot Med Low Low High
Covetous Demon Low Low High Med
Mytha, the Baneful Queen High Low High Med
Smelter Demon Med Very High Med Med
Old Iron King Med Extreme Low Med
Scorpioness Najka High Low Med Med
Royal Rat Authority Med Very Low Med Med
The Duke's Dear Freja High Med High High
The Rotten Med Med Low High
Dragonriders Med Low Low Med
Darklurker Med Med Low Very High
Looking Glass Knight Med Med > Very High— Very High > High+ Med Soaked in Rain
Demon of Song Low Med > Very High— Med > Low Low Standing in Water
Velstadt, the Royal Aegis Med Med Low High
Vendrick Med Med Med High
Throne Duo, Watcher/Defender High/Med Med/Med Low/Low Med/Med
Guardian Dragon Very Low High Med Very Low
Ancient Dragon Med Extreme Med Med
Giant Lord Med Med Med Very Low
Nashandra Med Med Low High

Notes


- There are no Bosses with None or Immune Tier.
- Bosses who end up as Mini-Boss will retain BOSS-Tier resistance.

Boss Fights that contains Normal-Tier


Encounter Enemies Notes
Flexile Sentry Suspicious Shadow
The Sinner Prisoned Sinner
Skeleton Lords Skeleton
Excutioner's Chariot Skeleton and Necromancer
Rat Authority Dog Rat
Prowling Magus & Congregation Prowling Magus, Dark Priestess, Undead Supplicant and Undead Laborer All use Normal-Tier
Duke's Dear Freja Parasite Spider
Rat Vanguard The Boss Rat and Corpse Rat All use Normal-Tier

- DLC Resistance Tiers


Enemies and bosses in the DLC follow their own set of tiers, with resistances varying from element to element. However, the damage taken by each element's tier relative to that element's Medium tier follows a simple 10% increment pattern.

Unlike other bosses, DLC Bosses do not have special tiers. They use the same tiers as normal DLC enemies.

DLC Tiers


All values are approximations based on empirical data and rounded to the nearest tenth.
Tier Magic Reduction Fire Reduction Lightning Reduction Dark Reduction Damage taken relative to Medium Tier
Very Low 56.7% 49.1% 61.5% 47.7% 130%
Low 60.1% 52.4% 64.5% 51.8%* 120%
Low+ 63.4% 56.9% 67.3% 55.8% 110%
Medium 66.8% 60.8% 70.4% 59.7% 100%
Medium+ 70.1% 64.8% 73.5% 63.8% 90%
High 73.5% 68.6% 76.3% 67.9% 80%
High+ 76.8%* 72.6% 79.3%* 71.8%* 70%
Very High 80.0% 76.5% 82.3%* 75.9% 60%
Very High+ 83.4% 80.5% 85.2% 79.9% 50%
Extreme 86.7% 84.3% 88.3%* 84.0%* 40%
Extreme+ 90.0%* 88.3% 91.3% 87.9% 30%

*Theoretical. No DLC enemy actually has this resistance

Note: These percentages only apply to spells and arrows. Elemental melee weapon damage depends only on the tier.
This means that if an enemy has Medium Dark and Medium Lightning resistances, then buffing your pure physical weapon with a Lightning resin will be exactly the same as using a Dark resin, despite the difference in reduction %.
Similarly, if an enemy has Medium Dark and Low Lightning resistance, a Lightning resin will be stronger than a Dark resin.

This tier rule does not apply to arrow elemental damage, infused or otherwise. Dark Arrows will generally be the strongest option against DLC enemies for this reason, and a Dark-infused bow will often be stronger than other elemental infusions.

- DLC-Tier Enemy List


Crown of the Sunken King
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Sanctum Soldier Med Med Low Med
Sanctum Knight Med+ Med+ Low Med+
Sanctum Priestess Very High Very High High Extreme+
Corrosive Egg Insect Very Low Very Low Very Low Med
The Imperfect Low+* Very High* Low* Low+* *Approximate tiers
Drakeblood Knight Med Med Med Med Uses non-DLC tiers (30% resistance)
Razorback Nightcrawler Med Low* Med Med Approximate Fire tier
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Elana Low Med Med High+
Velstadt Med Med Low High
Skeleton Med Very Low Med Med
Sinh Med High+ Low Med
Afflicted Graverobber Med Med > High Med > Low Med Standing in Water
Cerah Med Med > High Med > Low Med Standing in Water
Varg High High > Very High High > Med High Standing in Water
Crown of the Old Iron King
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Ashen Warrior Low Very High Med Med
Iron Warrior Low Very High Med Med
Possessed Armor Very High Very High Low+ Very High
Fume Sorcerer Very High+ Extreme+ Very High+ Extreme+
Cask Runner Low None Med Med Fire damage causes them to explode
Scorcher Low Very High Med Med
Astrologist Med Med Med Med
Alonne Knight Med Extreme Low Med
Alonne Knight Captain Low Extreme Low Med
Flame Salamander Med Immune Med Med
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Fume Knight High Extreme+ Med+ Med+
Aged Smelter Demon Extreme High Med Med
Sir Alonne Med High Med Med
Crown of the Ivory King
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Spellsword High Med High Med
Retainer Extreme Very High+ Very High+ Very High+
Stray Dog Med Low Med Med
Ice Golem Med+ Very Low Med+ Low+
Rampart Golem Med+ Med+ Med+ Med+
Ice Rat Med Low+* Med Med Approximate Fire tier
Undead Laborer Very Low Med Med Med
Facsimile Giant Very High+ Very High+ Extreme+ Low+
Frozen Reindeer Med Low+* Very High+ Very Low Approximate Fire tier
Forest Spirit Low* Very Low* Low* Med *Approximate tiers
Ivory Covetous Demon Low* Low High+* Med *Approximate tiers
Flexile Sentry Med Low Med Med
Mimic Med Med Very Low Med Metal
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Aava Med+ Low+ Med Med
Charred Loyce Knight Low+ Med+ Low+ Med+
Burnt Ivory King High High Med High
Lud Med+ Low+ Med Med
Zallen Med+ Low+ Med Med
Throne of Want
Enemy Magic Fire Lightning Dark Notes
Aldia Med+ High+ Med High+ Flame shield reduces all damage by 70% (phase 1), 90% (phase 2)

*There may be an additional tier between Low and Low+ that takes ~14.2% more damage than Medium tier. The Imperfect's Magic and Dark resistances as well as Ice Rat's and Frozen Reindeer's Fire resistances fit this model.

Full DLC test data is available here: DLC Resistance Data Spreadsheet

Results


+ Show Results - Hide Results

Normal-Tier Results


Number in Brackets are Water-affected
Tiers Crystal Soul Spear Flame Swathe Wrath of God Great Resonance Soul Reduction
Immune - - - - 100%
Extreme 255 210 236 209 85%
Very High 510 420(-) 472(708) 419 70%
High 850 701 787 699 50%
Medium 1190 981(561) 1102(1338) 979 30%
Low 1445 1192(771) 1338(1575) 1189 15%
Very Low 1530 1262(841) 1417(1575) 1259 10%
None 1700 1402(981) 1575(1575) 1399 -

BOSS-Tier Results


Tiers Crystal Soul Spear Flame Swathe Wrath of God Great Resonance Soul Urns(Non-DLC Bosses) Reduction
Immune - - - - - 100%
Extreme N/A 178 N/A N/A 29 85%
Very High N/A 357 N/A 356 58 70%
High 722 596 669 594 97 50%
Medium 1011 834 937 832 136 30%
Low 1228 1013 1138 1011 166 15%
Very Low 1300 1072 1204 1070 175 10%
None N/A(speculated 1445) N/A(spe. 1192) N/A(spec. 1338) N/A(spec.1189) N/A -

Methods of Obtaining Data


DLC Testing Table


Boss Firebomb Witching Urn Lighting Urn Hexing Urn
Trio
Elena 90 91 68 64
Sinh 63 76 82 92
Fume Knight 27 103 68 63 61 81 83
Alonne 72 76 68 92
Blue Smelter 72 30 68 92
Aava 99 68 68 92
Ivory King 72 61 68 74
Lud 99 68 68 92
Zallen 99 68 68 92

Notes


Rolling

Description


In Dark Souls II, however, rolling has only one hard limit at 70%. All rolling below that will have the same animation, but as your equip load decreases, your roll speed and distance will gradually increase. Attempting to roll with over 70% equip load will result in a "fat roll", with its own, slower, animation. Equipping more than 100% of your character's equip load will gradually slow your character's walking and sprinting speed, and equipping more than 120% will make rolling and sprinting impossible. However, even above 120% equip load, one can always perform rolling attacks and backstep attacks.

Rolling Distance and Equip Load


An approximation of roll distance versus equip load can be found below.1

Equip Load Rolling Distance (Out of Maximum Possible Distance)
0% 100%
10% 95%
30% 90%
50% 80%
70% 65%
100% 65%
120% 60%

Staying under 50% weight seems to be the most advantageous, since you can roll 15% farther than you can at 70% weight- the greatest increase in distance.

70-100% weight seems to have no effect on roll distance, but keep in mind that being above 70% makes you fat roll, which is slower.

Rolling Speed and Equip Load


Weight only affects roll distance. It has no affect on iFrames or roll duration. Whether you are at 0% burden, or 70%, your entire roll takes about 25 frames to complete.

Agility's Effect on Rolling


Agility affects the number of invincibility frame (iFrames) counts a roll has.
Agility only affects iFrames. As long as you aren't fat rolling, you get as many iFrames at 70% burden as you do naked.2

Agility iFrames
85 5
86 8
88 9
92 10
96 11
99 12
105 13
111 14
114 15
116 16

The roll at 105 agility is equivalent to the fast-roll in the original Dark Souls.

Quick Roll


A new mechanic that seems to have been introduced into Dark Souls II. The quick roll allows a character to quickly act after performing an attack, allowing them to potentially dodge follow-up attacks from faster enemies at the cost of slightly more stamina that they would not have been able to had they just pressed O to attempt a dodge. It is unknown if this is a glitch that has to do with the new feint mechanic, and it is unknown if it works with all weapons although this should be the case if the principle applies universally.

To perform the quick roll, the player must press an attack button and the "circle" button at the same time or within a very narrow window of one another. While this seems simple at first, the difficult part comes from the strict timing of the maneuver which is additionally unique to each moveset. The player must press Attack+O at the exact same time they would perform a consecutive attack, right down to the earliest frame that they can input to in which the game would be able to recognize the command as a successive attack. If done properly, the player will roll away or backstep almost immediately after the hit connects with an enemy.

Performing the Quick Roll is difficult due to the different movesets of the various weapons in the game and the strict timing. Done too early, and the player will perform the standard roll which leaves them vulnerable for a short period between the attack and the execution of the roll. Doing it too late on the other hand will defeat the frame advantage of the quick roll technique while draining additional stamina for the late quick roll. In addition, the quick roll cannot be done if the player's attack bounces off a wall and goes into the recoil animation.

So far, this technique has been tested and demonstrated to work with straight swords in both the standard and power stances. ADDITON: also works with the Reaper class weapons.

Roll Cancel


Another advanced technique; performed by rolling, initiating a rolling attack, and then quickly interrupting that attack with another roll. If done quickly, this will lead to being able to roll much faster in succession, making a great advanced technique for escaping quickly or catching up quickly to an enemy.

Footnotes 1. These results were found by placing a prism stone at the top of a ladder, rolling forward at various equip loads, and placing another path marker where the character ended up. The distances were compared, and the percentages estimated. They are by no means exact, but might prove useful to those unsure what equip load to stay under. 2. Data from here - [http://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSouls2/comments/25lnny/agility_and_iframe_correlation_data/]

Scaling

Scaling determines how much additional damage a weapon deals.

A character gains a percentage of their Physical Atk Dexterity, Physical Atk Strength, Magic Atk Bonus, Lightning Atk Bonus,Fire Atk Bonus and Dark Atk Bonus as additional damage of the respective damage type, indicated by a "+" next to the weapons base damage.

The weapon's stat bonus, indicated by a letter grade of S/A/B/C/D/E, determines what percentage of the character's stat bonus is applied as damage. For example, a character with 200 Physical Attack Strength Bonus will gain between 200 and 240 bonus damage from a weapon with S strength scaling (and no other scaling).

Strength Scaling


Letter
Grade
Min. %
S 100
A 80
B 55
C 35
D 20
E 1

Dexterity Scaling


Letter
Grade
Min. %
S 60
A 45
B 35
C 25
D 15
E 1

Catalyst Scaling


No Infusion


Letter
Grade
Min. %
S 100
A 80
B 55
C 35
D 20
E 1

Same infusion as the element


Letter
Grade
Min. %
S 115
A 92
B 63.5
C 40.5
D 15
E 1

Different infusion than the element


Letter
Grade
Min. %
S 85
A 68
B 46.5
C 25
D 10
E 1

Sin

FoldUnfold Table of Contents The Effect of Sin Causes of Sin Sin Levels "—" "Sinner" "Wretch" Removal of Sin Pardoning Sin Changes with Patch 1.09 Notes

The Effect of Sin


In Dark Souls 2, your character is open to invasions from members of the Blue Sentinels covenant when you have 10 points or more of Sin. They can invade you through the use of Cracked Blue Eye Orbs, and they have the ability to invade you frequently. Sinner status is displayed on the "Player Info" screen, directly underneath the character's Starting Class and Covenant listing.

Causes of Sin


Note that each individual point of sin is not accounted for on the "Player Info" screen, as certain values must be passed in order to rank up in sin level.

Sin Levels


Having the option to pay Cromwell the Pardoner for a pardon is not a valid means of checking your sin. You must consult the Player Info screen, which informs the player of the sin level that applies to their character:

Sin Level Points of Sin
"—" 0-9 points of sin
"Sinner" 10-99 points of sin
"Wretch" 100+ points of sin

"—"


"Sinner"


"Wretch"


Removal of Sin


Dying to a Blue Sentinel invader will reduce your sin count by 1 point. This means that if you've just reached the sin level of "Sinner" by getting 10 points exactly, the loss will result in having 9 points and returning back to "—" sin level.

However, Wretch status is permanent. This means that once you've reached 100 points of sin, "Wretch" will always display as your sinner level, regardless of how many points you have afterwards. When this happens the player is still able to drop all the way back down to 9 points to prevent further Blue Sentinel invasions, though there's no indication of a change in status from the Player Info screen.

Sin is not erased by progressing to NG+.

Pardoning Sin


Pardoning Sin through Cromwell the Pardoner does not normally remove your sin. It is a separate mechanic for undoing NPC aggression and appears to serve no other purpose. In spite of claiming to remove sin, he is an unreliable source on your sinner status for the following reasons:

Changes with Patch 1.09


Due to a glitch that erroneously caused sin in the Crown of the Ivory King DLC during Patch 1.08, Cromwell was changed to offer 1 pardon for free. Unlike the regular pardon described above, it completely clears all types of Sinner statuses. It can only be done once per character.

Notes


Footnotes 1. Spreadsheet showing scaling values: [link]

Soul Sign

Description


Used in online play. Summons a player Phantom or an NPC into your world.

Types of Soul Signs


Image Type Created By Conditions for placing Conditions for Seeing Purpose
White Sign White Sign Soapstone Cannot have another player present (true for all signs). Player must be in human form with the area boss undefeated. Summons a White Phantom for co-op.
Rewards phantom with a Token of Fidelity.
Gold Sign White Sign Soapstone Must be in the Heirs of the Sun Covenant. Player must be in human form with the area boss undefeated. Summons a Gold Phantom for co-op.
Rewards phantom and host with a Sunlight Medal.
Red Sign Red Sign Soapstone Player must be in human form. Cannot have Dragon Spirit present. Summons a Red Phantom invader for PvP.
Rewards phantom with a Token of Spite.
Small White Sign Small White Sign Soapstone Same as White Sign. Player must be in human form. Summons a White Shade for co-op.
Shades can only exist in your world for a short duration, unlike White Phantoms.
Rewards phantom with a Smooth and Silky Stone.
Dragon Sign Dragon Eye Must be in the Dragon Remnants Covenant. Cannot have another player present. Summons a Dragon Spirit invader for PvP.
Rewards phantom or host with a Dragon Scale

Stamina


Description


Required to carry out actions.
Actions deplete stamina, which
automatically recovers.
1

Derived Stat that increases maximum Stamina, represented by the green bar at the top of the screen. Stamina is necessary for the execution of most combat or strenuous actions in Dark Souls 2, such as swinging a weapon, preparing to shoot an arrow with a bow, spell casting, dodging, absorbing a blocked attack, sprinting, and many other actions. If you attempt to execute one of these actions when you have no Stamina, your character will generally not react to the attempted execution.

Stamina naturally regenerates over time when not attempting to execute an action that drains stamina, such as walking normally, using an item, interacting with the environment, or merely standing still. Holding up a shield doesn't drain the Stamina bar, but lowers Stamina regeneration.

Influence of Attributes on Stamina


Attribute 3-20 21-98 98-99
Endurance +2 +1 +2

Tips on Stamina Management and Advanced Mechanics


Command Queuing
A relevant bit of information related to the execution of actions, which is tangentially related since a majority of in-game actions drain the Stamina bar, is that Dark Souls 2, like Dark Souls, uses a queue system for button inputs. This means that mashing buttons will often cause your character to execute multiple moves in a row. While button queuing may be difficult to get used to if you have played similar games that don't queue button presses, such as Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, it can be used to your advantage with practice, as the ability to purposefully execute moves in succession can be beneficial as it allows your character to begin the next desired action immediately.

Prolonged Sprinting
In regards to sprinting, if a player completely depletes their stamina bar they will not be able to sprint again for approximately 3 seconds. Every other action that requires stamina can be executed as normal. As a result it is useful to stop sprinting just before the stamina bar empties and to let it recharge a little bit before continuing to run. If a player manages their stamina in this way they will be able to sprint for much longer periods of time and will avoid periods of downtime in which they are forced to walk.

Stamina Regeneration Rate
The rate of stamina regeneration can be improved by the use of relevant consumables or certain equipment.

Stamina regeneration rate is dependant on equip burden. Lowering equip burden by using lighter gear or increasing vitality will increase the natural rate of stamina regeneration. Gains are quite good from 70% to 30% equip burden. Regeneration rate with no equipment (baseline) appears to be 44-45 stamina/sec.

Natural regeneration rate can be improved with some equipment. The effects are cumulative (ring+blossom+shield = +40% regen rate).
Item Regeneration Increase
Chloranthy Ring+2 25%
Green Blossom 15%
Blossom Kite Shield 5%
Slumbering Dragon Shield 5%
Shield Of The Insolent 5%

Negative Stamina
It is in fact possible to have negative stamina, and just like in the original Dark Souls, the negative stamina will have to be regenerated before the usable stamina bar begins to refill. However, unlike in original Dark Souls, going into negative stamina in Dark Souls 2 has the additional penalty of reducing the damage of an attack that puts the player into the negatives. While the exact damage penalty is unknown, the penalty is more severe the farther into the negative the attack takes you. For example, an attack that puts a player at -15 stamina will have a greater damage penalty than an attack that brings the player to -5 stamina. It is important to note that since backstabs in Darksouls II consume stamina this damage penalty from negative stamina will still apply, resulting in greatly reduced backstab damage. Spell casts that put the player's stamina into the negatives will also deal less damage, as well as having a longer casting time.

Footnotes 1. In game description

Status Effects

FoldUnfold Table of Contents Status Effects Status Ailments Environmental Effects

Status Effects


A wide range of equipment or conditions can create a Status effect. An icon appears in the top left of the HUD to indicate the current effect(s).

Icon Status Causes
Max HP, Stamina, Equip Load Up First Dragon Ring equipped
Second Dragon Ring equipped
Third Dragon Ring equipped
Attack Rating Up Lightning Clutch Ring equipped
Dark Clutch Ring equipped
Fire Clutch Ring equipped
Sorcery Clutch Ring equipped
Flynn's Ring equipped
Ivory Warrior Ring equipped
Ring of Blades equipped
Stone Ring equipped
N/A N/A
Defense Rating Up Dark Quartz Ring equipped
Dispelling Ring equipped
Flame Quartz Ring equipped
Ring of Steel Protection equipped
Spell Quartz Ring equipped
Thunder Quartz Ring equipped
Yorgh's Ring equipped
Bow Range Up Durgo's Hat equipped
Hawk Ring equipped
Increased Item discovery Covetous Gold Serpent Ring equipped
Traveling Merchant Hat equipped
Prisoner's Hood equipped
Jester's Cap equipped
Prisoner's Tatters equipped
Watchdragon Parma equipped and ON HAND_
Fallen Enemies heals HP Ring of the Evil Eye equipped.
Poise Up Ring of Giants equipped.
Increased Soul gain Covetous Silver Serpent Ring equipped
Jester's Gloves equipped
Warlock Mask equipped
Any of Tseldora Set equipped
Any of Nahr Alma Set equipped
Spell Effect Up Clear Bluestone Ring equipped
Lingering Dragoncrest Ring equipped
Black Hood equipped
Status Ailment Defense Up Ash Knuckle Ring equipped
Bracing Knuckle Ring equipped
Poisonbite Ring equipped
Cursebite Ring equipped
Ring of Resistance equipped
Bloodbite Ring equipped
Explosion after Damage Threshold Old Sun Ring equipped.
Reduces Fall Damage Flying Feline Boots equipped
Jester's Tights equipped
Silvercat Ring equipped
Any of Lion Warrior Set equipped
Increased Stamina recovery Chloranthy Ring equipped
Blossom Kite Shield equipped
Shield of The Insolent equipped
Slumbering Dragon Shield equipped
Increased Enemy visibility Redeye Ring equipped
Soul Protection but Ring Breaks Ring of Soul Protection equipped
Ring of Life Protection equipped
Tearstone Ring Activated Blue Tearstone Ring activated
Red Tearstone Ring activated
Health Restoration Ring of Restoration equipped
N/A N/A
Select Online activity disabled Burning a Human Effigy in a Bonfire.
Gain no souls. Agape Ring equipped.
Temporary protection against invasions. Killing a boss as a host or phantom.
Ring Broken Durability of equipped ring at 0
Head Armor Broken Durability of head gear at 0
Chest Armor Broken Durability of chest gear at 0
Hands Armor Broken Durability of hand gear at 0
Legs Armor Broken Durability of legs gear at 0
Walk / Run Toggle Only available on PC.
Guard Toggle Only available on PC.

Status Ailments


Status ailments happen when attacks apply status points on you until they overcome your resistance. This is displayed to you by a bar on your screen with an icon and a inner color bar that fills it. The bar lengthens as you increase your resistances. The colored bar retracts as long as you are not being subjected to the status effect. Toxic is the only one which does not have a corresponding resistance and is instead affected by Poison Resistance.

Icon Status Notes
Poison Drains HP at a steady rate.
Toxic Stronger version of Poison.
Curse Turns player hollow and decreases Max. HP
Petrification Turns player to stone and kills them.
Bleed Drains 200 HP and reduces Max. Stamina for 10 Seconds.

Environmental Effects


There are a few ways that the player can become coated with a substance from the environment. The player will remain visibly coated for a period of time, though unlike Status Ailments, there is no indication bar or alert of any kind. The character will become dryer from head to toe, with the effects of the substance disappearing upon returning completely to normal.

Status Notes Causes
Water Soaked Increases fire defense, lowers lightning defense.
Cleanses other Environmental Effects.
Walking through water, water pots, and select Pharros' contraptions.
Poison Soaked Being soaked continually increases poison meter. Walking through poison pools and breaking poison pots.
Oil Soaked Triggers explosion upon taking fire damage or lighting a torch. Being hit by Varangian Sailor's oil bombs and walking into oil vases/ puddles.
Web slowdown Covered in spider webs, movement speed slowed. Get hit by the Duke's Dear Freja's web attack.
Snow-covered No effect Roll in snow covered areas in the Ivory king dlc.

Torch

In-Game Description


A torch made by soaking the end of a long
stick in pine resin.

Light the torch on the fire of a sconce
to illuminate areas for a short time.
Find new torches to extend this period.

Torches can even be lit on bonfires,
the flames of which do not normally
set objects alight, due to the coating
of the bones used to fuel them.

Availability


General Information


Image Damage Aux Effects Counter
Strength
Poise
Damage
Stats Needed
Stat Bonuses
Damage
Reduction
Aux Effects
Reduction
Stability Durability Weight
27/0/134/0/0

(?)
0/0 100 5 0/0/0/0

?/?/-/?/-/-
25/0/0/0/0 0/0/0/0 15 0 0.0

Move Set


+ show Move Set - hide Move Set

L1/LB: Block

L2/LT:

Notes



Key


Damage:

The Damage stat dictates how much damage the weapon does. The Damage stats for a weapon are A / B / C / D / E:

  • A is Physical Damage
  • B is Magical Damage
  • C is Fire Damage
  • D is Lightning Damage
  • E is Dark Damage

Each weapon has one or more physical damage types:

  • Striking
  • Slashing
  • Thrusting

Certain enemies are weak or strong against different damage types.
See Weakness for physical reduction, Resistance for elemental reduction.

Aux Effect:

The Aux Effect stat dictates how effective the weapon will be at causing the effect. The Aux Effect stats for a weapon are A / B:

  • A is Poison Effect
  • B is Bleed Effect
Counter Strength: Damage multiplier when hitting an enemy that is performing an action such as attacking. Value of 100 means no extra damage.
Poise Damage: The ability of the weapon to break the poise of an enemy.
Stats Needed:

The Stats Needed determines how high various Stats must be in order to wield the weapon effectively.
The stats required for a weapon are A / B / C / D:

  • A is the Strength required
  • B is the Dexterity required
  • C is the Intelligence required
  • D is the Faith required

Wielding a weapon without the required Strength and/or Dexterity will incur a penalty to the Physical damage of the weapon,
while lower-than-required Magic and/or Faith will reduce the Magic damage of the weapon.

Also keep in mind that your character gains a 100% bonus to Strength by wielding a weapon with both hands, thus reducing
the actual Strength required. For example, a character with 14 Strength can wield a Great Club (Requires 28 Strength)
properly if the weapon is held with both hands. (14 x 2 = 28)

Stat Bonuses:

The Stat Bonuses rating indicates the level of bonus damage you do with the weapon, based on the associated Stat.
This rating can be S, A, B, C, D, or E (in order from most to least bonus for the associated skill).
See Scaling for more information.
The Bonus Stats for a weapon are A/B/C/D/E/F:

  • A is the Strength stat bonus that influences the physical attack of the weapon.
  • B is the Dexterity stat bonus that influences the physical attack of the weapon.
  • C is the Intelligence stat bonus that influences the Magical attack of the weapon.
  • D is the Intelligence and Faith stat bonus that influences the Fire attack of the weapon.
  • E is the Faith stat bonus that influences the Lightning attack of the weapon.
  • F is the Intelligence or Faith stat bonus that influence the Dark attack of the weapon(The lower of the two stats is chosen as the bonus stat).
Damage Reduction:

The Damage Reduction % of the weapon. It dictates how much damage the weapon mitigates while blocking.
The Damage Reduction % stats for weapons are A / B / C / D / E :

  • A is Physical Damage
  • B is Magical Damage
  • C is Fire Damage
  • D is Lightning Damage
  • E is Dark Damage
Aux Effect Reduction:

The Aux Effect Reduction % of the weapon. It dictates how much of the effect the weapon mitigates while blocking.
The Aux Effect Reduction % stats for a weapon are A / B / C / D:

  • A is Poison Effect
  • B is Bleed Effect
  • C is Petrification Effect
  • D is Curse Effect
Stability: Determines the amount of stamina expended to block an incoming attack. A higher stability also allows you to block stronger
attacks without breaking guard and reduces the amount of stamina depleted from blocking attacks.
Durability: The durability of the weapon.
Weight: The weight of the weapon. Note that carrying over 70% of your Equip Weight will reduce the speed of your rolls, while going
over 100% will reduce your regular speed to walking and attempts to roll or backstep will leave you momentarily stunned.
Enchantable? Items/Spells: Determines whether or not the weapon can receive a temporary damage buff by items and/or spells. Note that if you decided
to infuse the weapon it cannot be enchanted by items.

Water

Description


Water acts as a damage modifier for both offense and defense on particular damage types.

Water is wet!


Oh yes it is! It was discovered several days into the game that by rolling in water, the character becomes soaked (and will leave wet foot prints).

This has an important in game effect of increasing Fire Defense by 300 points. This is useful when fighting the Smelter Demon or Jester Thomas as well as when getting several treasures on the hot lava rocks in Iron Keep.

Additionally, if you have a Torch lit and you get it underwater in any way, it will be put out.

Water is conductive


Your character and enemies will take additional lightning damage if they are wet or standing in a pool of water. Being soaked decreases Lightning Defense by 150 points.
Note that water only Lowers the resistance, it does not actually increase the damage you deal, meaning most you can deal is your base damage.

Water is clean


If you are covered in oil or poison, rolling in water will clean you off!

Water is dangerous!


In some areas, the water level is very deep. Trying to swim will result in death.

Water can slow down your character


Depending on the depth of the water your character is walking in you can be slowed down when running/sprinting or even have sprinting negated. This makes certain areas of the game very challenging due to the loss of mobility

Water for enemies


Water does NOT slow down enemies! Therefore be extra careful if you are in places like the Shrine of Amana or Doors of Pharros. Invading players (Blue or Red Phantoms) also can sprint through water!
But they do get the resistance increase/decrease coming from either standing or soaked in water.

Weakness

FoldUnfold Table of Contents Introduction Tier table Normal Enemy List Boss list DLC list Formula Normal Enemy Area-Defense Note Method of Obtaining Data Upcoming


Introduction


This page is about Enemy's Weakness/Defense towards the three Physical Attack-Type: Slash, Strike and Thrust.

Just like Resistance, there are currently 5 discovered Tiers of Physical Damage Stages for non-Boss enemies. The Factor by which the Damage is determined is called Weakness-Factor and is applied after the initial Offense-Defense calculation. Most Enemies have Average-Tier, but some, like "Thick scaled'', ''Heavy Armored'' receive increased/decreased damage against the three Types.

Tier table


Tier Weakness-Factor
Strong 70%
Keen 85%
Average 100%
Weak 135%
Vulnerable 150%

Normal Enemy List


Mini-Boss who use BOSS-Tier are not included
Enemy Slash Strike Thrust Melee-Def Ranged Def Notes
ALL Roaming Souls Avr Avr Avr +50% No matter what they wear
ALL Blue Phantoms Avr Avr Avr +25% No matter what they wear
Undead Traveler Avr Avr Avr -
Kobold Avr Avr Avr - Not using Area Def
Ogre Str Str Weak +25%
Falconer Avr Avr Avr +25%
Enslaved Pig Keen Keen Keen -
Skeleton Avr Vul Str - / 25% 25% only in Harvest Valley
Has extra Thrust-Critical-Damage-Defense
Crystal Lizard Avr Vul Avr +50%
Hollow Infantry Avr Avr Avr -
Hollow Soldier Avr Avr Avr +25%
Old Ironclad Soldier Str Vul Str +25%
Heide Knight Avr Avr Avr +50%
Flame Salamander Avr Avr Avr +90% need tested for other damage-range
Old Knight Avr Vul Str +25%
Varangian Sailor Avr Avr Weak +25%
Dark Stalker Avr Avr Avr +25%
Stray Dog Avr Avr Avr -
Suspicious Shadow Avr Avr Avr -
Undead Jailer Avr Avr Avr +30%
Royal Swordsman Avr Avr Vul +25%
Undead Citizen Weak Avr Weak -
Enhanced Undead Avr Avr Keen +25%
Bell Keeper Avr Avr Avr +25%
Rogue Avr Avr Avr -
Captive Undead Avr Avr Avr -
Undead Laborer Weak Avr Weak 25%
Great Moth Avr Avr Weak -30 -30point to Area-Defence,
thus having the lowest Def in game (52)
Necromancer Avr Avr Avr -
Armored Skeleton Avr Vul Str +25%
Bonewheel Skeleton Avr Vul Str +25%
Torturer Avr Avr Avr - Uses Purgatory Def
Artificial Undead Avr Avr Avr +25%
Mounted Overseer Avr Avr Avr +25%
Undead Steelworker Avr Avr Avr +25%
Poison Horn Beetle Weak Avr Vul -
Manikin Avr Avr Avr -
Grave Warden Avr Avr Avr +25%
Desert Sorceress Avr Avr Avr -
Mimic Avr Avr Avr +25% Regardless of Material
Alonne Knight Avr Weak Avr +25%
Alonne Knight Captain Avr Weak Str +30% / +25% 25% in Drangleic Castle
Ironclad Soldier Str Vul Str +25%
Goblin Avr Avr Avr +25%
Basilisk Avr Avr Avr +25%
Giant Basilisk Avr Avr Avr +25%
Lion Clan Warrior Avr Avr Avr +25%
Forest Guardian Avr Avr Avr +25% @%)*&@(*&^$!@%…
Primal Knight Str Avr Weak +50%
Gyrm Warrior Avr Avr Avr +25%
Gyrm Avr Avr Avr +25%
Dog Rat Avr Avr Avr -
Undead Peasant Avr Avr Avr -
Undead Boar Keen Keen Keen -
Giant Undead Boar Avr Avr Avr - The tusk reduces incoming damage
Parasite Spider Avr Avr Avr -
Parasitized Undead Avr Avr Avr -
Hollow Mage Avr Avr Avr -
Duke Tseldora Avr Avr Avr -
Vengarl's Body Avr Avr Avr +50%
Corpse Rat Avr Avr Avr -
Hunting Dog Avr Avr Avr -
Corrosive Ant Queen Weak Avr Vul +25%
Coal Tar Avr Avr Avr +25%
Razorback Nightcrawler Weak Avr Vul -
Elite Giant Avr Avr Avr +50% Uses Giant Memory-Def
Royal Guard Str Weak Avr 50%
Stone Soldier Avr Vul Str +50%
Stone Knight Avr Vul Str +25%
Lindelt Cleric Avr Avr Weak +25%
Amana Shrine Maiden Weak Avr Weak -
Lizardman Avr Avr Weak -
Acid Horn Beetle Weak Avr Vul -
Giant Acid Horn Beetle Weak Avr Vul -
Undead Supplicant Avr Avr Avr -
Prowling Magus Avr Avr Avr -
Leydia Witch Avr Avr Avr -
Leydia Pyromancer Avr Avr Avr - Ghost form, 50% reduction to final damage
Wall Warrior Avr Avr Avr +50% Ghost form, 50% reduction to final damage
Imperious Knight Avr Weak Avr +50%
Dragon Acolyte Avr Avr Avr -
Drakekeeper Avr Vul Str +55%
Dark Priestess Weak Avr Weak -
Dragon Knight Avr Avr Avr +25% The ONLY enemy using Dragon Shrine-Def
Royal Infantry Avr Avr Avr -
Royal Soldier Avr Avr Weak +25%
Giant Avr Avr Avr +50%
Forest Spirit Avr Avr Avr +25% Ghost form, 50% reduction to final damage

Boss list


Boss Slash Strike Thrust Melee Ranged Notes

// to be added…//

DLC list


Enemy Slash Strike Thrust Melee Ranged Notes

// to be added…//


Formula


Normal Enemy


The Offense-Defense calculation works as following:
Offense = Total PHYSICAL Number shown in equip window * Movement Modifier
Defense = Area-Defense (Game's increasing difficulty by area, see Area-Defense) * Enemy Melee/Ranged Defense Factor (see Normal Enemy List)

Final Damage = (Offense-Defense)*Weakness-Factor1

Example Hide Example

Area-Defense


May be off by 1-point due to rounding error in reversing formula
Area Defense Total Def Notes
BASIC 63.4 ~63.4
Majula +39 ~102.4
Things Betwixt +0 ~63.4
Forest of Fallen Giants +0 ~63.4
Heide's Tower of Flame +5 ~ 68.4
No-man's Wharf +19 ~ 82.4
The Lost Bastille +24 ~ 87.4
Sinner's Rise +29 ~92.4 Only Undead Citizen uses this Def, others in the area use Bastille-Def
Belfry Luna +24 ~87.4
Huntsman's Copse +19 ~82.4
Undead Purgatory +28 ~91.4 The Torturers on the way to Purgatory also uses this
Harvest Valley +23 ~86.4
Earthen Peak +24 ~87.4
Iron Keep +29 ~92.4
Belfry Sol +29 ~92.4
Shaded Woods +33 ~96.4
Doors of Pharros +34 ~97.4
Brightstone Cove Tseldora +38 ~101.4
Grave of Saints +24 ~87.4
The Gutter +29 ~92.4 Poison Horn Beetles near the Queen uses Black Gulch-Def
Black Gulch +38 ~101.4 The Elite Giants Use Giant Memory-Def
Drangleic Castle +49 ~112.4 All Royal Swordsman Use Shaded Woods-Def
Shrine of Amana +53 ~116.4
Undead Crypt +54 ~117.4
Aldia's Keep +54 ~117.4
Dragon Aerie +55 ~118.4
Dragon Shrine +58 ~121.4 Only Dragon Knights, others use Dragon Aerie-Def
All Giant Memories +60 ~123.4
Dark Chasm of Old +65 ~128.4
DLC
Shulva, Sanctum City + 60 ~123.4
Dragon's Sanctum +66 ~129.4
Cave of the Dead +70 ~133.4
Upper Brume Tower +60 ~123.4
Lower Brume Tower +66 ~129.4
Iron Passage +70 ~133.4
Memory of the Old Iron King +70 ~133.4

Note


Method of Obtaining Data


Upcoming


Footnotes 1. Not working when Offense < Defense

Weapon Reskins

FoldUnfold Table of Contents General Information Released Reskins Unreleased Reskins Notes

General Information


Various weapons have special reskinned versions that are made available for a limited time in the Majula Mansion Chest. The changes so far are purely cosmetic, with the weapons having identical names, descriptions, stats and movesets to their original counterparts.

There are seven in total. So far four have been released, and another three remain as unknown/ unannounced.

Released Reskins


Icon Item Unofficial
Nickname(s)
Availability Distinction
Reskinned Murakumo Blurakumo
Murablumo
PAST:
July 22 - July 31 (2014)
February 5 - 12 (2015)
Blade has a dark-blue tint.
Reskinned Blacksteel Katana Whitesteel Katana PAST:
August 26 - September 7 (2014)
February 5 - 12 (2015)
White handle and light-silver blade.
Reskinned Longsword Blue Longsword
Moonlight Longsword
PAST:
September 30 - October 13 (2014)
February 5 - 12 (2015)
Blade is blue.
Reskinned Great Club Bloodied Great Club PAST:
February 5 - 12 (2015)
Lighter in color, but stained with blood.

Unreleased Reskins


Icon Item Unofficial
Nickname(s)
Availability Distinction
Reskinned Rapier Black Rapier UNKNOWN
Currently unused content
Completely black.
Reskinned Greataxe Golden Greataxe UNKNOWN
Currently unused content
Golden blade and handle-tip.
Reskinned Caestus Red Caestus UNKNOWN
Currently unused content
Red shell with yellow sleeve.

Notes


Status Effects

Status Effects

Bleed

FoldUnfold Table of Contents Effect Enemy Causes of Bleed Player Methods of inflicting Bleed Increasing Bleed bonus Resisting and Avoiding Bleed

Effect


Once the Bleed meter is full, the target's HP will be damaged by 200. It will also reduce the maximum stamina of the target to 75% for 5 to 10 seconds.

Enemy Causes of Bleed


Cause of Bleed Location
Dark Stalker No-man's Wharf
Stray Dog No-man's Wharf
The Lost Bastille
Frozen Eleum Loyce
Artificial Undead Huntsman's Copse
Harvest Valley
Crescent Sickle Phantom Earthen Peak
Alonne Knight Iron Keep
Memory of the Old Iron King
Alonne Knight Captain Iron Keep
Drangleic Castle
Memory of the Old Iron King
Lizardman Shrine of Amana
Ogre Things Betwixt
Shrine of Amana
Aldia's Keep
Suspicious Shadow No-man's Wharf
Giant Undead Boar Brightstone Cove Tseldora
Washing Pole Phantom Drangleic Castle
Iron Warrior
(mace)
Brume Tower
Iron Passage
Prowlers Brume Tower
Spellsword Frozen Eleum Loyce
Ice Rat Frozen Eleum Loyce
Afflicted Graverobber Cave of the Dead
Sir Alonne Memory of the Old Iron King

Player Methods of inflicting Bleed


If you intend to wield a weapon that inflicts bleed, it's important to be aware of your Bleed ATK Bonus stat.

Note:
Your Bleed ATK Bonus does NOT affect the total amount of damage the bleed will do; it only increases the amount of bleed buildup you will inflict per hit.

Increasing Bleed bonus


Dexterity and Faith increase the Bleed ATK Bonus stat.

Steady Hand McDuff is able to imbue your weapon with bleed with a Bleed Stone after you've given him the Dull Ember.

Shadow Gauntlets and Crest of Blood increase bleed damage on weapons that have either innate bleed or are infused with it:

Resisting and Avoiding Bleed


Status Effects

Curse


Effect


Lower's the player's health equal to the amount of one death (5%), as well as turning them hollow if they are not already. Curse does nothing once one's maximum health has been reduced to half.

Curse bypasses the Ring of Life Protection, but not the Ring of Binding.

Enemy Causes of Curse


Cause of Curse Location
Curse Jar Shaded Woods
Shrine of Amana
Huntsman's Copse
Lion Clan Warrior Shaded Woods
Undead Peasant Brightstone Cove Tseldora
The Pursuer
(when their sword glows blue)
Forest of Fallen Giants
Lost Bastille
Iron Keep
Drangleic Castle
Ashen Idol Brume Tower
Nashandra Throne of Want
Painting of the Queen Drangleic Castle

Resisting and Avoiding Curse


Notes


Status Effects

Petrification

FoldUnfold Table of Contents Effect Enemy Causes of Petrification Resisting and Avoiding Petrification Notes

Effect


Petrification will cause the player to turn to stone, instantly killing them. Death by petrification results in temporarily losing 20% of max health instead of the normal 5%.

Enemy Causes of Petrification


Cause of Petrification Location
Undead Citizen
(yellow core)
The Lost Bastille
Basilisk Multiple locations
Giant Basilisk Multiple locations
Corpse Rat Grave of Saints
Rabid Kobold Aldia's Keep
Petrifying Statue Cluster Cave of the Dead
Petrifying Statue Cave of the Dead
Petrifying Mist Trap Cave of the Dead

Resisting and Avoiding Petrification


Notes


Status Effects

Poison

FoldUnfold Table of Contents Effect Enemy Causes of Poison Player Methods of inflicting Poison Player Methods of inflicting Toxic Increasing Poison bonus Recovering from Poison Resisting and Avoiding Poison Enemies Immune to Poison Regular Enemies Bosses

Effect


Once the Poison meter is full, HP will begin to drain at a steady rate depending on the method of infliction. Duration is 20 seconds and damage dealt is 1,050-1,100.Toxic is a form of poison that deals more damage. Duration is 20 seconds and damage dealt is 1,485.

Enemy Causes of Poison


Cause of Poison Location Toxic?
Goblin Shaded Woods No
Great Moth Huntsman's Copse No
Rogue archers Huntsman's Copse No
Manikin Earthen Peak No
Dog Rat Doors of Pharros Yes
Poison Shooting Statue The Gutter
Black Gulch
No
Pyromancer Giant Memory of Orro
Memory of Vammar
Yes
Suspicious Shadow No-man's Wharf No
Sanctum Soldier Dragon's Sanctum
Cave of the Dead
No
Sanctum Priestess Dragon's Sanctum No
Poison Statue Cluster Shulva, Sanctum City No
Scorpioness Najka Shaded Woods Yes
Royal Rat Vanguard Grave of Saints No
Royal Rat Authority Doors of Pharros ?
Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon Dragon's Rest Yes
Poison pools and mists Harvest Valley
Earthen Peak
No
Containers full of poison Various No
Poison dart mask Drangleic Castle No
Poison mist chest trap Trapped chests No

Player Methods of inflicting Poison


Player Methods of inflicting Toxic


If you intend to wield a weapon that inflicts poison, it's important to be aware of your Poison ATK Bonus stat.

Note:
Your Poison ATK Bonus does NOT affect the total amount of damage the poison will do; it only increases the amount of poison buildup you will inflict per hit.

Increasing Poison bonus


Dexterity and Adaptability increase the Poison ATK Bonus stat.

Steady Hand McDuff is able to imbue your weapon with poison with a Poison Stone after you've given him the Dull Ember.

Sanctum Soldier Gauntlet and Crest of the Rat increase poison damage on weapons that have either innate poison or are infused with it:

Recovering from Poison


Resisting and Avoiding Poison


Enemies Immune to Poison


Most enemies can be poisoned. However, the following cannot:

Regular Enemies


Bosses