‘Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel’ Starter Guide

The first major DLC for Dark Souls III, Ashes of Ariandel, has arrived! This new downloadable pack features a ton of new PVP content as well as roughly 5 hours of new single-player content, with two major bosses fights, new areas to explore, and several weapons and spells to obtain. Check out our Ashes of Ariandel Starter Guide to get a head start on the latest series of Dark Souls challenges to overcome.

How to Access the Ashes of Ariandel DLC

To access the Painted World of Ariandel, warp to the Cleansing Church Bonfire located in the Cathedral of the Deep. You will need to defeat the Deacons of the Deep in order for this character to spawn. You’ll find him on his knees, muttering about the “Fire for Ariandel.” Once he discovers that you are an Ashen One, he pleads you to help the world. Once you exhaust his dialogue, accept his proposal.

He will hold out a small piece of canvas of the Painted World and plead for you to touch it. By doing so, your character will immediately appear in a cavern located deep in a snowfield. Outside your first batch of new enemies await. Heed the advice of the messages located outside of the cave. They aren’t kidding when they suggest that you overcome the depths of Lothric Castle before branching out into the new world.

How to Obtain the New Ashes of Ariandel Spells

There are five new spells to be found in Ashes of Ariandel. Two Sorceries, one Ppyromancy, and one Miracle.

• Frozen Weapon (Sorcery) – Dropped from the flying enemies that appear near the Drop Bridge Cave Bonfire.
• Snap Freeze (Sorcery) – Located after the Depth of the Painted World Bonfire. Run to the left past the giant grab to the left and it will be on a corpse behind a tree creature.
• Floating Chaos (Pyromancy) – Kill the Invading NPC behind illusionary wall in the Crypt of Flies. Must be embered to appear.
• Way of White Corona (Miracle) – Found inside the Painted World church near Sir Vilhelm.

Obtain the Parting Flame Pyromancy Flame

Pryomancy users, rejoice! A powerful new pryomancy flame can be found in the Painted World of Ariandel. Once you reach the crypt filled with bloodsucking flies, check for an illusory wall to the right. Head down the stairs and outside and drop down to a path of roots to loot a corpse holding the Parting Pryomancy Flame.

The new flame is upgraded with Titanite and can only be upgraded by Cornyx of the Great Swamp. The Parting flame adds an additional burst of fire damage for all Combustion spells. When equipped in the active slot, players can build up a charge that refills one Estus Flask use after killing 12 enemies. Once you obtain an Echo from killing enough enemies, use the weapon art on the flame.

This new flame is more powerful than any other previous flame, so be sure to get it as soon as you can.

Collect Captain’s Ashes

The DLC features one new set of ashes to give to the Handmaid in Firelink Shrine, called the Captain’s Ashes. You will find the ashes on a corpse located at the top of the tower. Be careful, as two Millwood archers protect the prize. Starting at the Snowfield bonfire, make your way through the first few waves of enemies, eventually reaching the Wolves and tree enemies. From here, keep an eye out for a large tower.

The Captain’s Ashes unlock the Millwood Set and Millwood Greatarrows for purchase. The Millwood Greatarrows are a superb ammo type for Greatbows. They deal more damage than other greatbow arrows but have a more limited range.

Obtain the Chillbite Ring

Ashes of Ariandel holds one new ring for players, the Chillbite Ring. Given the frost-heavy focus on the map, this ring will come in handy to build frost resistance. Once you reach the cathedral for the first time, look for an NPC named Sister Friede. Speak to her twice and she will give you the ring. After that, you’ll be in better shape to handle frost enemies in the DLC and main story in subsequent playthroughs.

Access the Hollow Arena

After completing the final boss fight of the DLC, Champion’s Gravetender & Gravetender Greatwolf, you’ll be given the Champions Bones. Burn these bones in the Firelink Shrine to access the new PVP modes. Players access the new by teleporting from any bonfire.

The Hollow Arena features two primary game modes: Duel and Brawl. Both of these are timed events. Duels are 1-on-1 battles where players win by defeating the enemy player once. Players cannot use Estus during the duel but can use a limited amount of Ashen Estus. The Brawl mode is an unlimited lives battle that players can adjust from 1-on-1 to 6-vs-6.

Players can add a password to matches to allow fights with friends. Currently, the Kiln of Flame is the only new PVP map. Bandai Namco has yet to announce additional maps.

---

Be sure to check out our expansive Dark Souls wiki for more info on Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel. The next unnamed Dark Souls III DLC pack arrives sometime in 2017.