The Dark Souls series has been known above all else for not holding anyone's hand. Even the story and central lore of the game are all hidden in item description, but this page will seek to inform you of the most pressing Things Dark Souls 3 Doesn't Tell You .



Weapon Skills: How do they work?

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Dark Souls 3 adds the addition of new Weapon Skills to every weapon in the game, letting you unleash new moves that can change up combat in a big way. However, lots of weapon skills act differently, and can be confusing to figure out.

One of the key things to note is the FP cost listed on your weapon. Almost every Weapon Skill costs a certain amount of focus points, but how you use your Weapon Skill can affect how much points you actually end up using. These are denoted by up to three numbers, listed as 1(2/3)

For example, most straight swords have a Stance Weapon Skill that costs -(17/20). This means that Stance costs no FP to trigger (holding down to enter the stance), and has two different moves that come from the the Weapon Skill, using the standard attack costs 17 for a guard break, or use 20 FP to perform a lunge by pressing the strong attack.

On the other hand, Shields with the Parry skill cost nothing, denoted by -(-/-) in their FP cost. Other times, weapons like a curved sword's spin slash (FP Cost: 6(-/12) costs 6 to activate into a spinning attack, and 12 to use a strong attack to keep the attack going.

Allocating Estus FLasks



Unless you talk to Andre the Blacksmith at Firelink Shrine, you might miss out on an important detail about Estus Flasks. Soon after starting the game, you'll have an Estus Flask to heal with, and an Ashen Estus Flask to recharge your Focus Points. However, you don't actually need to have one or the other, and can change the ratio at will be talking to Andre. You can have any ratio of Estus to Ashen, including having 0 of one and the max amount of the other, which can be useful to those who rarely use magic or weapon skills.

Cooperation Can Happen Anytime

A new feature to the Souls games, you can now use the White Soapstone to cooperate with someone of any level, so long as you've set a password before hand. You can do this by going into your matchmaking options. Set a random password, have your friend do so as well, then place your summon sign.

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Without a password, you will only be able to summon each other if you're within a narrow level range, approximately 10 levels of each other. So if one of your friends happens to get too far ahead, just have everyone set a password, and let the cooperation commence!

Hollowing, and You



When you get around to recruiting Yoel of Londor from his pilgrimage at the bridge in Undead Settlement, he'll not only offer to sell spells but to "Draw out your true strength". Doing so will essentially give you a free level up at no cost for souls. However, it will also give you a Dark Sigil in your inventory. Having said Dark Sigil means that every time you die, you'll gain one point of Hollowing for each Dark Sigil you carry with you, up to a maximum of 5 Dark Sigils can be held.

You'll find that after getting a few Hollowing, you're character will grow visibly worse for the wear. Getting more free levels from Yoel will depend on your Hollowing level (0, 2, 6, 12, and 16, respectively.) Hollowing will also affect any items infused with a Hollow Gem, increasing your luck if you have more than 15 Hollowing.

The most important effect by far, is that by gaining Hollowing, and Dark Sigils from Yoel, will cause the appearance of Yuria of Londor, who will set you down a path to an alternate Ending.



Buy Armor Sets By Killing Characters

While you shouldn't go off and kill every friendly face you meet, certain characters - especially enemy humans you encounter, will have their armor sold by the Firelink Handmaid after they've been killed. This includes enemies like the two Watchdogs outside of Farron Keep, who wear the Exile Knight set. If you stay your blade from friendly characters, you'll find that some of them die anyways at the end of their questline, so always check back at the Firelink Handmaid after helping people out, or killing human looking enemies. This even holds true for certain Bosses!

(Note that this doesn't include NPC invaders, but sometimes you can find them later in the flesh to fight them again.)

Equip Load Ratio



A little known stat in the top right corner of your equipment screen is your Equipment Load and your Weight Ratio. Your equipment load measures your total weight carrying the items you currently have equipped (up to three right hand weapons, three left hand items, four rings, and four armor slots). You won't be able to surpass your total Equipment Load number, which will require more Vigor to increase your load.

Your Weight Ratio measures your maximum load divided by the amount currently carrying. At a lower ratio, you'll be able to dodge very quickly from one spot to the next, though at the same distance traveled. However, surpass 70% weight ratio, and your character will only be able to roll slowly along the ground, putting you at risk of being caught in the middle of a slow roll. For most players, keeping your ratio under exactly 70% is key to be able to stay mobile, and those who forsake this threshold should only do so with a good amount of armor and a large greatshield.

Intelligence and Spell Buff

For mages, one of the most important stats in the game is Spellbuff. It directly affects how strong your spells will be, but it's not terribly clear how it works.

Well, now we know! Spellbuff is directly influenced by your Int, or of course if it's a Miracle based weapon, then it will be Faith instead. In the past, the only way to improve Spellbuff was by increasing a weapon's level, but that's no longer true for Dark Souls 3. As you gain more Int/Faith, your Spellbuff will increase as well, and you can track this increase by looking at your weapon each time you level up.

Of equal importance, your Int/Faith also determines how much scaling a weapon will receive when upgraded. At 10 Int, a staff might only increase by 1 Spellbuff per level. However, that same staff might gain 10 Spellbuff per level if you have 50 Int. This is important to be aware of, as some weapons that you thought were weak early on, might turn out to be the strongest ones in the game!

Estus Recovery



Normally, players have a limited amount of Estus at their disposal in their Estus Flask. The number of charges can be increased by bringing a Estus Shard to Andre the Blacksmith, and the effective amount of healing done can be increased by burning a Undead Bone Shard at the Firelink Shrine Bonfire.

However, there is another method of replenishing Estus other than by resting at a Bonfire, dying, or having a player rate up your message.. Not only can you regain Estus by defeating invading players or NPCs, but you can also sometimes (albeit rarely) gain another charge by defeating certain enemies over the course of the game. Many tough humanoid opponents like Knights often have a better chance to refill a charge than others - so always check to see if you've gained additional estus after a battle.



Characters May Leave Firelink Shrine

While not often, certain characters may become impatient or downright hostile depending on your actions in Dark Souls 3. If certain character request tasks from you, like Orbeck of Vinheim and his want of Scrolls, he may leave if you progress far into the game without ever finding or giving him any.

Similarly, Yuria of Londor may appear if you've Hollowed enough, but should you try to cure it, she will leave as suddenly as she arrived.



Some Enemies Heal

Beware of enemies that carry with them an orange glow. Certain Hollow, and other humanoid enemies may pause in combat to consume Estus of their own if you don't press the attack, so don't be caught unaware and make the fight last longer than it needs to.

Upgrades become Plentiful



Never be afraid to upgrade weapons to try them out. Items like Titanite shards may be rare in the early areas, but soon you'll be able to farm most of the materials just by fighting strong enemies like Lothric Knights, Giant Crabs, Ghru Pyromancers, and so forth. The abundance of materials should ensure that you can always try new weapons you find, without having to worry about saving titanite.

You can re-specialize your attributes



It may take a bit of work, but you'll have the ability to not only respec, but change your appearance as well. By traveling to the Cathedral of the Deep, you can find the hidden covenant of Rosaria's Fingers. Should you join the covenant to claim a Pale Tongue in their name, you can trade in one to either respec or change your physical appearance, and can do so 5 times each per character. However, know that certain characters, like Sirris of the Sunless Realms, can't abide by Rosaria and her covenant, and will terminate their quest lines.

You can pay to stop certain characters from attacking



If you accidentally attack a friendly NPC an turn them hostile, there is a way to right wrongs - but it will cost you. If you head to the sewers beneath the Undead Settlement and use the Grave Key on a locked door, you can find the Shrine of Velka that will absolve you of all sin for a hefty price of souls. Doing this will reset the hostile character to have forgotten the incursion. Just be careful.



Ember can trigger NPC Invasions

Choosing to use an Ember can do more than raise your maximum health, as it is used to summon and be summoned by other players - or to invade or be invaded by players as well. However, there are certain places in the game where NPCs can invade you as well - even if you are playing offline. You should always be ready for an enemy ambush, no matter where you are or how you play!



Quickly cycle back to Estus flask