I did, though he and Greirat haven’t come back since I sent the latter to Lothric Castle…
As for Oceiros’ story… That’s a lot for an optional boss indeed. >.>
Not gonna open that spoiler about the twin demons for now.
Edited by Lyendith on May 28th 2025 at 4:05:43 AM
Thanks. After killing just about everything that breathes in the Archives, farming enough souls for 3 or 4 levels of upgrade, killing 3 golden Winged Knights (wonder why they didn’t show up the last time I was on that roof…) and searching the roofs for a bit, I… found Greirat… Yep, find him I did.
I was almost surprised to not find his stuff in Patches’ shop after that.
Speaking of shop, it’s a bit annoying that I found the ashes for every titanite type… except the lvl 7-to-9 ones. Thankfully I managed to farm just enough to upgrade the weapons I needed.
Got back to Oceiros after all that, this time with my sharpened dual dragon lances upgraded to the max! It did the job this time, though I sweated bullets when I just needed 2 more hits to kill him but my attacks kept whiffing.
Let’s see what’s behind that door…
So turns out the door in Oceiros’ boss room led to the start of the game, in the… past? With a slightly beefier version of Gundyr, a pair of eyes, and the old lady who’s already there all alone for some reason. Nice to have an infinite homeward bone at least.
I’m very afraid of what would happen if I gave the Firekeeper the eyes, given their description, so I’ll refrain. >.>
I decided to do Ashes of Ariandel before going back to the twin demons, but Friede tells me to do something first in the real world… There’s an item to find in the depths of Lothric Castle, apparently? I’m pretty sure I’ve explored everything in that area though…
I think you misheard her talk about you being the Lord of Hollows and to go back to Londor? There's nothing in Lothric gating progressing, and she gives you a ring a as gift.
The eyes are elaborated on by Ludleth...provided you haven't already gotten all the cinders so he isn't there anymore.
The shrine maiden actually has unique dialogue if you talk to here there before doing so in the real Firelink.
Edited by doineedaname on May 30th 2025 at 7:15:52 AM
Okay, turns out I had just missed the ladder before the bridge.
I do wonder about that prompte at the start of the snowfields.
("Whomever takes interest in the painting should first search the depths of Lothric Castle.")
I thought Friede telling me to go back to my world had something to do with that, hence my confusion.
Still in Ariandel. I’ve explored the snowfields, the Corvian village, even that room full of giant flies, unlocked various shortcuts, I’ve brought Elfriede (I think that’s her name?) back to the chapel, fought legions of Vikings and endless packs of wolves —no thanks for that, Miyazaki—, I fought the big wolf twice and climbed the tower guarded by the big guys… but I’m in that usual Dark Souls situation where every time I think I’ve found a way forward, I end up back where I started.
I do see another ladder leading all the way down near the chapel’s bridge, but haven’t found how to reach it yet…
I might be mixing areas up, but there's a lever in the fly room by one of the pillars.
Only semi-related, but I remember a streamer I was watching play it realize they were spoiled on a part of an area in the DLC by a reference to the game in an anime they did a Let's Watch of.
Edited by doineedaname on May 31st 2025 at 10:11:31 AM
Yup, that was it… but to be fair to myself for once, that one was very easy to miss, especially when I was busy fighting off those pests. >.>
So… huh, I’m fighting the final boss already? Okay. First phase shouldn’t be too hard, considering Friede has pretty low HP, but that vanishing move… I haven’t quite figured out how to consistently avoid it yet. I just stand still until I hear the noise and then I run around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her before she strikes; it works maybe half of the time.
But the true fun begins when Daddy enters, and that’s not too hard either once you figure out how to keep them apart (it helps that Friede is much less agressive in this phase) and remember to not stay under Ariandel for too long. After a few attempts (I died a lot more in the first phase, really), they go down and I claim victory!
Whew, that wasn’t too bad… Strange that I only get a titanite slab as a reward, but okay. So, where’s that bonfire… Hm? What’s that voice? Wait, what are you getting back up, Friede, and what’s with those flames? Why am I dead?
Alright, I feel like I’m gonna return from whence I cam’st a lot.
Edited by Lyendith on Jun 1st 2025 at 10:35:43 AM
Still haven’t beat Friede. I think she’s the first boss in DS3 that took me more than 2 days to beat (save for the twin demons).
BUT I reached the third phase three times this time around, the last time with more than half of my estus left, so there’s progress.
I’m kinda starting to figure out her invisible attack…? Sometimes I manage to find her with the "hints" she leaves, making her visible and open, but it’s far from consistent.
PS: Oh, and before that, since that suspended bridge looked awfully familiar, I tried the same trick as with the previous one. And it worked! That platforming session was a bit stressful, but the boss wasn’t too hard. Glad I could end that fight with the Big Bad Wolf.
That last tree at the end of the path where you find the ice sorcery was a bit… weird. Can’t explain why.
Friede is one of those bosses that is the complete package: multiple health bars with a delay so you cannot blitz her or burn her down with one proc, multiple elements and a status to prevent easy gear choices, huge moveset with multiple combo chains, and some unusual complications-invisibility plus the ability to heal. Still one of my favorite Fromsoft bosses.

![[up] [up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png)
Oh yeah, that's true. They also both give you the Moonlight Greatsword, so they're even better foils to each other.
Hitokiri in the streets, daishouri in the sheets.