In the Iron Keep, there's a area you can visit called Belfry Sol. If you climb up the ladder near the bonfire, sometimes a Mad Warrior will spawn in the room at the top. Killing him thirty times will allow you to reach the second rank of the Bell covenant. There are occasions where the Mad Warrior will not appear and you'll have to go back to the bonfire and rest at it before going to see if he's spawned in.
Ugh, I hated leveling up Covenants in Dark Souls games. I'm glad Elden Ring didn't have anything that tedious. Miyazaki outright said in an interview that they ditched Covenants to make pvp and co-op more accessible in Elden Ring.
Edited by M84 on Jun 4th 2025 at 5:48:16 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedAnd Friede bites the dust! God that felt good.
I had made enough progress that phase 1 was basically a formality and phase 2 was a bit of a chore, but once I could reach phase 3 consistently I could finally study it more thoroughly. Took me something like 10 tries, and I barely survived, but she ended with her black flame plunging attack, which I was used to avoiding at that point. That gave me the final opening I needed.
I won’t say I feel as badass as after beating Malenia, but close enough.
She’s def among my favorite DS bosses, too bad the second phase was a bit tedious. The world hasn’t burned yet, but a bonfire takes me to the other DLC… so Ringed City is a direct continuation of Ariandel? That’s a nice touch.
For now, I explored the Corvian village a bit more and grabbed the Corvian Knight’s rapier-and-knives, now that’s a badass weapon.
Imbued it with lightning because why not.
PS: While farming souls and titanite chunks in the Grand Archives, I realized that covering your head in wax protected you from the cursed hands… Okay? Also wonder what’s up with that praying statue in the middle of the courtyard. A message tells me there’s a secret there… Gotta try a certain emote, perhaps?
@Richard
Well thank god. The only achievements I have left are the 4 "Learn magic" ones and the ending. Plus the fire map, but that's basically an ending achievement.
So Imma take a guess and the Old Chaos area is what Lost Izalith was supposed to be before DS 3 retconned a bunch of 2? Because I'm really getting the impression that 2 was made with the intention of Drangleic being literally built over the ruins of DS 1 areas.
#IceBearForPresidentI did! Their pure glee at the idea of their expired world being thrown in the dustbin to welcome the new and shiny one (well… new and dark I guess) almost puts a smile on my face.
I like the Corvian’s subtle jab at the outside world too. "See? We know when to call it quits, unlike you stubborn losers."
You mean you almost platinumed the game in just two playthroughs? >.>
Anyway, after exploring the Great Heap (I looked up a guide to find the angel summoners because sorry but no), I’m back at the twin demons. Tried to fight with Lapp, and as usual the NPC helpers are as useful as wet noodles. So I tried alone again, and died… when the Prince had 2 HP left. Yep, that one hurt.
PS: Also finally beat the Desert Pyromancer and I danced on her grave afterwards.
10 times, she killed me. At least.
Got to try the Tears of Denial miracle, and it just barely allowed me to beat the Demon Prince.
The lightning weapon miracle also helped (the laser disc is pathetically weak though).
The start of the Ringed City was… I wouldn’t say "fun" exactly, but an interesting change of pace. I died three times trying to down the first Giant Judge before realizing I could just run past it. I’m smart. Aaand when I did kill the second Giant Judge, I realized that those assholes respawn anyway. =[
The Ring Knights look intimidating, but they’re not that much of a problem by themselves, surprisingly. Only one of them managed to kill me. I was much more annoyed by the… turtles priests or whatever they are, with their "rock skin+healing+AOE damage" spell, god they’re a pain in the ass.
I had more fun fighting that Dragonslayer Armor.
Talked to Shira in the present… and had to fight her in the future/real world(?), where she suddenly hated me for seemingly no reason. Haven’t yet managed to find Midir though; unless he’s fought after Gael, but I doubt it… So yeah, I fought the big guy for a bit and even got to his second phase, but I’ll probably explore a bit more first. At least I like that we get to fight that boss in what’s basically an endless arena.
PS: It’s funny that the SECOND I saw that long bridge after the swamp, I knew exactly what was awaiting me there.
These games have trained my well.
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She hates you because you woke the Princess, which she is adamantly opposed to doing. Midir is a little annoying because you have to "beat" him on the bridge before you can properly fight him, so you might've skipped that. After that, to find Midir take the elevator up from the Gwyn statue with the +3 Chloranthy ring to the bonfire at the Ringed City Inner Wall, there's a doorway in the elevator shaft you walk into that lets you drop down to get the ring. The other pathway leads to a room with statues where an invisible wall hides the entrance to Midir's bossroom.
I take it as a given that you failed Lapp's quest because its the peak of Fromsoft Guide Dang It! but did you happen to talk to Yuria with Friede's soul on you?
Oh… That’s why I should pay more attention to dialogue lol.
Uuh, yeah, I think I did that. X)
So I have to actually attack Midir instead of running past him on that last stretch? Not my first instinct when a dragon is trying to roast my ass, but okay.

Did you find the Millwood Battle Axe earlier? It's a fast STR weapon with excellent scaling across a range of infusions, probably one of the best in the game (though it lacks the hyperarmour of greatswords).
One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.