Dark Souls 2 'Sunken King' DLC guide: Cave of the Dead

NOTE: In order to get the most out of this walkthrough, please refer to part one before continuing.

Head towards the large bridge in Shulva, Sanctum City; where the dragon attacked the two enemies your first time through. Cross the bridge and use the Eternal Sanctum Key to open the door to your left.

Once you enter the room, two sorceress enemies will attack. One is close to you, the other instead far off across the room. Take both enemies down, then open the chests to obtain a total of 10 Dried Roots, and a Lightning Clutch Ring (this increases lightning attack damage).

After picking up the items head up the ladder at the far end of the room, then continue up the stairs directly ahead. Next travel down the hallway until you reach the end, and climb up the ladder to the left. Above, three insect enemies await.

Defeat the insects, and climb up the ladder directly in front of you. At the top you will find a chest that contains a Sanctum shield. Climb back down the ladder, turning left at the junction, and make your way across the bridge to enter Shulva, Sanctum City once more.

At the end of the bridge, Rockshield Baldyr invades and attack. His attacks are quick, he uses a spear and will use his ranged attacks if you move too far away. Move past him, into the open area so you aren’t trapped within the confines of the narrow bridge. Wait until he finishes his initial series of spear attacks, then circle around and attack him from behind. Once he starts attacking again, roll or use your shield to defend against his strikes, then continue to circle and attack him until he is defeated.

Light the bonfire beyond the edge of the bridge, and continue forward, making sure to hit the glowing pillar near the cave ahead. This will activate the lift, and give you easy access to the Cave of the Dead from the closest starting point area of Shulva, Sanctum City. Once the lift is active, head into the cave to begin the real hardships.

Cave of the Dead

Head into the entrance of the cave, and into the mist at the end. Drop into the room below and continue through to another drop in the next room. At the end of the hallway you’ll come to a room with three enemies and a few petrification statues. There are also various holes in the ground that lead into the rooms below, so watch your step, and be careful while defeating the enemies.

Ranged attacks come in very handy for this next part. Pull out your ranged weapons and use the holes in the floor to take out as many statues and enemies as you can. Once you’ve killed off as many as possible, drop down and finish clearing the room. In one corner you’ll find three Bonfire Ascetics, in a second corner there are two Brightbugs, and finally across the room you’ll find a chest that holds three Petrified Somethings.

Head through the only accessible cave, it lies perpendicular to where the chest is located. Once at the end of the cave, drop into the room below. Ahead are several more enemies, take them out and continue making your way deeper into the cave. Be careful as you push forward, as several petrification statues line the wall. If you have a ranged weapon use it to clear the walls as you move. Also watch out for the worm hole in the middle of the cavern on the left. The worm will pop out and attack you as you make your approach.

Just past the work hole you’ll find an alcove with three Alluring Skulls at the end. Grab them, and quickly avoid the giant petrification statue close by. Once you’ve collected all the items continue into the mist at the end of the cave to begin your battle with three bosses.

Bosses: Afflicted Graverobber, Ancient Soldier Varg, Cerah the Old Explorer

Completion Rewards: Twinkling Titanite (3), Petrified Dragon Bone (3), Titanite Slab

As soon as you enter the battle area, Varg rushes you, closely followed by the graverobber. Varg wears heavy armor, and is equipped with a shield and a large weapon. This makes him slow, and gives you plenty of openings after each of his attacks. Target him first, but always make sure to attack the closest enemy if the others are far enough away to allow a safe attack.

The Graverobber uses dual swords and has quick attacks. If you have a large weapon that can knock him down, this won’t be a very difficult battle. If not, then you will need circle around, using a shield to block attacks. As soon as he pauses, use one or two quick attacks. If you’re using a slow attacking weapon, you’ll need to back away in time to get a clean hit in.

If you get jammed between the Graverobber and Varg your best bet is to back away from them, waiting until Varg misses an attack. As soon as he misses, quickly move within striking distance and inflict as much damage as you possibly can before the Graverobber moves into attacking range. If you’re quick enough you should be able to get in two quick strikes (depend on your weapon speed) before you have to guard against the Graverobber’s blows.

You have plenty of room to work with, so take your time eliminating the first two enemies. Cerah will stay back and only attack with her bow. This means you won’t have to worry about her much until you’ve taken the Graverobber and Varg down. Once they’re down, close in on Cerah to finish off the boss battle.

Once you get close to Cerah, she switches from her bow to her longsword. She’s far more agile than Varg and attacks quickly. However, her lunges have quite a bit of recovery (not nearly as long as Varg though, so watch out). After a strike you should have time for at least one or two quick well timed strikes.

If your health starts to get low, there are plenty of rocks and walls for you to hide behind. Additionally, if you’re having trouble with this battle, ignore Varg and the Graverobber and focus solely on Cerah at first. She doesn’t move around mush, and because there is so much open space to maneuver you can run around the area, keeping a good distance from the others. Then simply attack Cerah while the others struggle to catch up. Once they reach you, simply rinse and repeat the process until Cerah is defeated.

If you go this second route, and take down Cerah first, you’ll be left fighting Varg and the Graverobber at the end. If you continue running around, they will naturally separate. This will allow you to attack them one at a time while the other tries to close the distance. If you’re experience trouble with Varg’s shield, continue circling around him and he will eventually switch to wielding his large weapon with both hands, placing his shield on his back. This makes it easier to attack him.

With all three bosses down, continue on through the cave to find three Blackweed Balms on your leff, in the next room. You’ll also find a chest just beyond, which contains a lower Skirt. Drop down through the opening ahead to return to Shulva, Sanctum City, somewhat close to the bonfire that led you to the Cave of the Dead.

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