Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin — Complete Guide

A full companion for SotFS: stats and Adaptability, hollowing, the four Great Souls route, all three DLC crowns and how to enter them, build archetypes with real gear, boss tips, missables and online notes.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC release (DX11 Scholar of the First Sin). Online features for PC were reactivated on 25 October 2022 after the 2022 server outage. Check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Only the Emerald Herald levels you. Meet her in Majula and bring your souls to her. Estus Shards also go to her to add flask charges; Sublime Bone Dust is burned in the Far Fire (the Majula bonfire) to boost Estus healing, up to +5.
• Put points into Adaptability (ADP) early. ADP raises Agility, which governs dodge invincibility frames and how fast you drink Estus. Low Agility makes rolling feel broken.
• Hollowing reduces max HP each death. Use a Human Effigy to restore human form; the Ring of Binding limits the penalty. Do not panic — it is a nuisance, not a failure state.
• Enemies stop respawning after about a dozen kills. Great for clearing a hard area; bad for farming. The Bonfire Ascetic resets an area to a harder cycle.
• Lifegems heal over time and are cheap. Buy stacks from Melentia; they save Estus for boss fights.
• Buy Lenigrast's Key from Merchant Hag Melentia (1,000 souls; first met at the Cardinal Tower bonfire in the Forest of Fallen Giants) — it unlocks the Majula blacksmith for upgrades.
• Talk to everyone and exhaust dialogue. Many NPCs move to Majula and become merchants or trainers.
• Pick a direction, not an order. From Majula you can go several ways; the game is less linear than it looks.
• Soul Memory matters online. Matchmaking uses total souls ever earned, not level. SotFS added the Agape Ring to stop soul gain for players who want to stay in a matchmaking range.

Stats Explained

Stat | Key effects | Typical target

Vigor (VGR) | HP | 20-30 for most builds by midgame

Endurance (END) | Stamina | 20-30

Vitality (VIT) | Equip load, some physical defence | Enough to stay under 70 percent load

Attunement (ATN) | Spell slots, cast speed, some Agility | Casters: 30+; melee: whatever for Agility

Strength (STR) | Heavy weapons, STR scaling | Build-dependent

Dexterity (DEX) | Fast weapons, DEX scaling, cast speed | Build-dependent

Adaptability (ADP) | Agility, poison/bleed/curse resistance | Enough for about 105-110 Agility

Intelligence (INT) | Sorcery, hexes, pyromancy, dark defence | Sorcerers and hexers

Faith (FTH) | Miracles, hexes, pyromancy, lightning buffs | Clerics and hexers

Agility is derived from ADP and ATN together. Most players aim for roughly 105 Agility early, and 110 for a comfortable roll and fast Estus.

Power stancing: hold two weapons of the same class (for example two straight swords) and you can two-hand-dual-wield them for special movesets, if you have 1.5 times the stat requirements.

Starting Classes and Gifts

Class | Good for

Warrior | Strength melee, beginner-friendly

Knight | Tanky melee, high Vigor

Swordsman | Dex and power stancing (starts with two swords)

Bandit | Strength and bows

Cleric | Faith and miracles; starts with Heal

Sorcerer | Intelligence and sorcery; easiest first playthrough for many

Explorer | Starts with lots of items; flexible

Deprived | Everything at 6; for challenge or perfect min-maxing

Useful gifts: Seed of a Tree of Giants (makes the area's enemies turn on invaders), Life Ring, Human Effigy, Bonfire Ascetic.

Route: Majula and the Four Great Souls

The goal before Drangleic Castle is four Great Souls. The Shrine of Winter gate opens when you have them.

Great Soul boss | Area | Route from Majula

The Lost Sinner | Sinner's Rise | Forest of Fallen Giants (Last Giant, then Pursuer) to the Lost Bastille, or Heide's Tower to No-Man's Wharf (Flexile Sentry) to the Lost Bastille (Ruin Sentinels)

The Old Iron King | Iron Keep | Huntsman's Copse (Skeleton Lords, Executioner's Chariot) to Harvest Valley (Covetous Demon) to Earthen Peak (Mytha) to Iron Keep (Smelter Demon)

The Rotten | Black Gulch | Majula's pit (buy ladders from Gilligan) down to Grave of Saints (Royal Rat Vanguard) and the Gutter, then Black Gulch

Duke's Dear Freja | Brightstone Cove Tseldora | Shaded Woods (Scorpioness Najka optional) to Tseldora (Prowling Magus and Congregation)

Heide's Tower of Flame (Dragonrider, Old Dragonslayer) and the Doors of Pharros (Royal Rat Authority) are along the way. The Rotunda Lockstone from Licia of Lindeldt at Heide's opens the Majula rotunda path to Huntsman's Copse.

After the Great Souls

• Shrine of Winter to Drangleic Castle (Twin Dragonriders, then the Looking Glass Knight before the King's Passage).
• Shrine of Amana (Demon of Song) and Undead Crypt (Velstadt, the Royal Aegis). Past Velstadt, pick up the King's Ring in Vendrick's room — grab it without attacking Vendrick, who is passive until provoked. The ring opens doors in Aldia's Keep and elsewhere.
• Aldia's Keep (Guardian Dragon) to Dragon Aerie and Dragon Shrine — the Ancient Dragon gives the Ashen Mist Heart.
• Use the Ashen Mist Heart in the Forest of Fallen Giants for the Memory of Jeigh (Giant Lord).
• Throne of Want: Throne Watcher and Throne Defender, then Nashandra. In SotFS, Aldia, Scholar of the First Sin can follow as the edition's extra final encounter.

DLC: The Three Crowns

In Scholar of the First Sin, each DLC entrance needs a key found in the world.

DLC | Key item | Where to find it | Entrance | Main bosses

Crown of the Sunken King (Shulva) | Dragon Talon | Corpse behind the forgotten door down Majula's well; needs the Forgotten Key from Black Gulch (Gilligan's 12,000-soul ladder makes the descent easier) | The obelisk at the primal bonfire in Black Gulch | Elana the Squalid Queen, Sinh the Slumbering Dragon, the Graverobber/Varg/Cerah gank

Crown of the Old Iron King (Brume Tower) | Heavy Iron Key | Skeleton in the flame lizard pit, Forest of Fallen Giants | Past the altar deep in the Iron Keep | Fume Knight, Sir Alonne, Blue Smelter Demon

Crown of the Ivory King (Eleum Loyce) | Frozen Flower | Drangleic Castle, a corpse in the room before going upstairs past the Ruin Sentinels chamber | Shrine of Winter side route | Burnt Ivory King, Aava the King's Pet, Lud and Zallen

Recommended: Sunken King midgame, Old Iron King and Ivory King after Drangleic Castle. Before the Burnt Ivory King, recruit the Loyce Knights in Eleum Loyce — they fight with you and make the encounter far easier.

Build Archetypes

Quality melee (STR and DEX)

• Stats: STR and DEX around 40, VGR 30, END 25-30, ADP for 110 Agility.
• Weapons: Drakekeeper's Greatsword and Mastodon Greatsword (Strength-heavy), Blacksteel Katana and Uchigatana (Dex), Heide Knight Sword (lightning, early), Fume Ultra Greatsword and Smelter Sword (DLC).
• Rings: Ring of Blades, Third Dragon Ring, Chloranthy Ring, Royal Soldier's Ring (for load).

Pure sorcerer

• Stats: INT 40-60, ATN 30+, VGR 20+, ADP for Agility.
• Catalysts and spells: Staff of Wisdom, Soul Arrow to Great Heavy Soul Arrow, Heavy Homing Soul Arrow, Soul Spear, Crystal Soul Spear.
• Rings: Southern Ritual Band (slots), Clear Bluestone Ring (cast speed), Lingering Dragoncrest Ring.

Faith (lightning)

• Stats: FTH 40+, ATN 30, VGR 20+.
• Spells: Lightning Spear, Great Lightning Spear, Sunlight Spear, Heal and Great Heal Excerpt.
• Weapons: lightning-infused gear at a blacksmith (Lightning infusion needs a Boltstone), buffed with Sunlight Blade.

Hexer (INT and FTH)

• Stats: INT and FTH matched (hex scaling uses both).
• Spells: Dark Orb, Resonant Soul, Great Resonant Soul, Affinity.
• Tip: dark weapons scale off the lower of INT and FTH, so keep them even.

Pyromancer

• Pyromancy scales with INT and FTH. Fireball, Great Combustion, Flame Swathe and Chaos Storm are strong. A great secondary for any build.

Boss Tips

Boss | Tip

The Last Giant | Stay between its legs; avoid the arm-grab after phase change

The Pursuer | Parryable and weak to backstabs after its big thrust; the ballistas at the Cardinal Tower can pin it

Ruin Sentinels | Kill the first quickly before the others drop down

Flexile Sentry | The shallow water slows you; bait its swings, dodge through, and punish from behind

Covetous Demon | Slow and fat; sidestep its lunges and belly-flops and hit its side

Smelter Demon | Fire resistance and dodging toward it; stay close

Old Iron King | Stand between the lava and the arena edge; fire resistance helps

The Lost Sinner | Use the Bastille Key to open the cells before the fog and light the oil tracks on each side so you can lock on (Cast Light is a fallback); stay close, circle, punish after her lunge

The Rotten | Stay behind; ranged helps; the slam has a long wind-up

Duke's Dear Freja | Hit the heads when they come down, and deal with the small spiders quickly

Looking Glass Knight | Break its summons fast; lightning resistance

Velstadt | Stay close and punish after his hammer slams; he buffs with dark magic partway through, so dark resistance helps

Fume Knight | Patience; keep dodging the long combos and punish the ends

Sir Alonne | Parryable; learn his rhythm rather than rushing

Burnt Ivory King | Recruit the Loyce Knights first; close the portals

Important NPCs and Missables

• Straid of Olaphis (petrified in the Lost Bastille; free him with a Fragrant Branch of Yore) trades boss souls for unique weapons and spells.
• Rosabeth of Melfia (petrified in the Forest) sells sorceries after being freed; a good early magic source.
• Lucatiel of Mirrah: summon her for the listed bosses and speak to her each time to keep her alive and complete her questline.
• Pate and Creighton: their quest can be resolved in different ways; results change what you get.
• Benhart of Jugo and Vengarl: optional quest NPCs with gear rewards.
• Carhillion of the Fold in No-Man's Wharf teaches sorcery.
• Fragrant Branch of Yore is limited early — prioritise freeing Rosabeth and Straid.
• Sublime Bone Dust: collect all for maximum Estus healing.
• Estus Shards: several are in chests; do not skip exploration.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Neglecting ADP: 85-90 Agility makes dodges fail.
• Spamming Estus: it is slow to drink; heal behind cover or use lifegems out of combat.
• Farming an area empty without a Bonfire Ascetic — enemies despawn and you lose a source of souls.
• Hoarding souls: you lose them on death; level or buy upgrades often.
• Walking into Soul Memory ranges blind: if you care about co-op with friends, use the Agape Ring or name-engraved matchmaking.
• Ignoring durability: repair at blacksmiths or rest at bonfires; weapons do break.
• Rushing the DLC: they are among the hardest content; bring a full build.

Advanced Tips

• Name-Engraved Ring lets friends match more reliably using the same god name.
• Company of Champions covenant keeps enemies respawning and increases difficulty for more souls.
• Plan respecs: Soul Vessels are rare, so test a build with borrowed levels before committing; Rosabeth performs the reallocation.
• Fire resistance and Flame Butterflies trivialise several Iron Keep threats.
• Burn a Bonfire Ascetic only after finishing an area's NPC quests and loot — it pushes that area into a harder NG+ cycle.
• Unlocking shortcuts in Heide's and Iron Keep saves more time than raw level.
• SotFS enemy placements differ from the original DS2 — old guides for vanilla can mislead you in places like the Forest and Heide's.

FAQ

Are Dark Souls II online servers working on PC? Yes. Bandai Namco reactivated online features for the DX11 Scholar of the First Sin PC version on 25 October 2022.

What is the difference between Dark Souls II and Scholar of the First Sin? SotFS bundles all three DLC crowns, reworks enemy placement, adds the Forlorn invader NPC, the Agape Ring, and six-player online sessions.

How much Agility do I need? Around 105 is the common minimum; 110 feels comfortable.

How do I start the DLC? Find the Dragon Talon, Heavy Iron Key and Frozen Flower as listed above.

Can I respec? Yes. A Soul Vessel given to Rosabeth of Melfia lets you reallocate stats.

What are the four Great Souls? The Lost Sinner, the Old Iron King, the Rotten and Duke's Dear Freja.

Sources

• DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin on Steam
• Steam announcement: online features reactivated (25 Oct 2022)
• Dark Souls 2 Wiki (Fextralife): Walkthrough
• Dark Souls 2 Wiki (Fextralife): DLC
• Dark Souls 2 Wiki (Fextralife): Dragon Talon
• Dark Souls 2 Wiki (Fextralife): Heavy Iron Key
• Dark Souls 2 Wiki (Fextralife): Frozen Flower
• Dark Souls 2 Wiki (Fextralife): King's Ring
• Dark Souls 2 Wiki (Fextralife): Sublime Bone Dust
• Dark Souls 2 Wiki (Fextralife): Lost Sinner