This is a relatively small area that houses two optional boss fights and access to two additional areas. The main enemies are tougher than before; but it’s the giants wielding the Great Hammer and the Ultra Great swords that pose the biggest threats here.
To reach Heide’s tower you need to start in Majula and look for the archway in the rocks (between the cat’s house and the blacksmith’s). Head down the pathway until you’re on the spiral stairwell; where near the bottom - on the left - you’ll find a metal chest that houses the [Crimson Parma] (shield).
Pull the lever on the wall up ahead to raise the gate below, pilfer the [Soul of a Lost Undead] and [Broken Thief Sword] from the corpse on the left. Press onwards and when you reach the top of the stairs you’ll be in Heide’s Tower.
First Bonfire and Sublime Bone Dust¶
Run down the narrow pathway and, ignoring the looming stone knight for now, light and rest at the bonfire (to reset the knight’s location).
The knights with the sword and shield are actually pretty easy to beat. You can bait them into their three-swing combo that’s pretty easy to dodge (and it has the added bonus of a long cool down period too).
Simply get close to his face and then run back for the first swipe, then immediately do a sweeping side-step to your left (its right), staying out of range of its sword. Then as it’s swinging past you for the third swing; run in and get two - three hits in (leaving enough stamina for a roll out).
The next opponent you face, the Great Hammer Knight, is quite a bit tougher to beat as his overhead hammer strike can home in on you if you try and roll away/around him too early (and it’ll do serious damage if it connects) and he seems to have near infinite stamina (and very little cool down time).
He’s worth killing though as he only appears once and he’ll drop the Estus Flask improving Sublime Bone Dust . You can ‘cheese’ him a bit by luring him to the top of the nearby steps (lower level) and bait him into smashing the barrier instead (allowing you to get a few sneaky hits in from below).
Ranged attacks work best here, but if you have to get close then wait a bit longer than usual before rolling past his overhead strike (just be ready to roll away if he swings at you a second time).
Grab the items from the corpse nearby and then walk up to the next shield knight at the top. Deal with him as before (just be extra careful of the broken walkway all around you - it’s very easy to drop off when locked on in battle).
Proceed along the very narrow walkway and up ahead you should see an Ultra Sword Knight flanked by two regular shield knights. Make your life easier by stepping far enough in so that the Ultra Knight steps out by himself.
It’s wise to backtrack to the wider area where you fought the Hammer-wielding knight a bit earlier as you’ll want to roll past this knight’s attacks (and so you’ll need more space to do it in).
His overhead attack can also home in on you if you try rolling too early; but it’s nowhere near as effective as the hammer knight’s one.
When he’s down, the other two shield knights will attack at the same time. You can run back to near the level’s entrance and one of them should run back leaving you with just one to take on (better odds don’t you agree?).
When the final shield knight is dead a second lever will appear in the circular room they were standing in (it’s to the right of where you enter that room). Again, use it if you don’t want to use our zero-damage method of killing the upcoming boss.
Head through the right-hand archway and down the stairs. Ignore the Ultra Sword Knight for now and carefully walk across the path to the chest for [3 x Green Blossom] . Cross back over and beat that knight into the ground before standing in front of the boss’ fog gate.
Boss Fight - Dragonrider¶
If you’ve been pulling both of the levers then you won’t have to worry about falling of the central platform into the water below. If you haven’t - and want to try the super-quick no-hit method - then we’ll teach you that way too.
Regular Method¶
Sticking close is your best bet here.
- His Halberd has a massive range, but it also goes around his sides. So having a shield with 90%+ physical damage reduction on it will help as you block and roll around to his back.
- Most of his cool down times are pretty long (up to two seconds on some moves); so he can be punished with a few hits quite easily.
- It’s wise (regardless of your character type) to stay close to him to ensure you take as little damage as possible.
- You can guard break him when his shield is up; leaving him open for some extra attacks.
- With a 70% or less equip load you should be able to strafe behind him as he’s pretty slow at turning around on the spot. Just keep a shield up if you have one to prevent any surprise Halberd swings from hitting you.
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Zero-Hit Method¶
This only works when none of the two outer arena rings have been raised.
Simply enter the fog gate, wait for the boss to take six and a half steps (so as he’s lifting his foot to make the seventh step forwards onto the outer ring on the floor) and simply hold run and dash in front of him to your right.
He’ll perform a dashing attack and fling himself right off the arena and into the instant-kill water below! Hurrah! If you don’t let him take enough steps then he’ll not get close enough to the edge to fall down into the water (so it’s important to count his steps from the moment you enter the arena).
Second Bonfire¶
With the boss out of the way, it’s time to head upstairs and light the second bonfire for the area. Just to your right you’ll find the miracle-selling NPC Licia of Lindelt (who specialises in miracles and other items for you to buy). If you talk to her long enough she’ll indicate that she’ll move on from here (and this is essential if you want to access every important area in the game).
If you want to access a new area from here ( No Man’s Wharf ) then run down the stairwell into the adjoining tower. You need to be careful of the Ultra Sword and shield knights lurking inside (and there’s some water on the lower levels to slow you down too). There’s some decent armor and weapons to be had here.
But for now; we’re going to focus on taking out the second boss in this area. If you’ve sat down at the nearby bonfire (and refreshed the enemies) you need to run back downstairs and get a cheeky hit in the back of the Ultra Sword Knight before rolling past him and finishing him off.
Run back up the staircase and take your time with each of the knights up here (they tend to try and crowd you - not fun). Once they’re all dead; go through the right-hand archway.
You’ll spot another Ultra Sword Knight and a shield knight ahead of you; so dash left, down the stairwell on the left and carefully pick up the [Divine Blessing] from the corpse at the edge. Now run up and stick left.
Lure the Ultra Sword Knight out first and then tackle the second knight on its own. Much easier.
Tackle the two knights one-by-one (back off until only starts walking away if need be) and then run up to the platform near the church. Kill the shield knight here to raise a lever to lower the church’s drawbridge.
At the top you find a corpse holding an [Old radiant Lifegem] and inside the metal chest are 5 x Human Effigy] and the [Ring of Binding] (limits health loss to only 20% when hollow - instead of 50%)!
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