Painted World of Ariamis - Dark Souls Guide - IGN (2024)

Welcome to IGN's Guide to Dark Souls. This section includes the walkthrough for the area known as the Painted World of Ariamis.

(Check the Anor Londo guide to learn how to gain access to the Painted World of Ariamis.)

Welcome, ladies and gents, to the Painted World of Ariamis. You should note that you can't leave this area until you reach the end, so proceed forwards along the rickety rope bridge to the other side.

What a Picture!

Go up the hill and you'll find the Painted World's solitary bonfire just waiting to be sat at. Do so, heal up, level up and all that stuff.

From here, go up the stairs and you'll be attacked a small battalion of Hollows. One will come from directly ahead, and there's two to the right as well. The doors straight ahead of you are barred from the other side, so go to the right and up the staircase instead.

As you go up the second stairwell you'll be attacked by two more Hollows, and another two in the distance will be shooting arrows at you. Dispatch the sword wielders first, then charge or snipe the archers. From here, go up the stairs and beware the new double act of Hollows known as Engorged Hollows waiting around the corner. These guys are hideously mutated and attack with devastating fireball from afar, so get in close and kill them quickly. When they die leap away fast, as they can poison you with a deadly gas cloud.

If you use a fire weapon, the Zombies will not spawn forth their cloud of deadly departing bottom wind.

With them gone, search the corpse on the mini-landing to find a Soul of a Proud Knight.

Head back down the stairs and round the small walkway to the right. Here you'll see some stairs, so climb them, kill the two hollows, climb another staircase, kill the next Hollow and you'll emerge onto a rooftop. Search the corpse nearby for another Soul of a Proud Knight.

After collecting this you'll be attacked by two new enemies - the Harpies. These flying terrors will attack you with their wings and have pretty high HP, so block and attack whenever you get the chance. They also tend to fly up in the air suddenly to try and get behind you, so be careful.

With them breathing no more head to the side of the roof overlooking where you were before and look down. You'll see a balcony below, so drop down to it.

Here you'll find a corpse, so loot it for the rather disturbing-sounding Dried Finger. This item, when used, dramatically decreases your chances of being invaded by other players when you're in human form.

Go through the gap and drop into the room. There's another Hollow above you, so kill him. When he's dead, head down through the building to find two Snow Rats hanging out by a corpse. Kill them, then loot the dude for a Soul of a Brave Warrior.

Head outside and across the bridge. You'll emerge into another building with two more Engorged Hollows visible. Kill them one at a time (a third will drop from the ceiling) then turn around and walk up the stairs and out of the door to kill the Hollow archer. Two more Hollows will try to sneak up on you over the wall at this point, so kill them too.

From here, drop straight off the ledge onto a narrow wooden walkway below. There's nothing on here, so drop again, then kill the two rats in the room. Proceed into the next room, killing the rats and following the staircase up. You'll then come to a ladder. Before climbing it, look to your left/behind you. You will see an item hidden behind barrels. Perform a running leap to get there and behold: a Gold Coin. Now climb the ladder.Drop out of the window, turn right, and drop off the nearby ledge.

Enter the nearby room, kill the two rats, then search the chest in the corner of the room for the Painting Guardian Armor Set: Painting Guardian Hood, Painting Guardian Robe, Painting Guardian Gloves, and Painted Guardian Waistcloth.

This armor is resistant to the Curse status effect, and should come in handy later. When you've grabbed it head outside and follow the staircase up, dispatching the Hollow chap who jumps the wall as you go. Climb the ladder and you'll be attacked by another Zombie, so kill him, then loot the corpse hanging out of the window for another Soul of a Brave Warrior.

From here you want to go left, through the doorway (killing a Hollow on the way) and you'll find an Egg Vermifuge on a corpse.

Drop back down and head back towards where you just ascended the ladder. Go through the doorway straight ahead and you'll emerge onto a balcony with a hanging corpse next to it. Hit the rope with your weapon and the corpse will plunge down, ready to be collected later.

From here, head back to the other side of the room, outside and to the left. You'll find a corpse here, and a Hollow who hops over the wall. Kill it, then loot the corpse for a Large Soul of a Proud Knight.

Follow the path along and you'll be near a large circular structure. Instead of going inside, drop off to the right and follow the path round to find a corpse in a narrow alleyway. Search it for a Soul of a Brave Warrior.

Suicidal Birds

From here you'll have to drop off a ledge down to where you found the Painted Guardian Set. Instead of falling all the way down to the bottom try to aim to the left and land on the walkway instead and you shouldn't take damage.

Make your way back to the circular structure. This time go straight ahead to find a staircase to climb. Do so, being wary of Harpies that may charge down and try to attack you. Despite the fact that they - you know - have wings, Harpies can die by falling off the ledge. Use this to your advantage.

At the top you'll find a corpse with the item Red Sign Soapstone on it. Once that's collected, head back down the stairs and spot a ledge underneath you. This contains a corpse with a Soul of a Brave Warrior on it. You might be attacked by a couple of Harpies at this point, but they'll probably fall off and to their deaths.

When you're done with that head down the stairs, back outside and proceed around to the right where you'll see a large bridge with burning torches around it and what appears to be the corpse of a large dragon on the bridge.

Unfortunately the dragon, while definitely dead, is also definitely Undead. This means he's a boss fight, so get ready for a battle.

Sub-Boss: Undead Dragon

You may have already fought the Undead Dragon back in the Valley of Drakes - if so, use similar strategies to what you did then.

If not, you're going to need some help. First of all, get the Dragon's attention by looting the first corpse for a Large Soul of a Proud Knight. Once you've collected that sprint back and take cover behind one of the conveniently placed walls on either side of the bridge.

While you're behind here the Dragon's breath attack, which causes damage and toxic build-up, can't get you at all. You can also quite easily attack the Dragon with both spells and arrows from behind your perch, leading to an exceptionally easy kill.

If you don't have such luxuries you're going to have to get in close, a much more dangerous tactic. Your best bet is to run as close as you can to the dragon, hit him as much as you can then beat a hasty retreat whenever he moves as he's about to attack with his claws and massive frame.

If you retreat too far back the Dragon will once again resume his toxic breath attack which will quite comfortably break through even the most sturdy of defence, so try to strike an optimum distance to prevent this.

It is also possible to attack the Dragon's claws on either side of the bridge, but this is a sure-fire way to get poison breath in the face. Which isn't pleasant.

The Undead Dragon is particularly weak to fire, so use pyromancies or equip a fire weapon for maximum damage. He also has a LOT of health, so be prepared for a bit of a grind.

Once he's dead, the Dragon will drop a Dragon Scale. You can also loot the corpse behind the Dragon for a Bloodshield.

Note: there is a known glitch at this point where the Undead Dragon's corpse will mysteriously stay behind at the end of the bridge. If you're taking the shortcut to the end of the level you can move this corpse by performing a jumping attack (forward + a tap of R2/RT on console) and the dragon's corpse will stand up. You can then drop off the bridge to the area below.

You now have a choice - you either drop off the bridge, or turn around and find some more stuff. Choose the latter. Your adventuring self requires it!

Phalanx for the Memories

From the Undead Dragon, head back towards the circular structure, branch off to the left and head down a staircase.

You'll find another staircase down here, so go down to reach the bottom of the circular structure. There's two things in here - the first is a locked door, and the second is a White Light Gate. Travel through it.

From here, head immediately out and sprint in a straight line past the bizarre pile of creatures known as Phalanx and you'll arrive at some double doors. Open these up and you'll now have a handy shortcut from the Painted World's bonfire.

Once that's done, you can deal with the Phalanx. These enemies will be familiar to anyone who played Demon's Souls as they're extremely similar to the first boss of that game. Although they look initially like one creature the Phalanx are in fact all separate.

To protect themselves they form protective walls using their shields which they'll attack from behind using their spears, so try to break them up by luring them away from the main group. An effective method of taking them down is to stand in the doorway of where the White Light Gate was and lure them upwards. They'll eventually hit an invisible wall and be ripe for the pickings.

Phalanx also respawn every time you touch a bonfire, so this is a pretty good spot to do some soul farming.

Once they're all dead start out from the White Light Gate and look to the right. If you've been following this guide earlier on you'll have knocked down a corpse from a ledge up on high, so search the glowing chap on the ground for a Humanity. Ascending the stairs nearby will also net you a Ring of Sacrifice from another corpse.

Head back down. Look closely just to the side of the stairs leading up to the white light gate - see two graves with a small path on one side? Head down there to find another corpse around the corner that holds a Soul of a Brave Warrior.

From here head up the stairs directly ahead and through the alcove on the left. You'll be on a narrow walkway and will be attacked by a few Hollows here, so kill them first then search the corpse for a Soul of a Proud Knight. When you've grabbed that head around the corner and give the rope holding another corpse a whack with your weapon to make it fall.

I'm Having a Wheely Good Time

Head back to the top of the stairs and this time head left to find a ladder. Head on down. Now I'll warn you in advance - this next area is home to some dangerous new enemies known as Wheel Skeletons.

These guys will charge at you with a devastating spiked wheel shield whenever they get the chance, so make sure you're ready to dodge and attack as soon as they wind down from their attack. DO NOT engage them while they're still rolling, as this will hurt a lot.

The first skeleton will suddenly lunge out of the darkness to the right. Keep your shield up, lock on, dodge and then attack as soon it stops moving. With that done, head right to where it came from and another skeleton will emerge from behind a pillar. Kill that too and keep heading right to spot another skeleton in the distance. Walk forwards just slightly and he'll charge at you, so dodge, stab and kill.

From here head towards where that skeleton was and you should be attacked by two more. Dispatch them then follow arounds the side of the room to find yet another wheel skeleton waiting to be killed. Phew - that's all of em. Be sure to pick up the Bonewheel Shield if one of them has dropped it.

You can now search the corpse in the middle of the room to find a Soul of a Proud Knight and the corpse in the corner for a Soul of a Brave Warrior. Near to this item is also a crank you can turn attached to a pillar - when you do this a statue upstairs will be shown turning around, and the doors to the area's boss will open up.

From the crank, turn around and look for a patch of wall that looks suspiciously different. Give it a hit and it'll disappear, revealing a hidden path. As soon as you head forwards another wall to your right can be hit to reveal another path. Head up here first but beware the presence of another wheeled skeleton just around the corner - they aren't so easy to dodge in the tunnels. When he's dead follow the tunnel straight ahead to find an Annex Key on a corpse.

Head right, hit another wall to make it disappear, head right again, dispatch another skeleton then head up the staircase. In here you'll find a unique Hollow who'll drop Pyromancy: Fire Surge. You can now either head out of another nearby tunnel (complete with skeleton) and climb out of a well or alternatively you can go back to where you entered this area down the ladder.

King Jeremiah

Fancy a fight with an NPC invader? You'll need to be human for this to work.

Start off at the bonfire and head through the doors you opened to make a shortcut. Before you do this you might want to travel to the right before the doors to find the corpse you knocked off its perch earlier. Doing so will net you a Humanity.

As soon as you emerge through the doors, head down the right into the graveyard. Here you'll find several Hollows, so kill them all.

Once this is done you'll eventually be invaded by NPC Xanthous King, Jeremiah, a ridiculously-dressed gentleman with the biggest hat you ever did see. Although he may look daft Jeremiah is no pushover and has access to the powerful Pyromancy Chaos Storm which will cut through your health like butter if it hits.

Other than that he's not too bad - he also has a Notched Whip equipped, which he'll attack with occasionally. He'll drop this when he's dead, and killing him also means you'll find his corpse later and get to wear his ridiculous hat! Yay!

Once everybody's dead in the graveyard, head back to the steps for reference. From here, go left, and hug the side of the cliff to find a corpse with a Large Soul of a Proud Knight. Follow the path downward and you'll then find two corpses, each of which hold a Soul of a Proud Knight.

Go back to the stairs and head around a small wall near them to find a corpse who holds Pyromancy: Acid Surge.

The Annex

In the area to the right of Phalanx pile (looking from the doors near the bonfire) there's a small alcove that's like a chapel complete with locked door. Head in here and use the Annex Key you found earlier to open a new path.

Head up the stairs to emerge on a large walkway with an Engorged Hollow in the distance. Wait for him to wander towards you, hiding around the corner, then put him down. Next turn around and head down the nearby alcove to find a staircase with a zombie up the top. Either snipe him or charge him.

Afterwards immediately turn around as there's two Harpies behind you about to attack. These may also be joined by two more Harpies depending on whether you've killed them before or not, so be careful. An effective way to kill these enemies is to use the nearby staircase to your advantage as chances are the incredibly stupid creatures will leap to their deaths of the cliff. When they're dead, search the corpse on the roof for the Miracle: Vow of Silence.

When that's done, go down the staircase, avoid the big hole and head into the circular structure. Look left and you'll spot a corpse hanging off a ledge; search this guy for the Velka Armor Set: Mask of Velka, Black Cleric Robe, Black Manchette, and Black Tights.

Go back down the stairs where the Hollow was. Head right and see that wooden board ahead? Give it a whack to open up a route. Follow this down and you'll find a corpse with Velka's Rapier on it.

Turn around, head back and go right. You'll pass by some alcoves and an Engorged Hollow will soon start shooting at you. When you eventually get to a staircase wait by the wall for a Hollow to wander up, kill this one then run downstairs and kill the other.

When they're done give a cursory bow to the nearby petrified blacksmith and help yourself to his Dark Ember.

With all that done return back to the bottom of the circular structure (near to the Phalanx) for the final push towards the boss.

Path to Priscilla

The doors to the boss should now be open. Remember you could also drop down off the bridge where you fought the Undead Dragon, thus bypassing the doors. But that would be cheating wouldn't it?

Anyhoo, head through the double doors to emerge onto a massive bridge. Keep moving forwards and you'll be attacked by several Hollows. Be wary - some like to hide on the sides of the bridge and hop over while others hide behind alcoves.

Follow the bridge to the end to find the Painted World's boss, Crossbreed Priscilla.

Boss Fight: Crossbreed Priscilla

This fight plays out quite a bit differently than any other in the game. Priscilla is docile at first, giving you an opportunity to leave the world without a fight by taking a leap of faith of off the edge. If you just want to get out of the painting, you are free to do so. However, those of you who want to challenge her should prepare before you strike.

Priscilla will not attack you until you provoke her, so take a moment to cast any defensive spells you may have. Magic Barrier works particularly well in this fight. Once you're ready, get behind her and attack with your strongest weapon. Great Heavy Soul Arrows or a two-handed swing of your sword are your best bets. Immediately keep up the assault, and you should be able to cause enough damage to have Priscilla turn invisible. Back off a bit and look down at the snow to spot her footprints. Attack where she would be standing to have her turn visible again. You must break her poise to make her visible. After turning visible, she will have the added ability to blow a crystal-esque powder at you to increase your bleed meter. It is easily avoidable if you're quick on your feet, and allows for a good opening to get hits in without worrying about her scythe.

She is a dragon and seems to be weak to lightning and fire. If you picked up the Lightning Spear in Sen's Fortress, this fight should go quicker. Priscilla's attacks are exceptionally slow to the point where you can run up to her, and even collide, and then get behind her based on the footprints in the snow. If you do this, she will attack where you were, so turn around immediately and attack behind you but slightly to the left of where she was standing.

Repeat this to finish her off. A few things to note are that her scythe attack builds up your bleeding meter, which causes instant death if it reaches the top. Also keep in mind that attacking her tail enough will result in it falling off, rewarding you with Priscilla's Dagger as a prize.

Once she is defeated, you will be rewarded with the Soul of Priscilla and 30,000 souls. If you've killed King Jeremiah be sure to loot the corpse behind Priscilla for the Xanthous Armor Set: Xanthous Crown, Xanthous Overcoat, Xanthous Gloves, and Xanthous Waistcloth.

Yes that's right kids - now you too can look utterly insane! Dressed in your new snazzy outfit, take the plunge and leap off the ledge to leave the Painted World of Ariamis behind and return to Anor Londo.