Dark Souls Top 10 Tips – #10: Raid Valley of Drakes, Blighttown and The Great Hollow In Early Game

It is possible to venture into somewhat advanced areas of the game immediately after reaching Lordran.  These areas are dangerous but they can yield significant amount of souls, powerful items and upgrade equipment to quickly power up your character.  You must select the Master Key as your starting gift.  With this key, you can open the metal door leading to Blighttown, Valley of Drakes and Darkroot Basin.  The Spider Shield and the Red Tearstone Ring are available at Valley of Drakes, along with the Dragoncrest Shield and Astora’s Straight Sword.  The lower level of Blighttown holds 3 large souls (worth 3,000 souls each), green titanite, large titanite, the Pyromancer set, Poison Mist, the Server, and the Great Club.  Exploring the mid-level path by the waterwheel leads to the Remedy spell and the Crimson Robe Set.  Many more items are available in the upper levels but these are very difficult to reach in early game because of the toxic dart throwers.  If you have ice in your veins, you can continue to the Great Hollow while in Blighttown.  Look for the giant tree root at one end of the swamp (Quelaag’s Domain begins at the other end).  You can collect the Plank Shield and humanity past fake walls and eventually reach the bonfire.  I recommend equipping the Crimson Robe Set for its curse protection before taking the spiraling path down.  The Great Hollow is tricky and dangerous but holds chunks of all colors, crystal lizards and the Cloranthy Ring.  See my video for a demonstration of early game looting resulting in over 40,000 souls and a boatload of useful equipment.