Catacombs of Carthus

Upon entering this area, you might want to consider looking down the ledge to scout the place before moving on. What you have below is a skeleton-infested staircase with a boulder over the door. A platform with a Crystal Lizard off to the right, and a little closer is a ledge that lets you drop down safely. In any case, begin by going left first where there will be some skeletons waiting. These things are capable of coming back to life if you fail to completely deplete their health. Grab some Carthus Rouge then continue along the bridge to the next section. Clear away the small skeleton army, climb the stairs and head right. Collect some free souls and continue down the stairs where a new variant of skeleton is below. These things can deal quite a good deal of damage if they manage to gang up on you. So try baiting them up the stairs to be defeated one at a time. Make your way back downstairs for a couple of Titanite Shards afterwards.

Next, trace your steps back to the first bridge and drop off the side to the platform below. Kill the enemy that appears here, keep your guard up as you head right. Block the other skeleton then finish it off to score a Carthus Pyromancy Tome. From here, go right, attack the wall so you can proceed. Defeat the skeleton on the other side to get the Sharp Gem behind him. To the left are some free souls, the ladder here leads to an area you've been to before and the path to the right also ends in the same way. So instead, go inside that new room and you'll see Anri but Horace is nowhere to be found. Talk to Anri and he'll ask that you pass a message to Horace if you see him. Step onto the balcony nearby to kill the Crystal Lizard and collect some Bloodred Moss Clump from the body.

Now regardless of where you choose to go, you will encounter a big boulder of bones that will come rolling down the stairs before coming back up. So quickly grab the Ember on the stairs and sprint for the hallway before turning left. Clear all the skeletons on the way then follow this corridor over to an open area. Ignore the urns here as you head over to where the Carthus Milkring is. Moving on, go when you can, kill yet more skeletons. You'll also see some remains here that gives free souls but make sure to avoid the pressure plate when you go get it. Further along the hall, you'll find an Ember across a gap. Enter the room to the right for some Titanite Shards, being careful of the bone boulder. After grabbing the loot, make a run for it and you'll find a much-needed bonfire around the corner to the left. Follow the trail of the bone boulder to the next bit.

Here we have rats, giant rats and a variety of skeletons for enemies. To the left you can find some Titanite Shards behind a skeleton enemy, while a disgustingly big rat is on the right side. Go right first, fighting through some wheel skeletons. Take a quick left at the end for a Carthus Bloodring. Move back to the main fork and head left this time. There will be three doorways for you to choose from here. The closest doorway may lead to an encounter with the NPC Knight-Slayer Tsorig. The second exit leads to a small army of baddies and some loot of Large Titanite Shard and Grave Warden's Ashes. Now for the third doorway, it exits to a different section of the level. The crystal lizard will lead you to a skeleton enemy so kill it and collect the Yellow Bug Pellets from the remains. If you were to check the messages on the ground, you'll know of the condition of the bridge up ahead. But unfortunately, that's also where you need to go. Head for the bridge and as soon as you step on, a big horde of skeletons will rise up behind you. Make a break for the opposite side, where you can cut the bridge to send your pursuers to their deaths.

The boss chamber is just beyond the door up ahead but you may want to explore the rest of this level first. Head down the makeshift ladder where you take a look down the ledge to spot Horace. In the nearby room is a Demon mini boss. Kill it for its soul before going to open the treasure chest at the other side. Turns out its a Mimic which you can kill for its Black Blade. Proceed to the lower ledge to collect some souls and shards. Continue through the hallway in the nearby room to find a Blindfold and a Witch's Ring. The path further to the right leads to a bonfire and the exit (or entrance) to Smouldering Lake. Let's head back and defeat the boss for this level first before going there though.

Boss Battle - High Lord Wolnir

This boss is huge and looks absolutely intimidating. However the battle itself is actually pretty simple if you know what you're doing. For starters what you're aiming for are those shiny bracelets on his hands. Wait for Wolnir to set his hands down on the ground, and start hacking away on those bracelets until they break. This will take away large chunks of your opponent's health so he should go pretty quickly. But do pay attention to the gray mist that Wolnir occasionally sends out. You will want to avoid this at all costs as it can kill you in just a few hits. So when you go to town on the bracelets make sure to not get too carried away with attacking, as you won't have time to avoid the mist. I had died in this battle a couple of times for that very reason. One other thing the boss has is a sword that he can use to slash at you when you move in to melee him. This too does a lot of damage as expected especially when combined with the mist. Although there is a chance he'll never get to use the sword at all if you manage to defeat him quickly enough. Oh and don't forget to use some Charcoal Pine Resin for your weapon too.

You'll receive some items along with the High Lord Wolnir trophy for defeating this boss. Light the bonfire and rest. Go back to Firelink Shrine to buff up your character if you want, then just fast travel to the Smouldering Lake when you're ready to proceed.