Few games can match the interconnectedness of the original Dark Souls. Through brilliant level design and great use of keys, players can skip entire zones worth of content to obtain certain items much faster than normal.
Even after 8 years and a remastered version, many players still don't know just how many shortcuts exist in this game. While many shortcuts are designed intentionally by the developers, skilled Dark Souls players have found many unintentional ways of bypassing encounters or entire zones. From leaping off elevators to uncovering a hidden zone, here are 10 shortcuts you likely didn't know about in the original Dark Souls.
10 Catacombs Skip
Available right after the tutorial, the Catacombs are one of the toughest zones in the original Dark Souls. Players trek through floors of reanimating skeletons and deadly traps to defeat Pinwheel and unlock the ability to upgrade bonfires more than once.
Skilled players can make it to Pinwheel and ignore this entire deathtrap of a zone. Past the first bonfire in the Catacombs, make your way to the top floor. From there, jump down to a nearby ledge. Another once is visible just under you that you can hop to. From there, you can make your way down to the bottom floor and fight Pinwheel, skipping nearly the entire zone.
9 Lost Izalith Shortcut
Lost Izalith is one of Dark Souls' largest zones and one of the worst. Large, flat lava pools make up most of the zone and take ages to traverse. Thankfully, Fair Lady has a shortcut she will open for you if you have enough Humanity.
Fair Lady, otherwise known as Queelag's Sister, is the leader of the Chaos Servant Covenant. To level the covenant up, players must give her Humanity. After she receives 30 Humanity, Fair Lady will allow the player to open a door that bypasses most of the zone. From the Demon Firesage, take a right and head down the branches. The end of the hall will have a door you can interact with.
8 New Londo To Valley of Drakes
It wouldn't be a proper Dark Souls shortcut list without the notorious New Londo Ruins shortcut. To do this, players must have selected the Master Key as their starting gift.
From Firelink Shrine, head down to the elevator that leads to the New Londo Ruins. Head left and look for a locked door. The Master Key will unlock it, bringing you straight to the Valley of Drakes. This lets you access Blighttown and Lost Izalith without setting foot into Undead Burg, dramatically opening your early-game options.
7 Anor Londo Stair Jump
Anor Londo is mostly a linear zone that forces players through rough encounters with Silver Knights and giants. Players have found a way to make this zone slightly easier.
From the bonfire next to Ornstein and Smough, head up the spiral staircase. When you can see the second-floor path, sprint and jump from the stairs onto the platform. You'll be able to run straight to the boss arena without having to fight through an entire floor of guards.
6 Havel Tower to Darkroot Basin
Yet another early-game skip, players with the Master Key or the Watchtower Basement Key can reach Darkroot Basin to begin the quest to start the Artorias of the Abyss DLC.
From the Taurus Demon, head to the tower before the boss fight proper. Head down the flight of stairs and face off against one of the toughest enemies in the game, Havel himself. Defeating him grants his ring and allows you to safely exit the tower and enter Darkroot Garden extremely early.
5 New Londo Wraith Skip
Darkwraiths are some of the deadliest common enemies you can face in Dark Souls. Lurking in the depths of the New Londo Ruins, these enemies can prove to be a tough challenge for low-level characters and inexperienced players.
Thankfully, it is possible to skip this particular encounter entirely. After you open the floodgates and unlock the next floor, run back to the path you went down. From the corner of the path, sprint and jump to the ground below. It will deal considerable damage to you, but you'll be right next to the Four King's boss arena without having to fight half a dozen Darkwraiths.
4 Lower Undead Burg Skip
Unlike many shortcuts on this list, this next skip is unintentional by the developers. This will take some practice, but those who time their jumps just right can skip most of Lower Undead Burg with two jumps.
A group of hollows will guard a ladder in Upper Undead Burg you can climb atop of. Jump off the top of the ladder onto a platform sticking out from an adjacent wall. From there, jump 90 degrees to your right and you'll plummet to Lower Undead Burg next to the Capra Demon boss arena. Only do this if you are at full health and have Estus to spare.
3 Ash Lake
This isn't a shortcut in the traditional sense as there is only one way to enter Ash Lake. However, the path to this zone is so obscure that most players don't know of its existence.
Blighttown has a massive tree that is growing in the corner of the poisonous ruin. Head to the branches and run atop of them. You should now be in The Great Hollow. Fight your way through the tree's denizens, walking through the branches' twists and turns as you go. At the end is a fog gate that reveals the elusive Ash Lake, a unique area that houses a Dragon covenant and an optional Black Hydra boss fight. If you don't have the Lordvessel, you can backtrack through The Great Hollow and use the Blighttown elevator to reach Firelink Shrine.
2 Blighttown Elevator
One dog is responsible for one of Dark Souls' best shortcuts. A single dog powers a wooden wheel in Blighttown that allows players to skip most of the zone.
From the Valley of Drakes, head to the entrance of Blighttown and fight the enemies within. Climb down five sets of ladders and you should see a rotating wooden platform. Hop on it and it'll take you straight down to the poisonous swamp below. Alternatively, you can ride up the wheel from the base of Blighttown to ignore most of the zone's enemies and safely backtrack to Firelink Shrine.
1 Duke's Archives Skip
Speedrunners use this strategy to skip the first encounter with Seath the Scaleless, a fight that players can't win. It also skips the entire prisonbreak section that occurs after your death.
On the elevator ride up to Seath, take note of the various floors you're ascending. Once you reach the top, call the elevator down but don't stay on it. After it begins to descend, drop down to the bottom right corner of the elevator. From there, roll off when you see the first railing. You have now bypassed most of the zone and a mandatory death.