Velstadt, the Royal Aegis

Velstadt guards the King's Ring, an item required to open various end-game areas and the final boss. You can find him at Undead Crypt. The most dangerous enemies at Undead Crypt are the Leydia Pyromancers. They can spawn infinitely often as long as there are enemies to ring their summoning bells. Leydia Pyromancers usually spawn at the rocky maze-like areas. The difficult part of traversing the rocky mazes is knowing which stones to break, how to break the stones, and the path to take.

Speedrun through Undead Crypt NG+7, Dark Souls 2 SotFS

Undead Crypt

Start from the Undead Crypt Entrance bonfire. The right corner of the staircase has a corpse that contains Radiant Lifegem. Ascend the staircase to find Royal Guard x 2, each blocking a different path. Defeat either of the Royal Guards. Parry and riposte if you want. Or power stance two large weapons and overwhelm a Royal Guard with your might. Enter the path, look for an Undead Laborer who patrols while holding a torch. Defeat this enemy and collect the shiny it drops, if any. This particular enemy usually drops a Torch. Nearby is an Imperious Knight who blocks your path by guarding with two great shields. Spam Crystal Soul Spear at the enemy until the knight moves out of the way. There is no need to kill the enemy. Simply let them move out of the way, then dash through the entrance into the room filled with Undead Prisoners and Leydia Witch x 2. Sprint as quickly as possible to the other side of the room, ascend a flight of stairs, find Grave Warden Agdayne, and purchase anything you need from him. The most useful items in his wares are Human Effigy and Elizabeth Mushroom. Enter the mist to find a room filled with stones that look like a maze. A room to your left has the Undead Ditch bonfire. Light the bonfire and rest as necessary.

Traversing the rocky maze is difficult, unless you know which stones to break. It is also difficult to describe the path. Refer to the video above for details. Proceed through the rocky maze, then traverse the adjacent room with another rocky maze. Ascend a short flight of stairs and look for a shiny ahead. That shiny contains a Divine Blessing. Collect the item as necessary. Dash through the narrow passage to a room filled with Wall Warrior x 3 and Imperious Knight x 2. Usually the Nameless Usurper would invade you here. However, since you have already defeated Licia, her death prevents the Nameless Usurper from invading you. Dispatch of the Wall Warrior x 3. Lock onto the rightmost Imperious Knight and spam Crystal Soul Spear. Cast four times, wait for your Stamina bar to fully regenerate, then cast another two times to defeat the enemy. Run past the other Imperious Knight and drop down through a large hole to find yourself in another rocky maze. The maze is easy to traverse; refer to the above video for details. Push through and find a lever that opens a shortcut to the Undead Ditch bonfire. Rest at the bonfire if you want or take the time to do any last minute preparation for the upcoming boss fight.

Enter a large hall filled with two rows of large columns. A fog wall is located at the back of the hall. Enter the hall and stay to your right, dashing as quickly as possible ahead. When you past the last column, lure the Dragonrider to the column, then run around the column and to the fog wall. Enter the mist as quickly as possible before the enemies catch up to you.

Velstadt, the Royal Aegis

Sorcerer versus Velstadt, the Royal Aegis NG+7, Dark Souls 2 SotFS

Velstadt can be parried, but not riposted. Parry, then get in a hit. Alternatively, use Crystal Soul Spear. Bait Velstadt to attack, roll back, and cast Crystal Soul Spear. Sometimes Velstadt would perform two horizontal swings of his great hammer, followed by a forward thrust. Watch out for this three-hit combination. If he does two horizontal swings, roll back twice and be ready to dodge a possible thrust attack. Use the same strategy in both phases one and two.

Defeat Veldstad, enter the room where Vendrick is roaming like a zombie, grab the King's Ring, and warp back to Majula. After the defeat of the Looking Glass Knight, Melentia renews her stock of Brightbugs. Purchase Brightbug x 3 from Menlentia and level up if possible.