Brume Tower

You require the Heavy Iron Key to access this DLC. At Iron Keep, grab the Iron Key found underneath the very first fire-breathing bull head. You should have pulled the lever above the Eygil's Idol bonfire to deactivate all fire-breathing bull heads. Use the Iron Key to open the locked door near where you fought The Last Giant. Enter the unlocked area and locate the Heavy Iron Key. Be wary of the Flame Salamanders, whose fireballs can one- or two-shot you. Use Poison Arrows to poison a Flame Salamander and wait for it to die.

56. Brume Tower, Dark Souls II: SotFS

Enter Brume Tower, light the Throne Floor bonfire, and grab Smelter Wedge x 6 from a deactivated Ashen Idol. Smelter Wedges can be used to destroy Ashen Idols found throughout the DLC. Don't destroy the very first Ashen Idol you encounter. Save your Smelter Wedges for Ashen Idols scattered throughout the later areas, where it would be more useful to deactivate the Idols. A deactivated Ashen Idol drops a Soul of Nadia, Bride of Ash. Collect all 12 soul fragments to create the Soul of Nadia and trade it with Straid for a chime or pyromancy. Navigate to the Upper Floor bonfire and then to the Foyer bonfire.

57. Brume Tower Foyer, Dark Souls II: SotFS

58. Scorching Iron Scepter, Dark Souls II: SotFS

You require the Scorching Iron Scepter to activate all elevators in Brume Tower. These elevators open up paths that lead to most of the remaining areas of the DLC, including the bosses. Grab the Scorching Iron Scepter and key it into the ignition device that looks like a bull's head. The ignition device is located near the Foyer bonfire. After activating the contraptions in Brume Tower, your next immediate objective is to obtain the Hollow Skin, an item that nullifies curse. Then grab the Tower Key to open all remaining doors within Brume Tower and unlock paths to two of the bosses.

59. Locate boss arenas at Brume Tower, Dark Souls II: SotFS

The Smelter Throne bonfire is located at the very top level of Brume Tower. On your way to the bonfire, you would be invaded by Prowler x 5, each of whom is similar to the Mad Warrior red phantom that occasionally spawns at the top of Belfry Sol. The first Prowler spawns near an Ashen Idol and the remaining four spawn as you ascend the staircase to the Smelter Throne bonfire. Ignore the Prowlers for the moment. Concentrate your effort on deactivating the Ashen Idol as soon as possible, then fight the Prowler near the Ashen Idol. Next, lure one of the remaining four Prowlers down to where the Ashen Idol stood and fight one at a time. Whenever you're overwhelmed by multiple Prowlers, equip the Silvercat Ring and drop down to the nearby elevator, but doing so can result in death if the elevator is far enough down.

60. Clear enemies at Iron Passage, Dark Souls II: SotFS

61. Treasures at Iron Passage, Dark Souls II: SotFS

An Ashen Idol is found halfway down a tower that is accessible via an iron chain bridge. Crossing the bridge would trigger Maldron the Assassin to invade you. His primary aim is to troll, tricking you into following him deep down the tower. Stay at the top of the tower and hit him with poison weapon(s) until he is poisoned, e.g. use a bow and Poison Arrows. Sooner or later he would run down the staircase to where the Ashen Idol is located. Don't follow him as he is leading you to enemies that are buffed by the Ashen Idol. Instead, use the Seed of a Tree of Giants so that enemies would attack him. Equip the Hollow Skin to nullify the curse status effect. Focus on dispatching of the Ashen Warriors who are on various platforms. Even though these enemies are buffed by the Ashen Idol, they can still be poisoned and they are far enough away from the Ashen Idol that they can't be healed by the Idol. Leave the Possessed Armours alone at the moment because they can revive as long as the Ashen Idol is active. Maldron tends to stand near the Ashen Idol. As long as the Seed is active, enemies should target him instead of you. Wait at the top of the tower for enemies to kill him. Then slowly make your way down to the Ashen Idol, killing all Ashen Warriors on your way. As long as the Ashen Idol is out of commission, enemies are no longer buffed and the Possessed Armours won't revive after being killed.

Notable loots:

• Hollow Skin. While equipped, you are immune to the curse status effect. This head piece is useful during your exploration of areas that build up the curse status effect and during the fight against an end-game boss.
• Dexterity Ring. Located near the very first active Ashen Idol, close to the Throne Floor bonfire. Equip the ring to raise your Dexterity by five points.
• Life Ring+3. Found in a chest guarded by an Iron Warrior, who is constantly healed by a nearby Ashen Idol. The Ashen Idol is located behind a door that exudes a yellow aura. Lure the Iron Warrior as far away from the target door as possible, run to the door and open it, and use a Smelter Wedge to put the Ashen Idol out of commission so it won't be able to heal the Iron Warrior.
• Spell Quartz Ring+3. This ring significantly boosts your magic defense.
• Dispelling Ring+1. Behind a wall and can only be accessed by an explosive device. Lure a Cask Runner near the wall and shoot a Fire Arrow at the Cask Runner to cause an explosion.
• Smelter Wedge x 4. Found on the same level as where you obtained the Dispelling Ring+1. Save these wedges for the fight against Fume Knight.
• Strength Ring. Equip the ring to increase your Strength by five points.
• Crown of the Old Iron King. Can be collected after defeating Fume Knight.

Smelter Demon

62. Smelter Demon redux, Dark Souls II: SotFS

A magic variant of the Smelter Demon at Iron Keep. Most if not all of its attacks deal magic damage. Stack as much magic defense as possible. Equip the Spell Quartz Ring+3 and/or the Dispelling Ring+1. You might find it useful to infuse a weapon with poison, then buff the weapon with Dark Weapon. Otherwise, buff your weapon with Dark Pine Resin. Elizabeth Mushrooms are useful during the fight. Being too close to the Smelter Demon and its magic flame would chip your HP. Consume an Elizabeth Mushroom to help you regenerate some HP. The most difficult aspect of this boss is making your way through Iron Passage, the gauntlet area of the DLC. The path to the arena is littered with hordes of enemies that can easily gank you to death. While you focus on fighting Ashen Warriors, Astrologists and Fume Sorcerers and even Possessed Armours can shoot you with great arrows, magic, and miracles. The items along the path are not worth collecting. Run straight to the boss arena and/or summon at least one NPC to distract enemies while you run.

Fume Knight

63. Fume Knight, Dark Souls II: SotFS

Use a fast weapon and buff it with lightning or dark. Make sure you deactivate the Ashen Idol x 4 outside the boss arena prior to fighting Fume Knight. If any of the Ashen Idols is active, it can heal the boss. Fume Knight is a tank. Summoning one or more NPC phantoms would significantly boost the boss' HP. Roll through his attacks, try to position yourself behind him, and get in one or two hits at most.

Sir Alonne

64. Treasures at Smelter Throne, Dark Souls II: SotFS

65. Sir Alonne, Dark Souls II: SotFS

The boss is already difficult by himself. The difficulty is compounded by the hordes of enemies littering the path to the boss arena. Use any weapon you are comfortable with and buff it with dark. Lightning and magic are OK, but fire should be a last resort. Always lock on to the boss and look for opportunities to get in at most one hit. The boss is weak against thrust attacks, hence a rapier and the Old Leo Ring are effective against him.