Demon Ruins
If you haven't already done so, return to Firelink Shrine, talk to Greirat, and send him on his second pillage quest. You must have lit the Central Irithyll bonfire beforehand. Warp back to Firelink Shrine again and Greirat should have left the Shrine. Prior to sending Greirat on his quest, be sure to purchase anything you require from him. Once Greirat left the Shrine, defeating the Old Demon King would trigger Greirat to return with an enlarged inventory for you to purchase. However, before you explore Smouldering Lake or Demon Ruins, you should grab the Speckled Stoneplate Ring as shown in the next video. The ring should be grabbed now while the Ballista is still active. Furthermore, the Speckled Stoneplate Ring is required for the Master of Rings achievement.
16. Location of Speckled Stoneplate Ring, Dark Souls III
Most enemies at Demon Ruins are Ghrus that you have encountered at Farron Keep. The enemies you should be wary of are: Demon Cleric, jumpy Ghru, Black Knight, Basilisk, and Tsorig. Your Raw Claymore should be upgraded to at least +4 and this weapon is more than capable of dispatching all enemies found at Demon Ruins. Generally, you should two-hand the Claymore when fighting enemies. Fight a Demon Cleric when it is by itself. There is an area where you would find a cluster of two Demon Clerics. Use the cheese strategy shown in the video below to dispatch of one Demon Cleric. You will meet Tsorig, but this time in his human form. Above where Tsorig stands is a Black Knight. As shown in the video, lure the Black Knight to Tsorig's location and let him fight the Black Knight for you. If Tsorig survives the fight, throw an Alluring Skull into the lava pool and Tsorig would run to the location where the Alluring Skull shattered and be barbequed by the lava.
17. Demon Ruins, Dark Souls III
As preparation to help you explore Demon Ruins, ensure you have these:
- Red Bug Pellet. Patches sells this item.
- Alluring Skull. Patches also sells this item. Tsorig in his human form is easily distracted by a shattered Alluring Skull.
- Equip the Flame Stoneplate Ring. This ring together with Red Bug Pellet can boost your fire defense.
- Purple Moss Clump. Some Ghrus at Demon Ruins can inflict poison as well as breathe Poison Mist at you.
- Stock up on Standard Bolts. Wooden Bolts are OK. In case you're using a bow, stock up on arrows.
- Bloodred Moss Clump.
- Pontiff's Right Eye. This ring is a guaranteed drop once you defeated the Sulyvahn's Beast on the bridge to Irithyll. Equip the ring to boost your damage output.
There are two lava pools with treasures in them. Don't run into the lava pools to grab the treasures. Your character would die within a few seconds. Wait until near the end of the game when you would have a massive HP bar and the necessary equipment to traverse lava. For now, ignore the items in the lava pools. Turn off the Ballista to make it easier for you to explore Smouldering Lake and grab all its treasures. Be sure to grab these at Demon Ruins:
- Estus Shard
- Undead Bone Shard. This is located near a cluster of two Demon Clerics. Use a bow or crossbow to cheese one Demon Cleric, then fight the remaining Cleric.
- Izalith Pyromancy Tome
- Quelana Pyromancy Tome
The area boss is Old Demon King. He is weak against Black Knight weapons, but at the moment you don't have sufficient stats to wield any Black Knight weapon. The next best option is to poison him, then buff your Raw Claymore with Human Pine Resin. Upgrade your Raw Claymore to at least +5, then upgrade your Bandit's Knife to at least +3. After entering the fog wall to the boss arena, buff the Bandit's Knife with Rotten Pine Resin and spam R1 at the boss until he is poisoned. Then switch to your Raw Claymore, two-hand the weapon, buff it with Human Pine Resin, and R1 the boss. Equip the Flame Stoneplate Ring and consume a Red Bug Pellet to boost your fire defense. Summon Tsorig and/or Cuculus to help you distract the boss. Ensure Cuculus survives the fight in order for Cornyx's set to spawn at the location where you found him. In case Cuculus died during the fight, use the Black Crystal of Separation to send Tsorig home (if you also summoned him), quit to menu, load your game, and try again.
