Redshift Brand & Drowned Censer

Before proceeding any further, spend some time farming for Drowned Censers to upgrade the Obsidian Pillar as high as possible. First, you require the Redshift Brand.

29. Redshift Brand & Fort-Beyond-The-Mire, Salt and Sanctuary

Start from the shrine of the Mire of Stench and head to the arena where you fought the area boss. Head left and down from the arena, then ride a movable platform up to meet The Mirekeeper. Exhaust her dialogue and answer "Yes" to her question to receive the Redshift Brand. Head left into a cave and proceed to enter Fort-Beyond-The-Mire. Find and rest at the area's sanctuary, but do not join the respective creed. Head down to the beach to find the Boatman. Exhaust his dialogue, answer "Yes" to his question, and you would be transported to The Far Beach. Find the Despondent Thief sitting on a platform. Exhaust her dialogue and she would gift you the Frozen Tome, thus ending her quest line. Proceed left into a cave and claim sanctuary at The Far Beach.

Notable loots:

• Mossy Ring. Boosts your Stamina regeneration. Can only be collected after defeating That Stench Most Foul.
• Defender's Ring. Boosts your defense against strike damage. Located to the right of the sanctuary of Fort-Beyond-The-Mire.

30. Farm Drowned Lockets & Drowned Censers at Ziggurat of Dust, Salt and Sanctuary

From the sanctuary of The Far Beach, proceed right, then head left along a mound. You will find an entrance that leads into the Ziggurat of Dust. Claim sanctuary and prepare to farm the nearby Lietch x 3 for Drowned Lockets and Drowned Censers. You require Drowned Locket x 2 to upgrade the Obsidian Pillar III to Obsidian Pillar IV. Furthermore, you need Drowned Censer x 3 to upgrade the Obsidian Pillar IV to Obsidian Pillar VI. In case you defeated The Unspeakable Deep, the boss of the ship on which your character originally spawned, you should already have the Drowned Tome. Provided you have the necessary quantity of salt, you should be able to max out the Obsidian Pillar at the Ziggurat of Dust.

The Lietch x 3 can be tricky to farm because each stands on an elevated platform you cannot reach. If you manage to kill a Lietch while it stands on the platform, then you would not be able to collect anything dropped by the defeated Lietch. Instead, stand near and/or underneath the Lietch, jump every now and then, and wait for the Lietch to teleport to your location. Beware of the fire attacks from the Lietch x 3. Equip the Impen Crest Ring to boost your fire defense. Equip the Kismet Stone and the Brightcoral Ring to boost your item find rate. Have plenty of Bells of Return to teleport to the sanctuary of the Ziggurat of Dust after each farming round.

Notable loots:

• Stone Cleric
• Ashen Effigy. One of the best great shields in the game. Located to the left of Lietch x 3. The shield reflects a percentage of physical damage back to the attacker. Can block 100% of arcane and holy damage, making the shield especially useful against many bosses.