Village of Smiles

Now make your way to the Village of Smiles, where you will find a Blacksmith who can upgrade your weapon and armour pieces.

4. Village of Smiles, Salt and Sanctuary

Festering Banquet

Start from the sanctuary near Shivering Shore. Head right and use the Fortress Key to open the passage to Bandit's Pass. The first NPC you will meet is the Masterless Knight. Answer "Yes" to his questions to initiate his quest line. Drop all the way down and head left into a building. Pull a lever to open a shortcut to Festering Banquet.

Drop down and head left. You should see an opening where you can meet the Nomad merchant. At the moment, the most useful item the Nomad merchant sells is the Lock of Hair. Purchase as many Locks of Hair as you can from the merchant, preferably Lock of Hair x 3 to upgrade the Varangian Spatha to Varangian Spatha II. You will collect Lock of Hair x 3 in the next area of the game, but purchase some Locks of Hair anyway from the Nomad merchant with a view to upgrading the Warhammer, your next main weapon. The next most useful item from the Nomad merchant is the Stained Page. This consumable buffs your weapon with arcane, which is effective against some bosses. Use any spare gold you have to purchase Torches to illuminate many areas in the game.

Underneath where the Nomad merchant sits is a secret area. Interact with a wall to open the passage to the secret area, where you can grab the spell Lightning Bolt. Further down is a pitch-black cave where an Armor Mite guards a Stained Page and a Stone Mage.

Exit the secret area, head left, and you should see a shiny. Further ahead is a Blade Wraith floating in the air. The Blade Wraith is easier to manage than the Armor Mite. Continue left and up an inclined path to find a lever. Pull the lever to open a shortcut to the sanctuary of the Shivering Shore. Underneath near the lever is another secret area, accessible by interacting with a wall. Enter the secret area to grab the Kismet Stone, exit the secret area, head left and down, and open a gate to the Village of Smiles.

Notable loots:

• Black Pearl. On a platform near where you meet the Masterless Knight.
• Self Bow and Arrow x 20. Use the bow and arrows to pull one enemy at a time to you instead of fighting a group of enemies at once.
• Bundle of Salt x 2
• Lightning Bolt
• Torch x 4. One is from the same shiny where you grab Lightning Bolt.
• Stained Page. At the end of a passage, guarded by an Armor Mite. No need to fight this enemy as it is tough at this early stage of the game. Run and/or roll pass the enemy to grab the treasure.
• Stone Mage. From the same shiny as where you collect the Stained Page.
• Calling Horn x 3. From the shiny near the lever that opens a shortcut to the sanctuary of Shivering Shore. The Calling Horn is a consumable that allows you to travel to any sanctuary where you have spawned the Guide NPC.
• Stone Guide. From the same shiny as where you pick up the Calling Horn x 3.
• Kismet Stone. Within a treasure chest, hidden in a secret area near the lever that opens a shortcut to the sanctuary of Shivering Shore. Equip the ring to boost your item find rate. The ring is useful whenever you need to farm enemies for rare items.

Village of Smiles

Near the gate is a tripwire stretched out on the ground. Use a bow and arrows to lure one of two Feral Beasts to approach your character and trigger the trap. A Bronze Knight stands next to the Feral Beast x 2. Get rid of the Feral Beasts first, then fight the knight. The most effective way to deal with the Bronze Knight is to parry and riposte. Defeat the knight and head left to find more enemies.

A ladder is found nearby. Descend the ladder. To your right is an area that contains Feral Beast x 2 and a Drowned Archer. A treasure is found on a raised platform that you cannot yet reach; you require a brand to reach this treasure. Many areas in the game can only be accessed after you have acquired one or more brands. Expect to backtrack at some time later in the game.

To your left is the Scarecrow. Interact with this NPC and answer "Yes" to his question to initiate his quest line. Following the Scarecrow's quest line to completion would allow you to unlock a secret ending of the game.

Continue left and descend various platforms to reach the sanctuary of the area, wherein you will find the Blacksmith NPC. Use his services to upgrade the Varangian Spatha to Varangian Spatha II. If necessary, farm the nearby enemies for the required amount of salt to upgrade your weapon and/or use the various Pouch/Bundle of Salt you have collected. When you are ready, head right to exit the sanctuary and descend the ladder.

Head right to enter a building where a Bronze Knight lurks, in addition to various other enemies. Do not head right to exit the building as doing so would lead you to the next area of the game. Instead, ascend various platforms and then head left to the location where you previously interacted with the Scarecrow. Ascend more platforms to find a Blade Wraith who guards the entrance to the building where you will fight the area boss.

5. Farm salt & gold at Village of Smiles, Salt and Sanctuary

Farm enemies in the area for salt and gold. Salt will help you to level up a few times and invest Black Pearls in skills that allow you to wield the Warhammer. You want gold to purchase at least Birian Firepot x 20 and at least Antidote x 10. The Birian Firepots will be used against the upcoming boss, whereas the Antidotes will be used to counteract the poison inflicted by enemies in the next area of the game.

Notable loots:

• Pouch of Salt. From a shiny on a raised platform, guarded by a Drowned Archer.
• Bundle of Salt x 3
• Lock of Hair x 3. From the same shiny as where you collect the Pouch of Salt. You need Lock of Hair x 3 to upgrade the Varangian Spatha to Varangian Spatha II.
• Bell of Return x 3. On a raised platform guarded by Drowned Archer.
• Fused Metal Ring. Equip the ring to increase your Endurance by 3 points. Generally useful for any character, including a Strength build.
• Gray Pearl. Allows you to reallocate an invested skill in the Tree of Skill. Useful if you have accidentally allocated a Black Pearl in a skill you do not want, or you want to experiment with a different weapon/build.
• Kureimoa. A great sword, useful for a Strength build.
• Stone Leader
• Conduit of Mind. Grants you 33% extra Focus points.
• Faithful Ring. Boosts your defense against arcane damage.
• Wrapped Link. Boosts your rolling speed and decreases the Stamina cost of rolling. Useful for a Strength build because you need to invest in a heavy armour set and a Strength weapon, making your character medium roll.
• Stone Cleric
• Stone Guide
• Blessed Page. Useful against various bosses later in the game. Can also be purchased from the Cleric NPC.
• Bloodflower Charm. Boosts your attack power. Must first defeat the area boss.
• Pale Charm. Increases the reach of melee attacks. Must first defeat the area boss.
• Warhorn. Boosts your Stamina regeneration. Must first defeat the area boss.
• Black Pearl. Must first defeat the area boss.

The Queen of Smiles

6. The Queen of Smiles, Salt and Sanctuary

This boss is weak against fire. An easy strategy for dealing with the boss is to throw Birian Firepots at her. Birian Firepot x 20 should be more than enough, but you might want to stock up more in case you miss most of the shots. The strategy can quickly dispatch of the boss. Alternatively, apply Pitchfire on your weapon and fight her melee style, which can drag the fight out longer than necessary.

Defeat the boss, level up, and you should have enough Black Pearls to unlock the skill Class 3 Heavy Macefighter. Locate two NPCs: Fern and The Candlelit Lady. The Candlelit Lady is the more important of the two. She can absolve you of your sin and cleanse corruption.