Dark Souls’ bonfires are your best friend in the harsh world known as Lordran; while we have no doubt that some challenge runner out there has done the impossible and completed a run without using a DS bonfire, we’re advocates for making the most of them. Bonfires are where you can level up your character, and the average player needs all the levels they can get, especially as some bonfires are right next to fog gates.
Speaking of fog gates, you know what’s normally behind them? Bosses, most of whom are in no mood to deal with you. Not to worry, for we have a Dark Souls bosses (featuring the likes of Dark Souls Quelaag) guide that not only offers helpful tips on how to defeat them (including the best Dark Souls rings), but also a brief history lesson on how they came to be. We also have a Dark Souls divine weapon guide, should your faith be guiding you through Lordran.
What is a Dark Souls bonfire?
The best way to describe a Dark Souls bonfire is as a checkpoint with benefits – we’ll get on to those in a minute – as you need to find these to avoid having to retread your footsteps from the beginning of an area. Some bonfires are in plain sight and are easy to find, while others are behind illusionary walls that you may need a guide (or a bit of luck) to find.
The best example we can give of a hidden bonfire is the one in Darkroot Garden. After you get to the bottom of Undead Parish, go past Andre and the Titanite Demon and enter Darkroot Garden. If you work your way through the area, you eventually come across a wall next to a huge stone done with a glowing lock – hit the wall. Once you do this, the wall disappears to reveal a secret bonfire. This isn’t the only one behind an illusionary wall, so don’t be afraid to hit random walls if they seem suspicious
What can you do at a Dark Souls bonfire?
There’s all sorts you can do if you sit down at a Dark Souls bonfire, and they’re all pretty important, from leveling up your character to upgrading your equipment; stopping for a minute to catch your breath and take a load off is always a good idea.
Rest
Your Estus flask is your best friend in Lordran, replenishing your health with each swig. However, it does have limited uses before it runs out and resting at a bonfire is the only way to fill it back up. Initially, you’ll find that bonfires only give you five charges of your Estus, but you can increase this by bolstering the bonfire. It’s especially vital that you do this in the later stages of the game.
It’s important to note that resting at a bonfire does reset the enemies in the area, except for bosses. This can be both a blessing and a curse, as getting past some enemies can be tricky, but respawning them means you can farm for more souls, allowing you to level up and purchase items.
Kindle
If you’re after more than just five Estus – and you should be – this is where kindling a bonfire comes in. By using one piece of humanity, you can kindle the bonfire you’re resting at, and the more you do it, the more Estus you can recover. To bolster your bonfire, you need to defeat Pinwheel and get the rite of kindling, which then allows you to use humanities to feed the bonfires; each time you do this, it increases the maximum flasks you get from that bonfire to a maximum of plus 20.
However, it’s important to note that when kindling a bonfire, that’s the only one where it takes effect. You must kindle each one individually. It might be a good idea to leave kindling for the areas you truly struggle with at first. Every bit of Estus helps when tackling the more demanding challenges Lordran has to offer.
Reverse hollowing
Upon death, you become hollow, preventing you from summoning other players or phantoms to help you out. It’s also impossible to kindle a bonfire while hollow. On the flip side, if PvP isn’t your thing, and the idea of being invaded fills you with dread, invasions aren’t possible when you’re not human. Those pesky Blades of the Darkmoon have no choice but to leave you alone.
Level up
A quintessential part of the Dark Souls experience is leveling up. Is a certain boss or area giving you trouble? The solution is simple: go out there, farm some souls, and spend them on your attributes, thus making you stronger.
Each time you level up, the number of souls you need increases. Fortunately, every enemy in the game drops souls at death, with late-game foes dropping considerably more. You can also find soul packs out in the world, and get a substantial amount each time you slay a Dark Souls boss.
Do be aware that you can only level up upon reaching Firelink Shrine, and should you die before cashing them in, you lose your souls. Luckily, if you get back to the spot where you died, you can get them back, assuming you don’t die again before reaching them. If you do, those souls are gone for good.
Oh, and one more thing: there are soft caps and hard caps on the stats when reaching certain levels within the attribute, which is something to bear in mind when you reach the later stages of the game.
Weapon reinforcement
You don’t need to go to a blacksmith to strengthen your weapon if you have a weapon smithbox. There is a caveat, however, as this is only applicable to normal upgrades. Ascending a weapon needs the help of a professional.
Armor reinforcement
The stronger your armor, the more damage you can withstand. Much like with weapons, you can reinforce your attire at a bonfire if you purchase an armor smithbox.
Repair equipment
No weapon or armor is immune to wear and tear. Over time, the state of your equipment worsens, and it can break, causing your damage output, or protection, to worsen. However, with a repair box you can fix your own gear at a bonfire without the need to go and speak to a blacksmith.
Attune magic
The most important thing about being a sorcerer, pyromancer, or miracle user is the spells, and bonfires are where you can select which ones you use. Of course, you need to purchase or find the spells before they become available to you.
Warp
After defeating Ornstein and Smough in Anor Londo, you can speak with Gwynevere just beyond their boss room. She rewards you with the lordvessel, an item that allows you to warp between bonfires – no more running around like a chump.
However, there are still some limitations, given you can’t warp to every bonfire, though you can to the ones listed below.
- Firelink Shrine
- Sunlight altar
- Anor Londo’s first bonfire
- Chamber of the Princess
- Darkmoon tomb
- Tomb of the Gravelord
- Daughter of Chaos
- Stone dragon
- Abyss
- Depths
- Catacombs
- Tomb of the Giants’ first bonfire
- The Duke’s Archives’ final bonfire before Seath the Scaleless
- Crystal Cave
- Painted World of Ariamis
- Undead Parish above Andre
- Sanctuary Garden
- Oolacile Sanctuary
- Oolacile Township
- Oolacile Township dungeon
- Chasm of the Abyss
And there you have it, everything you need to know about Dark Souls bonfires. If you want to learn more about some of the characters in this world, check out our Dark Souls Nito, Dark Souls Manus, Dark Souls Gwyn, Dark Souls Gwyndolin, and Dark Souls Sif guides.
Alternatively, If you need a break from the never-ending cycle of death, you can check out our picks for the best Switch RPGs or best Switch platformers here. Or, if it’s character guides that you’re after, our Mortal Kombat Mileena and The Witcher 3 Triss articles are a great read.