Dark Souls 3: High Wall of Lothric – Defeat Vordt of the Boreal Valley

This walkthrough will help players navigate the High Wall of Lothric in Dark Souls 3. In this region, you will traverse the highs and lows of the Lothric castle wall. Follow our steps to reach the High Priestess of Lothric Castle and successfully defeat Vordt of the Boreal Valley.

Begin by resting at the Firelink Shrine Bonfire. Travel to the High Wall of Lothric, where you will arrive inside a dim chamber. Head through the door upstairs to enter High Wall of Lothric itself. Proceed down the steps and light the High Wall of Lothric Bonfire just ahead.

There are two sets of stairs leading away from this bonfire in opposite directions. The left staircase is closest to the bonfire, while the right staircase is further away near the wooden platform. We recommend heading right first, in order to receive a Longbow and Arrows. This is also a good opportunity to clear out the enemies on this side and pick up more valuable loot. You will eventually open up a shortcut leading back to this right staircase, so it helps to have knowledge of the enemies patrolling this section ahead of time.

Head toward the staircase to the right of the bonfire. Before going downstairs, approach the broken hole in the bricks to the right of the staircase. Locate the crossbow-wielding enemy at the corner of the wooden platform. Eliminate this enemy first to prevent having to avoid his crossbow bolts later.

The area beyond the staircase consists of a couple undead hounds, and an enemy wielding a long axe. The hounds move quick, so keep your guard up as you descend the stairs. Eliminate both pups, and continue forward. The axe-wielding enemy will be patrolling the staircase about halfway down the path. This enemy seems to have increased health, and the long axe inflicts significant damage. Lock onto this enemy, and carefully move around his flanks to take him down.

With this initial path cleared, you can either go down the staircase where the axe enemy was patrolling, or continue straight toward the staircase further ahead on the path. We recommend going straight first to obtain valuable loot, but you can do as you wish.

Continue forward and ascend the staircase ahead. Prepare to fight off another two enemies when you reach the top. Kill the ranged enemy, and watch out for the undead standing beside him. This undead can mutate into something much more lethal. Try to destroy this undead as quick as possible to prevent its mutation. If it successfully mutates, then you’ll have to proceed with caution. Dodge its far reaching attacks, and move around to its back side to deal damage from behind.

After eliminating both foes, pillage the corpse to the left of the kneeling statue to obtain the Longbow and a handful of Standard Arrows. The longbow is particularly helpful if you are playing as a melee character, as this provides you with a ranged attack. More arrows can be purchased from the Shrine Handmaid back at Firelink Shrine.

Return to the staircase halfway down the path where you fought earlier. This time the stairs will be on your right. At the base of the stairs, curve to the right to spot a collectible on top of a corpse. As you approach the corpse, watch out for the enemy sitting to the left. This enemy will spring to life when you get close. Take out the enemy, then pillage the remains to receive a Soul of a Deserted Corpse.

Disregard the nearby gate door, as it cannot be opened from this side. We will show you how to open the gate much later. Since you’ve completed everything in this small section, head back upstairs to the bonfire and rest to recuperate if needed.

Return to the High Wall of Lothric Bonfire, and this time take the left staircase. You know you’re going the correct way if you see a giant dead dragon splayed over the high wall. At the bottom you will see many hollows praying to the dragon and some gnarled humanoid trees. You can attack them for some easy souls if you want, but they won’t harm you otherwise.

Be on the lookout for the enemy ahead who emerges from the room in front of you. He carries a lantern, and if he notices you he will scream and alert nearby hostile enemies. There is one enemy to the right who will attack you, one behind the enemy wielding the lantern, and one beside the left corner. Take out these enemies and proceed into the room ahead where the lantern carrier came from. To the left there is an enemy sitting on the floor. Hit him and he will fight you. Another enemy is hiding behind some boxes in the far right corner of the room.

Once the room is cleared, stand facing the doorway as if you were about to exit where you came from. Immediately to your left is a relatively large hole in the wall with a shining collectible. You can’t get it from here. To get it, go back outside and go up the stairs to your right.

There are a couple of enemies you will have to deal with. Although they aren’t too difficult, they can be a pain to fight since there are a couple of enemies directly above who throw bombs down at you. Try luring each enemy one by one down the stairs if you are not confident.

Quickly make your way up the stairs to the left and kill the bomb enemies. There is a corpse sitting in front of a wooden door. Loot him to obtain a new pair of Binoculars. Reward yourself for your efforts by using them to enjoy the view.

Go back down the stairs and stand behind the dragon. Walk to the left and jump down off the ledge onto the narrow path below. It will lead you to the window corpse where you spotted the collectible earlier. Pillage the remains to obtain Gold Pine Resin. You can jump down into the familiar room and proceed down the ladder. If your health is low, we recommend returning to the bonfire and making your way back to this area, though enemies will respawn.

Once you go down the ladder, pick up a Soul of a Deserted Corpse along the right wall. Exit through the doorway to the left and you will see an enemy with a shield and spear. The enemy to his right will not see you right away, but if he does he will start shooting arrows at you. Approach with caution. You may want to lure the shielded enemy towards you and fight him solo.

There are two treacherous paths to choose from: up the staircase, or across the walkway to the right. As you approach the staircase, a giant dragon will land on the tower and breathe fire, killing all the enemies on the platform. If you inch to the right of the stairs, the dragon will breathe fire down the corridor killing any enemies standing there. Take advantage of this, as it makes killing enemies much easier. Get the attention of a few enemies, and lure them to their fiery demise.

We determined it is possible to get rid of the dragon, but it takes a lot of souls and arrows. The choice is yours. If you buy the max amount of arrows (99) and shoot from a distance, you can bring the dragon’s health down. Once it has about a quarter health left it will take to the sky and fly away. With the dragon gone, you can now pick up the collectibles on the upper level, which include an Ember, a Raw Gem, a Club, and a Claymore, among other items.

If you don’t have such capacities then it is possible, if you time it just right, to run through the door beneath the dragon when he pauses between fire breaths. If you manage to make it in the room, go down the stairs and look towards the far wall to spot a chest. Beware! It is no ordinary chest, but a Mimic lying in wait. If you have arrows or a ranged weapon, shoot it. If not, and you’re brave, then feel free to strike it. and run.

The Mimic drops a Deep Battle Axe when defeated. Continue up the ladder and open the door. This will lead you to the spot that you would have gotten to if you went down the right corridor where the dragon breathes fire. This door connects you to the two sides, making travel convenient. Immediately to the right of the door is a sleeping enemy. He will wake up if you get too close. Also, beware of the knight making his rounds through the area.

We found the knight to be challenging, so be prepared. If you don’t have a good shield he will break guard you over and over again, and he will chain his attacks so you cannot recover. Do not let him get on a roll. Be patient and stay away from him as much as possible.

When he plunges his sword at you for a brutal stab, he pauses for a few moments. Hit him and you should stop him from pulling off another strike. Also, during these pauses you can always try the trusted method of back stabbing. If the fight proves to be too difficult, you can lure him towards the corridor where the dragon can burn him to a crisp. Be sure to have relatively full health in case you get hurt doing so.

After defeating the knight, pick up the Soul of a Deserted Corpse to the left of the door the knight came out of. Kill the sleeping hollow if you want, then proceed into the room. Immediately to your left is a dagger throwing enemy hiding behind some barrels. Ahead of you is a narrow wooden beam that leads to a Firebomb collectible.

While you’re standing on the beam, peer down at the room below and plan your future attack. We’re saying “future,” because you should first go out the door beside you and up the stairs to reach the Tower on the Wall Bonfire. Be sure to collect the Titanite Shard on a corpse around the corner from the bonfire as well. Use the bonfire to travel to Firelink Shrine if you need to level up or resupply items.

Like all Dark Souls games, there are choices to be made and it all depends on what you’re trying to do. We will assume your primary goal is to fight bosses and progress to new areas, all while picking up loot along the way. But, if there is something particularly interesting or worthwhile, we will do our best to steer you in that direction. This is one of those moments. Before we journey to the boss, we need to retrace our steps back down the stairs to seek out a quaint NPC named Greirat.

Greirat is found locked in a cell at the bottom of the tower where you find the Tower on the Wall Bonfire. To locate Greirat, start from the bonfire and head back down the stairs to the room with the wooden beam. Be careful, because the same knight from earlier makes his rounds through here. Once he exits through the left door, he shouldn’t be a problem. Be wary of the dagger-throwing enemy across the room. Walk along the wooden beam once more to land on the enemy below you, as you planned earlier.

Eliminate both enemies, then proceed down the ladder located slightly beneath the stairs. There is only one enemy in the room at the bottom floor, but be careful regardless. Slay this enemy. Before going outside through the doorway, note the locked gate on the back wall behind the ladder. To open this gate door, you will need the Lift Chamber Key, which you can get from an NPC named Leonhard the Ringfinger.

Leonhard will appear in Firelink Shrine sometime after reaching the Tower on the Wall bonfire, or upon defeating the boss in this area. Travel back to Firelink Shrine at your leisure to speak with Leonhard and receive the Lift Chamber Key. Those who are interested in PvP elements will want to explore what lies beyond this locked gate.

Next you will find a room full of explosive barrels with an enemy conveniently throwing bombs at you. Quickly dispatch him and his friend to the left in the next room. Pillage the remains near the gate to obtain a Mail Breaker weapon.

Continue through the corridor on the right, and you should see Greirat sitting in a cell at the end of the path. In order to unlock his cell, you must first acquire a Cell Key. To recruit Greirat as a new Firelink Shrine resident, head over to our guide on How to Get the Cell Key and Free Greirat.

The path to the boss, Vordt of the Boreal Valley, shares a route with the Cell Key location, so you might as well brave the journey. Return to the ladder and go up to the second floor, then exit through the far door.

Make note of the dragon corpse ahead, then immediately turn right to collect a Soul of a Deserted Corpse. When you walk up the stairs, an enemy will likely climb up the ladder in front of you. Another hostile foe will climb over the wall from the right as well.

Continue forward down the small ladder and notice a cluster of hollows praying to humanoid trees. You can snag a couple Firebombs conveniently placed near them. If the hollow in the middle notices you, he will stand up and soon transform into a dark creature similar to the one that emerged from Iudex Gundyr.

You can fight it straight on, or you can go for a more defensive approach by luring the blackened enemy toward the ladder. Quickly climb back up the ladder and throw those convenient firebombs at him, followed by a few more arrows to finish him off.

This mutated mass is also quite vulnerable to fire, so use a ranged weapon or projectile with fire damage to effectively take down the mutant. If you decide to use the ladder method, keep in mind that although he cannot climb ladders, his attack can hit you if you are too close to the edge.

Once defeated, the mutated enemy drops a Titanite Shard and a piece of Ember. Search the roofs for any collectible items before continuing on. Pillage the remains near the edge of the roof to obtain a Large Soul of a Deserted Corpse. Listen for a twinkling sound, indicating a small Crystal Lizard nearby.

If you are unfamiliar with these sparkling critters, Crystal Lizards are harmless creatures that drop loot when killed. This particular Crystal Lizard drops a Raw Gem. If you do not manage to kill it, don’t worry. It will respawn after you rest at a bonfire. However, it will not respawn if you kill it.

With the dragon to your back, locate a ladder along the far right corner of the rooftop. Climb down the ladder, and watch out for the enemy shooting firebolts as you near the bottom. Behind him is another enemy. Taking a few steps toward these foes will cause an enemy to climb up the ladder to the right and another one to climb up behind the second undead arbalist.

There are a total of four enemies you will fight on that narrow walkway, including the ones that climb up from the bottom. Eliminate them how you wish, then grab the Firebombs on the corpse leaning over the railing. If you go down the ladder next to the corpse, two more enemies will emerge at the bottom. They are not difficult to fight, but they may surprise you. Hopefully our spoiling this surprise was at least beneficial to your health.

Straight ahead through the corridor is a mini-boss near a large fountain. If you’re confident, you can take him on now, or wait. We wanted to find that Cell Key first, so we chose to wait. Finding the Cell Key will require retracing your steps a bit.

The room with the cell key also contains an assortment of loot, including a Silver Eagle Kite Shield, with stats conducive to defeating the mini-boss. If you wish to bypass the room containing the cell key and additional loot, skip ahead a few paragraphs to take on this hefty mini-boss

How to Find the Cell Key

Go back up the long ladder, and enter the room at the base of the previous ladder near the corner. The room is full of tables and chairs. A knight with a shield and spear also patrols the room. Before he enters the room to begin making his rounds, we suggest you quickly go through the doorway on the left.

Two hostile enemies are found in here; one ahead of you up a small staircase and one immediately to your right. The one up the stairs shoots arrows at you. Keep your guard up, and maneuver to avoid the arrows. You’ll need to fight strategically. Just don’t bring the fight out into the previous room, because this will alert the knight. You don’t want an already tricky situation to get even worse.

Break the pots in the small room and one of them should drop a pair of Undead Hunter Charms. There is another doorway at the top of the stairs that leads outside to a single enemy and a Titanite Shard. When you’re ready, go back into the dining room and defeat the knight.

When fighting the knight, walk around his right side (the side with the shield) as his spear lunge will likely miss and it will allow you to land a backstab. Once the knight is defeated, grab the Soul of a Deserted Corpse in the corner next to the cluster of tables and chairs. Continue through the doorway at the far end of the room where the knight started his patrol. To your right is a walkway blocked by a wheel, and other wooden debris. Either strike it or roll into it to clear the path.

If you follow the walkway, it leads you to a corpse holding a Green Blossom. From here you can get a good look at the large room you are in. Study it closely from up high to scope out the enemies. It is a three-leveled room with walkways lining the walls, with various enemies on the ground floor. You entered the room on the third floor.

Go back to the hallway where you cleared the path, and look for an enemy in a small room to the left. Kill the enemy in the room however you want. Inside the room you will find a Broadsword on a corpse behind several wooden crates. Proceed down the hall and descend the outside stairs into the room below.

As you enter the large doorway, you will be on the second level of the room. Turn to your right and follow the walkway into a small room with an enemy and a chest. Don’t worry, this chest isn’t alive. In fact, it proved to be a boon in dark times, at least for characters who need a good shield. Open the chest to acquire the aforementioned Silver Eagle Kite Shield.

Further down the walkway is a hollow sitting there minding his own business. Give him something else to mind and collect a few Firebombs from his corpse. Just as before, these firebombs are conveniently placed here, almost as if the game wants you to use them for something.

Lob a few firebombs over the railing down onto the explosive barrels below, inflicting serious damage to the enemies on the lower level. Use your arrows to pick off enemies from up high, or to agitate the undead hounds. The hounds are quick to run up the stairs to your location, so lure them to the upper floor and take them out by hand.

After clearing the enemies out of the room, head downstairs to the lower level and begin searching for loot. Roll through some crates in a small alcove to loot a Titanite Shard from a corpse. Across the room is an anvil with an Estus Shard on top. Grab this item to have Blacksmith Andre reinforce your Estus Flask quantity later on.

Locate a small staircase in the corner of the room, and eliminate the undead hound if it is still there. Pillage the corpse at the base of the stairs to obtain the coveted Cell Key. Return to Greirat’s cell at your convenience to free the prisoner. Check out our guide on how to free Greirat for more details regarding this quaint NPC.

Upon completing this room, you can now head back to the mini-boss near the fountain. There is actually a shortcut from this room that leads to the mini-boss courtyard, but we opted to return to the ladder near the ranged enemies from earlier. If you want to go directly to the mini-boss, head through the door to the right of the anvil and drop down from the balcony. Keep in mind that this method results in a bit of fall damage.

Defeat the Winged Knight

If you’re following along with our steps, backtrack the way you came and return to the ladder area. The Winged Knight in the courtyard is dangerous, and should not be taken lightly. This lethal enemy will perform magic spells that can cover the whole area. He also has a far reaching attack, which should be avoided at all costs.

Our plan involved jumping down from an upper rooftop and landing upon the Winged Knight mini-boss to inflict damage from up high. However, this requires decent timing and runs the risk of getting injured from fall damage. If you have a ranged attack, consider using it from up high to safely dwindle down his health. If you go for a melee approach, watch out for this enemy’s broad swings and try to avoid his spin attack.

This mini-boss may or may not drop loot. However, there are several items to be pillaged from the surrounding courtyard. Collect two Embers from the corpses beside the fountain. Search the corner of the gutter for a corpse holding a Rapier, and watch out for the enemy sitting to its right.

Continue past the fountain through the large entryway. Immediately turn left to collect a Soul of a Deserted Corpse. The open area ahead eventually leads to the boss, but don’t face the enemies here just yet. Instead, go to the right of the entryway. Fight off the two enemies standing along the stairs, then loot the corpse on the ground to the left.

Establish the Elevator Shortcut

Proceed up the staircase where the enemies were standing. Hang a right up the next set of stairs to reach a platform overlooking the fountain area. There’s a Large Soul of a Deserted Corpse on the ground ahead, and a Ring of Sacrifice on the adjacent wooden roof. To reach the Ring of Sacrifice, run off the ledge and jump across to the wooden rooftop.

Return to the top of the first staircase, and this time continue straight through the corridor up a second flight of stairs. As you enter the courtyard ahead, prepare to be ambushed. The solitary enemy wandering the courtyard suddenly turns into a handful as enemies quickly climb over the corner of the wall. Try to lure the initial enemy away from the far wall, and take him out before his backup arrives. A firebomb will make quick work of the others.

Eliminate the enemies, then face the corridor where you came from. Look to the right of the entryway to discover a corpse holding several Green Blossoms. Continue through the tower doorway to locate an elevator. Step on the switch in the center of the elevator platform, and ride the lift to the top floor. Step off the elevator and loot several Throwing Knives from the corpse behind the platform.

Open the metal gate in front of the lift. This area should look familiar to you, as this is the shortcut we mentioned earlier. Heading up the left stairs and the next staircase to the right will lead you back to the first High Wall of Lothric Bonfire. Since you have likely rested at a bonfire since clearing this area, the enemies here will have respawned.

If you are making your way back to the bonfire, watch out for an enemy to the left of the elevator, as well as the axe wielding foe patrolling the staircase. Neutralize the hounds, and remember to take down the archer on the upper wood platform beside the stairs. Continue up the right stairs to return to the first bonfire. Now that the elevator gate is unlocked, you have a relatively quick shortcut to reach the boss from this upper bonfire.

Meet Emma and Get the Lothric Banner

Return to the elevator courtyard where the ambush occurred earlier, and retrace your steps back through the corridor ahead. Head down the stairs, and continue toward the large courtyard to the right, where you will find several armored knights guarding the area.

There are two red knights pacing through the center of this large courtyard. Lure them up your staircase one at a time, and avoid attracting any more foes. Eliminate both knights, and proceed toward the courtyard. The boss room is located to the right at the far end of the courtyard, but there is another matter to attend to first.

Head left up the stairs toward a large set of doors that are cracked open. There are paths on each side of the doors, both of which contain knights. Defeat the knight on the upper right walkway, and loot the nearby corpse to receive the Lucerne weapon.

The path to the left of the doors leads to another knight, this time draped in blue. The red eyes indicate this knight is possessed, meaning he is stronger and more resilient than the previous knights. Defeat the menacing foe to receive a Refined Gem.

Proceed to enter the castle doors. Note that enemies will not come through the opening between the doors. Although you’ve likely defeated the outer knights already, you can use this to your advantage when fighting or bypassing the courtyard knights in the future.

Follow the red carpet toward the person sitting at the far end of the chamber. This person is Emma, High Priestess of Lothric Castle. Speak with her to obtain the Small Lothric Banner. Continue the conversation, and she grants you the Way of the Blue covenant insignia. Sometimes it pays to be chatty.

With the Small Lothric Banner in tow, you are now ready to face the boss. Exit the castle and go straight forward through the courtyard from the castle doors. Along the way, you’ll encounter a pair of enemies on the lower stairs, and a ranged enemy on the right. Eliminate the trio, and prepare to enter the doorway to the boss.

Boss Battle – Defeat Vordt of the Boreal Valley

Vordt of the Boreal Valley is a stocky, armored creature who moves on all four legs. His move set initially consists of broad-sweeping mace strikes, swift running charge attacks, and frosty breath.

Although you may be inclined to keep your distance, the key to defeating Vordt is to actually stay close to his back side. Melee characters should try to get close enough to strike Vordt’s abdomen, as his short legs have trouble reaching his back side.

Move around the side opposite Vordt’s mace to dodge its incoming swings, and focus on hitting Vordt from behind. When Vordt pauses to perform the frosty breath attack, take this opportunity to get close to Vordt’s back side and land as many strikes as possible.

Vordt will inflict frost damage, which will slow your movements and reduce your defenses. Receiving too much frost damage causes you to become Frostbitten, so keep an eye on the frost meter that appears on the screen to avoid frostbite.

When Vordt has about half of his health remaining, he will begin using his charge attack in rapid succession. Vordt will back away, pause for a moment, then charge toward your position. Anticipate his movements, and roll out of the way just as he is about to charge. Vordt can also jump into the air and crash down on top of you. Do your best to dodge out of the way and avoid taking damage from this painful move.

Once you defeat Vordt, you will receive the Soul of Boreal Valley Vordt, and your Ember will be restored. Ignite the Vordt of the Boreal Valley Bonfire in front of the red doors to gain access to this travel point. Proceed through the doors and approach the cliff to initiate a cut scene. Afterward, you will find yourself at the Undead Settlement.

Continue to our Dark Souls 3 Undead Settlement Walkthrough, or return to USGamer’s Dark Souls 3 Walkthrough and Guide for more tips and features.

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