Dark Souls III: The Ringed City

Dark Souls III: The Ringed City is the second and final downloadable content pack for the 2016 action role-playing game Dark Souls III. Developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, it launched on March 27, 2017, and was well received by critics, many of whom saw it as a proper end to the Dark Souls series.

Unlike earlier Dark Souls games, Dark Souls III launched with a season pass, meaning two DLC packs were planned from the start. The Ringed City was announced on January 3, 2017. Both this pack and the earlier Ashes of Ariandel were designed as the series' final content.

According to Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series creator and Dark Souls III director, the story of both DLC packs was meant to explore the main game's themes from a different angle rather than conclude the series outright. In the pack, the player chases the character Slave Knight Gael to the world's end as he searches for the "Dark Soul of Humanity."

After defeating the Soul of Cinder and Sister Friede, the Ashen One arrives at the Dreg Heap, a ruined land of ash and debris where thousands of years of history have been compressed together. The Ashen One fights through Lothric knights, Murkmen, and angels, reaching the Earthen Peak Ruins. There, they kill the Demon in Pain and the Demon from Below, who fuse into the Demon Prince. Victory transports the Ashen One via winged demons to the Ringed City.

Traveling through the city, the Ashen One meets inhabitants still loyal to Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and others who worship the Abyss and await the Age of Dark. The dragon Darkeater Midir is slowly being corrupted by the darkness he consumed in his duty for the absent Lords. Shira, Knight of Filianore, one of Gwyn's few remaining servants, asks the Ashen One to kill Midir before the darkness destroys his sanity. She also warns against disturbing Princess Filianore, whose sleep protects the city from the Dark. The warrior Halflight, one of the Spears of the Church, guards Filianore in her slumber.

After defeating Halflight and entering the Church of Filianore, the Ashen One finds her sleeping beside a cracked egg. Touching the egg—which contains a Soul Forge like those used to transpose Great Souls—awakens her. The Ashen One is transported to an endless, lifeless desert resembling the Ringed City, long abandoned.