Dark Souls III: The Ringed City
Final DLC pack concluding the Dark Souls series.
Bandai Namco · via Wikipedia: Dark Souls III: The Ringed City · Fair use
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.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- FromSoftware
- Publisher
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Director
- Hidetaka Miyazaki · Isamu Okano · Yui Tanimura
- Composer
- Yuka Kitamura
- Series
- Dark Souls
- Platforms
- Windows · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One
- Released
- March 27, 2017
- Genre
- Action role-playing
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Ringed City and its preceding pack, Ashes of Ariandel, were conceived as the final entries in the series. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki stated that the story of the two packs was intended to cover the primary themes of the main game from a new perspective rather than wrap up the series at large. The pack sees the player pursuing Slave Knight Gael to the end of the world while he hunts for the titular 'Dark Soul of Humanity.'
Reader's Guide
The Ringed City features two primary locations: the Dreg Heap and the eponymous Ringed City. The Dreg Heap is a burnt-out, ash-smothered sprawl of castle and cathedral wreckage comprising smashed constructs of different ages, emphasizing vertical navigation and cautious pacing against long-ranged angelic enemies. The Ringed City is a bright, expansive area with shimmering domes, low gardens, massive buildings, and a vast purple swamp. The pack contains four bosses, including the Demon Prince, Darkeater Midir, Halflight (sometimes replaced by a player in PvP), and the final boss, Slave Knight Gael. Critics praised the pack's locations, themes, enemies, and boss fights, though some found the PvP replacement boss out of place and others thought the Souls formula was growing stale. The pack received a 'generally favorable' reception on Metacritic.
Did You Know?
- The pack was conceived alongside Ashes of Ariandel as the final entries in the Dark Souls series.
- The final boss, Slave Knight Gael, was introduced in the previous content pack, Ashes of Ariandel.
- The player can name the new Painted World after their character, or it will be named 'Ash' if they decline.
More in Characters
Elsewhere in Dark Souls
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced