Cave of the Dead
The Cave of the Dead is a special challenge area in the Dark Souls 2 Crown of the Sunken King DLC. Using either human or NPC assistants, players descend through an increasingly difficult gauntlet of enemies. The rooms are specially designed with multiple petrification and poison-spitting statues and hordes of foes.
How to Reach the Cave of the Dead
The Cave of the Dead is first accessed using the Eternal Sanctum Key. This key is found in the Dragons Sanctum behind a hidden door, see the Dragon’s Sanctum for a precise description of how to locate the key.
Once you have the key, cross the lower bridge from Shulva to the Dragon’s Sanctum. The key opens the door just the left on the first room inside. Behind the door are two hexers. Clear them out and loot the chests. Ascend a ladder, then carefully ascend the second, wary of three bugs clinging to the ceiling at the top of the climb. Do not panic and fall down the ladder, and also avoid rushing onto the bridge. Doing so summons a tough phantom, and you’ll likely find yourself trapped between the phantom and escape if you run that way. If you must flee, go up the nearby ladder. No enemies wait above, and you can regroup there.
Once the bugs are dead, grab the treasure upstairs, then step onto the bridge. The phantom who appears uses a powerful spear and throws Estus-inhibiting grenades. If you back away from him and lure him up the ladder, you can get several free shots, and then use the chest as a buffer to make openings for attacks.
Cross the bridge and light the Bonfire. The passageway beyond leads into the Cave of the Dead. Also be sure to activate the elevator for a handy shortcut, and grab the treasure hidden between elevator floors by dropping through the briefly-visible gap between levels when the elevator passes them. You'll find the Dark Greatsword Hex there.
Cave of the Dead
The cave itself is home to a rather annoying gauntlet of poison and petrification. Start out by leaving the bonfire and jumping into the cave. Down the path you will find three knights. Enter the room slowly and only two of them will become aggressive. Dispatch them, then the third. Now make sure you are at full health, as when you jump down the holes to the floor below, you will be assaulted by all manner of enemy.
Jump down, and although it may be disorienting, try to get to the outer reaches of the room. This area is littered with petrifying statues, as well as a few sunken knights. A few items are scattered around, but your ultimate goal is one of the many tunnels that branch out from the middle. One has a torch and a drop down that will allow you to leave the room. Find it but before jumping we suggest lighting the torch. It makes identifying the tunnel in the future much easier as it will glow from a distance. Once it is lit, jump to the next floor.
The final floor is easier than the last. Proceed slowly down it, avoiding the petrifying statues and slowly dispatching the knights. Be cautious as a worm will burst from the left tunnel just before you reach the last group of knights. He can't go anywhere, just make sure not to get to close to him. Once dead, proceed to the end to find the fog door that leads to the Cave of the Dead Boss.