Part 10: Iron Keep Pt. 1
Let us explore this magical place of fire and Katanas
I misspoke and said the mace doesn't do that much damage: I meant to say it doesn't do that much damage in its current state against that particular boss. I think you are supposed to have upgraded your weapon a little more at this point but it's fairly hard to do so because we only got the thing that allows us to unlock a merchant who sells more upgrade materials to us in this episode and the other way to get an infinite supply of large titanite shards is actually unlocked at the end of this area.
Don't get me wrong, the Elite Knight set is great. But I've worn it a lot in Dark Souls already. So let's give the regular Knight set a spin. It also returns from Dark Souls and is the starting set of the Knight class. It looks pretty cool for generic armor if you ask me.
In NG++ we use the Mask of Judgement, which is actually returning from the first game too as well as the Chaos set. It has good fire resist so It's probably good to have in a place full of liquid fire.
Smelter Demon
Smelter Demon is a road block for quite a few people I've heard. Thankfully he's completely skippable. He's also not that hard to be honest. his attacks are pretty straightforward he slashes and swings and stabs. He does things you'd expect an enemy with a sword to do. Once you take off about a quarter of his health he sets his body on fire. He'll now constantly do a small amount of fire damage to you if you're too close. Once he's at half health he'll ram is sword into his own fiery body to set it on fire. He won't take any damage from that. In fact, while doing it, he'll be very resistant to it. His sword will now do fire damage and if you relied on blocking you can't do that anymore now because a lot of the fire damage will probably go through your shield. If it were only for that I'd say it's a well designed boss that shows you that you can't always rely on blocking, perhaps you'll even feel inspired to go two-handed. But the forced AoE damage he constantly emits is something I'm not very fond of.
Aside from his many different swings he has one more attack that I should mention: When he rams his sword in the ground just go away. If you're too close to him after he did this he will cause a powerful explosion which will do a lot of damage to you. Try ranged attacks if you have them during that time for some extra damage.
His story is that he basically showed up one day, killed the Iron King by setting him on fire and then setting everything else on fire too. Because he really likes fire. Well the description we'll see below says it
Another thing is that the Smelter Demon is called... well a Demon. In the first game the Demon moniker was given mostly to the creatures who emerged from a failed attempt to recreate the first flame. Perhaps the Iron King was attempting something of the sort. Or maybe it's not significant. But thinking about it, that's actually something that's possible.
Boss Weapons
Soul of the Smelter Demon, that haunts the castle that sunk into a pool of iron.
The Old Iron King's life was taken by a mass of iron that had been given a soul. Was this metal goliath there from the beginning, or was it a product of the king's conceit?
Give this Soul to Straid to make...
Smelter Sword
Moveset/Weapon Class: Ultra Greatsword
Physical Damage (+0/+5): 132/350
Fire Damage (+0/+5): 100/150
Scales with: STR (D), DEX (D), FIRE (C)
Requirements: 40 STR, 10 DEX
Damage Type: Slash
Note: The heavy attack will set the sword ablaze for the swing and have an AoE effect upon impact for the price of a little weapon durability. Of course, this move is only possible if you meet the stat requirements.
In-Game Description:
An ultra greatsword forged from the soul of the Smelter Demon. Its blade bears the strength of terrible flames, a latent power unleashed by a strong attack.
The earth spouted fire, and a beast arose from the flames. The short-sighted king was incinerated by the creature in one swing, and his castle devoured in a sea of flames.
Effect: special attack (strong attack)
Item Descriptions
Dull Ember
An ember radiating a dull light.
This flame seems nearly exhausted, but exhibits an eerie resilience.
Perhaps this is its ordinary state?
Iron Key
Key to the iron door in the Iron Keep.
The Old Iron King's Castle sunk into a lake of fire, weighed down by the castle's iron, and the burden of the king's conceit.
Over the ages, the iron was stripped from the castle by the opportunistic passers-by.
Note: Doesn't actually open a door in Iron Keep, but in the Forest of Fallen Giants. This is probably an artifact of when it was actually used in Iron Keep.
Covetous Gold Serpent Ring
Dark Souls II: A gold ring depicting the snake, both the servant and manifestation of the god of desire, Zinder. Greed is traditionally viewed as a vice, but only a coward sees every chance as something to fear.
Dark Souls: The serpent is an imperfect dragon and symbol of the Undead. Its habit of devouring prey even larger than itself has led to an association with gluttony.
This gold ring, engraved with the serpent, boosts its wearer's item discovery, so that more items can be amassed.
Note: Magerold will give this to you once you spend at least 10000 Souls at his shop.
Blacksteel Katana
Blacksteel katana wielded by Alonne Knights.One of the sturdiest types of katana, preferred by masters of the quick-draw.
In the heyday of his land, the Old Iron King fancied entertaining dubious and eccentric guests from faraway lands. Most of them were charlatans, but amongst the riff-raff were true masters of authentic and refined arts.
Phoenix Parma
A small shield decorated with a phoenix.
The sea of flame that swallowed the Iron Keep took this shield as well, but when it was retrieved it was mysteriously unscathed, save a degree of discoloration.
Alonne Knight Set
Armor worn by Alonne Knights.
The bonds of the Alonne Knights, who served the Old Iron King, were mightier than the land's iron, but in the end the knights were subsumed by the flames that brought the castle down
Alonne Captain Set
Armor orn by the captain of the Alonne Knights.
The accoutrements of the Alonne Knights, who served the Old Iron King, were created with an advanced casting technique. Solid and handsomely crafted, their shine remains brilliant to this day
Hello Carving
Dark Souls II: Faces carved from the wood of aged trees. They speak when thrown upon the ground.
The fine craftsmanship of these faces is evident even after much aging, but no one knows even the name of the artist.
This face says "Hello!" Doesn't it look friendly?
Dark Souls: Head carved of archtrees by Gough in his imprisonment. Gough imparts an emotion to each and every completed carving, which helps him achieve personal enlightenment. When a head is disturbed, it speaks, reflecting the emotion conferred to it.
This head says "Hello". Have another look. Do you sense the amicability in its eyes?