FromSoftware released Scholar of the First Sin in April 2015, rebuilding Dark Souls II on a DirectX 11 renderer, folding in all three Crown DLCs and shuffling enemy placement so returning players could not run their old routes. Drangleic still runs on Adaptability, the stat the game never explains: it feeds Agility, which starts at 85 and caps at 120, and Agility decides how many invincibility frames a roll carries. Aldia now appears as a burning apparition at bonfires and returns as an optional final boss after Nashandra.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best builds, equipment worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Adaptability and Agility
Adaptability is the stat that feeds Agility, which begins at 85 and caps at 120. At 85 Agility a roll carries roughly 5 invincibility frames, about a sixth of a second, which is why the opening hours feel unfair. Most players push Agility to 96 or 105 before spending souls anywhere else, and Attunement raises it too at half the rate.
Soul Memory matchmaking
Co-op and invasion ranges run off Soul Memory, the running total of every soul the character has ever picked up, spent or dropped on death, sorted into 45 tiers. Souls you farm and never spend still push you up a tier, so a deliberately low level build ends up matched against far stronger characters anyway.
Power stancing
Holding the two hand button with a matching weapon type in each hand opens a separate dual wield moveset with its own attacks. It requires 1.5 times the Strength and Dexterity printed on the heavier of the two weapons, so twin Mastodon Halberds demand real stat investment before they swing at all.
Hollowing and Human Effigies
Each death trims maximum HP until it settles near half, and burning a Human Effigy is the only way to reverse it. The Ring of Binding lifts that floor from 50 percent to 75 percent, which makes it one of the first pickups worth a detour for on any run.
Bonfire Ascetics
Burning a Bonfire Ascetic at a bonfire pushes that one area to the next New Game cycle, respawning its boss and upgrading the loot in its chests. It is the only way to farm a second copy of a boss soul without restarting the whole game, and the difficulty increase is permanent for that area.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin combat guide.
Builds Overview
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knight | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Warrior | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Swordsman | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Bandit | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Sorcerer | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Equipment Guide
| Equipment | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Zweihander | An ultra greatsword with long reach and a running attack that staggers most humanoid enemies before they can answer. | First playthroughs, Strength builds, and any area where enemies attack in pairs rather than crowds. |
| Estoc | A thrusting sword that attacks fast, works from behind a raised shield, and pairs with the Old Leo Ring for large counter damage. | Dexterity builds, shield users, and tight corridors like the Lost Bastille cell blocks. |
| Mastodon Halberd | A heavy halberd with a sweeping horizontal that clears three enemies at once. | Power stance builds and areas that send groups at you, such as Shrine of Amana and the Undead Crypt. |
| Blacksteel Katana | A fast katana that scales purely with Dexterity unless infused, with a quickdraw strong attack that lands more often than most katana movesets. | Dexterity builds and players who want speed rather than reach after a Strength first run. |
| Fume Ultra Greatsword | Traded from Weaponsmith Ornifex for the Soul of the Fume Knight, this is the heaviest hitting ultra greatsword in the Crown of the Old Iron King content. | Late game Strength builds and invasions, where a single connected swing settles the fight. |
Zweihander: An ultra greatsword with long reach and a running attack that staggers most humanoid enemies before they can answer. It scales with Strength and stays useful from the first ten hours through to Drangleic Castle without ever feeling underpowered.
Estoc: A thrusting sword that attacks fast, works from behind a raised shield, and pairs with the Old Leo Ring for large counter damage. Its poking moveset also travels through narrow gaps where a swing would hit the wall.
Mastodon Halberd: A heavy halberd with a sweeping horizontal that clears three enemies at once. Two of them in power stance produce the widest crowd control moveset available to a pure Strength character.
Blacksteel Katana: A fast katana that scales purely with Dexterity unless infused, with a quickdraw strong attack that lands more often than most katana movesets. The player version carries no bleed until you spend a Bleed Stone on it.
Fume Ultra Greatsword: Traded from Weaponsmith Ornifex for the Soul of the Fume Knight, this is the heaviest hitting ultra greatsword in the Crown of the Old Iron King content. The one handed moveset is unusually usable for its weight class.
Full breakdowns in our DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Majula | Soul Level 1 to 15 | Emerald Herald level ups, the Estus Flask, Sweet Shalquoir's ring stock, the pit leading to the Gutter |
| Forest of Fallen Giants | Soul Level 10 to 30 | Soul of the Last Giant, the Pursuer fight, the Soldier Key, several Estus Flask Shards |
| Heide's Tower of Flame | Soul Level 15 to 35 | Dragonrider Soul, Soul of the Old Dragonslayer, the Blue Sentinels covenant, Heide Knight equipment |
| Iron Keep | Soul Level 55 to 85 | Smelter Demon Soul, Soul of the Old Iron King, access to Belfry Sol and the Bell Keepers |
| Drangleic Castle | Soul Level 85 to 120 | Looking Glass Knight Soul, the King's Ring from Velstadt, the route to Vendrick and Nashandra |
Majula: The hub, and the only truly safe place in Drangleic. The Emerald Herald handles every level up, Sweet Shalquoir sells rings, Maughlin sells armour, and the bottomless pit beside the mansion hides an entire optional area.
Forest of Fallen Giants: The first real area and the one that teaches the ambush pattern the rest of the game repeats. The Pursuer shows up here early and again later, and the Cardinal Tower bonfire is the safest respawn point for the whole region.
Heide's Tower of Flame: A drowned white stone ruin with Old Knights patrolling wide platforms. It is optional early but worth doing, because two bosses here drop souls and the path continues down to No-man's Wharf and the Blue Cathedral.
Iron Keep: A fortress sunk into lava with Alonne Knights on every walkway and the game's most notorious archer placements. It sits directly above Earthen Peak in a piece of geography nobody has ever managed to defend, and it holds two boss fights.
Drangleic Castle: The late game gate, opened only after collecting the Great Souls. Ruin Sentinels and Royal Guards defend the halls, and past the Looking Glass Knight the King's Passage leads to Velstadt and the way into the Undead Crypt.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Adaptability is the fix for every complaint about the roll. Take it to 20 as fast as you can, check Agility on the status screen rather than the stat itself, and stop at 96 or 105 depending on how much you want to spend.
- Lifegems are the reason Melentia exists. She sells them from Majula in stacks, they heal over time instead of instantly, and carrying 30 of them removes almost all pressure to reach the next bonfire on low Estus.
- Enemies stop respawning after 12 kills in the same area. That is a legitimate tool: a corridor that keeps killing you can simply be emptied over a few attempts and it will stay empty for the rest of that New Game cycle.
- Fragrant Branches of Yore are limited. Do not spend one on the first petrified statue you see; the Ornifex rescue in Brightstone Cove Tseldora and the Cave of the Dead in the Crown of the Ivory King content are the ones worth the branch.
- Torches matter far more here than in any other Souls game. Several Scholar of the First Sin areas darken to near black, and a lit sconce also unlocks doors in the Gutter and reveals Shaded Woods paths.
- Weapon durability actually breaks things in Dark Souls II. Ultra greatswords chip on stone walls, so carry a Repair Powder or a backup weapon on long runs between bonfires, particularly in Black Gulch.
- Soul Vessels reset every stat, and they exist for a reason. If a first run overspends on Attunement or Vitality, one Soul Vessel from Straid of Olaphis converts a ruined build into a working one for free.
- Straid and Ornifex both trade boss souls for weapons and spells. Sitting on unspent boss souls to level up is usually the worse choice, since a Smelter Sword or a Great Resonant Soul is worth more than two soul levels.
- Powerstancing only unlocks at 1.5 times the requirement of the heavier weapon, and the game never says so. Check the requirement, multiply it, and only then buy the second copy of the weapon.
- The Ring of Binding should be your first ring slot on any run. Hollowing down to 50 percent maximum HP is what kills most new players, and lifting the floor to 75 percent removes an entire failure spiral.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Ignoring Adaptability because the tooltip is vague, then blaming the game for rolls that do not dodge anything at 85 Agility.
- Hoarding souls without spending them, which raises Soul Memory into a higher matchmaking tier while the character stays weak.
- Running past enemies toward a boss fog gate, since Dark Souls II reliably places two or three chasers that follow you straight into the arena.
- Upgrading three or four weapons at once when Titanite Slabs are scarce, instead of committing to a single weapon at +10 by mid game.
- Treating the Iron Keep archers as a skill test rather than a positioning problem, when the answer is to break line of sight and pull them one at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Scholar of the First Sin and the original Dark Souls II?
Scholar of the First Sin is the April 2015 DirectX 11 rebuild. It bundles all three Crown DLCs, changes enemy placement and item locations across the whole game, raises the online player count to six, and adds Aldia as a recurring apparition and an optional final boss.
What Agility should I aim for in Dark Souls II?
Agility 96 is the usual first target and 105 is the comfortable one. Agility starts at 85, caps at 120, and is raised mainly through Adaptability, with Attunement contributing at half the rate.
Which starting class is best for a first playthrough?
Knight for the shield and the armour, or Warrior if you plan a Strength weapon like the Zweihander. Explorer is the pick if you want the starting items rather than the stats, since every class converges once you have spent 30 levels.
How does Soul Memory affect multiplayer?
Soul Memory counts every soul the character has ever obtained, spent or lost, and sorts players into 45 tiers. Character level is ignored entirely, so two players can only summon or invade each other if their Soul Memory totals are close.
What order should I tackle the four Great Souls in?
The Lost Sinner in Sinner's Rise is the most forgiving, then the Old Iron King in Iron Keep, then the Duke's Dear Freja in Brightstone Cove Tseldora, and the Rotten in Black Gulch last. All four are required before Drangleic Castle opens.
More DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Guides
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Best Builds
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Tier List
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Walkthrough
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Beginner's Guide
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Tips & Tricks
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Weapons Guide
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Combat Guide
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Boss Guide
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Maps & Locations
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Crafting Guide
- DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin Classes & Characters
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