Dark Souls 3 is not just a hardcore single-player game. Thanks to the invasion gameplay mechanics, you can attack other players in their worlds but can also become a victim of intruders yourself.
Dark Souls 3 is already tough enough, but when a sneaky rogue attacks you in your own world, the game becomes even harsher. Because in Dark Souls 3, other players can invade your world as intruders at any time and beat you up. But fortunately, you are not alone and can also call for help from other players or assist other heroes as a brave knight. We explain how all this works in the following paragraphs about the multiplayer of Dark Souls 3.
Invasions for Beginners – How to Infiltrate Other Worlds
First, you need a so-called “red eyeball” or – for one-time use – a “cracked red eyeball”. With this item, you can invade the worlds of other players as long as they have “ember”. In this case, your character appears as a “Red Phantom” and interestingly enough, you are invisible to monsters in this form. So if you miscalculated and stumbled upon an opponent who is superior to you, you can easily escape through a mob of enemies and hopefully get away.
However, if you feel like a fair brawl, you can also use a “red sign soapstone” to invite an opponent to a duel on purpose. It’s like the Fight Club of Souls. If you knock out another player as the attacker, you receive valuable souls and the ember from the defeated. Passionate invaders should join the “Rosaria’s Fingers” covenant as soon as possible, as this allows them to collect even more rewards from PvP.
Help, I’m Being Oppressed! – How to Defend Yourself Against Invasions
First of all: If you don’t want PvP and constant deaths from sneaky assassins, simply skip the “ember” buff. Because only those who are “kindled” are legal targets for invasions from other players. However, even without ember, you are lacking about 30 percent of your hitpoints, which you can always use in a Souls game. Therefore, there’s hardly a way around dealing with the PvP system.
But don’t worry, you are not alone. For example, if you don’t want to give up ember but still don’t want constant attacks, you should join the “Blue Sentinel” covenant. Because this covenant is specifically designed to help poor victims of invasions, and members of the “Blade of the Darkmoon” and “Blue Guardians” covenants will be sent to you every time a nasty red phantom appears. Together with other players, you can then fend off the intruder more easily.
If you are still alone, the following tips should help you:
- Watch out for false chivalry! While it is common among honorable players to greet each other via emote and thus initiate the duel, some players exploit this and attack right when you are preparing your own emote. So keep your distance and be prepared for anything.
- Stay away from unexplored regions when an intruder is lurking. The rogue can hide among the creatures or attack you after a battle when you are weakened.
- Once you know an invasion is taking place, you should retreat to a safe spot of your choice and max out on buffs and items, as well as fully restore your hitpoints.
- If the rogue doesn’t show up, he is surely hiding somewhere. Don’t give him the satisfaction of falling into his trap. Wait patiently, after all, he wants something from you.
- If the intruder doesn’t give up his camping even after a long time, you should activate a Great Tree Seed – if you have one. This will suddenly make the opponent vulnerable to monsters, and if he is hiding among a horde of creatures, he will soon have a big problem.
How to Slay Bosses in Multiplayer with Friends and Allies
If you prefer to slay monsters together, you can also summon allies in Dark Souls 3 and go monster hunting together. Or you can assist other players. This works as follows:
- If you find white markings on the ground in the world, you can activate the sign – if you have ember – and invite another player as a coop partner into your world.
- If you have a white soapstone, you can set such markings yourself and help other players in their world; you don’t need ember for that.
- With a “Dried Finger”, you can summon further players, but be careful! Each time you do this, a malicious player can appear as an intruder.
- If you want to play with specific players or friends, you can also do this in Dark Souls 3. As in Bloodborne, you can assign a password to your summoning sign, so only players who know the password can join you.
So much for our tips and tricks for multiplayer and PvP in Dark Souls 3. If you have any further ideas for Dark Souls 3 Multiplayer Guides or similar, let us know in the comments.
