Basic Information
Covenants are factions within Dark Souls that players may align themselves with. You join a covenant by making an oath with an NPC, who is also often the covenant leader. You are rewarded for following the rules of the covenant and punished if you break them.
Which covenant players chose to join has an effect on their online experience. If you break the rules of your covenant, you will become "sinned," and your name is written in the Book of the Guilty. (Note: Requesting absolution has nothing to do with the book of guilty, it just resets NPC hostility and that's it, once you have sinned or have been indicted by other player, it stays for good.)
Joining a new covenant without being removed by Oswald first doesn't make you sinned, but if you have leveled your previous covenant, rejoining it will reset your covenant level. Requesting absolution from Oswald first mitigates this effect to an extent (e.g. Warrior of Sunlight+1 > Way of White > Warrior of Sunlight+1, but: Warrior of Sunlight+2 > Way of White > Warrior of Sunlight+1).
I was Warrior of Sunlight+1. I joined the Forest Hunter, and Blade of the Darkmoon covenants then rejoined Warrior of Sunlight each time using Oswald. I lost my rank in Warrior of Sunlight when I rejoined.
The Nine Covenants
| Image | Covenant | Focus | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Blade of the Darkmoon | PvP | Invade and punish players online whose names are written in the Book of the Guilty |
 |
Chaos Servant | - | Collect Humanity to unlock powerful pyromancy spells and open a shortcut to Lost Izalith |
 |
Darkwraith | PvP | Invade other players to steal their humanity |
 |
Forest Hunter | PvP | Defend the borders of Dark Forest from intruding online players |
 |
Gravelord Servant | PvP | Lay curses on other players to lure them into your world for PvP battles |
 |
Path of the Dragon | PvP | Challenge other players online to gain Dragon Scales and turn into a Dragonoid |
 |
Princess's Guard | Co-op | Gain access to unique defensive Miracles and have a higher chance to team up with other players for co-op play |
 |
Warrior of Sunlight | Co-op | Gain access to unique offensive Miracles and have a higher chance to team up with other players for co-op play |
 |
Way of White | Co-op | Have a higher chance to find other players online for co-op play |
Notes
- Covenant levels, at least for your current covenant, are carried over to a New Game Plus.
- The focus of the Chaos Servant is solely to collect Humanity, which can be accomplished through PvP, PvE or co-op play. As such, there is no singular "focus," unlike other covenants. This idea is reinforced by the lack of reward or ability that favours any pillar of gameplay, and a unique leaderboard.
- Covenant trophies / achievements :
You dont have to join a covenant to unlock it's trophy/achievment. It's enough to discover it. To do so just select "Join Covenant" and wait for the box to appear that says "Join Covenant? (abandons former Covenant)." A few seconds later, the achievment will be unlocked automatically. It does not matter, if you say "Yes", "No" or if you just wait for the trophy to pop up.
