Crystal Cave

Quick Reference

Boss	NPCs	Notable Loot	Enemies
Seath The Scaleless	none	Blue Titanite Slab Humanity Soul of a Hero	Crystal Butterfly Crystal Golem Golden Crystal Golem Man-Eater Shell

Description

The central control room of Seath the Scaleless, the grandfather of sorcery. It is here that the Primordial Crystal is housed, which gives Seath his immortality and incredible magic power. It is the ultimate proving grounds of sorcerers everywhere. The area itself is small and mostly linear, with only a few enemies, half of which will not even attack unless provoked. Nonetheless, there's some gorgeous views, decent loot, and plenty of frustration in store for you.

Connections

• The Duke's Archives

General Notes

• While relatively easy to kill, the Crystal Golems in this area pose a more significant threat than usual, due to the narrow landscape and slippery slopes of the area. Bring a weapon with range and try to back off from the Golems rather than blocking their hits, as they can easily knock you back and off the precipices of the area. They do uncommonly drop blue chunks if you are prepared to fight in close combat, but the ones outside the cave are much easier and safer to farm.
• The first time you enter the penultimate cavern with all the Man-Eater Shells there will be no fog gate to cross into the boss arena, so opting not to kill the clams will result in them following you into the Seath battle, making your life substantially harder.
• You will notice a Golden Crystal Golem Sitting in wait on a horizontal crystal pylon below the third invisible path. The corpse loot you see here is a blue titanite chunk, so only jump down if you need it. If you do so choose to succumb to avarice, make sure you drop down on the left side of the pylon, as the right side is too steep and you will immediately fall to your death. There is a fourth invisible path at the end of this pylon on the right, that will allow you access back up to the previous crystal pylon (where the first invisible path lets out); otherwise, you will need to homeward bone back and go through the cave again.
• The Crystal Cave is the only Lord Soul area that you can escape from after you defeat the boss without warping from the bonfire, so if you happen to forget anything back in the Archives, you can get out using the fourth invisible path mentioned above.

Important Tips

• The key to coming out of this cave unscathed, as with most areas of Dark Souls, is to have patience.
• There are a total of four invisible paths here; Three you must walk on to reach the boss and a fourth that can be used as somewhat of an escape rope to get out of the cave if you need to. These paths are indicated faintly by falling snowflakes. Prism Stones or the Orange Guidance Soapstone markings can be placed on the invisible bridges for more straightforward navigation. When playing online, you will almost always see one or two Orange Soapstone messages marking invisible paths, and the paths themselves are mostly straight, so if you can see two messages, it's usually fairly straightforward to plot the line between them. Remember to leave a couple of messages yourself as a courtesy to other players! To make more messages appear, you can use the Seek Guidance miracle. Another option is If you have some arrows, shoot them in front of you, and they'll stick in the ground and be visible for a few seconds.
• Alternatively, if you have a long reach weapon such as the halberd, you can use it to verify if the path is ahead of you. When the invisible bridges are hit, they make a distinctive noise, and some of it breaks off. You can take a step, attack, walk if you see and hear the cues, take another step, and repeat.

Walkthrough

Crystal Cave English map

Once you enter the Crystal Cave, head forward and keep to the right. On the first turn to your right, you should see a Crystal Golem. Kill the golem or just run past it if you're in a hurry and head downwards on a sequence of giant descending crystal pylons. You should see some ice flakes falling onto an invisible bridge; this is the first invisible path. Take it until it reaches the corpse at the top of a large crystal block. The corpse holds a piece of Humanity. Descend some more crystal pylons. A lesser Moonlight Butterfly should now be in clear view in the distance. When facing the butterfly, turn right and head across the crystals towards more falling ice flakes. Follow them around a corner made of smaller jagged crystals to come to what seems like a dead end overlooking a vast crystal abyss; this is the second invisible path. Check for snowflakes falling on it, or messages, before proceeding. If you are unsure, throw a couple of prism stones down. Head across this bridge until you reach an extended crystal pylon arranged horizontally to form a bridge of sorts. At the end of it, there will be a Golden Crystal Golem. If you are unprepared, this can be a tough fight, as he is more aggressive and more damaging than a Blue Crystal Golem, and you cannot afford to get hit, even with your shield up, as you may very well fall (try equipping the wolf ring if you plan to melee). Luckily, this golem will not respawn. An easy way to kill him is by pulling him using arrows and returning to the platform just before the second invisible path. The golem will give chase but doesn't seem to be able to get around the corner with the jagged crystals; he can, however, be baited into a leap attack which can carry him over the crystals. Take him out at your leisure with arrows or pyromancy. NOTE: On the PC version he is well capable of running through the first invisible bridge, and you might have to kill him on safer ground, like the platform next to the first butterfly. Once he is defeated, return to the large crystal pylon and head towards the end with a butterfly perched on it. Among some crystals, in the end, you should be able to see more ice flakes falling. Head towards them and reach the spot where they are falling. At this spot, face yourself between the small 'gate' made by small jagged crystals. Step forward to drop down. You will land on the third invisible path. There are 3 Crystal Lizards in a cavern directly behind you (if you're quick) and a Blue Titanite Slab if you continue down that way, however the invisible path to the slab is exceptionally winding and crooked, so be sure to bring 99 Prism Stones or arrows and take it slow if you don't want to fall off. Otherwise, head straight in the same direction, forward over the final chasm. Trust in yourself. An excellent way to judge where the path is to position yourself directly to the right of a massive cluster of crystals which are easily seen on the far wall. This particular cluster is the only thing on the far wall that sticks out and is visible from such a distance. Now, keeping yourself in this exact spot and moving straight forward will get you over the chasm. Hopefully, you have reached the other side in one piece. There is a split here; to the left is a Hero's Soul guarded by a butterfly. Head back around and into the cavern on the other side, which is full of Man-Eater Shells. Beyond these enemies lies the boss area, and Seath swooping in to greet you.