- Starting from the final ladder leaving Undead Burg, walk out of the small tower you are in to enter Undead Parish. The main path through the middle of the parish is gated off right now, so you will be taking the long way until you can return to open the shortcuts. On the stairs in front is an Undead Swordsman. Through the archway, there is an Undead Spearman to your immediate right, and an Undead Swordsman on the steps in the distance. Situated prominently in the middle of the path is the Armored Tusk. Deal with the first swordsman, and then run through the archway, past the Spearman, and head towards the stairs on the right. If you are fast enough, you can get through the gate before it closes. Just sprint along the wall to the left, if you do this, the Swordman will close the gate with you on the same side. Skip to step 8 if you do this successfully.
- From the foot of the stairs, deal with the Spearman and Swordsman, before climbing up the stairs to confront another spearman and two crossbowmen. Keep your shield up and evade the bolts. Parry animations make immune to damage, so if you can, take advantage of this and parry the spearman. Once he's dealt with, go over and dispose of the crossbowmen, being careful not to fall. From here, you can snipe the boar with a bow or a crossbow if you have enough bolts, or if you choose, you can hop down to engage him. You can also use a plunging attack on him for extra damage. See Armored Tusk for strategies for defeating him.
- Continuing from the crossbowmen, look down and to the right of the locked gate ahead. There is one swordsman, and a set of stairs leading into the ground. Drop down and enter the stairs to take cover from the boar. Deal with the swordsman as he approaches.
- Turn and head back down the staircase. At the bottom, you'll see a fleeing swordsman. Be wary. Move forward and draw out the two Hollows on either side of the doorway. Take your time, and then deal with the three Hollows up the stairs on the landing, and finally the single Hollow past the tables near the corpse. Collect the loot and head up the ladder.
- Two more Hollows are waiting for you at the top of this landing. Deal with them, and then turn around to see the loot on the support beam. Walk along the beams slowly and carefully to retrieve it. Then head up the next ladder, and face the next Fog Door.
- From the Fog Door, proceed across the bridge. At the other side, you can head right to challenge the Balder Knight for the Knight Shield. Otherwise, head left up the stairs. To your left at the top is another spearman. Deal with him, and head down the next set of stairs, pausing before you reach the bottom. On your far left, will be a Balder Knight. On your immediate right is a spearman. Exit quickly and get behind the spearman. Parry whichever attacks first, making use of the invulnerability. Alternatively, you can attempt to draw them back up the stairs to the landing one at a time.
- Once you've dealt with them, walk towards the end of the walkway to see two paths. The path straight ahead, across the wooden bridge, leads you to two swordsmen a crossbowman, the side entrance of the Undead Church, and the bridge to the Old Church building. The left path (Undead Church's side entrance) leads you back down to the main path and allows you to open the massive gate barring your way. If you are in dire need of health, proceed towards the Old Church, and after disposing of the soldiers, head across the long bridge to find a bonfire and Blacksmith Andre. However, we will continue from the main path.
- Down the stairs is the lever that controls the gate. If the boar is dead, go ahead and open the gate. Otherwise, collect the loot in the area (including the Basement Key) and approach the entrance of the church.
- Inside the front section of the church are three Balder Knights. Approach very slowly, and they will rush forward one at a time to challenge you. Practice your parries and take your time, as this section can be difficult.
- After you have dealt with these knights, head into the church itself, and walk towards the altar at the far end to find the mini-boss Heavy Knight guarding a Fire Keeper Soul, used to upgrade your Estus Flask later. You can fight him, or you can just run. Be wary when fighting him as another nearby mini-boss Channeler may detect you and start firing Soul Arrows at you. To your left is an elevator heading back down to Firelink Shrine. Ride the elevator down, and back up once to activate the shortcut.
- When you're ready, head up the stairs to the left of the altar to fight another Balder Knight at the top. Lure him back down into the church and handle him in the open space, being careful to avoid the Soul Arrows from the Channeler on the second floor.
- Once he's taken care of, head back up the stairs and head towards the Channeler slowly. There are about 8-9 Hollows, attack power buffed by the Channeler, in the next room waiting to pounce on you. Enter the doorway to get their attention and immediately retreat as far as needed. Be patient and careful not to get stunlocked by their torrent of blows. Try and draw them far enough back that the Channeler doesn't follow. Once dealt with, head back up to deal with the Channeler himself. Take your time and keep your shield up. If you cannot handle him via melee, head back down to the first floor and use a bow to aim up and get him from a distance. If you stand next to the altar where you find the Fire Keeper Soul, he will not retaliate when you shoot him. You can use normal arrows, or grab some poison arrows, inflict poison to him (should take only 2 or 3 arrows) then go somewhere else for a minute or two.
- Once he's dealt with, walk to the room on the left and collect the loot from the body on the ledge. Then walk around to the right room and head up two sets of ladders to make it to the roof of the church. If you are human, you can summon Solaire of Astora here to help you going into the Fog Gate for the fight against the Bell Gargoyles. If you talked to Knight Lautrec of Carim earlier, you could also summon him to help you.
- After dealing with the Gargoyles, head across the roof, and up a long series of ladders to ring the First Bell of Awakening. Congratulations!
- On your way back down, you'll find that Merchant Oswald of Carim has appeared at the base of the tower. He sells a handful of useful things such as the Book of the Guilty and Citations, but also offers Absolution. Remember this if you ever accidentally attack an NPC, or commit any other acts you might like to undo later.
- Once you're done browsing his wares, head back down to the first floor of the church, and exit out to the right of the altar. Deal with the two swordsmen and the crossbowman here, and then head across the long bridge into the forested area.
- Climb down the stairs and light the bonfire on the first landing. Head down one more level to meet Andre. He sells many things, but the first three things you should try to prioritize buying are his Repairbox, Armor Smithbox, and Weapon Smithbox.
- Once you're ready, you can proceed in any number of directions. Here are some recommendations. You may head down the stairs and run past the Titanite Demon (check the Prowling Demon page for more info on dealing with him) to enter the Darkroot Garden, or you can take the Church Elevator back to Firelink Shrine. You may also use the Basement Key to enter the lower levels of the Undead Burg.
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