Iron_ps4 | Dark Souls 2 Wiki

Iron Keep Walkthrough

Dealing with the Fire

Mage Magerold

As you enter the area, head down the stairs on your left for the Threshold Bridge bonfire, and a Human Effigy under the stairs. You need high fire resistance to survive this. Take everything mentioned above into consideration when traveling through the lava. Head back up the stairs, and head over the bridge, ignoring the stairs on the right. Halfway across you can see a broken part of the floor to your right, leading down to several lava platforms. A corpse holding a Bonfire Ascetic glows in the distance, but you can come back later doused with water and with strong Fire DEF. An Alonne Knight will attack you from the other side of the bridge. This bridge is also a well known arena for Dragon Remnants covenant.

Just before you enter the building, Fencer Sharron will invade, there is also a chance that Armorer Dennis invades. Through the door up the small set of stairs you will find more Knights and a Flaming Bull Head emitting a continuous fire jet, blocking a corpse holding an Iron Key . To obtain this key:

• Approach the corpse from the left side of the statue. Go very slowly and eventually you'll see the "pick up item" prompt.
• Also, at just around 8-10 second intervals there's a short - very short - break in the fire, in which you can take a step or two forward to get the key.

Clear the enemies, ignore the stairs and move through the hall to your right. The merchant Magerold of Lanafir  will be ahead who can reduce your spells INT / FAITH requirement and as well as sells a Fragrant Branch Of Yore. Spend 10,000 souls with him to get a free Covetous Gold Serpent Ring +1.

The Furnace

Start heading back out but take the stairway to your right in the hallway. At the top of the stairs, you'll find an Alonne Knight on the left, guarding a corpse hanging over a window with a Pharros Lockstone. Also in this room are Water Jars that can help with retrieving. To the right of the stairs is a small alcove which has an Illusory Wall -accessible as all others are, by pressing the "use" button on your respective controller. Inside is a ballista and a corpse holding 20x Fire Arrow, in the corner. Another Illusory Wall lies on the wall the ballista is aimed at. Activate the wall then quickly get on the ballista and use it to shoot the Greatbow Knight waiting on the other side. The room ahead is the upper level of the Flaming Head Bull room. The stairs through the door to your left take you back there. To the right is the Furnace room, but for now head left downstairs to grab the Iron Key out of the fire -if you haven't already- then, head back upstairs to continue on through the door enter the Furnace area.

Ahead of you on a walkway above is another Knight, and a Greatbow Knight on the bridge ahead, slightly out of reach. Move along the left and take out him out using ranged attacks, as he will just make things worse ahead. Another Greatbow Knight lies far in the distance next to the fog door. If you can take him out from here as well, it would be beneficial. Continue on to find two more Knights, and another Greatbow Knight up a ladder that you can find at the end of this path. Up the ladder, you'll also find a chest containing a Life Ring  +1 and a Twinkling Titanite, while going to the bottom of the ladder, will grant you a Soul Of A Proud Knight, and Repair Powder. Head back to the level you started on and take the small stairs on the left.

There's a lever down here which you can pull to lower the walkway above. You can open the door here, but you won't be able to proceed in as a large flame shoots out, upon opening; roll out of the way as soon as possible. To progress, head up the stairs to find the closest walkway and travel on this newly accessible path. Head straight and kill the Knight here, before jumping off to reach the other side of the Furnace Room. 

Detour before the Demon

To your left is a Boss Fog door, but lets wait on this for a minute. Turn right look left to see a platform with a broken set of metal stairs. Jump over to it and at the edge is a corpse holding a Petrified Dragon Bone, grab it then head inside and up the stairs. Climb up the ladder to reach the roof and a Pharros Contraption, and a chest containing a Zweihander. Activating the contraption spills out the infinite magical healing water. From the roof, jump down to the chest platform from earlier and head back over the jump towards the boss fog.

A corpse can be seen on the small ledge surrounding the pillar to your left. Angle your jump so you will roll towards the pillar wall and collect the Large Soul Of Nameless Soldier and a Red Leech Troches. Drop down to the platform with the lever below. Pull the lever, Ignoring the door here as well. The catwalk above is now fully level. Drop down in front of the lever onto the metal stairs. At the bottom you'll find a chest on lava containing Phoenix Parma.

Head up the stairs and rotate the wheel located on the Main Furnace. This turns off the furnace making the two previously unsafe furnace doors, safe. Move along the right ledge to drop down to the furnace door. Inside, there is a ladder and a corpse holding 2x Large Titanite Shard  and a Petrified Dragon Bone. Head up the ladder to reach a walkway with another ladder and a corpse holding an Old Radiant Lifegem and a Green Blossom, on the far end. A Captain is also guarding this, if you didn't snipe him earlier. Head up the ladder, ignoring the doorways in front of you, and atop head left then drop down to the platform with the chest from earlier, containing the Life Ring +1 and Twinkling Titanite. Move off the edge to the right and follow the pathway back to the boss fog door, you will also find Lucatiel of Mirrah's summon sign a bit before the fog gate.

BOSS FIGHT: Smelter Demon

To the Belfry Sol Bonfire

After defeating the demon, move up the stairs. At the top, turn around to find a chest containing the Porcine Shield and 5x Flame Butterfly. Head forward to the Ironhearth Hall bonfire. You can now head back downstairs to face the Pursuer, who will spawn in Smelter's arena (you may have to fast travel away and come back to get him to spawn). Defeating him grants you the Ring Of Blades +1.

Back at the bonfire open the door and defeat the Captain ahead before heading through the archway to the right. Up ahead there are two Alonne Knights, an Ironclad Soldier, and not a lot of fighting space. Try to take them one at a time and be carefull, as the Ironclad Soldier will try to break pieces out of the bridge. Inside the larger room, there are another three Ironclad Soldiers, a bunch of Flaming Bull Heads lining the walls and a few Greatbow Knights, one of which is directly above you. Take him out with ranged attacks and pull the lever in front of you to treat two of the Ironclad Soldiers ahead, to a glorious firey death. Although it may seem tempting DO NOT pull it again as when the regular platform is present, you cannot reach a ladder and some chests on the far side. To your left is a door with a Pharros Contraption that opens up a path to a ladder. Climb up to reach the Belfry Sol Approach bonfire and a chest containing Thunder Quartz Ring +1. You can also reach Belfry Sol from here.

If you access this bonfire, you are forced to climb the ladder as there is no other way out except for warping. If you do not want to traverse Belfry Sol, it is possible at the top of the ladder to fall back down while pushing forward, this places you on the ledge above the bonfire. Traveling to Belfry will eventually allow you to return to Iron Keep via a small ledge above. On this ledge on the right wall is an Illusory Wall which opens up to a room holding two chests containing a Black Knight Greatsword, a Protective Chime, and the Grand Spirit Tree Shield. After looting, drop down and go back down the ladder into the lava-filled room with the flaming bull head's in the middle, where you first triggered the Pharros' Contraption to the Belfry Sol bonfire.

Scortched Trails

Whether or not you went through Belfry Sol, from here, go up the stairs to the left and take out the Greatbow Knights ahead, as well as the other one in the bottom left, from afar. A Crystal Lizard holding a Large Titanite Shard, a Titanite Chunk and a Firedrake Stone can be found down the stairs to your left, be quick or lose it to the lava. Farther down the stairs are pressure plates that will activate a lava bucket trap, so be cautious whilst approaching the corpse ahead. Loot it to receive a Large Soul Of Proud Knight and a Radiant Lifegem. Ahead is another lava path. Down and to the right is a Fire Seed, and to the left, a chest at the end which contains the Pyromancy Spell: Chaos Storm .

This path is the hardest by far so only attempt this when you have at least Flash Sweat, +100 Total Fire DEF Armor, Small Orange Spurr, and Doused in water.

Back at the top, continue along the platforms, timing your movements between the Flaming Bull Head bursts and work your way to the left, to the platform with a corpse containing a Large Soul Of Nameless Soldier. From here, turn around and head straight and shortly left is a ladder leading up. We will come back to this but for now head forwards to the opposite side of the room and take out the Ironclad Soldier by the fog door. Behind him is a corpse holding a Large Soul Of Nameless Soldier and a Monastery Charm. Turn around and head back to the ladder we passed before. Alternatively you can continue straight through the fog door but you will miss quite a few items. However, both paths eventually end in the same area so lets take the scenic route.

 

Scenic Route

Once up the ladder there are multiple Water urns, which are helpful for the lava path below. Up the stairs are two Alonne Knights waiting for you, and at the far end of the path is a chest. Opening this chest will earn you 10x Destructive Greatarrow, and an Oliver The Collector invasion.

Up the ladder is another Pharros Water Contraption. Head up the stairway in this room to arrive to a roof with three Alonne Knights. Be careful of the hole in the middle, and move along the left side to collect the Simpleton's Spice. There's also a chest on the right containing the Black Knight Greataxe. Now its time for the tedious trip down the hole in the middle. There are several walkways which you can fall onto. Be very careful, one wrong step and its a nice lava bath at the bottom. On the third walkway down, there's a corpse holding a Cracked Red Eye Orb and a Torch. Soon you will drop down onto a beam in a room with a large lava pot below you. From the beam, carefully angle your fall so you land on the outer rim of the pot and circle around to the corpse inside which holds Covetous Gold Serpent Ring. From here drop down to the beam by your side. On this beam, you'll also have to take care of another Alonne Knight. Head forward and drop down onto the stairway platform to your left.

Route to the King

The fog doorway directly ahead leads back to the original Flaming Bull Head room which brings us full circle. At the bottom of the stairs is a hallway with two Ironclad Soldiers and a blade trap. This hallway eventually leads to a large caged area with Flaming Bull Heads. Time your movements and circle around the statues. You can see a corpse in between the flames, however grabbing this item will most likely result in your demise. The trick to looting this is to enter the flames right before they turn off, damaging you only slightly but giving you a bigger buffer of time. Then roll out. It's recommended to collect it on your return trip here; trust us, or you can find out why for yourself. 

To the left of the doorway ahead is a ladder leading up to a large caged room with more Flaming Bull Heads and another ladder directly in front on the far wall. You can either try to time it to run through the short breaks of fire, or you can hit it, which will make it start rotating, eitherway, get ready to run! Climb up to reach the Eygil's Idol bonfire and a lever located up the small set of stairs which turns off all Flaming Bull Heads! Woohoo! Climb all the way back down into the first Flaming Head Room, loot the now accessible corpse to receive a cheeky Lightning Short Bow +1 and go through the doorway to the right of the ladder. Find a set of stairs leading down to another Ironclad Soldier, and a sign to summon Manhunter O'Harrah on the right. Continue on to reach a very open lava area. You can see the Boss Fog Door in the distance. Move down the ramp way towards the stone stairs and get ready for battle.

BOSS FIGHT: Old Iron King

After defeating him move through the doorway located around the right corner and loot the chest for Petrified Something. Move down the stairs and light the Primal Bonfire. In the room after the bonfire you will find an obelisk that will teleport you to the entrance of the Crown of the Old Iron King DLC. After teleporting back to Majula, head to the giant Pit to reach the Grave of Saints.