Rare items | Dark Souls 2 Wiki


Rare Items in Dark Souls 2 are Items or Secrets obtained as drops that have low drop-rates from enemies or are difficult to obtain due to other reasons. Because of their obscurity, they have been also been listed on the Secrets guide. Their rarity would also make some of the listed items below one of the more sought after Items because of their difficulty to obtain. This can be due to the low rates and RNG set by the developers of the game when facing specific Enemies and Creatures and looking for specific drops.  The items are listed in approximately increasing rarity starting with the most common/guaranteed and finishing with the most luck-based and hard to obtain. If you are looking for gear that has special effects such as increasing casts or intelligence, please see Armors with Special Effects. 

Types of Rare Items in Dark Souls 2

Rewards and Loot items have been sorted into a few main sources. Rare Drops 

  • Treasure and Enemy Drops: General treasure obtained in a variety of ways as well as drops from in game non-human (non-player character model) enemies
  • Non-invading Red Phantom Gear: Rare/unique weapons and armor obtained from killing non-invading red phantom enemies, other red phantoms that drop items that can be obtained by other methods will not be listed.
  • Invading Red Phantom Gear: These items are obtained from red phantom enemies that invade a players world in mimicry of online play. These kinds of enemies can only be respawned via bonfire ascetic use.
  • Rewards for Feats of Skill: These items are given to the player upon completion of some great task or challenge.

DS2 other Hidden Objects, Rare Items and Secrets

  • Illusory Walls: Are hidden passages disguised as walls that are hidden throughout the different Locations. These walls will reveal a path when "action" is pressed near them (PS3/Xbox: X/A)
  • Pharros' Lockstones: Items that interact with Key Mouth contraptions to reveal secrets and trigger effects
  • Crystal Lizards: These are enemies that will run away and disappear as you come near, but if you manage to kill them will yield precious ore
  • Rare Items:  Weapons and armor that are harder to come by and rare enemy drops.
  • Traps: Locate each trap and their tricks and counters.

 

Dark Souls 2 Rare Items

Treasure and Enemy Drops

General treasure obtained in a variety of ways as well as drops from in game non-human (non-player character model) enemies

  • Engraved Gauntlets
    Obtained from a chest in lower Brightstone Cove Tseldora, the door way leading to said chest is locked and requires a key obtained by completing Pate/Creighton's story line (regardless of who you assist). These gauntlets add an approximately 5% chance of a critical damage bonus to any(?) attack made by the wearer.
  • Invisible Aurous Set
    This transparent armor set can be obtained by talking to Maughlin the Armourer in Majula once you have spent 16000+ souls in his shop (he will gain a cocky attitude once this requisite has been met) and then talk to him with 0 souls in your possession for him to give you the set out of pity. Each piece of this set increases the characters maximum equipment burden. Also can drop from invading phantom Rhoy the Explorer in the Grave of Saints. Rhoy will ONLY invade if you are OFFLINE.
  • Pickaxe
    A unique Greatclub class weapon that is low weight and packs a punch though many of the mechanics required to optimize its damage (Leo Ring compatibility, optimal damage hitbox, etc.) are still under study. This item is found in lower Brightstone Cove Tseldora in the chamber past the bridge over the damaging crystal pit. Specifically it is found beneath a small patch of brown/black mushrooms on the floor of said chamber, these mushrooms can only be removed by a "pig" type enemy lured from the peasant camp in upper Brightstone Cove Tseldora. This is considered a "less rare item" because it is a guaranteed drop as long as you can get the pig down to the proper spot.
  • Shadow Set, Malformed Claws, Shadow Dagger
    An armor set and weapons belonging to King Vendrick's hired shadow men, These items can be obtained as a drop from the two "Suspicious Shadows" that assist the Flexile Sentry in its NG+ boss fight in No-Man's Wharf. The items have a low drop rate and are obtained piece by piece but the enemies will respawn infinitely as long as the boss isn't killed. To effectively farm these items wear all item discovery boosting items and enter the boss room, kill the two shadows while avoiding the boss and after collecting any items from the shadows quickly go into your menu and quit the game. Once you reload the game you will be outside the boss room and re-entry will spawn the shadows again, repeat as needed. If avoiding the boss during farming proves difficult you can summon Lucatiel of Mirrah to act as a meat shield though this lengthens the time for each farming run as you have to dismiss her before you quit the game and have to go back and get her for each run. 
  • Ruin Set
    The armor set of the Ruin Sentinel bosses/enemies. This set is only known to drop from the 5 Ruin sentinels found in Drangleic Castle behind golem doors near the first bonfire. The drop rate on these is low and so item discovery boosts are recommended. One successful strategy for farming the sentinels is to open one Golem door with a sentinel behind it and then farm that particular sentinel till it despawns and then open another Golem door and repeat the process, this helps prevent other sentinels from sneaking up on you which happens often if you open all the Golem doors at once. You get a total of 75 (15 x5) chances to get the armor set before needing to ascetic the nearest bonfire, also the sentinels can drop duplicates of armor pieces which can slow the process of getting the full set.
  • Heide Knight Set
    The armor worn by the three knights of Heide found throughout Drangleic, this armor is only dropped in NG+ and beyond and is not a guaranteed drop. While any of the three Heide knights can drop pieces of the armor they tend to drop their weapons more often than not, on a positive note the knights will always drop something so you don't need to worry about completely fruitless runs. The Heide knight each only spawn once per new game cycle, thus ascetic use is required to farm the set, making the sword knight in the forest of fallen giants and the spear knight in the lost Bastille the preferable targets for farming being close to bonfires without an area boss. The Heide Knight Set also drop on NG in SOTFS.
  • Heide Greatlance - eventually drops from the Heide Knight in the Gutter if farmed long enough.
  • Black Hollow Mage Set, Lizard Staff
    Rare drops from the necromancers in Huntsman's Copse, in the cave right before the Skeleton Lords. These two NPCs do not respawn unless an ascetic is used, however the necromancers in the Executioner's Chariot fight can also drop these pieces. The necromancers in the Executioner's Chariot fight will respawn for each attempt at the boss, until the boss is killed. 
  • Manikin Claws
    Semi-rare drop from the three manikin soldiers before the Covetous Demon's boss arena in Harvest Valley. These enemies are found by walking off the stairs and landing on a platform that juts out of the wall. 

 

Non-invading Red Phantom Gear

The following entries are rare/unique weapons and armor obtained from killing non-invading red phantom enemies, other red phantoms that drop items that can be obtained by other methods will not be listed.

  • Dingy Set
    Obtained from a miracle casting red phantom found on the players way to the Gutter in NG+, 100% guaranteed drop and is pre upgraded to +5 out of 10, be wary though, this phantom has a friend in Faraam armor (drops a great hero soul) and a number of exploding mummies nearby to help it. This is the only set in the game where you have to be in true NG+ and bonfire ascetics will not work.
  • Mad Warrior Set, Berserker Blade
    This armor set and katana drops from a red phantom enemy randomly found in Belfry Sol if you are a member of the Bellkeeper Covenant. The Mad warrior spawns an infinite number of times but does so at random so even if you don't see him after 20 runs it just means your having some bad luck, do not use an ascetic. This phantom also will drop duplicates, though while seen to dual wield the Berserker Blade it will only drop one at a time (confirmed it drops duplicates ver.1.09 cal 1.12). You do NOT need to ascetic to reset drops for duplicates.
  • Durgo's Hat
    Obtained from the red phantom found near the Kings Gate leading to the Throne of Want. Drop rate uncertain. This stylish hat boosts the effective range of arrows. Can also be obtained from a chest in Eleum Loyce behind the Pharros Door after the two ballistae.
  • Catarina Set
    The good ol' onion bro armor from Dark Souls I is obtained from a red phantom found wearing it in NG+ in the Forest of Fallen Giants, specifically the area with all the old iron clad soldiers near the Soldier's Rest bonfire. This red phantom only spawns once per new game cycle and has a low/medium drop rate, due to its location close to a bonfire without an area boss it is possible to farm the armor set via bonfire ascetic use after each kill. This can take a while though due to the increasing strength of the phantom and low drop rate, as many as 24 ascetics have been required to obtain the full armor set. Edit: As of the start of the Lost Crown trilogy the Catarina set is made available in chests in each dlc as a piece, the Onion helm in the Sunken Crown dlc and Onion gauntlets and leggings in the Old Iron Crown dlc, and the Onion armor in the Ivory Crown dlc. 
  • Visible Aurous Set
    This armor set is the opaque twin to the transparent set given to the player by Maughlin the Armourer. Its stats and weight are higher than the transparent set but it does not boost equipment load. It is a rare-ish drop from the red phantom wearing it on the ng+ No-Man's Wharf ship. This phantom does not respawn after death, so bonfire ascetics are needed to respawn him. Due to the wharf only having one bonfire you'll also have to kill the boss every time you want to use an ascetic making this a rather long run. In the SOTFS remake, this set can be found in a metal chest in the Gutter, where the Ring of the Evil Eye +1 used to be.
  • Monastery Set, Monastery Scimitar
    This equipment set is a remake of the Painting Guardian set and sword from Dark Souls I. The red phantom who drops this is found behind a painting in Aldia's Keep. This is yet another red phantom that requires bonfire ascetics to farm, the bonfire in question is the "Ritual site" bonfire found behind an illusory wall halfway down the stairs to the acid pit in Aldia's keep. Each time you kill the phantom you will also need to kill the area boss in order to allow ascetic use making this one quite a pain.

 

Invading Red Phantom Gear

These items are obtained from red phantom enemies that invade a players world in mimicry of online play. These kinds of enemies can only be respawned via bonfire ascetic use.

  • Old Mirrah Greatsword
    This sword is a very rare drop from the invading NPC "Aslatiel Of Mirrah" in the front hallway of Aldia's Keep. This is a fairly painless weapon to farm as the bonfire that you must ascetic has no area boss tied to it allowing for free and easy ascetic use, however, the drop rate for the item is abysmally low. This weapon used to be identical in every way to the normal Mirrah Greatsword, but it has since been nerfed and is now worse in every way.
  • Priestess Set
    This armor set can be obtained from two invading NPCs; Merciless Roenna near the Skeleton Lords boss fog in Huntsman's Copse and Peculiar Kindular who invades in the section just before the Demon of Song boss fog in Shrine of Amana, sadly either one of these requires a boss fight for continued ascetic use thus it is recommended to heavily farm Kindular as she is the only one of the two who can drop the head piece of the set despite the boss required for farming being "harder". This armor set can also drop from the Priestess in the Dragon Shrine. In Scholar of the First Sin, the set can be obtained from a corpse inside the illusion wall that precedes the Prowling Magus and Congregation boss fight.
  • Warlock Mask, Cursed Bone shield
    It is recommended that one farms the Aldia Warlock that spawns near the fourth bonfire in the Shrine of Amana to obtain these items. Merciless Roenna, who invades just before the Skeleton Lord boss fog in Huntsman's Copse, can also be farmed for them, but this requires defeating the sickle wielding red phantoms and Skeleton Lords every time an ascetic is used, making it difficult to pull off depending on your luck.

 

Rewards for Feats of Skill

These items are given to the player upon completion of some great task or challenge.

  • Lingering Dragoncrest Ring+2
    To obtain this ring you must defeat 1000 dark spirits, whether solely as the host or as a summoned phantom is unknown. It is hypothesized that red phantom enemies such as the Mad Warrior may count toward this goal as they count for ranking up in the Bellkeeper Covenant. 
  • Ring of Thorns+2
    To obtain this ring you must Slay 1000 hosts as a dark spirit, unknown if arbiter spirit invasions count or if killing summoned phantoms counts toward this goal.
  • Illusory Ring of a Conqueror
    To obtain this ring the player must clear a game cycle (NG, NG+ etc) without dying even once, deaths as a summoned phantom do count as do deaths as an invader. This ring turns your left hand weapon/shield invisible.
  • Illusory Ring of the Exalted
    To obtain this ring the player must clear the game without resting at a bonfire. Dying and then respawning at a bonfire that the player has lit does not break this requirement nor does using a Homeward Bone, Aged Feather or the Darksign to warp to a bonfire. Using a Primal Bonfire to warp back to Majula also does not count. This ring turns your right hand weapon invisible.

 

Dark Souls 2 Secrets
crystal lizard  ♦  Hidden Moths  ♦  Illusory Wall  ♦  Invisible Hollows  ♦  Pharros' contraptions  ♦  Pharros' Lockstone  ♦  Shortcuts  ♦  Traps  ♦  Unused Content

 




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