Traps | Dark Souls 2 Wiki

Types of Traps Dark Souls 2

• Trapped Chests: These chests activate specific effects when interacted with. They pose as regular loot chests that are encountered anywhere in the game but can negatively impact the player
• Mimic: These mimics also pose as chests but are enemies in disguise.
• Cursed Vessel: They cause curse build-up when interacted with and are another rare trap to be avoided 

Other Dark Souls 2 Secrets

• Illusory Walls: These 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.

DS2 Chest Traps

These Chest Traps are rigged chests disguised as regular loot chests. They are encountered through Dark Souls 2 and vary in effects depending on the kind of trap it is rigged with. These traps are designed to waste a players time or deal negative effects to the player when intereacted with. Below are the types of chest traps you can find in the game. 

Arrow Chest

• The arrow chest reveals a crossbow when opened, which shoots out a five-way spread of crossbow bolts in 3 separate waves upon opening.

Poison Chest

• The Poison Chest is a fake chest which may or may not actually contain items. Opening it releases a gas that poisons nearby players and the opener with a deadly poison that acts very fast. This is capable of quickly killing players who do not have curing items or spells since the poison can last for a good time and easily out-damage the effects of healing items.

Radiant Trap Chest

• The Radiant Chest is a chest which releases a radiant trap, mostly the same as Arrow Chest or Poison Chest, but it occasionally emits red mist which heals the player. It can appear in any trapped chest location, but it is incredibly rare.

Wooden Chest

• Not technically a trap, but if a Wooden Chest is destroyed, the items it contains are destroyed with it, turning into Rubbish.

Explosive Chest

• A chest containing a bomb. It will explode seconds after ignition, dealing fire damage. The blast will not destroy the chest itself.

DS2 Mimic

Mimics are Enemies disguised as a chest. High-damaging series of attacks, often fatal. Mimics are rare, and can be wooden or metal chests. They can be identified by checking for a lock on the front of the chest - if the chest has a large lock on the front, this indicates a Mimic. Always test a suspected chest by smacking it from the side with a weapon or spell; it will trigger the mimic without the risk of the player being grabbed by the initial attack, which is usually an instant kill. Mimics can also be tested by throwing a Lloyd's Talisman at them, which will make them yawn and fall asleep. The first 4 of the 5 Mimics in Dark Souls 2 contain pieces of the Dark Set.

DS2 Cursed Vessel

Cursed Vessels that appear as stone jars are an irritating hazard that causes Curse buildup if you get too close. Their presence is always presaged by giggling and whimpering from their location. Ideally, break them from afar to avoid being affected by their effects.