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FromSoftware’s genre-defining series “Dark Souls” took the world by storm with new mechanics, profoundly rich lore, and some might say “too hard” of a difficulty.
The series has made FromSoftware into a gaming powerhouse of a studio with sales amassing more than 27 million copies. The Kingdom of Lothric provides a dark and grim world where you play the role of an “unkindled” tasked to take down the heroes to link the fire.
The game has learned from its predecessors very well. While the complexity and branching paths are not as profound as in Dark Souls 1, it makes up for it with its superior fast-paced combat, epic methodical boss battles, custom weapon choices, and deep NPC interactions that never disappoint you.
Dark souls 3 is the perfect swan song for the trilogy that shook the gaming world and produced countless other titles inspired by the Souls Like formula.
To survive the harsh and grueling world of Lothric Estus Flasks are an “Unkindled’s” best friend with insane boss battles having you barely scrape by and each fight pushing you closer to the edge of your seat.
As you progress through the game, no matter how many Estus uses you have, one drink from the flask should keep up with the health bar; otherwise, you won’t be alive to take another swig.
Take it from someone who died to the “Nameless King” around 50 times. To efficiently use the Estus and make every second of the intense battles count, you require the “Undead Bone Shard.”
The “Undead Bone Shard” is thrown into the bonfire to help increase the amount of HP (hitpoints) or FP for the ashen flask (If you’re even using it) per one use.
The increase in efficiency does wonders to help in fights and challenges throughout the game, especially the intense boss battles. This article will give you the necessary information you need to grab all the shards and come out with the least amount of bruises.
- Item Name: Undead Bone Shard
- Item Type: Consumable
- Item Uses: Once
- Total Amount: 10
- Usage: Burn in the bonfire
The Bone Shard can be thrown into the bonfire at the Firelink Shrine to increase its level and intensity. I will name the locations according to this format: Area – Bonfire Name
Warning! While I will try my best to keep spoilers to a minimum, Some might be unavoidable for the portion ahead.
Locations
Undead Settlement-Dilapidated bridge
It is the first undead bone shard of the game, and it is relatively easy to obtain. You reach the bonfire after weaving through all the enemies as I did or defeating them. From the bonfire, go straight. Be wary of the man with the saw blade; he causes the bleed effect.
Keep moving forward, and there will be a bunch of arrows and a large tree slightly towards the right. Look towards the right of the tree. There will be a broken piece of land barely connected near the tree.
Jump onto the fractured part of the land and pick up the item, which will be the undead bone shard. Just move through that area quickly, trust me! You won’t regret it.
If the area’s weather conditions seem unfavorable, you could always get things sorted out with some delightful conversation. Before moving towards the bone shard, move towards the sewer entrance, cross the bridge, and head towards the cathedral.
You need to go in the opposite direction from the boss room, run inside, and use the elevators to the top. This might require some quick movements, but you will encounter someone and speak to them once you reach the top. This will help you in the long run and take care of the bad weather, at least for you.
Road of Sacrifices-Farron’s Keep Ruins
We all know the relation between Dark souls and swamps. It can be a bit tricky reaching the Farrons Keep bonfire, be sure to stay clear of the status effects caused in the swamp. From the bonfire, exit the building and move straight down the stone path, almost reminiscent of a sloped stone bridge.
When you reach the end of the pathway between the large double doors to the right, there is a small building filled with slugs and an item between them.
The item is the undead bone shard. Just be quick in attacking the slugs because of their numbers. If you start getting hit by their attacks, you will most likely die without any time to roll out.
Cathedral of the Deep-Cleansing Chapel
The area is quite large but to reach the bone shard, move out of the chapel through the main door and move upwards. Passing the undead worshipping the pillar, move up towards the graveyard, run past all the undead in the cemetery, and you will reach the stone bridge.
Go past the grave warden and up the stairs to the right from the bridge. Ignoring the next warden, move towards the right; there, you will find a gravestone perched at the edge of the building with an item on the very edge that is the undead bone shard. Grab it, and you’re good to go.
Remember to keep a torch with you if you’re planning to fight the grave wardens. I promise it will come in very handy.
Road of Sacrifices to Catacombs of Carthus – Abyss Watchers
From the bonfire, move down into the pathway to reach the Catacombs of Carthus. From there, you will see a bridge to the left.
Cross the bridge by either fighting all the skeletons or just dodging them because that’s what I did. Enter the building which the bridge leads to and go right, down the stairs to exit out of the building.
You will find yourself in front of a long staircase, descend but do it quickly, dodging the skeleton boulder that’s ready to run you over (It cannot be hurt or killed, don’t try it).
After entering the room below the stairs, to the right, you will find a skeleton with a hat, defeat him and wait.
This will cause the skeleton boulder to crash, and the item drop will be an undead bone shard. Don’t worry about all the enemies following you; they’ll get crushed by the boulder.
Catacombs of Carthus (The Smouldering Lake)-High Lord Wolnir
This path will help you reach two undead bone shards, but it’s not without its problems. The direction in itself is very easy to miss and needs some level of awareness such that you can obtain the bone shard without many hindrances, but the hindrance is quite large.
Exit out of the room, move directly towards the roped bridges, and then destroy them. Once it collapses, the bridge turns into a makeshift ladder that helps you descend to the smouldering lake.
Move into the entrance at your left, and from there, make your way past all the enemies, no matter how large, down the ledge, and into the small entrance leading down.
This will help you reach the demons’ ruin bonfire and the smouldering lake if you go straight from there. The first undead bone shard can be located inside the large sandworm, and you’re being shot at consistently by a ballista.
Defeating the worm can be a hassle, but Dark Souls players have devised some strategies to dispose of the worm quickly. If you turn off the Avelyn (Ballista), the sandworm will enter melee mode.
Wait for it to use its lightning attack and start attacking the relentlessly afterward; repeat this strategy. It would be best to be positioned in front of the worm for this strategy to work.
An even easier way would be by using the Avelyn to your advantage. By standing in a specific rocky outcropping opposite the ballista, on the side of the worm.
The Avelyn will keep firing shots in bursts, alternating between you and the worm, which will keep damaging the worm, and you will be able to trounce the worm. Afterward, you can quickly turn off the ballista to make the area easier for traversal.
The Smouldering Lake-Demon Ruins Bonfire
There are two ways to reach this bone shard. One is from the smouldering lake, which we will discuss, and the other is from the old king’s antechamber, which requires you to know your way around the Catacombs, so we will take the easier route not be discussing this one.
After defeating the sandworm in the smouldering lake, move up the small pathway near the wall to the right before the fogged gate.
Enter through the door, head down, and keep heading down, dodging the pesky pyromancer rats. Once at the bottom floor, move left, and at the edge on the left corner, there will be a corpse with an undead bone shard item. Don’t forget to look above before grabbing the bone shard.
Irithyll of the Boreal Valley-Church of Yorshka
A genuine test of endurance for any Souls fan, the beautiful landscape is filled with deadly enemies, valuable loot, and along the treacherous path from the bridge to salvation.
The bone shard can be obtained with fair ease, from the bonfire go down towards the cemetery. In the graveyard, go right, and there you will find an Irithlliyan praying on the tombstone, defeat him quickly before he turns. You can retrieve the bone shard from behind the tombstone.
Irithyll Dungeon-Profaned Capital
This might be the easiest bone shard to acquire in the game. Climb the giant coliseum-like structure to the top. On a corpse, the bone shard is next to the bonfire to the right, and now you’re nearing the home stretch.
Lothric Castle-Dragon Barracks
Acquiring this undead bone shard is a test of courage. Climb the stairs from the bonfire and keep moving up and from there. From there, you can see the bane of every true hero or, in this case, unkindled, two dragons.
If you’re nimble enough, move quickly onto the bridge, and right at the end of the bridge, drop-down to the left of the bridge on the ledge.
If you do this right, you can dodge the dragon’s powerful fire breath, which will turn you to cinders (and not in a good way). When you land on the ledge, turn around. Underneath the bridge, you will be able to find the undead bone shard.
Lothric Castle-Grand Archives
Near the end of the main game’s storyline, the final test of endurance rewards you with greater chances of survival. The grand archives can be a grueling area to traverse, especially with so many enemies attacking you at once.
Now hopefully, some basic shortcuts have been unlocked. If not, then I would urge you to open up all the shortcut elevators in the area since traversing the archives can be an arduous task.
After entering the main door from the bonfire, go right and then straight into the elevator as soon as you reach the entrance hall, taking you to the top. Keep going up, dodging attacks from the magicians and other enemies to the exit door that leads to the rooftops.
Make your way across the rooftops, and you will encounter a gargoyle; the sturdy and quick enemy might be challenging to face on the rooftops, so you can either dodge and go forward or take a stand against him.
You will then encounter another one, and as you traverse the rooftops, you will drop down to the ledge where a window has been broken and enter through there. The undead bone shard is on the corpse sitting in the chair.
Now take the bone shards you have in your inventory to the firelink shrine and burn them. Burning the undead bone shard will make your Estus flask more efficient and potent.
This will also aid you in gaining the achievement “Ultimate Bonfire” for all the trophy hunters making all your effort even more worthwhile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What Happens if I Trade My Undead Bone Shard?
Answer: If you trade your undead bone shard with Picklepum The Crow, you will receive the Porcine shield, but you will lose the undead bone shard.
Question: Will the undead bone shard permanently make the Estus Flask better?
Answer: Yes, the effects of the bone shard after using them at the Firelink Shrine are permanent. As soon as you get a shard, you should go to the firelink shrine and increase the potency of your Estus Flask. This will make the player’s life much easier.
Question: Can I increase my Estus potency even in New Game +?
Answer: All items get fully reset when the New Game + starts, while you retain all your stats. If you have traded one or even lost it, the Firelink cap can be reached easily in the new game +. The locations of the undead bone shards do not change. Once you reach +11, the undead bone shards become useless.
Question: What happens if I discard an undead bone shard?
Answer: If you discard an undead bone shard, it is lost forever but do not worry if you are a completionist. You can still get the undead bone shard in the New Game+.
Question: I Can’t Pass the Dragon Bridge. What Do I Do?
Answer: It is straightforward to dispose of the dragons. From the bridge, move to the right and fight your way towards the top of the building. There you will see the dragon’s tail, start attacking it.
Defeating one dragon will get rid of the other one as well. Then walk right back to the bridge, collect all the items, and drop down to the ledge to grab the undead bone shard.
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