Key Takeaway
If your goal is to simply make it to the end of the Chasm of the Abyss without picking up every bit of loot along the way, keep heading downwards and you’ll eventually reach the boss of this area: Manus, the Father of the Abyss.
Alternatively, once you get to the area where you end up following Alvina the Cat, keep an eye out for a door on your left. This leads to an elevator that brings you to the outside of Knight Artorias’ boss room. This brings you closer to the Oolacile Township bonfire.
From the elevator room, keep descending once more until you reach the fog gate. Enter it and defeat Manus, Father of the Abyss to clear the level.
The Chasm of the Abyss is where your journey ends in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC in Dark Souls. There are a handful of unique and tough enemies for you to face in this area. And, further down, the Father of the Abyss awaits…
Table Of Contents
Into the Darkness
First of all, you’ll have an easier time navigating the Chasm of the Abyss in Dark Souls if you explore it with a light source. The Chasm of the Abyss is not as dark as when traversing the Tomb of the Giants, so you can still see here a little bit without a light source—but why stumble through the endless night when you don’t have to?
You can either equip the Sunlight Maggot headpiece, carry a Skull Lantern, or use the Cast Light sorcery spell to illuminate your surroundings.
From the first bonfire area in the Chasm of the Abyss, walk forward then make a left. Keep going in a straight line and proceed down the slope ahead. You’ll eventually come across a Crystal Lizard here. Kill it and retrieve your loot.
Continue onward while sticking to the path on the left. You’ll eventually arrive at a cavern with multiple Oolacile Residents and an Oolacile Sorceress. At the back of this cavern is the Dark Bead sorcery. Fight through the enemies or run past them to retrieve this sorcery spell.
After retrieving the Dark Bead spell, turn around and walk to the left. Turn left once more and follow the downward slope. Be careful, at the bottom of the slope, turn around to face an Oolacile Resident. Deal with it before it ambushes you.
Following Alvina
Keep following this path. You’ll eventually make it to a stone bridge where you’ll be overlooking a ton of Humanity Spirits below you. Don’t mind them…yet. For now, keep heading forward.
Once you reach the end of this path, take a left and the ground under you will dissolve, causing you to fall below. Don’t worry, though. You won’t get any fall damage from this. Up ahead, you’ll see Alvina of the Darkroot Wood.
Follow Alvina and she’ll disappear, only to reappear a few feet ahead. Keep following Alvina until the path opens up. There’ll be a handful of Spirit Humanities here.
These creatures don’t have any attack moves. However, you receive damage when they touch you. That said, take them out accordingly.
While following Alvina, keep an eye on your left and you’ll eventually find a door that leads to an elevator. If you take this up, you’ll be taken to the area right outside Knight Artorias’ boss room. This brings you closer to the bonfire in the Oolacile Township.
Saving Sif
To the right of the door that leads to the elevator is a cave wall. Striking this cave wall reveals that it is indeed an illusory wall. Enter this area to arrive at a cave where you will find a smaller, younger version of Sif, trapped by some kind of magic barrier.
Sif is surrounded by a couple of larger Humanity Spirits. Killing them all frees Sif. Upon freeing her, Sif will howl and disappear.
Now that she’s freed, you can summon her during the boss fight at the end of the Chasm of the Abyss, making that encounter a little bit easier. The boss at the end of this area is one of the toughest in the game, so you may need Sif’s help.
Picking Up a Few Items
After freeing Sif, exit this cave, and head to the right while sticking close to the edge of the cliff. You’ll eventually come across a downward slope here. Take this path. Up ahead, the path breaks in two where one leads up and the other leads down.
Take the path that leads up. There’s an Oolacile Sorceress at the end of this path. Defeat her first before moving forward. Next, hop to the ground below.
There’s a fallen pillar to your left that acts as a bridge to the next area. Don’t take this path yet. Instead, head forward and look down from the cliff’s edge to the left to find ground you can land on below. Jump off and then destroy the Humanity Spirits here.
The Humanity Spirits can crowd you easily, so be careful. Either slay them all or run past them. There’s an item you can loot from the corpse that’s dangling off the cliff here. Loot it to get the “Help Me!” Carving. This is a grim yet hilariously appropriate Dark Souls item to find in the Chasm of the Abyss.
From here, leap to the ground below, where you’ll be—yet again—surrounded by more Humanity Spirits. Once more, fight or flee before you pick up the loot nearby. If you grab the goods, you’ll receive the Black Flame pyromancy spell.
Reaching the End
After picking up the Black Flame pyromancy spell, turn around and take the path on the left. Make your way back up from here. Return to the area where you found a fallen pillar you can walk on.
Once you get off the pillar from the other side, go all the way around the pillar to get below it and you’ll find Twin Humanities on the ground.
With that retrieved, head to the cave opening across from the pillar. Make a right and fend off the Humanity Spirits here. You’ll find a White Titanite Slab at the end of this path.
Turn around and keep heading forward until you reach the fog gate. It’s time to face the final boss of this area, and the main boss of the Artorias of the Abyss DLC.
Fighting Manus, the Father of the Abyss
Manus, the Father of the Abyss, is one of the toughest bosses in Dark Souls. On top of dealing a ton of damage, one of the things that makes Manus difficult is his aggressiveness.
This eldritch fiend attacks you at an alarmingly rapid rate. One of the best ways to deal with Manus is to equip a shield with a high stability rating. Standard Shields or Greatshields at max level are great options for this. Whenever Manus does a combo attack, you can keep your shield up until the combo ends before landing a hit of your own. Repeat the process as much as needed.
If you managed to free Sif before reaching Manus, it is highly recommended that you summon her for this fight. You’ll find her white summon sign somewhere in the middle of the arena.
Sif’s damage is decent enough, but her usefulness comes with her ability to distract Manus. Sif has a high HP which allows her to tank the Abyss Father’s attacks. Whenever Manus is focused on Sif, you can hit the former a few times at low risk.
Once Manus is defeated, he drops 60,000 Souls, 10 Humanity, and the Soul of Manus.
This marks the end of the Artorias of the Abyss DLC. That is, of course, you’ve yet to face Black Dragon Kalameet—the secret boss of the DLC. If you haven’t yet, be sure to come prepared. This too is an incredibly tough boss, just like Manus, Ornstein and Smough, and Knight Artorias. Good luck!
