As a seasoned Dark Souls 3 player with over 300 hours across multiple playthroughs, the Fire Keeper Soul remains one of the most tantalizing and mysterious keys to unraveling various hidden questlines and endings. From reinforcing your Estus Flask to unlocking the "End of Fire" conclusion, this guide dives into all you need to know about this sacred item.
The Enigmatic Fire Keeper
The Fire Keeper dutifully awaits your return at the Firelink Shrine, ready to channel the power of souls to strengthen your abilities. However, her downcast, ashen appearance hides a darker history…
| Stat | Description |
|---|---|
| Soul Level | N/A |
| Health | N/A – Immortal |
| Attacks | None |
| Drops | Fire Keeper Soul |
| Resistances | Immune to All Damage |
| Weaknesses | None |
As her title suggests, the Fire Keeper tends the First Flame – a duty she has attended for untold years. She enables heroes to level up by drawing upon its ancient power, but remains unable to step outside the shrine. I‘ve often wondered if she yearns to see the world beyond her sheltered bonfire…
Her blindness too hints at her tragic origins, with gory details revealed if investigating the prophecies of Irina of Carim. The clerics of that region "restore order" by way of mutations such as severed tongues and limbs. The Fire Keeper may have suffered greatly to ensure obedience in gazing upon the First Flame alone.
But this raises the question – what might she glimpse if granted sight once more, for good or ill…?
Renewing Strength Through Sacrifice
Upon greeting you for the first time, the humble Fire Keeper offers her services in an unnervingly impassive tone:
Welcome to the bonfire, Unkindled One. I am a Fire Keeper. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. The Lords have left their thrones, and must be deliver‘d to them. To this end, I am at thy side.
Whenever you seek to strengthen your abilities, the Fire Keeper channels the First Flame‘s essence into your being:
Allow me to peer into thy essence…Allow the souls to flourish…
Each soul level beyond 10 costs an additional 500 souls – no small sacrifice early on. But investing in vigor, attunement, vitality and more paves the road ahead. By end-game, I‘d usually dedicate over 3 million souls to hit the max level of 802!
For comparison, here‘s a quick table on soul level costs:
| Soul Level | Souls Required | Cumulative Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 13000 | 13000 |
| 50 | 48000 | 175000 |
| 100 | 195000 | 558000 |
| 200 | 630000 | 2458000 |
Without the Fire Keeper transfusing the power of souls, you stand little hope of defeating the evils plaguing Lothric. Choose your stats wisely before embarking!
Unlocking the Majestic Astral Clocktower
Early on in the Firelink Shrine, a striking tower looms just out of reach beyond crumbling stone arches. A corpse visible at its peak seemingly taunts your efforts to ascend its smooth façade.
Upon purchasing the Tower Key for 20,000 souls from the Shrine Handmaid, you‘re finally granted access to this mysterious structure – the Majestic Astral Clocktower.
Winding my way up the moss-ridden steps filled me with trepidation during my first playthrough. Reaching the top reveals the withered body of the First Fire Keeper clutching the very soul you now seek.
Could discovering her fate unlock secrets from ages past about those who tended the First Flame? The Fire Keeper Soul itself would prove to hold astonishing revelations…
Recalling the First Fire Keeper‘s Soul
| Item | Fire Keeper‘s Soul |
|---|---|
| Type | Key item |
| Effects | Reinforce Estus Flasks, Heal Dark Sigil |
| Location | Corpse in Astral Clocktower |
| Lore | Soul of the first Fire Keeper who tended the hunters‘ bonfire |
As you might expect, the Fire Keeper Soul you acquire from this ill-fated maiden unlocks new potential. Offering it when resting at any bonfire allows reforging and upgrading your Estus Flask through the spirit of Andre the Blacksmith.
With 9 Estus Shards discoverable throughout Lothric, you can eventually gain 7 reinforcements to your trusty flask. Each upgrade provides incremental boosts to health restoration:
| Reinforcement Level | Healing Per Charge |
|---|---|
| +0 | 100 HP |
| +1 | 200 HP |
| +2 | 300 HP |
| +3 | 400 HP |
| +4 | 500 HP |
| +5 | 600 HP |
| +6 | 700 HP |
| +7 | 800 HP |
| +8 | 900 HP |
| +9 | 1000 HP |
| +10 | 1100 HP |
With 10 Estus Flask charges at +10, that‘s a whopping 11,000 HP available per complete refill! Suffice to say, scouring the farthest corners of any area in search of Estus Shards proves well worth the effort.
The Fire Keeper Soul also serves a more obscure purpose should you pursue a questline revealing the fragments of her past…
Peering Into the Dark Soul
Early encounters with Yoel of Londor set you down an occult path should you accept his offer to "tease out your true strength." Drawing out your true potential comes at the cost of accruing Dark Sigils and hollowing each time you perish.
Yuria elaborates further on their enigmatic goals:
Thou‘rt a visitor from the outside, after all, spoiling all of our fun. Ashen one, hearest thou my voice, still?!
Those who aren‘t ken to fire cannot paint a world.
Those absorbed by fire, must not paint a world.
Don‘t worry, I haven‘t forgotten, Mother…
But what might the Fire Keeper Soul illuminate about the true nature of this chosen undead "Lord of Hollows" ending?
If offering the key item to the Fire Keeper after accumulating ample hollowing, she can heal and remove these accursed Dark Sigils. However, this halts the questline permanently.
For those fascinated by the world‘s ominous lore, it often proves wise to peer down every passage before turning back – or sliding into an even murkier abyss of the deep…
Truth Revealed Through the Eyes
Perhaps the most shattering item tied to the Fire Keeper‘s fate comes in the form of the Eyes of a Fire Keeper, found within the dark Firelink Shrine of the Untended Graves area. This reflects a disturbing version of the world should the First Flame expire.
| Item | Eyes of a Fire Keeper |
|---|---|
| Type | Key item |
| Effects | Alters Firelink Shrine, unlocks ending |
| Location | Hidden in dark Firelink Shrine |
| Lore | This red-eyed treasure…reveals to the sightless Fire Keeper things that they should never see… |
When showing the Eyes to their rightful owner, she shares a chilling revelation:
Ashen one, my thanks for the eyes thou‘st given.
But Fire Keepers are not meant to have eyes. It frightens me, so.
And yet…a flicker of flame alighteth in me…
Relinquishing the mystic orbs initiates one of Dark Souls 3‘s most obscure conclusions – the fabled End of Fire itself. But treading the void demands deeper understanding…
I still vividly recall facing down the Soul of Cinder after unveiling the Eyes‘ grand illusion. As the First Flame dwindled, light and dark conjoining at last, the Fire Keeper offered a somber prayer:
The First Flame quickly fades.
Darkness will shortly settle.
But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness…
Like embers, linked by past Lords.
Ashen one, hearest thou my voice, still?!
Choosing to betray the Keeper‘s wishes almost out of instinct, I channeled the strength of ages past and fought to link the fire once again. But that haunting image – of flames persisting gently across the void – stuck with me on future journeys into Lothric‘s decaying bosom…
Impassioned Recommendations
Having shared extensive experiences and observations about the Fire Keeper Soul‘s otherworldly importance, I highly recommend all intrepid undead consider:
- Ascending the Astral Clocktower early to acquire the Fire Keeper‘s Soul
- This allows reinforcing your Estus Flask, a massive boon!
- Weigh outcomes before healing Dark Sigils from Yuria‘s quest
- Fully hollowing enables a hidden ending, but has aesthetic downsides
- Seek out the Eyes of a Fire Keeper in the dark Firelink Shrine
- Unlocks the astonishing "End of Fire" ending after defeating the Soul of Cinder
If you yearn to uncover the full tragedy of those who shepherded the First Flame since time immemorial, while also strengthening your own abilities to survive this grisly pilgrimage, the Fire Keeper Soul proves indispensable.
May each Tarnished find their worth in the waking world! Now let journeybegin, dear Ashen One…
