Dark Souls Gwynevere Guide - RPG Informer (2024)

Gwynevere is the loveliest lady in Dark Souls. Occupying gigantic size and projecting blinding motherly warmth, this Freudian caricature is the comfort character of our desolate Dark Souls journey.

In this Dark Souls Gwynevere guide, I’ll be detailing how to find, serve, and worship the lady of sunlight. As a bonus, I’ll go over how to betray Gwynevere and trigger dark Anor Londo.

The Lady of Sunlight

Radiant, beautiful, and responsible for every “amazing chest” player message, Gwynevere is a warm relief to the dreary world of Dark Souls. It’s not uncommon to cry upon first encountering her. Hearing her sing our praise and promise to protect us after all our suffering is enough to trigger an emotional break for most players, or at the very least, a single tear.

Covenant: Princess Guard

Speaking with Gwynevere after fighting Ornstein and Smough lets us join her covenant, Princess Guard. This covenant, unlike others, does not require us to aid or invade other players and gives us access to a unique ring and two miracles.

Joining this covenant gives us the Ring of the Sun Princess, which increases the power of our miracles, and enables use of the Soothing Sunlight and Bountiful Sunlight miracles, which are powerful health regeneration spells.

• Quest Locations:Anor Londo, Dark Anor Londo
• Quest Giver:None
• Requirements:None
• Length of Quest:1 Hour
• Difficulty:Hard

Equipment and Rewards

Armor

• • Brass Set –A decent mid-weight armor set worn by Anor Londo’s firekeeper. While this armor has little utility besides being lighter than Havels Armor, it does provide some unique lore regarding Anor Londo’s hollow Firekeeper.

Miracle:

• • Soothing Sunlight – Immediately Regenerates a significant portion of health to yourself and your allies over time. Soothing Sunlight can only be used while we’re a part of Gwynevere’s Princess Guard and is found at the bottom of the Duke’s Archives.
  • Bountiful Sunlight – Regenerates a huge portion of health over time to yourself and your allies. Like Soothing Sunlight, Bountiful Sunlight can only be used while we’re a part of Gwynevere’s Princess Guard and is found at the bottom of the Duke’s Archives.
  • Sunlight Blade –Reinforces our primary weapon with lightning scaling with the strength of our talisman.

Ring

• • Ring of the Sunlight Princess –Boosts our Miracles, increasing their damage output and health regeneration. We obtain this ring after joining Gwynevere’s covenant.

Consumables

• • Firekeeper Soul –Reinforces our estus flash when talking with a firekeeper or produces five humanity when consumed. After darkening Anor Londo and killing the Anor Londo Firekeeper, we obtain this firekeeper’s soul outside the massive cathedral doors.

Boss Souls

• • Soul of Gwyndolin –Obtained after betraying Gwynevere and killing Gwyndolin, Gwyndolin’s boss soul creates the Dark Moon Bow or the Dark Moon catalyst.

Key Items

• • Lordvessel– Enables you to access the endgame area and warp between bonfires. Easily the most valuable item in the game, the Lordvessel is obtained from Gwynevere after beating Ornstein and Smough.

Extended Walkthrough

Step One: Snipers of Doom

After exiting Anor Londo’s first cathedral and turning the turn wheel in the city’s center, we’ll arrive at the gates of Anor Londo’s massive cathedral. Head forward and right past two hulking guards onto a small platform with several bat wing demons. Take another right and keep running downwards until we reach a small building between the ramparts.

After reaching this building, head up the new buttress leading upwards and avoid the silver knight snipers firing from afar. Running up this section is extremely difficult and requires you to bait the silver knight blocking your path while the other sniper fires at your behind.

After making your way past that villain, drop down onto the platform below, head through the open doorway, and take a left to reach a bonfire saving your progress.

Step Two: Shortcuts Rock!

The next section of Anor Londo is supposed to take hours to finish, with countless deaths and significant pain. Instead, we’ll forgo all that needless suffering with a shortcut that will save you hours.

Head upwards through the nearby stairway but pause once you’ve identified where the railing hovers over a small, narrow walkway. Head partway up the stairs, then perform a midair jump roll to jump over the fence onto a later section of Anor Londo. Head forwards, and we’ll arrive at the antechamber to the Ornstein and Smough fight.

Step Three: Ornstein and Smough

After reaching the massive room with two colossal golden guards, run past the two foes and head right to get to the Ornstein and Smough fight. Ornstein and Smough are highly challenging, so I recommend summoning a friend or Solare on the room’s right staircase.

Ornstein and Smough Fight

This brutal battle forces you to fight two foes at once: Ornstein, agile and nimble, beside Smough, slow and unstoppable. After killing one of these foes, the other goes on a killing rampage, growing in size, strength, and ferocity.

I recommend killing Smough first. Although his first phase is easy, Smough’s second phase is a slog, unlike Ornstein’s tough but fair second phase.

Step Four: Worship our Fair Lady

After that fierce battle, take the elevator up, and we’ll arrive at Gwynevere’s chamber. Large, lovely, and beautiful to a fault, Gwynevere heaves praise upon our noble efforts, challenging us to succeed Gywn, end the curse of undeath, and save the world.

After basking her in maternal warmth, Gwynevere gives us the best gift a mother could provide. Her love? No! The Lordvessel! A critical item that lets us warp between bonfires and reach new areas of Lordran.

With the Lordvessel in tow, we can continue our righteous quest, gather together the remaining lord souls, and rekindle the first fire. Or we can carry out a dark deed and kill the only comfort character in all of Dark Souls.

Step Five: Dark Anor Londo

Instead of doing as she’s asked, we can kill Gwyenevere by damaging her with a ranged weapon. Proceeding her death, the voice of her brother, Gwyndolin, rings out, chastising our betrayal as the world turns dark.

Explanation: Dark Anor Londo

Unfortunately, the Anor Londo we’ve experienced so far was an illusion created by Gwyndolin to encourage us to kindle the flame. Gwyenevere left Anor Londo far earlier, and the figure we’ve been interacting with was Gwyndolin in disguise!

As the world darkens to its proper form, Anor Londo turns strangely empty. As we head down into the Ornstein and Smough antechamber, the giant foes guarding the room have been replaced by two smaller foes. These foes are rather easy but I recommend taking them on one at a time.

Continuing outside the wall reveals an angered Anor Londo Firekeeper, swearing vengeance against us for breaking the beautiful illusion. The Firekeeper is an easy boss and drops a firekeeper soul when killed.

After defeating that easy foe, we’ll continue to the turn wheel, spin it, and take the bottom exit into a small chamber with a newly opened passage.

Step Six: Dark Moon Gwyndolin

Proceeding through the passage mentioned above plays a small cutscene of Gwyndolin shaming us and threatening our death. After the cutscene ends, we warp into an endless corridor with Gwyndolin firing at us from afar.

Gwendolyne Fight

Gwyndolin is an easy but demanding boss, requiring you to run diagonally left and right as you pursue him down an endless corridor. Whenever you reach Gwyndolin, you have a brief window to deliver a few blows before he disappears ahead. If you’re persistent and manage to avoid his attacks, this boss should be over quickly.

After beating Gwyndolin, a small cutscene of the room normalizing plays, and we’re able to reach the room’s end to retrieve the Brass set and the Sunlight Blade miracle from two separate chests.

Gwynevere Quest Rewards:

Armor

• • Brass Set

Miracles:

• • • Soothing Sunlight
    • Bountiful Sunlight
    • Sunlight Blade

Ring

• • Ring of the Sunlight Princess

Consumables

• • Firekeeper Soul

Boss Souls

• • Soul of Gwyndolin

Key Items

• • Lordvessel

Key Relationships

Gywn (Father)

The god responsible for the overthrow of the dragons, the curse of undeath, and the linking of the first flame. Gwynevere tasks us with succeeding her father so we can end the curse of undeath and save the world.

Gwyndolin (Brother)

A feminine, hostile sibling, Gwyndolin creates the false illusion of Gwynevere within Anor Londo to trick us into linking the fire. Whether Gwyndolin loved his sister and was safeguarding her image or only using her to further his plans is unknown.

Pricilla (Potential Daughter)

Theories speculate that, given the Painted World’s location within Gwynevere’s cathedral, Pricilla is Gwynevere’s daughter. While this would suggest that Gwynevere took Seath the Scales as a consort, there is no other in-game lore to confirm this theory.

Memorable Quotes

• When Encountered: Thou hast journey’d far, and overcome much, chosen Undead. Come hither, child…
• Joining Covenant/Getting Adopted: Hereafter, I, Gwynevere, shall serveth as thine guardian. If thou so needest, I shall devote all to thine safety.
• Talking: Thou shalt endeth this eternal twilight and avert further undead sacrifices.
• Betraying her: Aieegh…

FAQs

Conclusion

We did it. We conquered the city of sunlight, met our lovely lady for some much-needed R&R, and uncovered the truth behind Anor Londo. While it may be heartbreaking to learn that our Freudian comfort character was just an illusion, that doesn’t make her love any less real.

Looking for more interesting readings? Check out:

• Priscilla Dark Souls Guide
• Dark Souls 3 Sirris Guide
• Dark Souls 3 Hollowing Guide
• Dark Souls 3 Undead Bone Shard Guide