So, in as spoiler-free-ish a manner you can muster... what do I do once I've visited all the giants and collected the giant Lord's soul? ...Please... please don't tell me I have to kill the dragon :(

@development: Dragon ain't that hard. But no, you don't have to. Although doing so nets you a soul you can use to craft a pretty interesting weapon.

At this point, you need to go to the bonfire at the King's Gate, in Drangleic castle. Down that path are the two final bosses of the game. If you've got anything you want to do before you finish the game, such as completing the Pilgrims of the Dark levels, or killing Vendrick in the Crypt, then do so now.

Quick Edit: If you remember Freja, the double spider, you can also visit her to access the memories of one of the last, ancient dragons. Doing so will also allow you to get said dragon's soul without combatting him.

Warp to first bonfire in Drangleic castle and take a left.

You can kill the dragon but you do not have to. Go back to the castle.

That is not true. You are placed into free-roam/open-world after defeating the final boss. New game plus must be opted into by selecting the new menu entry from a bonfire.

@do_the_manta_ray said:

Even after the credits rolled I was able to go back and fight Vendrick. It doesn't automatically put you into NG+.

@cale: @groin:

Oh, damn. You're completely right. I've been unable to get the ending sequence out of my head, and immedietely went ahead and moved on to NG+ after I'd crafted a weapon from the final boss' soul, it slipped my mind entirely.

@do_the_manta_ray: That's an interesting interpretation of "spoiler-free-ish," but thanks. Got me two good allies for this.

@development: My bad, I assumed you'd already gone through all the three King gates, so I explained it to you from that standpoint.

wait... im still stuck at the beginning

Did you kill him? I just tried... a whole bunch. Fuck that shit. I'm melee-only, with a weak bow for picking small enemies. That fight is crazy. I've read up on the "secret factors" that influence his overall health, but it still seems ridiculous. It may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not; I like that they included something like this in the game... I'm just not gonna do it any time soon. On to a new character...

What's so bad about the Vendrick fight? Literally just circle around him and then attack him after he attacks. His attacks are hilariously slow and easy to avoid. You have the souls equipped on your " hotbar ", right? For some reason, the debuff doesn't apply unless you do that. You should also go kill the 2 giants in Black Gulch, as one of them drops another Giant Soul that'll debuff him even further.

How do you guys even initate the Vendrick fight? All he does is walk around for me, attacking him does absolutely nothing, he just ignores me.

And yeah, the game is a bit directionless and confusing towards the end, the start is pretty simple. Kill these 4 guys and get their souls.

@shirogane: You have to debuff him first with the souls you get from the Giant trees memories. When you get them, equip them onto your hot bar (don't use them, though), and then attack him a couple times and his HP bar should appear.

@shirogane: hey the lady did say , one day youll stand at drangleic castle , without really knowing why :)

@steadyingmeat: Thanks for that, didn't know you had to have them equipped. I was doing nohing to him at all and he'd just ignore me.

Ha, but he isn't in the castle. And i kinda wondered why i was there the first time i set foot there. Nobody ever gave me a good reason to go there.

@steadyingmeat: You don't have to have them equipped, just possess them in your inventory.

@fredchuckdave: Didn't do anything for me when they were in my inventory, and then I read somewhere you had to equip them, and when I did he almost immediately attacked me. So I dunno what's goin' on.

I did the Vendrick fight with the Giant Souls in my inventory (not hot bar), and it was a piece of cake. Either I'm way better than I have any right to be, or they work in inventory.

They only have to be in your inventory.

...you're kidding me. I thought all i needed was to own the giants souls for him to get easier. Took me at least 2 hours and a whooole lot of charcoal resin to finish that one up.

@mano521: According to everyone else in the topic, they just need to be in your inventory.....but that didn't work for me, and apparently it didn't work for you either, so I dunno. :/

Debuff with souls on the hotbar? wtf?

No idea what that's about. I had 4 souls in my inventory.. went and killed Vendrick on 2nd or 3rd try I think. Took maybe 5-10 mins. Just need to do one hit at a time. I stood directly behind/next to his left leg and just rotated with him. He'll occasionally throw a wrench in the works by being right next to the wall or doing the jump back move. This is where your ability to dodge comes in cause you need to get right back on him immediately and if you fail that dodge you will most likely die in one hit.

It's pretty much like every other Dark Souls boss. Don't make a mistake. Slow and steady wins the race.

@steadyingmeat: Giant in the black Gulch? I dont remember seeing them D:

It's really hidden.

You need to drop from a ledge, near the giant worm.

@sub_o: @the_hiro_abides: So that how you open those damned doors huh ... I new were the door was but did think there were more ledges to go down to.....aaaaargggghhhh DARK SOULS!!!!!!! D: