Some details from PC gamer: http://www.pcgamer.com/dark-souls-3-ashes-of-ariandel-dlc-release-date-revealed-with-trailer/

Looks like we're going full Painted World of Ariamis, folks! Ariandel even sounds like it's derived from Ariamis.

Is it the painted world or the place the painted world is based on...

Yuuuuup, that bridge sure makes me feel nostalgic!

This trailer is kinda odd because a decent amount of the actual gameplay and combat stuff they show seems to be from the base game.

@neocalypso: too early to tell, but maybe the DLC alters base game fights some? DSII Sins of the Scholar had some of that at various main game fights.

They did the same thing with Bloodborne's Old Hunter DLC trailer. They showed a bunch of footage of players using new stuff in the base game, but there ended up being a ton of content that wasn't the trailer. Hopefully its the same case here.

How many DLCs are there planned for DS3 anyway?

That bridge is definitely giving me some strong feelings...

Initial impressions are good! Very much looking forwards to some more Dark Souls III.

I regret not waiting for the last DLC, because now I have no desire to play through this game a third time (while constantly looking through the wikis for all the stuff I missed) for access to the DLC. The thought of having to battle all these bosses in new game plus 2 the first time doesn't motivate me either. I might just wait for their next PC game. Dark Souls isn't that intriguing anymore.

@fredchuckdave: They haven't officially said, but since they are calling this the "First" and not the only, like with Bloodborne, I have hopes of at least 2!

I hope they do more then 2 though, since this is the last Souls game for the foreseeable future.

@y2ken: I'll say. Hit me as hard as that part of Irythyll you know, wasn't expecting it. I thought this DLC was gonna be THE DEEP.

Was that some Nito near the end?

Pretty!

@takayamasama: Season pass says two apparently.

@fredchuckdave: Aw ok. Better then one at least!

The Painted World of Ariamis was the first zone designed for Dark Souls 1 and is the best zone in Souls history, with only Central Yharnam and maybe 1-1 from Demon's Souls coming close. They have some seriously big shoes to fill here, but I'm really excited.

Praise that unbelievable sun.

Ashes of Ariamis?

@sunbrozak: The Gwynevere thing is probably spot on, since the game almost straight up tells you that she is still around and managed to evade Aldrich's hunger.

Well, Dark Souls is one of those rare exceptions to my thoughts on season passes. (The only other in recent memory has been The Witcher 3) I purchased it along with the base game without batting an eye. Unsurprisingly, then, I'm very excited about this. Not just because it's "more" Dark Souls, but I'm actually really fiending for finding out how they decide to wrap up the over-arching story. The Souls DLCs have always been filled to the brim with lore, heck, some of 'em are more important than anything featured in the main game (Manus for instance). That said, I think this looks plain gorgeous. But I've always been a sucker for icy environments.

Good chance that last boss they showed is in fact Gwynevere as we've been led to believe she fled from Lorderan, and eventually married the Flame God Flann. Both of which would make for some decent-ass bosses, I would say. Also, Flames, come on. You know they're gonna' be talking about some god damn flames. Oh, and, "He was no Dragon"

@sunbrozak: With her brother dead (got ate by Aldrich), it might be she feels guilty for abandoning him, and thus took it upon herself to fulfill the duty she fled from. What's interesting to me, mind you, is what if that really is the Lordvessel? With that they're saying about so much in this new/old land having been defiled, and the player not having access to the damn thing in DS 3 whatsoever, I wouldn't be surprised if this DLC turns into yet another portent for the end of this world. It'd be one hell of a way to wrap up the overarching story if they just turn all the lights out in the end, leave you crawling in the dark. It's been building towards it for a long time after all.

Was that last guy smacking you with the Lordvessel? Aye, that might be Gwynevere. Don't suppose we know how many they're putting out for DS III?

@shindig: The steam page for the season pass says two, which I'm happy with personally.

Cool. I'll wait til they're both out. I mean, I've played a ton of this but I feel ready enough for some new stuff. I should probably grab Old Hunters when it next goes cheaply.

Sure. I wasn't very impressed by Dark Souls III but their track record for DLC has been perfect thus far across 3 games.I might wait for both of them though.

Some other site said this was purely PvP focused. Were they just spreading misinformation?

@csl316: one zone in the dlc is a specific pvp only, sounds like an arena that multiple people can enter and brawl in. It's not the whole DLC at all though.

@neocalypso: I was thinking that, too. And while I don't mind similar combat (I've just been swording my way through the game) as long as there are new weapons, I could have sworn that was the Nameless King in one shot. If this means that I have to fight (possibly a version of) my personal pick for the most overrated DS boss AGAIN... Well, I won't be jumping for joy.

My S-rank, my beautiful S-rank!

I can't wait.

I liked and ultimately finished Dark Souls 3, which is more than I can say for Bloodborne, but it didn't really stick with me and I am fully checked out when it comes to the lore at this point. Still, I am a little, little bit interested in playing and seeing more of the game in the DLC so I'll probably at least buy the first one when its out.

@poobumbutt: I want to say that run of bosses was a recap of you toppling the core game. Aldrich turns up as well.

@shindig: Then that's even weirder... Maybe? From like, a trailer standpoint.

But I guess it would be a Souls as heck thing to do, to tell you next to nothing about the new content.

"It's Souls. Souls combat. Souls boss designs. Souls environments. What did you expect? You know what you're in for." Who exactly would they be planning on selling on DLC who wasn't already into their core game? A minority, surely.

I suppose at a certain point, the above applies to game DLC in general. Huh. Maybe DLC non-trailers are starting to make sense to me.

With one of my main criticisms of Dark Souls III being that it treads too much familiar ground seeing that the first DLC focuses once again on a lot of known quantities I can't say this inspires much excitement from me. I will play it and most likely enjoy it for sure but I think the Soulshype bubble has finally bust on me with III.

I'd like to see Priscilla again. It was inferred that Aldritch learned his Life Hunt Scythe move by seeing a pale girl in the painted world so lets go.

@golguin: That's a reference to someone in the world though, right? If you never saw it, there's a character in Anor Londo that's Priscilla-like. A young, pale girl in hiding.

It's not Yorshka given the description of the Lifehunt Scythe miracle.

Miracle of Aldrich, Devourer of Gods. Steals HP of foes using an illusory scythe.
Aldrich dreamt as he slowly devoured the God of the Darkmoon. In this dream, he perceived the form of a young, pale girl in hiding.

The Lifehunt Scythe is the weapon wielded by Priscilla.

Any chance that the howling creature is great wolf Sif? Even though this game does tread a lot of old ground it treads ground from the dark souls game I liked the most, so it still kinda excites me. Playing the area where the painted world is based off will be so cool.

@golguin: I always interpreted it as Yorshka, given that I thought Gwyndolin hid her away to protect her from Aldrich and the Pointiff. She's similar to Priscilla, so I figured she could do Lifehunt too. But it is Priscilla's schyte, so I guess I just interpreted wrong. At least I would like to, it would be nice to encounter Priscilla again.

If Yorshka produces a Lifehunt Scythe then it would also make her a possibility. She does have a tail and Seath like dragon bits like Priscilla so it is possible.

So i've been running around NG+ and im at the Soul of Cinder again. Am i locked out of this DLC if i've already beaten the base game bosses shown in the trailer?

You're probably in the best spot, right? I don't think they've said what you need to do yet, but the only limiter for accessing DLC in the earlier games was that you have to reach specific places. If you've done everything, you're good to go no matter what.

@redhotchilimist: hope that's the case here.

I have my save right at the Soul of Cinder so I guess it's a choice of doing the DLC at my base level or kicking it up a notch and taking on the DLC in NG+. I'll probably move into NG+ since the base game DLC content will be too low level for my lv 80ish character.

Ha! Wrong opinions crack me up.

In all seriousness, I still think the DLC for DSII is the best Souls you can get.

Too lazy to find Quid's post so I'll just respond to both, Artorias of the Abyss is easily the best piece of Souls content ever and probably the best DLC ever produced aside from Blood and Wine/Hearts of Stone. Central Yarnham is very good, Painted World is pretty/mildly interesting but vastly inferior to Anor Londo/Duke's Archives (the immediate vicinity), 1-1 is the prototype for most other good zones afterwards, zones using that archetype now are generally superior but you still have to respect 1-1 overall. Just like 4-2 is the protoype for shittiness (but actually is also the shittiest). Shrine of Amana/Dragon Shrine are both better than every DS2 DLC area and just generally fairly unique but still extremely competent zones. I do like the Bloodborne DLC a lot but that might just be my inner masochist.

If the Dark Souls 3 DLC follows DS3 design it'll have overly elaborate side areas while the main areas aren't very interesting, if it follows DS2/Bloodborne DLC it'll be comically overtuned for high NG+'s, if it follows DS1 DLC it'll be perfect.

New trailer w/ gameplay footage. It's pretty spoilery so be warned.

Looks good, although I dunno... I feel some graphical aspects look a bit rough?

Do we know how big these are gonna be? Didn't they say there were gonna be 2 single player DLCs?

If they're both the size of the Old Hunters, that would be incredible.

According to VaatiVidya, this first DLC sounds like it's only got two bosses, so quite a bit shorter than Old Hunters. But I believe he also said that the second DLC is longer, so here's hoping. I would imagine the last piece of Souls content (at least until someone says the series is back... ?) would be something pretty special.

Never played any of the DLC from any previous souls game but I'm pretty excited about this one, does the DLC content scale to your level in any way?

I played a ton of coop boss fights after I beat the game and now my character is super high level and I don't really have time to start a new game so it would suck if the DLC was really easy because I dumped all my excess souls in to levels.