The Depths

The Depths is an area in Dark Souls that comprises a section of Lordran's sewer system. Certain Undead denizens of Lordran who have been cast out of the Undead Burg seek refuge in these dank tunnels teeming with disease and filth. This area can only be accessed by defeating the Capra Demon in the Lower Undead Burg, who holds the Key to the Depths. Once the key is obtained, players can open a locked door in the Lower Burg leading down into the Depths.

The first chamber contains a dining hall, kitchen and a storage room guarded by numerous Hollow Undead and two Butcher enemies, as well as a handful of attack dogs. Laurentius of the Great Swamp can be found here trapped inside a barrel; if rescued, he will return to Firelink Shrine and become a vendor of Pyromancies. A hidden chute in the kitchen drops directly into a large sewer chamber containing the Giant Undead Rat, a much larger and deadlier version of the other rats infesting the area.

The second exit from the dining hall leads into a series of flooded rooms that also connect to the sewer tunnels. Several slimes will attempt to ambush the player here, some of which hang from the ceiling, making them difficult to spot beforehand. Descending further into the labyrinth, players may encounter basilisks in the lower sections of the sewer, which can inflict Curse status and eventually death by petrification. Players in human form may also be invaded by Knight Kirk here, who has a chance to drop pieces of his unique gear when defeated. A travelling merchant named Domhnall can also appear near the large door leading to Blighttown; he will relocate to Firelink after the player has rung both Bells of Awakening.

The boss of the Depths is the grotesque Gaping Dragon, an enormous creature mutated by the constant flow of waste flushed into the sewers. Solaire of Astora and Lautrec of Carim can be summoned for this boss fight under certain conditions. Once defeated, players can retrieve the key granting access to Blighttown's main gate.

The Depths is generally the recommended area for farming Humanity in Dark Souls due to its large population of Undead Rats, which have a chance to drop the valuable Humanity item upon death. This chance may be bolstered by consuming Humanity to increase a player's "soft" Humanity stat, which in turn increases all item drop rates.