Beginner's Guide to Starting Chalice Dungeons
Alright, I've never done something like this, but I'll try to keep it concise and to the point for anyone asking questions about chalice dungeons. If I miss anything important, and I probably will, let me know. Please don't laugh at my pitiful attempt.
What are Chalice Dungeons?
Chalice Dungeons are optional content you can start doing as soon as you receive your first from the
. I would recommend starting them as soon as you can, because if you wait until end game, you will end up going through the earlier depth dungeons at a much higher level than intended.
Chalice Dungeons come in several forms: Standard, Root, Sinister, and Defiled.
Standard dungeons can be thought of as the "story" portion of the content. You will need to do these first to obtain better chalices and progress. These are pre-made dungeons by the devs that always have the same loot and bosses.
Root dungeons are randomized in layout, loot, and bosses. This is where you will find things such as uncanny weapons, runes, and powerful gems.
Sinister dungeons are a variant of root dungeons. These dungeons contain bell maidens that summon other players to invade your dungeon. IIRC, these must be purchased inside a standard dungeon of the same depth.
Defiled, well, I think there is only the one, and it is required that you do it while progressing. This cuts your HP in half, and is in my opinion, the most challenging.
In addition, the higher level chalices will require materials that you need to gather inside specific chalices. Eventually, you will be able to purchase most of these through the insight vendor. There are also additional rites that require rare materials found in chalice dungeons. These basically make the dungeon more difficult by spawning certain enemy types or buffing them in some sort of way. I believe the purpose is for better loot, because these enemies generally drop high level gems.
How do I start?
Simply go to any altar and choose to create a chalice. You will also be able to use other players codes at an altar to enter their chalice. You can remove these from your altars at any time, so you have plenty of room to store several favorites if you like sharing. Don't bother sharing standard dungeons, though, as these are the same for everyone.
When inside, your goal is to find lever on each layer to delve deeper. Sometimes in the hallway between layers, you will find a side dungeon. These side dungeons are generally more lucrative, and you will want to do them for the materials that you can find inside chests, especially in Root dungeons. Each layer ends with a boss, and the first 2 are usually pretty easy. Sometimes, the dungeons can go up to 4 layers, with 4 bosses.
Watch out for illusory walls. You will notice some walls seem out of place, and you can attack them to reveal the illusion. You can leave at any point, and your progress is always saved. You won't have to redo bosses, but enemies will respawn.
Why Do Chalice Dungeons?
There are several reasons I would recommend doing them.
1. Some of the best, and most challenging bosses, only appear in there, especially the final boss.
2. Uncanny and lost weapons.
3. HIgh level gems.
4. High level runes.
5. Key Items you can use in the main game,
6. Apparently NPC's are inside, so if you like lore stuff there's that.
7. Well, I think it's fun.
Common Questions
How do I use the Makeshift Altar and what is it for? You need a key item to use it from I believe, Hintertomb Depth 3. It's for quick searching co-op and pvp in chalice dungeons, and also for finding a random dungeon for you to do.
What is depth? Depth is like a tier of difficulty. D1 is very easy, and D2 is not much more difficult. D3 ramps it up a bit to about level 60ish I'd say at the very least. D4 is about NG+ and D5 is a bit higher than that.
How do I get X Chalice? 3 of them are from the main story, and they drop from these bosses:
The first Hintertomb chalice is looted in Pthumeru Depth 2. Any other chalice will come from progressing through the "story".
What is the difference between uncanny, lost and normal weapons? They have different gem slots.
What happens to my chalice dungeons when I start NG+? Nothing. They will remain as they were and you will lose nothing. Think of them are being completely separate from the main game.
I tried to use a chalice glyph but it says I don't meet the requirements, what do? You need to create and finish the dungeon type you are searching for first before you can join another. I don't think you need to finish Root dungeons to join random ones.
Alright, I've never done something like this, but I'll try to keep it concise and to the point for anyone asking questions about chalice dungeons. If I miss anything important, and I probably will, let me know. Please don't laugh at my pitiful attempt.
What are Chalice Dungeons?
Chalice Dungeons are optional content you can start doing as soon as you receive your first from the
Blood-starved Beast
Chalice Dungeons come in several forms: Standard, Root, Sinister, and Defiled.
Standard dungeons can be thought of as the "story" portion of the content. You will need to do these first to obtain better chalices and progress. These are pre-made dungeons by the devs that always have the same loot and bosses.
Root dungeons are randomized in layout, loot, and bosses. This is where you will find things such as uncanny weapons, runes, and powerful gems.
Sinister dungeons are a variant of root dungeons. These dungeons contain bell maidens that summon other players to invade your dungeon. IIRC, these must be purchased inside a standard dungeon of the same depth.
Defiled, well, I think there is only the one, and it is required that you do it while progressing. This cuts your HP in half, and is in my opinion, the most challenging.
In addition, the higher level chalices will require materials that you need to gather inside specific chalices. Eventually, you will be able to purchase most of these through the insight vendor. There are also additional rites that require rare materials found in chalice dungeons. These basically make the dungeon more difficult by spawning certain enemy types or buffing them in some sort of way. I believe the purpose is for better loot, because these enemies generally drop high level gems.
How do I start?
Simply go to any altar and choose to create a chalice. You will also be able to use other players codes at an altar to enter their chalice. You can remove these from your altars at any time, so you have plenty of room to store several favorites if you like sharing. Don't bother sharing standard dungeons, though, as these are the same for everyone.
When inside, your goal is to find lever on each layer to delve deeper. Sometimes in the hallway between layers, you will find a side dungeon. These side dungeons are generally more lucrative, and you will want to do them for the materials that you can find inside chests, especially in Root dungeons. Each layer ends with a boss, and the first 2 are usually pretty easy. Sometimes, the dungeons can go up to 4 layers, with 4 bosses.
Watch out for illusory walls. You will notice some walls seem out of place, and you can attack them to reveal the illusion. You can leave at any point, and your progress is always saved. You won't have to redo bosses, but enemies will respawn.
Why Do Chalice Dungeons?
There are several reasons I would recommend doing them.
1. Some of the best, and most challenging bosses, only appear in there, especially the final boss.
2. Uncanny and lost weapons.
3. HIgh level gems.
4. High level runes.
5. Key Items you can use in the main game,
for example, a ring that allows you to propose to the Vileblood Queen.
I've seen spider-patches inside and talked to him.
Common Questions
How do I use the Makeshift Altar and what is it for? You need a key item to use it from I believe, Hintertomb Depth 3. It's for quick searching co-op and pvp in chalice dungeons, and also for finding a random dungeon for you to do.
What is depth? Depth is like a tier of difficulty. D1 is very easy, and D2 is not much more difficult. D3 ramps it up a bit to about level 60ish I'd say at the very least. D4 is about NG+ and D5 is a bit higher than that.
How do I get X Chalice? 3 of them are from the main story, and they drop from these bosses:
Blood-starved Beast, Ebreitas, and Amygdala.
What is the difference between uncanny, lost and normal weapons? They have different gem slots.
What happens to my chalice dungeons when I start NG+? Nothing. They will remain as they were and you will lose nothing. Think of them are being completely separate from the main game.
I tried to use a chalice glyph but it says I don't meet the requirements, what do? You need to create and finish the dungeon type you are searching for first before you can join another. I don't think you need to finish Root dungeons to join random ones.
