Dark Souls Walkthrough Part 13 – Quelaag's Domain

While this is a somewhat simple area, it is a nice relief after the poisonous swamp you just stepped out of. It is very important, as there is a boss just ahead, to leave the Egg Carriers you encounter in this hallway alive and unharmed. If you do hit them they will let loose a swarm of Vile Maggots that will be hard to kill and put you in poor shape to deal with the coming boss. Understand that once you head into this area there will be some chaos in the Firelink Shrine where you will be unable to upgrade your Estus Flask for a good while unless you go to another of the Firekeepers. You will find them soon enough.

Chaos Witch Quelaag
This is not a battle that will be won with blocking. You want to bring Fire Resistance to this battle. It is important to note that the Quelaag only has 3 attacks that can be blocked and all of them are better to simply evade. The rest tend to linger on the battlefield as they are Lava-based.

Playthrough 1
More than anything you will want to use the strongest weapon you have and use it two-handed. You want to close in and attack as much as possible. There is no point in being defensive in this battle, just evasive. By keeping the battle close to it, you limit its attack options and make it less likely to use its Lava Spew which blocks off parts of the battlefield as it lingers. Your odds are best by staying to either side of her head. This gets it so she will mostly use her lava attacks and her sword swings. You will be out of range of all but three of her attacks. One is a lava spew and two are attacks she rears back for. Any of these will inflict a lot of damage so keep on guard for them.

Once you have beaten her continue forward so you can ring the bell. GO on up the stairs to reach the bell tower. Once you ring it, you will be shown the path to Sen's Fortress beyond the Undead Parish. This also starts a sidequest which relates to the Firelink Shrine's Firekeeper, Anastacia. It will take some time to complete though.

Head on the down the nearby passage. To the left of the base of the stairs you will see an opening in the wall where it leads to just flat stone. Swing at it to reveal a hidden passage. Head down it. Do not attack the Egg Carrier in the hallway! It will not hurt you and the Egg Carrier will bid you to enter to converse with "My Fair Lady". You will find a Bonfire to rest at and Quelaag's Sister to potentially talk with her if you have the Old Witch's Ring. You can either trade for this or as a starting gift. She will offer a Conventant and she is a Firekeeper. Refresh yourself and stock up on things as best you can. It is time to work on leaving all this behind and making for the next set of destinations.