In Game Description

Key to the annex in the
Painted World of Ariamis.

In the wintery painted world,
there is a structure resembling an
old cathedral; its annex serves
as a type of storehouse.

Availability

Behind an illusory wall in the sewers/tunnels in the Painted World of Ariamis. These are accessed via the well in the courtyard with the Phalanx. The solid looking section of wall around the left of the first turn is the one to look for.

Alternatively, destroy the wall to the left of the switch in the large sewer area (with the Skeleton Wheels). Turn right, past the illusory wall, then left. You will encounter another Skeleton Wheel. The key is the item at the end of this corridor.

Opens

The storage annex in the Painted World of Ariamis

In Game Description

Key to the cell of the Duke's Archive Tower.

The Archive Tower, once a trove of precious tomes and letters, became a prison after the onset of Seath's madness. The serpent men who guard the prison know not the value of what they hide. In the basement of the tower are the writhing "mistakes" of the terrifying experiments which were conducted there.

Availability

Dropped by the Serpent Soldier outside your cell

Opens

Escape from the prison after battling against Seath The Scaleless in The Duke's Archives

In Game Description

Extra key to a cell in the Duke's Archive Tower.
Perhaps the serpent men were careless, for there are several keys scattered about which fit Archive Tower cells.

Availability

Found on a corpse in the prison section of The Duke's Archives, dropping from the third accessible cell in the fourth.

Opens

Many prison cells in the Archive Tower in The Duke's Archives

In Game Description

Key to the giant cell below the Duke's Archives Tower.
The giant cell once imprisoned countless maidens, but is now empty, save for a few key persons. They struggle to uphold their sanity, as the horde of "mistakes" writhe at a fearfully close proximity.

Availability

The Duke's Archives, near the exit to the Crystal Cave

Opens

The giant cell behind the Pisacas at the bottom of the Archive Tower in The Duke's Archives. Free Big Hat Logan

In Game Description

Key to the giant door leading out from the uppermost floor of Archive Tower, which now serves as a prison.

The key's design resembles not the key of a prison; indeed, the tower was once no prison at all, but a trove of precious tomes.

Availability

Found in the prison section of The Duke's Archives. The key is in a chest behind the gramophone, guarded by two Serpent Soldiers and a Serpent Mage.

Opens

Unlocks the large doors at the ledge above the ladder, at the top of the stairs in the prison section of The Duke's Archives

In Game Description

Opens the narrow passage leading below
at the far face of the great bridge in
the Undead Burg.

The lower Undead Burg is a treacherous place.
Do not turn your back on the wily thieves, or
the wild dogs who serve the Capra Demon.

Availability

Found on a corpse on the stairs leading up to the church in Undead Parish, next to the lever that opens the gate back to the area with the Armored Tusk

Opens

The door near the bridge with the Hellkite Dragon that leads down to the lower section of the Undead Burg

In Game Description

Key to the inner door of the Undead Asylum
main hall. Big key belonging to a chosen
Undead pilgrim.

But this chosen Undead knows not what
this pilgrimage has in store.

Availability

There are three way to get the key:

• Dropped by the Asylum Demon in Undead Asylum if not killed in the first encounter

• Oscar, Knight of Astora gift if you defeated the Asylum Demon in the first encounter

• Dropped by Oscar, knight of Astora if you defeated the Asylum Demon in the first encounter

Opens

Large door in the Asylum Demon's chamber in the Undead Asylum.

In Game Description

Key to Blighttown from the Depths of the
Undead Burg. Swallowed by the Gaping Dragon.

As its name suggests, Blighttown is a place
of great pestilence. Even the polluted
inhabitants of the Depths are aware of its
dangers, and built this mighty door in hopes
that they could remain safely separated.

Availability

Defeat the Gaping Dragon in the Depths

Opens

The large double doors near to where Domhnall of Zena sits in the lower level of depths that lead to Blighttown

In-Game Description

Half of a broken stone pendant.
The vine appears to originate from Oolacile.

A powerful magic can be sensed from this
ancient stone. Yet men of this time can
neither manipulate nor sense its power,
which has a distinct air consisting of
both reverence and nostalgia.

Availability

The Duke's Archives Crystal Golem drop

1. Rescue Dusk of Oolacile from the Golden Crystal Golem behind the Darkroot Basin Hydra
2. Obtain the Lordvessel at Anor Londo and place the Lordvessel in the Firelink Altar
3. Warp to Anor Londo and take the path leading to The Duke's Archives. Take the first elevator up into the Archives
4. You will find a Crystal Golem in the foyer area just before the library with a mob of Undead Crystal Soldiers. Kill the Crystal Golem for the Broken Pendant.

Use

Allows a portal to Sanctuary Garden (thus accessing the Additional Content) to spawn in the Darkroot Basin, in the cove near Dusk's Golden Crystal Golem.

Notes

• Remember that you have to purchase the Artorias of the Abyss unlock key first or be playing the Prepare to Die edition for the Golem to be able to drop the pendant.
• If you kill the Duke's Archives Crystal Golem before rescuing Dusk, the Golem will not drop the broken pendant. Don't worry if you do this, the Golem respawns and will still drop the pendant when you return with the proper conditions met.
• The portal is actually one way. To return to non-Additional Content areas, you can use the Lordvessel's bonfire warp feature.

In Game Description

Key to the hanging cage in Sen's Fortress.

If a hapless adventurer becomes fatigued during an imprudent attempt to overcome the fortress, the serpent men will not kill him, but lock him up in a lonely cage. Eventually, unless they have forgotten, they drag the victim off to who-knows-where.

Availability

Found in Sen's Fortress

Accessed by descending the tower which contains the Crestfallen Merchant. Guarded by a Serpent Mage.

Opens

• The cage containing Big Hat Logan (optional area after destroying a wall with the stone dispatcher)

• A cage containing a Soul of a Hero in the same area

• The shortcut cage shortly before the boss encounter. Once opened and used allows you to quickly get to the top via a cage elevator and vice versa.

In-Game Description

Bent Crest Key.
The grooves of the crest are enchanted,
the door sealed with a powerful spell.

Use

Open the locked door above the Knight Artorias arena that leads to Hawkeye Gough

Availability

Oolacile Township Mimic drop

Getting the key

1. When you get into the area with many Bloatheads. If you climb down the stair case, you will find a door on the right. It is advised to kill the Bloatheads first, especially the two Bloathead Sorcerers.
2. Climb up the stair case from door, and you will encounter another Bloathead.
3. Afterward, you will find yourself in a room with a wooden plank on the left.
4. Walk up to the plank and look left.
5. You will find a room with a table, couple chairs, a fire place and a chest, that is the Mimic.
6. Roll into that room from the plank.
7. Kill the Mimic for the key.
8. You will find a door to the far side of the room, and that will lead to a balcony with broken railing.
9. If you drop down to the roof and walk around to the right, you will find twin Humanity. Walk back and drop down using the roof ledges to return to ground level without taking damage.

Getting the key - via shortcut

1. Start at the Oolacile Township waypoint. Go straight forward, take the elevator down.
2. Turn to the left when you exit it and go into the building with the multiple Bloatheads.
3. If you go slightly to the right and look to the left, you'll see an open doorway with a stone staircase. Climb up the stairs, go out on the wood platform.
4. You'll have to roll over the beam to get to a somewhat lower one.
5. There's a Mimic Chest on the right of the fireplace. Kill the Mimic, collect the Key.

In Game Description

This crest opens a door in the Darkroot Garden sealed by ancient magic.

This door leads to the grave of Sir Artorias the Abysswalker. Many adventurers have left for the grave, but none have returned for they make easy prey for local bandits,
With such dangers, the crest can do more harm than good in the hands of the uninitiated.

Availability

• Sold by Andre of Astora for 20,000 souls
• Andre of Astora drop

Use

Opens the large sealed, glowing door in the Darkroot Garden

Notes

• This negates the need to circle around the Darkroot Garden and fight the Hydra in the Darkroot Basin to get access to the ladder, as well as providing very efficient soul farming of the Clan of Forest Protectors. It is not actually required, but is highly recommended; not only does it make the trip to the Sif, the Great Grey Wolf boss fight much easier, the soul farming of the Forest Protectors will make back the 20,000 cost of the Crest in no time. Your first time killing the whole Clan will yield 15,000 souls, of which 7,000 will then continue to re-spawn. A character of mid-level and above can farm 7,000 souls a minute; even quicker when casting Homeward.

• At the very location of the door that requires the Crest of Artorias, there is an illusory wall to the left, beside the locked door, hiding a secret Bonfire.

• The easiest method to buy this key is to kill the Bell Gargoyles and the Moonlight Butterfly. Both will give you 10,000 souls when defeated, resulting in quick 20,000 souls.

• If you want to open the door without killing the gargoyles, you can farm souls with the Hellkite Dragon method. If this technique is optimized, it will grant you 1100 souls ~minute. You only need to kick the ladder to the bonfire in the Undead Burg to do this. It would take around 18 - 20 runs to accumulate 20,000.

• Another helpful soul farming area, conveniently located right next to the Crest and a short run from Andre, is the side-passage to the right of the Crest that leads to the Moonlight Butterfly. The journey from the hidden bonfire mentioned above through, this passage, including the side 'trap' area, provides five Giant Stone Knights and seven Demonic Foliages, a total of 3,700 souls. These can be quickly farmed using the hidden bonfire as a base, and six runs would yield 22,200 souls. See the Darkroot Garden page and walkthrough for more details.

In Game Description

Key to the dungeon of the Undead Asylum to
the North.

A mysterious knight, without saying a word,
shoved a corpse down into the cell, and on
its person was this key. Who was this knight?
And was was his purpose? There may be no
answer, but one must still forge ahead.

Availability

Found on the corpse thrown by Oscar, Knight of Astora in your dungeon cell in Undead Asylum

Opens

Your dungeon cell in the Undead Asylum

In Game Description

Key to the iron bars separating the ruins of
New Londo and Drake Valley.

The ruins of New Londo were blocked off,
for the cursed ghosts posed danger to life
and spirit, and the legends speak of a
terrible Dark that was sealed away.

Availability

Found in a chest in Blighttown near the entrance to the Valley of Drakes

Opens

Gate between New Londo Ruins and the Valley of Drakes

In Game Description

Key opening the door from the lower
Undead Burg to the Depths.

Those banished from the Undead Burg eke out
their existence in the Depths, a damp lair
with no trace of sunlight. Nearly half of
the Depths form a perilous flooded labyrinth.

Availability

Defeat the Capra Demon in the Lower Section of Undead Burg

Opens

The door in the Lower Section of the Undead Burg that leads down to Depths

In Game Description

Key to the floodgates of New Londo, which seal away the Four Kings who fell to Dark.

The Sealers flooded New Londo to banish the Darkwraiths and the Four Kings. The agonizing decision was made with the realization that countless lives, and the robust culture of the city, would be lost. The victims now roam the ruins as ghosts.

Availability

• Speak to Ingward in New Londo Ruins after obtaining the Lordvessel
• Dropped by Ingward if not already given

Use

Opens the gate that gives access to the lever controlling the giant door holding back the water in the New Londo Ruins

In Game Description

This universal key opens any basic lock.
Tool of the trade for thieves.

But in the cursed land of the Undead,
most doors are better left unopened.

Availability

• The starting item for the Thief class
• Available as a starting gift for any other class
• Sold by Domhnall of Zena for 5,000 souls, once he relocates to Firelink Shrine

Unlockable Doors

New Game Plus

Once the player acquires this key, it remains with them when even after entering NG+

Notes

• Even though the Master Key can open the door leading to the 3 Gold Pine Resins, it can't open the door where Griggs is trapped in the same area

• While having this key can make some situations easier for a first time player, it can potentially make others much harder at times (as they may enter areas where game natural game progression would not take them yet). For a more natural progression and generally developer-intended experience, it is not recommended for first-time players to choose the Master Key as their starting gift.

Sequence Breaking

The Valley of Drakes shortcut is not only the first door that can be opened with the Master Key, it's also the most important. It enables the player to sequence break, gaining useful loot and making several areas (and its bosses) optional.

• Blighttown's poison swamp is available from the start, by taking the first small bridge in the Valley of Drakes and turning right into the green hued tunnel
  • This makes Lower Undead Burg, the Depths, and more than half of Blighttown optional
  • Early access to Shiva of the East as a vendor for Forest Hunter Covenant members (see below)
  • The second Bell of Awakening can be rung before the first by killing Chaos Witch Quelaag - this grants early access to the first half of Demon Ruins, the Chaos Servant Covenant, and Eingyi (and possibly his Pyromancies)
    • The Pyromancy Flame from Eingyi can be acquired early and if upgraded to at least +10, Quelaana of Izalith will appear outside Quelaag's Domain
  • Easy access to Large and Green Titanite Shards farming spots, by killing the Giant Leeches in the swamp area of lower Blighttown
  • Early access to the Great Hollow and Ash Lake, potentially farming Twinkling Titanites from the Man-Eater Shells there

• Darkroot Basin is immediately accessible by running past the Undead Dragon and two Drakes, then entering the elevator
  • On the way out of the tunnel past the Bonfire, grab the Grass Crest Shield but be wary of the Black Knight above
  • Killing the Hydra enables access to Dusk of Oolacile and gear tha benefits low-Intelligence players by increasing their damage output (see Crown of Dusk and Oolacile Ivory Catalyst)
  • The ladder next to the Hydra and waterfall allows access to the 2nd half of Darkroot Garden without the Crest of Artorias (costs 20,000 souls)
    • This also enables access to the Enchanted Ember, as well as allowing to the Forest Hunter covenant (needed for Shiva of the East, see above)
    • Killing Sif, the Great Grey Wolf at this point gives enables the player to take on the Four Kings early. New Londo Ruins can be accessed straight from Firelink Shrine, however since Ingward only gives the Key to the Seal once the player has acquired the Lordvessel, he'll need to be killed (he drops it upon death)
  • To farm the Clan of Forest Protectors efficiently, purchase the Crest of Artorias anyway from Andre and kindle the fire past the Illusory Wall next to the gate
    • 20,000 Souls can be acquired early and quick by killing the nearby bosses (Bell Gargoyles and Moonlight Butterfly)
  • Easy access to the tower that holds Havel the Rock (Poison Mist, found in the swamp of Blighttown can be used through the closed door where he stands to cheese him) - the watchtower door can then be opened safely with the Master Key

• Undead Parish can be accessed before the Undead Burg by climbing the hill above the Black Knight in Darkroot Basin, which connects to Darkroot Garden, near the old church building where Andre of Astora is found
  • This makes Undead Burg and the majority of the Undead Parish optional, and early access to Undead Asylum as soon as the player activates the elevator shortcut back to Firelink Shrine
  • From the Undead Parish, the Altar of Sunlight can be easily reached since the Hellkite Dragon will not spawn unless the player passes through the small bridge at the beginning of Undead Burg (where he initially shows himself)

• The Catacombs can be conquered with Astora's Straight Sword found next to the Undead Dragon in the Valley of Drakes, or other Divine weapons could be crafted with Andre, after the Divine Ember is acquired by killing the Moonlight Butterfly.
  • This gives easy access to Vamos the fire blacksmith, as well as the Rite of Kindling by killing Pinwheel

• It might be worth visiting the Tomb of the Giants for the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring and Large Divine Ember (for light sources, see Cast Light or Skull Lantern)

In Game Description

The purpose of this key is unknown.
Resembles a basic prison cell key.

Availability

Found in Undead Parish. After fighting the Armored Tusk, pass down the stairwell. Found on a corpse before ascending the ladder at the end of the room.

Opens

Needed to save Knight Lautrec of Carim, who is in a small cell on the second floor in the church located in the Undead Parish.

In Game Description

A strange doll in strange dress.

There once was an abomination who had
no place in this world. She clutched this
doll tightly, and eventually was drawn into
a cold and lonely painted world.

Availability

Inside the very first cell you start the game in. You cannot get the Peculiar Doll during the tutorial, however. You must revisit the Undead Asylum later on to find it.

Opens

Allows access to Painted World Of Ariamis, through the big painting covering the wall of the church in Anor Londo

Notes

Crossbreed Priscilla may be the 'abomination' the item's description refers to

In Game Description

Key to a residence in the Undead Burg.
Simple, sturdy design of the locks in
the Burg keep out unwanted visitors.

But this is a standard key in these parts,
and will open several residences.

Availability

• Can be purchased from Undead Merchant Male in the Undead Burg for 1000 souls
• The Residence Key is a drop from the Undead Merchant Male in the Undead Burg. He also drops a Uchigatana, the Orange Guidance Soapstone, and one Humanity. It is recommend to only kill him after buying the Bottomless Box and the Repairbox.

Opens

• Various buildings in the Undead Burg

Notes

• Even though the Master Key can open the door leading to the 3 Gold Pine Resins, it can't open the door where Griggs of Vinheim is trapped in the same area.

In Game Description

Key to the sewer chamber in the Depths.

In any community, a few bad apples are sure
to exhibit insatiable greed. If they were
turned Undead, and banished to the Depths,
would they reconsider their ways?

Use this key to see for yourself.

Availability

Found in the Giant Undead Rat chamber in Depths

Opens

Door to the Bonfire in Depths

In Game Description

Key to the iron bars on the east side of the
second floor of the North Undead Asylum.

The Undead Asylum is a giant Undead prison,
segmented by countless iron bars.

Even if an Undead were to escape from a
cell, passage to the outside world would
not be gained easily.

Availability

• Gift from Oscar, Knight of Astora in Undead Asylum
• Oscar, Knight of Astora drop

Opens

Gate on the Eastern side of the second floor in the Undead Asylum

In Game Description

Key to the basement of the watchtower in
the Undead Burg.

The basement of the watchtower forms a stone
cell. There are rumors of a hero turned
Hollow who was locked away by a dear friend.
For his own good, of course.

Availability

Found on the body of a dead smith after defeating the Moonlight Butterfly in Darkroot Garden

Opens

Door¹ leading from the bottom of the Watchtower in the Undead Burg's main section to the Darkroot Basin

or, if you're coming the other way,

Opens the tower door next to the lake in Darkroot Basin, which leads directly to Havel the Rock's lair in Undead Burg