Doors of Pharros

The Doors of Pharros is a location in Dark Souls II.

Description

The Doors of Pharros is a location so named for its large number of Pharros lock mechanisms. It is the primary home of the Gyrm, a warrior race who make use of adapted weapons, armor, and immense strength. Additionally, the Rat King has domain over part of this area; members of the Rat King covenant can summon other players here. Rat King members can use the Pharros' Contraptions littered across the area to turn it into a gauntlet for summoned gray phantoms. Many of the contraptions will prove useless to non-Rat King players, as they activate various traps and release enemies, but a clever Rat King player can use traps and enemies to great avail. Additionally, using a Bonfire Ascetic on the Ordeal's End bonfire will make the enemies in the PvP area stronger, further assisting dedicated Rat Servants.

Summoned gray phantoms will spawn right outside the door leading from the Gyrm's Respite bonfire to the main room. This bottom floor is waist-high in water, slowing players' mobility. Gray phantoms have to kill the Rat Servant that summoned them or get to the Ordeal's End bonfire room.

The 7 Pharros' Contraptions on the bottom floor will open an alternate pathway up, and release a rat, two Gyrm, and a Primal Knight. Behind this Primal Knight is Santier's Spear. On the second floor, the 17 Pharros' Contraptions activate various traps, release enemies, open treasure rooms, and reveal an alternate path. The traps will make traversing the bridges more difficult. Among the enemies released here are a Primal Knight and several Gyrm. A Pharros' Contraption right outside the second floor bonfire room will block the quick route to the bonfire, forcing gray phantoms to take the long way through enemies and traps.

Adjacent Locations

• Shaded Woods
• Brightstone Cove Tseldora

Bonfires

• Gyrm's Respite: Upon arriving at the Doors of Pharros, the first bonfire is in a small room behind a Primal Knight.
• Ordeal's End: The room past the first bonfire is the domain of the Rat King, travel through this room, and ascend the ladder in the one adjacent. Make your way around this level of the room until you return to the other room, at the second level. After entering the second level of the room, head left until you come upon an opening. The bonfire is inside this room.

Characters

• Lonesome Gavlan
• Rat King

Enemies

Respawning

• Gyrm Warrior
• Gyrm
• Primal Knight
• Dog Rat
• Bowman Guthry (Multiple invasions)

Non-Respawning

• Mimic
• Crystal Lizard

Boss

• Royal Rat Authority

Tips

• If you are summoned by a Rat King player, you might catch them off-guard by simply making a beeline for the exit. If their projectiles are inadequate, you can gain much headway, and the enemies and traps are not very threatening by themselves. Running like this gives you an excellent chance to escape overaggressive Rat King players.
  • Likewise, Rat King players are far better off playing defensively and using the environment to their advantage. The goal isn't to just kill the gray phantoms, it's also to prevent them from getting to the end.
• Using a Bonfire Ascetic in the Ordeal's End bonfire will affect Rat King players' assisting enemies. This is recommended for Rat King players to gain an edge and make the allies more useful.
• In the nook on the second floor with two Pharros' Contraption doors and a chest, there is a button behind the chest that can be struck with a weapon to make spikes emerge from nearby walls. These spikes do minor damage to passers for a moment unless they walk closer to the edge. A Gyrm Warrior will often be present to do this automatically.
• Rat King players defending here should have at least 1 reliable ranged weapon or spell. Open sightlines, difficult terrain, and tanky allies make ranged combat heavily in your favor, and there are many places to shoot from that give you ample time to deal damage before gray spirits lacking range can approach.
• While the axe throwing traps are fairly easy to avoid, they do heavy damage and stun for a long time when they hit, so be careful around them.
• Spells like Force, creatively used, can really shine on the second floor where players can be launched from quite a height. If the target even survives, the user will have more than enough time to kill them or escape. A particularly devious method for Rat Servants would be to use Chameleon and position themselves near a bridge or in one of the many small openings in the walls.

Notes

• Members of the Rat King covenant can summon other players to help fight the boss.