- "Sen's Fortress is an old proving grounds built by the ancient gods. It is the only route leading to great Anor Londo. Of course, most fools can't even find their way into that fortified deathtrap..."
- — Andre of Astora
Sen's Fortress is a location in Dark Souls.
Description[]
Sen's Fortress is a large, stone fort inhabited by an assortment of enemies, including Serpents, undead knights and Titanite Demons. It is notable for its many traps and environmental hazards that line the hallways, and is said to be an old proving grounds built by the ancient gods. It is the only route that leads directly to great Anor Londo.
It can be found by crossing the stone bridge leading out of the enclosure in the Undead Parish out of a doorway in front of the bonfire before where Andre of Astora is working. The fort can only be entered after ringing both of the Bells of Awakening.
Bonfire[]
The only bonfire in the area is located near the top of the fortress, in the area where the Giant throws firebombs down toward the player. To reach it, the player must immediately turn left upon crossing the mist barrier and spotting the first giant. After climbing the first flight of stairs, the player must run directly across to the second flight of stairs. After climbing the second flight of stairs, the player will be led to an open courtyard with scorch marks etched onto the ground along with a burnt corpse. To the right, there will be a broken segment of wall. Simply approaching and dropping down here will lead to the bonfire. The fall will cause minor damage to the player, and it is possible to die before lighting it.
Characters[]
- Big Hat Logan - He is found imprisoned behind a destructible wall. Freeing him requires the Cage Key or Master Key.
- Black Iron Tarkus (White Phantom) - His summon sign is in a tower past the fog door leading to the Iron Golem boss.
- Crestfallen Merchant (merchant) - He is located on the outdoor roof area, in a tower which is across a gap on the intersecting walkway.
- Siegmeyer of Catarina - He is initially encountered outside the gate to Sen's Fortress, and can later be found inside the fortress by the first boulder obstacle, near the Shotel.
Strategies[]
- There are many traps that line the halls of the fortress, but most can be trivialized by approaching an area cautiously and with your guard up.
- The swinging blades on the narrow walkways can send a player careening to their doom, but never require mad dashes to bypass. By carefully looking for safe gaps in which to stand, the blades can be passed without ever needing to sprint or roll dangerously.
- The large hidden ballistae traps are always denoted by a raised pressure plate on the ground before them. The projectiles can be harmlessly blocked with a shield for little to no stamina loss. Furthermore, the first few ballistae traps will only fire from in front of the player upon activation, but the last few will be placed in such a fashion as to backstab an unwitting player.
- The rolling ball trap is a tricky situation to contend with: initially, when a player first reaches it, it appears as though the direction of the balls can be manually controlled via the central mechanism, and while this is indeed true, the mechanism will actually reset itself should the player move far enough away. It will generally not reset while the player is on a potentially hazardous ball ramp / grove, but can reset if the player goes from one grove to the other, and will seemingly do so as if aiming for the player.
- Interacting with this ball trap mechanism is necessary to reach certain optional sections of the fortress. Covetous Gold Serpent Ring can only accessed by filling the zig-zagging stair route with several balls, and Big Hat Logan's imprisonment area can be found by rolling a ball down the central ramp (the one facing the fortress' entrance).
- The trigger-able traps only react to the player's presence, but can be turned against enemies quite effectively. By luring a Serpent Enemy onto a swinging blade or ballistae path, these enemies can be dispatched with minimal risk to the player.
Enemies[]
Characters[]
- Griggs of Vinheim (hollowed)
- Undead Prince Ricard (hollowed)
Respawning[]
- Balder Knight
- Berenike Knight
- Giant (operating the boulder mechanism)
- Serpent Mage
- Serpent Soldier
- Serpent Mage (gravelorded)
Non-respawning[]
- Giant Gatekeeper (behind an illusory wall after climbing the ladder from the Titanite Demons)
- Giant Firebomber (top of fortress)
- Mimic
- Titanite Demons
Bosses[]
Notable items[]
Armor[]
- Black Sorcerer Set (corpse)
Keys[]
- Cage Key (corpse)
Miscellaneous[]
- Divine Blessing (chest)
Rings[]
- Covetous Gold Serpent Ring (corpse)
- Flame Stoneplate Ring (chest)
- Rare Ring of Sacrifice (chest)
- Ring of Steel Protection (chest)
- Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring (corpse)
Sorceries[]
- Hush (corpse)
Souls[]
- Core of an Iron Golem (drop)
- Soul of a Hero (corpse)
Upgrade materials[]
- Demon Titanite x6 (Titanite Demons - drop)
- Large Titanite Shard x2 (chest); x4 (corpses)
- Titanite Chunk x2 (Giants - drop)
Weapons[]
- Lightning Spear (Mimic - drop)
- Ricard's Rapier (Undead Prince Ricard - drop)
- Scythe (corpse)
- Shotel (corpse)
- Sniper Crossbow and Sniper Bolt x12 (corpse)
Notes[]
- It is possible to enter Sen's Fortress before ringing the Bells of Awakening by using a glitch that prevents the closed gate from loading.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
References[]
Lordran Locations |
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Abyss • Anor Londo • Ash Lake • Blighttown • Crystal Cave • Darkroot Basin • Darkroot Garden • Demon Ruins Depths • The Duke's Archives • Firelink Altar • Firelink Shrine • Kiln of the First Flame • Lost Izalith New Londo Ruins • Painted World of Ariamis • Quelaag's Domain • Sen's Fortress The Catacombs • The Great Hollow • Tomb of the Giants • Undead Burg Undead Parish • Valley of Drakes |
Oolacile Locations |
Battle of Stoicism • Chasm of the Abyss • Oolacile Sanctuary • Oolacile Township Oolacile Township Dungeon • Royal Wood • Sanctuary Garden |
Other Locations |
Northern Undead Asylum |