Black Souls II Beginner Guide – Gear & Utility

A streamlined, efficient early–game route that sets you up with strong gear, fast–travel tools, covenants, and enough souls to make the first hours smooth without over-breaking the progression curve.

This Black Souls II Beginner Guide follows the same philosophy as the original: keep the early game simple, stable, and safe while avoiding major spoilers.

Class choice barely matters long–term. Stats normalize quickly and your appearance is fully customizable. For the easiest opening:

  • Thief – starts with increased speed and 1,000 souls
  • Explorer – weaker stats but loaded with consumables you can sell

The guide assumes Explorer, but the route works for every class.

Backstory has no mechanical impact—choose whatever you like.

Part One – Establishing Your Start

Head up the stairs into the rabbit room. Loot the corpses, then turn left until the Cheshire Cat appears. Speak with her, walk forward, speak again, and take the Master Key.

Drop off the nearby ledge to reach the Library of Dreams—your hub.

Essential Early Items

  1. Find the red book on the right side of the library
    • Interact with it five times
    • Receive 2 Greed Rings, which double soul and item gains. Equip immediately.
  2. Speak with the bear merchant on the left
    • Open the shop, close it
    • He gives you 500 souls for free.
  3. Head down the library dungeon floors
    • Collect every item on all three levels
    • Return to the bear and buy:
      • 1 Firebomb
      • 8 Throwing Knives

Entering the Ruins

Return to the Room of Ruin and fully loot the area. Move right to a guard corridor. The knight ignores you—wait for his turn cycle, then follow at a safe distance and slip through the door when he walks away.

Inside the small room:

  1. Drink the “Drink Me!” potion
  2. Pick up “Eat Me!”
  3. Navigate to the upper-right corner for the Rabbit Key
  4. Use the “Eat Me!” item to return to normal size
  5. Wait for the patrol gap at the exit and slip out

First Boss

Go upstairs. Before entering:

  • Use Black Souls (max 3)
  • Heal fully
  • Equip Greed Rings

During the fight the boss self-buffs. When he does, use Interrupt. This opens a damage window where he becomes vulnerable. Follow with firebomb + knives. Dodge one cycle, then repeat.

After the fight:

  • Ignore the room loot
  • Search the guard corpses outside
  • Avoid the red monster
  • Light the bonfire

Part Two – Building Power & Movement

Return to the hub.

  1. Speak with Nod
  2. Use the red exchange box to trade the boss soul for a sword
  3. Visit the bear again—sell everything except:
    • Blood vials
    • Ore shards
    • Invisible pepper
  4. Buy an additional Master Key
  5. Return to Nod and join her covenant
  6. Spend 10,000 souls leveling

Sea of Bloody Tears

Return to the shrinking potion room, drink it again, and enter the upper-center path.

  • Light the bonfire on arrival
  • Explore the upper platforms
  • Use invisible pepper to slip past enemies safely
  • On the right wall is a hidden crack
    • Enter
    • Loot the spellbook
    • Use it immediately

Jump down the “waterfall” to the bottom area. Speak with Dodo:

  1. “I’m looking for Alice.”
  2. “Please tell me.”

Return later but don’t choose more dialogue yet—walk to the exit to reach Liddell Cemetery.

  • Speak with the pumpkin man
  • Light the bonfire
  • Return to Dodo, speak again to join her covenant

Fully level her covenant. The first rank rewards Run Like Dodo—your most important spell for the entire game.

Equip it:
Menu → Skills → Run like Dodo

  • Doubles your world traversal speed
  • Makes exploration drastically safer
  • Required for several skips and optimal routing

Sell your haul at the library and level up with your remaining souls (keep a small reserve).

Part Three – Gathering Gear & Utility

Lutwidge

Travel to Lutwidge. Beneath the bonfire is a hidden wall containing five candies. Collect and sell them—easy souls.

Crossroads Route

From the crossroads go right. Stay low to avoid the kidnapper. Reach the wagons and loot the chest—another spellbook.

Sewer Sweep

Continue downward until reaching the sewage paths.

Follow the left wall to the third door. Inside:

  • Valuable early armor
  • Useful weapons
  • Enemies drop from above—bait them carefully

At the end lies the corpse of a demon hunter with a full gear set. Loot everything and retreat slowly to avoid ambushes.

Result – Your Foundation Is Set

By this point you have:

  • A powerful early weapon
  • Reliable armor
  • Multiple spells
  • Two covenants with strong utility
  • A fast-movement technique
  • Thousands of souls and a safe leveling margin

Most importantly: you’ve secured a strong start without skipping core content or spoiling the story.

From here, progression becomes smooth and flexible.

You now have every tool needed to enter the world of Black Souls 2 with confidence. Explore at your own pace—this setup ensures you aren’t overwhelmed while still preserving the intended difficulty curve.