Iron Keep incredibly difficult?

[^4JB^7L^1ZR]

Is the Iron Keep much harder than the previous zones? I struggled as most do in the opening hours but haven't had much difficulties till now.

I am getting my ass beat in Iron Keep, I have probably lost close to 100k souls here alone and that is more than I had lost in the entire game till now.

Its all the archers, I guess I need a range option to take them out but it eats my arrows, that and the generic knights are super hard to kill without taking damage.

[Juvenilia [Oden]]

I HATED this area the first time I played this game. Actual hell. And it's even worse in SOTFS...

Anyway, take it slow. Abuse their aggro zones. Each enemy has a limit to where they can go. Don't be afraid to run if you need to heal.

A shield is highly recommended. A bow too. Although I think it's far better to kill the archers in a close distance fight because you can simply push them off the ledge. Strike weapons are also welcomed. Using the pillars to avoid the arrows is also a good strat.

It's good to kill everyone before crossing the bridge just so you can focus on the rest of the enemies better.

Understanding the pattern of the attacks will make this area much easier.

Go to the stairs next to the merchant Magerold of Lanafir. At the top of the stairs, turn right, there is a small alcove which has an Illusory Wall with a ballista inside. Another Illusory Wall lies on the wall the ballista is aimed at. Lure the enemies to the ballista and kill them. Now you can focus on the rest of the area.

Also, enemies in Dark Souls II all have a set number of times that they can respawn. For Iron Keep, iirc If you kill them 12 times they despawn.

[tandemdwarf]

I Leveled dex and bought a long bow specifically for this area. I may have gained lots of homosexuality from these actions, but it was the only way to get through with a fully intact estus flask. With a bow you can easily kill all of the katana scrubs one at a time and slowly but surely kill the archers by rolling when they shoot or stepping behind cover.

[76561199101601867]

Alonne knights weak to rapier.
Alonne captains and ironclad warriors weak to hammers.
The most frustrating enemy is Alonne Captain who shoot you from great distance, where healing springs is.

[^4JB^7L^1ZR]

Originally posted by deumion:

Alonne knights weak to rapier.
Alonne captains and ironclad warriors weak to hammers.
The most frustrating enemy is Alonne Captain who shoot you from great distance, where healing springs is.

I was getting destroyed with the Rapier and couldn't get my parry going, I realised using the best shield I had to block was a viable strategy.

Not the best but glad to have finished this areas boss now.

[_Hell_Gate_]

Run to the arch/column just before bridge, wait for the knight ahead of you; then you can aggro the alonne on the bridge and go back to the same safe spot; drop on the lever platform to take knight down, wait for the shot safely, use lever then back & run across bridge to the captain before the fog, check for fountain captain, then drop & use 2nd lever, run for wheel, use wheel animation to avoid shot,... Timing & safe spots do
the trick ;)