Save Data, Backups, and Recovery

There is no Steam Cloud for Dark Souls III. You are responsible for backing up these files.

Many DS2 players lost save data when upgrading or reinstalling Windows. Let's keep the DS3 community strong by avoiding this.

Location

%appdata%\DarkSoulsIII

This will expand to something like "C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\DarkSoulsIII".

This is a folder. Back up the full contents of the folder. It contains graphics configuration, and save files for every Steam account that's used the machine.

Questions?

Feel free to ask questions, or answer others' questions, and I'll add them to the guide as needed.

Can I be banned for this?

Probably not. Bandai Namco recommends save backups, as a precaution against hackers finding ways to corrupt others' saves. They're also needed as a precaution against saves corrupting if the game crashes when saving, although you're less likely to find them mentioning that one. :P

I don't know if you'll be banned for pushing the limits. Say, reverting saves to get branching achievements, or to duplicate items. I wouldn't risk it.

Can I copy my save data to another computer?

Yes, but it's beyond the scope of this guide. You can learn to transfer files somewhere else.

Can I copy saves between different Steam accounts?

No. The save games are specific to your account, and the game refuses to load them on different accounts.

But how do I DO it? What's a backup?

How do I backup files?

Make a copy of it, and put it in a safe place. "Backup" is just a fancy word for making a copy of something, and putting it in a safe place.

Don't just copy and rename a second DarkSoulsIII folder, inside AppData\Roaming. You're more likely to screw up if you have backups right next to the originals. It's best to put it in Documents, or somewhere else "safe".

I want backups to happen automatically.

For cloud storage, Google Drive and Dropbox are probably easiest. But I haven't used them enough to feel comfortable explaining them. Sorry...

For local backups, you can look at "Dark Souls 3 Save Game Backup Tool" by svaalbard, available on nexusmods. I can't recommend it because I've never tried it myself. I'm only giving a mention.

How do I restore files?

Worry about it later, if you like. As long as you have the backup, you can screw up the restore as many times as it takes, and keep trying until you get it right. But:

1. If there is no DarkSoulsIII folder on the computer, run Dark Souls III once, so that it creates one. Just in case.
   
2. Exit Dark Souls III.
   
3. Delete the folder. (Or rename it "DarkSoulsIII - old", or move it somewhere. Whatever feels safe. But get rid of it.)
   
4. Copy your backup folder into AppData\Roaming
   
5. Rename it to DarkSoulsIII, if it wasn't already named that.

Don't ever move your backup, and use it in place of the original. Only copy it. That way you always have a copy, somewhere, in case something goes wrong.

AppData is a hidden folder.

If you can't see AppData, this is why. But you don't need to see it. Just type %appdata% into the Start Menu and hit Enter, and Windows will open AppData\Roaming for you. (Yes, %appdata% goes to AppData\Roaming, not to AppData itself. But that's where we want to go anyway.)

I lost files and have no backup! What can do?

I've never had to do this! So these instructions are pretty loose. Files often can be recovered after system restore, reinstalling Windows, or reformatting. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

1. Download Recuva, or other "file recovery" software. It's best to start this now. Google Recuva and download an installer. If you have a preference for other software, that may be fine; I have no idea. I only know Recuva is popular.
   
2. Do not waste time asking "But how is it possible to recover a deleted file?" Satisfy your curiosity later. And elsewhere. It's beyond the scope of this guide.
   
3. Have Recuva search for "DS30000.sl2" without quotes. (In the rest of the guide I talk about backing up and restoring the entire DarkSoulsIII folder, because it requires less clicking, and it works. But this one file is really what matters.)
   
4. Restore DS30000.sl2 to a safe place. If there are multiple versions, make copies of them all. You may not get another chance; the hard drive could reclaim the space at any time!
   
5. Now try to restore, like with a normal backup. Except look inside the DarkSoulsIII folder for the DS30000.sl2 file to delete and overwrite, instead of doing the whole folder.

I have no success stories to share, unfortunately. But it's better than nothing, and there's no reason it shouldn't work. People restore other kinds of files all the time.

My data is corrupt!

This is why you should make backups. (Or why Bandai Namco is terrible for not using Steam cloud.) The best way to solve corrupt save files, is to restore a recent backup.

But you can also try to trick the game into loading a corrupt save, and sometimes this works!

1. When the game asks if you want to start over, because your data is corrupt, SAY NO. If you said yes, it's too late; you deleted the save. I guess you can try using Recuva to restore an older version of the file. I have no idea if this will work.

Assuming it's not too late for that:

1. Exit Dark Souls III. If it's asking you whether to create a new save, SAY NO and then exit.
   
2. Make a backup of your save.
   
3. Delete the original.
   
4. Restart Dark Souls III.
   
5. Create new characters, because we need to have filled save slots. Create one new character for every save slot you had in your original save. You can log them out immediately as soon as they enter game.
   
6. From the main menu, select Load Game. You should see a list of save slots you just created.
   
7. Alt-Tab, and restore your corrupted save. (Delete your DarkSoulsIII folder, and copy the backup in.)
   
8. Tab back into the game, and try logging in a character.
   
9. If it works, it should log into your real, restored character. Then use the Load Game screen on all save slots, logging in and out of them all.

If it fails, you can try starting over from Step 3. You can also try restoring just the DS30000.sl2 file, instead of the whole DarkSoulsIII folder.

I know this works for some people, because I've seen it posted several times, and know one person who recovered two characters with it. But I don't know the odds of it working. I hope it works for you!

Credits / Sources

Restoring corrupt saves, or trying to, I heard about in many places. One was from comments on this guide. Here's another:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/374320/discussions/0/365163686085152426/#c361787186427990203

Here's someone recommending Recuva for a lost DS2 save, which might have worked. (It's not clear how the poster found the files.)

https://steamcommunity.com/app/335300/discussions/0/365163686071544583/

[Alcatrax]

deleted both, and started up vanilla, nothing bad happened so dunno. thanks for your help!

[Morsk]

@Alcatrax I've only ever seen .sl2 files. My guess is the .sl3 came from a typo when making backups. The timestamp might give you an idea when it happened.

[Alcatrax]

dunno if you still check this OP, but I'm looking to delete my save files (I want to go from cinders mod to vanilla) and theres a DS30000.sl2 and a DS30000.sl3. Any clue what the sl3 file is? Or if it's alright for me to delete it with the sl2?

[CACA]

In my ds3 account i have had 3 characters but one day one of them is gone. By using this guide it came back. Thanks a lot Morsk <3

[Intelicide.exe]

king

[S.]

Well most games include the saves inside the game files, and steam doesn't really have jurisdiction over your documents folder unless it's in admin mode, so there isn't really a better way of doing it

[Predador2000]

Really? sounds useless now.

[Morsk]

Steam's backup feature is for installed game files, not for saves.

[Predador2000]

Using the security backup from steam works?

[S.]

@Kevin Spacey It's probably a problem with the save file being for the wrong version of the game.
I'd look on reddit for some way to convert saves to the most recent version