Mastering the Ultimate Challenge: An Expert‘s Guide to SL1 Runs in Dark Souls 3

Accomplishing a Soul Level 1 run in Dark Souls 3 is a badge of honor that earns you a place among the most elite players in the Souls community. Having conquered the intense SL1 challenge myself multiple times, I‘m here to provide all the data, strategies, and insights you‘ll need to overcome DS3 at SL1.

Defining the SL1 Challenge

First, let‘s quickly define what we mean by "SL1" and why it represents the pinnacle of challenge:

• SL stands for "Soul Level", which indicates the total levels gained by your character.

• SL1 means completing the entire game without ever increasing your SL above the starting value of 1.

• This requires defeating all bosses using only your starting stats and upgrades.

According to Fextralife‘s DS3 wiki, "your soul level is the progression of your character‘s attribute growth through the acquisition of souls."

Normally, you would increase your SL by spending souls to level up vigor, endurance, strength, dexterity, and other stats.

But SL1 means resisting this temptation and triumphing using skill alone!

Why Deprived Is the Only Path

To take the true SL1 challenge, you must begin your journey as the Deprived class.

Deprived starts at SL1, with a club and plank shield as its only equipment. All other classes begin at higher soul levels:

Class	Starting SL
Deprived	1
Sorcerer	6
Cleric	5
Assassin	10
Mercenary	10
Herald	7
Knight	9
Warrior	8
Thief	6

As you can see, Deprived is the sole class that lets you maintain SL1 from start to finish. Choosing any other class would undermine the entire spirit and difficulty of an SL1 run!

Weapon Upgrades Are Your Lifeline

While you can‘t gain any levels, collecting souls to upgrade your weapons and shields is absolutely vital for an SL1 run.

With stats locked at minimums, raw damage and resistance from upgrades can make or break your ability to fell bosses and withstand hits.

Here are the weapons I‘ve found most effective for SL1 runs in DS3 thanks to their damage when fully upgraded:

Weapon	Max Upgrade	AR (Raw)
Deep Battle Axe	+10	359
Broadsword	+10	347
Long Sword	+10	347
Astora Straight Sword	+10	322
Dragonslayer‘s Axe	+5	310
Mace	+10	306

AR stands for "Attack Rating", which encapsulates the weapon‘s total physical and elemental damage. Higher AR equals more damage per swing against enemies and bosses!

These weapons provide the ideal balance of high AR, modest requirements, and movesets that align to SL1 playstyles.

Infusions Are Your Best Friend

Infusing your weapons is also a must, as it converts scaling damage to pure raw damage. This maximizes your AR since scaling provides negligible benefit at SL1.

The best infusions are typically Raw and Deep:

• Raw removes scaling for pure physical damage. Great for Strength/Dex weapons.

• Deep converts to Fire + Dark damage. Useful against bosses weak to these types.

• Blessed can work on buff-focused weapons to regen HP.

Applying the right infusions, like Raw to an Astora Straight Sword or Deep to a Battle Axe, is vital when you lack meaningful stats for scaling!

Rings to Boost Survival

While DS3‘s rings can‘t directly increase damage or health like in DS1, several provide invaluable utility:

• Knight‘s Ring – Gives +5 Strength, to equip heavier weapons.

• Hunter‘s Ring – Similarly boosts Dexterity.

• Prisoner‘s Chain – Vital early game. Gives +5 Vigor, Endurance, and Vitality.

• Ring of Favor – Health/stamina boosts. Helps counter Prisoner‘s Chain drawbacks.

• Chloranthy Ring – Extra stamina regen for critical evasion.

• Lloyd‘s Shield Ring – Saves you from one-shots when at full health.

Having the endurance to swing, block, and dodge along with the HP to survive hits is everything in an SL1 run. These rings help shore up the gaps in your crippled stats.

Boss Tips from My SL1 Experience

Now let‘s get into some tips and strategies I‘ve picked up from successfully completing multiple SL1 runs through brutal bosses:

Iudex Gundyr

• Parry his first phase for ripostes using your shield or Caestus. You can easily stagger him.
• In second phase, space properly to evade his grab and lung attacks. Only go in for 1-2 hits safely.

Vordt of the Boreal Valley

• Stay underneath and behind him during his combos. Dodge into his attacks.
• Attack his back legs and top of his head when openings appear. Burn him down quickly!

Curse-Rotted Greatwood

• Just focus all damage on popping the large cysts to expose the weak points you can attack.
• Mostly just be patient – avoid risks and take safe hits until it attempts to leap.

Crystal Sage

• Use fire bombs or Deep weapons to quickly kill the clones.
• Dodge the soul spear fan patterns. Ranged spells are deadly for an SL1 character!

Deacons of the Deep

• Just sprint through the crowd swinging your weapon wildly. They die fast with little threat.
• Focus down the red-eyed deacon whenever it appears to disrupt their curses.

Abyss Watchers

• Stay aggressive in the first phase – off-balance the first watcher before the others rise.
• In second phase, space properly to whittle down his delayed combos from a safe distance.

High Lord Wolnir

• Just quickly smash the bracelets before the mist overtakes you and avoid his arm swipes.
• If you do get caught in the mist, sprint out or use a Lloyd‘s Talisman to stop his regen.

The Toughest Bosses at SL1

However, even after completing multiple SL1 runs myself, a few bosses still give me nightmares:

• Nameless King – The camera lock-on really struggles with his dragon in phase 1. Then his delayed spear combos in phase 2 require perfect dodging.

• Sister Friede – Her invisibility and speed make her nearly impossible to stagger, while her high HP drags out the fight. Then Father Ariandel and Blackflame phases add another level of pain.

• Soul of Cinder – His wildly diverse moveset covers every range and damage type. He‘s a culmination of all prior Souls skills you must master.

• Dancer of the Boreal Valley – Her fluid, spinning attacks come out in rhythms that are hard to predict. And her grab will one-shot you.

These bosses demand your utmost focus, patience, and skill. Expect to die many, many times before tasting victory!

The Virtue of Perseverance and the Prestige of Triumph

For new players attempting their first SL1 run, the most vital attributes are perseverance and a mindset of incremental progress.

An SL1 run is a true test of patience and resilience. You will hit walls. You will die repeatedly to early area enemies that once posed no threat.

But every attempt makes you a little wiser.

Maybe next time you‘ll dodge an extra swing in a boss‘s combo. Or survive the grab that killed you ten times over. Keep at it, stay calm, and savor these micro-victories.

The ecstasy and prestige of finally felling the mighty Soul of Cinder at SL1 will make every ounce of pain worthwhile. Thousands have conquered the ultimate challenge – now go let the world know you stand among them!

I hope these insights from an SL1 veteran help you on your exciting but harrowing journey. We‘re an elite community of the most dedicated players, and I‘m thrilled to welcome more worthy warriors to our ranks. Now steel your will, skeleton, and let the SL1 trial begin!