The Ultimate Guide to Humanity Farming in Dark Souls Remastered
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The best way to farm Humanity in Dark Souls Remastered involves understanding item discovery, enemy drop rates, and optimal farming locations. While several methods exist, the most consistently effective and readily accessible approach is farming the Undead Rats in The Depths, particularly while utilizing the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring and a reasonable Humanity count (up to 10). This method balances accessibility, risk, and reward, providing a steady stream of Humanity for both early and late-game needs.
Why The Depths Rats Are Your Best Bet
The Depths Rats present a unique advantage: they are available relatively early in the game after defeating the Capra Demon and obtaining the Key to the Depths. You don’t need to defeat the Gaping Dragon for this method to work, making it a viable strategy for characters of all builds.
- Accessibility: Located near a bonfire, allowing for quick resets and efficient farming runs.
- Enemy Difficulty: Rats pose minimal threat, allowing for fast and efficient kills.
- Drop Rate: While base drop rate is low, it’s significantly boosted by Item Discovery.
- Consistency: Rats are plentiful and always available (they don’t despawn).
Optimizing Your Humanity Farm
To maximize your efficiency in the Depths, consider the following:
- Equip the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring: Located in Sen’s Fortress, this ring substantially increases your Item Discovery, making it the single most crucial element of this farming strategy.
- Increase Your Humanity Count (up to 10): Each point of Humanity increases your Item Discovery, up to a maximum benefit at 10. This provides a noticeable boost to your drop rates without the significant risk associated with carrying excessive amounts of Humanity.
- Utilize Pyromancies or Fast-Attacking Weapons: Efficiently dispatching the rats is key to maximizing your farm. Pyromancies like Fireball or Combustion work wonders. Quick weapons like the Scimitar, Uchigatana, or even a reinforced Dagger can be highly effective.
- Routinely Reset at the Bonfire: After clearing the rats near the bonfire, warp back and repeat. This resets the enemy spawn, allowing for continuous farming.
- Be Mindful of Toxic: Be wary of the basilisk’s curse and the toxic swamp in Blighttown, which you will have to traverse to reach the rats. Use the “spider shield” to increase poison resistance.
Alternative Humanity Farming Methods
While the Depths Rats method is generally considered the best, other options exist, depending on your progression and preferences:
- Humanity Sprites in the Oolacile Township (DLC): These enemies, found in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC, have a higher base drop rate for Humanity than rats. However, they require access to the DLC, which is more difficult.
- Baby Skeletons in the Tomb of the Giants: While often mentioned, the effectiveness of this method is debated. The Tomb of the Giants is a dangerous area, and the drop rates are inconsistent. This area is better suited for more advanced characters.
- Summoning and Assisting with Boss Fights: A guaranteed Humanity reward upon successful completion. Requires being in Human form and available co-op partners. This is a low-risk approach, but can be time-consuming depending on your level and build.
- Invading and Defeating Hosts: Grants one Humanity per successful invasion. High-risk, high-reward. Requires a specific build tailored for PvP and can be frustrating for players unfamiliar with the game’s PvP mechanics.
Factors to Consider
- Risk vs. Reward: Weigh the risk of losing Souls and Humanity against the potential gains of each farming method. The Depths Rats present a relatively low-risk option.
- Playstyle: Choose a method that aligns with your preferred playstyle. Some players prefer the active engagement of PvP, while others prefer the methodical approach of farming enemies.
- Game Progression: The best method may change as you progress through the game. The Depths Rats are a good starting point, while the Humanity Sprites in Oolacile Township become viable later in the game.
- Patience: Humanity farming requires patience. Be prepared to spend time repeating farming runs to accumulate a substantial amount of Humanity.
Understanding Item Discovery
Item Discovery is the primary stat that influences the rate at which enemies drop items, including Humanity. It is increased by:
- Humanity: Up to 10 Humanity, each point increases Item Discovery.
- Covetous Gold Serpent Ring: A significant boost.
- Symbol of Avarice: Found on Mimics, it also provides a large increase, but comes with a health drain.
Maximizing Item Discovery is crucial for efficient Humanity farming.
Humanity is a critical resource in Dark Souls Remastered, essential for kindling bonfires, summoning allies, and reversing hollowing. By understanding the various farming methods and optimizing your Item Discovery, you can ensure a steady supply of this valuable resource. Farming can be seen as another facet of gameplay, an activity which the Games Learning Society explores to understand how games work. For more information on the academic studies of gaming, visit the GamesLearningSociety.org website.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What exactly is Humanity in Dark Souls?
Humanity is a consumable item in Dark Souls that serves multiple crucial functions. It allows you to reverse hollowing, becoming human, which in turn enables you to kindle bonfires for more Estus Flasks, summon allies for co-op play, and opens you up to invasions by other players. Additionally, carrying Humanity increases your Item Discovery, boosting the chance of enemies dropping items.
2. How does Item Discovery actually work?
Item Discovery directly impacts the probability of enemies dropping items. The higher your Item Discovery stat, the greater the chance of an enemy dropping an item upon defeat. This includes weapons, armor, upgrade materials, and, of course, Humanity.
3. Where can I find the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring?
The Covetous Gold Serpent Ring is found in Sen’s Fortress. You will need to navigate through the fortress until you encounter the room with the boulder-dropping mechanism. Instead of going up the stairs, look for a hidden path off to the side. Follow the path and defeat the enemy guarding the ring.
4. How much does Humanity increase Item Discovery?
Each point of Humanity increases Item Discovery, up to a maximum benefit at 10 Humanity. Beyond 10, additional Humanity does not further increase Item Discovery.
5. Is it worth using the Symbol of Avarice for Humanity farming?
The Symbol of Avarice significantly increases Item Discovery, but it also drains your health continuously. Whether it’s worth using depends on your build and playstyle. If you can manage the health drain, it can substantially boost your farming efficiency.
6. Can I buy Humanity anywhere in the game?
Yes, you can buy Humanity from a few sources, but they are typically not the most efficient method.
- The Female Undead Merchant in the Undead Burg sells Humanity for 5,000 Souls each.
- Marvelous Chester in the Oolacile Township (DLC required) sells Humanity for 10,000 Souls each.
- You can steal humanity from some NPCs using the Dark Hand.
7. What happens if I die while farming Humanity?
If you die while carrying soft Humanity (the number displayed in the top-left corner), you will lose it along with any Souls you are carrying. You can recover it by returning to your bloodstain, but if you die before reaching it, the Humanity and Souls are lost permanently.
8. Does the difficulty level (NG+, NG++, etc.) affect Humanity drop rates?
Yes, the difficulty level does affect enemy drop rates. As you progress through New Game Plus cycles (NG+, NG++, etc.), enemies become stronger and have higher HP, but their drop rates also increase, potentially making Humanity farming more efficient.
9. Are there any covenants that help with Humanity farming?
No specific covenant directly boosts Humanity drop rates. However, joining a covenant like the Way of White can increase the likelihood of being summoned for co-op, providing a guaranteed Humanity reward upon successful boss completion.
10. Is it better to farm in Human or Hollow form?
It is generally better to farm in Human form, as it allows you to kindle bonfires for more Estus Flasks, summon allies for assistance (if needed), and maximizes your Item Discovery by allowing you to carry up to 10 Humanity.
11. How do I reverse hollowing in Dark Souls?
To reverse hollowing, you need to use a Humanity item at a bonfire. This will restore your human form. Be aware that reversing hollowing leaves you open to invasions by other players.
12. What are Humanity Phantoms?
Humanity Phantoms are enemies that appear in certain areas of the game (particularly in the DLC) and can drop Humanity upon defeat. They are distinct from regular enemies and have a higher chance of dropping Humanity.
13. Is it possible to farm Humanity offline?
Yes, all of the enemy-based Humanity farming methods (such as farming the Depths Rats) can be done offline. This makes them reliable options regardless of your internet connection.
14. How do Chaos Weapons interact with Humanity?
Chaos Weapons scale with Humanity, up to a maximum of 10 Humanity. This means that the weapon’s attack power increases as you carry more Humanity (up to 10).
15. Should I always stay human in Dark Souls?
Whether you should always stay human depends on your priorities. Being human allows you to kindle bonfires and summon allies, but it also makes you vulnerable to invasions. If you prefer to avoid invasions and are not interested in co-op, staying hollow is a viable option. If you are aiming to kindle or summon allies then become human, do those tasks, then revert to hollow form.