Irithyll of the Boreal Valley

This level starts with you crossing a long bridge during which you should be paying close attention behind you, so as to not be brutalized by the Outrider Beast that suddenly appears. It'll drop a Pontiff's Right Eye ring upon defeat, and you should be able to safely cross the rest of the way to the other side. There's a corpse with a Homeward Bone along the way as well so don't forget to grab that too. Light the bonfire that you see and pick up some Rime-Blue Moss Clumps from the remains nearby. Check the rest of the area for a pair of souls from two different bodies. Make your way up the stairs to your right and defeat the pair of Pontiff Knights before turning around to grab the soul from the corpse behind you. On the stairs off to the right of the main path is another Pontiff Knight. Kill him to get a Large Titanite Shard.

You should see another fountain at the top along with a rather formidable group of enemies, with the Fire Witch being the most dangerous. Clear out the area then grab the soul and the Budding Green Blossom by the fountain before moving on. Further down the road is another Fire Witch on a balcony and also some Rime-Blue Moss Clumps on the snow bank to the left. Enemy-wise, you'll have the Fire Witch, some Wraiths and eventually a pair of Pontiff Knights. Kill off the Wraiths first, followed by the witch so that you don't get cornered when the Pontiff Knights show up. Once the Fire Witch is dealt with, go grab the Large Titanite Shard from the other balcony.

Soon the path should weave to the right and when it does, you should spot some steps to your left which leads to a Crystal Lizard that you can kill for a Twinkling Titanite. Now, if you were to peer down below, you know that you should be able to get down there, if only you can find a way to do so. Hit the railing here to reveal a once invisible staircase. Go down and collect the Large Titanite Shard before dropping off the ledge. Look behind you to find a door that leads back to a bonfire. Don't forget to open this. Defeat the Evangelist down here and she drops the Dorhys’ Gnawing spell. Grab the Witchtree Branch nearby as well. Moving on along the main path and you'll soon encounter a couple of Pontiff Knights alongside a Firewitch. There is a soul and a Large Titanite Shard to collect in this area. Kill off the hostiles before continuing through the archway.

Once at the plaza, take care off the Fire Witch that emerges from the left so you can pick up the soul behind her. You won't be able to go any further from here with the gate locked, so go back to the plaza prior to reaching the cathedral and kill the Pontiff Knight so you can collect the Lightning Gem. Also, the wall across from the archway is fake, hit it to access a corpse carrying a Magic Clutch Ring. Make your way back to the main path now, and take the first right up the stairs to the church where a bonfire is waiting. Anri is also here and will give you a Ring of the Evil Eye, for your efforts in helping to find Horace. Chat with her again to receive the Quiet Resolve Emote. Next, look for some remains near the coffin to get the Proof of a Concord Kept.

From here, head for the graveyard and check the corner to find a Roster of Knights. After that if you head closer to the cliffs, you should spot an Irythll Slave's orb by one of the graves, which has some souls for you to get behind it. There will be Wraiths for you to contend with first though. Follow the path along the edge toward some more souls then kill the Corvian here to grab the Homeward Bones on the grave and also an Undead Bone Shard behind the headstone. Turn back and make sure to go along the the path on the right side, following it until you hit a fork in the road. Go left and clear away all the enemies to collect some Kukri off to the right and a Rusted Coin from the remains. Go the other way toward the cellar next. Now this place is dangerous as it is full of enemies, including Irythll Slaves and Wraiths. Make sure you clear the room out first.

Once you've done that, check the alcove off to the left for a couple of Blue Bug Pellets, then climb the ladder to the right to reach the rafters where you can get a Shriving Stone from the hanging corpse. Moving on to the far end of the area, you'll find a treasure chest with a Yorshka’s Spear on a platform below. Take either one of the exits here to the next section of the level. Here we have another enemy infested area filled with Slaves and Wraiths. Defeat these and try hitting the fake wall in the first alcove to find a Crystal Lizard that drops a Twinkling Titanite when killed. Also on the base of the tree beyond the alcoves is a Blood Gem guarded by a Slave Mage.

Step into the river next and go around to the bridge, moving on until you get to the manor further ahead. There is something guarding the Ring of Sacrifice in the water, which will attack as soon as you get close to the item so be ready. There are some Green Blossoms underneath the bridge that you can grab. At this point, the river should be free of enemies unless you somehow ran away from that big creature on the bridge at the beginning of this level. In which case that same beast will return to settle the score with you right here. If you had killed the thing way back however, you will be free to continue towards a bonfire in the structure at the other side of the river.

But first, there are some extra items along the river that you can pick up. Take a right as soon as the river widens to pick up some souls on the small platform, and if you look right from this spot, you should see some items behind a couple of enemies. This is the Great Heal miracle. Go get that one and stop the bonfire before returning to the river. Grab some Green Blossoms before entering the sewer to face off with more monsters.

Defeat everything then collect some Dung Pies on both sides from the entrance. Moving on further toward the end of the area, check the alcove here for some Excrement-covered Ashes. Climb up the stairs next to enter the manor proper and head for the main hall just beyond the kitchen. In the hall are two knights, with one on ground level guarding a painting, while the other is an archer perched on the upper levels. Kill these two so you can safely pick the room clean of items, including three treasure chests with Divine Blessing, Leo Ring, and Smough’s Great Hammer. Head outside to the courtyard and climb the stairs. You'll run into some resistance along the way, where a Londor Pale Shade could also invade. Kill the invader and you'll receive his Manikin Claws.

Clear the stairs some more until you spot a balcony where some remains are hanging. You can score a Large Titanite Shard from this corpse. Check the left of the building here so you can activate the elevator before going up the big staircase. Once inside the building, you will be greeted by a rather large group of enemies, both from ground level and above. You'll want to try going left prior to reaching the doorway, and drop down onto the platform to collect a Large Titanite Shard. Kill off the magicians after going down the ladder, then take the next set of stairs down to where more of the enemies are and defeat them too. The remains in the corner carries some Blue Bug Pellets. Go back up the stairs toward the cathedral outside.

Turns out the main gate is defended by a couple of Pontiff Knights. Kill them and go on down towards the gate on the other side. Defeat the slaves and pick up the Ember next to the tree. Proceed past the gate and light the bonfire inside. Now, drop off the ledge here to grab the Ring of the Sun’s First Born. Enter the cathedral for the next big fight.

Boss Battle - Pontiff Sulyvahn

You can summon a couple of phantoms for support in this battle so I suggest you do that before entering the boss chamber. It's also worth considering to add elements to your weapon. Dark element from Human Pine Resin worked quite well for me. The Pontiff typically uses two variants of sword attacks (both of which have impressive range). Once is the single swipe which can be parried if you get the timing down.

For the dual-wield sword attack, I'm not sure if it can be parried but you're certainly free to try if you'd like. Having support characters is good for this battle, as they can distract the boss while you attack from behind. Once the Pontiff's health is down to about half, he will occasionally crouch and charge up an explosive attack that pushes outward from his position, so quickly roll or run away once you see him do this. The one other thing that the boss does when you get his health down to 50% is summon a clone of himself, which will mimic everything he does. Kill the clone off quickly to avoid problems.