Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel - Snowfield bonfire, exploring Snowfield and how to handle the wolves

Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel's Snowfield is the first area of the DLC, and requires you to talk to someone in the Cathedral of the Deep to reach it. We have full details on this, as well as help with future parts of the expansion in our Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel guide and walkthrough.

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Snowfield and how to deal with the wolves

When you arrive, head along the stone corridor and light the Snowfield bonfire. Through the fog ahead is a corpse with a large soul, and off to the right on the small hill you'll encounter a group of Followers, a variation on the Cathedral Knights from the main campaign.

One of them is equipped with a mace that gives him the ability to spit a stream of fire which you'll need to avoid, so as always it's best to try and aggro them one at a time.

Head behind the rocks that the corpse was propped against, deal with another Follower, then head to the right. As you approach the corpse ahead the ground will give way and you'll be unable to retrace your steps easily.

This place is teeming with wolves, so tread carefully attacking one will lead to several more running in, and if you attract too many at once it's very easy to get overwhelmed. Some of the trees in the area will spit fireballs from quite a distance, and if you get too close they'll try and grab you, so watch your step - they move slowly and are relatively easy to circle behind, but if they do manage to grab you things won't end well.

There's a few areas off the critical path that are worth exploring:

• Heading down the slope and keeping to the right will lead you to a path that's guarded by more Followers but will let you drop back to the area with the first bonfire should you need it.
• Heading to the cliff edge ahead and turning left will lead to a fight with a Greatwolf - he moves surprisingly quickly, and he can prove a tough opponent, but by rolling into rather than away from him when he attacks should keep you safe and give you ample opportunity to strike. Following the path under the rock overhang he was sat one leads to an encounter with some enormous knights - their slow movement is countered by a long reach on their attacks and the ability to unleash a rapid flurry of blows, so try and circle round to their unshielded side. Watch out for the archer that will start taking potshots at you as you near the tower at the top of the slope, and use the ruined buildings to cover your approach. Head into the tower, climb the first ladder, and make your way up the steps. As you near the top dodge roll in and backstab the archer to get the drop on him, and be careful not to roll off the narrow platforms during the ensuing fight - it may prove easier to lure him back down than risking plummeting to your death. Once the coast is clear make your way to the very top of the tower where you'll find the Captain's Ashes, then work your way down the inside collecting items on your way. Once the tower is cleared head up the slope to the right and you'll be dropped back down to rejoin the main route, or head to the left to return to the opening area.

Head up the slope to the left of where you land after the ground gives way, deal with the trees and wolves, and make your way down the path on the left at the top.

To the right of the path there are a couple of giant flies guarding a Frozen Weapon sorcery spell, so grab that if you need it then continue on down the slope and up the other side. As you crest the hill turn right to find a small cave containing the Rope Bridge Cave bonfire.