The Souls series has built its reputation on spectacular boss fights and aggressive difficulty. Even as the player grows in power and becomes more confident in their abilities, there are always new challenges and more formidable creatures waiting to send them straight back to the bonfire.

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In Dark Souls III, the player will need every chance and every soul they can get to survive. Thankfully, there are many useful soul farming locations throughout the game where the player can grind to increase their level and overcome tough enemies. To maximize souls, it is advisable to always farm with the correct gear such as a Covetous Silver Serpent Ring and a shield of want (one of the best shields in the game).

10 The Dragon Atop The High Wall Of Lothric

Players struggling in the early game will find it profitable to soul harvest by simply running between the first two bonfires on the High Wall of Lothric.

This run is particularly easy as many of the enemies are found kneeling in prayer and are easy to backstab, furthermore the dragon on the wall can be used to kill the Hollow Soldiers without any need for combat at all. Players can increase their soul yield with a Covetous Silver Serpent Ring that is acquired by finding the illusionary wall at Firelink Shrine.

9 The Helpful Dark Wraiths In The Keep Ruins

Should the Ashen One decide to grind up souls before trying to defeat the Abyss Watchers they can farm the Ghru outside of their fog gate.

This run is made far more efficient by the two Darkwraiths who will charge through the courtyard attacking the Ghru, meaning that once the player has cleared the three enemies to the far right they can simply wait for the wraiths to kill the rest. After the Ghru are annihilated, the player can kill the weakened Darkwraiths for more souls before returning to the bonfire.

8 The Church Of Yorshka Loop

After exiting the Church of Yorshka out the main entrance and turning left, the player can drop attack a Boreal Immolator and proceed to fight their way up to the fog gate for Pontiff Sulyvahn.

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After killing the two Boreal Knights near the fog gate, the player can optionally lay their summon sign down for Pontiff Sulyvahn, one of the game's hardest bosses, possibly yielding more souls if they help kill him. Directly opposite the boss arena is a ledge the player can fall off to kill one more knight and exit at the staircase back to the Church. This loop is small which makes it very efficient for quickly generating a large number of souls.

7 The Sewer Centipedes Under Irythill

Very close to the Distant Manor bonfire is a half-submerged chamber beneath Irythill full of Sewer Centipedes. These monstrous, insectile creatures look like drowned ladies until they attack making them an unpleasant surprise for unsuspecting players.

Despite their nightmarish appearance, they are relatively easy to kill, especially with a strong dexterity weapon. Each Sewer Centipede drops 750 souls each without soul harvesting gear. By repeatedly killing the whole room and running back to the bonfire, the player will quickly rack up a hefty soul count.

6 The Jailers & Gargoyles At The Profaned Capital

After battling through the Irythill Dungeon, one of the more intriguing levels in Dark Souls III, players will reach the subterranean ruins of the Profaned Capital.

Killing the Jailers and Gargoyles outside the boss arena for Yhorm the Giant is an easy way to gather souls. Since Yhorm is one of the easier bosses in the game, unlocking his bonfire will make this run very quick and profitable. The one thing to beware of is getting ganged on by the enemies, so it is important to try and pick them off one at a time or in small manageable groups.

5 The Sleeping Giants & Deacons After Pontiff Sulyvahn

Pontiff Sulyvahn is one of the more difficult bosses in Dark Souls III, however, many of the challenges after defeating him are even harder. Thankfully, there is a good soul farming area immediately after his boss fight.

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Once players have opened all of the doors in Pontiff's arena, they can leave via the small door to the left up the elevator and kill the eight Deacons of the Deep. These enemies can be tricked with the spell Hidden Body, making them easy to pick off without getting fireballed. After finishing them off, the player can go down to a courtyard full of giants, two of which are alive and snoring. Killing these giants before returning to the bonfire will maximize the number of souls gained from this run.

4 The Guardians Of Anor Londo

The inclusion of Anor Londo in Dark Souls III was one of the many rumors surrounding the game's release that turned out correct. The bonfire at the bottoms of the steps to the legendary castle is also a very effective soul farming spot.

The two Silver Knights patrolling the giant staircase are easy to separate and kill one at a time, once players learn their move set. Their high soul yield per kill and proximity to the bonfire make this one of the more efficient places to farm souls as players build up their levels for the battle against Aldritch, Devourer of Gods.

3 The Knights Of The Ringed City

The Ringed City DLC was the epic conclusion the Souls series deserved. As well as having some of the largest areas and toughest boss fights, it also has one of the best enemies for soul farming.

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The awesome Ringed Knights found in the DLC's titular area are brilliant for collecting not just souls but also many other items like titanate chunks and slabs. This makes them a particularly useful enemy for players trying to max out their weapons to +10. Killing all four knights will grant 28,000 souls per run and that's before adding all the new, useful, soul farming gear that can be found in the hidden corners of the Ringed City.

2 The Infinitely Respawning Knight

There is a Drakeblood Knight In Archdragon Peak that drops a minimum of 4000 souls per kill and players will not even have to return to the bonfire when farming him.

This knight is not a normal enemy and is summoned by the first Man-Serpent Summoner encountered at Archdragon Peak. Provided the player doesn't kill the summoner, this enemy can be killed indefinitely, making him possibly the most efficient way to gather souls in Dark Souls III. To maximize efficiency, simply stand behind where the knight summons and backstab him as soon as he materializes. With a good strength weapon like the Demon's Greataxe (one of the best axes in the game), this enemy often requires no more than two hits to be killed, allowing the player to easily rack up over 100,000 souls in 5-10 minutes.

1 The Winged Knights On the Roof Of The Grand Archives

The Grand Archives is already a great level to replay for the purposes of soul farming. However, players looking for a shorter run need only take the elevator to the right and find their way up to the roof.

On the rooftops above the archive, there is a group of three Gertrude Knights, each of which drops 13,000 souls without any harvesting gear. These knights are tough enemies so it is advisable to try and separate them from each other to kill them one at a time, and even then they will present a considerable challenge. One tactic that works very well is to put 15 levels into intelligence and buy a pyromancy called Rapport. When used right, this spell will make the knights fight each other, meaning the Ashen One only has to kill a single weakened knight at the end.

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