But let’s cover exactly how to find the Smouldering Lake & how to reach the White Hair Talisman, all step-by-step.
Accessing Smouldering Lake
Before you can look for the White Hair Talisman, you’ll have to unlock Smouldering Lake. If you’ve already done this, skip ahead to the next section. If not, warp to the High Lord Wolnir Bonfire to get started. Leave the Bonfire room through the exit that leads you to the Catacombs of Carthus. At the end of the path you’ll see a large rope bridge that leads into the main Catacombs area. Connected to the stone are two bridge support beams. Hit one with your weapon to break the bridge. Make sure you’re firmly on the stone before you do this, or you’ll fall to your death. Once the bridge has collapsed, you can walk up to the edge where the bridge once was, and interact with the fallen bridge to use it as a makeshift ladder. Climb down the ladder and follow the path around until you reach a large chamber inhabited by a Fire Demon. You can fight the Demon if you wish, but it’s recommended that you just run past it. To get by it safely, run down the steps as soon as you enter the chamber, then roll off of the small ledge behind the Fire Demon. You’ll see an archway ahead – run through it and the Demon can no longer chase you. You may have a Skeleton or two chasing you, so take them out before you move on. To your right you’ll see a door that leads to the Abandoned Tomb Bonfire. Head through and light it to unlock a permanent fast travel point to Smouldering Lake.
Finding The White Hair Talisman
Once you reach the Smouldering Lake, you have quite the journey ahead of you to reach the White Hair Talisman. Before you can reach the Talisman, you’ll first have to find the Old King’s Antechamber Bonfire.
Step 1: Reaching the Old King’s Antechamber Bonfire
If you’ve already explored Smouldering Lake, you may already have the Old King’s Antechamber Bonfire unlocked. If so, skip to the next section. Starting from the Abandoned Tomb Bonfire, walk out the front archway and down the path to fully enter Smouldering Lake. If this is your first time here, beware stepping out into the water. Once you do, an enormous Sandworm will sprout from the ground, and likely kill you if you aren’t prepared. As well as the Sandworm, a far-away ballista will begin to fire regular bursts of three giant arrows at you. Luckily, you won’t have to stay on the Lake for very long to find the Talisman. As soon as you step on to it, turn to the left and head towards the boss fog door in the distance. By sticking to the borders of the Lake, you’ll likely avoid most of the Sandworm’s movements and attacks. Keep moving and spamming Estus and you’ll make it. Once you’re near the fog door, look to your right to see a small ledge just outside of the Lake’s waters. Walk up to the general area of the fog door to find a ramp that leads up to it. Once upon the ledge, head through the archway to your left to reach safety from the Sandworm and ballista. Down the stairs you’ll see the Demon Ruins Bonfire. Light it to set a new checkpoint. Head out of the door of the Bonfire room, then turn right to follow the path down. At the bottom of the stairs, walk forward, then pause before you step out onto the balcony. From here on out, the route gets very dangerous, so move quickly and try not to get caught up fighting any unnecessary fights. Turn to your right and look for a hole in the ground that reveals a set of steps. Walk down the steps and turn right at the bottom. Sprint down to the end of the area and enter the tight corridor at the end. Turn the corner at the end of the corridor and take out the enemy here. Up ahead is a large room full of enemies. Run past them towards the opposite corner of the room to where you entered. You’ll find another archway here. Head through the archway and turn right as soon as you enter the next room. Walk forward slightly and look to your left to see an archway in the distance. Walk over to that archway and up the stairs behind it to reach the Old King’s Antechamber Bonfire.
Step 2: Picking Up The Talisman
Once you’ve reached the Old King’s Antechamber Bonfire, there’s only a few more steps to take before you can reach the Talisman. Before you head out from here, however, you may want to find some equipment and consumables that will shield you from Fire damage. Some items that do this are:
Flame Stoneplate Ring (found in Undead Settlement) Speckled Stoneplate Ring (found in the main section of Smouldering Lake) Red Bug Pellet (consumable sold by Unbreakable Patches) Flash Sweat (Pyromancy sold by Corynx)
Once you have some bonus Fire resistance, walk to the corner of the Bonfire room, to the right of the stairs that you entered in from. Hit the wall here to break the illusion and reveal a corridor behind the false wall. Walk down this corridor, then roll off the ledge at its end. Immediately turn left and start sprinting, strafing to avoid the barrage of fireballs that will soon be thrown at you. At the end of this area, there’ll be two archway doors. Head through the one on the right. Walk down this corridor and take the first right turn that you can. Take out the Rats in this room and head through the archway on the left. Follow this path around to see a hole in the floor. The White Hair Talisman is in the lava pit that you can see through this hole. You’ll almost certainly die here, so be sure to spend any Souls you want to spend before you drop down. Equip every piece of Fire resistant gear you have, use any consumables, and cast Flash Sweat if you have it. Once you’re set up, roll into the lava pit. Start running forward as soon as you land, spamming Estus whenever you aren’t sprinting. You’ll find the White Hair Talisman as a glowing item on a corpse at the very back of the room.
