u/Particular-String652

Hello again, Prospectors~! It's me, once again doing a Detailed Delve. It's been awhile since my last one, I know; the last Delve really took a lot out of me. But, I'm back, and ready to make another descent into the fetid, rotted and cursed pits of Lost Pthumeru!

This one comes from a member of our community, one u/ProspectorIntruder, who made this Ihyll Root Chalice himself; thank you for your contribution, fellow Hunter!

Ahead will be ritual materials galore, and a rare mob toward the end! Without further ado, let's pull off this heis- I MEAN, raid this dungeon~!

BREAKDOWN

CHALICE: Great Ihyll [Root, FRC offering]

DEPTH: 5

LAYERS: 4

BOSSES: Merciless Watchers, Keeper of the Old Lords, Bloodletting Beast (headless), Pthumerian Descendant

NOTABLE LOOT: Yellow Backbone, Sage's Hair, Kin Coldblood, Great One Coldblood, Old Great One Coldblood

NOTABLE MOBS: Shadow of Yharnam, Despairing Mobs

NOTABLE ARCHITECTURE: Labyrinth Drawbridge, Treasure Room, Illusory Wall, Burial Chamber,

OVERALL DIFFICULTY: 8/10

LAYER ONE OVERVIEW

Right off the bat, there's a balcony just outside the Chamber of the Seal; odds are it connects to the pre-Layer bonus area. Careful going down the unreasonably long hallway; a cursed mob lurks halfway down. It leads into a large hall, with some mobs wandering around, including a bell-ringing mob. Ignore the ladder, it just leads to the wrong side of a shortcut. Heading all the way to the foggy part of the hall, we find one of several doors that leads to a rolling rock hazard; on the other side is a cursed mob guarding an arrow trap for... some reason. So how to get up to the shortcut? Well... it's on the other side of where the rolling boulder drops down. Odd architecture, this Chalice. Anyway, up the ladder, into the shortcut room, destroy the triple arrow traps, and then... that's a cannon... THAT'S A CANNON! Mind the howitzer in the back of the room. The four loot drops are pretty standard for Layer One fare, but the Thick Coldblood (6) suggests rarer loot further down. After that, open the door to the chest room, but mind the red spiders brought into this cursed world by the bell summoner you've been hearing. Other than her and an elite mob, there's just a Saw Watcher, who's confused about where the lumberjack competition was being held. Clear up some wrong assumptions, snag the 2 Ritual Blood in the chest, and... where is that balcony access...?

Ah-ha! An illusory wall in the shortcut room! If you're facing the business end of the cannon, it's on the right in a shadowed corner. Easy to miss, really. Sadly, the chest it leads to only has a single Ritual Blood, but this is Layer One. Loot is rarely good, here.

Speaking of Layer One, time for the dungeon proper. Just past the lamp is another large hall, with another wandering group of mobs... deja vu... but unlike a glitch in the Matrix, this is actually just another room. You can tell by the Hag accompanying the mobs; as usual, target her first so she can't buff the mobs. Ignore the grate door unless you need 3 blood vials and a mid tempering radial gem. Up the ladder you go, but watch out! There's another group of mobs following their Hag mommy around, and if you time it wrong you'll be ambushed at the entrance to the room; however, if you back out and drop down, you can take the mobs out one by one as they rain from the sky. It's rainin' men- sorry. Go on back up, deal with the hag, and then it's time for levers. You just have to get past a Sage's Hair dispenser cursed Labyrinth Madman to do it.

That's all for this layer; time for the boss...

Three Walmart Shopp- I MEAN, Merciless Watchers. And for some reason, the Chieftain is made of paper; he had, like, 4k HP. Weird. Anyway, Layer done, on to the next~!

LAYER TWO OVERVIEW

Layer two welcomes us with another bonus area. And it's really straightforward. As in, you go in, ice a mob, go across a rickety bridge, deal with a swinging blade bridge with a fireball hag on the far end (just use a Blue Elixir, there's no shame in it), and you're in the chest room with a Fire-Brand Watcher. Easiest Great One's Wisdom ever. But that can't be everything, right? Dropping off the bridge, avoid the hanging blobby thing and head into a room with yet another Hag amid a group of yet more fatherless morons mobs. Also in this room are some Rope Molotovs... which I'm still maxed out on... and- ooh, a Kin Coldblood (12). Ignore the other tunnel; there's just a corpse with a single normal Molotov. And, yep, that's the whole bonus area. Pretty quick one...

Watch yourself when leaving the lamp room; there's two fireball hags on the left. Once they're dealt with, head on up the elevator and get the second Kin Coldblood (12), along with a blasted spider; hope you're not arachnophobic! Some stairs then present themselves, along with a poor pickaxe brute. Put his mind at ease- alright, eternal rest, grab the bullets near him, and continue down further into the fog, finding a cursed mob, a dog, a bunch of incense burners that are just begging to be broken, and then some rats guarding some blood vials and a bit of tomb mold. Further on is another tall Hag with her gang of simps; after dealing with them all, the Madman above you starts losing his absolute shit. Must've been his girlfriend or something. Next is a Labyrinth Garden, with two dogs and- CANNON! And watch out for this one; apparently they got in touch with Smith & Wesson, because this cannon has a full auto setting. Take a left and skirt the border to grab some blood vials and fire paper before heading up onto the central dais. Take heed; there's a Labyrinth Knight up here, with yet another fireball witch. But eliminating all these enemies is old hat for us Prospectors. The way forward is to the right of the room's entrance...

I've been doing this for a long time. I've seen a lot of jank, a lot of configurations that made me want to never play again. But not until now have I had to deal with a bell summoner sending her spiders to camp the top of a ladder. I got lucky and was able to tank their hits and roll past them. And in the hallway past that? Four cursed mobs, one of whom had over 2.5k HP. The loot on the ground is just bullets and... more rope Molotovs... and then there's the chest room- CHEST ROOM?! We were looking for the LEVER! We've been bamboozled by another bonus area! Anyway, it might seem like it's just another Madman, but watch your step: a trap on the floor will summon four red mobs to join the party. Snatch up the Great One's Wisdom and head back to that elevator, Hunter!

On the same floor as the lamp, there's a door that leads to the designated mob breakroom. But there's a hole in the floor. Report them to OSHA and open the company pizza fund chests to find 4 blood vials and 2 Sage's Hair. And then we finally find the lever, guarded by a corpse-wielding Madman. Mind the arrow trap on the way up.

What a Layer that was! But it's now time to confront...

Parry McParrypants- I mean, Keeper of the Old Lords. One of the easiest, if not the easiest, bosses you can find in the Chalices. Don't believe me? I beat him with an Evelyn and 6 bullets.

LAYER THREE OVERVIEW

Yayy, another bonus area... Two ambushing mobs await in the welcoming corridor, and then a rat. But then things get interesting as you pass through a spiral staircase room and a scorpion, to find the ground floor of a Labyrinth Drawbridge room. Turn right and head into the corner - avoiding the complimentary cannons - to find a Great One Coldblood. It's wise to take care of that cannon before exploring this dark room further, so go back and enjoy the rare occurrence of there being no rolling ball of fire on a staircase. Also, the drawbridge is on the other side, so at first glance it looks like you can grab the loot at your leisure. But the moment you grab something, both cannons start firing at you. Hm. There's nothing further up the stairs except two slacking mobs... so, the way forward? Ground floor of the drawbridge room, left hand side. There's no enemies this way until you open a door to find a mob, an arrow trap, and a... conspicuously large and turgid trap trigger. Oh my~. The next door leads to the drawbridge lever, and those pesky cannons. But before we collect the loot we saw earlier...

The chest room is a Treasure Room. Delicious~. The guard, a ball-and-chain Knight, is less tasty. Ritual Blood, a Yellow Backbone, and 3 Red Jelly compliment the Great One's Wisdom in the main chest nicely, and there's still 2 more Great One Coldblood, along with more common loot, across the drawbridge.

Mosey on back to the lamp and head forward- and up to deal with that blasted bell summoner. You might hear some fapping thumping, but we'll get to that in a moment. The shortcut isn't open, so head on through the lower door, hang a left at the fork, smack my bitch up a pickaxe brutes aside, and voila! You're in the shortcut room- what's an ambush doing here? Begone, pasty white corpse! The lever is right nearby, but let's head back down the stairs and check what happens when you go right at the fork. We find ourselves in a pit room, with two bullets on a corpse and a Grimer blobby thing below. Fire remains very effective against these slithering trash bags. Another fork in the road presents itself; to the left is another pickaxe brute, along with the source of the thumping: Despairing Mobs, an uncommon sight in the tombs. Curled up in the fetal position, grasping their head in anguish, attempting to Make Contact, and pounding some sand, these forsaken bastards are a sad sight indeed. But they'll forget their agony and sorrow as soon as your fatherless ass shows up and attempt to murder you with knives. Just like the average social encounter in London, England. The only one who will not outright react to your rectifying this mistake, unless you stand right in front of him, is the one trying to Make Contact, but he's doing it wrong. Sad. Bold Hunter's Marks, Tomb Mold, Ritual Blood, and Numbing Mist litter the floor in six piles. As for what's to the right at the fork? Another Hag with her posse of crackheads, and a fourth Great One Coldblood! That rarely happens. Back up to the lever room- wow, this Chalice has a lot of Madmen.

But no boss yet; we've got another bonus area to go through! Hopefully it isn't too long, this Layer has taken longer than some whole Chalices I've done in the past. In we go, past a cursed mob guarding a ladder (poorly). Two-level room with a small chest containing 4 ritual blood. Head on across the bridge...

Okay, this next part is hard-ish. First up is yet another Hag with attendant gooners mobs, but just when you thought it was safe, summoned spiders start appearing. It's time for caution; if you fight them in the dark room, you can easily get surrounded and overwhelmed. Funnel the various unwashed baboons into the two-level room so you can take them in more-or-less single file, then deal with the Hag while avoiding her fireballs and the spiders. Now for the bell summoner... who is in another dark room, and being watched over by a sword-and-shield cursed Labyrinth Knight. Deal with the summoner as fast as you can, as she never moves out of the Knight's aggro radius; if you attack her, you aggro the Knight. The chest room is right nearby, containing some lazy mobs, an arrow trap, and a Chieftain Watcher, who might drop a tasty gem. Sadly, the chest behind him only contains 6 Tomb Mold. All that security for this?!

Anyway, if you go down in the two-level room, you'll find a grate door, a dog, two mobs, and- ooh, a Burial Chamber. Two chests in here, one with 4 Tomb Mold, but the other has 3 Sage's Hair.

That's this Layer all done except one last foe, who happens to be...

The Bastard, aka Headless Bloodletting Beast. He's bad enough in normal Chalices, but in FRC he can be downright sadistic; his wind-up punch is an OHK even from full health, and the rest of his attacks are hard to dodge, as they come from offscreen. Conservative hits, fire weapons and avoiding lock-on (unless you're using wizardry) is the name of the game. As for me, this loser added insult to injury by dropping a Heavy Abyssal with an ATK DOWN curse. Asshole.

LAYER FOUR OVERVIEW

No more bonus stages, brah! I'm so tired! For this one, we go straight into a massive 3-layer room that is one of Ihyll's hallmarks. We heard you like Hags with mobs, so we put some more in here so you won't be bored! Five Yellow Backbone are in the stone chest at the bottom, and 4 whole Red Jelly under the stairs, but don't go to the right; what looks like 2 arrow traps is actually 4, a trap worthy of Dark Souls 1. Head up to the very top, deal with an elite mob, head into the fog, get ambushed, play your Uno Reverse card, and go aaalll the way down the stairs to find another fork in the road; to the left are rats and- yep, you guessed it, another Hag with mobs. To the right are more rats, a cursed sword-and-shield Labyrinth Knight, and the main chest, which contains a whopping 4 Red Jelly; when combined with the other 4 you found under the stairs, all 8 amount to a prize worth 40 Insight!

I'm not going to lie: that bonus area killed me a lot. Unless you really need the Red Jelly, don't bother. Anyway.

Just outside the lamp room is a mob, and- oh shit, a farmable Madman! He's facing the wall, more-or-less, so it's trivial to sneak up and give him the good ol' spicy buttscratch. I think I'll keep this Chalice just for that, as the Madman has a nice drop pool. Anyway, items on the ground are Numbing Mist and Ritual Blood, nothing special. Exit stage right- that's a Shadow of Yharnam. The hell's it doing down here?! Once again, nice loot drops can come from this VERY rare mob. At the top of the stairs he's guarding is 2 Bold Hunter's Marks, and a grate door leading into the fog. What's that? You want another Hag with mobs? Why, of course~! She's guarding 2 more Yellow Backbone, making 7 of these items on this Layer so far. The nearby doorway leads to a fork; the closed door is likely the lever room, but a two-level room nearby beckons. Inside is an elite mob, a fireball hag on the middle landing, a dog, and a scythe brute. There's a lot of items in here, too. They are:

10 QS bullets
6 Numbing Mist
2 Bold Hunter's Marks
3 Ritual Blood
2 Great One's Wisdom
2 Old Great One Coldblood

Damn good haul.

Finally, the lever is guarded by a ball-n-chain Knight. I didn't feel like fighting him straight-up, so I used a Blue Elixir and collected his kidneys. Anyway, onto the boss-

NO! NOT ANOTHER BONUS STAGE!!! UGH. Just go straight in, deal with the two mobs, ice the fireball witch on the right, head left through the grate door, and the solid door, shoot Old Yeller- oh, but Mr. Snatcher is mad at you for killing his dog. Swat him aside, open the next door, head on up the stairs, through another solid door, open the shortcut on the right, and then it's a Saw Watcher, with a lurking Brainsucker, guarding the chest. Side note: has anyone ever seen a Watcher heal themselves? Because this one did! I didn't know they could do that. Whatever. Grab the Great One's Wisdom, as well as the one on the floor on your way out, but we're not done. Go back to the elevator room, open it to the pit, and drop down. There's a treasure hallway here, containing:

7 QS bullets
3 Ritual Blood
2 Bold Hunter's Marks
1 Great One's Wisdom

That makes 4 Great One's Wisdom just lying on the floor, in one Layer, and setting the record for the most I've seen in a single Chalice. But that's it! There's just one last thing to take care of...

Pthumerian Descendant! In Diddy's Hou- I mean, an oil arena! You know what that means~. Burn his dried-up wrinkly ass. Pretty good Cold gem drop.

And that's it for this one! I never noticed the dupe chest mentioned in the original post, but there's plenty in this Chalice to sink your teeth into without it.

If you know a glyph with interesting things in it, let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading all the way to the end! I've been Dizzy, and I'll see you next time~!

Hello again, Prospectors! Today, we head back to the pit of profound pain, FRC Ihyll~! As we all know, Loran might have the Darkbeast, Isz might have Brainsuckers, but Ihyll... hits different.

This Chalice was chosen at random from the list in Chalice Search, and... hoo boy.

Like the Library on Legendary, and I'm not talking Halo, this Chalice will test your mettle and ability to think on your feet.

So, let's see just how bad it can be. Onward and downward~!

OVERVIEW

CHALICE: Great Ihyll [FRC Offering]

DEPTH: 5

LAYERS: 4

BOSSES: Undead Giant (ball-n-chain), Merciless Watchers, Pthumerian Elder, Pthumerian Descendant

NOTABLE LOOT: Ring of Betrothal, Yellow Backbone, Great One Coldblood, Old Great One Coldblood

NOTABLE ARCHITECTURE: Large Bell, Labyrinth Drawbridge, Illusory Wall, Messenger Bath

NOTABLE MOBS: Ball-n-Chain Knights, Undead Giants, far too many Spear Hunters

DIFFICULTY: 9.5/10

LAYER ONE OVERVIEW

Straight outta the Chamber of the Seal, we got a bonus area! Head in, hang a left- and the first mob is a scythe brute. Well, mine is better, buddy. Up the ladder, through the door and across the landing. Another left lands you in a room with a Spear Hunter. You can't sneak up on her, even with Blue Elixir, so it's time to dance. And mind the GIANT HOLE IN THE FLOOR right near the entrance to the room. If you fall down, you'll be in a foggy hallway, surrounded by traps. Like, an unreasonable number of traps. Like, stop. The best part is that you can use the falling blade nearby to take out the brute, his dogs, and the plain mob waiting just past it. In said room is a very uncommon Bell, some Molotovs, 2 Tomb Mold, a Ritual Blood, and a Thick Coldblood (6). On the way out is a whole armory of QS bullets in a room with a triple arrow trap. As for the main chest, it's guarded by a Shotgun Watcher (who found out the Kirkhammer do go bonk), and contains a Great One's Wisdom. Delicious~. And going by the nearby message, it might contain the Ring of Betrothal, witch you can give to the Queen Cainhurst and get rejected.

Back to the lamp we go, opening the nearby door to reveal a body pit. Descend and take the only pathway down a long hall to a fork in the road. To the right is a scorpion, and some fog; deeper in is a Ball-n-Chain Labyrinth Knight! Very rare, these. The chest he's guarding only has 2 Ritual Blood in it, but most Knights have excellent loot tables, so you probably won't mind. Head back, go up the stairs, brush aside a random mob, mind the weakened floor by going around to the left to pick up some bullets, and we're in the lever room. It's guarded by a Saw Watcher. Inform him that the lumberjack convention is two blocks down, yank the lever, and it's time for the first boss...

Undead Giant, ball-n-chain variety! Scythe in one hand, mace in the off hand, and spin-to-win bullshit, this is one of the most hated bosses to face in all of Chalice-dom. My best advice is to slap some Old Bay Bengay IcyHot Fire Paper on your weapon and chip away at the bastard. Also, there's no shame in using A Call Beyond if you're part of the Shadow Wizard Money Gang. We love casting spells. Legalize nuclear bo-

LAYER 2 OVERVIEW

No bonus area? Alright, straight to business! The hub area is depressingly empty, except some random detritus and the wrong side of a shortcut door. Some very long halls are ahead; take the foggy one to a graveyard with two Maneater Boars, a Spear Hunter, and not much else of note. So, yeah, time for ignoring. Go the other way, open a grate door and- HOLY FUCK GET UP THE ELEVATOR HUNTER!!! I am NOT being funny! My brother in Kos, there are FIVE FIREBALL HAGS in this room! Having managed to avoid this absolutely unreasonable amount of jank, I used my Bowblade to plink them from on high. Open the shortcut door - a shortcut to pain if you die - and open the stone chest for your consolation prize: a single Yellow Backbone. And then it's time to head to the lever room, which is just infested with mobs, and a cursed Saw Watcher overseeing everything. Meticulously mete out some murder, pull the lever, and head on down...

To the bonus area~! Because the Layer says you haven't suffered enough, and emphasizes this by using a mob to lure you into a false sense of security, because there's another Spear Hunter just ahead, facing you. Despite this, it IS possible to sneak up on her using Blue Elixir. And on the right side of the room is TWO stone chests! Right hand has 2 Yellow Backbone, and so does the left hand, so take both and head through the door, up the stairs, and through a snatcher to find another ball-n-chain Labyrinth Knight. There's a Kin Coldblood (12) behind the chest he's guarding, which has another 2 Yellow Backbone. To the bottom of the stairs, around the bend, and- there is no God. It's a Great Cavern with THREE FECKING UNDEAD GIANTS! Two Cannon types, one double scythe. And remember: the cannon-types can rapid fire. Apparently the Pthumerians are homies with Smith & Wesson. Bright side, the floor is oil, so fire is (kind of) your friend here; just try not to stand in it yourself. You can also use the cannon fire to off one or another Giant; they can't hurt themselves, but friendly fire IS on. And the loot in the area? Well-

8 Fire Paper
2 QS bullets
8 Rope Molotovs (okay but why tho)

I'm crying...

Go up the ladder and into the chest room, to find a fffffucking Fireball Witch and... a Brainsucker? That's rare. The Great One's Wisdom in the chest, not so much, but welcome all the same. There's some more Rope Molotovs near the door on the way out, as one last "fuck you" from this bonus area.

Well, after all that, the boss can't be that bad... right?

Oh thank Kos, it's just the Pthumerian Fitness Club- I mean, Merciless Watchers. You know the drill: take em' one at a time, and the way forward opens.

LAYER 3 OVERVIEW

The pain train continues, as you light the lamp and hear the sweet sound of a Bell Summoner preparing your upcoming spider-themed rectal exam. Move quick, avoid the Fireball Hag, and head up the elevator to deal with the Summoner. Head back down and off the Hag for good measure, and then it's looting time~! There are two chests on the second floor: the smaller yields 2 more Yellow Backbone, while the larger gives up... 1 Yellow Backbone. Huh. Head through the grate door and avoid the pitfall to find a single spider and a Great One Coldblood. Back downstairs, head down the intended path to find a mob and a Nightmare in a room with 4 blood vials, and two more paths. To the right, we go around the bend and find the mob break room, with three taking an unscheduled nap. Once they're fired, head further down into a black room with rats. There's also a Bold Hunter's Mark, a Tomb Mold, 3 bullets, and a Great One's Wisdom in the same room. Destroy the arrow traps to access the area under the elevator, which has 4 more QS bullets and... a BONUS DOOR.

Welp, here we go, sidequest time~! Another graveyard, another giant pig to turn into bacon. There's another Undead Giant patrolling further in, but let's check out this archway first. Ooh, Hemwick Knife Dog. And a cursed mob that hits like Truck-kun. Avoid the isekai by avoiding this room; there's nothing on the lower level of this Drawbridge room except more mobs, mostly cursed ones. Back in the graveyard, there's no avoiding the giant, but his pathfinding has him stuck under the bridge. That doesn't mean he's stuck stuck, though, but he's also quite squishy. Send him to the big corpse pile in the sky- and spot yet ANOTHER Spear Hunter lurking in the back of the graveyard. Be careful sneaking up on her to apply the Thousand Years of Death Ninja Move; your R2 might bounce off the gravestone she's standing next to. Snag the 3 blood vials in the corner and head under the bridge for the way forward, a spiral staircase room, with a mob who never took a class on fire safety at the top of the stairs. Two paths present themselves: to the right is a completely pointless path that takes you over the bridge the giant was lurking under. So go left, finding the drawbridge room... and a large amount of oil vessels; you know, the ones that explode when shot or Molotov'd. There is a Molotov mob at the top of the ladder that leads to the drawbridge lever and chest room, but for whatever reason, he won't aggro until you've gone up the first ladder. Sucks to suck, I guess. Lower the drawbridge and head into the chest room, which is guarded by a cursed Madman and some slacking mobs; another chest, another Great One's Wisdom. Finally, mosey on across the bridge and ice a mob to get another Great One Coldblood.

Right, sidequest done. Let's never do that again. Now, open the door to the lever room, which is off the Nightmare room... and despair. A room full of cursed mobs, including a pickaxe brute, plus a Shotgun Watcher. Take it slow, one at a time. Don't rush it. Pull the lever and-

Damnit, there's another bonus area? HOW? That last one was massive! Ugh, anyway! There's a balcony in the hallway, so that means an Illusory Wall is somewhere ahead. But first, rats. Go down the tunnel and to the top of the stairs to silence a Nightmare; gem drop isn't too great. Middle landing has a grate that leads to some Bath Messengers, a pair of mobs, and a Spear Hunter aura farming in the middle of a long hall. However, she is unwisely facing away from you. Do her the dirty and take the 4 tomb mold in the chest she was guarding. Head on back upstairs, open the door and take a right to find that the Illusory Wall isn't there. Might've been opened by a patrolling mob or something... and speaking of mobs, you got 3 to get through before arriving at the balcony chest, which contains- wow, another Yellow Backbone. Mind the hole in the floor as you backtrack and head to the left side of the dark and cavernous room, to find a pickaxe mob trying and failing to be John Henry. Aid in his retirement, and approach the next room with caution: a Cainhurst Hunter is hiding in the dark, being a little edgy McEdgelord. Disrespect his existence and loot the room for Bold Marks, bullets, vials, and ritual blood. Finally, deal with a cursed Shotgun Watcher and a bowl-cut spider with broken pathfinding to claim the chest. Guess what it is? Yep, that's right, another Yellow Backbone. Don't forget the thrid Great One Coldblood and 2 ritual blood on the way out.

Pop back to the Dream to re-up your items if you need to before facing the next boss...

Pthumerian Elder! We've faced this guy a lot in these Detailed Delves, so knocking him down should be cake! Remember, his dry skin is weak to fire damage. But watch out! The floor is lava poisoned, so make sure you keep an eye on that proc bar while you slaughter the elderly.

And... we're not done! Nope, the pain train continues in-

LAYER 4 OVERVIEW

We're going to just rush through this one, because o h m a h g a w d, this Chalice has been one pain train after another. Light lamp, smack a mob, hang a right. Ignore the right archway, up the stairs, through the fog, another Spear Hunter. Cut her down, ritual blood and tomb mold, ladder down to hidden bonus area *sobs*. I'm going to try doing this entire area in limerick form (apologies in advance).

Labyrinth Garden, cursed Watcher with a hot brand, bells ringing to summon your coming end. Spiders and mobs, and fucking cannonballs, all while fighting a Watcher while some pigs chuckle, what fun. A lever nearby will summon an elevator from on high, but watch out for the pigs, they charge fast. Upstairs you'll find a Nightmare that cries, and a mob and the Summoner having a game of dice, but you're not here for games, kill them all. The only door you will find has two more Nightmares inside, and items galore but nothing great. Through another door is a scythe brute with drops poor, and a Great One's Wisdom just down and right. At the bottom is a tunnel, but it goes right back to the garden, we'll come back to that I reckon. Back up and left, open a door and alas! a mob thinks he's him but he's not. The third ball-n-chain Knight might mess up your day right but if you hit him real hard he'll fall down. Your final reward is Great One's Wisdom once more, now back to the garden, but remember: there's pigs. A quick look around shows there naught else of worth to be found, so back to looking for the lever, go on, get!

Back in the room where you found that Spear Hunter, break those arrow traps, take the other door, left at the fork, and find a greatsword Knight guarding the lever. Funny, he dropped another Backbone. Grab the Marks and bullets on the way out after pulling the lever. Finally, one last Spear Hunter is trying and failing to aura farm, while facing away from you. And right next to her is the rarest consumable, an Old Great One Coldblood. Head on back to the hub area, open the gate, and we're straight into the final boss...

Pthumerian Descendant, or, Orphan of Kos' ugly and unlikeable cousin. With parry windows smaller than the odds of winning the lottery, beating this jerkwad is a matter of aggression, timing, and stamina management. Or... y'know, summoning someone for help and clowning on him. Shoutout to NUWAMOCCS for helping me put this one away, and sorry about the connection issues, my ISP is shit >_<

And that's all for this Chalice folks! While there's a ton of goodies in this one, I do NOT recommend running this one if you're new to Prospecting. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next time~!

Hello again, Prospectors~! It's me again, with a very special Detailed Delve. According to a comment in another post, there is a very rare treat in this one; so rare, in fact, few Hunters have ever seen one! Let's get into this, shall we?

BREAKDOWN

CHALICE: Lower Loran Root [FRC offering]

DEPTH: 5

LAYERS: 3(?) see the end

BOSSES: Loran Silverbeast, Keeper of the Old Lords, Loran Darkbeast

NOTABLE LOOT: Kin Coldblood (12), Bastard of Loran

NOTABLE ARCHITECTURE: Hanging Incense, Treasure Room

NOTABLE MOBS: >!Large Nightmare,!<>!LABYRINTH MOLE HOLY SFJOINAOP!<

DIFFICULTY: 7.5/10

LAYER ONE OVERVIEW

In we go and- ooh, bonus area! Fido greets you with nibbles. As is tradition, destroy the arrow trap before continuing. Through a rat and down a short tunnel, we come to a circular room with a staircase. Continue forward instead of going up the stairs, as another tunnel presents itself. Boy, it's dark in here- ah, another Eyeball Witch and her pack of sewer dwellers. She's right inside the body pit and to the right, unusually exposed to the usual violence. She dropped me a broken Bolt gem (it adds Fire attack, negating the Bolt buff). Wench. Pick up the QS bullets in the corner and turn around to consider the Beast-Possessed Slacker- I mean Soul, slumbering in the middle of a pit. He is, like all others, vulnerable to the good ol' sneaky buttscratch, but REMEMBER: Visceral Attacks may spawn a Tick. The chest room is right next door, guarded by the usual Silverbeast; oh boy, 2 more Ritual Blood. Thanks RNGeesus. Backtrack and go upstairs to find some uncommon hanging incense censers. And some blood vials, I guess.

Back to the lamp, we're greeted with a pitch-black hub area, empty except for some Oil Urns and a single solitary bullet. Only one way forward, so open the door to an ambush room; there's an arrow trap in here, and a cursed Madman on the level above, to the left. Luckily, he is stupid, so you can sneak by him with ease if you keep left. Next up is a hooded beast mob and a normal mob in a two-level room. Dispatch them, then up the ladder we go. Two ways forward. The grate door leads to a mob, and then a Scourge Beast, both guarding a stone chest with a trash Odd Fire gem. Man, loot's not great compared to the last couple Chalices... solid door leads to the floor with the Madman, and the lever door. One more Silverbeast and the path to the boss is opened.

But first, second bonus area! Rather lukewarm welcoming as we head up a ladder and into another two-level room. No ladder connects to the lower level, so continue forward- but what's this? A Large Nightmare? Next to a Loran Bridge area? In this economy?! Remember that these uncommon mobs can attack and, as this is an FRC Chalice, can also 1-2 shot the unprepared Prospector. Sadly, despite the rarity of this bugger, he drops a rather underwhelming Dirty gem. Before checking the bridges, open the solid door nearby. Here you'll find some stairs with a trio of mobs slacking off on the job. Report them to HR and pick up some coins before opening the next door. Edge around the cliff and... well, we've got Door #1 and Door #2. Choose wisely, but it doesn't matter. Both lead to absolutely nothing. Across the lower bridge, however, is ANOTHER Large Nightmare?! The luck at there being two of these so close together is a lie, as it drops absolutely nothing. Luckily, there's a SIlverbeast nearby that might drop a Bastard of Loran to help you feel better, because the garbage Odd Fire gem in the chest certainly won't! Snag some complimentary bullets and urns as you trudge back to the boss; forget that second bridge, there's nothing worth noting on the other side.

Now for the boss...

Loran Silver- are you serious?! This isn't even a real boss! What, is Keeper of the Old Lords out getting Starbucks? Well, at least he drops gems and has the healthbar of a wet sheet of paper, so you won't have to deal with his presence for long.

LAYER TWO OVERVIEW

Straight into it on Layer Two; hit the weird hookah lamp and poke your head into the main hall. Beasts all over the shop. Best get stabby. And just when you think it's safe, a Witch reminds you that you're never safe from getting griefed. Send her and her sons to the Welfare Office, and... what's that tapping sound? We'll investigate that in a moment. There's a nearby foggy archway. Head down this to find an ambush, and another Beast-Possessed Soul slacking off. Hand him his pink slip and- oh hey, another Loran Valley! And hey, you can see the bridges from the layer above you! Across the bridge is another Large Nightmare that drops nothing, so head around the bend to find some beast-infested stairs. Is nothing sacred?! And if that's not enough, another Witch makes her unwanted presence known above you. Three beasts and one Witch later, you can hit up the stone chest for a single Red Jelly. Yum. About face and back across the bridge- why are there so many Large Nightmares and why do none of them drop anything? Into the room and-

A chest? Wait- did we accidentally find another bonus area by accident?! Ah, well, don't look a gift Silverbeast in the mouth; seriously, it's hideous. And let the Great One's Wisdom soothe your troubled mind. Anyway, backtrack a bit.

Anyway, back in the main hall, take a look in the nearest arch and- HOLY FUCKING SHIT THAT'S TWO PUPPIES LABYRINTH MOLES!!! Fellow Prospectors, enjoy the rare air; the odds of even one of these appearing in any given Chalice is so low, in the 6 years I've been doing this I haven't ever seen one. However, don't mistake their sedentary nature for nonviolence; get too close and it'll initiate vore a grab attack that procs Frenzy. Their drops are the same as any mob in a Loran Chalice iirc, and these only give up 7,700 blood echoes; however, they are also blocking the way forward, and we can't have that.

Past the Moles, hang a left and open the shortcut door on the next left in the dark room, then turn around and slice up a Silverbeast so you can pull the lever. The right-hand path away from the Moles leads to a falling blade trap, and past that is a Treasure Room. Defenestrate the four dastardly beasts within, and the rewards total 3 Bastards of Loran, 2 Tomb Mold, and a Red Jelly. Fairly lucrative Layer, on the whole.

Having completed all your battles for this Layer, skedaddle to the second boss...

Ah, there you are, Keeper of the Old Lords! Finally back from Starbucks? Hope you're finished with your Frappuccino, because you're about to be stunlocked to next week! If you use the Augur to knock them down on the first hit, it's fairly easy to no-hit this boss (as long as you don't run out of bullets).

LAYER 3 OVERVIEW

I like Chalices that have only one bonus area per Layer, don't you? A short hall leads to a pit, with a door to one side. Let's check that first. Boy, this hallway's dark- a Bath Messenger?! Damn, this Chalice has everything, doesn't it? And looking past it- yep, the hardest swinging blade bridge. If you've made it this far into Prospecting, you know how to get past this, but if you need a refresher: start running as the blades start falling. It's a little wonky, as some of the blades have space between them, but if you don't get it right the first time, the path back up is nearby, so no pressure. Now, the chest room full of spiders with a cursed Madman, THAT'S a fucking conundrum. You can use the Bowblade to snipe a few and bat them into stabbing range without alerting the Madman, and your reward is another Great One's Wisdom. Delicious. You can hop off the bridge to get out of the area quick- but oh, what's this? A foggy area? Naturally, a Witch lies in wait, but if you've made it this far you're not scared of her. Lots of loot in here: a Blood Cocktail, Bolt Paper, some bullets, and a Kin Coldblood (12).

Shh! Careful entering the hub area past the lamp; this time it's a Silverbeast who's slacking off. Grab the Beast Blood Pellets and the Tomb Mold before giving him a little off the top, no charge. Take the grate door first- and get immediately ambushed by a Loran High Priest hiding to the right of the door. He shoots fireballs. Get his ass. Sadly, he and his inconsistent drop are the only things in this room, but at least it's out of the way. Now you can go to the spiral staircase, where the moment your filthy toes dare to touch the nice clean steps, a mob sends a ball of fire down at you. Head on up and explain why that was a poor idea, all while dealing with his slacking buddy in an alcove and listening to yet another Witch summoning her lackluster help. We're going to ignore her in favor of the nearby lever, which is guarded by three elite mobs and one normal mob who showed up to the wrong job site, plus a second Loran High Priest. Give the lever a tug, and grab the bullets and Madman's Knowledge on the ground before going back and killing the Witch. She doesn't have any loot, but it's the principle of the matter.

Nothing down the stairs confirmed, so onward and boss-ward...

Loran Darkbeas- FUCK. I don't fight those. Their moveset just doesn't mesh well with my brain; I have no idea what to look at, and the constant lightning throws me off. Plus, it's FRC, so some of the attacks are OHK. Some people struggle with the Spicy Dog, but this is the one boss I've never been able to solo. Ever.

Not sure if there's a fourth Layer, but if there is I'm not about to solo a Darkbeast to find out. HOWEVER, if you'd like to engage in joyous cooperation, let me know in the comments; I might hate soloing the Darkbeast, but I'm always down for ganging up on them!

Otherwise, thanks for reading everyone, and sorry if this one was a little lackluster. Until next time, Prospectors~! Dizzy out!

HeYyYyyy GUYZ~! It's me, Dizzy, back at it again with another Detailed Delve~!

This time, we're spelunking the sparkly sludgy slimy halls of Isz Gravestone, a version of Pthumerian culture so old, they made cups out of stone. Wild, right? There is a LOT of stuff in this one, from gem drops to ritual materials to rare items, but it's not as long as my last one (no more bonus stages brah, I'm so tired!), nor as difficult.

So, are you ready, Prospectors? Then awayyy we go~!

BREAKDOWN

CHALICE: Isz Root Chalice [FRC offering]

GLYPH: ct2qzu4b

DEPTH: 5

LAYERS: 4

BOSSES: Brainsucker, Merciless Watchers, Ebrietas Daughter of the Cosmos, Pthumerian Elder

NOTABLE LOOT: Yellow Backbone, Sage's Hair, Red Jelly, Kin Coldblood (10,11,12), Great One Coldblood, Great One's Wisdom

NOTABLE ARCHITECTURE: Labyrinth Garden, Great Hall

DIFFICULTY: 7.6/10

LAYER ONE OVERVIEW

I felt silly, so today I'm running a plain Stake Driver and LHB with Bolt gems. So, in we go.

No bonus area, so let's get into the first area. The warbling of Emissaries greets us at the entrance to a great hall; they're just outside and to the right. Further into the hall, near a set of 3 bonfires, is a knife throwing mob on the left, and a brute with a scythe; the brute dropped an extremely weak 18-rated Tempering triangle. In the back right corner of the hall is a tunnel with a dog; down the stairs and into a ladder-less pit, with a chest with some Ritual Blood right next to the lever room. It's Isz, so it's the usual fare: a Brainsucker with some Celestial Infants mooching about. Break the daycare, pull the lever, and let's head for the boss room.

And by that, I mean the first bonus stage. Introduce a pair of rats to the Stake Driver, and toddle forward to find yourself in a gravestone tunnel. A third rattie and a cursed mob block the way; we're in Isz, so mobs have a chance to drop random gems. This one dropped a 16-rated Dirty with a physical ATK boost and durability curse. Deal with the scorpion further in, and as you approach the corpse carts at the far end of the tunnel, instead of the Hunter you're suspecting, an Eyeball Witch summons her Tier 3's. Report her to the Twitch Cops, grab the gem if she drops one, and investigate the fog to find... another Eyeball Witch. I hope this doesn't become a theme. There's nothing in there that's worth the trouble, so backtrack, head up the ladder, and into the chest room. Another Brainsucker guards... a single Ritual Blood. Ah, RNGeesus, you never cease to torment me. There's also some QS bullets and some Poison Knives you can grab on the way out.

Time for the first boss...

Another Brainsucker! He dropped me a fairly-decent Arcane gem after I literally 5-shot him. Seriously, he has about 5k health. If we avoid the "bonus stage", this could be a decent farm for Arcane gems.

LAYER TWO OVERVIEW

Bonus area right off the bat! In we go to find a pitch black 2-level room with a Crystal Liz- I mean, Nightmare scuttling around on the first floor; sadly, his drop is trash. I won't even write it down. Open the grate on the first floor, ice a mob, and you're in an uncommon Isz Garden. Complete with Bell Summoners. One of whom doesn't summon anything? Huh. There's a Fireball Hag next to a Brainsucker on the central dais, with a pair of dogs and an Alarm Mob nearby. There's nothing of note in the grounds below, so let's head back to the dark room and go up to confront the second Bell Summoner and her spiders. There's a couple Nightmares in a room on the way to the upper terrace; one is a lower-end Tempering triangle with an anti-Nourishing curse, the other's a fairly-decent 17-rated Arcane gem. On the upper terrace is a Kin Coldblood (11) in a corner right near the chest room, which is guarded by an arrow trap and the usual suspect (Brainsucker). The chest contains a yummy Great One's Wisdom. Try and get that Arcane Fireball Hag in the corner near the chest room on the way out; she's got a chance to drop more gems, another Nightmare is near her (couldn't snag it because of the hag), and a second Kin Coldblood (11) on the ground, along with a pair of Pearl Slugs on the railing nearby.

After the first lamp, there's a rickety bridge, and a pustule rat below trying to burrow into the wall. Ease his mind out his ears, along with the second rat that will ambush you once you drop down, and head down the foggy tunnel to confront another Eyeball Witch and her simpery squad in a pitch black room. Send them to the spice mines to claim the 3 Yellow Backbone in a chest at the back of the room. Head back to where you fought the rats, go down the tunnel, note the shortcut door to the left, and hang a right to deal with another Eyeball Witch in a room with slightly better lighting, and only 2 Ritual Blood for your trouble. The saga of dark rooms continues, as after the Witch is the bottom of a tall, dark, and foreboding spiral staircase room; hit that shortcut door before proceeding. Activating the complimentary Flaming Ball of Death(c) will cause it to nearly kill a cursed brute. Put him out of his misery and ascend the stairs, snagging the Ritual Blood and Kin Coldblood (10) along the way, to give the mob at the top a good ol' PILE BUNKER TO THE FACE. Two more Ritual blood on a nearby body, and the lever room is right next door. Mind the infants on the floor, mostly by smashing them to bits, and repeat these tactics on the Brainsucker (who dropped me a real nice Tempering gem) to pull the lever.

No second bonus area this time, so off we go to the second boss...

The Isz chapter of the Pthumerian Weight Loss Club- sorry, I mean Merciless Watchers. They dropped a nice +27.2% Fire gem with stamina increase 3% as a curse, no secondary effect. And with them out of the way, it's onto the-

LAYER THREE OVERVIEW

Note the overhead balcony in the hall, opposite the bonus area archway. Said archway leads directly to a 3-floor hall, with a Tall Hag and her pet gooners lumbering around on the second floor, the same you exit on. Kinkshame them to death, and for the possibility of the Hag dropping a Circle gem (she gave me a Pulsing) and listen to the distinct sound of a basement dweller- sorry, Brainsucker, mooching about somewhere below you. Before going to look for him, explore this hall; there's a lot of valuable loot here, including:

2 Pearl Slugs
2 Kin Coldblood (12)
Red Jelly
3 Yellow Backbone

Go through the door at the bottom, near the stone chest with the Yellow Backbone, to find the Brainsucker wandering around. Send him to a farm upstate, snag the 4 QS bullets he's guarding, and continue on to a fork in the road. One way leads to another slug daycare with the bonus chest. This Brainsucker is a hooded variant, which means it's more likely to use spells than the other kind. The chest is 5 Tomb Mold with 2 Pearl Slugs on the side. The other leads into a foggy spiral stair room, with the distant sounds of a mob bemoaning his eternal gonorrea. Assist him in his flaming demise, get ambushed by the three summoned mobs if you stay to the left of the pillars at the top of the stairs, and snag the Sedative and magnificent Blue Elixir before exiting on the second floor of the hall. Hmm... Go to the opposite side of the second floor to find a Burial Chamber with a couple chests, and some very concerning noises. Chests contain 4 Blood Vials, 8 Tomb Mold, 2 Pearl Slugs, and a Red Jelly. All-in-all, a pretty lucrative bonus area, if one with a lackluster main chest.

Light the lamp, listen to the Witch summoning her Bitcoin assassins, and destroy that blasted Fireball Witch for the crime of breathing your air. Pick up the 3 QS bullets and head upstairs to bonk some children. On one side is a shortcut door... which you can see the Witch's simps through, then a chest with 6 more Pearl Slugs, and an illusory wall. There's a pickaxe brute on the other side who will aggro as soon as you attack the wall. The path leads to the balcony at the start of the layer, with 2 more Yellow Backbone in a chest. Go back downstairs, through the grate door, through the solid door, and across some muck to a cursed pickaxe brute, swinging away in futility. Send him and his three coworkers into a much-needed retirement, pop the Nightmare at the top of the stairs if your gems are bad, and then it's time for one of the most unfair rooms I've ever entered: a Witch, with FOUR mobs playing possum. On the bright side, if you can take them all out, the prize is the shortcut door and a whopping 6 Sage's Hair.

The path on the opposite side of the hall as the chest has 2 mobs slacking on the job, and off we go once more into the fog, leading to a two-level room with a ladder, and another 4 Tomb Mold in a chest. Across the way, Jerry McJumpscare pops out; send him to eternal rest and head down another long staircase. WHERE THE COCK IS THE BLASTED LEVER?! At the bottom is a Kin Coldblood (12) and an uncommon Scourge Beast under a bridge. Dead end. Backtrack, head down the ladder, snag another wonderful Blue Elixir, stroll onto the bridge, picking up a Sedative as you go, and here we have the chest room, acting as yet another daycare. Play Whack-a-Mole with the assorted children, punish their Brainsucker minder for incompetence, and snag the Great One's Wisdom... wait... did we just into a bonus area by accident? Backtrack! Backtrack!

Okay, room with the pickaxe guys? Head down and under the central elevator. Into the next area, we find another tall Hag with her blood gang, and a Scourge Beast in the same room. Proceed with caution... but this room has fuck all in it. The hell? OH. Back in the Witch room, to the left of the stone chest, is the lever room. Aaaand it's another daycare. Welp, you know the drill. Once all's said and done, pick up another Kin Coldblood (12) and 3 QS bullets on your way out.

Huh... you know, I never did find that bell ringer and Arcane Emissary we heard in that burial chamber... good. That sounded like pain. Off we go to the Third Layer boss...

My least weird Hear Me Out EBRIETAS, DAUGHTER OF THE COSMOS!!! In an altar arena; use the central altar to block her blood spew, hitbox pornography charge attack, and Super Call Beyond. It's fairly easy to cheese her in this arena, especially while using the Bowblade; much like Amygdala, her head is her weakpoint, and Bowblade goes ploink. She dropped me a nice 18-rated Arcane gem. But the best part?

WE'RE NOT DONE YET!!!

LAYER FOUR OVERVIEW

Fittingly, the bonus Layer begins with a bonus area. Two ratties are on the first landing. Make like Bonhart and swagger on forward to deal with another Eyeball Witch and her unwashed weeb squad. There's 4 QS bullets in front of each corpse cart, but don't actually go in front of them, or you'll need to use a Bold Hunter's Mark to get out. In one corner of the room is a Sedative, and a Great One's Wisdom is in the other corner. Note the shortcut door. Up ahead- blimey, it's a rat infestation! Luckily, you're Leo Bonhart. End the season on a high note, but be mindful: a cursed mob might try to join the party, but he's certainly no Ciri. As suspected, a Great One Coldblood is on the ground here, along with 4 QS bullets and another 2 Blue Elixir. Next up, we have another spiral staircase, but this time there's no Flaming Ball of Death(c). Refreshing~. Get your second Great One Coldblood and another 2 Blue Elixirs on the way up, as well as issuing a slacking mob his pink slip. On the first landing is 2 Ritual Blood, and the chest room, guarded by another Brainsucker. Give him The Business(c) and grab the Great One's Wisdom in the chest, along with 4 QS bullets on your way out. Don't bother going to the top of the spiral stairs, there's nothing there.

Off to the lamp! Oop, we got the Blue Man Group in the hub area. Cancel their show, then head to the alcove to the right of the boss door; a Nightmare and two chests are within. The Nightmare drops a Tempering/Pulsing gem with durability curse, and the chests contain a 17.9 Nourishing Crescent(!), and 12 Ritual Blood. To the left of the boss door, the two corpses in the alcove have another 2 Ritual Blood and 4 QS bullets. Onward and forward, to confront a Fireball Witch; pile bunker her in the face, and head on down the foggy corridor- only to fall into a pit trap. Blast. Turn 180 degrees to find- ah, no bugle, but there's 3 QS bullets. Head forward, through a pickaxe brute, and up the stairs to """fight""" a cursed mob. To the top of the stairs! At the fork, another two lazy mobs and the complimentary Eyeball Witch are to the right, while the lever is straight ahead. Grab 2 more Blue Elixir before whacking the Brainsucker and pulling the lever. As for the Witch, her room contains 2 more Blue Elixir, 4 QS bullets, and 12 MORE Ritual Blood in a chest. The exit leads to the elevator altar, and back we go to the main hub.

Now for the REAL final boss of the Chalice...

Mr. Old McFag Pthumerian Elder! Finally, we've found the principal of this shitty school, and can file our complaint with PILE BUNKERS TO THE FACE! This teleporting jerk is like Martyr Logarius but not nearly as drippy, but don't underestimate him, because he can and will wreck you if you let your guard down. How you do this fight is up to you, but my tanky ass just went at him with the Stake Driver and Phantasm Shell and repeatedly introduced him to the concept of MAGIC PILE BUNKER until he died. And the drop? A 19-rated Cold gem, with +14.5 Arcane ATK and -30 durability! I might toss this in a Moonlight Greatsword~. Oh, and he also dropped A BLOOD ROCK!!!

And that's all she wrote~! Thanks for reading all the way to the end, and join me next time for another Dizzy's Detailed Delve! Have a good one~!

Sorry, no detailed delve this time, folks. I wrote one up but the draft didn't save :( .

Anyway, I'll keep it simple: Ihyll FRC, one bonus area per Layer, every foggy area except on the first Layer is a must to go down (so many goodies...), there are Hunters, Watchers, and a few Madmen, there's a treasure room with 6 Red Jelly, Great One Coldblood and Great One's Wisdom just laying around- and the best part is that the first two Layers can be done in about 10 minutes; they are VERY short, bonus areas included. The Third Layer is the biggest portion, and holds the most loot; I came very close to refunding the FRC mats in this Chalice.

Bosses are pretty easy too: Big Chun- I mean, Maneater Boar, Beast-Possessed Tryhard, and Pthumerian Descendant in Diddy's goon cave an arena with an oil floor.

Got some pretty good gems out of this one, and this is one of the few Chalices I've played that dropped rank 19 gems from common mobs.

In terms of difficulty, I'd say the first two Layers are good for beginners to FRC Chalices, while the third is a fair bit tougher; take that one slow and careful.

Hopefully I'll have a detailed delve next time. Good hunting, fellow Prospectors~!

Hello, everyone~! It's me, on another adventure into a Chalice Dungeon, welcome, welcome. This one was brought to the attention of us Prospecters via this post: Who Did This?, courtesy u/Taalahan.

Apparently, the dungeon in question is simply infested with blood-mad Hunters, but that's not all the horrors that can be found in this firey pit of pain, as we'll soon discover. Let's get started, shall we?

CHALICE: Ihyll Root, FRC offering

DEPTH: 5

LAYERS: 4

BOSSES: Maneater Boar, Undead Giant (Ball-n-Chain), Bloodletting Beast, Pthumerian Elder

NOTABLE LOOT: Red Jelly, Sage's Hair, Yellow Backbone, Great One Coldblood, Old Great One Coldblood

BLOOD ECHO YIELD: ~3 million

DIFFICULTY RATING: 9/10

LAYER ONE OVERVIEW

Straight out of the Chamber of the Seal we have a side door into an appetizer before the first layer proper. The first room is a pitch black two-layer room with a connecting bridge, and a small chest containing a Ritual Blood (5). Across the bridge is another door, leading to a hallway slick with oil and a single patrolling spider. Next is a long room with two rows of pillars; the chest room is to the right, and to the left is a ledge leading to a lower level, where a Labyrinth Madman (dual flaming kama variant) is waiting idly. A Labyrinth Knight (two-handed greatsword variant) is guarding the chest, along with a snarling Labyrinth Madman (corpse variant) hiding in the corner. Baiting the Knight won't aggro the Madman, so deal with them one at a time, and claim your prize... two Ritual Blood (5). Par for the course, really. The flaming Madman we saw earlier isn't guarding anything, so we can ignore him. Backtrack to the first layer lamp.

Right away we have a common mob corpse just outside the lamp, overlooking the main area, a Tunnel of Graves. It's time for the first challenge, as this area contains a patrolling scorpion, and TWO QUEEN KILLERS!!! They are facing each other from across the area, making pulling off a sneaky buttscratch on either of them extremely difficult, but not impossible.

Slot in your Blue Elixir, equip your bonkiest weapon, and IGNORE THE LADDER; instead, drop off the right side of the platform. At this distance, you won't aggro the closest Killer. Run across the way, sip your Elixir, and walk carefully around the Killer, giving him a wide berth until you're right up on him. In my case, I used Ol' Reliable (LHB) in greatsword mode, and popped him with the L2 overhand after the Visceral. Next, bait the scorpion away from the second Killer, and repeat the tactics used on the first. Each Killer drops about 54k Echoes, and has a high chance of dropping high-level blood gems; my second one dropped a Tempering Crescent (23.9% Phys ATK UP, +14 Fire ATK, Durability DOWN -63). IMPORTANT: DO NOT KILL EITHER OF THESE HUNTERS WITH A VISCERAL! YOU WILL SPAWN A BLOOD TICK IF YOU DO!

Following the sound of a pickaxe lad, head up the ladder near the second Killer, and through a door into...

A bridge over a body pit, with a Hammer Hunter on it, patrolled by a basic mob, and at the end of the bridge is a ruddy Snatcher just inside the lever room, with a Cursed Watcher guarding the lever itself. Woof, okay. Blue Elixir is your friend once more; do the Hammer Hunter the dirty, brush the mob aside, triple-L2 LHB smash the Snatcher if you got the stats for it, and... I mean, it's a Watcher. Any Prospector worth their slugs can make quick work of one of these, and besides, it's only a gun Watcher. There's 3 Blood Vials on the bridge next to the Hammer Hunter, so leave those there until after you pull the lever.

But what's this? Another bonus level before the boss? Well, don't mind if I do~! Head around the bend and down a flight of stairs to find 3 Mobs slacking off on a landing. Upgrade their rest to 'eternal' and continue into the tunnel just past them; you'll find a fork with a one-way door, something to keep in mind for later. Next is a body pit room... with a Keeper Hunter (Saw Spear type, fire user, resistant to same) on the far right once you enter. Even with Elixir, sneaking up on her is hard, but if you have the stamina you can stunlock her to death. Across from her is a spiral staircase room, so, you know, flaming ball of doom time. Hum the Indiana Jones theme, open the shortcut just to the right of the stairs, and head on up, looting two bodies for 2 QS bullets and a Blood Vial. Another Madman guards the bonus chest, in a room with arrow traps, a common mob, and two pickaxe brutes. It's possible to bait the mobs and sneak attack the Madman, but be careful; the brutes can wreck you easily if your health is low or don't have damage reduction Runes equipped. Chest #2 gave me Great One's Wisdom; I already have EVERYTHING, so if anyone knows what it actually is, lmk in the comments, please.

Now, onto the first boss...

Maneater Boar. Eh. Dropped a Radiant gem and a Chunk for me. Head back to the Dream and restock on Elixirs if you can, because no doubt there's more Hunters to come...

LAYER 2 OVERVIEW

Nothing but bonus areas, here. Smack the lazy mob hiding in an alcove on the right before heading up the ladder to meet a snatcher. Next is a large open area, with one Saw Spear Hunter next to a body cart. She's much easier to sneak up on than the one from the last layer; just use the Elixir and mosey on up behind her. But what's this in the open arch right near her?

A Labyrinth Garden! And... a Bell Ringer who doesn't summon any mobs? First time for everything... Another Cursed Shotgun Watcher is nearby, and two more Maneater Boars are porkin away underneath you. Note, however, that there is another bell ringer in the upper gallery, one that summons those blasted spiders. Head straight down the stairs and turn left, hugging the wall until you find a loot blob; it dropped a Tempering radial for me. The light on the left ahead is a lie: a third Maneater Boar guards a stone chest, but aggroing it runs the risk of having ALL THREE PIGS gang up on you. So, do it like this:

Go to the opposite side of the area, and aggro the pigs under the central pavilion one at a time. Be mindful that the mobs on the upper gallery might throw Molotovs at you. I managed to, somehow, get the pig in the tunnel to clip through the wall and disappear. Regardless, the stone chest only contains 4 Tomb Mold (5). Not really worth it, since there's 3 more on the pavilion where the Watcher and Bell Ringer were. Back to the main area. Head up the ladder, but beware: the upper gallery Bell Ringer's spiders might attack you at any time, now. Past a pickaxe brute, merc the Bell Ringer, and the Molotov mob, and into the loot room. Avoid the arrow traps (by destroying them, as is tradition) and take out the Madman for another Great One's Wisdom, and 4 QS bullets on the side.

Anyway, that was one long bonus area. Onto the main part of Layer 2.

Whoever made this Glyph wants you to suffer. Right outside the lamp, across the way, just outside the boss door, is a Labyrinth Fireball Witch. Facing you. And a Saw Spear Hunter that WILL aggro onto you. And the ground below the Fireball Witch is slick with oil. Oh, and Saw Spear Hunters love using Fire Paper. Pick up the 2 Tomb Mold in the misty corner of this Tunnel of Graves, and turn around to find... yet ANOTHER Maneater Boar. Fighting it is optional. Head up the ladder right before it to find another Labyrinth Witch, thankfully facing away from you. Around the room are four lootable corpses, containing: 7 (much-needed) Blood Vials, 2 QS bullets, and 2 Ritual Bloods. Head into the pit for some Fire Paper, if you want it, but otherwise open the grate door. Next room, grab 2 QS bullets and head up the ladder for 2 more, and a small chest with 2 Tomb Mold. Down a misty hallway waits a Cainhurst Knight that drops 82k Echoes, with his back to you. Don't be fooled: he can tank even a max-level character's Visceral. Other than some more fire paper, there's nothing else here, so backtrack to the second floor of the room where you found the second Witch. Around to the other side to find the lever room, deal with the arrow traps, defeat the Cursed Watcher, and pull the lever, Kronk. Yes, that one.

JEBUS, another bonus area?! Ugh. Alright, head on in, deal with the jumpscare, and find yourself in a spiral staircase room with FOUR loot corpses on the floor, a very rare configuration. 8 Blood Vials, some Bold Hunter's Marks, and a rare Kin Coldblood (12) can be looted here. Through a near door, you can see another Knight. IT'S A TRAP! A Watcher is waiting to ambush you in this room as well! Elixir for the win; sneak up on the Knight first, because despite having less overall health, it does more damage per attack. TWO chests in this room are your reward, along with the drops from the Knight and the Watcher, and amount to 2 Ritual Bloods, and 2 Sage's Hair, very valuable. Head back on out, dodge the flaming ball of routine, but take care: the cursed mob at the top of the stairs can one-shot you from full health. No idea why... The chest's guard is a cursed Knight, but the chest is 5 Tomb Mold, so... yeah, not sure if this one is worth is, after the Sage's Hair.

Time for the boss...

Undead Giant. Hammer hand, scythe, and (ugh) ball-n-chain back version. My nemesis. Took me 3 tries, but finally this cancer layer is behind us. Head to the dream to re-up on anything you need, and then...

LAYER 3 OVERVIEW

Right away, we have YET ANOTHER bonus area. With a dog right away. Put down Ol' Yeller, and continue on, but take heed: a Tall Witch with a pack of mobs and a Fireball Witch are lurking in the 3-layer room ahead. There's a total of 8 QS bullets scattered throughout the 3 layers. The path in the topmost layer has a pickaxe brute and a spider, guarding 4 QS bullets and some Numbing Mist. The middle path has a staircase with two pickaxes and a lazy mob, leading to forked tunnel; on the right is the chest room, with rats and a Watcher. Do the rats like Bonhart did, ice the Watcher, and claim the... 17-rated Odd Tempering Blood Gem? Stats are +44.6 Phys ATK, Durability DOWN -58.5. What a weird drop... On the left, you'll find a Saw Cleaver Hunter, and a blobby boi with treats. You'll exit at the lowest level, where there's a stone chest with 4 Sage's Hair, wowza.

Right after opening the chest, head up the elevator IMMEDIATELY. A Bell Ringer is on the upper level. Deal with her, get the 6 Tomb Mold in the chest, head back down and murk the two Cainhurst Vampires, and head back up to enter the nearby Labyrinth Garden's upper gallery. Ignore the Maneater Boar to the left, and head right to deal with a Fireball Witch. Nearby, a door leads to a 2-level area with two chests; the small one contains 2 Tomb Mold, the large one contains 4 more Tomb Mold. Sadness. Oh-ho, but what's this? The next door leads to a fork; go right and down to loot a Great One's Wisdom and an extremely rare Great One Coldblood! Head on back up and head into the lever room, deal with the sleeping mob on the ground to the right, drop the Saw Watcher, and grab the 3 Blood Vials on the ground before pulling the lever. The main Garden area is optional, as it contains no loot, only enemies: 2 normal mobs, 2 snatchers, a Bell Ringer, 2 Maneater Boars, and a Watcher.

There is no sixth bonus area (THANK KOS) so prepare yourself for the Layer 3 Boss...

BLOODLETTING BEAST!!! No, not the headless one. This is RARE AIR. I don't think I've ever pulled a non-headless one in an FRC Chalice before! I was able to put him down with liberal use of tricked-LHB bonks and a series of full-power A Call Beyond. Fittingly, the drop was quality: Tempering Abyssal Blood Gem (+24.8% Phys ATK, Reduce stamina costs 1.5%, Beast ATK DOWN -11.7%). Not the best, but the BLOOD ROCK made up for that in spades!

What a Chalice this has been... BUT IT'S NOT OVER YET! That's right, we got a-

FOURTH LAYER OVERVIEW

Head back to the Dream to repair and re-up your items before continuing. And can you fuckin' believe it, there's another bonus area. Head on up the stairs and swat the brute aside, note the shortcut door, and prepare for pain: there's an unavoidable fight with a Saw Spear Hunter up ahead. 88k worth of Echoes later, behold the dark and edgy room she was brooding in; probably reading Twilight or something. Open the shortcut so you don't have do ever deal with her again, and mosey on down to find a room that's even worse than Ms. Edgy McStabby's: the chest room, filled with patrolling spiders and a corpse-wielding Madman. Oh, and a Snatcher, too, because the sodomy just wasn't bad enough. Baiting the spiders by shooting them and taking them out one-by-one is possible, but you'll always run the risk of aggro-ing the Madman. Luckily, his attacks are slower than the other variants, so you should be fine. Clean up any remaining enemies, grab the Numbing Mist against the wall if you need it, and open the chest to claim a Great One's Wisdom (or whatever it actually is).

The train of bad luck continues past the lamp, in the form of a cluster of mobs, led by a brute, waiting just outside the door to shove your shit in. My advice: head back to the Dream to reset the area, as the mob walks up to the door before loitering. Open the door, fall back, and bait them at your leisure. A blobby pet is to the left just outside the door. It drops a nothing-special gem, as does the second one on the right further in. Just be wary of the arrow traps littering the area, and the Tall Witch with her goon squad. Ignore the room without the ladder; there's nothing but an arrow trap and an ambush waiting for you. Up the ladder, grab the 4 QS bullets on a corpse, the 7 Tomb Mold in a tiny chest, and head across the bridge to fight a brute guarding a chest with 5 Yellow Backbone; very good haul. The lever guard is a cursed Knight that can one-shot you with any attack; be very careful. What is with this Chalice and Numbing Mist?

For some reason, there's a seventh bonus area. I have no idea why, but let's take a look anyway. We're greeted by a flame-weapon mob aura farming in a doorway; great first impression... And it continues as we walk into a cavernous area, where the entire floor is oil. Looks like we found Diddy's goon cave /j. Two cannon Giants are down there; they're optional, but bear in mind they have great loot pools. On the planks encircling the area, you will find one of the rarest items in the game: an Old Great One Coldblood. How rare is it? In 2000 hours, I've found nine, including this one. Further on, another mob guards some stairs, at the top of which is a blobby boi holding a middling Poorman's Damp gem. Weak, I know, but past that, in a foggy hallway, is a snatcher guarding a chest with a whopping 5 Red Jelly. All the way to the bottom, you'll find a patrolling scorpion, a pickaxe brute with a regular mob, and a room full of rats; looks like Bonhart missed a few. The chest, with its worthless 6 Tomb Mold, is guarded by another Knight.

About those Giants: I dropped them both at once, but they only gave Twin Blood Stone Shards. There was some loot on the ground, however: 3 Ritual Blood, 4 QS bullets, and more Numbing Mist for some reason. So, yeah, the Giants are very optional.

Hit up the Dream if you need more Blood Vials (because there's no way you're not weighed down with hella bullets by now) and repair, and then it's time for the final boss of this accursed Chalice...

Pthumerian Elder. Man, I hate this guy. And even worse, this Chalice already peaked with having BLOODLETTING MUFUCKIN BEAST in the Third Layer; this old fart dropped a Cold Damp radial and two Chunks.

Bit of a letdown for the conclusion, but there's some cool goodies in this one. If you made to the end, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next Chalice! Good luck, Prospectors!