So, first of all, welcome to this guide and thank you for reading this.
This guide contains (almost) no spoilers to the game.

I see alot of players have a hard time, trying to connect to their friends worlds, so I just wanted to share some few tips on how to do so.


You will need:

This thing is called a human effigy, and it makes you appear human again!
Also, it makes you able to see summon signs from other players and some NPC's !

One of the difficult things about co-op in Dark Souls, is that it requires you to be in "Human form", i.e. to use a human effigy, so that means if you look like a stinky undead, nobody will want to co-op with you... well, they can't, since you are "hollow" and have no real sense of the world around you. :P

So you cannot see any summon signs, but you can get summoned yourself.
Useful, if you are low on human effigies!

Therefore you must consider every time you want to co-op with somebody:
- Do I have enough human effigies? Some humanity may be lost, due to invaders, monsters or of course; The big boss battle. :)
- If you have enough human effigies, are you confident enough to use human effigies to get summons? Beware, you might get invaded while in human form as well !
- And finally; If you are not really low on HP, use your hollow life to explore an area before popping the effigy, so you dont lose your humanity for nothing. Trust me, being human is more than good looks. ;)

Secret tip:
Human effigies can be farmed at certain areas of the game... ;)

Soap? Are we gonna take a bath?
No, this small stone, is what makes you able to be summoned into another world.
You will hold it, you will love it, and you might even equip it in your inventory! :)


"The Shade summoned with a Small White Sign Soapstone will have a normal time limit of 12 ½ minutes in the world.
This time limit will be reduced as more enemies are killed, regardless of whether they're killed by the host or the shade. The shade will show a faded aura at 11 and a half minutes, assuming nothing has been killed."

About rewards:
"A Shade cannot gain more than 7,000 souls from killing a boss.
The reward for fulfilling duty as a shade is a Smooth & Silky Stone.
Members of the Heirs of the Sun won't get a Sunlight Medal as their reward."


"The White Sign Soapstone is given to the player by Mild-Mannered Pate, who is first found in the Forest of Fallen Giants, after talking to him several times.
The player must first explore the area beyond the small gate next to him to access the dialogue that rewards the soapstone."

If all bosses in an area are defeated, the player may only summon Shades (with the small sign soapstone) in that area, until at least one boss is respawned.

Sold by Sweet Shalquoir / the talking cat in Majula, for 5,500 souls.


The ring makes it easier to connect to players with the same God as you have chosen.

BUT the ring also makes NPC summons disappear, so if you are doing a quest line for one of the NPC's, by summoning them at some boss battles, keep this in your hollow mind !

(make sure you enter the same God when you equip the ring, dont worry, you can change God by removing and re-equipping the ring )

(Heirs of the sun) AND PRAISE THE SUN. :)


The sun covenant makes your summoning sign visible in more worlds, plus it glows yellow and therefore looks more cool. ;)

(Found in Harvest Valley: Across the wooden bridge then take the path left to discover the Heirs of the Sun Covenant. Talk to the altar until it asks you to join for the 'Brilliant Covenant' achievement. The altar will also teach you the fabled 'Praise the Sun' gesture for Gesture Maestro.)

you need to be in the same "soul memory tier", or at least fairly close, as he/she is:
(Soul Memory is the only range-based parameter that restricts who can connect. There is no level range in Dark Souls 2 at all. This means that: A level 1 and a max level player can connect if they have identical or similar Soul Memory. Two players of an identical level cannot connect if they are too far apart in Soul Memory.)


That's Dark Souls for ya.

Soul Memory Tiers and items courtesy of DSII Wiki[darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com]

• Tier Soul Memory Range
  
• 1 0 - 9,999
  
• 2 10,000 - 19,999
  
• 3 20,000 - 29,999
  
• 4 30,000 - 39,999
  
• 5 40,000 - 49,999
  
• 6 50,000 - 69,999
  
• 7 70,000 - 89,999
  
• 8 90,000 - 109,999
  
• 9 110,000 - 129,999
  
• 10 130,000 - 149,999
  
• 11 150,000 - 179,999
  
• 12 180,000 - 209,999
  
• 13 210,000 - 239,999
  
• 14 240,000 - 269,999
  
• 15 270,000 - 299,999
  
• 16 300,000 - 349,999
  
• 17 350,000 - 399,999
  
• 18 400,000 - 449,999
  
• 19 450,000 - 499,999
  
• 20 500,000 - 599,999
  
• 21 600,000 - 699,999
  
• 22 700,000 - 799,999
  
• 23 800,000 - 899,999
  
• 24 900,000 - 999,999
  
• 25 1,000,000 - 1,099,999
  
• 26 1,100,000 - 1,199,999
  
• 27 1,200,000 - 1,299,999
  
• 28 1,300,000 - 1,399,999
  
• 29 1,400,000 - 1,499,999
  
• 30 1,500,000 - 1,749,999
  
• 31 1,750,000 - 1,999,999
  
• 32 2,000,000 - 2,249,999
  
• 33 2,250,000 - 2,499,999
  
• 34 2,500,000 - 2,749,999
  
• 35 2,750,000 - 2,999,999
  
• 36 3,000,000 - 4,999,999
  
• 37 5,000,000 - 6,999,999
  
• 38 7,000,000 - 8,999,999
  
• 39 9,000,000 - 11,999,999
  
• 40 12,000,000 - 14,999,999
  
• 41 15,000,000 - 19,999,999
  
• 42 20,000,000 - 29,999,999
  
• 43 30,000,000 - 44,999,999
  
• 44 45,000,000 - 999,999,999

• White Sign Soapstone -3 Tiers +1 Tier
  
• Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 17 - 21
  
  
• White Sign Soapstone with Name-Engraved Ring -6 Tiers +4 Tiers
  
• Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 14 - 24
  
  
• Small White Sign Soapstone -4 Tiers +2 Tiers
  
• Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 16 - 22
  
  
• Small White Sign Soapstone with Name-Engraved Ring -7 Tiers +5 Tiers
  
• Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 13 - 25

Yes, sadly, there are areas where your friends cannot help you. Dark Souls is evil like that.
Click the spoiler to see what bosses are no coop-able. :P


Royal Rat Vanguard

"The Royal Rat Vanguard is fought in the Grave of Saints, past the second bonfire."

Royal Rat Authority

"The Royal Rat Authority is fought in the Doors of Pharros, just past the second bonfire."

Darklurker

"The Darklurker can be fought only through the Pilgrims of Dark covenant. The player will be transported to its arena once all beacons in the Dark Chasm of Old are lit and all three dungeons have been cleared."

King Vendrick

"Alongside a contingent of knights and his loyal right hand Velstadt, Vendrick traveled to the Undead Crypt. Having separated himself from his great soul, the king soon became Hollow and walks the halls aimlessly. The Bearer of the Curse may choose to spare the king, leaving him to wander endlessly, or slay him and end his misery."

Originally posted by Rusty Lemon:

"...when we're at a bonfire and want to play together, he places the sign and i travel to the same bonfire again, by doing that the entire area resets and since we started doing that, all the times the sign instantly appeared."

if none of the above works, shut down your Dark Souls 2 game (you and your friend), and start it up AT THE SAME TIME. This should get you both into the same game server, and if that does not help...
Well...

Visions of sadness ahead.

Hope this guide helps some people! ;)

Because Im such a friendly person. Share this guide, and spread the word! :)

Guide updated: 20-06-2016

Jon Snow

&

Marchiali

&

Rusty Lemon

&

Sr. Vegetamaker

&

erobotan

for helping me add more useful stuff to the guide ;)