One of the most extreme features of Souls games are invasions. These are situations where another player or NPC forces their way into your world with the intention of killing you. These can either be tense and exciting moments, where you are fighting for your life against someone with the same abilities as yourself, a test of mind and mettle...or it can be extremely frustrating as they are a twink with maxed out gear, and will kill you in one or two hits.

Either way, invasions are a feature of Souls games, and Dark Souls 2 is no exception. However, it works a good deal differently in Dark Souls 2. In Dark Souls 1 and 3, you acquire an item called a Red Eye Orb. This is an infinite use item that allows you to invade a player in your level range. This item is not present in Dark Souls 2.

Instead, there are only Cracked Red Eye Orbs. These are consumables that allow you to invade another world, and disappear upon successfully invading, targeting those within your Soul Memory range. This means that you can't invade as many times as you want, as you will eventually run out of Orbs.

One of the most common ways to acquire Orbs is to join the Brotherhood of Blood and fight in the arena. The winner of these arena fights earns one Orb per win. However, matchmaking is loosely based on Soul Memory, and often matches you with people who are near max level, or at least way higher leveled than you. They have a full suite of buffs, and are often very experienced.

For characters sticking to a certain Soul Memory, or limiting themselves to a certain level, winning in the BoB arena is often a nightmare. With the BoB shop only selling a limited amount of Orbs, it may seem impossible to invade someone with your gimmick in mind.

Don't fret! There are a number of ways to gain Orbs, many of which faster than fighting in the arena! I'll be sharing some neat tricks to effectively gain Orbs for all SMs!

The absolute soonest you can start earning Orbs is right in Majula. If you head towards the large mansion and head to the right, you'll see these lovely pigs just roaming about.



These pigs are small, but can be dangerous for new players. However, they can also drop Orbs. Don't go for them straight away, do a few things first:

• Upgrade a weapon to +4 by going through Forest of Fallen Giants
  
• Purchase the Explorer Helm from Melentia (Unless you start as Explorer)
  
• Grab the Rusted Coin (Explorer starts with a few extra)
  
• (Optional) Grab the Watchdragon Parma from Tower of Flame
  
• (Optional) Grab the Orbs in Things Betwixt and behind the Soldier Key door, before the large open area with the archers

This should grant you a decent amount of item discovery, and increase your chances of gaining Orbs. With an upgraded weapon, they are easy to kill.

Keep on killing these, don't worry about your SM going up because they are only worth a few Souls each. Eventually, the piglets will upgrade to two proper pigs. I think the chances to drop Orbs is increased, but don't have hard data to confirm that.

Eventually, those pigs turn into a giant boar. You can stunlock the boar with just about any weapon, and on death there is a guaranteed drop of three Orbs, and you will have gained a few from killing the pigs. If you grabbed the other Orbs as treasures, you should be at around 10 Orbs total, not a bad amount for someone very early in the game. The pigs do not respawn unless you use a Bonfire Ascetic...which you can choose as your initial gift.

If you're not planning on burning Ascetics for anything else, there's a few early game ones you can acquire to continuously respawn the pigs, and gather a generous amount of Orbs from doing so with a minimal amount of danger and frustration! The best way for those who want to stick to a low SM.

In Huntsman's Copse, en route to the Executioner's Chariot boss, you will encounter these lovely folks.



These are known as Torturers. They can be dangerous foes, and you have to fight through a number of them to reach the boss. However, they are a great source for Orbs for those who can tear through them quickly.

This method is for those a bit further along in the game, for mid-high SM ranges. As such, come equipped with the following:

• Jester's Hat (Explorer's Helm if you don't meet the Dex requirement)
  
• Prisoner's Tatters
  
• Watchdragon's Parma
  
• Covetous Gold Serpent Ring (+1 or +2)
  
• Rusted Coins (If possible)
  
• Agape Ring (If keeping SM at a certain level)
  
• Be a member of the Champion's covenant
  
• A weapon that can kill Torturers quickly

With all of this, you have close to optimal item discovery. Now go to town and tear through all the Torturers. They have a pretty good chance to drop Orbs, and it doesn't take too long to kill in most circumstances. Just be careful if you decide to pull more than one at a time.

After tearing through all seven, as you're approaching the bridge to the Chariot, drop off to the right to the ledge below you. Rest at bonfire, repeat. Each run takes around two minutes if done properly. If you are a member of the Champion's covenant, the Torturers will respawn infinitely, and with the Agape Ring, your SM will not change.

You can potentially earn Orbs much faster than fighting in the Arena this way, although it is a good deal tedious. Prepare some videos or music to watch/listen to on the side.

This method also works for farming Blue Eye Orbs in Tower of Flame. Old Knights drop Blue Orbs, and with all of this, you can farm for them just as effectively. Just prepare a decent blunt weapon and farm it up!

If all else fails, you can always trade equipment/items for Orbs, both with NPCs and other players.

The Crows can convert Smooth and Silky Stones to Orbs of either variety. If you happen to do a lot of Small Soapstone co-op, this is a great way to spend them. However, there's a large item pool, and the chances of you gaining Orbs is slim at best.

So, that leaves trading with players. Post on the forums seeing if anyone would be interested in parting with some orbs for an item of some description. A good number of players don't have interest in invasions!

Finally, if all else fails: Have a funny character name and hope someone just gives you Orbs in the Arena or something. I had this happen once: Someone dropped around 60 Orbs for me.

So there you go: Ways to gain Orbs without bashing your face against the BoB Arena. Now you can have fun invading players and encounter all kinds of wacky situations! Some examples:









Remember to have fun and try not to take it so seriously: If you think of a funny gimmick and want to try to kill another player with it, go for it!

Happy soul hunting!