If you’re a fellow explorer of places you aren’t meant to be, you may have regarded the following line of the patch notes as a challenge rather than a warning.
The many hands of God seem to have reshaped the water under the bridge, which is now too shallow to safely land. But we are Cerim! It was our reckless hubris which, I’m fairly sure, started the whole Pestilence affair, and we will speak ourselves anew from whispers as often as needed.
So here’s how to access the eastern Sacrament expansion by falling from Nameless Pass.
There’s fall damage, but no kill plane. There are two suitable methods for avoiding fall damage. The first is this:
- Begin on the bridge leading to Nameless Pass or in the area itself.
- Try jumping.
- When you’re very close to hitting the ground, quit to the main menu and reload.
The game updates and saves your position in the world fractionally before it notices the minor detail that your character is about to die, so with good timing, you’ll find yourself safely at the bottom of the drop. No water needed – but I wouldn’t exactly do it on hardcore, just to be sure. Now for the second method:
- Begin above the ladder near the Ashen Road bonfire, as you would before Hotfix 8.
- Enlist the help of a friendly Boarskin and convince him to kick you off the ledge.
- Fall unusually quickly, yet land safely.
Certain attacks do not cause players to fall/fly, but instead knock them backwards, sliding across the terrain but never technically entering a falling state. Seems to be some kicks that do it, but not the Boarskin charge nor the shield-bash of the Risen. You can tell you’ve found one such attack if, once hit, you are falling (or sliding) very quickly, following the contour of the terrain rather than an arch determined by gravity.
Doesn’t seem like the place has changed much, but it’s still a nice trip.
Oh, and of course this works for every area with fall damage, but without a kill plane.
You can also still use quit-and-reload position resets to enter the castle, or enter from Marin Woods if you’ve unlocked the ladder previously by jumping against it and grabbing it mid-air.
Happy exploring!