You sit down, controller in hand, ready to face the daunting, beautiful world of Dark Souls 3. Maybe you’re a new player wondering if you can fit this epic journey into your schedule, or a returning Ashen One planning a fresh run. The question is simple, yet the answer is layered: just how long will it take to see the credits roll, or to conquer every secret the game has to offer?
What Determines Your Time in Lothric?
Before diving into numbers, it’s crucial to understand that your experience with Dark Souls 3 is uniquely yours. Completion time isn’t just about skill; it’s a blend of playstyle, goals, and personal exploration. A speedrunner can finish in under an hour, while a meticulous completionist might spend over a hundred. For the average player engaging with the game as intended, several key factors will shape your journey.
Your familiarity with the Souls series is the biggest variable. Veterans of Dark Souls or Bloodborne will naturally navigate its combat rhythms and cryptic world design faster than someone facing their first FromSoftware title. Your chosen build matters too—a powerful sorcery build might melt bosses that would stall a pure melee character for hours. Most importantly, your intent defines everything. Are you here to rush to the final boss, or to uncover every lore fragment, optional area, and hidden boss?
Conquering the Main Story
If your goal is to reach the end credits by following the critical path and defeating necessary bosses, you’re looking at a significant but manageable commitment. This path requires you to defeat the Lords of Cinder and confront the final challenge. You’ll still experience the core of Dark Souls 3’s breathtaking level design and brutal, rewarding combat.
For a first-time player taking a measured approach, beating the main story typically takes between 30 and 40 hours. This accounts for learning enemy patterns, exploring main areas thoroughly, getting lost a few times, and struggling through the game’s famous boss battles. You’ll likely stumble upon some optional content naturally, but the focus remains on progression.
Players with prior Souls experience can expect to trim this down considerably. If you’re comfortable with the mechanics and know generally where to go, a main story playthrough can be completed in 20 to 25 hours. This assumes you won’t skip every optional corner, but you’ll move with purpose and confidence through familiar territory.
Key Milestones on the Critical Path
To help you gauge your progress, here are the major zones and bosses you must face, in the general order you’ll encounter them. Remember, exploration and side paths can add time between these points.
– High Wall of Lothric & Vordt of the Boreal Valley
– Undead Settlement & Curse-Rotted Greatwood
– Road of Sacrifices & Crystal Sage
– Cathedral of the Deep & Deacons of the Deep
– Farron Keep & Abyss Watchers
– Catacombs of Carthus & High Lord Wolnir
– Irithyll of the Boreal Valley & Pontiff Sulyvahn
– Anor Londo & Aldrich, Devourer of Gods
– Profaned Capital & Yhorm the Giant
– Lothric Castle & Dragonslayer Armour
– Grand Archives & Twin Princes
– Kiln of the First Flame & Final Boss
The Journey to True Completion
For many, beating Dark Souls 3 isn’t enough. True completion means experiencing everything the base game offers: every boss, every area, every NPC questline, and collecting all spells, rings, and special weapons. This is where the time investment grows exponentially.
A thorough, 100% completion run of the base game, done in a single playthrough, will take most players 70 to 90 hours. This time encompasses several major undertakings beyond the main story.
You must seek out and defeat all optional bosses, which include some of the game’s most spectacular and challenging fights in hidden areas like Archdragon Peak and Untended Graves. Completing NPC questlines requires careful attention, often without guidance, to unlock unique gear, endings, and story arcs. Furthermore, collecting all unique items means farming certain enemies for rare drops and scouring every inch of the world.
The DLC Expansions: Ashes of Ariandel & The Ringed City
No discussion of completion is whole without the two massive DLC expansions. Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City are not mere add-ons; they are some of the finest content in the series, featuring breathtaking new areas, incredibly tough bosses, and powerful gear.
Each DLC can take 5 to 8 hours for a first-time playthrough, depending on your skill and exploration. For completionists aiming to find every secret and weapon within them, budget 10 to 12 hours per DLC. When you add the DLCs to a full base game completion run, you’re looking at a total of 90 to 110 hours to experience everything Dark Souls 3 has to offer.
Speedrunning and Subsequent Playthroughs
Once you know the routes, enemy placements, and boss strategies, subsequent playthroughs become dramatically faster. New Game Plus, where you restart with your character and gear against tougher enemies, can be completed in just 5 to 10 hours as you blast through familiar zones.
The world of speedrunning showcases the absolute minimum time possible. Using sequence breaks, advanced movement techniques, and optimal strategies, any% speedruns (just reaching the final boss) clock in under an hour, while all bosses runs are typically under two hours. While this isn’t representative of a normal experience, it highlights how knowledge transforms the game.
Practical Tips to Manage Your Playtime
If you’re looking to be efficient with your time without missing the essence of the experience, a few strategies can help. Don’t be afraid to use online resources for vague NPC quest triggers or obscure item locations; the game is designed with community discovery in mind. Focus on leveling your primary damage stat and weapon upgrade first—a stronger character reduces time spent stuck on bosses. Finally, learn the art of strategic running. You don’t need to kill every enemy on every attempt, especially when running back to a boss fog gate.
Conversely, if you want to savor the world and extend your journey, engage with the multiplayer. Helping others as a Sunbro to defeat bosses or invading for PvP combat adds endless, unpredictable hours of fun and challenge beyond the solo content.
Planning Your Pilgrimage
So, what’s the final answer? For a satisfying first experience that includes the main story and a healthy dose of side content, plan for a 40 to 50 hour adventure. If your goal is to earn every achievement and see all the lore, clear your schedule for 80 to 100 hours, including the DLCs. Remember, Dark Souls 3 isn’t a race. Its value lies in the struggle, the discovery, and the triumph. Your time in Lothric is measured not just in hours, but in the memories of battles won, secrets found, and the sheer weight of a world explored. Set your ember alight, and embark at your own pace.
